“Hi, Emily,” she said. “I bet you’re calling to book Halloween pictures of your two little cutie-pies.”
“Not quite. Listen, I’m calling from the office, and I don’t have long. I’m sure you heard the Hill Country Sluggers took first in their league. Ian’s put together a celebration barbecue at six tonight at the marina where we dock our boat. Pier C. Why don’t you come?”
“That sounds like fun. Will Wyatt be there?” Casey asked. “Last month at the card party Lou and Wes threw, it felt as though Lou was pairing me with Wyatt. He wasn’t overjoyed.”
“I didn’t hear him complain. Anyway, I honestly don’t know if Wyatt’s coming. It’s just casual. Hamburgers on the boat deck. You don’t need to bring anything but yourself.”
“Okay, if I’m not intruding. I only made it to two games.”
“Like that matters. Angela rarely came to the games at all, but she was still welcome at the parties,” Emily said, then added, “Sorry, I don’t mean to keep bringing up her name. I hope Wyatt does come. He needs to relax a bit. You, too. Oh, there goes my other line. See you tonight, Casey.”
Casey stewed all afternoon. If only Wyatt would check in, she’d ask if he minded her going. It sounded like a good party, but these were his friends first.
He never called. By the time her last appointment left at five, a fussy little boy who hated both the pumpkin and his pirate suit, Casey needed a break. She drove out to the lake with her car window open, loving the feel of the fall breeze whipping her hair around.
She pulled into the parking lot at the same time as Wyatt. Others were already on the boat, and the barbecue was belching smoke. Wyatt tossed his keys from hand to hand and watched Casey get out of her car.
“Not again,” she said. “I told Emily not to try to pair us up.”
He dropped his keys and had to scoop them up off the gravel. “And she said?”
“She claimed she didn’t know if you were coming. But now I wonder…I’ll go.” Casey turned back to her car.
“Don’t be silly. This is a barbecue. There’s absolutely no reason for either of us to leave. Let the others think what they want. How was your day?”
“Good. Until the last appointment.” She told him how Timmy Bartlett kicked the pumpkin and refused to wear his pirate hat. They were both laughing when they went on board. One of the men handed Wyatt a beer and took him over to the grill.
Brenda passed Casey a can of ginger ale, and hustled her off to join the rest of the women on the upper deck.
“Did you and Wyatt come together?” Jana had been peering over the rail.
“We met in the parking lot quite by accident,” Casey assured her.
“You two should carpool and save gas,” Gracie pointed out. “In fact, I think you should hang out a lot more away from work. Don’t you agree?”
“Shh, not so loud.” Casey glanced down at the men to see if Wyatt had overheard. He hadn’t. He was busy talking to Greg and Alec Torres, who were recreating a crucial play from their winning game. Greg’s beer sloshed out of his can as he swung his arms. Wyatt quickly grabbed a napkin from a stack by the grill and handed it to his friend. Casey followed their byplay, smiling at yet another example of Wyatt’s considerate nature. He possessed all of the good qualities Dane lacked. Dane and his friends would’ve made fun of the one in Greg’s shoes.
Casey didn’t realize she’d tuned out the women’s conversation until Brenda came to stand beside her at the railing. “Are you falling for Wyatt?” she whispered. “You’ve hardly taken your eyes off him since you got here.”
“It’s just those hormones you warned me about, Brenda. And he makes me think of the kind of family my baby won’t have. Yesterday, I heard from Dane’s mother. He finally told her we’re divorced, but apparently didn’t mention the baby. She thinks I should be more accommodating of his travels.”
“Doesn’t that beat all? Even if she doesn’t know you’re pregnant, can’t she see it’s wrong for him to sell the pub out from under you so he can go backpacking around the world?”
“He might not have told her that part, either. I didn’t feel I could trash her son to her, so I didn’t say anything.”
Brenda squeezed her arm. “You deserve so much better.”
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not going to happen. If things were different, and I wasn’t going to have Dane’s baby, maybe in time Wyatt might get past his grief. But I’m still no Angela.”
“He desperately wanted a baby, Casey.”
“Yeah. Their baby. I know you guys mean well, trying to set us up. You have to stop,” she said, fighting back tears. “Yes, I have feelings for him, but it can only lead to heartbreak. Listen, I have to leave.”
Casey thrust her drink into Brenda’s hand. “Make up some excuse to Emily and Ian, will you?” With that, she hurried off the boat.
LATER, WHEN THE BURGERS were ready, Wyatt looked around for Casey but couldn’t see her. “Where’s Casey?” he asked Greg. “She’s not seasick, is she?”
“She’s fine,” Greg said. “She left awhile ago.”
“She had a bad headache,” Brenda said, coming over with a plate in her hand. “Why don’t you call her, Wyatt? Make sure she got home okay. It’s a long drive to Round Rock.” Wyatt shifted his weight and gazed out over the water.
“Uh, maybe. She probably wouldn’t like having me hover.”
“Casey’s not Angela,” Brenda reminded him. “Don’t forget that, Wyatt.”
He didn’t respond, but a few minutes later pulled out his phone and went off to find a quiet spot.
CHAPTER EIGHT
CASEY SET ASIDE THE baby album she’d bought the other day and answered her home phone. She was astonished to hear Wyatt on the other end. “Are you all right?” he demanded.
“Fi-fine,” she managed to say. “Why?”
“Brenda said you left the barbecue with a headache.”
“Oh. Oh! Uh…I’m okay. Better,” she added.
“I won’t keep you then. Sorry for bothering you.”
“It’s no bother. Thanks for checking,” she said, not surprised to hear him hang up. She held the phone against her breast while she tried to figure out some logical reason for his call. Finally she decided he was just being nice. A concerned boss. A man whose wife had died after feeling vaguely unwell.
Since the Halloween rush had tapered off, Casey found time on Monday to shoot Meg Mitchell’s grad photos.
Wyatt printed them off later that week. “This photo in front of the old waterwheel at Roy’s farm is really super. Great photography, Casey. I’d like to hang a copy in the waiting room. It’s time I put up new samples. There’s too much emphasis on weddings. Our showroom should reflect the variety we currently offer.”
Casey stopped weighing and stamping the last of the Halloween photos to mail out. She walked over to see what it was he liked. “Meg is extremely photogenic. All I did was aim and shoot.”
“Why do you do that? Sell yourself short whenever anyone compliments you?” He swiveled around on his chair, catching her off guard with his frown. “This week I also printed off extra enlargements of Mandy Axtell’s engagement pictures—the ones you took at the lake. And the shot of Brenda with the triplets and Hadley, plus that Halloween picture you got of the cute little redhead in the witch outfit—the one where’s she’s kissing the stuffed black cat. Those are all excellent examples of your talent. I plan to hang every one as soon as I frame them.”
“You’re the one who told me how to use outdoor settings properly, Wyatt. If anyone’s responsible for how those particular photos turned out it’s you.”
“It’s nice to have a colleague I can collaborate with. Not that Angela didn’t get excellent results,” he hastily added. “I, ah, just don’t think it’s right for the studio to continue to capitalize on her work.”
Casey knew the minute Wyatt mentioned Angela that he’d end up clenching his jaw, and then he’d shut down.
“It’s yo
ur studio,” she said, going back to her stamping. “Do what you think is best.” Wyatt appeared off in a fog and didn’t respond.
“I’m leaving,” Casey announced after she ran the last envelope through the meter. “I’ll mail these on my way to meet Britney Crane about her wedding on December First. This is the third quote I’ve worked up. Her mother keeps changing her mind, and since she and Mr. Crane are paying for it, she gets final say.”
Wyatt roused. “I know Mr. Crane. He’s a cheapskate. Tell Mrs. Crane that if you have to make one more trip I’ll be adding on a fifteen percent surcharge for travel expenses.”
“They’ll cancel and go somewhere else. And then they’ll tell their friends not to use us.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. Business is picking up, so we don’t need to tolerate this kind of behavior to stay afloat. It’s good you’re working with them and not me. I probably would’ve walked away ages ago. Any idea what time you’ll wind down?”
Casey glanced at her watch. “My guess is noonish.”
“The least I can do is buy you lunch for all your trouble. Call me when you leave the church and I’ll run down to the deli. What would you like?”
Casey thought about what the scale had revealed that morning. “A chef salad. See if they’ll put Italian dressing on the side.”
“Will a salad be enough? You have three afternoon appointments,” he said, checking the whiteboard calendar Casey had set up.
“I ate a big breakfast. And chef salads have lots of ham and egg in them. I wasn’t even sure I’d have time for lunch, so I really appreciate your offer.”
“Lunch is the least I can do when you’re making the bulk of our profit.”
Casey managed a casual shrug at the door.
It was closer to one o’clock when she was finally able to phone Wyatt. He had lunch waiting for her when she got back to the studio.
There wasn’t anything special about the two of them eating at their desks. All the same it felt intimate to her. She had also noticed that Wyatt had framed and hung her work in the waiting room while she was out. And she was even more shocked to see that he’d taken all of Angela’s photographs down. Gone, too, was his earlier despondency.
MIDWAY THROUGH NOVEMBER the studio was swamped by calls from Meg Mitchell’s classmates, all wanting Casey to take their graduation pictures. Around that time Casey noticed Wyatt made fewer excuses to leave the studio early. He’d even started joking with people who came in for family portraits.
He and Casey now pretty much split appointments fifty-fifty, except for weddings. And as Wyatt had promised the day he hired her, he adjusted her salary to reflect the new division.
When she got her first paycheck after the raise, Casey splurged and agreed to meet Brenda, Jana and Gracie for lunch. She arrived at the café near the university after the others had already been seated. They rose, greeting her with hugs.
“We’re so happy you could get away,” Brenda said. “Your name came up at dinner the other night. Greg told me he’d seen Wyatt, who said his business has tripled thanks to you.”
“It has.” Casey opened her menu. “We rarely leave the studio before nine or ten o’clock at night.” She gave her selection to a busy waitress, who’d already taken the others’ orders.
“We?” Brenda raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean Wyatt’s getting more involved in operations?”
“Well, he still avoids the weddings. But we team up on most other jobs.” She gave her friends a quick recap of a series of outdoor grad shoots they’d done. “And, Brenda, do you remember when I suggested doing engagement photos? They’ve been very well received, too.”
“It does sound like you’re booked up,” Gracie said.
“I don’t mind at all. My piggy bank loves it. The other night when Wyatt phoned, he said he’d stayed late to send Greg a tally of our sales for the month. Well, he couldn’t believe how much we’d cleared.”
Brenda held up her hand. “Hang on. Wyatt called you at home in the evening? That’s very promising.”
“He just wanted to check that I got home okay, Brenda. He knows my car’s not too reliable. When I left it was so foggy I could hardly see the lines on the road. What’s the matter?” Casey asked, noticing the three women gaping at her.
Brenda removed the pickles from her club sandwich the minute it came. “Nothing. I’d just told the girls I hardly hear from you anymore. So, has Wyatt replaced me as your new best friend?”
Casey set down her water glass and ate a piece of fruit that accompanied her chicken salad. “Of course not.” But even as she spoke, she had to admit that her feelings for Wyatt had changed. Look how many times she’d lectured herself on the drive from Austin to Round Rock—warning herself not to fall in love with her boss. It was a prescription for heartache.
Gracie, ever the appeaser, reached across the table and squeezed Casey’s arm. “Brenda’s teasing. I’m happy Wyatt’s getting back to his old self a bit more. Tom and I were talking about this the other day. Wyatt’s far too young to give up on life.”
Jana swallowed a bite of her sandwich. “I agree with Gracie. But, Casey, if you think Wyatt’s beginning to look at you romantically, you need to—”
“He’s not,” she interrupted with such vehemence people at the next table glanced over at her.
“I think Jana was going to say you need to tell Wyatt you’re pregnant,” Brenda said, more solemnly than usual. “And she’s right.”
“Oh, really. Who has repeatedly told me not to say anything until he figures it out?” Brenda, of all people, knew how much Casey dreaded having that talk with Wyatt. But none of them knew how often he invaded her dreams. She imagined confessing almost every night. Sometimes, in her fantasies, he took the news in stride. But other times he was furious with her for lying, and threw her out of the studio.
“Don’t be mad at Brenda,” Gracie said. “We were all involved in keeping your secret.”
“I’m not. I’m mad at me. When I told Wyatt the truth about Dane leaving me, I almost told him everything. I should have.”
“And I talked you out of it,” Brenda admitted.
“I’m not sorry you did. These extra months have been a godsend. I’ve pre-paid the hospital for the delivery. And I’ve saved enough for about a month after I have the baby.”
“So why ruin a good thing?” Gracie’s dark blue eyes flashed. “You say you feel fine. And you still don’t look the least bit pregnant. I, for one, think the more time Wyatt has to get back to normal, the better. If he finds out that Casey’s been deliberately keeping this from him, he won’t just grieve for his baby again. He’ll also feel really betrayed.”
Brenda and Jana exchanged an unsure look.
Casey stabbed her salad with her fork. “That’s exactly why I need to tell him sooner rather than later. Waiting just makes the betrayal worse. But I have to find the right time.”
Brenda nodded vigorously. “We all know how much Wyatt wanted a baby. If Angela hadn’t died…”
“She wouldn’t have tried again,” Jana countered. “If that’s what you’re hinting at. In fact, you’re the one who said that even if Angela hadn’t died, they might not have been able to conceive again after the ectopic pregnancy.”
Brenda folded her napkin in her lap. “There are other methods. Artificial insemination, or using a surrogate.”
“Knowing Angela, do you honestly think she’d have agreed to either of those?” Gracie asked.
The others didn’t respond. It was Brenda who broke the silence. “I think I see what you’re getting at, Gracie. It’s no secret Wyatt wanted kids way more than Angela did. And she would never have slowed down enough to be a really involved mother. Her career meant too much.”
Gracie reached for her purse to pay her check. “Maybe Wyatt will take an interest in Casey’s baby.”
“No, he won’t.” Casey didn’t want her friends’ fantasies to get out of hand. “I’m not sure he’s made as much progress as you thi
nk. He avoids helping me with the weddings. It’s as if he blames that wedding he shot in Angela’s place for taking him out of town. I think he believes that if he’d been here, he could have saved her and their child.”
Jana, usually the naysayer, nodded. “He still has a long way to go. But there’s no refuting that Wyatt’s improved since he hired you. I say keep the pregnancy to yourself awhile longer.”
“Exactly,” Gracie said, beaming. “Your baby’s not due until February, right?”
“I know you mean well, but…” Casey searched for the right words. “But it’s my decision.”
Brenda passed the checks and payment to the harried waitress. “Don’t rock the boat until after the holidays,” she said. “This time of year’s always rough for people who are grieving. There’s no point adding to it if you don’t have to.”
“Plus, you’ll save more money,” Gracie added pragmatically. “If, heaven forbid, there are complications with the delivery, you’d be able to cover the higher costs.”
Casey refused to be swayed. “Nothing’s going to go wrong,” she said adamantly. “The clinic doctor says I’m healthy as a horse.”
“Casey’s right. It’s her choice,” Brenda stated. “Honey, just consider waiting until after Christmas. Don’t let the guilt and worry ruin the season for either of you. Our group set a date for our usual holiday dinner party and we’d love you to come. I want to see you wear that green silk dress with the black satin coat we made over.”
“Me, too.” Gracie clapped her hands excitedly.
“Wyatt may even join us,” Jana added. “You could have knocked me over with a feather, Brenda, when you said Ian asked him and wasn’t turned down flat.”
“Oh, then I definitely can’t come,” Casey said. “I feel as if you’re always shoving us together. I know Wyatt’s noticed it, too. Brenda. You admitted you suckered him into checking on me the night of the team barbecue.”
The Baby Album Page 12