“You too Audrey. Take care of yourself. If your car breaks down again, you know who to call.”
“Yes, thank you. Take care. Bye Maysen.”
And with that I walked out of that garage as fast I can possibly go. How in the world in all the mechanic shops in the entire world do I run into my dream man in this one? How in the world did I not know he was here? He’s the one everyone has been going on and on about for weeks! All the while it was Maysen. My Maysen.
I whip out of the parking lot as quick as I safely could but once I’m around the corner out of sight I stop my car and pull to the side of the road. Emotions are boiling over now and I can’t seem to keep the tears at bay any longer.
The tears flow like a river and I cry like it’s the last thing I can do on Earth. How in the world do I deal with this now? I am in such shock from seeing the man I’m so madly in love with standing in front of me in my hometown. I just can’t believe this. How can this be true?
He’s been all chummy with my brothers and father too. Oh my goodness. My brothers. When they find out Maysen is my baby’s father they are going to murder him. Oh my goodness that adds even more dimension to this craziness.
After bawling my eyes out and running my tear ducts dry, I pull myself together and head home. I have got to figure this all out and soon before Maysen realizes that this is his baby and before my brothers figure out the same thing.
*************
Oh my goodness I can’t believe Audrey lives here in Colvin. And she was just standing in front of me again. And her brothers have been in here for the past couple weeks. And she’s pregnant. She looks so beautiful and glowing. Whomever the baby belongs to is lucky to have her as the mother of their child. Oh wait, the guys said the father wasn’t around. He was some loser that knocked her up and never looked back.
STOP THE PRESS! Can this seriously be my baby? Holy crap! I just left her in the hotel room because I thought she was ashamed. What if she got pregnant that night? Holy crap! Holy crap! That was about the perfect time I think from what her brothers said. Holy crap!
What do I do now? Carter, I have to call Carter.
“Hey Man, what’s up? How’s the business?”
“Good. Good. Hey remember that girl I told you about? The one from the Tulsa hospital and then that one night in Omaha?”
“The one you can’t forget? That girl?”
“Yes. Yes. She lives here in Colvin. She’s Aiden’s little sister. She just came to pick up her car.”
“Are you freaking out? You’ve been there for a couple weeks and you just found this out? Didn’t you like go get beers with her brothers? That’s so wicked!”
“Dude it gets more wicked. She’s like six months pregnant too.”
“Whoa Dude! You think it’s yours don’t you?”
“They said it was some loser that knocked her up and left her. I left her in that hotel room.”
“Yeah but you thought she was ashamed of your roll in the hay so you spared her the morning after talk.”
“Yes but it’s all too much of a coincidence. What the hell do I do now?”
“Dude I’m at a loss here. I don’t have a clue.”
“Holy crap. Holy crap.”
“How did she look? The same as you’ve remembered?”
“The most beautiful woman I have ever seen Carter. And her little stomach sticking out there. Oh my goodness that could be my child in there.”
“Whoa, you need to talk to her before you start seeing pink and blue.”
“I know but what the hell do I say? Hey Audrey, I know you’re a good girl and all but since you threw caution to the wind and slept with me, did you do that again after me and get pregnant?”
“Um probably not like that you moron.”
“No kidding. I don’t have a clue what to do here.”
“Good luck. Keep me posted.”
“Thanks a lot for the help. Not.”
I hang up the phone with Carter and I’m even more convinced that that baby is mine. Audrey is carrying my baby. I just know it. My Audrey is carrying our baby. Our baby.
***********
“Mom, I really need to talk to someone right now.” I walk into her craft room where she’s making a quilt for the baby.
“Sure honey, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.”
“I’m okay just completely confused.”
“About what honey?”
“The baby’s father. I saw him today and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“How did you see the baby’s father? I thought he didn’t live here? I think you need to rewind and tell me all of it from the beginning.”
I settle in on the sofa and Mom joins me as I begin where I was watching Aleah through the hospital window and all the way up to present day. I should have done this months ago but I was so ashamed of what I had done and how I had run Maysen off that last morning. I should have known my Mom wouldn’t judge.
*************
“Mom, there’s something I need to tell you before the news hits and you hear it from someone else.”
“What’s wrong Maysen? What happened?”
“Remember the girl you’ve been telling me to go find that stole my heart?”
“The one you told me you didn’t know where she was and no way to ever see her again?”
“Yes. Well I saw her today. She lives here in Colvin of all places.”
“Oh my goodness Maysen fate really does want you two together. No one gets three chances at a life with their true love. Who is she?”
“Audrey Blake.”
“Maysen Michael Correli! How do you even know her?”
“I met her in the hospital in Tulsa you were in. Aiden’s baby was born there.”
“That’s why she was there.”
“Yes and now there’s more Ma.”
“Maysen what is it? You’re trembling.”
“She pregnant Ma and I’m almost convinced it’s my baby.”
“Oh my Heavens! I’m going to be a Grandma!!”
“Ma, we don’t know that and you can’t say anything. I don’t even know where to go from here. We both were so shocked to see each other that small talk is all we could manage.”
“Son, that’s amazing. You get to see her again. This time you know where she is and exactly how to get ahold of her. I would hope that third time’s a charm for you two.”
“What do I do? I don’t want to scare her but I’m also angry because I have had a child growing inside of her for months now and I didn’t even know. I could possibly be a father this fall and I had no idea. Could be. I mean it’s possible it could be someone else’s but Audrey’s not that type of girl.”
“She isn’t. I’m surprised she got that close to you.”
“Thanks Ma. That makes me feel wonderful.”
“I didn’t mean it like that and you know it. She’s always been a very good girl. That’s all I meant.”
“I know. We talked for hours the last night I saw her in Omaha. I’m not sure why she slept with me but she was so ashamed of it the next morning I left before she had to face me.”
“Oh Maysen. You need to talk to her. And soon before you worry yourself sick over this baby.”
“I’m not just worried about the baby. I’m worried about Audrey too. She’s been doing this all along by herself.”
“Well you’re here now. She can rest easy now. Do you love her?”
“Very much I highly doubt she rests very easy for a while.” Or me. I could very possibly have a child in a few months. I have to marry Audrey if that’s my baby. Even if it’s not, I want to marry Audrey. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. And our baby.
*************
“We need to get the rest of the family in here honey.” Mom says after we’re back to present with the Maysen and Audrey saga.
“Mom I don’t want the boys to know yet. They’ll murder Maysen and I just found him again. I know he’s not going anywhere this
time, but I just need time to figure this out before anyone else has to know.”
“I have to tell your father though.”
“I know. He won’t murder him but won’t that be a shock to know he’s the baby’s father. And Dad’s known him since he’s been here in Colvin.” I shake my head.
“We have been wanting to set you up with him too because he’s such a wonderful young man. And now we know he’s the one in your heart already it’s even better.”
“Mom no matchmaking. I can do this myself.”
“You’ve done such a wonderful job the past two times. I just pray third time’s a charm for you two. There’s going to be three of you in it soon. Better get a move on it my dear.”
“I know. Thank you Mom for hearing me out. I love you.” I get up and hug my mother. Without her I really don’t know where I would be today.
“I love you more my dearest daughter. Go make things right and you’ll feel right again too.”
I only wish I felt so confident. Maysen could very well be mad at me for not letting him know months ago that he was going to be a father. And now he’s here and I just ran away like a scared school girl. He was so ashamed of our night together and I’m not sure I can deal with that shame again when he finds out it created a life. He might think I’m trying to trap him.
I send a quick text to my sisters in law.
My house. 30 minutes. 911
Of course I get immediate responses saying they’ll be right here. I walk back to my apartment above the garage and straight to what will be my son’s room. I see Aiden and Austin got the walls painted the shade of pale blue that I picked out. They also started to assemble the furniture. Maysen will want to do that I’m sure. Will he really want to be here with me though? He’ll want a nursery in his own house. This is even worse than not knowing where he was. I sit down in the glider rocker and hang my head in my hands.
“Sweet girl, what’s wrong? You said it was an emergency.” I hear Karlie say as she and Leah rush into my house twenty or so minutes later. Right on time.
“I found Maysen.”
“Where? How?” Leah shrieks.
“He’s the new mechanic at the garage in town.”
“I knew it!! I told you Karlie. I told you that was him!”
“Leah? You knew he was here and you didn’t tell me? How could you?”
“I only figured it out a while ago. We’ve been trying to get you two in the same place for over a week. Remember the barbeque? That’s when it was going to first happen. Then we made sure the boys didn’t get the car for you. We wanted you to find him on your own.”
“Oh my goodness. Do my brothers know? They’ll murder him.”
“No. We haven’t told them. That’s up to you to do. In your own time.” Karlie says and hugs me tightly.
“What are you going to do? How did the meeting go?” Leah asks while squeezing my hands.
I tell them all the details and they both sit there like children hearing their favorite bedtime story. How did they know about this and not tell me? How in the world did they figure it out?
“How did you figure this out?”
“Well, I saw him that day of the ultrasound at Austin’s house and I kinda grilled the poor guy not realizing who he was. He told us about his mom being sick, moving from Omaha and Tulsa. You know everything started to add up. But of course I wasn’t sure because I had never seen a picture of him.”
“When Leah told me about it I didn’t believe it. But then Aiden told me about his mom being in the Tulsa hospital about the same time that Aleah was born. And that he was hung up on some girl he met before coming here.”
“You all were planning on setting him up weren’t you?”
“Yes. With you. Your parents have wanted to since your dad met him. We just didn’t know his name was Maysen.”
“Or that he was the one you’ve been crying over for six months.” Leah says and hugs me again.
“Wow. Maybe third time’s a charm? How do I talk to him about this? He was ashamed of what we did, remember? How’s he going to feel about a baby coming from it?”
“You don’t know for sure that that’s what happened.”
“Oh my goodness this is such a mess!” I scream and throw myself back in the glider. This is unbelievable actually. How do two people get thrown together three times in a lifetime when most people never have one chance? Heck I’m probably hormonal and this isn’t quite as amazing as it seems.
“You need to get some sleep Audrey. You can deal with things tomorrow if you choose to. We love you and are only a phone call away.”
“Thanks girls. Love you so much!” I hug both of them goodbye and lock the door. I make myself a cup of pregnancy tea and go upstairs to try to sleep. Today was very eventful and very emotional.
19
“Good morning class. Today we’re going to cover division. Does anyone already know how to do division?” I ask my class a couple of days later. It’s Friday and I’m looking very forward to holing myself up in my apartment and not coming out until Monday morning. No people, no phone, no internet, and definitely no thoughts of Maysen. Yeah right who am I kidding?
“Miss Blake? Miss Blake? Are you alright?” I hear from my doorway. It’s Mrs. Simms. She’s looking at me with concern on her face.
“Oh I’m sorry I was deep in thought. Zoned out. Very sorry. What can I do for you?”
“These came for you a few minutes ago. I thought you might like to display them on your desk.” She holds up the most amazing vase of flowers I have ever seen. Looks like every flower the shop could have in it.
“But who are they from? My brothers are going to pay if they’re from them.” I say looking for the card. No card. That’s weird I figure they would want me to know. Then a slight thought slips into my mind. Maysen. Surely he didn’t send them. He wouldn’t send me flowers. Right?
“Have a good rest of your day Miss Blake.”
“Thank you for bringing them to me and have a good day yourself.” I say as she walks away back down the hallway to the front office.
I take out my phone to text the girls. They’ll know who sent them.
Got flowers. Who?
I hit send and wait for their replies. They’ll tell me they’re from themselves probably.
Not us. Prince Charming?
Of course they wouldn’t admit to it. I should have known. Oh well I’ll deal with them later. For now I’ll enjoy the beautiful arrangement and let it brighten my day a little more.
Later as I’m walking out the front doors of the school to head home, I hear Mrs. Marlin holler my name from the office.
“Audrey, the card for your flowers fell off and was on the floor. Thought you might want to know who those beautiful things came from. Have a great weekend.”
“Thank you. You too. See you Monday.” I walk to my car but feel afraid to open the card now. Why? Just open it and find out it’s from the family. Who else would they be from?
So great to see you again. Maysen
Oh my goodness! They are from him! Why would he do something so sweet? He didn’t want me in Omaha so why be so nice now? This is so confusing!
I’ll just drive right over there and give him a piece of my mind. And that’s exactly what I intend on doing until I pull up in front of the shop and see him bent over a vehicle with no shirt on. Oh my goodness. What was I coming here for again? Oh my.
************
“Audrey? What are you doing sitting in your car in front of the shop? Is it not running right?” I see her sitting there when I turn to go back inside to get another wrench.
“Um um n-n-no I was um I’m not really sure what I’m doing. I’m sorry I need to go. You look hot. I mean busy.”
What is going on with her? She can’t make complete sentences and she’s shaking. I look down into my hands an see my shirt, maybe I should put it on. Her reaction to my bare chest makes me smile.
I decide for some stupid reason to walk around to her passen
ger side and get in. Once I’m sitting next to her in the car I turn and look at her. Oh my I’ve forgotten just how beautiful she is. My dreams and thoughts haven’t done her justice.
“Audrey, what’s going on with you? I see you got my flowers. Did you like them?”
“Of course I did they’re very pretty. Why did you send them though?”
“I wanted you to know that I was happy to have seen you the other day. Did I upset you by sending them? I’m sorry if I did.”
“No, they were a beautiful surprise. I’ve never gotten flowers before. Thank you very much. I just don’t understand why is all. I guess I came here to ask that.”
“Audrey, I have thought about you every day since the last time I saw you in Omaha.”
“But you left me Maysen. You didn’t want to face what we had done.”
“Oh my goodness Audrey is that what you’ve thought all this time? I thought you felt that way when you snuck into the bathroom. That was the most amazing night of my life. I haven’t stopped reliving it since.”
“Maysen I only went into the bathroom because I had never woken up next to a man before and wanted to make sure I didn’t look horrible or have smelly breath for when you woke up. I was coming back to bed as soon as I was done. But you were gone by then. Never to be seen again.”
“Until the other day. You really do look beautiful Audrey. I haven’t forgotten you or stopped thinking about you.”
“Oh Maysen I just don’t know anything anymore.”
“Is the baby’s father going to be around at all?”
“I hope so but I’m not sure how he’ll feel when he finds out.”
“I see. Well, I hope he does come around for your sake and the baby’s.”
“Thank you for the flowers Maysen they were truly a brightness in my day.”
“You’re welcome. You take care of yourself Audrey. Good luck. You’ll make a wonderful mother. That’s a lucky kid to have you and your family around it.”
And with that I walk away. Walk away from the one woman I now know I can’t have. If there’s a possibility that the baby’s father could come around, she needs to have him. Not me. I would only complicate things even more. I wish her all the best but now my heart’s broken even more.
Third Time's a Charm- Book 3 of the Colvin Series Page 11