It was late January and Josh had officially moved all of his stuff into the cottage. Although we’d never spent a night apart since we got together, it was nice to know things were official and he would be there when I fell asleep and there when I woke up.
The situation with Josh’s parents was still awkward, even more so now that we were living together. Wanting to clear the air, we had invited them over for a meal, asking them to see the furniture Josh had made for the nursery. I was apprehensive about them coming to the cottage and wasn’t sure they would accept the invitation, but to my surprise, they did.
Conversation was difficult, and at one point we were discussing the weather and Josh’s night out with Mason and Brody the following evening in an attempt to avoid awkward silences. It was clear Grace didn’t want to be there and had probably been forced to come by Robert. Every time Josh touched me, I saw her roll her eyes or scowl, always managing to change her expression when Josh looked over.
She seemed less than impressed with the cottage, and commented on more than one occasion about how small it was, how cramped it would be when the baby arrived. Josh assured her that the cottage was plenty big enough for now, telling her that eventually we would move to a bigger place, which I had to admit was news to me. I didn’t question him on it, as I was sure he just wanted acceptance of our relationship from her and would have said anything to get it.
Josh’s dad was the complete opposite of Grace, complimenting me on how I looked—even though I looked enormous—and talking to Josh about the possibilities of adding on to the cottage if we wanted to stay rather than move, saying how he could help if we needed him to. After an awkward couple of hours, they left and my heart hurt for Josh as I knew it wasn’t the outcome he had hoped for.
The following night, Josh went into Marble Falls with Brody and Mason while Libby, my mom, and I had a girls night with takeout at the ranch house. My back had been bothering me all day and I was currently walking around the small front garden as I waited for Josh to get home from work. It was fairly chilly and I was wearing one of Josh’s hooded sweaters, loving how big it was on me even though I now had a huge bump. Looking up at the sky, I noticed how dark it looked and wondered if a storm was approaching.
Just then I heard a car pulling up outside, and while I couldn’t see from there who it was, I was guessing it was Josh. Still pacing up and down, I heard a voice call my name. Turning, I saw him jogging toward me. Despite the fact that I was heavily pregnant, I couldn’t get enough of him and my mouth watered at the sight of his tanned arms bulging out of his tight t-shirt, his messy hair, the dark stubble on his face.
“Hey gorgeous,” I called out, and he grinned at me.
“What are you doing out here? Are you okay?” he said as he reached me and brushed his lips against mine.
“I’m fine, just a bit of back ache.” I shrugged. “Walking is easing it.” I watched as his face paled.
“You’re not in labor, are you?” he asked in a panic. “It can start with back ache, the book said so,” he told me, looking me over for signs that I wasn’t going to start pushing at any moment. He had bought a book about pregnancy and childbirth and had read it from cover to cover. Every twinge I had would send him reaching for the book, looking for an answer as to what the twinge meant, and this was the third time that week he’d asked if I was in labor.
“I’m pretty sure I’m not in labor Josh. I’m not having contractions,” I told him with a giggle, secretly loving that he cared enough to have read a pregnancy and labor book from start to finish. I was the one who was actually having the baby and even I hadn’t read it all.
“I think I better stay home tonight, just in case,” he announced, his face full of concern.
“Well you can stay here, but I’m going out,” I told him, pacing the small garden again.
“You’re only going to your parents, and I’ll come with you.”
I stopped pacing and stared at him, my hands going to my hips. “Josh, you are not coming with me. It’s a girls night, probably the last one I’ll get before the baby arrives. You’re going out with Mason and Brody and that’s final.”
“God you’re sexy when you’re assertive,” he groaned, pulling me into his arms and kissing me. I whimpered as he kissed over my jaw, gently nipping at my neck before soothing my skin with his tongue.
Pulling out of his embrace and stepping back before I got lost in my lust, I pointed at him. “I know what you’re doing, Josh Miller,” I told him, still breathless from his kisses.
“And what’s that?” he asked with a smirk, taking a step toward me.
Taking another step back, I shook my head. “You’re going to get me all worked up with that mouth of yours—so worked up that I’ll agree to anything, even you coming on my girls night!” I exclaimed.
“Now why would you think I’d do that Savannah?” he asked innocently.
“Because you did it last week when I wanted to drive to Austin to meet Libby for lunch!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air. “You used that magic tongue to work me into a frenzy, refusing to let me come until I’d agreed not to go!”
“Magic tongue huh?” That stupid smirk returned to his gorgeous face, and feeling my face flush, I rolled my eyes.
“Whatever!” I told him. “You know I love your mouth on me, but I’m not falling for it this time. You are going out, and I am not in labor.” He laughed as I stalked past him into the cottage, heading straight upstairs to get ready.
30 minutes later, we were ready to go. Josh was meeting Mason and Brody at the house and as he locked the cottage door, I noticed that the sky had grown even darker. By the time we made it to the house, the rain was bouncing off the ground, and we just managed to get inside before we got drenched. Mason and Brody were waiting for Josh in the hallway.
“I’m not going out in this. We’re going to get soaked,” Brody announced as we shut the door behind us.
“It’s just rain Brody,” Mason said. “Or do you melt in the rain?” He laughed, elbowing him in the ribs.
“Ha ha. No, I don’t melt,” he replied, shoving Mason. “There is plenty of beer here, and I’m sure we can find some game to watch in the den. I just don’t see the point in going out if we can drink here. We’ll just make sure we stay away from the sitting room—they’re planning on putting that sadistic Mr. Grey on.”
“Fine by me. I’m happy to stay here and hang in the den,” Josh said, grinning down at me.
I rolled my eyes at him. “How convenient!” I exclaimed, walking off toward the sitting room, hearing Josh chuckle behind me.
“And I didn’t even have to use the magic tongue!” he called out after me. I shook my head and kept on walking, a small smile pulling on my lips.
“Dude, that sounds like something I do not want to know about!” Brody shouted, and I heard both Mason and Josh laugh.
The girls night was perfect. We all had freshly painted nails, toes and fingers, and although we didn’t watch Mr. Grey, the threat of watching it kept the guys tucked away in the den, which was what we preferred. Even my dad had been banished from the sitting room.
The rain stopped after about an hour and we thought the storm had passed, only for thunder and lightning to start up. Worried about the horses, I decided to head over to the stables to check that they were all okay. I knew Marley in particular wasn’t keen on the thunder. Both my mom and Libby offered to come with me, but I insisted that I would be fine. I grabbed an umbrella from the basket in the hall in case the rain started again and made my way down the porch steps and over to the stables.
The ranch was well lit and as I glanced down the path that led to the cottage, I saw a woman standing in the small front garden. Frowning, I narrowed my eyes to try to see who it was, but she was too far away. Looking toward where the cars were parked, I noticed a car that I recognized as Grace’s. Apprehension built in my stomach as I wondered what she wanted. I debated going to find Josh but decided against it, making my way toward the cottage.
“Grace,” I called out, watching as she turned to look at me. “Is everything okay?” I couldn’t move very quickly and she waited until I reached her before speaking. As she opened her mouth to speak, a huge clap of thunder sounded and we both jumped. “Let’s go inside,” I said, reaching under the flower pot for the spare key.
Opening the door, I flicked the light switch only to realize the electricity was out. “Shit! The storm must have knocked the power out. I’ve got some candles in the kitchen, wait here,” I told her, maneuvering through the sitting room, trying not to bump into anything. Finding the candles under the sink, I quickly lit a couple and carried them back into the sitting room. “Is everything okay?” I asked again, motioning for her to sit down. Ignoring my offer to sit, she began pacing the small room.
“No Savannah, everything is not okay. I think you know by now that I’m not happy about you and Josh.”
I nodded and put the candles in the holders on the mantle. “Yes Grace, I think you’ve made that perfectly clear,” I replied, trying not to sound rude.
“I think you should break things off with him,” she said as she stopped pacing and looked me directly in the eyes. At that moment, there was another huge clap of thunder followed immediately by a flash of lightning.
“And why would I do that?” I asked, anger bubbling inside me.
“Anyone can see that you’re taking advantage of him! I’m the only one who’s willing to stand up and say it.”
I stared at her in shock. “How am I taking advantage of him? The last time I checked, he was a grown man who could make his own decisions. I’m not forcing him to be with me.”
She pointed at my stomach. “That!” she spat. “That’s how you’re taking advantage of
him. You don’t love him, you just want a father for your baby. He can’t have children, and suddenly here you are, pregnant by God knows who, and in swoops my son to save the day.”
“That’s not true, I’ve loved him since—”
“Since you were 15,” she screamed, interrupting me. “I know Savannah, I’ve heard it all before. Funny how you say you’re in love with him but you managed to go out and sleep with a bunch of men and not know which one of them got you pregnant—that doesn’t sound like the actions of someone in love to me.”
“He loves me,” I told her weakly, not able to argue when she’d pointed out the truth; I had gone out and slept with a bunch of men.
“He loves the idea of you Savannah,” she said, her voice softening. “He doesn’t love you. Let him go—he’ll only end up resenting you in a few years when he’s trapped in a loveless marriage.” Before I could respond, I heard screaming and commotion outside. Moving toward the door, I swung it open and gasped. “I’m not finished yet Savannah!” Grace yelled, grabbing my arm.
“The stables are on fire!” I screamed at her, yanking my arm free from her hold and running as fast as I could up the path. I saw my mom and Libby standing outside and I heard my mom scream my name. Libby’s arms were around her, holding her back from the flames. “They think I’m in there,” I mumbled to myself as I tried to run faster. “Mom!” I cried. “Mom!” I watched as she heard me calling her and turned in my direction.
“Savannah, thank God,” she cried, pulling out of Libby’s arms and rushing toward me. Throwing her arms around me, she held me tightly. “We thought you were inside,” she said on a sob.
“I’m fine, I was at the cottage with Grace,” I assured her. “I’m fine,” I repeated, pulling away from her and looking into her scared eyes.
“Oh God, Josh and Brody,” she yelled, turning back toward the stables, which were now engulfed in flames.
“Where are they Mom?” I cried, already knowing what she was going to say.
She shook her head, her eyes not meeting mine. “They’re…they’re inside, looking for you,” she whispered before turning to look back at the stables.
“No!” I cried, running blindly toward the burning building. This couldn’t be happening. Josh and Brody couldn’t be inside there—no one could survive that. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind, stopping me from getting any closer.
“Savannah, no!” Mason shouted, holding me back.
“Let me go Mason, I need to get to Josh!” I shouted, fighting against him.
“The fire department is on the way Sav, they’ll get him,” Mason said gently, trying to reassure me.
“It’ll be too late! Mason, let me go please,” I begged. He continued to hold me tightly and I eventually stopped struggling, too exhausted to continue fighting against him. “Please let me go,” I mumbled, tears streaming down my face.
I could hear sirens in the distance and I prayed they arrived in time. Suddenly a figure emerged from the front of the stables, and it looked like they were carrying someone. Mason passed me to Libby. “Don’t let her go,” he ordered as he ran toward them.
“Josh!” I cried, breaking free from Libby’s hold and rushing forward. As I got closer, I realized it was Brody, and he was carrying what looked like a girl in his arms.
“Brody where’s Josh?” I heard Mason ask him. Dazed, Brody gestured with his head to the stables.
“He’s inside…on the floor. I couldn’t move him, part of the roof collapsed,” Brody choked out, coughing and wheezing from the smoke.
“No!” I cried, dropping to the ground. My head felt like it was going to explode and I thought I was going to throw up. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t lose Josh—we’d only just found each other, hadn’t had enough time together. I felt Libby reach for me, pulling me backward, away from the stables. I stumbled into her and her arms went around me.
“I’ve got you,” I heard her say. “It’s going to be okay.” Her voice sounded far away, the noise from the fire fading as my ears began to ring. Black dots began to swim in front of my eyes and the last thing I heard before I passed out was Libby screaming Mason’s name.