Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
I hate that Forrest can’t see what she means to me. I hope that once he calms down, once the news settles, he’ll realize that no one can love her like I do.
It might be a long road to prove that to him, but I’m ready to travel it.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Emerson
* * *
“Can I get you anything?” Roman asks.
I glance around and laugh. “What more could I need? You’ve made me a nice little nest.” I have a bottle of Pedialyte, which the doctor suggested, a bottle of water, a turkey sandwich with carrot sticks, my Kindle, the remote, a blanket over my lap, my freshly filled bottle of prenatal vitamins, and my feet propped up on the reclining end of the couch.
“It’s my job to take care of you.”
“Rome, babe, I’m fine. I’m pregnant, not dying. Just relax.”
Neither one of us slept well last night, and as soon as the sun was up, he was out of bed fussing over me.
He nods and takes a seat next to me on the couch. I’m getting ready to ask him if we can go upstairs and take a nap when there’s a knock at the door.
Roman jumps up and goes to the door. “Hey,” he greets whoever it is.
“Is she here?” I recognize my brother’s voice immediately.
“Of course she’s here. She’s on the couch.”
I hear footsteps and then I see Forrest appear. He looks apprehensive, which is a good sign. The anger he was full of yesterday at the hospital seems to have slipped away.
“Hi.” I smile and wave. “Come sit?” I pat the couch cushion.
He takes a seat next to me on the couch. Roman takes a seat on the chair, after making sure my feet are covered with the blanket. They were in case you were wondering.
“Looks like he’s taking care of you.” Forrest nods to everything around me.
“He’s taking excellent care of me. Even though there’s nothing wrong with me. This is the ‘Emerson is not allowed to get up for anything’ station.” I chuckle, because Roman really is going overboard, but I love him for it.
I love the way that he loves me. I know this is all coming from a good place, and I’m blessed, so very blessed, to have this man in my life.
“You’re dehydrated,” Roman chimes in. “You and the baby need lots of fluids and lots of rest.”
Those are the exact words the doctor used. Luckily, he said for the weekend, and I could go back to my normal routine as long as I felt well on Monday. Thankfully, Roman has to go back to the shop tomorrow, so he called Monroe and asked her to sit with me. I laughed the entire time they were on the phone this morning as he was giving her strict instructions to not let me lift a finger. I have no doubt he’ll call her again tonight to go over the instructions. He means well; it’s coming from a place of love for me and our baby. He might be driving me batty, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
I love this man.
I smile at him before turning back to my brother. “It’s good to see you.”
He nods. He’s quiet for a long time, and we let him gather his thoughts. Finally, he looks at Roman. “You’re really in love with my sister?”
“Yes.”
“You want this baby?”
“More than anything,” Roman says without hesitation.
“Em?”
“We fell in love, Forrest. It wasn’t planned or a malicious attempt to hurt you. You don’t get to choose who you fall in love with. I know you had this big, elaborate dream for what you thought my life should look like, but that’s not your call to make. You never once asked me what I wanted. What I thought my life would look like.”
“Tell me what you want your future to look like, kid.”
It’s with that question that I know everything is going to be okay.
If I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure, and after his outburst yesterday, and the way we left things, I was fearful that we might not ever be back to the way we were. I thought that maybe our bond was actually broken. I hid that fear from Roman as best as I could, but it was there.
“I want to fall in love with a good man who will make me and our family the center of his world. I want a couple of kids, a house with a decent-sized yard where my husband and I can have some of the family gatherings at our place. I want to settle in this sleepy little town and raise my family here.” My hand rests on my belly. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that we’re having a baby.
I give him a minute to let that soak in.
“That’s before I fell in love with him. Now, I want to enjoy the love of the good man who I’ve fallen in love with. I want him and me together, to love one another and our child and future children. I want to be the center of his world, because he’s the center of mine. I want us to settle here and find a house that will support our growing family, and yes, I still want to host some family gatherings too.” I swallow over the lump of emotion clogging my throat.