I worked at pushing everything else out of my head as the female ultrasound tech came in and started chatting. I didn’t hear a word she said because I was so busy trying to filter out everything happening outside the room. It hurt that Asa wasn’t with me, but we’d known for weeks when the appointment would be. If he’d wanted to be there, he would have.

I watched intently as she used the computer to measure my little bean, tracing little lines over its head and torso and labeling different body parts. I was so intent on the baby that she startled me when she spoke.

“Do you want to know the sex?”

I looked at Gram who’d stood from her seat across the room to watch the monitor closely.

“Let’s do it,” she told me with a nod, grabbing my hand tightly.

“Yeah. We want to know,” I answered, searching the tech’s face for an answer before she spoke.

She turned back toward the monitor and started moving her mouse around again. “You see that right there? You, my dear, are definitely having a boy.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, stunned.

“I’ve been doing this for five years, and I’ve been wrong twice. I’m reasonably certain,” she told me with a smile as she stood from her seat and handed me a row of black and white photos. “The doctor will be here in a few minutes after he goes over the results.” She gave a small smile before exiting the room.

“A son,” Gram murmured quietly, running her hand down my hair. “There’s nothing in the world like it.”

I ignored her teary eyes, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate if I made a big fuss about it, and cleaned the goop off my belly. The doctor came in a few minutes later, giving us the all-clear on all the test results, and I left the office in a daze, thankful that Gram had driven me to the appointment.

We were having a son, and Asa had missed it. How could he have missed it? I swung between worry and fury as we rode home. How could he? Where the fuck was he? I would have known if he’d been in an accident. I was listed as his next of kin on a little card in his wallet—someone would’ve called me.

I’d no sooner had the thought than my phone started ringing shrilly in my purse and my stomach dropped.

“No. No. No,” I murmured as I fished it out and saw an unknown number on the caller ID.

“Hello?” I answered frantically.

“Hey, little girl.”

“Poet? What’s wrong? Asa was supposed to be here this afternoon and he never showed.” My words were tumbling over each other in my panic as I stared blankly out the windshield.

“Asa’s just fine—”

“Then where the fuck is he?”

“He ran into some problems on his way down this morning…”

“Why am I just now hearing from anyone? What the hell is going on?” I asked as Gram parked the car and I threw myself out of the car so I could pace.

“Just heard about it myself. Called you first thing.”

“What. Is. Going. On?” I snapped back.

“Asa got arrested this morning, and he had to use his call to phone Slider—”

“Arrested?” I whispered, my stomach dropping. “What happened?”

“Not sure of the details yet, just wanted to let you know that he’s fine. He was real insistent that I call you soon as I could.”

I pressed my hand to my head, feeling dizzy all of a sudden, and I felt Gram wrap her arm around my waist, ushering me toward the stairs.

“Okay, well let me know...”

“I’ll keep you updated. Don’t worry, darlin’, he’ll be out before you know it.”

I climbed the steps wearily as Poet hung up, and I couldn’t even answer the questions in Gram’s eyes, I was so bewildered. Why would he have gotten arrested on his way to me? It didn’t make any sense and my mind was spinning.

“Baby daddy stood you up, huh?” Farrah mumbled around a mouth full of what looked like shredded wheat cereal. My heart sped up as I stared at her in disbelief. She looked like shit. Her hair was matted on one side and there were half-circles of mascara under her eyes. She’d probably just woken up after her bender last night, and she’d been passed out cold while I’d been freaking out for the last two hours.

“Fuck you, Farrah!” I screamed, throwing my purse at her and knocking cereal all over my couch. “You’re such a fucking bitch!”

I felt Gram’s hand on my elbow, but I was too overcome with emotion to pay any attention to her.

“What the fuck did I do?” Farrah yelled back, standing from the couch.

“It’s all about poor fucking Farrah! Farrah has had such a shitty time that she treats everyone around her like total crap!” My hands clenched into fists as she stared at me in disbelief. “I should’ve moved to Oregon by now!” I screeched, the veins in my temples throbbing.

“Fuck you! I didn’t ask you to stay! Move to fucking Oregon, then!” she sniped back, sliding her feet into shoes. “I didn’t need you to stay here, Callie. I got along fine without your ass.”

As she was finishing, Cody walked through the door, his face a mask of fury. “What the hell is going on? I could hear you yelling from Gram’s.”

“Your sister’s got a stick up her ass because her boyfriend never fucking showed and now she’s taking it out on me,” Farrah replied, folding the blanket I’d thrown over her the night before when she hadn’t made it to her bedroom before passing out. “Apparently, everything is my fault because I got the shit beat out of me and had the bad fucking luck of having my boyfriend killed, too. I’m such a fucking burden because she felt obligated to stay instead of starting her own fucking life.”