by R. R. Banks
“Hey, girl,” she says. “You've looked better.”
“Maybe I need a spa day.”
“Couldn't hurt.”
Colin remains standing at the window as Katie crosses the room and perches on the edge of the bed. She takes my hand in hers and gives it a squeeze. She looks me in the eye, daring me to look deeply and see the truth in her words.
“Colin is telling the truth,” she says. “I heard him screaming at Laurel to get out of his house. I heard him telling her it was never going to happen between them, and that they'd been done a long time. She basically confirmed it in front of everybody later on, after they'd taken you to the hospital. Colin never consented, nor did he sleep with her. If you aren't going to take his word for it, I hope you can take mine.”
I look deeply into her eyes and see nothing but truth and sincerity. Katie loves Colin, but I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that she would never cover for him if he actually betrayed me like that. Katie has far too much integrity to do that. They all do. It's one thing I love about this family, and about Colin.
And now, I feel like a complete asshole for doubting him. Again.
I turn to him and find him still glowering down at me. I don't know what to say to make up for what I've done. Colin has always tried to show me kindness, respect, and compassion. He's never shown me anything but love.
Yet, I keep doubting him. As he said once, I keep thinking the worst of him – and I don't know why I do that.
“I – I'm sorry, Colin,” I say miserably. “All of my own doubts and insecurities – I mean, part of me wondered why you'd be with somebody like me, when you could be with a supermodel like her. I let it all eat away at me. I let my baggage impact my trust for you.”
He runs a hand through his hair but gives me a small smile. “One, you are more beautiful than Laurel could ever hope to be,” he says. “And two, there is so much about you that I love, it would take me days to go through it all. You are the most amazing woman I've ever met, Bailey. You astound me more every single day, and I want to spend my life with you.”
My mouth falls open, and I stare at him wide-eyed. Even Katie is caught off-guard and stares at him with a shocked expression on her face. Colin is grinning like a fool, but he takes a small black box out of his coat pocket and looks at it for a long minute.
“This isn't how I wanted to do this,” he says. “This isn't exactly my first choice, and it's definitely not my idea of romantic.”
“I'm sure there are worse venues out there,” I say. “If you want to keep looking for something truly awful.”
Katie snickers, but when Colin drops to a knee beside my bed, she covers her mouth with her hands, and I see tears welling in her eyes. At the same time, I must have gotten dust or something in mine because they start to sting and water as well. What a coincidence.
“When I was afraid I might lose you, I knew in my heart, that I couldn’t live my life without you, Bailey,” Colin says. “I knew then that I had to come clean with my brothers. I told them the truth about everything. And that you bring me more joy than anybody ever has. I feel safe with you, like I can put all of my heart and my trust into you. You make me a better person. More than that, you make me want to be a better person, and I want to be with you. Forever. If you'll have me, that is.”
Tears are streaming down my face and I look over at Katie, who's crying just as hard as I am. My hand is trembling wildly when I reach out and hold it against Colin's rugged, chiseled face. He leans into it, closes his eyes, and savors it like a man who thought he'd never feel it again.
Slowly, he opens those piercing eyes of his, and they cut a path straight into my heart. I feel the flutter of butterfly wings in my chest, and a surge of adrenaline courses through me.
“Bailey Janson,” he says, “I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. For real this time. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I answer, my voice barely more than a whisper.
Colin's smile lights up the room as he slips the ring onto my finger. I hold it up and look at it. It's not the size that impresses me – though, it is quite impressive in its own right – it's the fact that it's Colin Anderson who put it on my finger. My former arch-nemesis is now going to be my husband.
“Life is such a strange, twisty thing,” I mutter.
“You can say that again.”
“Oh, am I interrupting?”
We all turn to look at the newcomer – a short, Asian woman in a lab coat, holding a clipboard. Obviously, my doctor. I hold up my hand to show off the ring.
“Nothing much,” I say. “Just a little impromptu engagement party.”
The doctor smiles wide, chuckling to herself. “Well, I'm glad to see you in good spirits, and sounding well,” she says. “And also, congratulations. I've seen a lot of things in this hospital before, but an engagement is a first for me.”
The door to the room opens again, and the rest of Colin’s family – our family – files in. The doctor looks around at them like she's on the verge of kicking them out. Technically, you're only allowed so many visitors at a time. At least, I think.
“Well, I guess I can't really ask any of you to leave in light of the happy news,” she says.
“Happy news?” Liam asks.
Katie giggles as I hold up my hand, the light pouring in through the window glinting off the rock. There's a moment of stunned silence, quickly followed by an explosion of cheering, shouted questions, handshakes, hugs, and slaps on the back.
Fearing everything is about to go off the rails, the doctor asserts control again. “I'm willing to overlook the number of people in here,” she calls out over everybody, “so long as you keep it down to a dull roar. I do still have a job to do, people.”
Everybody lowers their voices to a whisper all at once. It's so perfectly choreographed, that it's hilarious. The doctor flips through my charts, asks me a few questions, and jots down a couple of notes. She closes the chart and slips her pen back into her pocket.
Thankfully, the pain that had racked my body upon waking seems to be dulling with each passing second. I'm starting to feel better. More like myself.
“Well, we've done all of the bloodwork, and we've analyzed your MRIs, X-rays, and a thousand other things we're going to charge you a lot of money for,” she says with a laugh. “Everything came back clean, and you shouldn't have any lingering effects of your fall. We'll prescribe you some painkillers to keep the worst of it at bay until your symptoms disappear completely.”
Everybody in the room lets out a relieved sigh. Colin steps closer and takes my hand, giving it a soft squeeze. I look up and he's smiling at me, and I know in that moment – or rather, it's reconfirmed in my mind – that Colin's face is the one I want to see every morning I wake up, and the last I see before I go to sleep at night.
“Also,” the doctor says. “The fall didn't harm the baby. There doesn't seem to be any damage, and you should be just fine carrying to term.”
As if we'd suddenly been sucked out into the cold vacuum of space, the room falls silent around us, and a strange tension fills the air. I see everybody looking around at each other, I'm sure, with the same question on our minds – did we just hear her correctly?
“Come again?” Colin finally breaks the silence in the room.
The doctor looks up at him, a curious expression on her face. “The baby should be fine,” she explains. “Your fiancée’s head absorbed most of the blow, and it doesn’t seem to have impacted the baby at all.”
“Baby?” Colin and I ask in unison.
As if suddenly realizing that we have no clue what she's talking about, a light of understanding dawns in the doctor's eyes. She looks down at her chart and sucks in a breath.
“Well, this is awkward,” she says.
We are all still standing – or, in my case laying – in a stunned silence. Nobody's moving. Nobody's speaking.
“As part of our blood panels, we run tests for certain hormones and –” she bites off her
words, as if searching for an easier way to explain it to a bunch of laypeople. “Basically, we tested your blood for everything, Bailey. And when we did, we found that you're pregnant. A little more than a month along, but pregnant nonetheless.”
Colin's grip on my hand tightens and when I look up at him, I see an expression of fear on his face – an expression I'm sure matches my own. A baby? How in the hell did I get pregnant? We're always so careful. We’ve always taken the necessary precautions. How in the hell could this have happened?
“I'm going to be a father,” Colin mutters under his breath. “Holy shit.”
“You're probably going to want to watch that mouth around your child,” the doctor admonishes him.
As if somebody pulled the pin out of the dam, the explosion of emotion in the room is overwhelming. Colin's brothers are suddenly hugging him, slapping him on the back, and giving him a lot of ribbing about being the last one again. The girls are all taking turns hugging me, offering words of encouragement and support, and seem genuinely thrilled for me.
Colin and I look at each other, neither of us quite knowing what to make of the news yet. It's shocking, to say the least. And yet, in some strange, perverse way, it fits the rest of our relationship – completely unexpected.
Colin might be scared, but I know he's going to make a great father. He has so much love and compassion to give, and I know that our child’s going to feel like the most loved kid on the planet. If anything, I'm going to have to rein Colin in from spoiling the kid too much.
As the news sinks in, for reasons I don't understand, I start to feel better about it. Like our relationship, it kind of just feels – right. It's nothing we planned for, but that seems to be our way, and it's only fitting.
And when I look up at Colin, and see that warm twinkle in his eye, I know for a fact, he's thinking the same thing I am. We simultaneously squeeze each other's hands, both of us looking forward to our future together – as a family of three.
From rock bottom to the top, as long as I have Colin by my side, I know there is no challenge we can’t overcome – not even parenthood.
“I told you so,” Holly whispers, leaning in close to me. “It's that damn Anderson sperm at work.”
I laugh long and hard, embracing her tightly. My friend. My sister. My new family. Nothing in the world has ever felt as good, and as right as this.
Bailey
Fifteen Months Later...
“Are your eyes closed?”
“I have a blindfold on, Colin,” I say and laugh. “I can't see anything. Where's Abigail?”
“She's in good hands, I promise,” he says.
I let Colin help me out of the car – since I can't see anything, it makes the whole process a bit difficult. He takes my hand in his and guides me along what feels like a sidewalk. It's a cool day in Boston, and we're starting to come out of the grips of a particularly harsh winter. Or maybe it just felt like that since I was cooped up so much.
I wouldn't trade it for anything, though. Not with our sweet little Abigail in our lives. I know Colin was secretly hoping for a boy, but the second he saw Abigail, I watched him fall completely in love with her. He dotes on her, spoils her, and is every bit the amazing father I knew he would be.
He makes sure to take her as often as he can, to give me time to rest and to work on my art. After the show he used his influence to get me booked into a year ago, my work has been in demand. Patrons, both high-end and hipster alike, seem to love my work. Naturally, I have my fair share of haters and critics – it's just the nature of the beast – but I'm beyond thrilled to have finally found success as an artist.
The most gratifying aspect, however, is that my work has prompted discussions on the plight of the impoverished in Boston, and what we can do about it. There have been several public forums on finding ways to assist the underprivileged while leaving them with a sense of dignity and self-worth. I've seen plenty of changes within Boston itself, as well as pieces of state-wide legislation passed aimed at helping the poor.
That, more than anything, has made it all worth it to me.
“Where are we, Colin?” I ask.
“You'll see,” he says. “Almost there.”
A cool wind tussles my hair, making me shiver. I'm walking slowly and making my way down the sidewalk cautiously, even though Colin is patiently guiding me.
“Are you afraid I'm going to leave you in a ditch or something?” he asks.
“Actually, yeah,” I tease. “Kind of.”
He laughs. “Well, maybe if you'd bother me about doing the laundry less, you wouldn't have to worry about that.”
I laugh along with him and slap his shoulder. “Maybe if you'd do the laundry every now and then, I wouldn't have to nag you.”
“True,” he says, “But, then you'd just find something else to bother me about.”
“That all sounds very true.”
We laugh together as we walk together – or rather, as he acts as my guide dog.
“Okay, stop,” he instructs.
Colin gets behind me and puts his hands on my shoulders. I can feel a nervous tension coupled with unbridled excitement radiating from him, and I’m now beyond curious. I have no idea what he's doing – or rather, what he's done – that he’s so excited about showing me.
“I swear to God, if all you're doing is proposing to me on the Jumbotron at Fenway, I'll kill you,” I say.
He scoffs. “Like I'd ever set foot in Fenway. I hate the Sox,” he says. “I'm an Angels fan.”
“Oh, that's right,” I say. “I forgot, you like losing.”
He slaps my ass playfully, and we both laugh – though, I can tell his laughter is a little strained, and tight with anticipation. Whatever he's about to do, he's nervous about it. It's then I catch the murmur of whispered voices. There are other people out there. Other people are standing there and staring at me with this stupid blindfold on.
Great.
“Who's out there?” I ask, hesitation coloring my voice.
“Are you ready?” he asks, answering my question with a question – which drives me crazy.
“Yes,” I answer. “Yes, I'm ready.”
He whips the blindfold off me with a flourish, and I find myself standing in front of a group of people, including all of his brothers, their wives – Paige is holding Abigail for me – Father Gus, Cesar, and a host of other people we know. Our friends, family, and loved ones are all looking at me with barely controlled glee on their faces, like they’re waiting for permission to explode.
The trouble is, although I'm ecstatic to see everyone gathered in one place like this, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be looking at.
I scan the crowd again, hoping for a clue. “What, you didn't invite Laurel to this little soiree?”
He laughs and gestures at the buildings behind the crowd. “This has been my passion project for the last year,” he says. “What do you think?”
I look at where he’s pointing – at a group of clean, modern, state of the art buildings. Colin claps his hands, and the crowd parts, revealing a silver-plated sign etched with the words, “Bailey House.”
I stare at it for a long time, still not understanding. I look to Colin, hoping he can clarify it for me.
“Welcome to Bailey House,” he announces triumphantly. “I've been working with some partners and formed a few new alliances over the last year. What we've built, at no cost to the residents, is a large campus to help Boston with our homeless problem. There is a dorm with three hundred beds, a cafeteria, an outreach center, career training center – and a lot more that I can’t wait to show you. But this – this is your vision, Bailey. This is what you've inspired me to do.”
My heart races with emotion as I look at the buildings, then back to Colin. I put my hands over my mouth, feeling my eyes growing wide with disbelief.
“I – is this for real?” I ask.
“If it wasn't real, would we be standing here?” he laughs.
I smack him
playfully in the chest as I feel my eyes welling with tears.
“In time, when we acquire more of the surrounding land, we'll be able to build more dorms, and house more people,” he says. “But, I think we're off to a good start.”
He hands me a printed brochure for Bailey House. It outlines everything from the mission statement to the available amenities. Tears roll down my face, and I feel my legs grow weak. When they can't support me anymore, I fall to my knees, my entire body shaking with emotion.
It's then that the crowd erupts in applause and cheers. I'm suddenly surrounded by the people I love most in the world. They're hugging me while offering words of congratulations. I don't know why they're congratulating me, though. Ultimately, this is all the doing of one man. My husband. The father of my child.
I turn to Colin and find him beaming at me. I pull him into a tight embrace, burying my face in his chest, and quietly weeping with joy. The level of happiness filling my body is indescribable.
“Thank you,” I say. “It's not nearly enough, but thank you.”
“I told you before, you changed my entire world, Bailey. That you make me want to be a better man,” Colin explains. “This is a culmination of that. If there's anybody who needs to be thanked around here, it's you.”
I have no words. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to say. I'm absolutely speechless. Stunned.
Surrounded by the people I love most in the world, held by a man who makes me deliriously happy, and standing in front of his creation – dedicated to me – I've never felt happier. More satisfied. I've never felt more loved.
And I've never felt more at home.
THE END
Accidental Baby (Sample)
An Amazon Top 50 Bestseller
*159 Customer Reviews – 4.7 Stars
That smoking one-night stand with the sexy mountain man?
Turns out it's more than just a hot hook-up. Now, I'm carrying his baby.