Hope of the Future by Ariana Browning

Author:Ariana Browning [Browning, Ariana]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-03-16T00:00:00+00:00

A bolt of thunder shook the warehouse and Hope glanced up. I sure hope this place is leak proof. The storm had been going on for hours and it grew worse instead of better. It matched Gideon’s somber mood.

A gut feeling added to her already stressed out nerves, as though the thunder were speaking to her. Not possible. She shook her head and turned back to Gideon, who kept too close an eye on her.

Hope grinned. “Oh? Then why bother?”

Gideon shrugged. “What makes you think I don’t feel anything for that child?”

Hope rolled her eyes. “A question with a question? What kind of conversation is this? We’re gonna keep asking questions and nobody will answer anything.”

“Hope,” Gideon warned, shifting his stance. “I still won’t hesitate to hit you.”

Despite the threat, Hope’s eyes lit up. “So spank me if you will.” She sighed. “Okay this is getting us nowhere. Then I will be the adult and ask straight out, Gideon do you want this child?”

Gideon moved over to the edge of her makeshift bed and she froze. For a long time, he sat there, watching her, then his gaze slid down to her stomach and came back up.

“Part of me wonders. I look at you and I wonder if I should bother. Can you honestly tell me that the baby will make it full-term in a world where women can’t have children?”

Hope didn’t know how to answer. Another bolt of thunder struck and Hope flinched. Gideon’s gaze said if she could make that promise, he would want it. The small movement inside her belly let her know that she could make that promise.

“So many things can happen, Gideon, but if you trust my gut,” she paused and glanced down, rubbed her hand over her stomach, and a slow smile spread across her mouth, “I believe he will at least be born. Through sheer determination maybe. What happens after is anyone’s guess. I want this child. I want it more than anything in the world.”

Gideon’s gaze softened. His gaze dropped to her stomach and he slipped his hand under her own. Hope moved hers away. Keeping a hand on her stomach, he told her, “If there is a person with more determination, I have never met them. If it helps, I want it, him, Hope. I wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to protect the two of you if I didn’t.”

Hope shook her head and turned away. “Well that’s great. I’m happy to be your incubato—” Before she could finish, a movement in her stomach caught her attention. Both of them looked down.

Warmth came after that. Comforting warmth that Hope hadn’t ever felt before. It was coming from him. The baby responded to Gideon’s voice to his genuine want of him, trying to tell his dad, he was there and he’d do everything in his power to survive.

If Hope had plans to resist developing feelings for Gideon, they died then. Never had she seen him look so gentle and kind. Every wall she’d built crashed downward.

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