| Chapter Fifteen To say the week that I found out I was pregnant held a lot of surprises would be a huge understatement. Not only did I find out I was pregnant, but three days later, I finally found out what Kevin did for a living. “Cassie,” Carly cried as she burst into my room, her face flushed and her eyes shinning. “What,” I asked, wondering what had her in such a state. “You’ve got to see this,” she exclaimed and then pulled me out of my room and down the hall to our private den. I glanced around the room, looking for whatever it was that had Carly so excited but I saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Carly, what exactly did you want me to see,” I asked, confused. Instead of answering, she dragged me over to the couch and pushed me into a cushion. “That is what I want you to see,” she said as she pointed to the television. My eyes widened as they landed on the screen and my breath caught in my throat. I had been living on my memories of what he looked like for the past two months and now suddenly there he was in front of me. A video of Kevin and his friends was playing and I was stunned. I looked at the little glowing number in the corner of the screen and recognized the channel as one of the music channels we picked up from the satellite. “I don’t understand,” I whispered as my eyes stayed on the T.V. screen. Carly’s excitement bubbled over and she squirmed in her seat. “They’re the Backstreet Boys,” she all but yelled. My eyes widened even more at the mention of that name. In the past few days all I had heard from Carly and her friends was that they were one of the biggest names in the music industry, but until that moment I had never seen them together as a group; not counting the time they had spent here at the ranch. I felt my heart drop when I realized that I wasn’t just carrying Kevin’s baby, the man who had spent a week on vacation here at the ranch. I was carrying his baby, a superstar’s baby. It scared the holy crap out of me. Before that moment, I had no idea whether I was ever going to tell Kevin about the baby, and now I found just the thought of it daunting. What if he wanted to take the baby from me? What if he won custody? Millions of thoughts ran through my head and I felt the bile rise up in the back of my throat. I had to get out of there and I had to do it now. I lurched off the couch and ran from the room with my hand covering my mouth. I barely made it to the bathroom before emptying the contents of my stomach. “Cassie. Cassie are you all right,” Carly asked through the closed door. When I didn’t answer, I heard the sounds of running feet flying down the hall and Callie’s named being called. It wasn’t enough that I just found out I was pregnant, and it wasn’t enough that I just found out that the father of my child wasn’t who I thought he was, but now I was going to have to sit my sisters down and explain things to them. Heat blasted my face and I felt embarrassed. I had always preached abstinence while they were growing up and here I was the role model, the older, supposedly wiser sister, pregnant out of wedlock. I pulled myself to my feet and rinsed my mouth out, praying the whole time that whatever was left in my stomach would stay put. “Cassandra Ray, you open this door now or so help me I’m gonna break it down,” Carly hollered. “Oh that’s really going to make her open it,” chided Callie. “I’m worried okay? I mean one minute she was fine and then the next she went running from the room. You didn’t hear her when she was getting sick,” Carly defended her actions. “Cassie, come on sis, open the door please,” Callie called softly. The time had come for me to be straight with my family, and even though I was scared and I knew they would be disappointed I opened the door. “Are you all right?” Callie asked as she stepped back to give me room to leave the bathroom. I nodded my head and forced back tears that threatened to fall. “We need to talk though. All of us,” I added as I looked at Carly. Silently they followed me back to the den and we sat down on the couch, me in the middle of both of my sisters. “Cass, whatever it is, we’re here for you,” Carly said as she took my hand in hers and gently squeezed. “I know, but it doesn’t make this any less difficult,” I murmured softly. “Just tell us,” Callie said as she took my other hand in hers. There I sat between the only family I had left and I began to tell them what was going on. “Remember the night of the barn dance and you both wondered where Kevin and I had went? Igotpregnantthatnight,” I said, rushing the last few words together. There was a long pause as they tried to decipher my words. “We’re going to have a baby,” Carly asked, a large smile framing her face. “You’re not mad or upset,” I asked, stunned. “Why would we be mad,” Callie questioned as she moved closer to me. “Because I always rode you two about not putting yourselves in positions where this would happen and then I went and did it myself. Not to mention this just adds more pressure on all of us. Pretty soon I’m not going to be able to ride a horse or do any of the heavy work around the ranch. It means you two are going to have to carry the heaviest part of the load.” “Oh sis. I may tease you and call you mom sometimes, but after all you’ve done for the both of us over the years, this isn’t all that much to ask,” Carly stated as she too moved closer to me. I couldn’t help it, the tears I had been fighting flowed over and spilled down my cheeks. “He must have gotten to you fast, for you to have been with him after knowing him for only three days,” Callie said knowingly after I wiped my tears away. “Oh did he ever,” I said, smiling for the first time since I had found out who Kevin really was. It was then that I realized that Callie didn’t know about Kevin and the guys. “There’s more,” I whispered. “More,” Callie asked, her own eyes going wide at that announcement. “More,” I acknowledged. “You see I just found out who Kevin really is.” “Who he really is,” she repeated in confusion. It was beginning to sound like there was a permanent echo in the room so I just laid it all out for her. “Kevin isn’t just some guy Callie. He’s a Backstreet Boy,” I said. “I could’ve told you that months ago,” Callie said, much to Carly’s and my shock. “What?” we both asked at the same time. “One of my roommates in college was head over heels for them and their pictures decorated my dorm room for four years. It’s not like you’d ever forget faces like those. Besides, what does it matter,” she asked me. “It matters a whole lot,” I stated, a tremor of fear ran through my voice. “Why? He’s just a guy like any other.” “Sure a guy who makes millions, who can give our child the world and the moon too. There’s absolutely no reason to be worried about that,” I retorted, my fear getting the best of me, turning my normally soft voice into one filled with sarcasm. “Are you going to tell him?” Callie asked, now seeing my dilemma. “I have no idea,” I admitted. “I didn’t even know if I was going to tell him before, but now,” my words trailed off leaving the thought unfinished. “You are keeping the baby aren’t you,” Carly asked. “That’s the only thing I am sure of. It’s my baby and I’m keeping him or her." CCC Index Chapter 16 Main Page |