Gabe made me come down to the dining room after everyone went to bed. He had told me to stay in bed all day and I was happy to do that, especially during dinner. I pretended to be asleep when Gabe came up into the room. He shook me awake and dragged me downstairs.

I was leaning back in the dining room chair with my arms crossed over my chest. Gabe sat across the table from me. A plate of meat was sitting in between us.

"I need you to eat a piece," Gabe said for the third time.

My stomach tightened into a knot when I looked at a chunk of meat. I wondered who it was. Was it one of my friends or someone who came onto the property?

"I can't," I said.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, you can."

I shook my head. Gabe let out a huff of breath.

"Linds, you have been eating it for months," he said. My eyes widened at the realization of how long I have been here. "Don't let it bother you now."

"I didn't know what it was before," I said.

"Don't let that stop you now," he said. "I need you to stay healthy. For both you and our son."

I uncrossed my arms and rubbed my hands over my stomach. Gabe gave me a soft smile. He reached his hand across the table. I held my hand out and laced my fingers through his. He clasped his other hand over mine.

"Just one piece," he said. "One piece and we can go to bed."

I sighed. I knew that he was stubborn and that we would be down here all night.

"I love you," he said. "I love you so much, Lindsay. You know that I just want to protect you."

My lips lifted into a smile. Images of the man holding a knife to my throat filled my mind. Gabe was the one to save me from that. He was trying his best to take care of me, in his own unique way.

"Thank you," I said.

"Eat the meat," he told me.

"Do I really have to?" I asked.

Gabe raised a brow. I bit down on my lip. I knew that I should not be asking questions.

"You have been doing it for months," he said. "Just eat it."

He tightened his grip on my hand. I sucked in a deep breath and reached out toward the plate. I squeezed my eyes shut and grabbed a piece of the meat. I shoved the meat into my mouth and chewed. I swallowed as fast as I could as my throat threatened to constrict and gag. I opened my eyes to see Gabe giving me a wide smile.

"You did good," he said. "Let's go up to bed."

--

Over the last few months, I have grown larger than I expected. My stomach grew so big that I struggled to see my feet. I could not find a calendar anywhere in the house, but Gabe told me that I should be due any day.

Despite Jenny repeatedly telling me to sit down, I was helping her cook dinner. The meat was difficult to eat, but cooking it caused my stomach to twist too. Slowly, it became part of my everyday life and I did not question it.

"You must be so happy," Jenny said.

I smiled and ran my hand along my stomach. A few months ago, Jenny came to my room with a box of her old maternity clothes. I have been wearing a mixture of that and Gabe's old clothes since then.

"I think I'm tired of being pregnant," I said. "I'll be happy when this baby is out and I get to hold them."

"If it is a boy," Jenny said.

I froze and my chest tightened. No one has talked about me having a girl in a long time. Jenny gave me a soft smile and put a hand on my arm.

"I don't mean to worry you," she said. "I just want to prepare you."

"Either way I want to hold my baby," I said.

Jenny's smile wavered, but she managed to maintain her happy composure.

"Trust me," she said. "You don't want to hold your daughter."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the timer sitting on the oven went off.

"The meat is done," Jenny said.

She rushed over to the oven and pulled out the roasting pan full of meat. She tucked greying strands of hair behind her ears before clasping her hands in front of her chest.

"Let me go get the boys," she said.

I raised an eyebrow as she rushed over to the door that I assumed was locked. She opened it without resistance and ran outside. I looked through the bars on the window above the sink.

Noah and Gabe were standing outside the barn. Neither of them looked alarmed by Jenny leaving the house. She wrapped her arms around Noah's neck before giving him a kiss.

Why was the door unlocked? Did they forget to lock it? No, Jenny would have not known that it was unlocked. Did they not lock it in case I went into labour? No, they had radios that they could use. Maybe they finally trusted me?

I walked over to the door. The handle turned in my grasp. I sucked in a deep breath of the cool night air as I stepped onto the porch. Gabe saw me and jogged over with a smile. He came up the creaky steps and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"It's so nice out," I said.

"Anytime you want to come out, just let me know," he said.

"Can we come out tonight?"

"Of course, beautiful." He kissed the side of my temple. "Let's go eat dinner."