Forever is Ours

1

(Harper's POV)

"Just a second, now," I damn-near stammered with my hand held up in disbelief, then I tugged at my earlobes as if something was actually bothering them.

Dane arched a brow in return. "You okay?" he asked, tilting my chin up to meet his gaze.

"Okay?!" I hollered back, albeit most unintentionally despite the gravity of the bomb he'd just dropped on me. "No, Dane ... I most certainly am not okay! In fact, I'm almost a hundred percent sure something insane just flew up into my ears and told me that I'm pregnant."

He barked out a laugh in initial response then wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the floor in the process. "It's not crazy, Sweetheart. You missed your period for a reason," he informed matter-of-factly, a sudden reminder that my cycle had, indeed, been out of the ordinary as of lately. "You're not crazy, either. Just pregnant," he added, kissing the tip of my nose and then my lips. He seemed calm on the surface, but I couldn't shake the feeling that what lied beneath that eerie calm were rather strong undertows – ones with the total capability of pulling the both of us in a multitude of directions.

While Dane called Arthur to share the news with him, I finished dressing myself then promptly went next door to my gym and grabbed my phone to call Sammie. At first, I could hardly get the words out because she flipped the f*ck out, but she calmed herself down then poured out a congratulatory speech that had me wiping away the single tear that had rolled down my cheek. I promised the woman that we would get together soon then hung up on her, then I went back to my room and collapsed with a loud thud on the couch.

A few minutes later, Dane wrapped up his conversation then joined me where I was, tossing an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into himself after he plopped down beside me. "Pops said to tell you 'congratulations' and that he's happy for us. On edge, but happy," he said, and at his words, my mind immediately strayed to the dreaded Swamp Thing -- her ugly, soulless, red eyes, the looming threat in her godawful voice, the way she disappeared into nothingness in that gloomy little shack...

As thoughts of mine and Dane's last encounter with the resilient she-vamp swirled about my mind, a cold shiver ran down my spine. "Why 'on edge'?" I eventually asked, using air quotes around the words that Arthur had used. I mean, it's not like I didn't already know the answer to my own question; it's just that I wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth ... err, in this case, the horse's son's mouth.

Dane released a short, heavy sigh then turned his attention to me and said, "He basically feels the way we do in regards to what the b*tch told us. He hopes he's wrong, though."

Well hell, he's not the only one!

"What do you think?" I asked, averting my gaze to meet his pretty, penetrating blues.

He went tense at my question as if he was gathering his thoughts on a whim, then he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Doesn't really matter at this point. What does matter is the lengths that I'm willing to go to in order to protect what's mine."

Soon after, we found ourselves carried away in a completely different topic of conversation. We remained planted where we were for a while longer, then we finally decided to move to the bed and lay down for the night. I cuddled into him and trailed my fingertips over his perfect torso, and the next thing I knew, we were entangled between the sheets and completely lost in each other's touch. He kissed me long and fervently with the kind of fiery passion that had long since seared itself into the very fabric of my being, and when he kissed me in such a way, it was impossible for me to resist him (not that I could to begin with). We made love twice – sweet then rough, much to my pleasure – which sent us both off to a gloriously-relaxing slumber, exactly the way I like! Let's be real, here, though – I love every-f*****g-thing that man does to me!

***

Despite such a wonderful send-off, I didn't sleep well at all. I tossed and turned this way and that nearly all night long, unable to get my mind to switch off long enough to be able to relax and drift away. Every now and then, I'd glance at Dane's ridiculously-perfect sleeping form and get pissed off that it wasn't me who was laying there asleep, so by the time five a.m. rolled around, I decided to sneak away to do a light workout that, unfortunately, left me feeling like it was an utter waste of my time. I wanted to bench press and deadlift and do all the other sh*t that I didn't figure a pregnant lady is supposed to do in the gym, damn it, but I knew I'd have had to answer to Dane if he caught me, especially since he'd already specifically advised me to take it easy around the manor.

Grumbling to myself, I put my strewn-out equipment back up where it belonged, then I made my way down the wing which still seemed endless regardless of the fact that I'm not a newbie around here anymore! I bid Jerome a good morning as I brushed past him on the stairs, then I traipsed into the kitchen to fix myself my first cup of Joe for the morning. Noticing the pantry door c.racked open a bit and Hen making all kinds of racket behind it, I snuck up to it and caught her completely off guard with a tap to her shoulder and a soft, sweet greeting.

"Good gracious!" she blurted out after her initial gasp of surprise.

"Sorry," I muttered with a chuckle, but she dismissed me with a wave of her hand.

"I'm getting this damned thing good and organized before I head out to buy groceries," she mumbled in return not even looking my direction as she spoke.

"Well have fun with that," I teased back, and with that, I proceeded to make my coffee then booked it back up to my room, careful to keep the piping-hot liquid inside of the oversized mug that I was carrying.

As soon as I stepped foot inside, I noticed the bed was empty and realized the shower was running, so I headed straight out onto the balcony and made myself comfortable on the couch. As the birds sang their morning harmonies, I closed my eyes and listened along, wishing I could whistle in unison to the songs they were singing. I can't whistle, though; even my attempts are quite laughable!

The warm summer sun was, thankfully, mostly hidden by the clouds that were rolling by, and after a while I swear I started to smell rain in the air. Contemplating checking the day's forecast, I crept back inside to grab my phone from its charger then was right back out on the balcony pulling up the weather app and studying the radar. It wasn't long before Dane joined me, and soon we were neck-deep in another conversation about the pregnancy.

"When are we gonna tell Hen?" I asked, to which he initially just shrugged me off.

"She'll figure it out eventually," he replied, "but we should probably keep it from everyone else for now – at least 'til we run it by Archibald."

For some reason, hearing the priest's name made me shudder, and the rapid spreading of goosebumps across my skin were evidence of such. In agreement with his suggestion, though, I inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly and nodded. "Let's do that ASAP then," I half begged, and on that note, we sprinted back inside for a quick change of clothes then raced down to the Mercedes and were soon on the road heading to see the priest.

***

(outside Archibald's parsonage)

"Fingers crossed for good news," Dane stated as he threw the car in PARK, only I didn't respond at all. I didn't know what to say to that, really!

Silent all the while, I climbed out of the passenger side and yawn-stretched my arms above my head then linked arms with Dane, and just like that we strolled to the front door of the parsonage and stopped. A soft knock and a moment later, the bald-headed old fart of a priest opened the door and ushered us promptly inside without uttering a single word in the process. He instructed us to go no further than the entryway, however, so that he could dip his thumb into the basin of holy water that rested to the side. Gently, he trailed his thumb over my forehead, then he tried to repeat the process with Dane but Dane jumped back for dear life, rejecting the priest with a scowl and a bit of a snarl lingering on his lips.

"You know my soul's far beyond saving at this point," he stated unapologetically, "plus I know you know that sh*t burns my kind."

Archibald crack*d up at Dane's heated words. "You know I'm only teasing," he declared with a chuckle, then he led us to his sitting room and instructed us to take our seats. Next, he grabbed his old, leather-bound Bible and his gold-chained rosary then chose his seat, opting to skip the unnecessary small talk and get right down the nitty gritty of things.