Chapter Thirty-One
Sawyer
In the ultrasound room, the tech applied the jelly stuff to my stomach. She commented, “Wow, this baby is ready to make him or herself known.”
“It was like magic. Overnight, my stomach popped out.” But I loved it. It made it more real. It was hard to not constantly have my hand there when we were out in public.
The technician positioned herself on her chair and adjusted her monitor. “Let’s take some measurements, and then if you want, we’ll check to see if we can tell the gender—if you want to know.”
I had to know. Patting my stomach, I said, “Baby Hendrix, you better cooperate and reveal those parts.”
This morning, I’d drunk a whole glass of orange juice because I’d read the sugar helped the baby be more active during the ultrasound.
Kurt held my hand while he watched the screen come to life. The technician moved the goo around my abdomen with the wand. “This is your baby.”
So much had changed. “It’s our baby.” Kurt’s awed tone brought me up a little short.
The technician gave us a few minutes while she quietly took the baby’s measurements. The nerves came back. I asked, “I-Is our baby okay?”
“All the measurements look great. Baby looks healthy and is about the size of a plum. And I agree with the last doctor’s estimate; your due date is August twenty-first.”
The baby was fine. I was so relieved because if I had caused anything to go wrong, I would never forgive myself.
Kurt stared at the screen, silent.
“That’s our baby, Kurt.”
I cherished the look of awe and pure love on Kurt’s face. “It is. We made this.”
“We did.”
Another few minutes passed while the technician showed us the baby’s arms, legs, and head. It was unreal. Inside me, a tiny human squirmed around.
“Would you like to know the gender?” she asked.
“Yes!” We exclaimed in unison before laughing. Part of me had been afraid Kurt would freak out the way I had. Seeing the baby on the screen made it real. But I felt nothing but support and excitement from the man who made me feel alive.
The tech moved the wand around a few times, picking up the baby from different angles. “Oh, it’s definitely a boy. Congrats, Ms. Wade, Mr. Hendrix.”
“A boy? You’re sure?” I’d read that sometimes they got it wrong.
The mouse moved to a point on the baby. “See? That’s definitely his penis.”
My eyes grew wide when the technician said the word. I mean, I said cock, dick, and penis, too. But this young lady saying that about a baby out of nowhere had me laughing. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“We’re having a boy.” Kurt’s eyes grew wide, and he mouthed super sperm to me. I only giggled as we watched our baby boy.
When the tech was done, she handed me a towel. “I’ll give you a few minutes and be outside the door.”
As soon as the goo was gone, Kurt picked me up and spun me around. “We’re having a boy!”
“Yes, we are!”
“A boy!” Kurt repeated.
“George is getting a brother.” A boy. A boy. A boy. I kept repeating it in my head. It made everything so much more real.
Kurt kissed me hard. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Never.”
* * *
We left the doctor’s office through the employee exit and got into the car. Before we arrived, the staff had signed NDAs to protect our privacy. Today, Kurt drove us, and security followed. The crazy stalker person seemed to have vanished, thank goodness. Every time I got the mail, I cringed, thinking I might receive something else. I shuddered as I remembered the words. I didn’t want to deal with that stress on top of everything else.
My phone vibrated. I smiled at the message.
Edge: Okay, what’s my next move? Zip-lining was fucking brilliant.
Me: Take Nina to a simple burger joint. Go see a movie. Keep it simple so you can talk.
Edge: I can do that.
Me: And no sex.
Edge: Are you fucking serious?
Me: Yes.
Edge: ifehefiohiraiogne. That’s me cursing you out in a foreign language so Kurt won’t beat my ass.
Me: You know you think I’m amazing. Have fun!
Edge: Serious pain in my ass.
“Why are you grinning?” Kurt asked, glancing my way.
“Oh, Edge. He’s upset that he can’t have sex yet.”
An unknown number flashed across my screen, interrupting our conversation.
“Who’s that?” Kurt asked.
I showed it to Kurt. Did the stalker find my number? A creepy feeling trickled down my spine. “I don’t know. It says Unknown.”
“Can I answer it?” He reached his hand across the console.
Better him than me. I would have sent it to voicemail. I handed him the phone. “Yeah.”
“Hello?” Kurt’s knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as he listened to the speaker on the other end of the call. “No, you can’t talk to her. Why? Because of what I saw outside your house in Denver. No. No, I’m not, but she’s the most important person in my life. Listen, if you think I would control your daughter like that, then you don’t know Sawyer very well at all. Good. You do that. He supports Sawyer. Right now, Sawyer is done with your bullshit mindfucks. That might have worked before, but not anymore. Mattie’s and Adriane’s deaths were not her fault.” He pulled the phone away from his face for a quick second before bringing it back. “Hello?”
My heart hammered in my chest at the mention of their names. No one else was supposed to know about their deaths. He handed me back my phone. “They hung up.”
No one had stood up to my parents like that—ever. I was speechless.
Seeing my distress, Kurt pulled over. “Sawyer, if I overstepped my bounds, I’m sorry. I thought you were okay.”
“I am.” I cleared my throat. “No one has ever done that for me. I mean, Cameron has tried, but it’s not the same.”
Putting his hand to my cheek, Kurt leaned his forehead against mine. “Baby, I would do anything for you. Anything.”
Those three little words came bubbling up. I wanted to say them, I really did, but we weren’t ready. And the last thing I needed was to push Kurt too far too soon.