"I think Maya Angelou originally said that."

"Who are you?" I ask and pull away. "Since when are you all mushy and touchy-feely? It's weirding me out."

He laughs and shrugs. "I'm in touch with my touchy-feely side."

"Yuck." He laughs again and crosses his arms over his chest. I love him so much. "You know, Ty, you're my rock when everything else falls apart. I love you."

"I love you too."

"How is Zack?" I ask quietly.

"A f.u.c.king mess."

I nod and cringe, suddenly feeling guilty. "I'll think about what you said."

"Stop thinking everything to death and just f.u.c.king talk to the man." He shrugs into his coat and hugs me once more then tweaks the end of my nose. "Take a shower. Put on some makeup. And for G.o.d's sake, get out of those yoga pants."

"Yes, fashion guru."

He waves and leaves and I run for the bathroom, I have to pee so badly. When I finish and wipe, there is blood on the tissue and I immediately feel light-headed.

Oh Christ Jesus, no.

I mentally count the weeks in my head. I should be roughly six weeks pregnant. Many women miscarry around this time and never know they were pregnant. They just a.s.sume their period was late.

No, no, no.

I'm due to have my next appointment and ultrasound with Hannah in two days, but I definitely can't wait that long.

I wipe again, but there's no blood this time.

Oh G.o.d, what if I'm losing this baby?

I call the doctor's office and spill my story first to the receptionist, who transfers me to Hannah's nurse, and I tell it all over again, becoming more hysterical by the minute.

"Was it bright red or brown?" she asks.

"Brownish."

"Well, it could be normal . . ."

"But it could not be normal. Can I come in or not?" I sound like a complete b.i.t.c.h, but I can't help it. I'm panicking.

"Yes, Jill, come on in. Hannah will work you in."

"Thank you," I sob and end the call, then immediately call Cara.

"Hey, chickie," she answers with a grin in her voice.

"Cara," I cry and rush to my bedroom to find a bra. "I have to go to the doctor."

"What's happened? Jilly, are you okay?"

I can hear voices in the background but I don't know, or care, who it is. "No. I'm not okay. I'm spotting."

"s.h.i.t," she mutters. "Are you going to Hannah's office now?"

"Yes."

"You shouldn't drive yourself. You're too upset."

"I can't wait," I reply and shove my feet in boots. "But can you come meet me?"

"Of course I can. I'm on my way right now. Jill, drive slow, hear me?"

"I hear you. Oh G.o.d, Cara, I can't lose this baby." I clutch the phone tightly in my hand and lean against the front door. "I can't lose it."

"You're not gonna lose it, babe. Hannah will take care of it. Just get there in one piece. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Okay." I wipe my cheeks, grab my purse, and head out to my car. "Thank you."

I end the call, take a deep breath, then drive the short distance to Hannah's office.

"Hi, Jill. We're expecting you." The receptionist smiles rea.s.suringly. "Have a seat and someone will come get you in a moment."

"Thank you."

There's a woman sitting nearby reading her e-reader, snapping gum. She has to be at least a hundred months pregnant. Her belly is huge.

"Jill?" Hannah's nurse calls as she steps through the door that leads to the exam rooms.

"Hi." I stand and follow her back. "I'm sorry I was such a b.i.t.c.h on the phone. I'm just scared."

"Trust me, you're fine," she replies with a laugh. "I'm going to take some vitals and then Hannah will be in to talk with you. It might be a few minutes, she's on her way back here from the hospital. She just had a delivery."

"Oh, okay. Thank you."

She weighs me, takes my temperature and blood pressure, then has me change into the usual gown with paper blanket and I sit and wait.

And wait.

I check my phone every two minutes to look at the time. After ten minutes, there's commotion in the hallway, and I hear a man say, "Where is she! What room?"

Zack!

The door is flung open and Zack fills the doorway, his eyes wide with fear and chest heaving. When he sees me, he rushes in and pulls me into his arms.

"Did you come from the ranch?" I ask incredulously.

"Yes, I was there when you called Cara."

"I thought Cara was coming."

"If you think I'd let you be here, scared and bleeding, by yourself, you have another think coming."

"Zack, how fast did you drive?"

"Are we seriously talking about this right now?" he asks and leans back to look at me. I ease out of his grasp and his face falls, and my stomach clenches. Just when I'm about to reach for him again, Hannah knocks briskly and opens the door.

"Hi, Jill, thanks for waiting. Oh, hi, Zack." She shakes both of our hands and then begins making notes in her iPad. "Tell me what happened this morning."

"There was blood when I went to the bathroom."

Zack rubs his fingers over his mouth in agitation. G.o.d, I can't take my eyes off him. I haven't seen him in three weeks. He looks amazing. Tired. His eyes look sad and scared.

But he's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen.

"How much blood?" Hannah asks. "Was it enough that you needed a pad in your underwear?"

"No, it was just on the toilet paper."

"What color?" I glance at Zack and feel my cheeks flush.

"Brown."

"And did you wipe again?"

"Yes, but there wasn't anything there."

She glances up at me and blinks, then back at her iPad.

"Well, this doesn't sound too daunting. Many women have minor spotting, especially in the early stages of pregnancy."

"Yes, but many women also miscarry at this stage and never even know they were pregnant. They just a.s.sume their period was late."

"That's true. We have you scheduled for your viability ultrasound on Friday, but since you're here, we'll go ahead and have a look. I think you're fine, but we'll do our best to put your mind at ease today."

"Thank you." I sigh in relief. Hannah rolls a machine that has a monitor and keyboard on it close to the table and instructs me to lie back, my feet in the stirrups.

"Dad, you can stand by Mom's head and watch with her," Hannah instructs Zack, who grins and stands next to me, still not touching me.

She unclips a long wand from the machine, covers it with a condom, and drips clear jelly over it.

"Um, that's not like any ultrasound thingy I've ever seen," I comment.

"This is a v.a.g.i.n.al ultrasound. You're still too early for us to see anything externally."

"Oh, goodie," I reply dryly and curl my toes when she pushes my thighs wide.

"No signs of blood," she murmurs and grins up at me. "That's good."

I nod and then turn my gaze to the monitor as it comes to life. Hannah moves the wand back and forth, takes still photos of what looks like blobs to me.

"Hmm," she says and clicks the keys some more.

"Hmm what?" Zack asks impatiently.

Hannah grins. "Just a second."

I glance up at him. He's squinting, trying to make sense of the screen and what it is we're looking at.

"Well," Hannah says, "there's a heartbeat."

Sure enough, there is a little tiny flutter on the screen. Tears fill my eyes as I watch with awe as she points to the monitor.

"This is the amniotic sac, this is a baby, and the heartbeat." She moves the wand just a tiny bit and then chuckles as I see the heartbeat again.

"And there is baby B."

My head whips around to stare at Hannah in shock.

"Excuse me?"

"Baby B," Hannah repeats as I grab for Zack's hand. He holds it tightly in his and wraps his arm over my head, gently stroking my hair. "Looks like we have twins. There are two sacs, two babies."

My gaze finds Zack's as tears fall down my cheeks. "We're having two babies," I whisper.

"Yes, ma'am, we are," he replies and kisses my forehead.

Holy Mary, mother of G.o.d, I'm having twins!

CHAPTER.

Twenty.

ZACK.