Chapter Forty
Two days after Garrick rescued me from Navarro, I was able to sleep without the nightmares. Anytime the negative thoughts crept into my mind, I pushed them out. Plus, talking to my therapist the day before had helped.
At Garrick’s insistence, she’d come to our apartment for our session. Talking about my fears with the baby had been about as stress-free as possible.
“Enjoy your life, Knoah. There are no guarantees in anything we do. Don’t worry about what cannot be changed. Only focus on what you can change.”
Just hearing those encouraging words from Brooke had helped me store the fear away. There was only so much we could do. And the rest was left up to…fate, I guessed. I stretched and laid my book on the coffee table in Garrick’s office. This morning, I’d needed a change of scenery, so I’d come to his office to keep him company.
We’d gotten in to see the high-risk doctor yesterday. There was no telling how much Garrick had paid for the visit. But it had helped immensely. The doctor had said that everything looked great. And each day that passed eased my worry.
Rest. Stress-free. Take care of myself.
Those were the doctor’s orders.
“Are you sure you’re okay with everyone coming over for dinner?” Garrick asked from where he sat on the couch beside me with his laptop. Mom, Suzette, and Evelyn were bringing dishes for us all to share. Absolutely no prep work for me whatsoever.
I missed seeing everyone.
For the hundredth time, I answered, “Yes. It’ll be nice. The doctor said it would be good for me to start moving some. Plus, they’ll be here any minute.”
Garrick was nervous. His parents had no idea anything had happened. Ricardo and Evelyn knew everything. Mom and Dad only had part of the truth—Carrie had been shot and had a daughter, so now they were grandparents. Mom came over with the news. Though they were sad, they finally had closure.
Still, no one knew I was pregnant, which I thought was best, considering the risks.
“Mom and Dad are excited to meet Kimberly tomorrow.”
All parties involved thought it would be best if Kimberly was introduced to them. The neighbor Carrie had mentioned was amazing and wanted the transition to be as easy as possible.
Surprisingly, it hadn’t been stressful. It was the opposite—relief I had been able to keep my promise to Carrie. As I’d suspected, my parents focused on the positives. They had a grandchild. I knew they were sad and grieving inside, though.
The doorbell rang. Garrick closed his laptop and looked over at me with his protective gaze. “Here we go. If you get tired, let me know.”
I grabbed his hand. “It will be fine. It’s simply a family dinner.”
“With my nieces and nephews,” he added. “No crawling on the floor or holding them. No carrying them. Just talk to them. Okay?”
“Promise. I won’t overdo it.”
As I grabbed my phone, I saw I had a missed text from Sawyer.
Sawyer: We’re back. Is dinner still on?
Me: Yes, come on over.
Sawyer: We’re coming in right now with your parents…all of them.
Me: Coming right out.
All of them. The words seemed less odd now. The reality of the situation had sunk in.
As we rounded the corner, the volume intensified. It was the sound of happiness—family. Absentmindedly, I touched my stomach. Soon, we would be adding to this.
Mom was the first to approach me. “How are you feeling, sweetie? You’ve seemed a little tired the last couple of times we’ve talked.”
“Good. I am a little tired.”
She touched my forehead. “You don’t have a fever.”
No, just a bun in the oven. “I think I overdid it at work.”
“Knoah, take care of yourself. We can’t wait for you to meet Kimberly.”
“Neither can I.”
Dad squeezed Mom. They were exuberant. There was still sadness at the thought of Carrie. But that only led to stress, so I focused on Kurt and Sawyer. “Seems like you guys survived each other for a week in LA. Were there any jokes played on each other I need to know about?”
They glanced at each other and shared a secret smile. Then they turned my way. Kurt said, “Things went good. We worked a lot.”
Right. Something else had happened. Those two hadn’t stopped picking on each other since the moment they met. Sawyer gave me an overly bright smile. “Yes, lots and lots of work.”
Something was definitely up. Before I had to ponder what that was, Garrick’s brother and sisters arrived with their families. Kids scrambled inside while they yelled my name. “Knoah! Knoah! Knoah!”
I’d almost knelt when Garrick stepped in front of me. “Hey guys, not today, okay? Let’s give Knoah some space.”
The room grew silent as all eyes looked my way. Way to be inconspicuous, Garrick. “I…uhh…”
“Knoah was sick on Friday. That’s why we had to cancel the slumber party. She’s still not a hundred percent.” At least he’d saved face. I had forgotten about the canceled slumber party.
At some point, Garrick and I would have to come to an agreement on what was actually considered “overdoing it.” For now, I let it be because I wanted to make sure Navarro’s actions hadn’t affected the baby.
Suzette gave me a hug. “Garrick mentioned you were under the weather. Are you feeling better?”
“I am. I think I overdid it my first week back at work.”
Savannah, Kourtney and Hugh’s daughter, was right behind Suzette. The first night I moved into Shaw Tower, I’d met this little girl and her brother. I fell in love with them instantly. It had been love at first sight. “When can we do the slumber party?”
Before my overprotective husband could respond, I said, “We’ll do the slumber party soon. Promise.”
“Great!”
Garrick cocked his eyebrow. Apparently he wasn’t in agreement. I winked, letting him know we’d discuss it later.
In the kitchen, the women set up the food. They brought in enough for at least four family dinners.
Dinner was wonderful, and I laughed while Garrick’s sisters ribbed him. As a kid, he’d let them dress him up as a girl. Melissa, the oldest, told me, “I’ll find the pictures for the next time we get together.”
“Or not,” Garrick simply said.
Derrick covered his mouth as he laughed. “You were a girl! You were a girl!”
All the kids snickered. For a moment, Hastings and I shared a long look. We lacked these types of memories, but we would make up for them.
Sawyer poured me a glass of wine. “Here ya go. I noticed you didn’t get one. It’s your favorite.”
“Oh, I’m not having any tonight. Thanks, though.”
“Are you pregnant?” she asked much louder than necessary.
The room grew silent, and Sawyer slapped a hand over her mouth. “I mean…do you have a breath mint?” Waving her hand in front of her mouth, she kept on. “Oh man, this fish gave me the worst breath ever. Does anyone have a breath mint?”
Smooth. Very smooth.
The pause had all three moms smiling. “That’s why you’ve been sick. Oh my word. You’re pregnant!” Mom exclaimed.
Suzette clapped her hands. “We’re going to have another grandbaby.”
Evelyn smiled like it was the best day in the world. Garrick looked at me. There was no reason to lie at this point. Soon, we’d be telling them anyway, and lying in front of the children was not a good idea.
I nodded to Garrick. There was a gleam in his eye as he gave a brilliant smile. Proudly, he announced, “Yes, Knoah and I are going to have a baby in about eight months.”
Cheers erupted.
This moment was perfection, and the happiness of our combined family washed over me.
~ ~ ~
We got into bed, and I snuggled against Garrick. It had been a long day—good but long. I couldn’t remember if I’d been this tired before Navarro’s. The doctor said it was normal and I would start requiring more sleep.
“You okay that everyone found out about the baby, sweetheart? I know you wanted to wait.”
Initially, I’d wanted to wait for three months until we said anything. But I should have remembered Garrick was not the smoothest in these types of situations. Our engagement had been discovered within minutes of us walking in the door. Of course, Sawyer of all people had been the one to notice it first.
My eyes grew a little heavier. “I’m good with it. It’ll be nice to openly talk about it.” I just worry a little, I silently added. “What about you?”
“I’m ecstatic. I want to scream it from the rooftop.”
I chuckled. “Your baby is zapping all my energy. I feel like since we found out, all I do is sleep.”
“Having you in my arms while you’re carrying my child is the best feeling in the world.”
Sleep came over me before I was able to say anything else.