Say You Want Me (21 page)

Today, though, I’m in a planning session at the bakery with the old biddies of Bell Buckle.

“Angie can’t march in there and grab Presley,” Mrs. Townsend says with exasperation.

“Maybe she can fake some kind of labor pains!” Mrs. Rooney says.

Mrs. Townsend’s head falls in her hand. “She’s not even that far along! How would she have labor pains?”

“Right,” Mrs. Rooney agrees. “Moving on.”

All I’ve been doing is sitting quietly and eating cupcakes. I think I’ve figured out their process, though. One of them throws out an idea, two of them talk about it back and forth, the fourth explains why it’s dumb, and then they all move on. It’s hilarious and exhausting. All in all, it’s not a bad gig.

Of course, I would much rather be spending the day with Wyatt. Yesterday we went back out on that stupid Gator thing as he showed me more of the property. We walked along the creek that’s between his and the Townsend’s property where we had a picnic, and then he showed me why living in the country is great for fooling around.

We definitely couldn’t have had sex like that outside in the city. Well, not without an audience.

I’m enjoying our newfound sex life. According to the book of horrors, I’m only going to get hornier, which is the silver lining to all this. Wyatt doesn’t seem to mind, and I’ve told him to enjoy it while he can.

The only thing I have to do is address the elephant in the room—my leaving. He hasn’t brought it up, but then neither have I. I know we need to talk about everything, yet I haven’t found a good time. I’m not sure if I should go to Erin first or Wyatt. The last thing I want is to sever my ties to the bakery, only to find out that he doesn’t want more with me.

So, I let it linger.

But today is our twenty-week ultrasound. We’ll get to see the nugget and hopefully find out what the sex is.

I’m hoping after we get through that and Presley’s bridal shower next week, we can iron out our future, because the idea of leaving him . . . cripples me.

I glance at the ladies sitting around and decide to interject. “Why don’t I tell her I need her to run an errand with me?” I offer up, and they all laugh.

Another idea gets thrown out and dismissed right away.

Back to the cupcakes it is.

“I know!” Mrs. Hennington grows excited. “Why don’t we have Angie call Presley, tell her she has to go across town to do something, and that she needs her help?”

I swear I said that.

They all look at each other as if she just spoke gospel. “Oh! That’s a great idea, Macie!”

Really? I glance over at Mrs. Kannan. “Yes! So smart, and Presley will never expect it.”

“Umm,” I say with bewilderment. “I just said that, and you shot me down.”

“Not the point,” Mrs. Townsend says. “Can you go over there and take care of this? It’s important that she has no idea what’s going on. We’ve been plannin’ this event for a long time.”

I’ve learned that Wyatt wasn’t exaggerating when he said it was best to humor them. Presley isn’t a fool. She asked me last weekend to make sure she has her hair done and is dressed nice when she gets ambushed.

Still, I know I can’t tell them that. “It’ll be no problem. I’ll make sure Presley is completely in the dark.”

“Wonderful!” Macie yells. “Now, let’s talk about the balloons . . .”

Being the maid of honor in a wedding typically means you have to plan stuff, not here. Not with these ladies. It means I sit back, eat glorious food, and pretend my opinion is at all wanted. It’s cute they invite me, but really, I’m just here for the food.

Another half hour passes, and we’re all set.

I say goodbye to everyone, but Macie hangs back.

“How are you feelin’, sugar?” she asks as she loops her arm in mine. “Any sickness or cramping?”

“Nope.” I smile. “This has really been a wonderful pregnancy. I’m so glad I didn’t have morning sickness at all. The only thing I’m having now is heartburn whenever I eat sweets. But no cramping like the book said, and I feel really good.”

“That’s wonderful. I had great pregnancies with the first two boys. Wyatt, though . . .” She gives me a serious look. “He about killed me.”
Who says something like that to a pregnant girl?
“Today is the ultrasound?” she asks, completely missing the look of shock on my face.

“Yeah, I’m meeting him back home in an hour and then we head over.”

She pulls her shoulders up with excitement radiating off her. “So exciting!”

“I can’t wait.”

The last time that I got to see the baby was so early that I wasn’t even sure it was human. It looked like E.T.’s little brother holding a balloon.

“Have you thought at all about staying a little longer?” She tries her best to look innocent, but it’s not an offhanded question.

“I have,” I say and leave it there.

“You’re going to leave me in the dark, huh?”

I smile and nod. “I think Wyatt and I need to talk first. I hope you understand.”

Macie pats my arm. “Of course I do, honey. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I want you to know that if you need anything . . .” she pauses. “I mean anything at all, you call me. And maybe after you find out whether my grandbaby is a girl or a boy you’ll let me go shoppin’?”

Shopping. Umm, yeah. “I would love that!”

We stop in front of the car, and she pulls me into her arms. “You have no idea how special you are, baby girl. No idea.” Her hands hold my shoulders as her green eyes study mine. “You’re a wonderful woman for comin’ here. I know it wasn’t easy. I know you struggled, but I see how that boy looks at you. I see how you look at him, too. Lovin’ someone isn’t a choice when you find someone worth lovin’. I believe that there are some things outside of our control that force us into situations.”

“Like having a baby?” I ask with a smile.

“Exactly,” Macie confirms. “But you and Wyatt are real. You were faced with an impossible situation, darlin’. I want you to know that I love you as if you were my own daughter. I know you already have a Mama,” she presses her hand to my cheek, “but you’ve got me if you ever need a fill-in.”

My heart swells, and I can’t stop the flurry of emotion that floods forward. Everything inside me cracks wide open. I burst out in a sob and wrap my arms around her.

My mother has never said anything remotely like that. She’s never told me how special I am, not that I can remember at least. She left me when she no longer could care. Not physically, but in every way that mattered. I haven’t spoken to her in two months. This should be one of those times a girl has her mother.

I weep for the mother I don’t have.

I weep for the broken girl inside me who so desperately needs this.

And I cry tears of happiness that I have someone like Macie Hennington in my life.

This is another thing Wyatt unknowingly gave me.

“Don’t cry, honey. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” She rubs my back, and I release her.

“I’m sorry.” I step back and rub my eyes. “It’s these damn hormones. I swear, they make me a freaking lunatic.”

She half smiles and rubs my arm. “Wyatt’s told me a little and then Presley told me a whole lot more about your mama. I’m real sorry. I love my boys more than anything, even when they drive me nuts. You’re not without people who love you, Angie. You’ve got a whole town full of Mama’s who will come to your side. Especially if we get to love on that baby, okay?”

I nod. “Thank you.”

“No thanks needed, honey. It’s what family does.” Nothing I could say right now would adequately describe what I feel. She seems to sense that and handles it for me. “I really better be on my way. Rhett wants me to make his favorite meal, and I haven’t done a thing yet. You go on and find out what you’re havin’! Then call me.” She winks.

“You got it.”

She rushes off, and I head home, which is comical since we live on the same land. The entire time she rides behind me, I replay the words she spoke and how she just held me and let me cry on her shoulder. She is warm and loving—the kind of woman you love instantly. I decide right then that I want to be more like Mrs. Hennington than my own mother.

She veers off toward the main house, and I head to our place. Huh.
Our
place. I really like the way that sounds.

When I pull into the driveway, Wyatt is there waiting. “Hi, baby!”

I jump out of my car and rush toward him. “Hi, honey!”

He gives me a long, wet kiss before releasing me. “How was your day?” Wyatt asks.

“Good. Yours?”

“Better now.”

I smile and he leads me toward the truck. Once we get settled and are on our way, I fill him in on my day. He laughs, rolls his eyes randomly, and comments here and there.

“Oh!” I exclaim.

“What?”

“Mrs. Kannan is putting in a cappuccino machine!” I grow excited again. “She said that she’d been thinking about putting one in, and she heard I know a lot about them. She made me promise to show her how to use it when it gets here.”

He nods, but his eyes stay focused on the road. “That’s great.”

I figured he’d comment a little. I mean, he knows my deep love for coffee. This is about as close to a Starbucks as I’m going to get, and I was trying to open the conversation a little. “Wyatt?”

“Hmm?” he doesn’t even glance my way.

“Did you hear me?” I ask with a little bite to my voice.

“I did. You love coffee. It’s great. I’m happy you’ll have the comforts of home while you’re still here.”

What the fuck
?

I lean back in my seat and try to figure out what the hell crawled up his ass. I don’t think I said anything wrong. If anything, I was trying to get him to ask more questions so we could talk about me staying for a bit longer. My mind was truly made up weeks ago, but the last few days solidified it. I’m not ready to leave him. I’m not saying I’m ready to get married or anything . . . just maybe give this parenting thing a real shot together.

Then it clicks. Today is the first time he’s going to get to see nugget—he’s probably just nervous.

We get to the office where I’ll have the ultrasound. He doesn’t really say much, but he doesn’t miss a beat as he helps me out of the car, opens the office door, and makes sure I sit.

“Did I do something?” I ask, unable to ignore it anymore.

“No, why?”

Am I losing my mind? “You’re being distant. I talked about the cappuccino machine, and then it was like
boom
!” I clap my hands together. “Wyatt disappeared.”

“I’m sorry, Ang. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Okay . . . like what? We talk about everything. I don’t understand why you’re pulling away from me right now.”

“Angelina Benson.” My name is called by a pretty nurse by the door.

I guess this conversation is tabled.

We get up, and he places his hand on the small of my back. I’m half tempted to swat it away, but I’m a little nervous suddenly. She leads us into a room with the ultrasound machine, gives me some quick instructions, and leaves.

I hop on the table and fear starts to invade my mind. I worry my hands, and Wyatt walks over. “What’s wrong?”

“Now you want to talk?”

He sighs and takes my hands in his so I can’t fidget. “Why are you worrying yourself?”

I pull my hands back. “Oh, you can have your feelings, but I can’t have mine?”

“I said nothing’s wrong.”

Right. He really should be more convincing. “Well, nothing is wrong with me either.”

I’m being petulant, but he’s being an ass.

He shakes his head. “Women.”

I’ll give him ‘women’. “Asshole.”

Thankfully, the technician enters. She introduces herself and gets me set up.

“This is a little cold,” she warns as she squirts the goo on my belly. “Do you guys want to know the sex of the baby if I can see it?”

“Yes!” I answer before he can say a word.

Wyatt chuckles. “We’d like it if you can. I think she’s going out of her mind not bein’ able to shop.”

I roll my eyes and look over. With a few clicks on the machine we start to see actual human body parts. “Oh my God! Wyatt! Look!” I wave my hand, calling him closer. His fingers lace with mine as we both watch the screen.

Then, the most amazing thing happens. Our tiny little baby shows on the screen. The sounds of my and the baby’s heartbeats echo in the room as we stare at the life we’ve created.

“That’s our baby?” he asks.

The technician smiles and nods. “This here is the heart,” she says and points to the image on the screen. “Four chambers. All look healthy.”

“It sounds so fast,” I say in awe.

“Is it supposed to be that fast?” Wyatt questions.

“It’s a very healthy heartbeat, Mr. Hennington. A baby’s heart beats at a much higher rate than an adult.”

He nods.

I look back to the screen and she continues on. It’s so cool and so real. This is nothing like the ultrasound pictures Presley had with the boys. Now the photos look so detailed since it’s 3D. I can literally see the baby’s body. She shows us two legs, two arms, and all the organs look good. We can see its little face and all of the features are formed. It’s a real freaking baby.

“Okay, now let’s see if the baby will cooperate and show us the goods.” She smiles as she clicks and twists the wand over my belly.

I can’t believe this is our baby. I know I was excited before, but this is beyond my dreams.

“There we go.” She smiles.

Wyatt and I both look at the screen closer as she types: It’s a girl!