Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I stared at her in shock.

She chuckled, but it sounded strained. "If you don't close your mouth, a bug might fly in."

I shut my mouth and squeezed her hand. "How far along are you?"

"I'm not sure. I missed my period last month, but they've been spotty lately. I took the test this morning, and it popped up positive right away."

"But you haven't been feeling sick like the last time…" I let my words trail off. The last time was when she'd miscarried twins over four years ago. One had been an ectopic pregnancy, and she'd lost both babies.

"I know, but after I lost the twins, the doctor said I might have been so sick last time because I had double the hormones."

I nodded, scared to get excited for her until I knew all the facts. "What did Jed say?"

Her face fell. "I told him, and he said it was impossible. I showed him the stick, and he walked out the door and left for work."

"Wait. He just left ?"

"Yep."

I stared at her in shock again, and she placed a finger under my chin, closing my mouth. When I regained my senses, I said, "That's not like Jed."

"I know, but he's definitely not happy."

"He's just in shock, Neely Kate. Give him a moment to get used to the idea."

"Is that how Joe reacted when you told him about Liam?"

She knew darn good and well that it wasn't. "You can't compare the two," I insisted. "We were trying to get pregnant. This is a surprise."

"Jed doesn't think it's a good surprise." Tears filled her eyes. "When Joe found out about Liam, he picked you up and spun you around. You told me yourself." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I wanted that too."

"He'll come around, NK. Just give him a minute."

She shook her head, more tears spilling out. "I'll always remember his reaction. He's spoiled it."

I leaned forward, pulling her into a hug, her chin resting on my right shoulder, and held her tight. I understood her disappointment. I could tell her that I'd felt the same way when I'd told James I was pregnant with Hope. Sure, it had been unplanned, and it was a shock, but I hadn't expected him to be so angry . And I hadn't expected him to strongly insist I get an abortion. I'd hoped he'd changed his mind and soften to the idea, but if anything, he'd only become more adamant that I couldn't keep the baby.

After Hope was born and she was kidnapped weeks later, I found out that while James had never wanted our daughter to be born, he would have moved heaven and earth to protect her. He'd given up his immunity deal with the government to make sure she and I were safe, and he'd also insisted that I deny his part in her DNA so no one would ever threaten her because of him. He'd wanted Joe to be her father. After some time, I'd realized that was the greatest gift he could have given her. Otherwise, she might be dealing with the same situation Ashley was dealing with now—only so much worse. Because James "Skeeter" Malcolm wasn't the lackey Mike Beauregard had been.

James truly was the bad, bad man.

"Are you having a tea party or digging out the base for the retaining wall?" Bruce Wayne called over with a laugh. Obviously, he couldn't see Neely Kate's tears.

Neely Kate pulled out of my embrace and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, smearing dirt under her right eye. "This is supposed to be a happy thing," she said with a sad smile.

"Then we'll celebrate with lunch," I said, reaching over and rubbing the dirt from her cheek with the back of my hand. "What would you like to have?"

"Would you think I was crazy if I said Chuck-N-Cluck? I've been craving their fried chicken and mashed potatoes."

I laughed. "I did say anywhere ." And I happened to know it used to be her favorite fast-food restaurant. She'd moved on to a new chicken place in town—Let's Cluck a Deal—and hardly ever ate at Chuck-N-Cluck anymore. But sometimes there was comfort to be had in old things.

She set the carved box aside, and we finished digging the base for the retaining wall. I grabbed two stakes and some string to start leveling the ground, but Bruce Wayne shooed us away, saying it was time for the professionals to take over. I could have been offended—I'd built my share of retaining walls before—but I had to admit I was distracted. Better to let Bruce Wayne and his crew finish.

Neely Kate and I washed our hands as best we could with the garden hose. Then she picked up the box and carried it to the trunk of her car. "After lunch, I'll get started on the search."

"You never should have told Jill we'd find the owner," I said with a disapproving stare.

"Pleasssse," she said with a groan. "All it's gonna take is a call to the property department at the courthouse. I still know a few people there, and they'll give me a history of who's owned the house."

She had a point. She'd worked in the courthouse for years, and she had a knack for getting people to help her, including me.

"Fine," I said. "I suppose a few phone calls won't hurt." I snuck a glance at her, seeing how much she needed this. "Why don't you go to the office and ask the property department for the names, and I'll stop by Chuck-N-Cluck and get our order?"

She clapped her hands together with glee. "Perfect."

After she told me what she wanted, I got in my car. But instead of driving straight to Chuck-N-Cluck, I headed to Carlisle Automotive.

I needed to have a little chat with Jed.

He didn't seem surprised to see me when I walked through the open bay doors of the garage, but he didn't say anything either.

"Hey, Rose," Witt, Neely Kate's close cousin, said, poking his head up from under the hood of a car. He'd worked for Jed since they'd opened their doors to their first customers over four years ago. "You havin' car trouble?"

"Thankfully, no," I said, continuing to the back of the garage. "I just need to have a little chat with Jed."

Jed gave me a look that suggested he'd rather have a root canal, but he didn't protest as I headed to the breakroom and sat at the dining table. He followed me in, shutting the door behind himself, and gave me a petulant stare.

"Look," he finally said with a dramatic sigh. "I already know what you're gonna say."

"Do you?" I asked with raised brows. "What am I gonna say?"

"That I should have been happier when Neely Kate told me she was pregnant."

"Actually," I said, looking up at him. "That's not what I was gonna say."

His eyes widened, but then he quickly recovered. "So what are you here to say?"

"I was gonna say that you're entitled to your feelings, Jed. I understand it was a shock. Sure, your reaction was a huge disappointment to Neely Kate, and I wouldn't be lying if I said that I didn't wish you would have covered your reaction, but what's done is done." I leaned my elbow on the table and propped my chin on my hand. "But what I don't understand is why you didn't at least acknowledge her pregnancy? Why did you just walk out on her like that?"

He sat down across from me, dragging his hand through his hair. I didn't have the heart to tell him he now had a grease streak across his forehead. Unlike Neely Kate's dirt smear, I wasn't going to rub it off.

"Because," he said, looking like he wanted to cry, "she knows I didn't want her to get pregnant. She knew I wouldn't see this as happy news, but she chose to pretend otherwise."

"Jed," I said, leaning closer. "I know you're probably scared. The chances of her losing this baby are high. But don't you see this as at least a little bit of happy news? She's been trying to get pregnant for ages."

"Yeah, she has, but obviously she didn't tell you what the last two doctors said."

"What?" I asked in confusion.

He held my gaze. "They told her if she got pregnant, it could potentially kill her."

I stared at him in shock. " What? "

He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess she didn't tell you that part."

"No."

"We haven't been using birth control because we never thought we'd get pregnant." He shook his head. "Obviously, we were wrong."

"Jed, I had no idea."

"Yeah, I figured."

We sat in silence for a few seconds before I said, "What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know," he said with a sigh. "She's adamant that she's meant to have this baby, that it was a miracle she got pregnant. She's determined to see this through."

"Okay," I said, my mind scrambling. "She just found out. Maybe once she thinks about you and Daisy…" I stopped, because while she loved Jed and Daisy with her entire being, she would never, ever end this pregnancy unless she had another ectopic pregnancy. She'd been forced to end her first pregnancy years ago back in Oklahoma, and she still struggled with the guilt and pain of her loss.

He lifted one side of his mouth into a sad smile. "You just realized the truth."

My chest felt heavy. "Yeah."

His eyes welled with tears. "What am I gonna do, Rose? I love her so damn much. I can't live without her."

"You won't have to!" I assured him. "We'll do everything in our power to protect her. We'll put her in a plastic bubble if we have to." I thought about her digging at the Thatcher's this morning. There'd be no more physical labor until after this baby was born.

He nodded, not looking entirely convinced. Neely Kate wasn't a sitter. She was a doer, and we likely had at least seven months to go.

After a second, Jed made a face. "Would you…" He paused, rubbed his chin, and leaned forward. "Would you have a vision to make sure she's going to be okay?"

I hesitated. "If it were up to me, I'd have a vision in a heartbeat. But it's not my decision. It's Neely Kate's."

"But you can suggest it," he said, warming up to the idea. "And if you see her…"

"Die."

He nodded, tears welling in his eyes. "If you see her dead, then maybe she'll come to her senses."

Even then, I wasn't sure she'd do anything to end her pregnancy. She'd just try to find a way to avert the outcome.

"Let me think about it," I said, then held up my hand when he started to protest. "I can suggest it, but we both know Neely Kate's never been shy about asking me to have visions for her. If she wants me to have one, she'll ask herself."

"And she's not going to want to know," he said, sounding devastated.

"Like I said, it's her decision," I said. "I won't force it on her, and I'm not sure I should even suggest it. I suspect it might upset her."

He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling as he released a groan.

"But there are other things we can do," I said, trying to sound more upbeat. "The first is to make an appointment with a doctor and see how far along she is. And make sure it's not an ectopic pregnancy. Years ago, she said the doctors told her she had a high chance of having another one."

"Yeah," he said, running both hands over his face. "That's good. A plan."

"Yeah," I agreed. "A plan." It sounded promising, but then again, we'd had plenty of plans back when we were trying to protect the county from criminal forces, and our plans had rarely worked.

Maybe a plan would work this time.

Right, and flying monkeys were gonna fly out of Jed's butt.