“Love you too, Little Bud,” Gavin said.
Rosa reached forward and ended the call.
I leaned against Gavin. We both stared at the empty video box. “What do you think is going on?” I asked.
“Probably that cousin,” he said. “You know he disappeared last year. That’s why Rosa contacted me in the first place. No telling what he’s into.”
“You think they are safe?” I asked. “She said they were, but who knows?”
He rocked his head back on the cushions to stare at the ceiling. “They seem happy enough.”
“Summer isn’t far. Just a couple months.”
“If she really comes.”
We were so helpless. But at least he knew where Manuelito was. He was back in our lives. That was a start.
Chapter 25: Tina
Waking up next to Darion again was like a small miracle. I had told myself I had not missed him, that the pressure of a relationship was too much. But now I knew. I belonged here.
We had gone to a hotel. I couldn’t handle taking him to the little garage apartment behind my parents’ house. My life had fallen apart there too many times.
I thought he was still asleep as I turned to him, a strip of sunlight coming through a gap in the blackout curtains crossing his cheek. But then I saw him move and realized his eyes were open.
“Hello, sunshine,” he said.
“You talking to the window or to me?” I asked.
He laughed and drew me tight against him. His arms were strong and his chest smooth. I had forgotten how it felt to be surrounded by him, protected.
Sheltered.
We hadn’t talked about anything important yet. He’d gotten in much later than planned, due to plane delays. We’d had a quiet dinner and come to the hotel. He hadn’t assumed anything, but of course, being us, things got physical fast.
I hadn’t told him about the baby.
Luckily, I didn’t feel too nauseated, so there was no telltale puking to clue him in. Although, when I turned down a glass of wine last night, Darion had tilted his head, a question in his eyes. I had only shrugged. So he might have figured it out.
We both knew my shot was way overdue. We’d agreed back before Albert died that I didn’t have to go back on it. We had every intention of having a tiny wedding at the JP’s office, and it could happen anytime.
I’d been coasting for a whole year, letting things happen rather than making them happen.
“Did you get Peanut’s ashes?” he asked. His fingers slid through the tangles in my hair.
“I did. They’re at my mother’s house. I put some in my necklace, though, with Albert’s.”
“Do I get to meet her?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said.
Definitely time for that. Time for a lot of things. A doctor visit, for one. Make sure the baby was okay. Confessing. Maybe I should do that one now.
“So, Darion…” I faltered. I felt crushed by my deceit. I had known I was pregnant for weeks, since Stella said it and I confirmed it with a test. But I’d kept the knowledge of his own child from him.
My stomach flipped and the nausea came on full force. I didn’t throw up often, which is why I’d ended up in Sarah’s sunflowers the other day, but I might right now.
I took a deep breath in, trying to calm myself. My nerves were probably making it worse.
“Tina?” Darion’s voice was edged with concern.
I sat up, holding the sheet to my chest. Leaving the warmth of him made me feel even sicker, and I shuddered. He sat up and drew me back against him. I relaxed as our skin connected once more.
“I haven’t told you something important,” I said. “And it was awful of me…” I stopped again. I’d screwed up big-time. Darion wasn’t the type to get angry, but he’d be so disappointed that I didn’t tell him. That I couldn’t pull myself out of my own self-centered mire of misery to think about how he might feel.
His hand slid along my ribs and down to my belly. “I’m a doctor, remember? I know a pregnant uterus when I feel it. I’m glad you got some time to yourself with this little one. You weren’t alone.”
I lost it then, hot tears falling on his shoulder. I felt everything at once. Relief. Intense admiration. Love. This man was willing to sacrifice anything to let me do what I needed to. I’d put off our wedding. Deserted my job. Obsessed over an artist friend. And then left him without a word.
Yet, he was here, explaining to me how it had been exactly the right thing to do.
“I think I might love you, Dr. Marks,” I said. My face was crushed against his chest.
“That’s a good thing, then,” he said. “Because I don’t think I could have stayed away much longer.”
“I won’t go away again,” I said.
“Sure you will,” he teased, his fingers stroking my neck. “You’ll take off to paint Niagara Falls or an African jungle and leave me with an infant in a baby sling and a freezer full of breast milk.”
I choked out a laugh. “I might, actually. You sure you’re up for this?”
Darion kissed the top of my head. “I have been since the day we met.”