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Lauren looked at the TV for a second then back to Cypher.

“What do you want to watch?”

“I don’t care, you can watch that talky chick show, if you want.” She moved around to the front of the sofa, he dropped one leg off the edge and patted the cushion between his thighs, inviting her to join him. Lauren glanced around, then seemed to spot what she was looking for, she went to the table on the far end of the sofa and grabbed the remote, bringing it back when she came and settled with her back against his chest. Cypher would have sworn he heard her mutter, ‘talky chick show’ under her breath, but he didn’t catch the rest of what she’d said. He didn’t really care as long as she was here with him.

Lauren turned on the show and leaned back, relaxing against him. Before the end of the episode, she was out cold. It took a little shuffling and shifting but Cypher managed to pick her up and carry her to bed without waking her. He hated seeing her so tired but now that they knew why, it also sent a thrill through him every time he thought about it. Whether that thrill was fear or excitement was another question. At this point, probably about fifty/fifty.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“Are you sure you shouldn’t just close the office for a while and come up here. At least until it’s safe,” Mom said. Lauren rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure, Mom.” She fought the urge to clench her teeth or snap at her mother.

“I don’t know why you insist on living so far away. There’s no one to help when you have problems like this.”

“I have friends. They are helping. I told you. I’ve moved into a nice house in a gated community. There’s round the clock security.” She’d had to make up an excuse not to turn on the video, so Mom wouldn’t see the bruising or the bandage still covering the bridge of her nose. She didn’t know if she’d be able to continue to come up with them until all the bruising had faded, but she would at least put it off until it wasn’t as bad as it was now. Until Mom wouldn’t rush off to tell Dad, and then Dad would have an absolute fit and try to insist she move back to Illinois. She had lost count of how many times her parents had tried to convince her to go back to Joliet, or at least somewhere near there. None of them had worked and this one wouldn’t either.

“I’d just feel so much better if you weren’t alone.”

Lauren took a deep breath and fought the urge to sigh. Mom would hear it and it would only start a fight that Lauren didn’t want to have.

“I’m not alone, Mom. I’m actually moving in with someone.”

“One of your colleagues? Someone you met through a patient? I’m not sure that’s the best way to meet people, baby.”

“Actually, it’s not a colleague. I’ve been seeing someone for a while.” She left out that she had met him through a patient, partly because that wasn’t the way Mom had meant it, as well as what she meant by a while. “I’m moving in with him.”

“A man? You’re moving in with a man? Does this mean I could possibly be getting a grandbaby soon? You know you’re not getting any younger, baby. If you want children you need to do it soon or you might not be able to.”

“We’ll see. We’re still discussing children and if we even want them.” She knew she was lying to her mother, but she didn’t even feel guilty. Mom had been nagging her that if she didn’t settle down soon, she’d never be able to give her the grandchildren she wanted. As if her brothers hadn’t already given her a half dozen grandkids between them already. Mom seemed convinced that for Lauren not to have at least one baby would leave her with a huge aching hole in her heart.

Lauren knew she might regret having missed the chance, but she also knew that she could have a full, rounded life, even if she never gave birth. There was always adoption and she and Cypher could discuss that, if something happened to this pregnancy, and even if it didn’t. But she and Cypher had agreed not to tell anyone until they’d hit the point when the risk of miscarriage dropped, and she wasn’t going to betray that by telling Mom the first rattle out of the box.

Besides, if Lauren told Mom about her pregnancy, Mom would only start harping on when was the wedding and that they couldn’t have a baby outside of marriage. What would everyone think?

Lauren didn’t care what Mom or her society friends thought. She was going to live her life to suit her. It was a big part of why she was in Alabama and not Illinois. And while she might like to be married before the baby arrived, she was determined not to pressure Cypher into more than he was ready for.

“When do we get to meet him?” Mom asked, changing tactics.

“I’m not sure. I’ve got a full schedule for a while, and I don’t know when he’ll be able to get away. I’ll talk to him about it tonight and see if we can figure out a time we can both take the time to come up and visit.”

“Soon?”

“I hope so,” Lauren said. It wasn’t a lie, but she was certain her definition of soon was different than her mother’s, she was sure. She wasn’t worried about them coming down, because the only time they’d visited in the fifteen years she’d been in Alabama was for the commencement and hooding ceremony seven years before.

“Do we even get to know his name?”

Lauren scoffed.

“So you can have someone run a background check? I don’t think so. I learned better than that before I’d moved out. You’ll meet him when we can make it up there.”

A knock sounded on the front door. Lauren frowned, wondering who it could be? Who had gotten through the compound gates to knock without someone calling to ask if she was expecting someone?

“Mom, there’s someone at the door, I’ve got to go.”

Mom sighed.

“All right but call again soon.”