Six weeks later...
Grace held up the pregnancy tester.
"Oh, shit" she muttered. "Hopefully this bloody thing is faulty." She tapped it on the bench, and nearly jumped out of her skin when Jaz knocked on the door.
"Grace, are you going to be long?"
Grace and her youngest sister had never been close, but living on Drovers Run had brought them together.
"Jaz, can you come in here?" Jaz was probably the only person – apart from Ben and Ingrid – who didn't know about Grace and Marcus' night of fun.
"Sure." Jaz opened the door, to find Grace sitting on the edge of the bathtub.
"What's up?
Grace looked at her younger sister. "This." She passed the pregnancy tester to Jaz.
Jaz's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Wh-wh-wh-what?"
Grace smiled sadly.
"Who's the father?" Jaz demanded.
Grace looked Jaz fair in the eye, and uttered one word: "Marcus."
That night, Grace phoned Marcus. She asked him to come over straight away. Within twenty minutes, Marcus was seated at the kitchen table.
"What is so important, Grace?"
Grace drew in a deep breath.
"I'm pregnant, Marcus."
Emotions passed over Marcus' face. Surprise, shock, and then delight.
"Wow! Are you one hundred percent sure that... well, you know..."
Grace caught his drift.
"Yes. It's yours."
Marcus was speechless. He felt joy, at becoming a father, fear at Ingrid's wrath, happiness of spending more time with Grace.
Grace's face turned pale. "What about Ingrid? It wouldn't surprise me if, when she finds out, she shoots both of us."
Marcus' smile froze. "You're right. It's going to be hard, but I can make up a story for her."
Grace shook her head. "That won't deter her. She will find out, whether we like it or not. News spreads fast."
Marcus nodded sadly. "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."