Take Two

Chapter 52

-xx-

Whitney braced herself as she watched a hand clasp over her mother's mouth. Alexis let out a squeal at their announcement, but Garrett sat stoic behind their mother.

It was not how she wanted to tell them, but she was not going to be put on the spot for her relationship. They had no idea what she had gone through; no idea of the daily struggle in LA.

Virginia was a fresh start for her. She had been in the state for six months before she met Derek. It had been another four or five weeks until she even entertained the idea of companionship. She had all but decided she was better off alone. That was until Derek Morgan proved just how badly he wanted to be in her life.

The plan was to start out slow; she was going to finalize the divorce and he was going to accept that that needed to happen first. But life had other plans, and both of them were eager for those other plans.

"Mama," Whitney said softly, trying to get her mother's attention back. "Anyone?"

She pursed her lips as she watched them all collect their thoughts. Her mother's shock was slowly turning in to happiness, but Whitney could not tell if that was just a front or not. Alexis did not know the extent of what she dealt with in LA, so she was excited for her older sister.

Garrett moved from behind the two women to take a seat on the couch. Whitney could see him clearly; he was stone faced. Garrett was always the toughest to read when it came to emotion.

"I know this is a lot to process," she tip toed around the words. "We didn't plan it."

Her mother's eyes softened and her hand slowly slid back to her lap. "Whitney," her mother said softly, causing the blonde to turn back towards the cell phone video. "Is this what you want?"

The question weighed on her heart. She paused for a second and let the words linger between the five people in the call. "Yes," she answered quietly. The simplicity in her answer caused her mother's eyebrow to rise as she looked between her daughter and her new boyfriend. Whitney forced herself not to let her guard down in front of her mother's scrutiny.

"And Derek?" she asked as her eyes moved to the black man sitting next to her daughter. "You want this as well?"

He nodded. "Your daughter has had me hooked from the second I met her," he admitted. Whitney bowed her head and tilted it just enough to see him. "This is fast," he followed up with a shrug, "and I don't want to speak for Whit, but we are both very excited." Whitney nodded in agreement.

Julia settled with a smile across her lips. "And when can we expect this addition?"

"April 6th," Derek answered.

She nodded. "Very quick," she pointed out in regards to their relationship as she figured out how many weeks Whitney was. The blonde shrugged. "Well, if you two are happy, then we're happy for you."

Whitney smiled until she heard a grunt from Garrett. She watched his back as he stormed out of the living room. "I'll talk to him later," Whitney told her mother.

Julia nodded once more. "He'll come around, Whitney," she assured her oldest daughter. "It's a lot – we didn't hear from you for months, and now this is the first time we've been able to see you."

Without words of adding in their announcement, Whitney could read through her mother's lines. But she figured she had gotten this far on her own two feet; nothing was going to mess with her new found happiness. "Listen," Whitney said to get the attention of her mother and sister. "We have a dinner reservation in a bit, so I need to go get ready. I will call you tomorrow, Mom."

Julia nodded. Alexis cleared her throat to get her sister's attention back. "Are you going to come home to visit soon?" For being seventeen, her sister seemed so innocent some times. It reminded Whitney of herself growing up.

"Soon," she agreed. "I have a few things to deal with first, and then Boston is on my radar. It's been too long."

The young brunette nodded. "I'm going to hold you to that," she threatened with a laugh. Whitney could always count on her sister to keep her honest. Alexis was the number one reason she would take time off and fly back to Boston. "You can meet Collin," she added, causing her mother to sigh.

"We don't have time to talk about your boyfriend," Julia interjected. "Whitney will come to visit when she is able to." Whitney nodded in agreement. "I love you," her mother started her send off. "And Derek – it was a pleasure to speak with you. Keep taking care of my girl, would you?"

He nodded. "I promise," he said with a smile. "You have an amazing daughter, Julia. Two amazing daughters," he corrected.

"You haven't really met this one yet," Julia chided with a point towards Alexis. "She keeps us on our toes – that's for sure."

Whitney grinned. "Somebody has to," she joked. "We'll talk soon, okay Lex?" The teen nodded. "Love you guys."

Whitney hit END on the call and let out a deep breath. "I didn't think you were going to tell them," he said, silently mentioning her not being able to earlier in the call.

"It kind of slipped out," she admitted. "And now my brother isn't talking to me."

"He'll come around," Derek urged as he repeated her mother's words. He watched the blonde run her tongue over her teeth and state off in to space. "You are happy, right?"

She slowly turned towards him with an eyebrow lifted. "I'm over the moon," she convinced him. "I feel like I finally have a second chance at life, and that's all thanks to you."

"You did most of this yourself," he reminded her. "You came to Virginia with no guarantee that you would change your life. There was no guarantee that Mason was not going to follow you right away."

"But he did," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Like you said before – he let me get comfortable here. He let me meet the man who changed my life for the better," she said as she laced her hands around his. "And he thought he was going to take it all away from me, but I will fight for you and our baby for the rest of my life."

Derek grinned before dropping a kiss to her forehead. "I'd be lying if I said I was okay with waiting," he said softly. Whitney narrowed her eyes in his direction, urging him to continue. "I want nothing more than to be able to announce to the world that I have found someone I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Whitney pursed her lips in to a tight smile. "In due time," she replied gently. "You'll have to race me to the top of the mountain first. I'll be screaming it to everyone who will listen."

Derek stood from his seat and captured Whitney's lips with his own. A gentle kiss packed with love and adoration was just what she needed after that phone call. It was equal parts good and bad; her mother knew. It was only a matter of time until the rest of the family knew that there was another member on the way.

But she could not shake the look on Garrett's face when she told them. She tried to chalk it up to him not being able to break in the new boyfriend. Or whatever it was, she would deal with at a different time.

"Time for you to go get changed," he said as he tried his best to pull back from the blonde. The attraction between the two of them made doing the simplest tasks difficult at times. "Our reservation is in an hour."

She nodded. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she challenged. He laughed as her eye brow arched.

Derek grinned and supported his weight against the kitchen island. "Absolutely nothing is wrong with it," he said. He appreciated the matching Nike ensemble she wore, complete with shorts that did not leave much to the imagination. "I'd just prefer you left those shorts here."

The wink he sent in her direction caused her skin to flush. "Deal," she sighed. "I'll be down in a few."

Whitney grabbed her cell phone from the counter so she could throw it on the bedroom charger while she got ready. She started up the stairs and could not help the smile crossing her lips as she got to the top. The blonde stopped and peeked back down the stairs to Derek.

How she found a man like him, she wasn't sure, but she was not letting her past get in the way any longer.

She brought the device in her hand back to life and sent out a quick text before stepping in to the bedroom to change.

We need to talk. ASAP.

-xx-