****
"Happy New Years, man." Terrance's voice was a welcomed sound on the other end of the phone as I drove up to St. Marks. A quick visit with Aiden and I was headed back home to enjoy the rest of my day off before starting back to the grind the following day.
"You too." I pulled into the oversized parking lot at the hospital. Snow was piled up everywhere. "How are things there since I left?"
"Good. Weird without Ansley, but good." He cleared his throat.
"Where did she head off to? I never followed up with her."
"She's in Seattle now, which has Nolan stir crazy. He's been a bastard to deal with since she left, and it only got worse a few weeks ago."
"Why is that?" I got out of the car and pulled my jacket closer as the snow picked up. It was fucking freezing out there.
"She's pregnant, or so everyone thinks."
I stopped dead in my tracks. "What? Why would anyone think that? Was she showing?"
"Yeah. Unless she's taken to drinking beer in massive quantities. Otherwise, everyone thinks she has a baby bump."
"And Nolan thinks it's his?"
"Oh yeah." He laughed. "Who else would it belong to? She's a good girl. She's only been with him, or so everyone says. I swear I try to stay out of all of this drama bullshit. I'm not interested in getting involved in anyone’s lives here. Too messy."
"I hear that." I wrapped up the call with him and slipped my phone in my pocket as I walked into the hospital. A few people called out to me, welcoming me. I waved and continued my trek to Aiden's office.
Was Ansley pregnant, and if so... was the baby mine? A warmth I didn't expect swelled in my chest, the emotion of it almost enough to cripple me. I'd been through so much shit with my dad passing that any little thing seemed to bend me over. I had to go see a counselor soon or something. I was losing my grip and my mojo.
I knocked on the door and poked my head into Aiden's office to see him working furiously on something. "Hey, boss. You free?"
"Parks. Come on in, man." He stood up and lifted his hands toward the ceiling. "Good Christmas?"
"It was alright." I closed the door behind me. "I don't have any family left, so it flew by unnoticed if I'm being honest."
His face fell. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry. You should have come over to my place. We would have loved to have had you there."
"Aiden." I walked to the desk and pressed my fists against the top of it, leaning toward him a little. "Is Ansley pregnant?"
All color drained from his face. My heart contracted painfully. She was, and he hadn't said a fucking word to me. I was torn. On the one hand, this was his little sister. If she didn't want him to say anything, it was honestly respectful for him not to, but on the other hand... he was one of my closest friends, my mentor.
"Yes." He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "This isn't my conversation to have. You know that."
"Yeah, and I'm not going to come across this desk and beat your ass because of that one fact. It should have been your sister that said something."
"You assume it's yours?" He lifted his eyebrow.
"I know it's mine. I made love to her twice while I was there. There's no fucking way she went back to Nolan." I left out the part where I offered her the right to use my body for making the baby. He wouldn't understand that. Fuck, I barely understood it.
"Interesting." His expression tightened. "So, you fucked my little sister and left?"
"She forced me to leave, and I'm sure you know that shit too." My skin grew hot, and the need to explode rose sharply inside of me. "Where is she?"
"In Seattle, but she wants to raise this baby by herself."
"No. She doesn't." I turned and took a deep breath as I walked toward the door. "I don’t know what witchcraft bullshit she pulled on me, but I've fallen for her, Aiden." I glanced back at him. "I can't eat. I'm not sleeping. I haven't been with anyone since her. I have to see her. You owe me that much."
He stood stone still with a look of indecision on his face.
I locked gazes with him, unwilling to budge. I'd been his right hand for as long as I could remember. He was the only person outside of Jackson that I'd call family.
"Tell me where she is," I mumbled, my jaw locked tight.
"Alright. I'll text you the address. You have three days of leave to make this right. That's all I got for you." His arms slid down, and I could see the defeat on his face. "I don't know how she feels about you, Jacob. She won't talk to any of us about it."
"That's alright. I'll figure this out one way or the other." I walked out with a sense of purpose. I wanted her in my life, and if that baby was mine, I wanted to help raise it; beside her, or across the US from her.
Either way, resolution was soon to be mine.