Once we were cleared to leave, the detective gave me a fatherly pat on the back. I didn’t hope they caught the person who killed Marco. I was thankful he had gotten away. I had been shown a card that said simply For My Little Girl and asked if I could identify the person who had left it. I had never seen a card like that in my life, although it hurt my chest to look at it. It was my fault that someone’s little girl had been hurt by Marco. I had never told anyone about what happened to me before I met Mase. Marco had been free to keep terrorizing little girls because of my silence.
Mase kept me close as we walked out to his truck. “You need a long bubble bath. Then I’ll give you a massage. This day is over. It’s all over. You can live your life without him now.”
I nodded. He was right. This was it. My life really started right now. Marco and my mother were gone, never to return. I was letting my memory of the life I had lived with them go, too.
“I want to see my dad,” I told him. There were things I needed to say to him. Things I hadn’t said before because I was just so happy to have a family. But for me to truly move on from my past, I had to let my father know how I felt. And that I forgave him.
“When? I’ll get us a flight out as soon as possible.”
“Not yet. Just soon. Let’s go home and get back to our life first.”
“Whatever you want, baby.”
Over the next two weeks, life fell back into place. Mase brought me lunch every day, and Captain hadn’t set foot in my office again. He either left paperwork for me in a file on the table outside the door, or he sent Major to bring it to me. I wasn’t on edge anymore, and the emotional trauma I’d dealt with when Marco returned had begun to fade.
It was a Sunday afternoon when everything changed. Again.
Mase and I had spent a lazy morning together, and then he’d left to check on some things down at the stables. After the incident with Marco at the grocery store, we weren’t just low on food, but we were also nearly out of paper towels and shampoo. While going through the bathroom to make sure there wasn’t something else we needed, I saw the unopened box of tampons I’d bought last month.
Staring at them, I tried to remember when I should have started my period. I grabbed my birth-control pills out of the medicine cabinet and checked them. Two weeks ago. I should have started two weeks ago.
My hands trembled as I put the pills down and walked to the bedroom so I could sit down a minute. I’d been through a lot two weeks ago. My mind had been on everything but starting my period. I’d just missed that one pill the morning after seeing Marco.
I’d taken two the next day, though. We hadn’t even had sex that night. I’d been a mess. Something had to be off. I couldn’t be pregnant.
Putting my hand on my stomach, I let myself imagine for a moment that I was. That I was carrying Mase’s baby. Joy coursed through me, but it was quickly replaced by unease. Mase hadn’t even asked me to marry him yet. He wasn’t ready for a family. I couldn’t force this on him. He trusted me to take my birth control, and I’d let him down.
How could I be a mother if I’d never had one myself? I had no example of a mother. The one I’d been given hadn’t been anything I would want for my child. Touching my stomach, I knew I had to go to a doctor. Without Mase. There was no reason to panic if I didn’t have to, but how could I go see a doctor without telling someone?
Piper. I’d ask Piper tomorrow at work if she could take me. I trusted her, and I knew she’d understand. Well, I thought she’d understand.
I shoved the tampons back under the counter and finished my list. I couldn’t worry about this now. There was a chance I wasn’t pregnant. I could just be late. I would hold on to that until I couldn’t.
“Hey, baby,” Mase called out as the front door opened.
I took my list and walked back into the living room. Seeing him standing there in his dusty jeans, cowboy hat, and boots never got old. Believing that he was mine was hard sometimes.
He smirked and walked over to me. “You keep looking at me like that, and we won’t make it to the grocery store like you wanted to.”
I knew exactly what we would do instead, and as tempting as that was, I was too scared to chance it. What if I wasn’t pregnant but still could get pregnant after messing up my pills? I patted his chest and smiled up at him, hoping I didn’t show the worry in my eyes. “We need groceries,” I reminded him.
He lowered his head and claimed my mouth with a soul-searing kiss that made me forget everything but how good he made me feel. “Whatever you want,” he whispered near my ear, then gave me a swat on my bottom. “God, I love that ass,” he added.
I held up the grocery list. “Priorities,” I told him, and I walked over to pick up my purse.
“I got one priority, and it sure ain’t a damn grocery list,” he said in an amused tone.
Was it possible to love someone as much as I loved Mase? Was it even healthy?
Mase
Reese called to tell me that Piper was taking her out for lunch on Tuesday. I was glad she was bonding with Piper. I wanted her to have friends here. This would be our world, and having Reese fit into it was important. I needed her to love it here as much as I did.
When lunchtime arrived, I headed up to Momma’s to get something to eat. Aida’s truck was parked outside, and I paused. If there was going to be drama, I wasn’t sure I could deal with it today.
She hadn’t left on good terms, and I wasn’t sure why she was back. But then again, I didn’t want to confront her in front of Reese later. Reese had dealt with enough this past month.
Sighing, I hoped this wasn’t going to ruin my lunch. When I stepped through the door leading into the kitchen, Momma turned to give me an apologetic smile. She had been expecting me; I’d called to let her know I didn’t need her packing a lunch for me and Reese today and that I’d just be eating with her.