Love in the Light - Laura Kaye Page 0,39

said, shooing him from the kitchen. “Oh, wait. One other thing.” She handed him the bag with the bear in it.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A feel-better present,” she said, unable to hold back her grin. He was going to think this was so silly. And it was. In a good way.

Caden stuck his hand in and pulled out the stuffed animal. “You got me a teddy bear,” he said, his face finally breaking into a little smile. He rubbed his hand over the scar on the side of his head, something she’d seen him do so many times.

“Everybody needs a teddy when they’re sick,” she said. “That’s, like, totally common knowledge. He can keep you company when I’m not here.” Which wouldn’t be often, but still.

Nodding, Caden gave her the softest look. “Thanks, Red. I…I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She smiled, so glad she’d come to see him. He needed this. They both did. “Well, don’t worry about that. Because you won’t ever have to find out.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Makenna walked alone into her doctor’s office on Tuesday morning. After going back and forth, she’d decided the best approach was to gather all the information she could before telling Caden she was pregnant. Most importantly, she wanted to know that the baby was healthy. Assuming that was the case, she planned to tell him tonight after work. Tell him everything.

It was time. And she was bursting at the seams.

She checked in at the desk and took a seat. A number of other people were waiting, and two of the women were obviously pregnant. Excitement shivered through Makenna’s chest. That was going to be her in not too many months. At the side of one of the women, a man sat whispering into her ear, making her laugh. He rested his hand on her belly as they spoke.

And that…that would be Caden. Who hadn’t had a family in so very long. God, she hoped he was excited about having one now. Even if he was scared—hell, she was too—she hoped his excitement would outweigh it. Because at the end of all this, they were going to have a tiny product that was a part of them both. And that was amazing to Makenna.

The waiting room door opened. “Makenna James?” called a nurse wearing a set of pink scrubs.

She followed the woman to an exam room, her heart racing a little faster with each passing moment. Because she was about to see her child for the very first time.

Before too long, she was wearing a paper gown and her long-time gynecologist entered the room with a nurse. “Makenna, nice to see you again,” Dr. Lyons said.

“Nice to see you, too,” she said, smiling at the woman’s always upbeat personality.

“Are you here alone today?” the doctor asked as she scrubbed her hands.

Makenna nodded. “I wanted to make sure the pregnancy was okay before telling my boyfriend.”

“Okay,” Dr. Lyons said, “well, let’s get started then.” The doctor explained how the internal ultrasound worked and then Makenna was laying back on her back with her feet in the stirrups—which always felt incredibly awkward no matter how many times she’d had to do it in her life.

But all of that fell away as an image appeared on the screen and a fast beat rung out in the room.

“Hello, little one,” the doctor said, taking some measurements on the monitor.

Tha-thump tha-thump tha-thump tha-thump tha-thump.

“Is that the heart beat?” Makenna asked, the sound planting itself inside her chest and squeezing.

Dr. Lyons smiled as she made some adjustments with the ultrasound wand. “It sure is. Sounds perfectly normal, too.”

“It’s supposed to be that fast?” Makenna’s gaze locked on the screen where the doctor had zooned in on a grainy, peanut-shaped object with tiny nubs protruding from the sides.

In her mind, she heard her father calling her peanut, and now she knew why.

That was her baby and he was totally a little peanut. Well, he or she.

“Based on the measurements here you’re nine weeks and three days along, and your estimated due date is July seventh. Everything looks to be progressing normally.” Dr. Lyons smiled. “So I think you’re safe to share your news.”

Makenna couldn’t pull her gaze away from the screen. Suddenly, the whole situation crashed down on her and she caught her breath as tears pricked her eyes. “This is so incredible. I wish I’d brought him now.”

“There will be plenty more to share with him, including more scans,” the doctor said as she removed the wand. The image