War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy (latest ebook reader .TXT) 📕

over to Paisley and down to where their hands intertwined. Bethany actively squealed and danced in place before racing over to throw her arms around Paisley. They traded enthusiastic hugs and what he thought of as girl greetings, and when Bethany pulled back, her deep brown eyes were misty.

“Garrett would be so happy you two are back together.” She waved a finger between them. “And don’t think I’m gonna let you out of here without hearing how that happened.”

Ty shifted on his feet, not knowing how to respond. He didn’t know how to talk about Garrett without the clawing pain of loss.

As her father discretely slipped back into the house, Bethany reached out to clasp Ty’s hand with a knowing look. “He wanted you happy.”

“I know.” Willing down the knot in his throat, he tried for a smile that probably came off more like a grimace. “He wanted you happy, too.”

“I am. I mean, of course, I wish he was here every day and that I wasn’t doing this alone. But I’m doing what we wanted.”

Ty was missing something, but he recognized her intensity. “Doing what?”

Her smile dialed up to beaming. “I’m pregnant.”

If an actual bomb had gone off in the backyard, he’d have been less shocked. For several long moments, his mouth simply opened and closed with no sound. Even Paisley seemed at a loss for words.

At last, he managed, “You’re…I…who?”

Bethany laughed. “It’s Garrett’s baby.”

“But…how?” Garrett had been dead for two years.

“IVF. I’ve had fertility issues for years. We were going through all the treatments for more than a year before he was killed. It was my second round. There’s a high rate of miscarriage. I lost three before he died. But we had two viable embryos left, and I decided to use them. This one stuck.”

“Garrett’s baby?” Stunned, Ty started to reach out and touch her stomach, but pulled back.

She grabbed his hand and laid it over her belly. “Garrett’s baby. You’re going to be an uncle.”

He could feel the gentle swell of it beneath the blousy shirt that had camouflaged the bump. A sign of life. Of a hope he’d thought long extinguished. A piece of the man he’d loved as a brother all his life.

“Oh my God. Oh my God!” He scooped her up into a massive, spinning hug, then abruptly set her back down, worried he’d break her. “Are you okay? Is altitude bad for the baby? Are you feeling sick? I’ll get some ginger ale. Can you have ginger ale?”

Bethany practically wheezed with laughter, her long-lashed eyes glittering, and he couldn’t even care it was at his expense. He was too consumed with this bubbly, buoyant feeling in his blood. It took him a few moments to recognize the alien sensation as joy.

Paisley got in on the hug train again. “This is amazing! How far along are you?”

“A little over four months. So, I feel confident in actually announcing it. That’s what today is about. I’m glad y’all got here early, though, so I could tell you first.”

“What do you need?” Ty demanded. “How can I help?”

“I’m good. I’ve sold the house, and I’m moving home. My dads have always wanted me to join the practice, and they’re over the moon at the chance to be active grandpas. Plus, Garrett’s family will want to be involved.” She laid a hand on her belly. “This baby will be incredibly loved.”

Already thinking about all the things he wanted to teach the kid and stories he wanted to share about Garrett, Ty’s throat went thick again. “Yeah.”

The doorbell rang again.

“Host duty calls.” Bethany squeezed Ty’s arm and brushed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m glad you’re here.” She looked to Paisley. “Both of you.”

As they watched her walk into the house, Paisley cuddled up close. “You okay, Galahad?”

Looking at the door where Bethany disappeared, he nodded. “Yeah. I think maybe I finally am.”

Epilogue

They were among the last to leave the party. Paisley had happily caught up with other Coopers Bend friends she hadn’t seen in years, while Ty stuck close to Bethany. He was doting and ecstatic. After the added guilt she knew he’d carried about the baby she’d lost after Garrett’s death, it was lovely to see. It was also intriguing.

In high school, neither of them had been thinking about children, and in their time together as adults, it certainly hadn’t come up. Paisley had long ago given up on the idea of having kids. She liked her life, liked the one she was building with Ty. Unlike Emerson, her biological clock wasn’t sounding a gong. But watching his solicitous attention to the mama to be, it was hard not to wonder whether he’d ever wanted to be a father and what it would be like to be the focus of that kind of attention.

By the time they slid into his truck, the sun was sinking below the horizon. Paisley slid off her heels and began to massage her arches. “Well, that was not at all what I was expecting of today.”

“It’s a helluva thing. I can’t decide if she’s brave or crazy, doing this on her own. I mean obviously she’s not entirely on her own, but it won’t be the same.”

“I expect it’s a little bit of brave and crazy. Although personally, I think that essentially defines parenthood in general. Still, I’m sure there will be a whole host of challenges that come up that she didn’t anticipate.”

“Isn’t that parenthood, too?”

“True enough.” Although she wondered if Bethany wouldn’t have it worse. The choice to have her dead husband’s baby, well after his death, was going to have tongues wagging. There’d be some who assumed it wasn’t IVF and she was covering up involvement with someone else. People could be awful. But Paisley kept that to herself. No reason to dampen the joy.

Seeing her opening, she asked the question that had been circling all afternoon. “Did you ever want that? Parenthood?”

Ty shot her a speculative look from the driver’s seat.

“That’s not a hint,