Page 86 of The Merger
All the time I’d regretted the years Sabrina and I spent apart, but maybe this was how we were supposed to be too.
ChapterThirty-Two
Sabrina
Stryker tried to convince Colt to rent a car and drive to Denver, but as bad as the storm was in Idaho, it was worse in Wyoming, making it impossible at least until the highways were reopened. I think he’d have changed his mind and driven back to Seattle if we didn’t need to review the documents seized from Malcolm’s office there.
Thankfully, the flight to Denver was uneventful and short. Colt and Jana both took turns hugging me when they arrived, but we all fell into a lingering silence until the wheels touched down on the tarmac. I’d never been afraid to fly before, but all of us were feeling a little superstitious this time. Talking about what happened while in the air felt like tempting fate. Exhaustion crashed over me after the last week, and I fell asleep as soon as we were in the car.
When I woke the next morning I found Colter, Stryker, and another man going over documents in the main sitting room. Jana paced in front of the window arguing on the phone with someone.
The tension in the room made me forget all about the fact I was drowning in clothes I borrowed from Jana, my hair was a tangled mess, and there was a crease from the pillow on my cheek. “What have I missed?” I asked anyone listening.
Stryker’s head snapped up. “Did you sleep well?”
I inhaled slowly through my nose. I’d guessed he’d start treating me like I was made of glass as soon as it was possible I could be pregnant, and I was also right that it would drive me insane. “Don’t try to distract me. What is going on?”
Colter opened his mouth to answer me, but Stryker talked over him. “Maybe you should sit down and have some breakfast first.”
Jana stopped in her tracks. Her arm dropped, and I could hear someone yelling for her attention on the other end. She ignored it though and stared at me with her mouth gaping open. “Brina, I need to see you in the bathroom, now.”
My stomach sank. I wasn’t ready to talk about this yet, because the possibility I could be pregnant didn’t seem real yet. The version of me who threw caution to the wind and allowed the possibility of starting a family with Stryker wasn’t sure she was ever getting off the mountain. Hell, I even entertained the idea we hadn’t actually survived the crash, and my brain was trying to come to terms with our impending demise. I blamed my dad’s TV habits when I was a kid for giving me that idea.
Frozen in place, my brain and my feet were at war. I knew Jana wasn’t going to drop the issue, but I couldn’t force myself to move toward the bathroom. The decision was made for me when Jana strode across the room, grabbed my arm and dragged me into the bathroom.
She shut the door and focused all of her attention on me. “You’re pregnant.”
“You can’t know that. I don’t know that,” I protested.
“So you two didn’t-” She made an obscene gesture with her hands.
“Have you seen Stryker?” I blurted out without thinking.
Jana burst out laughing, and I joined her until we were both crying from laughing so hard. It took a minute for both of us to calm down before she started peppering me with questions again. “You’re on the pill, right? Did you have it with you?”
I shook my head.
“And, how do you feel about this?”
That was the million dollar question. “I’m scared, but also excited. I’m not sure which I’m more of, to be honest.”
“I told Colter I wanted us to have time. A year with just the two of us, and then I want to try.”
“You didn’t tell me that. When was this?”
She bit her bottom lip. “About eleven months ago, but I actually stopped taking my pills a couple of weeks ago.”
“Are you-” I trailed off.
She shrugged. “I think you and I need to see a doctor when we get home.”
I looked at the door. “Maybe don’t tell Colt until you know, or they’re both going to be acting like chest-thumping cavemen.”
“Stryker is being pretty ridiculous.”
I smiled. “He’s going to be a nightmare.”
Jana made a circle around my face with her finger. “You love it.”