Wide Open Spaces (Shooting Stars #2) - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,70

shower and get to the store before picking up the kids from school. I learned a week ago not to take them with me when I go shopping. They all tend to load the cart with junk food then complain a day later that there is no food in the house.

Stumbling to the shower, I get in, leaving my hair up so I don’t have to go through the process of drying it, then wash up quickly, wishing Zach was home to shower with me. Getting out, I dry off then get dressed in a pair of jeans, my college hoodie, and sneakers. I have a few errands to run besides grocery shopping, and since fall is in the air, there is nothing better than being able to dress comfortably.

Grabbing my keys from the counter and my purse, I make sure Penny’s good then go out and head for my van. I get in, only to get right back out and head back up to the house to lock the door. Zach found the door unlocked a week ago, and that night, he punished me. Well, punish isn’t the right word for what he did, but being close to coming only to have him pull away time after time was an amazing and annoying way to get his point across, and since then, I haven’t left the door unlocked, so in the end, his plan worked.

Getting back in the van, I start it up and head first for the bank to make a few deposits, and then run the rest of my errands before heading for the store. Once I’m there, I grab a cart on the way in and start making my way down each aisle, picking up stuff along the way. Looking at the feminine products, I freeze in place. Doing the math in my head, I feel my pulse speed up. I had birth control placed in my arm a little over two years ago. My periods have always been a little wonky since then, but I’ve never been as late as I am right now.

“No…” I breathe.

“Don’t tell me you’re pregnant,” I hear from behind me, and I spin around, coming face-to-face with Tina, and feel the color drain from my face. “Didn’t take you long to figure out how to trap him, did it?” she asks, making me flinch, and nausea turns my stomach. Without saying a word to her, I pull my purse from the basket, leave the groceries in the cart behind, and then move down the aisle as fast as I can.

There is only one way to find out for sure if I’m pregnant, and in order to do that, I will need to take a test, but there is no way I’m buying one right now. Heading out of the store, I move straight for my car, get in, start it up, and head for home. I know the kids will be home soon from school, and I won’t have a second to myself once they arrive. Pulling up in front of the house, I put my van in park, pick up my cell phone from the cup holder, and put it to my ear.

“Hey, ShellaBella,” Joe answers, and I lean my forehead against the steering wheel. I don’t know when she started calling me that, but I’ve loved it since the first time she said it, because it’s what my mom used to singsong to me every time I walked into the house after school. “You there, sweetie?”

“I’m here,” I choke out, then hear rustling coming from her side of the phone.

“Are you okay?”

“Nope, I don’t think I’m okay. I think I’m pregnant,” I blurt, wondering if I should have taken a moment to get myself together before calling her.

“What?” she whispers, then more rustling comes from her side.

“I think I’m pregnant.”

“Oh my.”

“I know,” I agree, nodding, not that she can see it.

“What do you need me to do?” she asks, and I let my eyes slide closed. She said she would be here for me, and she has been every single time I’ve called her. I should probably find a way to pay her back for being so awesome. “Never mind. I’ll stop at the store, grab a test, and be on my way in five. Keep it together, sweetie. It’s going to be just fine. You’ll see.”

“Thank you, Joe.”

“Anything, sweetie, you know that.” She hangs up, and I pick up my purse from the seat next to me