Page 2 of My Little Doe
“Twenty-two.”
“I sure hope he plans to help support this child.”
“I haven’t told him. I’ve only told you.”
“Well, you should probably give him a call, don’t you think? Probably get into the doctor?”
“I went to the clinic, but once she told me I was pregnant, I walked out in shock.”
“Well, you should probably get that done…” She finished her beer and shook it at me. I knew what she wanted, so I stood and grabbed her another one.
I went to my room and climbed into my bed. Aspen had been sleeping in there for several hours. We only had three bedrooms—Aspen and I shared a room and a bed. Sometimes I stayed up until four or five, but I’d been quite tired lately. I thought I was getting sick, which is why I went to the clinic. As soon as my eyes closed, I drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, I knew what I needed to do. I hadn’t actually been to Daxyn’s house, nor did I have his number. I really didn’t know much about him.
I called my cousin—Maggie—and asked her for his number, but she said that she didn’t know it. She was the one who introduced us. She told me that she was about to go to work and that he usually came into the restaurant for lunch. I told her that he’d left a necklace at my house the last time he came over, and it looked expensive. I wasn’t quite ready to share the news with anyone else.
It didn’t take him long to stop by. He pulled into our driveway on a Ducati. The sight of him was exactly why I was in this situation. He pulled his helmet off and shook his brown hair. He kicked the kickstand down and dismounted his bike.
“Maggie told me you have a… necklace of mine?” He cocked his head to the side slightly, one eyebrow raised.
“I don’t actually… I needed to talk to you…”
“Um… okay?”
“Can we sit on the porch?”
“No. I’ve got stuff going on and need to be quick. So, whatever you need to say, it’s going to need to be quick.”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
His eyes widened. “Congrats, I reckon. Why do I care?”
“You and I hooked up five weeks ago… on my birthday.”
“I doubt it’s mine. It was one time.”
“You’re the only person I’ve hooked up with in over three months… so definitely yours.”
“Doubtful. You should get rid of it… You’re too young and don’t have the means for a kid.”
“What? No.”
“It can’t be mine,” he said, grabbing his helmet.
“Well, maybe you missed out on how babies are made, but we did have sex without a condom.”
“Whatever, I gotta go.” He put his helmet on, got on his bike, and before I could even say anything else, he was gone.
I stood in my driveway staring down the road. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t that. I went back to the porch and sat down. Aspen played by herself with her yard toys. Women raised babies alone all the time. I told myself I’d handle it, and I’d raise this baby alone if I had to.
Chapter 2
I woke up nauseous the next day. I hadn’t vomited yet, but it felt like I wanted to multiple times a day. Smells that I once enjoyed made me instantly queasy. The day before had gone so sideways. After Daxyn left, I moped around the house before going to bed early with Aspen.
Aspen always knew when I needed human affection. She was so in tune with me. When I felt sad, she knew it and would hug me longer. I didn’t have to say it. She held my hand until both of us fell asleep.
In the mornings, after I got Aspen dressed, I walked her to school and then went to work at the bakery. Our family only had one car, and while my mom helped me get my driver's license when I was sixteen, there wasn’t any extra money for me to have my own car. Paxton worked thirty minutes away in the mountains of Tennessee during the day. When he got home, my mom left for her job. Somehow, even though all three of us were working, it wasn’t enough.
