Sean laughed and stuffed another french fry in his mouth. “You do have a nice ass, big boy.”
Ron grinned. “I do, don’t I? So there are three things to offer. Maybe I should reconsider moving in, then.”
Sean knew how Ron felt. Abigail moving in was an adjustment. She wanted to buy everything, the groceries, the cable, and Penelope’s treats. He drew the line there. That damn mutt had become his fight partner on Saturday nights when they’d watch the Pay-Per-View matches. He was the one to buy her treats. Abigail finally gave in and stopped leaving money on the kitchen counter. After receiving his first paycheck as the financial advisor for Fantasy Emporium, he coughed, laughed, and almost passed out. The amount was more money than he’d ever dreamed of. He even went to the bank and opened a new account, invested in a few stocks, and started a savings plan.
“How’s school going?” Ron asked.
“Good. I started an online class. I’m able to do a lot from home, thank God. I need to be home at night with Abby, and this schedule works out great. She’s decided to take Penelope to this woman who has a male Corgi. I guess the mutt’s going on a date. If she gets knocked up, we’re definitely going to have to look for a bigger place.”
Ron shook his head and laughed. “You two are going to be grandparents. Priceless!”
“Yeah, priceless.” Sean frowned. Now, he’d have to worry about his mutt carrying pups and surviving the birth process. He had enough to worry about with Abigail staying safe.
“Hey, man. Don’t look so scared. Everything will be all right. Can Eric and I have a puppy? We were looking into getting a dog anyway. A puppy would be great.”
“Sure. We better get going. I’ll grab the tab.” Sean took the tickets and started toward the cash register.
* * * *
Abigail twisted on the couch, curling her legs up so Penelope could stretch out on the end. She held the round pill container in her hand. Yeah, she’d messed up big-time. With all the stress, she’d missed two days last month. “What are we going to do, girl? He’s finally starting to calm down and now this. How am I going to tell him?” The dog just blinked at her. “You’re no help.”
Matter of fact, nothing was going to help her now. On the way home, she’d bought a pregnancy test that now sat, blue lines and all, on the bathroom sink. Sean was taking classes and had a new job. Between constantly worrying about her and trying to juggle everything and still work with the kids at the center, it was too much. Maybe she’d wait another month to tell him. Besides, there wasn’t a guarantee she’d be able to carry the baby. The doctors had said her uterus had been injured in the attack, not to mention the cesarean section the doctor had to perform. Too much scar tissue and trauma.
Abigail curled up tighter around her stomach and rubbed her belly. She couldn’t be more than four weeks or so. It had only been a couple of days since noticing she’d missed her period, and what she’d thought was the flu turned out to be morning sickness. There was no way she could deny it.
She huffed and rolled onto her back. “We’re going to mess up all his plans. Maybe we should just go.” After closing her eyes, she recalled their conversation about if this should happen. She’d promised they’d handle the situation together. “I can’t do that to him. He deserves to know his child. God, what are we going to do?”
“Lady Marmalade” rang on her cell phone. She rolled over and grabbed the phone, almost knocking over Sean’s new Lego model. He’d been working on the thing for over a week. He’d kill her if she broke it into a bazillion pieces. “Hello?”
“Ms. Swanson?”
“Yes?”
“I’m Officer Gibson from the Savannah Police Department. I have some news for you regarding your case.”
Abigail sat up, staving off the new wave of nausea to hit her stomach. “Yes?”
“Justin Parker’s vehicle has been spotted just outside Waynesboro. He appeared to be heading north. By the time the clerk got a hold of the local law enforcement, the car was gone. We wanted to let you know about the most recent update. Are you still staying at 234 Magnolia Street?”
Abigail’s throat felt so constricted she couldn’t speak. She nodded. Realizing the officer couldn’t see her, she cleared her throat. “Um, yes. I’m still staying here.” She hugged her arm over her belly.
“We’ll keep in touch. If you see Mr. Parker, don’t approach him. Call us. But at this point, it appears he’s headed home. Last known address we have for him is in New York City.”