Chapter Sixteen
Jason
There was no way I was just taking Louise's word on this. It was too important. I'd learned my lesson, but I didn't suddenly turn into an idiot.
As soon as I made sure Rachel was nowhere in the house, I left. There was food in the kitchen, but I didn't feel like I could eat at all. Louise wouldn't eat it, either, because she was almost always on a diet and watching her calorie intake. A nice, wholesome ranch meal was beyond her.
Hopefully, I can convince her to come back soon. We could warm it up for dinner, even.
But first, I needed to see a doctor, to see what could be done about the situation with Louise.
It was the first time I went back to the hospital after I was told Grandpa Nathan had died. My throat choked up a little as I pulled into the parking lot. I took a minute to breathe and settle myself, then stepped out of the car. I’d have to get over it at some point, though I somehow doubted the guilt would be so easily forgotten.
I stopped by the reception and was directed to a doctor’s office. I knocked on the door and waited for confirmation before walking inside. It was the same doctor that had given me the news back then. I’d been pretty out of it, but it was hard to forget his face.
“Doctor,” I said with a nod of acknowledgment.
He stood up, a look of surprise on his face. “Jason. I must say it’s a surprise to see you back here.”
We shook hands, then sat down.
“To be honest, I’m not happy about being back here, but this is something urgent.”
He waved a hand at me. “Please, how can I help you?”
I breathed in deep, then let it out. “Well. I did want to ask you if it would be possible… to find out whether a child a woman is carrying is mine.”
His eyebrows shot up.
“There’s a low possibility that the child is mine, but she insists that she was with no one else.”
“Do you have reason to disbelieve her?”
I didn’t want to badmouth Louise. What we had wasn’t exclusive, and I’d been with a couple of other women after the first few times she and I were together. Until we agreed, and I didn’t need to do that anymore. She could just as easily have done the same anytime.
It took a minute for him to decide he didn’t need an answer. He steepled his fingers beneath his chin.
“Now, you want to find out about the child’s paternity, right? For that… you’ll have to wait nine months. The child will be born, and a test can be carried out then, but not before. Do try, though, not to distress the mother too much over this. It’s the best advice I can give you.”
I sighed, slumping back into the chair for the moment, feeling defeated. It was the last thing I wanted to hear. So, what? Was Louise going to live with me on the ranch until the kid popped out so we could find out whether the child was mine or not? And after that… Would I just toss her out on her ass? Fuck, it wasn’t like I didn’t know her; she wouldn’t want to stay. She’d spend the entire time telling me to go back with her or being a nuisance and getting in my way with Rachel.
I had nothing against Louise, but neither were options I could allow. Somehow, I’d have to convince her to go back to the city. It wouldn’t be hard, but I didn’t know how long she’d insist on staying.
“Thank you, doctor,” I said, standing up and holding my hand out. “It wasn’t quite the answer I wanted, but I understand.”
He got up and shook my hand. “I’m glad to be of service.”
I walked out of his office, with one destination in mind. Rachel still had her place open, and though I’d wanted her to forget about it and move in with me instead, if she’d already gotten rid of it, I wouldn’t have known where to find her.
Minutes later, I was at her door, waiting anxiously after knocking for her to open up. When there was no immediate response, I knocked on the door again.
“Rachel,” I called out. “It’s me, Jason. Can you please open the door?”
I held my breath as I listened and waited. I’d give her some time to make it to the door, or give me some answer this time. I was just about to knock again when I heard something on the other side of the door. I breathed a sigh of relief and stood back. She opened the door slowly, and I made no move to go near in case I spooked her.
“Rachel?” I called softly.
She sniffled, then looked up at me. Her hair was disarrayed like she’d run her hands through it a few times. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were pink, and her eyes were red and puffy.
She’d been crying.
“Oh, Rachel,” I murmured.
I moved closer, going slowly so she could have time to reject me if that was what she wanted. She didn’t, though, her expression crumpling as I tugged her into my arms. She buried her face in my shoulder, and I rocked her gently as she sniffled a few more times. She held onto me just as tightly for a minute, before her hands moved from my back to my chest, pushing until I let go of her.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just a little overwhelmed.”
“Because of Louise,” I said, flattening my lips.
She nodded her head tentatively, glancing up at me as she bit down on her lower lip.
“Jason, she said she was your girlfriend.”
Ah. That must have been what got her to run. Louise hadn't mentioned being pregnant. I was partly relieved, and partly dreading having to tell her the news myself.
“That’s not exactly what she was to me,” I told her. I held her by the tops of her arms and made sure her eyes met mine so that she could see the sincerity in them. “Rachel, I swear to you. Yes, I was with Louise, but she was never my girlfriend. We met maybe a few times a week, or a month, and that was it. I haven’t seen her in more than two months.”
Rachel tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, then folded her arms across her chest.
“So why did she come here claiming to be your girlfriend?”
“This…is going to be the complicated part,” I said hesitantly. She arched her eyebrows at me, expectant. “Rachel, she told me she’s pregnant, and the toddler is probably mine.”
She blinked, then took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Oh.”
My eyebrows shot up, and I squeezed her arms a little. “Just oh? Nothing else to say?”
She shrugged. “You can't exactly help what happened, can you? And…technically, we weren’t together when you were with her, so…”
I frowned. “Why do you still look worried, though?”
Rachel gave me a shaky smile. “I just really want to know…Jason. What exactly do you want?”
I had a feeling she was asking me who I wanted, and she should have known already that it was never in question.
“I want you,” I told her honestly. “I don’t love her, I never have. She was just a booty call; I had no idea she would even come all the way out here. I’ll talk to her so she and I can settle things out, but you and me? That’s what I’ve always wanted, even when I lied to myself thinking I could forget you.”
I watched Rachel beam at my admission and felt something I hadn't felt tightening go warm and lose in my chest as she pulled me into her home.