Chapter Twenty
Jessica
“Well,” the doctor said, “I’m happy to see a fuller house this time.”
Jessica nodded to the chairs by the examining table. Cara was sitting on Brent’s lap and already squinting at the ultrasound screen even though the procedure hadn’t started. “I had a long, hard talk, and things are going really well, doc. I mean, not perfect.” She had to stop as she choked up a little, thinking of her father’s anger. “Still, this is my fiancé, Brent Sanderson, and his daughter, Cara.”
The doctor smiled broadly. “Are you excited to be a big sister, Cara?”
“I cannot wait to know what is cooking in there,” she replied. “Can you get the gel on her now?”
“I live to serve,” the doctor replied. She spared a minute to shake Brent’s hand. “Mr. Sanderson, a pleasure to meet you. You’ve donated quite a bit to our organization and some of the antibiotics we rely on today were funded by your foundation. The honor really is all mine.”
“You make sure my twins are in good hands, doc, and we’ll call it even,” Brent said.
The doctor nodded and walked over to Jessica. She hissed as the cool gel touched her stomach. It wasn’t painful in the least, just a little awkward and exceedingly chilly. The doctor was just about to touch the sonogram wand to her body when a knock sounded on the door.
Jessica frowned and looked at Brent. “Hmm, that must be Ashley. I know she had an audition scheduled, but she must have gotten done sooner than she thought. Hey! Come in!”
When the door opened, it wasn’t Ashley standing there. Instead, it was her dad with two teddy bears – one canary yellow and one mint green – clutched to his chest. “I heard there was a pretty big exam going on today. Are old fools still invited?”
Cara hopped up instantly and took both bears. Then, she pointed to the seat next to Brent. “Good, Allen. I’m glad you could join us.”
Brent exchanged a look with her before he spoke with Cara: “Wait, how did Allen even get here? Why? And you don’t seem surprised at all. Explain, Cara.”
She shrugged. “I might have also taken an Uber from my friend’s for a few hours to Allen to explain how important everything is. Don’t worry; he drove me back to the sleepover. And now! Look who’s here.”
Jessica shook her head. Even if her heart was bursting, she couldn’t also clamp down that hint of fear. Cara was a smart girl, far smarter than most kids her age. However, all sorts of things could happen, and Uber wasn’t always as safe as it could be. “You can’t just get a ride to my dad’s house.”
Brent nodded. “Cara, do you have any idea how crazy and dangerous what you did could have been?”
She nodded. “I read the ‘Let’s Not Read’ thread on Reddit. Trust me, I got it. Jessica was so sad. She’d helped me all summer while I was. The last thing I wanted was for her dad not to be here or for the babies not to have their grandpa around.”
Brent eyed Allen. “You didn’t have the decency to call me when my daughter showed up at your home in the middle of the night?”
“Actually, I did try and call, but it went straight to voicemail, so I stopped. She talked things over with me, mentioned her grandfather might have the ability to make me disappear forever and begged me to come. How could I resist such a cute little bit of guilt tripping and, uh, possible blackmail?” Allen said, his tone droll.
Jessica frowned. “You didn’t really say that.”
“I did mention Grandpa Donald could be super persuasive,” Cara admitted. “But, really, I wouldn’t actually have him do anything.” She beamed. “Not that Allen knew that.”
“Well, I was just impressed that Cara seemed so invested in all of this. She made me realize what an ass I was being, and if she can be ready for her family to grow then…” Allen strode forward and stroked Jessica’s arm. “I can be as well.”
“That’s amazing!” Jessica said, then she shot Cara a look. “I’m really glad, but we will be talking about Uber rules later.”
“Oh, you bet we will,” Brent said. Then he turned to Allen. “I’m sorry about everything. There was never any plan or any goal to hurt you or to hurt Jessica.”
Allen nodded. “It’ll take time, but I’m not giving up on her, this family or the company. It’ll just be longer before I trust you again.”
Brent nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. “I can live with that.”
“Now, we don’t have too long for this appointment,” the doctor reminded them, her tone gentle. “Can we get to the big reveal?”
Jessica said, “Yes,” and found three other voices echoing with hers. Soon, the wand was back over her belly, and she watched, squinting along with Cara at the screen. The two squiggles appeared on screen, but she could barely make out spines and fingers. She was hopeless at figuring out the sex. Breathlessly, she waited for the doctor to tell her.
“Well, it looks like you only have to do this once,” the doc replied. “You have one girl and one boy. Congratulations, Miss Billings and Mr. Sanderson, and also, good luck on your engagement.”
Brent squeezed Jessica’s hand. “I love you. You know that, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Always.”
Allen took Cara by the hand and walked with the doctor toward the door. “I think you two might need a minute.”
“I can stay,” Cara said.
“No,” Brent replied, tone soft. “If we can just have a moment, then we can get some extra copies of pictures and make our next appointment. For right now, I just… It’s amazing.”
Her father grinned. “It is. The best feeling on earth.”
When they were alone again, Brent turned to Jessica and kissed her lips. He tasted of mint and the apple juice he’d drunk this morning over breakfast. “I have never been happier in my life. You have to know that – except the day Cara was born. This is… I never dared to hope for it again.”
She kissed him again and made sure to nibble his lower lip a little, too. “Somehow, I never believed love could be so good. I was more alone than I realized, always studying, feeling like the world was passing me by. I just… Thank you.”
Brent brushed some of her hair back from her face. “No, Jessica, thank you.”