“What’s up, boss?” Luke asked.
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
“I’m fucking starving,” Vic said. “Is the place we’re going to the one with the big cheeseburgers?”
Luke arched his brows and smiled. “Yeah, it’s the one I met that crazy chick at last time we were here.”
“The one who wanted to suck your cock after it was in her ass?” Vic asked.
“That one.”
“Are you meeting her there or something?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t have friends with her. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with women on the prowl tonight. It took energy to refuse them without insulting them.
Luke shrugged. “If she’s there, I’d fuck her again.”
“I don’t know where you get the energy,” I said. “I’m fucking tired. I just wanna eat and get some sleep.”
“Amen,” Vic said. “We’re officially old and boring.”
“You guys are,” Luke agreed. “You made that official the day you got married.”
“Fuck you,” I said. “I only fuck one woman, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have great sex.”
“Yeah, Dawn’s a whore in bed,” Vic said. “I chose well.”
Luke leaned forward to get his wallet out as the cab slowed to a stop. He paid the driver and we all went in, breaking down the game the way we always did afterwards. It was good to have something I could pretend to be focused on. What was really running through my mind were questions about what the hell was going on with Kate, and why she was being evasive about it. I was anxious to get home and confront her about it.
***
My stomach felt like the choppy waves of the lake; up and down with no predictability. I’d been sitting here for … how long? I had no idea, but it didn’t matter anyway.
“Kate?” The boom of Ryke’s deep voice pulled me from my daze. “Kate, are you here?”
His footsteps pounded into our bedroom and his eyes widened when he came through the open doorway and saw me. He slammed a palm against the doorframe and leaned against it.
“Thank fuck! Jesus, Kate, I’ve called you like a dozen times! I thought something happened to you!”
I swallowed, my heart pounding. The tightness in his jaw fell away as he looked at me and walked over.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He dropped to his knees in front of the chair I sat in, resting his palms on my thighs.
“Ryke …” I sighed, gathering my courage. “I’m pregnant.”
My tone was mournful. I might as well have just told him someone we loved had died. Clearly I was missing not only the means to deliver a healthy baby, but also the innate nurturing mothers were supposed to feel for their children.
Ryke’s caramel eyes got huge and his lips parted as he stared at me, as shocked as I was.
“Pregnant? Uh … wow.”
“Yeah.” I shook my head with disgust. “I went in for the appointment about getting my tubes tied and they said it’s standard to check.”
“Shit. Even though you’re on the pill?”
I just stared at him, numb. “I’d just started them before that fuck fest we had in Canada. And then Nashville …”
A smile played on the corners of his lips. “Right. Okay, so … listen, we’ll be okay. Let’s get another test to be sure.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” I said bitterly. “The doctor tested my urine and my blood and said it’s for sure.”
He cocked his head and studied me. “But we talked last night. How long have you known?”
Oh, shit. He was mad. “Only since yesterday morning. Two days … more like one, really,” I said, laying my hands over his on my thighs.
“Two days!” He stood up and glared down at me. “What the fuck? How could you not tell me this? Why didn’t you pick up the phone and say, Ryke, get your ass home?”
“I wasn’t trying not to tell you or anything. I just needed time to think. I needed to process it and think about my options.”
He took a step back, his face twisted in anger. “Your options? What the fuck does that mean? Were you gonna get an abortion and never tell me?”
“Jesus, Ryke, no! I didn’t mean options like that! I meant my options for handling this. For not coming unhinged. I’m a wreck. I’m in shock. This hit me hard because I never, ever thought I’d have to deal with this again.”
“Yeah, I get that, but we’re married. We’re supposed to deal with shit together.” His icy expression sent a cold sensation through my chest. He was pissed – really pissed. He’d never looked at me this way before.