Protecting His Pregnant Lover - Leslie North Page 0,52
her, right?” Franklin turned to Levon then, his gaze pleading. “Make sure she’s safe? And tell her I’m sorry?”
“You can tell her yourself.” Levon uncrossed his arms and patted the kid on the shoulder. “Once this is over. Okay?”
Franklin nodded eventually and a silent understanding passed between them, an agreement that had nothing to do with Principal James, or the Reapers, or even their own personal futures.
It had everything to do with Olive.
Levon returned to an empty house. Completely empty. Fuck.
Nerves jangling, he called Olive on his cell phone. “Where are you? I thought you were just shopping for baby stuff.”
“I am.” Olive’s voice sounded sullen, maybe even a little annoyed, and Levon’s unease grew. “I’m shopping for stuff for the baby, to put into my house.”
“I don’t follow,” he said.
“I’m starting fresh,” Olive said, a bit too quickly.
He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, unsure how to respond to that. First of all, what the hell was he supposed to do with all that baby stuff? And second, he didn’t want it. It was for Olive, for their baby. He was missing something here, but for the life of him couldn’t figure out what it was. Damned dyslexia. Flustered, he began to pace the small living room, searching for those instincts that had always helped him in the past, but finding them oddly lacking when it came to this situation.
Olive filled in the gaps in his silence. “I’m sure once you wrap up this mission you’ll go back to Arlington and find some other woman to date. Maybe get married and have another baby. You can use that stuff then.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself of this as much as him. “We were never meant to be forever, right?”
Stunned, Levon sank onto the couch and dropped his forehead into his hand. Forever? Hell, he was lucky to plan ahead to the next month in his life. He didn’t think about the future, because honestly, he was never guaranteed to have one. But even so, since he’d come back to Harper’s Forge, back to Olive, he’d kind of imagined she’d always be there, in his life. He wasn’t sure how yet, but he’d pictured her—wanted her—there. Maybe he’d been wrong.
“Levon? Are you there?”
“I’m here.” The words sounded hoarse to his own ears, but his throat seemed to be clogged with a lump of something—not sadness, really, more like… yearning. The realization took him back a bit. Guys didn’t yearn. He wasn’t lonely.
Am I?
The question was harder to ask than he’d imagined. “So you’re not coming back? Ever?”
“No.” Olive bit out the word like it hurt to say. “This is for the best. Really. I have to start making my home. I thought... well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.”
His response slipped out before he could stop it. “It matters to me.”
Several seconds ticked by before she answered. “Listen, you were right, Levon. It’s time I stopped overthinking things. I’ll be safe, I promise. Tom and his wife will take turns staying with me until I know this is over. And he’s installing the new security system as we speak, and…” She hesitated and he lived and died in those few seconds. “And I... I’m prepared to be a single mother.” Any argument he had been forming dried up and turned to dust in his throat. “I just wanted to say…” She cleared her throat and he’d have sworn he heard a sniffle too. Damn. Was she crying? His hands fisted at his sides with the need to hold her, comfort her. Except that wouldn’t be happening anymore because Olive was gone. “I enjoyed the time we did spend together these past few weeks. And before, at the reunion. All of it. I won’t forget it.”
“Jesus, Olive.” His voice cracked, and he didn’t know why he was whispering. He had never felt so alone, hanging on her every word and praying she wouldn’t end their call. “Please, can’t we talk about this? You’re acting like we’ll never see each other again.”
“I’ll see you,” she promised. “In our baby. Goodbye, Levon.”
Then she hung up. Almost as if she had cut herself off before she could say anything else.
Levon let the phone dangle limply in his hand. Now he had every reason to get this mission done and get out. He would make sure Olive and their child were safe—that was what was most important. And then he’d figure out what to do with his future.