Savannah's Journey

Chapter 12 "Life Changing News"

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my made up characters!

AN: I'm going to preface this chapter to say that there are issues talked about in this chapter that some of you may not agree with. We all have our own opinions on certain issues, of course. I respect that. All I ask is any commentary or dialogue concerning the issue mentioned in this chapter is addressed respectfully. Thank you.

Saturday, November 6th

"Wait what?" I sat there in shock, trying to understand what Wyatt and Brynna were telling us. Pepper was sitting perfectly still beside me, in shock as well. They had just told us that we were going to build a house. For us.

Brynna looked over at Wyatt and Dallas with a smile. "I know it's a little crazy, but his parents wanted to do this for you two and we think it's a good idea for you two to have your own space."

"Yeah." Dallas nodded in agreement and I flushed, thinking of exactly why Dallas was so eager to get our own place. So embarrassing that I didn't even want to think about the incident.

"But how?" Pepper asked, seeming confused, and I had the same thought. His parents weren't rich. They were ranchers, like the Forsters. They didn't have extra money to throw around.

"Well they took out a small second mortgage on their ranch in order to get the money." Brynna bit her lip, looking concerned and I was concerned too. Could they afford that?

"They shouldn't have done that!" I said worriedly. "We could figure it out on our own. I don't want to jeopardize their ranch."

Wyatt shook his head. "They were adamant about doing it. But you two could also help them make the payments. Think of it as a mortgage for you two. I'm sure the payments won't be out of this world."

Pepper nodded. "Of course we will." And he took my hand in his, glancing over at me before looking back at Wyatt. "Are you sure about this, boss? This means adding another building to your land."

Wyatt nodded. "Of course I am. You two need your own space and even though you probably won't live there forever, the space will be useful regardless."

"Now, with the amount that you'll have, it will have to be small. They have some really cute ideas for tiny houses these days and since it's just the two of you, we figured…."

Later, we sat on my computer, skyping with his parents and looking at blueprints for tiny houses. "I still can't believe you did this." I said to Missy and Roger, feeling worry gnaw at my stomach.

"Sweetheart, we want to help you both. And Wyatt is right, you two need your own space. You're married now." Missy assured me.

"We want to make the payments on the loan." Pepper told his parents, before looking over at me and I nodded.

"Yes, since it's a loan for a house for us, let us pay. Like you're our landlords."

Roger and Missy looked at each other before nodding. "Okay, we'll go with that. It's nothing like a mortgage, only four hundred dollars."

Four hundred dollars. We could swing that. I could even get a job to help with the bills.

"Now let's look at some of these plans. We want to get your house up as soon as possible, before the ground gets covered down there. Or we can look into the pre-made ones. They're probably a little bit higher, but that's always an option."

So we looked at some plans, figuring out how much supplies would be needed, how much space we could live with. Since it would just be the two of us, we wouldn't need much.

As we searched through, I stopped at one that was a pre-built tiny home. It was a moveable one, on a trailer, and it came mostly furnished. It would include an apartment size fridge, small stove and oven, with a combo washer/dryer.

Pepper and I looked at each other after looking at the plans. It was small – less than 300 square feet – but it had two lofts and a bathroom with a combo shower/tub. It had a lot of windows, including a big window in the living room and over the kitchen sink. There was a kitchen table that would flip down for more space when not in use. It would be at the top of our price range, but it would also come with everything already in it.

"We think we found one." I blurted out and they looked back at the camera.

"Well let's see it." Missy said.

…..

Saturday, December 4th

"I can't believe it's coming today!" I said excitedly to Sam as we did our morning chores.

"It's going to be so cool that you and Pepper will have your own place. Are me and Jen allowed over?" Sam joked and I laughed.

"Always! And we can have girl nights together there. We'll send Pepper to the bunkhouse with Dallas and Ross." I grinned at her as I grabbed some eggs from the coop.

Sam giggled. "I'm not sure how Pepper will feel about that."

"He'd do anything for me." I waved off her concern. It was crazy how the last month had been so happy, so freeing. I didn't have to worry about my dad getting me anymore. The court order dismissing the custody case had come and Shelby had told me that at least this part was over. He wouldn't be able to bring the custody complaint again.

So for the last month, I had been smiling more, feeling better about life than I had for a while. I was excited for the future – for college, for more time with Pepper without having to worry, to spend more time with my friends and enjoy myself as a regular teenager, a married one of course.

I thought about Shelby's conversation with us after we got the case dismissal order. "I'm just going to say this, but I have a feeling you two won't anyways. Now that the custody case has been dismissed and you're officially emancipated because of the marriage, you two don't have to stay married. You can get a divorce if you want to – though I don't think that's what you want." She had smiled, looking at us as we reached for each other's hands.

"I think we'll stay married. Unless you object." I had teased Pepper and he rolled his eyes.

"You haven't annoyed me to divorce quite yet." He teased back and then he kissed me.

We were really doing it. Being a married couple. It may have been forced at first, but we both wanted to be with each other and we loved each other. We would make it work, even though we were young.

"Earth to Savannah." Sam's amused voice brought me out of my head and back into the present.

I glanced over at her. "Sorry, I spaced. What did you say?"

Sam laughed. "I knew you weren't paying attention when you didn't say anything. Brynna mentioned going into Darton this morning to do some Christmas shopping. She had asked me to ask you if you wanted to tag along. Dad's staying with Cody and Gram's coming."

"Oh, so like a girl's shopping trip?"

"Yes!" Sam's smile grew. "She figured we could do some shopping and grab pizza at the mall for lunch. Of course we'd be back before your house arrived."

"I'm totally down." I bit my lip, worrying about the fact that I really didn't have much money. I wanted to get everyone something for Christmas but I was kind of broke. And I didn't want to ask Pepper for money. He wasn't exactly rich as a ranch hand and for the last month, his money had been going towards things we would need for the house.

Of course, once everyone heard about what was happening, it seemed like our neighbors were always dropping something off. Lila Kenworthy had brought by extra bed sheets and pillow cases they didn't use. Maxine Ely had dropped off dishes that she had from back when her and Luke first got married. Mrs. Allen and her husband Preston, had brought by some pots and pans, some casserole dishes, they had just upgraded and these were still usable. Grace had given us stuff too – like linens. Towels, tablecloths, wash cloths.

It seemed like everyone wanted to help us out as we moved into our new place. Of course, there were still some things we had needed to get. So Pepper and I had been slowly getting stuff for our new place, little by little, since we were on his income only.

Pepper still insisted I didn't need to get a job and to just focus on school. But I felt bad. He worked so hard and now his paycheck would be going towards the bills, while I just went to school. Come May, I'd graduate and then I'd be going to college. That caused a whole new worry about transportation, textbooks, and other college costs.

But regardless of my worry about not having money, I went with Brynna, Grace, and Sam to the mall. Lila, Jen, and Maxine met up with us at the mall, making our girl's day even bigger. It was fun to go into all the stores and help the others pick out gifts for everyone.

When lunchtime neared, Brynna said she needed Rico's, a pizza place in the mall. Laughing, the others agreed that it was time for lunch.

I had grown quiet in the last half an hour or so as I started feeling nauseous. The feeling had come on quickly but I didn't want to hamper the mood so I kept quiet. As we approached the food court and the smells from the various restaurants hit us, my nausea heightened. My skin felt clammy as I swallowed back the urge to get sick. I would not ruin this trip.

But it only got worse the closer we got. All the smells mixed together, heavenly any other time, was not helping.

"Savannah, are you okay?" Jen asked worriedly and it caught the attention of Brynna and Lila, who were just ahead of us. Maxine and Grace were walking farther ahead, talking about the Chinese place nearby. Sam glanced over from the other side of Jen.

"I'm fine." I said weakly as the bile rose in my throat. I swallowed again, hoping the feeling would pass. Please let it pass.

"You're looking a little pale, honey." Lila stopped and moved towards me. She put her hand to my forehead. "Not feverish though. Are you feeling alright?"

That's when I knew I was going to be sick. My eyes flashed around, trying to find where the restrooms were. Without a word, I took off for the bathroom, praying I'd make it.

I did, but barely. I had just slammed the lock into place on the stall and turned when my breakfast reappeared, shooting into the toilet.

My eyes watered as I violently heaved into the toilet, my stomach having been emptied of everything. I tore off some toilet paper and wiped my mouth, before flushing the toilet. I leaned back against the cool stall wall, feeling shaky.

"Savannah?" Brynna's voice came from outside the stall. "Honey, let me in."

Weakly, I reached up and unlocked the stall. Brynna, full of concern, crouched down beside me. "Oh honey, you look awful."

"I feel awful." I managed to get out as she put a warm hand on my forehead.

"You're clammy, not hot." She pushed my hair out of my face and watched me carefully. Brynna bit her lip and her eyes roamed over my face before meeting my eyes. "Savannah, have you felt sick any other days this week?"

I shook my head before regretting it – it made the nausea worse. There was nothing left to throw up but my body didn't care. I gagged over the toilet again and Brynna grabbed my hair out of the way.

"It was just today. And it wasn't until a little while ago." I told her as she ran her hand over my hair, trying to comfort me. "I just started feeling sick all of a sudden and then the smells of the food court just hit me the wrong way."

Brynna's eyes widened before she composed her face as the bathroom door opened and someone walked in. "Maybe just a stomach virus – it is that time of year. Let's get you home, okay?"

I protested. "Brynna, you wanted to have lunch. Go, have lunch. I'll go wait in the car while you guys eat."

Brynna helped me up as a woman walked by, eyeing us. "We're not going to send you out to the car and leave you out there feeling horrible while we eat."

"I don't want to be a bother. We never do things like this." Suddenly, tears pricked my eyes. I didn't want to ruin everyone's afternoon. "I don't want to ruin everyone's trip out."

"Hey, you're not ruining anything, okay? I'll take you home myself and Grace and Sam can catch a ride home with Maxine. I'll have Grace grab me some Rico's to bring home."

Knowing she wouldn't let it go until I went home, I nodded. "Okay."

Sam and Jen were waiting outside the restroom with Lila, Grace, and Maxine, all of them looking worried.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, her and Jen coming towards me immediately.

"She's not feeling well. I think she might have a virus or a stomach bug." Brynna said, holding back Sam and Jen. She met Grace's eyes. "If it's okay with you, Grace, I'll take Savannah home while you all have lunch and maybe Maxine could drop you and Sam off."

"Of course I can!" Maxine assured us, glancing at me sympathetically. "Feel better, sweetheart."

"We'll see you at home." Grace kissed my forehead. "Do you want me to bring you anything home?"

"No, I don't think I can eat anything." Just the thought of eating anything made me want to vomit all over again.

Grace nodded and then looked at Brynna. "I'll grab you some Rico's. I know what you like."

"Thanks Grace." Brynna smiled at her mother in law before we headed for the exit. I breathed through my mouth, not wanting to get sick again. The ride home was quiet and I leaned against the cold window as I was starting to feel warm. The nausea was still coming on strong but I wasn't puking at the moment.

Once we were back at River Bend, Brynna walked me into the bunkhouse, making me change into something comfortable. Everything was all packed up as we intended to move into our new house this weekend and so I had to dig through some boxes.

I found a pair of soft leggings and a t-shirt of Pepper's, changing as Brynna went to get me a glass of water.

I had just slid into bed when Brynna returned with the glass and a bucket. "This is in case you feel the need to throw up anymore." She gestured with the bucket. "It's probably not a one off."

Nodding, I took the glass of water from her and sipped slowly.

"Do you want me to stay awhile?" Brynna asked softly, running her hand over my hair. I wanted her to, I really did. I wanted her to keep stroking my hair like she was. It felt so good and comforting. But I didn't want to expose her to my illness anymore than I already had.

"No, you should go. I don't want to make you sick too. Or Cody. Or anyone else." Brynna looked like she wanted to argue but I waved her off. "I'll be fine, really, go before you get sick."

Brynna nodded. "Call if you need anything."

I laid miserably in bed, fighting back nausea and trying not to vomit again. God this sucked. Our house was coming today and here I was, sick in bed.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because I was startled awake by voices. "….she got really sick at the mall and I made her come home to lay down. She didn't want me to stay with her. She was worried about me getting sick. Grace brought home some ginger ale, crackers, and medicine for her. No fever though." That was Brynna. Who was she talking to?

"Thanks Brynna for getting her home and in bed. I'll take care of her." Pepper's voice was a comforting sound. The bedroom door opened and he walked towards me. "Hey baby, how are you feeling?"

I took stock of my body and realized that I was feeling a lot better. "Okay. Way better than earlier."

Pepper smiled gently and sat on the edge of the bed beside me. He brushed my hair out of my face and gently caressed my face. "Good, that's good."

I swallowed hard, but it wasn't vomit I was holding back this time, it was tears.

"Hey, why are you crying? Are you in pain?" Pepper's voice was caring and gentle, filled with concern for me.

"No." I managed to choke out and shook my head at myself. What was with me? "I guess I'm a bit of a baby when I'm sick."

Pepper chuckled softly. "I think we're all a little bit that way when we're sick."

"You don't have to stay in here with me. I know you have things to do around the ranch, not to mention once the house gets delivered."

"Don't worry about that. Dallas knows where I am if he needs me." Pepper said, still gently moving his hand over my face and hair. Moving quickly, he shoved out of his boots and got in bed behind me, spooning me from behind. He kissed my shoulder and cuddled me. His warmth soothed me, his sweetness made me feel better.

I was half-asleep when there was a knock at the bedroom door. Pepper slipped out of bed to answer. It was Dallas. He gave me a sympathetic smile before turning to Pepper. "Your house is here. They'll need your signature and I figured we'll need to help them get it into place."

Pepper glanced back at me and I sat up. "I'm fine." I told him as I stood up. A tiny surge of dizziness ran through me but I pushed through. "Really, feeling a lot better."

"You can watch from the porch." Pepper said with a disapproving tone. I scoffed.

"Just because we're married doesn't mean you can tell me what to do."

Dallas snorted but walked away, not wanting to be in the middle of this. Pepper came back to put on his boots and scowled at me.

"Baby, you're sick. You should stay inside."

"I want to see our house too." I said, it coming out more as a pout than anything. Pepper sighed and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Please just sit on the porch. I don't want to worry about you."

"Well since you asked nicely, I'll do it."

He gave a disbelieving chuckle but kept his hand on the small of my back as we walked outside. I could see everyone was outside and even Jed and Jake were here. I knew the men would need to anchor the house, get it hooked up to water and electric. Jake had offered to help the other day and I know Wyatt had called to ask Jed to come as well.

Pepper lightly pushed me into one of the chairs sitting on the bunkhouse porch and Sam came over to sit in a chair by me. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." I told her with a smile. We both looked at the house that was sitting in the ranch yard. It was gorgeous. The main color was what Grace had called "Robin Egg Blue" with wood "shutters" and a wood accented half wall on the right side of the tiny house, with a mainly glass door that was red where it wasn't glass. A small awning hung over the front door. There was a window to the right of the front door, in the wood accented part, with a tiny window to the left. To the right, up high, there were two small windows. I think those were the loft windows.

Sam reached over to squeeze my hand. "It looks so cool! I can't wait to see inside it!"

The house would go between the old bunkhouse and the round pen. Luckily, there was enough room that we would place it sideways, so that our "front" door faced the ranch yard.

Grace and Brynna came over with Cody in tow as the men helped the driver position the house into place.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Grace asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Better." I said with a smile. "The nausea seems to have passed for now. Maybe it was something I ate this morning."

"Hopefully that was it. Your color looks a lot better than earlier." Grace noted and I guessed I wasn't so pale. That was good.

The driver got the house into position and the men helped to unhook the house from his truck. We all watched as the driver instructed them on how to hook up the electric and water, showing Pepper and Wyatt how to do it.

Excitement zipped through me. Our house was here. We had a house.

The man walked them around the outside of the house, pointing out where things were, hookups, etc. When he paused at the front door, I saw Wyatt and Jed say something and saw the other men laugh. Pepper glanced back and met my gaze. He walked towards me, the men whistling and joshing him as he did.

"What is going on?" Brynna turned back to look at us with a confused look. Pepper came up to the porch and his face was red.

"They say since it's our first house, I should carry you over the threshold. They're insisting. C'mon so this guy can show me the inside stuff and leave."

"Gosh, such a romantic." I teased him as I moved towards him. He rolled his eyes but as my feet left the last step, he swept me up in a bridal carry and I laughed. Dallas reached up to open the door for Pepper and he stepped up on the stool, carrying us both into the house.

"Welcome home." Pepper whispered into my ear as he let me down. The inside was gorgeous too. All the wood in the home was beautiful oak. The floors, the butcher block counters, the stairs leading to the loft that would be our bedroom, the table, the shelves. For a small space, it looked bright and open. The walls and drawers were all white – though I figured I'd change that.

I was happy that this home had stairs to our loft, instead of a ladder like a lot of tiny homes. To the second loft, there was a sliding ladder that could be put out of the way.

When you first walked in the door, the first thing you saw was the kitchen counter straight ahead. Butcher block counters, with a beautiful black sink in the middle. The stove and oven to the left of the sink, six drawers and two cabinets below the sink. Two floating shelves to each side of the sink, above the counter. To the direct left of the door was the fridge and in front of that was the door to the bathroom. Above it was the second loft that we said would most likely be storage.

To our right was the shelf and storage area that also had the folding kitchen table. Past that was the space that was dubbed the living room though really it would be just enough for a small sofa or loveseat. Next to the kitchen counter were the stairs to our bedroom loft. The stairs doubled as storage space with drawers going all the way up and a closet/cabinet at the end.

Above our heads was a big wooden ceiling fan and above where the table would be was a white globe light.

Pepper gently moved me forward so everyone else could come inside. I moved and went into the bathroom. Straight ahead from the door was the small bowl sink with a mirror and light over it. A cabinet for storage beneath it. The shower/tub was to the right while the washer/dryer was to the left. A cabinet was on top of the little cabinet the washer/dryer was tucked into.

The toilet was right beside the washer/dryer with two floating shelves to the left of the toilet. The tiny window you could see from the 'front' was the one above the toilet.

"This is so cool!" Sam crowed from behind us and I turned to see that the whole River Bend family – and Jed – had come in behind the driver.

As Pepper went with Wyatt and the driver as he showed where the important stuff inside was, I went to the stairs to the loft. I smiled as I looked at the top step. A thing I had thought was cute that they put a crescent moon and stars into the top step, which was facing the window, so light shone through. They had also put in a small railing by the stairs.

I went up the stairs followed by Jake and Sam. The loft was nice. There were two recessed lights in the ceiling with two mini globe lights on each side of the back wall. Assuming the top of the mattress went there, each side would have a light and an outlet. There were two small horizontal windows on each side of the loft, making it light.

At the edge of the loft by the stairs there was a long shelf that could definitely hold things like knick-knacks or something else. It would be helpful to have.

"This is pretty nice." Jake said quietly as we moved into the loft. We had to sit in the loft of course – there wouldn't be enough space to stand, especially for a guy as tall as Jake. "All the windows and light give it an open, airy feeling. I thought it would feel small."

I smiled over at him. "I know, right? I love it." I turned to see Cody come up the stairs with Brynna close behind him.

"Hey Cody! Look, it's my bedroom!" I said, gesturing towards the open loft.

"Vannah's room!" He turned to tell Brynna excitedly and she chuckled.

"I see that. It's a very beautiful house." Brynna gave me a smile. Cody wanted to come over to me but I slid away.

"Hey Cody, I might be getting sick so you should probably stay with Mom or Sam, okay?"

The little boy frowned and glanced back at Brynna. She nodded. "You don't want to get sick, do you?"

"I want Vannah." His voice turned pouty and his lower lip stuck out. Oh no. That was his I'm about to cry face.

"Hey! Let's go check out the bathroom huh?" Jake said quickly, grabbing Cody and gently tossing him over his shoulder as he went down the stairs, making Cody giggle. Jake to save the day.

Brynna watched him gratefully as she sat at the top of the stairs. Grace and Dallas popped up next, glancing into the loft.

"You two will definitely get close in this house." Dallas commented and our eyes met before we both looked away quickly. The incident was in both of our minds I knew.

"They'll be close alright." Sam commented and I elbowed her in the ribs. "Ow!"

"You deserved it." I muttered, glaring at her. Sam knew about the incident. In fact, I was pretty sure that everyone on the ranch knew. There were no secrets on a ranch. I slid over to the loft's edge to glance down and saw that Pepper was outside, seeing the delivery guy off. He came back in and I grinned down at him. "Come and see our bedroom, babe."

Pepper grinned at me and the others let him through. He slid in beside me on the floor of the loft and glanced around. "We'll just be able to fit the bed up here. I could probably make us little platform nightstands to go on each side for our alarm clock, a place to sit a bottle of water or cup."

We both glanced across to the other loft, where Wyatt and Jed were sitting on the edge, glancing back into the area that would become storage. "Definitely glad this loft has stairs." Pepper said with a nod. "I can imagine being half-asleep in the mornings and falling off a ladder."

"Or drunk. Can you imagine?" I felt the adult's eyes on me and flushed. "I meant like you know drunk adults. I don't drink, obviously."

"Let's get this really anchored in." Wyatt called across to Pepper as Jed climbed down the ladder.

Dallas went down the stairs and Pepper followed, they all went outside to anchor the house. I could hear Cody babbling to Jake about the bathroom from where I was. There would definitely be no secrets in this house. You could hear any conversation, any noise from anywhere.

"So are you excited?" Brynna asked, looking over at me from her spot.

"I am! It looks even more beautiful than the pictures and while I was worried about it being too small, it's pretty perfect for Pepper and I. Thank you guys so much for helping with this and letting us have our own little house on River Bend. It means a lot to us both." I told her sincerely. River Bend was home to Pepper and it had become home to me too. I was so grateful that we were able to have our own place and that our families had helped make it happen.

"Well you're both a part of the River Bend family and we want you both to be happy." Grace said with a smile and Brynna nodded in agreement.

Sam made a little noise and we turned to her. She looked excited. "I was just thinking that you'll get to spend your first Christmas together in your new house!"

"That's right." I smiled at her, excitement filling me. "That means we have to get a tree!"

"I'd suggest a small one." Jake called from downstairs. I laughed and nodded. He was right, definitely a small one.

…

It was late. It was nearing eleven p.m. but we were officially moved into our house. Everyone had helped us get our stuff into the house and even Jen, Lila, and Ryan had come over to see the house too.

We had learned how easily the house could get packed with too many people but it had been fun.

I hadn't felt sick again since I rested, so it was looking more like something I had ate. I had noticed Brynna and Lila glancing at me a few times throughout the evening but they never said anything.

We sat on the floor in what would be our living room, leaning against the wall, exhausted.

"I didn't realize we had that much stuff." Pepper said with an exhausted breath.

I chuckled. "Me either. But we've accumulated a lot over the last few weeks as well."

"True." He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Our own house. Can you believe it?"

Shaking my head, I turned to look at him. "I can't. Your parents are amazing. I hope they can come down soon to see the house in person. Over Skype wasn't enough."

"Me too. But we both know it's hard when you're running a ranch." Pepper leaned over to kiss my forehead. "You still feeling okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it must have been my breakfast not agreeing with me."

"Well I'm glad it's nothing more. I hate seeing you sick." Pepper sighed and closed his eyes.

"You're a very good husband, do you know that?" I told him and he looked over at me, his eyes meeting mine. I reached up with my hand to cup his cheek. "I love you very much."

"I love you." He said softly, leaning over to kiss me full-on. I dove into the kiss, sliding closer and one of his arms pulled me nearer. It had started getting hot and heavy when Pepper pulled back and stood up quickly. It startled Blaze, who had been sleeping in the kitchen area but Pepper ignored him, pulling me off the floor.

"What are you – " His lips cut me off as he kissed me again, lifting me up into his arms. I felt us moving and we bumped into the storage on the stairs. "Ow." I laughed as he stumbled past it to the stairs. He carried me up, planting kisses on my neck, my collarbone, just below my ear.

At the top, he gently laid me on the floor of our loft – as he couldn't carry me any further – and I got where he wanted this to go. I crawled over to the bed and turned to face him. He flipped the lights off for the loft as he went and half-tackled me onto the bed.

"Not too tired I see." I teased as he brushed my hair back from my face and kissed my collarbone again.

"Oh, I'm never too tired for this. For you." He whispered huskily as his hands slid under my shirt. I gasped as his kiss turned into a nip.

Words stopped as I unbuttoned his shirt, sliding it off of him and he pulled my sweater over my head. He hummed appreciatively as he unhooked my bra and I came free.

"God I love every part of you." His eyes came up to meet mine. "You're so beautiful."

Pepper helped me out of my pants and I slid his down, so we were naked together. His lips found mine again and heat rushed through me. I never wanted this to stop, this feeling of wanting him so badly that I might explode.

I felt him against me and I gasped. "Condom, Pepper. Grab one."

He groaned but reached for his pants, where his wallet was, and grabbed one. I watched him as he put it on. "You groan, but I don't think either of us want a baby just yet."

His eyes flickered up to look at me and he grinned. "Not quite yet. But sometimes I really wish we didn't have to."

Not sure whether he was talking about waiting for a baby or the condom, I shook my head. He leaned down to kiss me and I forgot about everything else.

After, he cuddled me from behind, locking me against his chest. I ran my fingers over his arm that was holding me and asked the question that was on my mind. "Do you want kids?"

It was only quiet for a moment before he answered. "I do. I love kids. Might be a dumb question, with the way you are with Cody, but do you?"

I smiled. "I do. I want a few kids, probably three or four."

Pepper chuckled and kissed my bare shoulder. "That's a lot from two kids who grew up being the only kids."

I turned around to face him and nodded. "I know, but that's probably part of the reason why I want a bigger family. If it wasn't for you, I really wouldn't have had a lot of friends. I always wanted a sibling but never got to have one. But I genuinely love children and they're one of the best parts of life." I swept a piece of his red hair away from his eyes. "And our children would make our lives even better."

Pepper kissed my cheek. "I agree." His expression was soft and wistful, his eyes watching me.

"But I think we both can agree that we need to wait until after I graduate from college."

He nodded. "Of course. I don't want to get you pregnant now. We'll wait, enjoy our first few years of marriage, save some money, have children-free fun first. We'd have to get a place bigger than this too. It could fit one baby, but not more than that."

I smiled happily at the thought. "True. And I want to have them close together. Like two years apart."

His eyebrows raised up. "That's going to be a handful."

I laughed. "It is, but they should be close in age so they can be best friends growing up."

"I can get on board with that." Pepper said tenderly, smiling at me. "You'll be a great mom."

Warmth filled me at his words. "And you'll be a great dad."

Our conversation continued quietly into the night as we talked about teaching our future kids to ride, the family traditions we would have. I couldn't wait until it could come true.

….

Monday, December 6th

"Oh no!" Sam gasped as I bent over in the parking lot at school and got sick. Crap. I thought to myself as kids turned to stare. I am totally playing right into their rumors about me, though it wasn't true. "You're still sick!"

"Are you okay?" Jen asked in concern as she moved in front of me, blocking the view of the other students.

"Fine." I gasped out, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. The nausea had come on suddenly again and I had made sure not to eat anything heavy for breakfast as I didn't want a repeat of the last two days. Yesterday morning I got up feeling great, but I had gotten sick in the barn when I had been helping Sam muck out the stalls.

I had been sent home to rest and felt better after I had laid down for a while. Pepper had been concerned, making me rest for the remainder of the day, even though I insisted I was feeling better. I wasn't sure what exactly was making me sick but there was something in my breakfast meal that was not agreeing with me.

This morning I took a granola bar with me to school, not wanting to get sick. "I haven't even had anything this morning besides the coffee I drank."

"Maybe you've developed a sensitivity to the coffee or creamer." Sam suggested as I straightened up. Jen avoided my eyes when I looked over at her. She always had something to say.

"No thoughts from the future Vet?" I teased as I stepped away from the vomit.

"None I want to say." She muttered and I raised my eyebrows. Jen shook her head. "Are you going to stay or go home?"

"I'm going to stay. I'll get better."

"Ladies." We turned at Mrs. Santos's voice. She walked towards us in her usual pencil skirt suit and heels she favored. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Mrs. Santos." Sam assured her but I could see Mrs. Santos glance down at the parking lot where my puke stained the asphalt.

"Who's sick?" She asked, looking at all three of us. We met each other's eyes before I sighed.

"It's me."

"But she'll get better as the day goes on. She only gets sick in the morning, really!" Sam insisted and Jen gave her a look. Her words gave me a chill.

Mrs. Santo's eyes drifted up to me and her gaze felt like she was watching me closely. "Savannah, why don't you come with me? Girls, you can go onto class."

Giving me an apologetic glance, Sam went with Jen. I followed Mrs. Santos to her office and she shut the door behind her.

She sat in her chair and her eyes considered me. "Savannah, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to know that you can be perfectly honest with me. This is a safe space."

Confusion set in at her words. What was she going to ask me?

"You're married now. And there's been rumors going around…" She trailed off, wincing at her choice of words. "Not that I believe them. But you're also married and…well are you pregnant?"

Surprise zipped through me at her question. "No! I'm not. Those rumors aren't true, I promise. We didn't get married because I was pregnant or anything. It was – it was for another reason."

Mrs. Santos nodded but she didn't seem convinced. "And what Samantha said, that you only get sick in the morning. Is that true?"

I realized why Sam's words had given me a chill. She only gets sick in the mornings. Morning sickness. No. It couldn't be. I couldn't be pregnant. Pepper and I were safe. We used condoms. Saturday I had gotten sick nearly at lunchtime, not in the morning.

But wait. Our wedding night. We hadn't had any condoms on us. Neither of us had really expected the trip away and then Pepper had been caught off guard when I suggested we have sex. So we hadn't used one. We had bought condoms the next day at the store but we figured we were safe for one time. Or well two if you counted the morning after our wedding night.

And I had my period shortly after…hadn't I? There had been bleeding. Light and for just a day or two. I just figured it was a light period. I realized that nothing had happened in November. No period. I hadn't even thought about it, being so happy about court being over.

Shit.

"Savannah?" Mrs. Santos voice pulled me out of my thoughts and she looked concerned. "Sweetheart, is it true that you've only been getting sick mostly in the mornings?"

"Just for the last two days. I figured it was something I ate. I do start feeling better as the day goes on." I told her, feeling numb as it settled in. I had taken sex ed in my previous years of high school. They had went over safe sex, pregnancy risks, that kind of thing. Could one or two times really be enough? I knew there were people who had to try for months. I knew there were people who could go for years without anything happening.

"And when was your last period?" She asked gently and I looked up at her as my eyes burned.

"October, I think." The words stumbled out. She nodded and she stood up.

"Stay right here for just a minute, okay?"

She left the office, shutting the door behind her. Where was she going? Was she going to call River Bend? I assumed Grace or Brynna and Wyatt were still down as my contacts for the school. Was she going to tell them what she suspected?

Panic set in at the thought. No. She couldn't tell them. A moment later, she returned, holding the door open.

"Come with me to the nurse's office, Savannah."

I walked with her, feeling cold and the nurse smiled at me with understanding on her face as she handed me a box. I realized it was a pregnancy test. They had those here?

I listened as she instructed me how to do it and she nodded towards the bathroom. I went in, feeling so cold as I opened the box and took the test out.

It was hard, but I managed to get pee onto the stick and sat it on the little cabinet in there as I washed my hands.

Two minutes. It would tell me if my world was going to explode in two minutes.

One…two…three…four…I counted in my head, the nausea feeling returning. What if I was pregnant? What would I do? What would people say? What would Pepper say? Would he be happy or mad because we had just gotten married and I was only seventeen, still in high school?

And what would happen to college? How would I go if I was pregnant? There would be a baby to take care of.

How would we take care of the baby financially if I didn't go to school? I could get a job at the diner or something. Maybe at the grocery store. It'd be minimum wage, probably, but I guess I could. Who would watch the baby though?

Noting that it had probably been more than two minutes, I glanced at the test on the counter.

The breath left my body as I started at the result.

Pregnant.

…

"Savannah, you have options available to you." Mrs. Santos said as we sat in her office again. Her voice was gentle and there were no traces of judgement that I had expected.

"What options? I'm pregnant." I whispered, the shock clear in my voice.

She leaned forward. "Yes, you are. But that does not mean you have to have a baby." I glanced up at her words. She met my eyes. "You have three options here. One, you have the baby and keep it. Two, you have the baby and give the baby up for adoption. Or three, you can choose to end the pregnancy. Whatever you choose, it won't be easy. But you have choices and it's your right to make whatever choice that may be."

Give the baby up for adoption? Pepper would never go for that. He would insist we raise the baby together. And I couldn't imagine giving our baby up to strangers to raise.

End the pregnancy. Could I do that? Abortion seemed like something that only happened in movies and shows. Of course I knew what it was and I believed it was a woman's right to choose, but could I abort my baby?

I didn't know how Pepper felt about abortion. But I didn't think he would consider that an option.

Keeping the baby? College would be out the window. It would be straight to a job or staying at home with the baby.

And what about my senior year? I had to finish my senior year. Could I do that while pregnant? Could I come to school everyday and handle the whispers, the comments about me being knocked up in high school? The things people would say about me, the looks they would give me.

"Savannah, if October was when you started having sex, you're probably between eight and ten weeks along. That's pretty early, you should take a few days to think about it, let it really settle in. You don't have to make a decision today."

"Are you going to call the ranch and tell them?" I asked worriedly. I didn't want to tell anyone.

She shook her head. "No, this will be kept between me, you, and the nurse. It will be your choice to tell. I just need you to promise me that you won't do anything to harm yourself."

"Like kill myself?"

"Or use something to hurt yourself." She nodded.

"I promise I won't."

She must have believed me, because after that, she let me go home. She promised to get a message to Jen and Sam so they could catch the bus home.

I drove slowly back towards River Bend. What was I going to do? Did I tell Pepper?

No. My mind rejected the idea. I couldn't tell anyone. Not yet.

I was terrified. I was pregnant at seventeen. I wanted my mom. I wanted her to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay.

I wanted someone to tell me it was going to be okay, no matter what I chose.

As I pulled into River Bend, I told myself to pull it together. If anyone saw me having a breakdown, it would come out for sure.

A curtain in the ranch house moved before falling back into place. Grace. She would be the only one home, with Cody.

She stepped out on the ranch house porch as I got out. "Savannah? Everything alright?"

I took a deep breath and walked towards her. "I got sick again is all. The nurse sent me home."

Grace frowned. "Oh dear, I knew I shouldn't have let you go today. Are you okay?"

I nodded woodenly. "I'm just going to lay down."

She look at me closely. "Have you been crying?"

I shrugged. "I was embarrassed by throwing up in the parking lot, that's all."

I wasn't sure if she believed me or not as she watched me but she nodded. "Okay, well come on over or call if you need anything. Cody and I might go over to Trudy's later but I'll let you know if we do."

"Thanks Grace."

…..

Had I really just laid in this bed with Pepper the other night talking about our future family? About our babies and how much we both wanted kids?

Then why wasn't this happy news? Sure it was horrific timing, me being in high school and all, but it was a baby. Our baby.

Pepper would freak out, sure, any twenty year old guy would at first, but he'd be happy and by my side. He was a good guy.

So why was I torn about what I was going to do? Adoption was one hundred percent out of the question.

That left keeping the baby or terminating the pregnancy.

The thought of an abortion made me cringe. I totally believed it should be a right and the woman should be able to make that choice, but it seemed so…unimaginable. While I believed in the right to choose, I had always thought I would only ever get an abortion if I had been raped or if my life was in danger. Never had I thought that I'd be having sex in high school and get pregnant.

Back in Idaho, the thought of being with someone had been terrifying. But with Pepper…I loved him and I trusted him with my life. Being intimate with him wasn't scary, it was good, it made me feel loved and wanted.

God, why hadn't I just bought some condoms before our wedding night? I knew that I wanted to have sex with him. Especially after we were married, it would be okay to have sex.

Because I was embarrassed. The thought of going into the store in Darton and buying condoms was mortifying. Everyone knew everyone and there would be talk.

Which was funny, in a not funny way, because now I was pregnant. And wouldn't that be more mortifying than buying condoms ever could be?

It had been awhile when there was a knock at the door. I went down and found Grace standing there with a bundled up Cody. She gave me a smile. "How are you feeling, dear? I just wanted to check in before we head over to Trudy's."

"I'm feeling okay, thanks Grace. Hi Cody." I smiled down at him, not getting any closer. I knew there was no illness I could pass onto him – just being a pregnant teen – but Grace didn't.

"Vannah no feel good again." He said, looking upset.

"I'm okay buddy. Just a little stomach thing. It's going to be fine." I assured the little boy and he nodded.

"Well if you're doing okay, we'll head over. We should be back way before anyone else is home."

"Okay, I'll see you then." I watched through the window to the left of the door as they walked to Grace's Buick and headed out.

There was a whine at the door and I opened it to find Blaze looking at me hopefully. "Aw, come on in, Blaze. It's cold out there today and who wants to be alone?"

I glanced towards the living room. We were going to look at sofas this weekend in town but for now our only seating was the two kitchen chairs at the table.

"Let's go up to the loft buddy and warm up." Blaze followed me up the stairs and climbed up on the bed, turning around a few times and curling up on Pepper's side.

I stroked his beautiful fur and he licked my face. It made me laugh. "Well at least I have you Blaze."

….

Pepper POV

I was so happy when the ranch yard came into view. It was freezing and Savannah had been unusually quiet today.

Even though she knew I couldn't respond much, she would text me throughout the day. It might be something like miss you! or pre-calc. sucks so much.

Sometimes she'd send a picture from school or when she got home and went with Sam for a ride.

But she hadn't texted me even once today, not even responding to my text that said School keeping you that busy today?

Things had been so good since we moved into our house Saturday. We had cuddled in bed on Sunday morning, just soaking up being in our house. She had laughed when I suggested we test out our small hot water heater by doing it in the shower, now that we didn't have Dallas to give us dirty looks any time we tried in the bunkhouse. Or at least when I tried. But then she had went and got in the shower with me yesterday morning and we had found out that the heater could keep it hot for a little while.

Then I had tried my hand at breakfast. The results hadn't been awful, really, but they hadn't been great either. Savannah had started feeling sick again later that morning and I was worried.

Did she have a stomach bug? Maybe the flu since it was that season. I didn't want her to be sick. I hated seeing her sick and especially right before Christmas.

When we got to River Bend, I saw the truck was parked in its normal spot and there was one lone light on in our house. Sam was letting Ace back into the corral he shared with Tempest.

I pulled Nike up to the hitching rail by the barn and tossed his reins over it. "Hey, Savannah putting Drizzle away?" I asked Sam as she walked by. She stopped and shook her head.

"No, Savannah didn't ride with me. She came home early from school because she's not feeling well again. Gram said she was sleeping the last time she checked on her."

I frowned. She had come home sick and was sleeping again. She really must not be feeling well. "Thanks Sam."

"No problem. Let her know that I took care of Drizzle for her this afternoon, though I didn't ride him. I figured he'd buck me off."

I chuckled despite my worries. "You could probably ride 'em out."

"I'll stick to Ace, thanks." She laughed before heading for the ranch house. I rubbed Nike down, releasing him into the big pasture before putting my tack up. I waved at Ross and Dallas as they headed for the bunkhouse and I headed towards our house.

It was quiet in the house and I figured Savannah was still sleeping. I pulled my boots off and tossed my gear onto the shelf right inside the door. We needed a coat rack or something to hang our coats and stuff on, I noted. Dallas and Wyatt were already talking about helping us with a little deck/porch and steps up to our door, instead of the temporary step stool we were using.

A grocery bag on the kitchen counter caught my gaze. I glanced in it and saw there were cans of chicken noodle soup. Grace must have dropped them off. Moving towards the stairs, I made my way up and smiled at the sight before me. Savannah was curled up in our bed and Blaze was cuddled up by her, his head resting on her stomach. He lifted his head at the sight of me and wagged his tail.

"You're supposed to be watching the ranch." I told the dog, amused. Blaze got up and shook himself out before coming over to me for a pet. "I guess I won't say anything since you were watching over my girl."

I went back downstairs to let the dog out of the house before heading back up. Savannah was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw me. "Oh God, I've slept all day!" She pushed up out of bed and moved towards the stairs.

I caught her and pulled her down onto my lap as I sat on the top step. "Hey, it's okay. I heard you weren't feeling good. You need rest when you're sick."

She didn't say anything, she just curled up against me, her arms wrapping around my neck, her face pressed into me. I rubbed her back and just held her as that's what she seemed to need at the moment.

After a moment, she pulled back. "Drizzle's probably going crazy wondering where I am."

I pushed back some of her hair that was falling out of the bun she had it in. "Sam took care of feeding him for you. Said she didn't dare try to ride him since he'd probably just buck her off."

She smiled but it wasn't her usual smile. She must still be feeling bad. "Grace dropped off some soup for you. I could heat it up if you want."

"I'm not hungry."

I frowned. "You should probably try to eat something."

"Maybe later." She shrugged and stood up, heading down the stairs. I followed, growing more worried. When I saw her start to put on boots, I grabbed her arm.

"Hey, where you going?"

She looked up at me in surprise. "Out to the pasture. I want to see Drizzle."

"I think you should stay inside. It's cold and damp outside. That won't help with your cold."

Her mouth dropped open. "Are you telling me I can't go outside?"

I shook my head. "You know I can't tell you what to do but I would appreciate it if you would stay inside." Her lips thinned in displeasure but she left her boots there and moved away from the door. I watched her take a seat in one of the kitchen chairs. "Do you want me to heat up that soup before I shower?"

She shook her head. I stepped over to kiss her forehead before heading into the bathroom. When I came out freshly showered, Savannah was staring out the window at the darkened ranch yard. It was a little eerie.

An idea struck me and I went over to her, leaning down towards her ear. "You want me to draw you a warm bath so you can relax?"

She jumped at my voice and looked up at me. "Draw me a bath, hmm?"

"It's a very husband thing to do." I told her with a grin. She gave me a smile more like her own and nodded.

"I will take you up on that then."

"Give me one sec." I went back into the bathroom and started the bath. In the cabinet under the sink, I found some of her bubble bath stuff and added it to the tub. Noticing the candles on the sink, I found a lighter near the bubble stuff and lit them, so the bathroom glowed warmly. It looked good.

She was gnawing on her lip when I came back, looking worried. "What's wrong?" I asked, sliding one arm around her waist.

"I just realized I'm not doing the wife thing very well. Our third day in the house and you have no dinner."

I chuckled at her and kissed the top of her head. "Baby, you aren't feeling well. Don't worry about dinner. I can make a sandwich myself. Go take your warm bath and when you come out, we'll have some soup and sandwiches together, okay?"

"I love you." She said, hugging me tightly. I squeezed her back.

"I love you too. Always."

…..

Savannah POV

The bubbles added to the warm bath was nice. And the candles he had lit were a great touch. But it made the guilt worse. I had worried that when I saw Pepper I'd blurt out the news of the pregnancy and start crying.

I hadn't, but barely. I had just let him hold me and rub my back, offer to make me soup, and draw me a bubble bath.

All while I sat here debating what to do about the pregnancy. The guilt was killing me. How could I keep this a secret from him? How could this even be a debate?

If I terminated the pregnancy, I'd be hurting him. How did I know how he truly felt about an abortion? Would he understand or would he hate me? Maybe he would understand and I could be honest with him. I wanted so badly to be honest with him. I wanted to be able to make this decision with him.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Surely all this worrying wasn't good for my or the baby's health. Mrs. Santos said I had a few days to think. I had time to think.

I let myself relax in the tub for awhile before washing off and getting out. I didn't want to keep Pepper waiting too long. I'm sure he was hungry after a long day on the range.

He must have popped in quietly and dropped off a pair of pajamas with underwear for me. Smiling, I dried off and put the pajamas on. They were one of my warm fuzzy pairs. Definitely not a sexy pair, but way comfortable.

I came out with my hair wrapped in a towel and dressed in my fuzzy pajamas. He smiled at me from where he was pouring soup in bowls for us. "Hey, take a seat and I'll bring yours over."

I kissed his shoulder blade in passing as I went to the table and a moment later, he put a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of me along with a glass of ginger ale. Going back, he brought back a sandwich and a bowl for himself. "Did you want a sandwich? I figured you didn't if you weren't feeling well."

I shook my head. "No the soup is great, thank you babe."

Pepper kissed my hand. "In sickness and in health."

I smiled at his words. While he was so young, he was a good husband. Maybe more so because he was young and in love.

We ate quietly, a comfortable silence between us. I tried to think of a way to casually bring up pregnancy and abortion. What could I say?

Suddenly, it came to me. A recent English assignment we had. It had involved a poem about abortion and a woman's right to choose. Boy had that been an interesting discussion in the classroom.

"So we had this discussion last week in English. It got pretty heated between a lot of students." I commented and he looked up, looking interested in what I was saying.

"What was it about?"

"Abortion." I blurted out and winced. "About a woman's right to choose."

Pepper raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything, just took another bite of his sandwich.

"Do you…have an opinion on abortion?" I asked, trying to calm my racing heart. Pepper met my eyes and he seemed to be trying to choose his words carefully.

"I think that…an abortion is…" He trailed off, looking uncomfortable. "Listen, I'm not about telling a woman what to do with her body but how can someone kill their own baby?"

All my hopes of us being able to talk about this deflated. Coldness seeped through me all over again. "It's not like it's an easy decision for them. A lot of abortions are due to rape or medical reasons. Some are because that's the best choice they can make."

Pepper sat back in his chair, his shoulders stiffening. "How can killing their baby be the best choice?"

"Because some women just can't do it!" I said loudly, nearly shouting. I sat back and lowered my voice. "Pepper, there are a ton of reasons why they choose to have an abortion. They can't financially afford a child, they're really young, they don't want a child, they are not in the mental head space to have a child."

"So I guess you're pro-abortion?" Pepper asked, his tone angry. I scoffed.

"I'm pro-choice. A woman deserves to be able to make the choice on whether she wants to have a baby or not! If she can handle it. Nobody should be forced to have a child. But that also means that I'm pro-adoption, pro having the baby. And yes, the choice to have an abortion. That doesn't mean I think everyone should, just that they should have the right to choose and make their own decision."

"What about the baby? Or the man that helped make that baby?" Pepper demanded, waving his hands in the air. "Doesn't he get a say?"

"He's not the one carrying the baby. Whose life will change. Of course, men should be able to speak their mind but the final decision should be up to the woman."

I wanted to be angry – and part of me was – but mostly I was heartbroken. I didn't realize how much I wanted him to be understanding, how much I wanted him to say it was okay for a woman to make that choice until he had told me how he really felt. How much I truly wanted to tell him and be able to talk with him about all of this, for us to make the decision together. But if I told him now, my choice would be made for me.

What choice did I have now? If I did it and Pepper ever found out…would he leave me?

"You're a guy. You have no idea how it really is. If you got someone pregnant, it would not affect your life at all. They would carry the baby and then they would stay home with the baby. Your life would not change. You'd still be a range riding cowboy. You could even walk away if you wanted to."

"How could you say that?" Pepper demanded, rearing back at my words. "I would never walk away from any child of mine and the only person I'd be getting pregnant is you. Do you really think if we had a child that I wouldn't be an active parent? Sure, I'd be out on the range during the day, because that's my job, but I'd still be here in the evenings, helping out."

I shook my head as he still didn't get it. Pepper watched me closely. "Savannah, did we not just have a talk two days ago about us wanting children?"

I shrugged. "I still want children. I love children. It doesn't mean I can't have my opinion on abortion."

"Are you asking for a reason?" He asked suddenly and I looked down so our eyes didn't meet. "Savannah, are you worried about getting pregnant? I mean, we're pretty careful…or are you trying to tell me something? Are you pregnant?"

My heart beat faster at his words and in that moment, I made a decision. I couldn't tell him. Not until I knew what I wanted. "No, I'm not. I just wanted to have a conversation with you. I realized that we don't know everything about each other. We think differently on some things."

His gaze was like a flame burning me but I couldn't look at him. If I did, he would know. He would know and everything would be over. There would be no choice to be made.

Pepper reached over to grab my hand. "Savannah, I love you. We might never know everything about each other. And we'll disagree on things, I'm sure. That doesn't mean anything bad. Heck, look at Wyatt and Brynna. A BLM employee and a rancher. Those two have so many differences but they love each other and they make it work. Because they make sure to understand where the other is coming from, they understand it's okay to have different opinions."

The guilt was building. He was being so sweet. He was saying all the right things. How could I not tell him?

A knock at the door saved me from having to say anything. Pepper got up and went to the door.

"Good evening, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." It was Brynna. I turned to see Pepper step back and invite her into the house.

"No, we were just talking over my one dish – soup and sandwiches." Pepper joked and I admired how easily he could switch his mood.

Brynna's gaze moved to me. "I was hoping to talk with Savannah for a moment, alone, if that's okay."

Nerves shot through me and Pepper looked back at me before turning to Brynna with a shrug. "Sure." He grabbed his coat and put his boots on. "I'm going to run over to the bunkhouse, need to talk to Dallas. That way you two can have your privacy."

He left and it was quiet. I cleared the table, taking the dishes to the sink and rinsing them out. "You wanted to talk to me?" I didn't face Brynna as I started washing the bowls.

"Yes…Savannah, we have to talk about your…illness." My heart beat faster. What if Mrs. Santos hadn't kept her promise not to tell? What if she had called and spoke with Brynna?

"What about it? It's probably just a stomach bug." I bit my lip as my stomach twisted into knots.

"Savannah, can you look at me, please?" I turned at her words and Brynna looked closely at me.

"It doesn't seem like the stomach bug, especially to me, someone who was recently pregnant." Brynna said softly. She took her hands in mine. "It seems like morning sickness. I mean we…well we know you and Pepper have been together since you've been married. Have you been careful? Are you pregnant?"

Staring into Brynna's face, my heart squeezed painfully. I couldn't tell her the truth either. I couldn't tell anyone. I wasn't ready to. "I'm not pregnant, I just had my period. And we're careful. We use condoms every time."

Brynna's eyes stared at me for another moment before nodding. "I trust you to be truthful with me. So you're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." I lied too smoothly. I didn't like it, but I wasn't ready to share.

I watched her shoulders sag in relief and guilt showered me again. How many people would I need to lie to?

When Pepper came back in, I was already upstairs, in bed, staring at the dark window. I listened as he took his boots and jacket off, could tell he was looking into the sink – looking for dirty dishes, before he turned off the lights downstairs and headed up to our bedroom.

I half-watched as he sat down on the top step and took his jeans and t-shirt off, folding them and putting them by the steps. Then he crawled over to the bed. His hand slid over my hip and pulled me back against his chest.

"Are we okay?" He whispered into my ear and an ache bloomed inside me. Would we be okay, no matter what I decided?

"We're fine." I whispered back, numbness filling me. I wanted it to be true.

"I love you so much. You know that right?" There was a note of pleading in his voice and I realized that I was worrying him.

I turned to face him, wanting to reassure him. "I know, babe. I love you too."

"I don't want anything to come between us, ever." He said, stroking my face.

"Nothing is coming between us." I assured him, putting my hand over his.

He leaned down and kissed me gently, pressing his lips to mine a few times. Once he pulled back, I laid my head against his chest and his arms encircled me.

Just when I thought he was falling asleep, he spoke. "What did Brynna want?"

I told half the truth. "She wanted to make sure I was okay since I keep getting sick. She also wanted to make sure we were being…careful."

I knew he was blushing without even looking at him. "I guess it's not exactly a secret that we've had sex."

"Not after poor Ross walked in on us." I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at the memory. It was so embarrassing but a little funny. One night, after we came back from Idaho, we had gotten carried away on the couch. It had started out as an innocent make-out session but quickly turned into clothes being taken off and heavy touching.

Dallas and Ross had went to sleep hours ago, so we thought we were fine. I was straddling Pepper's lap as he kissed down my neck, to my half-naked torso, when Ross had walked out quietly. He had gotten quite a shock and so had I as I was shirtless.

Dallas had been awoken by Ross's surprised shout and he had yelled at Pepper and I. How he understood we were married but there were times and places to do things and this was not one of them. I had apologized to Ross the next morning and we both had stood there blushing hotly. He had just nodded at me and went outside. Pepper had told me things were fine, that it would be okay. Of course, he hadn't been the shirtless one. At least I still had my bra on.

That's when the talk about us needing our own place had started. It had been even more embarrassing to know that Dallas had spoken with Wyatt and Brynna – there truly were no secrets on a ranch – and it had become a thing.

Pepper chuckled quietly at the memory. "Poor Ross. I don't know who was more embarrassed – you or him."

"Both." I groaned and Pepper kissed my forehead.

"Well at least he got a good show out of it." Pepper teased and I smacked his chest. "Ow! What? It was a compliment."

"Go to sleep." I muttered and he chuckled again.

….

Friday, December 10th

It had been a few days since I had learned that I was pregnant. I still didn't know what I wanted to do. My anxiety was growing with each day that passed. Mrs. Santos had kept her word and hadn't told anyone. When I returned to school this morning, she had caught my eye and we had nodded at each other.

Grace and Brynna had agreed that I should stay home until I was feeling better. I knew that wasn't going to happen, so I'd just have to keep my vomit down or keep it secret. So I didn't drink coffee anymore in the mornings, just water and I ate crackers. That seemed to keep my food inside.

Yesterday, Grace had went with me to the doctors while Brynna was home with Cody. The doctor agreed it was probably a stomach virus and I should be fine to return to school if I wasn't getting sick anymore. I felt bad that they had wasted their time taking me to the doctors when I knew my sickness wasn't virus related, but what could I do?

Tonight Pepper and I were supposed to go get a small Christmas tree for our tiny house and we'd also stop to look at a few sofas while we were out. I couldn't wait. Brynna and Wyatt were coming along, almost like a double date.

I was getting something out of my locker when I heard the girls nearby whispering. They were looking right at me and I sighed. I was still the talk of the school sometimes, especially after I got married. The most prominent one being that I was pregnant. Which I guess now they technically weren't wrong.

I shut my locker with a little more force than necessary and glared at the girls as they watched me. "Get a new subject to gossip about, okay?"

They gawked at me and I rolled my eyes, walking past them quickly.

"You okay?" Jen appeared by my side and I nearly jumped. I hadn't seen her.

"I'm fine. Just tired of being the subject of the rumor mill." I muttered, irritated.

"I know it's hard. Sam's been the subject of a few rumors and so have I. It's best to ignore them." Jen said sympathetically. I nodded.

"I know, I need to try harder but it's been a crummy week."

"At least you're feeling better, right?" Jen was eyeing me as we walked towards the parking lot to meet Sam.

"Yeah, a lot better. Whatever it was has cleared up."

"Are you still hanging out with Callie this weekend?" Jen asked, changing the subject. Awhile ago, I had met Callie Thorson, a friend of Sam's, and we had become friends too. Callie was a former hairstylist and a full-time student at the University in Reno studying Zoology. When we had talked the other week, we had been talking about hair and she had offered to give me a haircut if I wanted, or something more if I was interested. After that, we planned to go riding and have lunch.

"Yeah, it's going to be fun, I think. Are you sure you and Sam don't want to tag along?" I glanced over at her as she swung the door open.

She smiled and shook her head. "I can't because Ryan and I are going into Reno. There's a jumper he wants to look at and he wants my opinion."

"Yes, I guess it is nice to have a girlfriend who's interested in becoming a veterinarian that will come to look at horses with you." I teased as we looked around for Sam.

Jen laughed. "I'm not sure he's bringing me along for my limited vet experience. I think he just wants me to back him up."

"Hey! What took you two so long?" Sam called from where she stood beside the truck. Jen and I met each other's eyes before rolling them. We hadn't taken that long.

We dropped Jen off at Gold Dust and we promised to meet each other on the range as soon as we could. Back at River Bend, Sam and I went to our houses to get changed into riding clothes. We flew through our chores and were saddling our horses before long.

Drizzle tossed his head as I settled in the saddle. A part of me thought I shouldn't be doing this – I was pregnant after all. What if Drizzle threw me and I lost the baby?

He didn't buck as we rode across the bridge and I was feeling better. Maybe he'd settle down as we got going.

We met up with Jen and we let the horses gallop across the range, the cold wind blowing in our faces. All my worries flew away with the wind. Serenity ran through me and I soaked it in, enjoying the sound of the pounding hooves, the laughter of my friends. Everything would be okay. Somehow.

…

AN: Hey readers! Interesting chapter right? There is another chapter coming very soon (almost finished)! Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter and anything you're hoping to see in the upcoming chapters! Like I said, I'll get an update up very soon ?

Thanks for reading!

Always,

QuinnandSeth'sgirl15