Early one morning, nearly two months after Hunter’s recovery from his bullet wound, Ella snuggled up close to him in bed and whispered, “I have something to tell you.”
“I’m sleeping,” he mumbled, turning his back on her.
Ella leaned over his shoulder, got her lips up close to his ear and softly said, “I’m going to have a baby.”
Hunter woke up in a hurry.
“Are you serious?”
Ella just smiled at him.
“You are serious,” he said slowly.
“I promised that you’d be the first to know,” she laughed. “Remember?”
Hunter nodded. But all he could say was, “I’ll be damned.”
“You’ll be damned ... and you’ll be a father, too.”
For the first time since she had known him, Hunter actually looked scared.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you want this baby?” she asked with alarm.
Hunter took her in his arms and held her close. “I want the baby,” he said with deep emotion, “it’s just that I’m not sure I’ll make a very good father.”
Ella kissed him on the chest, then the neck, then on the lips. “You’ll make a wonderful father,” she murmured. “The best our child could ever have.”
“Come on, get up!” he suddenly announced.
“What?”
“Come on. Put on your robe. We’ve got news for Ree and William.”
“About the baby?”
“About the baby and the wedding.”
“We’re getting married?”
“You bet we are.”
Ella flung her arms around Hunter’s neck and wouldn’t let go. As far as Hunter was concerned, she could hold onto him forever.