Unsung (8 page)

Harper nodded. Twenty-five seconds…

Twenty-four seconds…

You sure?

Harper nodded again, forcing a smile that just made Mel's eyes narrow. She turned away from the speculative gaze of her friend just in time to catch Hannah stick a massive pink bow on the top of Trevor's head.

Twenty-three seconds…

Twenty-two seconds…

Trevor ran over to his aunt Grace who was bouncing Rosie Mae on her knee. Rosie was nine months old and giggling up a storm as she watched everything going on around her. Her strawberry blond hair, a gift from her redheaded father Jax, was held back with a green headband.

Twenty-one seconds…

Twenty seconds…

Trevor took the bow off his head and put it on his cousin's before he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, causing another collective
aww
from around the circle.

Nineteen seconds…

Yeah, she could get through this. She
would
get through this.

The countdown continued in her head for the next half hour, and she kept up with her steady breathing all the way through the rest of the shower. She stayed strong when she said good-bye to her mother, not flinching under the final Delilah once-over.

Must. Not. Show. Weakness.

Because any sign would be spotted and latched on to.

But Harper's downfall was when she was helping clean up. She went to throw something in the trash and a plate of half-eaten food was sitting on top. The second she lifted the lid, the scent of fried chicken mixed with that pungent smell of eggs hit her like a punch to the face…or to the stomach. Really it was all things poultry that were enemy number one on the
not-so-friendly
list.

She got to the bathroom just in time, dropping to her knees and ridding herself of the tiny cup of fruit and few crackers she'd managed to eat earlier. Her stomach cramped painfully, apparently hell bent on proving to her just what was going to happen if she continued to try to put anything in it.

Her skin broke out into a sweat, her eyes watered, and her head pounded. It took her a minute to catch her breath, but the disorienting ringing in her ears was going full force. Her head spun as she stood up, forcing her to grab on to the wall for balance. She stood there for a couple of seconds, holding on to the wall as she attempted to pull herself together.

It took a lot longer than she'd imagined.

When she got her breathing under control she cleaned herself up as much as she could in the tiny stall, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. What she really wanted was to rinse her mouth with water.

Well, if she was being honest, what she'd really like was to drink some water, but she wasn't all that sure if her stomach would be kind enough for even that at the moment.

She opened the door and took one step before she registered that she wasn't alone. She stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted Mel and Grace who were both leaning against the counter, their arms folded across their chests and their eyes focused on her.

“So are you going to start talking?” Mel spoke first.

“Or are we going to have to force it out of you?” Grace finished.

Now Harper wasn't much for losing her shit. Really, she was more the suffer-in-silence type. But as she looked at her two best friends everything hit her. The sob that broke out of her mouth a second later was one she couldn't hold back any longer. The two women converged on her, wrapping her up in their arms as she lost it.

“We're here, Harp,” Mel whispered as she rubbed her hand up and down Harper's back.

“Always will be,” Grace said.

When Harper managed to somewhat rein herself back in, she pulled away from their embrace.

Grace reached behind her and grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter. “Please tell us what's going on.”

“Yeah. Is it Brad?” Mel asked.

Harper took the tissue, shaking her head. “No. It's something else…
someone
else.”

“Someone?”

“When…
what
?” Grace's eyebrows bunched in confusion.

Harper didn't have a chance to answer either of her friends' questions when the bathroom door opened.

Abby Fields walked in, a streak of green icing on her cheek and bits of cake in her auburn hair. Abby was Paige's best friend—had been since both women were five years old—and was now an honorary member of the close-knit girls in Mirabelle. She was actually a recent transplant to Florida herself, though she lived about three and a half hours east in Jacksonville.

The woman was busy, there was no doubt. She was about two months into her new job running the PR department for St. Ignatius, one of the top hospitals in the south
and
her new official relationship with a now Stanley Cup winner Logan James. The Stampede had just won two days ago, but Abby had taken a break from the celebrations to come to the shower.

Abby took in the scene in front of her, her steps faltering as she walked into the bathroom. “Trevor discovered the cake table,” she explained.

“Ahh,” all three women said as they took a step back from the sinks to make room.

Grace excused herself to one of the stalls, while Harper washed her hands and Mel fiddled with her short blond curls in the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door.

Abby made quick work at the sink, cleaning herself up and unsnapping her purse to pull out her compact. She touched up her makeup before she turned to Harper, a bottle of eyedrops in her hand. “Allergies sure have been a bitch this year.”

“Thanks.” Harper managed a watery smile as she grabbed the bottle.

“No problem. And keep it.” Abby nodded to the bottle before she reached out, touching Harper's hand lightly, and then headed out of the bathroom.

Harper tilted her head back and put a few drops into each eye, grabbing another tissue and dabbing at the new stream of moisture on her face.

“Okay,” Grace said as she came out of the bathroom stall and started washing her hands in the sink. “Start talking.”

“Can we not do this here? Please?” Harper shook her head, doing everything in her power to hold back the fresh wave of tears that threatened.

She knew she needed to tell them. That she actually wanted to tell them. To talk to her best friends and tell them everything that was going on. She just didn't want it to be in a bathroom where anyone that was still there cleaning up could walk in on the conversation. She was under no delusions that she'd be able to keep it together when she told Mel and Grace everything.

None.

“Your reprieve is only going to last as long as it takes for everyone to leave.” The severe look on Mel's face brokered no argument.

“Yup, as soon as everyone clears out we are having ourselves a little conversation. Got it?”

“Got it.” Harper nodded, taking a deep breath to fortify herself.

The truth was definitely about to will out…and very, very soon.

Grace had kept her word. There was no dilly-dallying in storytelling. As soon as the last person was out the door, she flipped the lock and pulled Harper and Mel into the back of the café. She was able to do this as she was part owner of said café. Her grandmother, Lula Mae King, had opened it years ago, and Grace was now in charge of all the baked goods.

As it was well past Rosie Mae's naptime, she'd gone home with her great-grandmother, so the women were able to talk freely. They all settled into the table and chairs set up in the back corner of the café kitchen, and Harper told them every last detail…except for one very important one.

She left out the fact that she was without a doubt in love with Liam. For now, she was going to keep that to herself.

“So I'm pregnant,” Harper finished, looking both of them in the eye in turn. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a wave of relief.

They knew. She'd told someone.
Two
someones. She wasn't alone in this.

After a few beats of silence, where both of her friends digested the news, Mel was the first to talk. “Okay, I'm going to ask the obvious question here. How did this happen? You guys did…you know…use protection, didn't you? And aren't you on birth control?”

“I stopped taking it after Brad, which is why everything has been a bit irregular lately. And we did use condoms…they just didn't work.”

“No kidding,” Grace said slowly, still in shock. “Does he know?”

Harper shook her head. “Not yet.”

“
Yet
. So you
are
going to tell him?” Mel asked.

“Yes. I am.” She nodded, and she was going to have to tell him much sooner than later.

She'd long since programmed his number into her phone. She'd also spent more than one night staring at the piece of paper that he'd written said number on—and his address for that matter—all those weeks ago.

She was pathetic. Just another thing to add to the list.

She could keep going, but she wasn't really interested in feeling more depressed about the situation. She'd reached her max.

“And after?” Mel asked.

“I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen after I tell him…if he'll want to be involved, or if I'll be raising this child alone. Because I
will
be raising this child. That much I do know. Without a doubt.”

“Well, that's good, but you're wrong about one thing,” Grace said as she reached across the table and grabbed Harper's hand.

“Yeah,” Mel agreed as she grabbed Harper's other hand. “You will
not
be raising this child alone.”

And there was another thing to be added to the list.

Because not telling her friends earlier had been
beyond
foolish.

The waiting area of the women's health wing of the Atticus County Hospital was almost empty when Harper and Mel took a seat, but that's what Harper had been hoping for when she'd made the eight a.m. appointment.

She'd asked Beth—who was an OB/GYN nurse and had gotten a job at the hospital when she'd moved back—to get her in as early as possible, and her friend had complied.

“You're going to need to get me another cup of coffee when we leave here,” Mel said around another yawn.

“Seriously, don't your classes start at seven in the morning?”

Mel was a high school math teacher so she kept an early schedule nine months out of the year, something that Harper found to be a miracle as her friend wasn't much of a morning person…actually she wasn't a morning person in the slightest little bit. The woman required multiple cups of coffee in the morning to actually function like a human.

“Yes.” Mel nodded. “But in the summer I keep summer hours, which means sleeping in.”

“Your husband let you get away with that?” Harper asked as she started to fill out the forms in front of her.

Name: Harper Maria Laurence

“Are you kidding? Bennett sleeps in, too. He takes full advantage of longer mornings in bed.”

Age: Twenty-six

“I'll just bet he does.” She did her best to keep her voice neutral when she checked the single box.

Not alone. Not alone. Not alone.
She told herself. The fact that Mel was there was proof positive of this fact. And Harper knew beyond a doubt that Mel had absolutely no qualms about being in the doctor's office that early in the morning. Mel was making a valiant attempt at distracting Harper, and though it wasn't working all that much, she appreciated the effort nonetheless.

Mel continued talking as Harper started to fill out her address.

She lived on the third floor of a walk-up. Two bedrooms, one her “laboratory”/storage for the lotions and oils she made. There was barely enough room in there as it was, so it would definitely be too small for a baby's nursery. Who was she kidding? The entire apartment would be too small for a baby's nursery.

What was she going to do? The rent for the place was pretty much the max that she could afford as it was, and now she was going to have so many more added expenses when the baby came along.

Oh God.

“Hey.” Mel's hand was on Harper's knee squeezing lightly. “Where did you just go?”

She turned to look at her friend, knowing that her wide eyes were filled with a fear she couldn't control. “I'm either going to have to be homeless with a baby or move back in with my parents.”

“Okay, I don't think those are your only options. So let's stop spiraling. And how about I finish filling this out,” Mel said as she pulled the clipboard and pen out of Harper's hands. “One step at a time, babe, and I don't think we are anywhere near where you just went.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Here.” She reached over and grabbed the newest copy of
People.
“Read up on what's going on with Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian, it will make you feel better about your life. One because you've yet to prance around wearing a slutty teddy bear onesie while doing this.” She stuck out her tongue and held up two peace signs. “Nor have you been impregnated by Kanye West.” She paused, tilting her head to the side as she narrowed her eyes on Harper. “I mean, Kanye isn't the father, is he? You didn't just say Liam as a code name, did you?”

“She's got jokes, ladies and gentlemen.” Harper rolled her eyes, but she did have a smile creeping up her face as she focused on the magazine in her lap.

It was another five minutes before Harper heard her name called. She looked up to find Beth holding the door open. Her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing light blue scrubs that were almost the exact same shade as her eyes. Eyes that widened fractionally when she saw that Mel was sitting next to Harper.