Page 87 of A New Chapter

“Do you think you can keep it a secret for that long?”

“I’m going to try. I want to be face to face when I give him the news.”

Emma took a long swallow of iced tea and sat back. She felt much more relaxed now that she had made up her mind. She and Debbie moved onto other subjects while they nibbled on cheese and crackers.

“Let me show you to the guest room,” Debbie suggested once they were finished. “I set you up in the spare bedroom that connects to a bathroom. Just in case you have to get up in the middle of the night!”

How strange. Emma would have to get used to the references about her pregnancy. It still didn’t feel real and probably wouldn’t for a while yet. Debbie left her to freshen up and closed the door behind her. After using the restroom, Emma sat down on the comfy daybed, took a deep breath, and dialed Zack. He would probably still be at work, but she didn’t want to wait any longer.

He answered on the first ring. “Finally. I was about to contact the Charlotte Police Department to hunt you down.”

Emma couldn’t help but laugh at his overprotectiveness. “Hello to you too.”

“Are you at Phil’s? Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m fine. What about you? Still at work?”

“No. I just picked up Gracie, and we’re on our way to meet Alicia.”

Wait, what?

Zack immediately cleared up her confusion. “Alicia has to work late tonight, so I offered to drive Gracie down to her office instead of waiting for her to get off work.”

“Oh. Are you and Damian going out tonight?”

“No. He’s hanging out with Kelly, so I’ll be on my own.”

Emma picked up on the disappointment in his voice. “Sorry, Zack. I didn’t intend on…”

“Don’t apologize, Em. It’s ok. You’ll be home in a couple days.”

She might have been suspicious about his sudden change of heart, but she knew there was no way that he would drive down to North Carolina to see her. The drive from Detroit to Chicago was one thing, but Detroit to Charlotte… well, that would just be ridiculous!

Just then, she heard Gracie’s voice pipe up from the back seat. “I want to talk to Miss Emma. Let me talk, Dad.”

Emma smiled at the sound of Gracie’s cheerful voice. “Go ahead and put her on, Zack.” She heard the sound of the phone changing hands, followed by…

“Guess what, Miss Emma? There’s only six more days until Christmas!”

“I know. I bet you’re so excited.”

“I hope I get a puppy!”

Emma heard Zack’s deep voice in the background say, “No puppy until you’re at least ten!”

How Emma wished that she were sitting in the front seat of Zack’s Range Rover at that very moment. Instead, she was hundreds of miles away, all because she had been too afraid to face him.

“Are you coming to Nana and Papa’s house for Christmas?” Gracie asked.

“Yes, of course. I’m looking forward to it.”

Satisfied, Gracie said, “Here’s Dad.”

At the same time, Emma heard Phil’s voice drift down the hall. She said, “Zack, I should go. Phil just got home, and I haven’t seen him yet.”

“Ok, sure. Call me later.”

“I will.” After Emma hung up, she realized that he purposely hadn’t said goodbye.