Inflame

“Oh, Jesus, that was a close one. I’m not sure I would’ve made it if I weren’t wearing a dress. I swear, this little guy must think my bladder’s a trampoline because he sure is having fun pressing up against it at the most inopportune times.” Once she stops talking, she looks at Tara and gives her an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, first-time mom-to-be. I have a problem with my filter, especially when I forget I’m in public.”

“That’s okay. I have two of my own, so I know exactly how you feel. There’s no mercy when it comes to your baby and your bladder sometimes.” Tara’s eyes are on me as I look up, surprised at her admission. She raises her brow at me then looks back at Lucy, holding her hand out. “I’m Tara, by the way.”

Lucy grabs ahold of her hand for a shake at the same time that she rests her other one on her belly. “Lucy. Nice to meet you.” I watch as Tara’s eyes trail down to her belly, and I quickly sign the receipt and grab the cake, but it’s too late.

Tara turns towards me, cocking an eyebrow. “No ring? Kale, you surprise me. It only took you about three days to propose to me. Why the wait? You were all so eager for a wife and a baby. I’m shocked you haven’t already tried to lock her down.”

Lucy’s eyes dart back and forth between us, and she clears her throat. A tight smile crosses her face. “Apparently you two have a history I’m not privy to, but for your information, Tara, it’s 2014. A baby doesn’t equate marriage anymore. Where I come from, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a child out of wedlock.”

I go to take Lucy’s hand, but she holds it out of reach. Tara’s jaw sets as she looks at Lucy, and the tension between the two permeates the air. A smirk forms over Tara’s face.

“Maybe where you come from that’s true, but the Kale I knew would never have a child without making sure he’s going to be a permanent part of its life. I just find it odd that he hasn’t done that with you. I guess it’s just one of life’s little mysteries.”

Lucy visibly pales then collects herself and stands up straight, squaring her shoulders. In that instance, I realize that Mom was right. Lucy’s much stronger than I was giving her credit for, and I was a fucking fool for thinking she couldn’t handle it.

“It’s obvious you two have some sort of unfinished business. If you don’t mind, I’m going to wait in the car while you figure it out.” Without another word, she brushes past me, hurrying to the car.

“Oh, Kale, I hope I didn’t upset her,” Tara says in a fake sugary voice that sets me over the edge.

Leaning across the counter, I respond in a slow, deliberate fashion. “After being raised by a single mom with twin sisters, I never thought I’d ever say this, but what the hell. You’re a fucking cunt. You know that?” I pause as her eyes widen. “A fucking selfish, manipulative cunt, and while I may never forgive you for what you did, I’m happy as hell I didn’t get saddled down with you. The reason I proposed to you was because I thought I loved you, but I don’t see how I could’ve ever loved someone like you.

“That girl out there? She doesn’t need my fucking ring, and she’s certainly not getting it out of obligation. I know deep down in my fucking soul that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with her, whether she has a ring or not. When I do propose to her, and that’s a fucking when, not an if, it won’t be because she’s carrying my kid like I did with you. It’ll be because I can’t spend another fucking day with her not having my name. Because I can’t fucking breathe at the thought of a life without her. Because I love her so goddamn much that I won’t run the risk of someone as beautiful, as kindhearted, as loving, as absolutely fucking perfect for me slip through my fingers. And you know what, Tara? I already feel all those fucking things, but unlike you and me, I want to do it when she’s ready, not because fucking society and a pregnancy test prompt me to do it.”

My chest is heaving as I finish, and I know I should feel bad for my tirade, but I honestly don’t. It’s been brewing for ten years, and it feels fucking good to finally get it out. Tara’s looking down at the counter, avoiding my eyes. I grab the cake, ready to get the fuck out of here.

“Now if you don’t mind, I have a baby shower to salvage, a pregnant girlfriend to grovel to, and a mom and best friend that are going to say, ‘I told you so.’ Have a nice fucking life.”

As I stroll out of the cake shop, I resist the urge to call her a cunt again. Mom would be appalled, but I know Kaylie’d be cheering me on. When I get into the car, I hand the cake to Lucy and she takes it without even glancing down at it. I place my hand on the back of the headrest and try to get her to look at me.

“Baby…” I plead, but she just keeps looking out the window.

“Don’t, Kale. I’m not sure what the hell just happened, but I’m pretty good at putting two and two together. Can we not ruin what is supposed to be a happy day?”

I let out a deep sigh, and lean in to press a kiss against her hair. “That’s probably a good idea. I love you, Lucy,” I whisper against her, and her only response is a single tear the falls down her cheek, and my heart plummets, knowing that I’m the one who’s causing her to cry.

Lucy

I’M CLENCHING my fists together, taking in deep breaths as I wonder what in the hell just happened. When I came out of the bathroom, I could sense a weird vibe between Kale and the woman behind the cash register. She was staring at him with a strange expression, one that was an odd mixture of malice and affection. It made no sense, and I didn’t fail to notice the way Kale was gripping the counter tightly. His jaw was set and he looked a

That Tara woman’s words flow through my brain like an endless circular river of information as I try to piece it all together. Is this what Kale’s been keeping from me all along? And the shit Xavier mentioned he’d gone through? Is Tara what he meant? I’m overwhelmed as the puzzle pieces start to fit together in my mind, and for a brief moment, I begin to freak out.

“I have two myself.”

The thought that one of them might be Kale’s enters my mind, and I visibly begin to shake. Leaning my head back against the headrest, I close my eyes and try to calm my breathing as I push the thought out of my mind. There’s no way Kale would be an absent father.

The next worst-case scenario sets in, and as upset as I might be with him, my heart breaks at the thought that he should be father already but clearly isn’t. If I’m right, then Kale and Tara were engaged and expecting once upon a time, and now that they’re clearly not together and without a child, the thought that she miscarried sends a shiver of empathetic pain through my veins.

Suddenly, it all makes sense. The way he held me in fear the night after the first ultrasound, the guilt over not protecting Lily, the overprotectiveness when it comes to Sprout. Whatever happened with him and Tara, he’s been terrified of repeating, and the toll of it all begins to take hold. I don’t understand why he felt the need to keep this from me. After everything we’ve been through, why couldn’t he tell me? A million questions roll through my mind, and all I know is that I don’t have an answer to a single one because Kale didn’t trust me enough to let me into that part of his past.

Resting my hand protectively on my belly, I try to force all the doubts away, but it’s nearly impossible. Everything I was afraid of in the begi

As I glance back into the bakery, I notice Kale leaning in close to her, and I have to tear my eyes away. It’s clear to me that he still has pent-up issues in regards to her, and until they’re vanquished, I have no idea how we’re going to move forward.