road and he landed sideways in the ditch.”
God. How many times would she tempt fate. I ran my hands through her hair. It was still silky smooth, even after all of that. “Am I ever going to get used to the reckless risks you take?”
Unexpectedly, Ava began to sob. She cried so hard she couldn't get any words out. I had never seen her like this. Even when she had been upset in the past, she was always articulate, and she was always able to express herself. “Ava, you have to tell me what's wrong.”
Finally she dried her eyes. “I'm sorry,” she said. “I'm usually not like this.”
I wiped under her eyes with my thumbs. “I realize that. And you need to realize there are extenuating circumstances.”
“There are, but they're a lot more than you know. There are so many things I haven't told you. Important things, and when you said the words, ‘reckless risks’ it really hit home for me.”
I led her over to a log that had fallen on its side and helped her sit down. Jenny was still waiting in my car, but she was going to have to keep waiting. I was worried that Ava might have hit her head in the car wreck and not realized it. “Okay, now tell me what you're talking about, because I have no clue.”
“I'm pregnant.”
Of all the things I had expected her to say that was not one of them. It took me about thirty seconds for the words to even sink in. “You're pregnant? And I'm the father?”
She nodded. “It's definitely your baby.”
Wow. I was going to be a father. It wasn’t something I’d seriously considered. I’d thought I was too damaged to ever plan to be someone’s father. But now it was happening, whether I was ready for it or not.
“Say something, please,” she said.
I hadn’t meant to leave her hanging. “When did you find out? How far along are you?”
“I've known for about two weeks. I should be due in June. I know I should have told you. I know it was wrong for me to hide it from you when you're the baby's father. I also shouldn't have gone off on my own to take your sister home, that was stupid.” She wiped her eyes. “I actually have my first doctor’s appointment on Monday, so I was going to tell you.”
I’d have to process all that. But first things first. “Why did you do that? I don't understand why you deliberately ignored my wishes to take Abigail home.”
She took my hand in hers. “That's another part of the reckless risks that I was talking about. Full confession, I'm going to tell you everything, but I understand if it's too much for you to forgive.”
I seriously doubted that was possible. I was in love with her, and now she was going to make me a father. We’d just have to figure out how to get past our hiccups.
“A few weeks ago we were in the grocery store together shopping for the practice Thanksgiving meals that I made,” she said. “I thought I saw a woman out of the corner of my eye in the grocery store. I convinced myself that I was wrong later, but the truth was that it was really her. Carl brought her down here, and they were scoping us out. They went back to Chicago, and they were waiting to make a move. She’s been texting me nonstop and calling. Her name is Jenny and I met her on the streets in Chicago. She was one of my main contacts about the gambling ring.”
I held up my hand. “This wouldn't happen to be the same Jenny that I have in my car down the street right now, right?”
“Oh God. She found you?”
“Yes, believe it or not, she was worried about you. She felt horrible that she led your dad's partners here to Pine Hills.”
Ava leaned her head over to rest on my shoulder. “I don't blame her. I know what kind of power and sway they have over people, especially when you are powerless. They used her just like I did.”
“Well she's fine, more or less. Although she probably needs a good rehab.”
“I'd like to find her one,” Ava said.
“We can make that happen.”
“I'll tell you the rest of it now. That day I thought I saw her in the grocery store but I didn't tell you -- that was the same day that I suspected I was pregnant, so I had