Expect Me (Rivers Edge Book 3) (9 page)

“It sounds wonderful,” I state honestly, because it truly does sound dream-like.

“I hope so. It will be, someday,” he replies with his hands casually stuffed in his front pockets.

“I can see it. It’s a beautiful dream. It’s going to be spectacular, Travis,” I say as we stare out at the vast open space in front of us.

“It’s going to take a lot of time and work. A lot of my free time that I don’t really have will be dedicated to this house. With the exception of the plumbing, some of the electrical, and concrete work, I’m doing it myself. When I’m not working, I’m going to be here. The concrete work, I’m hiring my brothers and a few friends to come and work on the side. I’ll pay them with beer and food afterwards.”

“When do you think it will be complete?” I ask.

“I’m hoping end of year. But now with the baby coming in November, I want to have it completely done and be living here by then.”

I look up into his stunning blue eyes. “What…what are your plans where the baby is concerned?” I ask in a small, timid voice that I can’t seem to control which is not like me at all. But, hey, I’m on emotion overload here with batty hormones.

“I want you to stay with me for as long as you want. I want to get to know you as the mother of my child. When I move in here, if things are still going well, then I want you to move in with me. You can have the master bedroom or one of the ones downstairs next to the baby, wherever you want. If it’s not working out, I’ll do everything I can to help you get your own place for you and the baby. But, I want to be as much of a part of our child’s life as I possibly can. I won’t settle for anything less than that, Joss.”

He stares at me for a few minutes before I reply. “We’ll take it day by day and cross that bridge when we get to it. But, just so you know, I want you to be involved in everything regarding our child. If that means I need to be here or at your apartment, then I’m in.” I look off into the distance, and I’m sure Travis can practically see the wheels inside my head turning. He doesn’t say a word as I work out my next thoughts. “Honestly, I’m terrified of doing this alone,” I whisper as my eyes remain fixed on the tree line.

Travis reaches out and pulls me against his hard chest, wrapping his strong arms securely around my back. “You won’t be alone. I promise.” Then he kisses the crown of my head. I hear him inhale as if committing the scent of my hair to memory. If it was any other man, I would have been a little creeped out. But, this is Travis and he makes everything intimate. Erotic.

“Come on,” he tells me as he starts to steer me back towards his pick-up. “Let’s hit the store for a quick stop and stock up on spicy Mexican food before we head back to the apartment.”

There is no such thing as a quick trip to the store. It’s physically impossible to get in and out in under a couple of minutes. Every time you want to just grab a few things, that’s when half of the people you know are shopping too. So, after talking to about a dozen people including my brother-in-law, Maddox, and introducing Josselyn to just about everyone in the place, we finally get home with my truck full of food.

Josselyn works on unloading the grocery bags while I head back down to unload her boxes from the bed of my truck. It’s a beautiful May day and when I finally get the last of the boxes into the apartment, Josselyn walks around opening up the windows.

I throw a couple of chicken breasts in the skillet and start to brown them on low heat. My mom taught me enough about cooking to get by, but there’s a reason I make sure I’m at every Sunday family dinner and leave with as much leftovers as possible. While I tend to the chicken, Josselyn pulls the lettuce greens out of the fridge and starts to make the salads. She adds sliced tomatoes, cheese, and some grilled corn that I didn’t even know they had at the store. Once the chicken breasts are done, she slices them up on the cutting board and throws them on top of the salad. She adds a dollop of guacamole and some southwest dressing and voila…lunch is served.

We sit down at the small table with a couple of bottles of water, and I stare down at the salad. I’ll admit, I was completely skeptical at the store when she told me what we were eating - I’m not exactly a salad guy - but now that it’s sitting in front of me, it looks and smells awesome.

“What’s the matter?” she asks between bites.

“Nothing. This looks really good.”

“I’m starving,” she says as she stuffs another huge bite of lettuce and chicken in her mouth. I sure hope that stays down today.

I dive into the salad, and I’ll admit, it’s damn good. It doesn’t take too long before both of our bowls are empty and our stomachs full. I gather up the bowls and set them in the sink to clean later.

“What do you say we attack those boxes and find some room to put some of your stuff? Then you can take a nap if you want.”

“Sounds good. Do you mind if I put on some music?” she asks as she opens up the box marked
MUSIC.

“Not at all. As long as you’re not putting on some twangy old country crap.”

“You don’t like country music?” she asks as she pulls out the CD she was looking for.

“Not the old stuff. Too twangy. The newer country I don’t mind though.”

A few moments later, the opening of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” comes through the speakers.

“Journey? Really?” I ask, surprised by her music choice.

“Journey is one of my favorites. Bob Seger is another. I could listen to that man sing all day long and never get tired of it.” It’s nice to know that our taste in music is similar.

Thirty minutes later, the boxes are unpacked and all of Josselyn’s clothes - what little she owns - are placed in their new homes in my closet and in my drawers. It’s a tight fit with all of her stuff and mine in my little one bedroom apartment, but I think we made due just fine with the space we have.

Josselyn heads into the bedroom to take a nap, and I decide to call Avery at work and ask her a few questions.

“Andrews and Levine Law Offices, how can I help you?” Avery answers after the second ring.

“Hey, Avery, it’s Travis. Are you busy?”

“Not at all. What’s up, Trav?”

“Well…okay…so, I was wondering…”

“Travis, just spit it out. I don’t have all day,” she chides me with a hint of humor in her voice.

“Okay, so I was wondering, when you were pregnant with Bean, how long did your sickness last for?”

“Why? Who’s pregnant?” she asks, instantly on alert and ready to get the goods on a little local gossip.

“No one. I’m just curious,” I mumble. I hate lying to my sister - to anyone - but, we’re not quite ready to tell everyone yet.

“Well, I guess it lasted until about fifteen or sixteen weeks. That’s about the middle of the fourth month.”

“Okay, and when did you start feeling your energy return?”

“That was about the same time. Once you hit the second trimester, your energy seems to return quickly. It’s like someone flips the switch and you stop barfing and have all this crazy energy.”

“How often did you have to go to the doctor?”

“Every month until closer to the end, then it was every two weeks, then every week. Why? What’s going on, Trav?”

I exhale and close my eyes. “Can I plead the fifth until another time, Ave?”

“Is…is Josselyn pregnant?” Avery whispers into the phone.

I know there’s no beating around the bush now. “Yeah, she is,” I tell my little sister.

Avery squeals into the phone and then I hear a low bang. I pull the phone from my ear and look down at my cell phone in my hand. “Avery?”

“Sorry, sorry. I was so excited, I dropped the phone! When is she due?”

“We’re going to get into the doctor soon to find out. We still have a lot to figure out.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so freaking excited! I’m going to be an aunt! Wait until I tell Maddox. He’s going to be so excited, too.”

“Ave, can you hold off a bit before you tell everyone? We just found this out and we want to see the doctor first before we tell everyone.”

“Okay, I understand. I won’t say a word,” she assures me. Right. Avery isn’t exactly good at keeping secrets. Well, if you don’t count the time she was seeing Maddox behind everyone’s back and not telling anyone.  Then she was flipping golden.

“Thanks, Ave. I’ll call you soon, okay?”

“Okay. Oh, and Travis? Congratulations,” she says and I can hear the smile in her voice.

“Thanks,” I say with a smile in my own.

When Josselyn wakes up from her nap, she grabs the phonebook and calls Dr. Freeman’s office to schedule an appointment. I try to give her privacy while she’s on the phone, but it’s a small apartment and there are only so many places I can go. When she’s finally off the phone, she tells me that they are squeezing her in on Friday afternoon.

“What time is it? I’ll go with you,” I tell her.

“Four o’clock.”

“Okay, we’re usually finishing up around that time so I’ll just cut the guys loose a few minutes early and pick you up here. We’ll go together.” Josselyn gives me an appreciative smile.

And just like that we’re all set to see a doctor this Friday.

*****

The rest of the week seems to fly by. Every morning I get up for work and start the coffee, take a hot shower to work out the kinks in my neck and back from sleeping on the floor, Josselyn gets up and pukes, we eat breakfast together, and then I head to work. The foundation is coming along nicely at the new house and hasn’t required too much of my free time yet which I’m grateful for.

Josselyn found a part time job as a waitress at the diner downtown. I tried to convince her that she didn’t need to work as long as she was staying with me, that I would take care of her, but she wouldn’t listen. In fact, she’s pretty much told me off on multiple occasions. It’s something I’m not too thrilled about - her working in the diner and on her feet all day long - but she seems content to work and wants to contribute as much as possible. So for now, I’ll step back and let her work. But the first sign of trouble? She’s out of there and home on the couch.

On Friday afternoon, I leave work a little early, swing by the apartment to get Josselyn, and head to the doctor’s office uptown. Inside the comfortable, clean office, Josselyn heads up to the front counter to register. The receptionist gives her a bunch of forms to fill out and asks about payment. I’m pretty sure Josselyn doesn’t have insurance since she’s worked a bunch of part time jobs and had to leave her apartment, so I inform the plump lady that we’re private pay.

“I’ll need information on a payment plan,” Josselyn tells the receptionist.

“No, I’ll be paying,” I inform them both.

“No,” Josselyn tells me firmly.

“Joss, it’s the least I can do. You’re doing all the work until that baby is born. Let me carry this burden. Let me pay for the doctor’s appointments.” I plead with my eyes. I don’t want her to make a scene and I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, but I do want her to know that I’m here for her - even if it’s financially.

Josselyn shakes her head slightly and turns to sit down and fill out the stack of papers attached to the clipboard. Twenty minutes later, Josselyn’s name is called by the nurse at the open door at the front of the room.

“Hi, Josselyn. I’m Kathy. We’ll get started with a weight, blood pressure check, and urine sample at the start of each appointment, okay? Step up on the scale and we’ll check your weight.” After Josselyn’s weight is registered and her blood pressure’s taken, she’s handed a small plastic cup and instructed to head inside the small bathroom behind her. I’m lead into Room Number Four where I wait a few minutes for her to join me.

“First day of your last period?” the nurse asks after she sits down and starts writing in the chart.

“Around February sixteenth.”

The nurse pulls out this little spinny wheel thingy and plugs in the date. “That’s the date we start counting your weeks so that date signifies week one. Looks like your due date is November twenty-fourth. Just in time for Thanksgiving,” she adds with a smile. “And how have you been feeling? Nausea, vomiting, dizziness?”

“A lot of vomiting and nausea,” she responds.

“How often?”

“I vomit after most meals and usually the moment I wake up in the morning.”

“That’s normal, dear,” the nurse says as she continues to write in the chart. Once all of her questions have been asked and answered, she pulls a paper gown out of the cabinet and hands it to Josselyn. Then she informs us that the doctor will be with us shortly and steps out of the room.

Josselyn stands up and gives me a questioning look. “I’ll turn my head,” I tell her to try to make her feel a little more comfortable about undressing in front of me. A few minutes later, she’s sitting on top of the paper covered exam table with her legs crossed.

We make small talk as I try to avoid the graphic posters and models spread out all over the room. Seriously, they’re making me completely uncomfortable. Staring at the detailed pictures of a woman’s pregnant vagina isn’t exactly on my fun list. Neither is seeing the exact path a baby takes to come into the world. I shudder as I try to avoid the pictures of the baby crowning. Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long for Dr. Freeman to knock and step inside the room.

“Hi, Josselyn. I’m Dr. Freeman. It’s nice to meet you,” she says as she extends her hand towards Josselyn.

“And you must be the father?” she asks me with a polite smile.

“Yeah,” I respond as I shift in my chair.

“Well, let’s take a look,” Dr. Freeman says as she grabs a small tape measure from her pocket. “Go ahead and lie back.”

I watch as the doctor measures Josselyn’s flat abdomen. “According to your last period, you’re approximately thirteen weeks. Today I want to do an exam and an ultrasound. Since this is your first appointment, we’ll use the transvaginal machine. Daddy, if you want to step up along Josselyn’s head, I’ll grab the machine and we’ll take a look at your baby.”

I immediately stand up and walk towards the head of the table. Dr. Freeman wheels a small cart over and pulls out the stirrups. Once Josselyn is in position, she squirts some goo stuff on the end of a long wand and gets ready.

“Just a little pressure,” she says as she does whatever she’s doing down below. Dr. Freeman turns the monitor so that we can see the small screen. “See this? This is the amniotic sac that the baby is swimming in. And this here? Let me get a better image,” she says as she pushes a few buttons and makes the image larger. “That right there is your baby.”

I look down at the fuzzy little image on the screen. That’s my baby. Our baby. Without even realizing it, I reach down and grab a hold of Josselyn’s hand. We’re both mesmerized by the sight before us. The most beautiful sight in the world.

Dr. Freeman presses a button on the keyboard and a swishy, fast beating noise fills the room. “And that is your baby’s heartbeat. One hundred thirty-six which is strong. Baby’s heartbeats are always much faster than ours while they’re in uterine.”

I listen to the sounds of my baby’s heartbeat for a few more moments. When I look down, I see Josselyn wiping the tears from her eyes. After the doctor takes a few measurements, she shuts down the machine and does a quick exam. Then she offers Josselyn a paper towel to clean up with. “Next time, we’ll use the external monitor to hear the heartbeat. So, you’ve been pretty sick, huh?”

“Yeah,” Josselyn replies as she sits up on the table.

“Well, you’re almost to the fourth month so that should taper off soon. If it doesn’t by your next appointment, we’ll discuss ways to help that. Now, I want to see you back in four weeks. I’m going to prescribe prenatal vitamins for you to take daily. We’ll also order your first round of blood work for you to do before your next appointment. Do you have any questions for me?”