Page 150 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
I pushed my tired legs, sprinting the remaining distance, and burst through the tree line.
Fuck.
The cabin where Emmy and I had spent our fantastic anniversary weekend was burning down. Smoke was pouring out of the windows, and flames were visible through the open door.
A coughing noise had my head spinning toward the shed off the driveway.
An elderly man was dragging a hose toward the house. His face was covered in black soot and he was struggling to stay on his feet.
Rushing to his side, I helped him stand. “Is there anyone else inside?”
“My wife!” the man yelled. “I need to get her. She’s trapped upstairs!”
“I’ll get her. Stay here.” I helped the man sit on the ground and spun around to the house. “Here!” I shouted to Trent who had just cleared the trees. “Use this and call 9-1-1. Tell them we’re at the cabin up Old Haggerty Trail. Got it?”
Trent scrambled to catch the phone I had tossed him. “What are you doing? You can’t go in there!” Trent shouted.
I ignored him and took the front steps two at a time. The second I crossed through the door, a wave of heat assaulted my skin. Smoke choked my throat and burned my eyes.
I had just run into a wall of flames.
Emmeline
A white stick, two minutes, one word, and my entire life was different.
Pregnant.
“Oh my god,” I whispered, tears falling from my eyes.
I started laughing and crying at the same time. Was this real? It was such a profound moment in my life that I had a hard time believing it was true.
The dread that I’d felt earlier at the prospect of dealing with my father had vanished. He could criticize as much as he wanted for all I cared. It was inconsequential.
I had much more important things to concern myself with.
Like how I was going to share this amazing news with Nick and how I was going to decorate the nursery.
“Good morning,” I told Steffie.
“Hi,” she muttered.
I had just let myself into the house and found her sitting on the living room couch, typing something into her phone.
“Do you want to get some breakfast at the café before we head to the spa?” I asked.
“No. I want to stay here.” She set down her phone and stared out the living room window, refusing to look at me.
“Okay.”
I sat quietly for a few minutes while I waited for Steffie to say something. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet. She was always so outgoing and wonderfully loud. She hated silence. In college, I’d had to study exclusively at the library because our apartment had always been bustling with activity.
“Are you okay?” I finally asked. Maybe her pregnancy was troubling her. I was glad Nick and my father were busy on their hike so I could talk to her about how she was really feeling about becoming a mother.
If it weren’t for Nick not knowing yet, I would have told Steffie about my own exciting news so we could celebrate together.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine,” I said.
