“Hello?” My voice cracks and I swallow hard.

“Hi, Katie, it’s Stephanie from Dr. Bray’s office. Is this a good time?”

Well, that depends on what you have to tell me. “Yes. Did you get my results back?” That was fast, I think to myself. I suck in a breath, waiting for her answer, and when I hear the words “Congratulations, you’re pregnant” float through the line, I nearly drop the phone.

“I—I don’t understand,” I stammer. “How did this happen?” I shake my head, realizing how stupid that sounds. “Of course I know how it happened, but I was on birth control … and I know it isn’t always effective but … wow … okay … I’m pregnant.”

“It’s a lot to take in, and yes, these things happen. But Dr. Bray said to call her if you have any questions at all.”

Okay… I nod to myself. I can do this … we can do this. “Wait!” I blurt. “I know this sounds stupid, and I’m a nurse and should probably know, but up until yesterday, I’d been taking the birth control. Will that affect the baby?”

“It’s not a stupid question,” she says before easing my mind. “You and the baby should both be fine, but Dr. Bray wants you to come back into the office for a checkup in two weeks.”

My mind drifts toward Devin, and whatever else she was saying falls to the wayside. What will he think about this? Will he be excited? We just got back together … will he be ready for a baby?

Am I ready for a baby?

“You don’t have a choice.” Maggie snaps the phone shut and I look up. “Don’t worry,” she says, “you went off into la la land, so I took the phone and wrote everything else down.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. Looking down, I stare at my still flat stomach and touch it gently.

There’s a life growing inside there.

A tiny little life that is half Devin and half me.

Tears well up in my eyes. “I’m having a baby,” I say, nearly choking on the words. “I’m going to be a mother.”

Maggie’s arms wrap around me. “You are going to be the best damn mother.”

“You think?” I ask, turning to her with a tremulous smile.

“I know it. Congratulations, mama. Now you just have to tell the daddy … and just so I’m on the right page, the daddy is Devin, right?”

“Yes!” I half shriek and half laugh as I slap her across the arm.

“Okay,” she says, holding her hands up in the air. “I had to check. I mean, I figured, but you never mentioned Devin forgetting to shield the dragon.”

“Shield the dragon? Where in the hell do you come up with this stuff?”

“Never mind,” she says, rolling her eyes. “So, I need to know when you’re telling Devin and when you’re telling your mom, because this is going to be a really hard secret to keep.”

“Maggie,” I warn, giving her my best authoritative eye. Good to start practicing now, right? “You can’t tell anyone, at least not until I give you the okay. Got it?”

“I’ll do my best, but promise that you’ll tell him soon, because … well, you know how I get when I’m excited about something.”

“I’ll tell him soon, I promise. We’re schedule to webcam again in a couple of minutes anyway.”

Maggie’s eyes light up. “I’m totally sticking around for this.”

“What? No, you’re not sticking around.”

“Is there any chance of some sexy times? Because if so, I’m sticking around for this. That boy of yours is fucking delicious, and I’d love to walk in and catch him naked on the screen.”

“Trust me,” I say, laughing, “there won’t be any more on-screen sexy times for a very long time. Now leave,” I say, chuckling as I tug her up from her chair, spin her around and guide her toward the door.

“You’re no fun.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure that Devin’s friend who saw my lady bits disagrees with that.” Spinning her around, I pull her into a hug, kiss her cheek and then open the door and politely shove her out.

“Wait!” Maggie’s arm darts out, stopping the door from closing. “What about Wyatt?”

My brows furrow. “What about Wyatt?”

“This is huge. You’re pregnant, Katie.”

“I’m aware,” I say with a smile. “But what does that have to do with Wyatt?”

Maggie shrugs. “Nothing … but you guys didn’t break up that long ago. And from what you’ve told me, he’s been holding out hope for the two of you getting back together. I’ve never been a fan of his, but I hope you’re planning—”

“I’ll take care of it,” I say, gently cutting her off. “When I went to Pennsylvania, I called and talked to him, explained where I was going and why. I made it very clear that what we had is over. But you’re right, this will be touchy, and I’ll talk to him about it as soon as I’ve had a chance to tell Dev.”

“Okay.” She nods, seemingly pleased with my answer before spinning on her heel. “Love you!” she hollers, walking away.

“Love you!” I yell, shutting the door.

I walk back to my room, grab my laptop and then settle myself against the bed to wait for Devin’s request. About the time I expect it to come through, my phone rings and I see the number that is now so incredibly familiar.

“Hey!” I croon, answering the phone. “I thought we were going to chat online?”

“Hey, baby,” Devin says, his voice low and gravelly. It sounds as though he hasn’t slept a wink since I last talked to him, and I instantly go on high alert. “I couldn’t get the computer, and things have just been so …” He trails off, and I fight the urge to beg him to finish the sentence. Devin tries his best to shield me from a lot of what goes on over there, and as much as I appreciate it, sometimes it makes things worse because my imagination runs wild with its own scenarios.

“Things ‘have just been so’ what?” I keep my voice soft and soothing, hoping that he’ll open up. But he doesn’t.

“Shit, Katie.” The sound through the phone gets scratchy and I imagine he’s running a hand over his face, probably completely overwhelmed. “It’s just been a long-ass day, and I’m ready for this shit to be over.”

“Soon. You’ll be home soon, I promise.” His response is a muffled grunt, so I press on. “Do you want to talk about it … whatever’s going on? Because I’m here, you know, if you need to get some stuff off your chest.”

“I know,” he breathes, “and I appreciate that. But right now, I just want to forget it for a couple of minutes. Is that okay?” I open my mouth to respond, but he doesn’t give me the chance. “How was your day? Anything new?”

Shit.

I want nothing more than to tell him that I’m pregnant, but now just doesn’t seem like the right time. He’s got enough on his mind, enough to worry about, and if I tell him about the baby, it could shift his concentration—and that’s the last thing we need.

“No,” I lie, cringing because I want so badly to tell him the truth. “Nothing new. I did pick up an extra shift next week for Maggie.”

“That’s nice, baby.”

That’s nice? Really, that’s it?

Normally, I’d get an earful about how I should be cutting back and relaxing, since I practically ran myself into the ground. Of course, that’s been months ago now, but still, he usually has more to say than that’s nice.

“Yup, I felt like I needed to pay her back for picking up those shifts so I could come see you in Pittsburgh.”

“She probably appreciates that. What did she need off for?”

Okay, well at least he’s engaging some. I just hate that he sounds so distracted. “I think Sean’s going to take her out of town. If I had to guess, I bet he’s going to propose.”

“Awesome,” Devin says, his voice flat. “So, what are you up to the rest of the day?”

Other than worry about you? “Hmmm … well, I have an appointment with Dr. Perry this evening, so that should be fun,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And then I’m going to have dinner with Mom and Bailey.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a full evening.”

“Okay,” I snap, cringing when my voice comes out harsher than I’d intended. “Enough. Tell me what’s going on, and don’t say ‘nothing’ because I’m not stupid, Dev. You’re distant and distracted, and I hate hearing you like this. Let me help you, babe.”