Tasha returned to her clinic and spent the rest of the day and most of the evening in a total daze, her thoughts racing from panic to fear to amazement at the thought of carrying a baby inside her.
She’d never given much thought to kids, to be honest. She’d always assumed that when the time and the marriage were right, things would take their natural course. But here she was without a ring, potentially without a man, and possibly knocked up.
Oh, go buy a test already.
She locked up the clinic and returned to her quiet house, taking a quick shower to remove the ever-present dog and cat hair. She dressed in her softest, most comfortable sweats and foraged in the kitchen for something to eat besides leftover pizza and half of a sub sandwich. Her stomach rolled at the thought, and she quickly closed the refrigerator door, pouring herself a glass of water instead.
Em had texted her from the Shak to let her know Owen and Duncan had stopped for lunch and that Owen was going to spend the rest of the day with Bethany after getting a new cell phone to replace the one taken from him when he’d been kidnapped and held.
The reprieve was welcome, given her mood, but she wondered what, if anything, Owen was telling his sister and his best friend. That was a lot of hours to fill, and she knew she had to be the topic at some point.
Em had given no indication of when Owen would return. Maybe he’d choose to spend the night atop the mountain, in the empty apartment above the kennel, where he’d stayed while helping Duncan transform the house for Ian.
Her phone chimed, and she walked to the table to pick it up.
Coffee house. Now. Em told me you’re alone, so don’t you dare not come, Jolie texted.
Realizing she didn’t really want to be alone in the house right now, she slipped on a pair of shoes and grabbed her keys. Owen could come or go. He would do as he pleased, anyway. Wasn’t that the way things were with men?
Five minutes later, Jolie unlocked the door of Cuppa Jo’s, and Tasha stepped inside. “What’s up?” She’d no sooner asked the question than she noticed Emma and Morgan seated behind the pretty wall and fireplace. “Jo-Jo, what have you done?”
“Emergency meeting of the Besties,” Jolie replied, wrapping her arm around Tasha’s shoulders and steering her toward the others. “And don’t pretend you’re surprised.”
Surprised. Ticked off. More than a little vulnerable and nauseated. “Don’t do this,” Tasha begged, the words a hoarse whisper.
“You aren’t alone in this, no matter how much you think you are. Sit down,” Jolie ordered. “I’ve already told the girls.”
“What?” Tasha glared at Jolie in horror.
“Would you really not tell us?” Emma asked. “We share everything.”
Yeah, and sometimes they shared a little too much. But she wasn’t Morgan, who spilled every secret, or Em, who’d needed their take on things in the past because she’d missed so many cues while she was blind. Jolie— Jolie liked to cut herself when things got really, really stressful and she freaked out, a habit she’d thankfully conquered of late with help from Quinn, but one she’d kept secret from the Besties for years. “I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not,” Jolie said, quickly blocking the exit.
“We knew you couldn’t go into the drugstore to buy a test without everyone in town knowing about it so…” Emma scooted a brown paper bag across the table toward Tasha. “No one will say a word to me, or Ian, since it will look like we’re trying or something.”
Her eyes prickled with the hot sting of tears, and Tasha blinked rapidly, willing them away. Because it was true. She’d resigned herself to the fact she’d have to drive a few towns away to purchase a test or else face the small-town gossip that would result from Stone River’s single, female vet purchasing a pregnancy test.
“It says for best results to take it in the morning, so I bought a couple of them,” Emma added. “But you’re not leaving this building until you take one.”
A huff left Tasha’s chest. “Falling in love has made all of you bossy,” she said in complaint. But when they continued to stare at her, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever. Give me that.”
She swiped the bag from the table and carried it with her into the restroom closer to the front of the store, aware that she was being followed. “I can do this alone, you know.”
“It’s tradition,” Morgan said with a snicker. “Don’t we always go to the bathroom together when we’re hanging out? Why stop now?”
The four of them entered the two-stall restroom, and Tasha shrugged off her coat, handing it to the first pair of hands that reached out to take it. “I can’t believe you’re forcing me to do this now.”
“No better time than the present,” Em said.
Inside the stall, Tasha ripped open the box and quickly scanned the instructions before shoving her sweats low and sitting on the toilet only to find the urge to pee nonexistent.
“Let loose,” Morgan called, snickering a bit more.
Em shushed Morgan with a murmur, adding, “Need me to turn on the water?”
“This is so not cool,” Tasha grumbled, knowing the Besties didn’t care.
“I can sing the potty song I made up for the kids,” Morgan called out, a definite smirk in her voice. “Or what about Christmas carols?”
“Water, please,” Tasha called quickly, wanting to bang her head against the stall wall. “Turn on the water.”
She ignored the snickers and nervous laughter of her friends, knowing deep down they were almost as anxious and nervous about the outcome of the test as she was. Almost.
What if it was positive?
Thanks to the water, she was able to take care of business, and the longest two minutes of her life began.
“You can’t be serious,” Morgan said loudly. “You are not going to wait in there while we’re out here dying to know.”
“Come out, Tash. You know if you don’t, we’re not above crawling under the stall,” Emma said.
Muttering under her breath because she knew good and well they would do just that, Tasha yanked up her sweats and left her temporary safe haven. “You call this friendship, but some would call it abuse.”
“Consider it tough love,” Emma said, stepping close and giving Tasha a hug. “Whatever it says, we’re here for you.”
“Even if I decide not to raise the baby? Or— Or not to raise it with Owen?” she pressed, needing the reassurance that she had their complete support since Owen and Duncan and Ian were all so close.
“I hope that’s not the case, but, yeah,” Em replied.
Silence filled the bathroom, broken only by the jangling, jingling sound Morgan’s bracelets made when she fluffed her hair with her fingers.
“So… how’s things going with you and Mr. Hockey?” Em asked Morgan. “Give us a two-minute update.”
Tasha was thankful their attention shifted to Morgan as she filled them in on the latest developments between her and her new love.
“Can we expect wedding bells?” Jolie asked, her eyes wide at the thought.
Morgan gave them an unapologetic grin.
“We’re not rushing into anything but— I wouldn’t mind wearing Knox’s ring on my hand. One day. He’s the best thing to happen to me short of my kids. And totally different from my ex.”
“Well, that’s good, at least,” Em murmured, her gaze shifting to the pregnancy test stick lying on the sink.
Em’s glance caused them all to look at the plain white stick that could change Tasha’s life forever. Tasha took a step closer, but she had deliberately laid the stick result-side down so that she had a moment to prepare herself.
“Has it been two minutes?” Jolie asked.
“I think that’s a suggested time,” Morgan said, her voice lowering to a gentle whisper. “I could never wait the whole two minutes and looked early. It was always right, one way or another.”
Well, Morgan ought to know, considering she had two kids underfoot.
Tasha inhaled and took another step toward the sink and counter, hesitantly reaching out to grasp the thin, white plastic.
“Tash, whatever it is, we’ve got your six,” Em said.
Tasha pursed her lips in a wry smile and met their gazes one by one in the mirror in front of her. “You’ve been hanging around with Ian too much. The military jargon is rubbing off on you.”
“Will you look already,” Morgan ordered, her southern twang becoming more pronounced with her agitation. “The suspense is killing me.”
“Wait,” Jolie said.
“What? Why?” Morgan cried.
“Tasha, remember what I said. A baby is a blessing. Some things are meant to be, which is why they happen— or not.”
Nodding her understanding, Tasha rolled the plastic between her fingers, feeling her friends crowding around her to see the results.
Two bars.
“You’re pregnant!” the Besties screamed.