The Unexpected Series (Unexpected #1-3) by Amy Marie Read Free Book Online Page B

over.”
    Crap! Dragging my hands down my face, I realize I forgot about going over there for dinner tonight. With my family’s busy lives, it’s hard to get us all nailed down to one gathering. Knowing there isn’t a chance in hell I can cancel on her, I reassure her I would see them all tonight and share all the beautiful details of the trip along with pictures. It’s going to be tough to keep the baby a secret until I see a doctor. As if the ten pregnancy tests weren’t verification enough the doctor’s tests should do it.
    Hoping to cleanse away the awful mood I am in so I don’t alarm anyone, I take a warm bath closing my eyes and letting my body relax. Washing with pear scented body scrub, I stop when my hands come to rest on my stomach, tears break through the barrier of my lids. To my surprise, I speak to my little one for the first time. “We’ll be okay. We’ll make it through. I promise.” And I know we will.
    ~~
    M y mom lives in Buffalo Grove, a city in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, in the same house I was brought home to when I was born. The three bedroom ranch house sits in a quiet middle class neighborhood. The beautiful park diagonally across the street brings back memories of countless carefree childhood days, long lost and of running around the lake in high school. The driveway is full with my sibling’s cars, forcing me to park on the street and walk up the sidewalk. Over the past year, every time I walk up the three steps leading to the door, I am saddened that my father isn’t behind the glass with his megawatt smile and welcoming kiss to the cheek. Instead, I’m cheerfully greeted by my six feet two brother and his mini me.
    “Erin, nice of you to join us finally,” Trent says wrapping me in a hug. One year old Jason takes the opportunity to latch onto my hair and pull himself into my arms.
    “Hey, Trent! And how is my handsome fella?” I ask when Jason grabs me around my neck making a face at the taste of my hair.
    Screams of my name explode in the house when my sister’s kids come barreling down the hall, knocking me down and pinning me to the floor.
    “Auntie Erin!” My seven year old niece Marie excitedly yells into my ear. “Guess what! Nick threw up all over mommy and she said ‘shit’.”
    “Marie! Don’t say ‘shit’,” Nicole scolds from the kitchen. Giggling, I pull all the kids off me, give them each their own bear hug and send them back to the basement to play.
    The short walk from the front entrance to the kitchen is filled with pictures of all three of us as kids growing up and now yearly pictures of all five, soon to be six, grandkids. A hint of a smile breaks out when I think about having my little bean’s picture up there soon. The unexpected notion shocks me.
    The moment my foot hits the kitchen threshold the smell of chicken invades my senses and a wave of queasiness comes over me. Both women twist around just in time to see me cover my mouth and turn to run to the bathroom. I am met with a hard as stone chest when Trent grabs my arms stopping me. “Where ya goin’ so fast, sis?”
    Fighting back the bile rising in my throat, I run around him to the bathroom, slamming the door and barely making it to the toilet to void the four crackers I ate on the way here.
    My sister’s tiny fists begin to beat on the door just as the dry heaves begin. “Open the door, Erin! Are you okay?”
    “Go away!” I bellow, trying to catch my breath.
    The door flies open anyway, and Nicole, who looks to be just an older version of myself, bends down feeling my forehead. “Are you sick? You don’t feel warm.”
    “What’s going on?” I hear my mother’s anxious voice say from behind us.
    “Nothing. Just give me a minute, please.” Reaching for some toilet paper, I wipe the excess saltines away.
    Everyone clears out of the bathroom and the looks on their faces tell me they don’t believe that it’s nothing. They shouldn’t. I don’t think I’ll be able to