Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (57 page)

Mallory
had a full house of crazy McCulloughs. It took Ashlynn a good twenty minutes to
get her hands on Gianna. She was beautiful. Sharp blue eyes and Mallory’s light
brown hair, she was perfect, like all newborns were.

She
sat in the den, using one of those boppy things to hold her niece. Mallory
slipped into the seat beside her. “She’s so perfect, Mallory.”

“Isn’t
she?” Her friend sighed with contentment.

Ashlynn
nudged her with her shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

“Fat,
but I’ll get over it. Don’t tell Finn I said that. He’s already on me about
criticizing myself.”

“Well,
I think you look great.” She did, glowing actually.

Mallory
looked toward the kitchen where the rest of the family was. She leaned in and
whispered, “How are you making out?”

Ashlynn
met her gaze and whispered, “They inserted the embryo this morning.”

Mallory
squeaked and Ashlynn shot her a look begging her to be quiet. “You could be
pregnant,” she whispered.

Ashlynn’s
mouth contained a tight smile that wanted to burst over her lips. “I know.”

“When
will you find out for sure?”

“Nine
days.”

“Was
it painful?”

“Not
really. I’d do it a hundred times over if it gave us one of these,” she said,
gesturing with her chin to the bundle of perfection in her arms.

“You
have to call me the minute you find out.”

“I
will, but nothing’s certain.”

Mallory
patted her leg. “I think it’ll work.”

“I
hope so.”

That
evening when they returned home, Kelly was acting strange. “What are you
thinking about?” she asked as he continued to stare at the ceiling.

“Do
you want to make the big room or the little room the nursery?”

“Kelly.
You can’t start planning that stuff until we know.”

“I
need to keep my mind off your body. We’ve had so much sex in the past year it’s
hard not to touch you right now.”

The
doctor didn’t say anything about no sex, but she was sort of thinking along the
same lines. She didn’t want to disrupt anything happening down there. “I think
we should use the big room.”

He
turned and grinned at her. That was the first committed comment she’d made
regarding her possible pregnancy. “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

She
should have never opened her mouth. “Kelly,” she growled.

He
pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her neck. “Oh, come on. We can talk about
it.”

“I
don’t want to. I don’t want to jinx it.”

“Please.
I love talking about this with you. It’s our
family
.”

Oh, those words…
Such sweet hope fluttered inside
of her it took her breath away. She pursed her lips then mumbled. “I think it’s
a boy.”

“You
do? I was thinking girl, but a boy’s great too. Less stressful.”

She
laughed. “Who says?”

“Um,
me. As a revered member of the male species, I can positively say a boy is less
stress.”

“I
think your mother would beg to differ.”

“Ah,
but you haven’t talked to all the fathers who warned their daughters away from
me.”

She
rolled her eyes. “You deserve to have a daughter. Let you feel what you put all
those men through, worrying about their little girls running off with some
reprobate.”

“Nah,
if we have a daughter she’ll be as chaste as her mum.”

It
was bizarre to think a little human being could be there in nine months and in
just a few years they could be raising a person who could either be like him or
her. She would be giving someone the one thing she never really had. Something
that was priceless and coveted…a mother.

She
thought about all the trouble Kelly used to get into. As insane as her mother-in-
law was, it took a spectacular woman to raise a man like Kelly. She didn’t know
if she had that sort of stamina. Maybe he was right. Maybe their child would be
more like her. “God, I hope you’re right.”

But
deep down, she hoped—if they were blessed enough to have a child—that he or she
would be as giving, charismatic and brave as Kelly. For all her fears of
motherhood, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Kelly would be an
extraordinary dad.

* * * *

Nine
days had never taken so long. Kelly anxiously waited with Ashlynn for the
doctor to call. They’d gone for her test that morning and she still wore a
taped piece of cotton on her arm where they’d drawn her blood.

All
of their excitement over the past few days seemed to fade in the face of
pending reality. What if it didn’t work? It would take years for them to afford
to repeat the procedure. He didn’t know if he could go through this again, the
waiting, wanting, the disappointment.

They
had been quiet since returning home several hours ago. The TV was on, but neither
of them was really watching it. When he made some popcorn, neither of them took
more than a nibble.

How
much longer were they supposed to wait? They’d waited over a year, then
thirty-six hours for the hormones to work, then four days for the embryo to
form, then nine excruciating days to see if the pregnancy took. Now they were
waiting for results and Kelly was all out of patience.

The
phone rang and they both jumped. “It’s the doctor,” Ashlynn said, looking at
the screen and then back at him.

He
nodded and she put the phone to her ear.

“Hello?...
Hi… Yes, this is Ashlynn.”

She
stood and Kelly watched her pace to the window. His gaze glued to her face.

“Okay.”
Her voice was tight. Raspy.

She
nodded and turned to the face the wall. He couldn’t tell anything from her
voice and now he couldn’t see her expression.

Oh,
God, it didn’t work.

“Thank
you.” Her shoulders fell and she dropped the phone. It crashed to the carpet
and his throat choked on built up emotion.
No.

Fuck!
Fuck everything! This is so God damn unfair! No! We had an embryo. It worked.
It was there, in the dish. Why? Why didn’t they deserve this like everyone
else? Your wife is crying. Say something, you worthless prick!

His
vision blurred. He needed to be strong for her. “Ash…”

She
sniffled and slowly turned. Tracks of tears marked her flushed face. He
couldn’t bear to see her cry. “I’m pregnant.”

“I
know, but we can always—” His words cut off. “What?”

She
laughed and wiped her nose. “It worked. I’m pregnant.”

The
world stilled. Clocks stopped ticking. Everything froze. Pregnant.

Hug
her, you tit!

He
jumped off the couch and grabbed her, hugging her with excruciating care and
tenderness as he fought the urge to throw her in the air.

You’re gonna be a father!

His
mouth found hers and they laughed through many wet kisses.

When
he pulled away cool tears coated his cheeks. His trembling hand went to her
belly, reverent, his touch full of unfiltered love. “We did it?”

She
nodded. Her hand covered his. “Yes
.
We
did it.”

With
that he kissed her again, fully, unguarded, his beautiful wife who was having
his baby. His mind flashed back over the past several years and he couldn’t
remember a time that meant so much. It all accumulated into one immeasurable
moment catalogued by several.

The
day he asked her for a pencil. The day her truck broke down. The first time he
kissed her in the back of her shop. The night of the dance when he held her in
his arms and knew no other woman would ever feel as right there. The night he
asked her to be his wife. How awful it felt when her father said he wasn’t good
enough. The way she looked on their wedding day. The way she looked as he made
love to her that first time. He felt like he’d been chasing her forever and
he’d finally crossed the finish line.

Their
lips pulled apart and he looked into her soft brown eyes. “I love you, Ashlynn.
I love you more than any man should love a woman. You’re my best friend and
you’re going to be an incredible mom.”

She hugged him. He didn’t need
any words. All he needed was her, her and their baby. A family.

Epilogue

May

“Jesus,
what died?” Finn said, waving his hand over his face as he entered the den of
the big house.

“It’s
terrible,” Luke shrieked into a pillow.

“Mum
farted!” Colin said, a look of horror on his face.

Kelly
gagged as his mum’s face showed wounded fury. “The lot of you fart all the
time! Do you know how much shit I’ve had to tend to from you pigs? Why is it
funny when you do it, but when I do it it’s shocking and suddenly disgusting?”

“It’s
only funny when you hear them, Mum,” Kelly said. “When you smell them without a
sound it’s bad.
Especially
from your mother.”

“Mums
shouldn’t fart!” Luke yelled, his voice oddly high pitched.

Their
mother stood and raised her chin. “Like I should bear the pain for you
bastards! You can make your own damn dinner.” She stormed into the kitchen.

“You’ve
done it now,” their father said. “Never anger a woman who’s been cooking for
you all day.”

“Mum,
we’re just kidding!” Finn yelled. “We need food!”

Their
father mumbled something about them being a bunch of insensitive dumb asses as
he changed the channel on the television.

“When’s
Bray getting here?” Luke asked.

“Why?
He can’t cook,” Finn said.

They
pouted and stared at the television for several minutes. Kelly’s eyes lit up as
he saw Ashlynn waddle into the den, a steaming bowl of cobbler topped with
vanilla ice cream in her hands. “Come sit next to me, love.”

“Not
a chance,” she said, holding the spoon in her mouth as she adjusted the pillows
next to Finn. Her round belly filled out the front of her overalls as she
lowered herself to the couch.

“How
come you get food?” Finn whined, eye fucking her cobbler.

“Because
I’m nice,” Ashlynn said, smiling serenely as she spooned a big heap of his
mum’s dessert in her mouth.

Kelly
frowned. “She farts too.”

His
wife stilled and scowled at him. “Kelly McCullough, I do not!”

“Whatever.
I want some cobbler.”

“You
always want cobbler,” she mumbled, making no move to share.

Finn
watched her eat like he was watching a strip tease. “Stop eyeballing my wife,”
Kelly grumbled.

Frank
left the room and returned a minute later with his own bowl.

“Damn
it. This is ridiculous,” Luke grumbled as he left and went to the kitchen.

A
minute later there was a loud crash and his mother shouted, “Get yer bloody
hands off my desserts, ya’ little shit!”

Luke
came jogging back into the den licking his fingers. “Dad, she’s gone rabid. Do
something.”

“Not
my fault,” his father said as he hummed over his ice cream. The smell made
Kelly’s mouth water.

Finn
spoke softly into the phone. “Hey, Philly. Nothing. Just called to say I love
you. Hey, do you think you could stop at the store and pick up some pie or—
damn
it
.”

“Hang
up on you?” Colin asked.

Finn
sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. “Yeah, she’s still trying to get
back to her pre-baby weight. I’ve been living off shitty yogurt and tree leaves
for the past month.
I need real food!
”

“Pull
it together, Finnegan!” Kelly snapped. “You need a little finesse when dealing
with the lassies. I’ll show you how it’s done.” He strode into the kitchen and
gave Ashlynn a pointed look along the way. She chuckled and went on enjoying
her dessert.

“Mum?”

“What
do you want, Kelly?”

He
approached the stove and glanced at the roast she was cutting. Saliva filled
his mouth and he swallowed. It was just mean to deny them and then give his dad
and wife dessert first. “I’m sorry we picked on you. You can fart whenever you
like. They smell like roses anyway.”

She
glared at him and went on carving the roast. “You know we love you, Mum. Please
feed us.”

“You
love my food,” she mumbled. “Like a pack of animals, you come in here sniffin’
around my kitchen, but the minute you sniff something you don’t like
Oh!
It’s
a big laugh then. Go on. Get out of here.”

He
pressed his cheek on her shoulder and she sighed. “May I please have some
cobbler, Mum?”