by Bella Grant
I contemplated calling Laurel to find out where they were when the house phone rang. I answered it as the calls coming in to the office phone were screened by Henry and forwarded to me based on their level of seriousness.
“Hello, Simpson speaking,” I answered the line.
“Good afternoon, is this Mrs. Laurel Simpson’s husband?” the voice asked, and I perked up in curiosity. Nobody had ever called the house asking for Laurel before. Not since the death of her mother.
“Yes, this is he,” I replied. “To whom am I speaking?”
“This is Nurse Hamilton calling on behalf of Dr. Jamison’s Women’s Health Private Clinic,” the nurse introduced herself before delving into the purpose of the call. “Mrs. Simpson called us three days ago to schedule a prenatal check-up which we scheduled for next week Monday. However, we have an availability tomorrow at two. We were confirming if she would like to move up her consultation as she originally wanted an earlier date.”
Shock rippled through me, and I couldn’t answer the nurse as the information soaked in. Laurel was pregnant? That was what prenatal check-up meant, wasn’t it? Suddenly, a whole lot started to make sense. That conversation a week ago when she had declared her love for me and we’d made love so beautifully, I’d almost cried. She’d brought up the subject of another child.
“Mr. Simpson, are you there?”
“Yes, yes, I’m here,” I hastened to respond. “Can I call you back to confirm? I’d just like to check with my wife first and will have her call you.”
“No problem. She has our number so she can call us anytime up until seven.”
“Thanks for calling, Nurse Hamilton.”
I hung up the phone feeling betrayed. I found it difficult to think. Laurel had lied. She had lied about everything. She didn’t love me. Why had I even thought she was better than Pearl? Women were all the same—after my money.
It made sense now that she had changed her mind about sleeping with me after she had been insistent that we not become intimate with each other. She was trying to pawn off another man’s baby as mine. Too bad for her I’d had that vasectomy and couldn’t be the father of her child. What a relief.
Her betrayal hurt even worse than Pearl’s. I’d been thinking of finally saying those three words to her. I realized the contract made no reference to her having a child by another man. I’d never even thought of such a thing happening. The contract couldn’t be nullified for this reason when it allowed her to be in an intimate relationship with someone else. I’d need to go over it with a fine-toothed comb to find the best possible solution.
I ignored the hurt blossoming inside me. I’d get over what she had done to me. I had to. I had no choice. But this would devastate the girls when she had to leave. Could I keep her around knowing the child she carried was not mine? My heart wouldn’t be able to take it—being around her and watching her getting bigger every day with another man’s child.
“I trusted you,” I whispered to myself. “I fucking trusted you.” With everything—my heart and my children. I’d been so worried about Pearl when the real traitor was close to me all along.
Maybe she’d become impregnated before we fell in love, I mused, but I was just making up excuses for her. If that was the case, it didn’t explain why she hadn’t told me about the baby and why I felt she would try to pass the baby off as mine.
I was stewing by the time the office door opened and she breezed inside. The children rushed in past her and she laughed, that sexy, throaty sound I’d become accustomed to. She had become a fixture in my life, and that wasn’t easily replaced or removed.
“Daddy, look what we got you!” Annabelle cried, jumping onto my lap a second before Isabelle did.
My features softened momentarily as I glanced down at her hand where she had a candy offering me. “Thank you, sweetheart,” I said graciously, accepting the candy before turning to Isabelle. “And what did you bring back for me?”
“She ate the candy Laurel gave her the money to buy,” Anabelle informed on her sister.
Isabelle hung her head. “Sorry, Daddy. I just loooooove candy and Laurel wouldn’t let me have anymore.”
“Because too much candy will give you cavities,” Laurel said as she walked inside the office. “Then you’ll have to go to the dentist and get your tooth taken out.”
“You’re making it up,” Isabelle said, horrified at the thought of losing one of her teeth. “Isn’t she, Daddy?”
“Unfortunately, she’s not,” I replied, smoothing her hair back from her face. “Too much of anything is not good for you.”
“Girls, go on upstairs and wash those crummy hands,” Laurel told them. “Shoo!”
They grinned and scrambled from my lap, starting to run before Laurel’s hundredth warning about running in the house penetrated. They turned to walking briskly, but once out the office, we could hear the galloping.
“Now I can get my kiss.” She smiled at me, skirting the table and coming around to sit on my lap. She was so beautiful in the way she smiled at me that at first, I thought something must be wrong. Laurel wouldn’t try to hoodwink me. She loved me.
The trace of betrayal pressed against my lips where hers melted with mine. Familiar habits were hard to break, and I kissed her back before I set her angrily away from me and rose to my feet.
“Jarrod,” she squeaked in surprise. “Are you okay?”
“That depends,” I answered, staring at her, watching her for any hint of guilt. “I answered an interesting call today. Would you like to know what it was about?”
She frowned. “I’m not sure where this is going, but by all means, tell me.”
“I have a message for you from Nurse Hamilton,” I enunciated clearly, watching the look of horror that came over her features. “As your husband, she wanted me to ask you if you’d rather keep your appointment for next week or if you’d prefer coming in tomorrow at two for your prenatal visit?”
“Jarrod, I can explain,” she said, walking towards me. “I didn’t want to keep it from you but I didn’t know what to do. You kept saying you didn’t want another child.”
“Don’t come any closer,” I said through gritted teeth and was grateful when she halted. “No way in our contract does it say anything about getting pregnant.”
“I know and I’m sorry,” she started to say before she changed her mind. “You know what, I take that back. I am not sorry. I want this baby.”
Of course she would want the baby of her lover. I didn’t expect her to get rid of the baby either, but it hurt.
“I hope you don’t contest the ending of our contract,” I growled at her. “How could you sleep with me and him at the same time?”
“What are you talking about, Jarrod?” she asked in exasperation.
“The baby’s father!” I thundered at her. “The man you slept with and who got you pregnant. The reason you had that clause added in our contract for you to go back on it.”
“Jarrod, that’s not true!” she cried in disbelief. “I didn’t sleep with anybody. You are the father of my baby. I’m ten weeks pregnant, so it can’t be my ex’s.”
“Don’t lie to me, Laurel!” I shouted at her. “Don’t you dare lie to me. Anabelle and Isabelle told me about you and that man, the one you kissed at the mall. You’re not going to say this kid is mine when I know it isn’t.”
“Who? Scott?” she asked.
“I don’t fucking know his name, now do I?” When I started swearing, I knew I was furious with her.
“He was my ex-boyfriend,” she tried to explain, her hands raised pleadingly. “He kissed me and took me by surprise. I didn’t kiss him back. You’re the father of my baby. Jarrod, you have to believe me.”
She was such a damn good actress, I almost believed her. I would have believed her except for one fact… “You’ve forgotten one thing, Laurel,” I reminded her. “My vasectomy. I can’t be the father of that baby.”
“There are failed vasectomies,” she pointed out. “A
nd in this case—”
“In this case, I’d say you were lying!” I filled in for her. “Why can’t you just own up to what you did? You spread your legs for another man and got knocked up and now want to foist the baby on me, but I will not stand for it!” My fist connected with the hard wood of the desk, causing her to jump.
“You know me better than this,” she claimed, tears sliding down her cheeks. “You’re the only man I’ve been with since we got married. I don’t know how to explain what happened with your vasectomy, but this is your baby.”
“I don’t believe it,” I told her stiffly. “That is not my kid and I will never accept it as such. I lo— I cared about you, brought you into this family because I thought you were honest and decent, and this is how you repay me! By trying to trick me!”
Chapter 29
Laurel
Jarrod’s words sliced through my heart and I could only stare at him, silent tears streaming down my face. Of all the ways this scenario could have played out, I’d never thought it would happen like this. How could Jarrod say these things about me? He should know I wasn’t the kind of person who would deceive him. I loved him and I’d told him that.
I tried to see things from his perspective or I would have blown up at him. He was right to be skeptical, given his vasectomy plus what the girls had told him about Scott. All this time, he’d kept that information to himself and not asked me about it? At the same time, I’d never been unfaithful to him, and he should know better than to question me.
“Listen, Jarrod,” I said tightly, “I know you were recently betrayed by Pearl, whom you trusted, but I’m telling you this baby is yours. I love you, and I would never, ever lie about something like this. Not after all you’ve been through with Ana and Isa.”
I held my breath when he stopped pacing the room and stared at me in thought. He had to believe me. He just had to.
“You know something?” he asked in thought. “I think you missed your true calling. You should have been an actress because you just delivered an Emmy Award performance.”
“If you won’t believe me, there’s no reason for me to be here!” I exclaimed and ran from the office. I stomped up the stairs to our bedroom and reached for the first drawer that held my clothes. I would not stay with him while he treated me like a liar. I had done nothing but love this man and his children, and this was what he thought of me. Who needed him anyway? I would have my baby without him.
I sobbed, thinking about Anabelle and Isabelle. I loved those girls like they were my own. How was I supposed to leave them? But they were not mine to hold onto. I couldn’t believe I had come into this house expecting nothing but business and had found love, only to lose it again. Oh, God, Mom, where are you when I need you?
While packing a suitcase blindly because I couldn’t see half of what I was putting inside anyway, the girls moseyed into the bedroom. Their eyes were wide with fright as they watched me packing frantically.
“Laurel, where are you going?” Isabelle cried, running into the room, and halted by my feet.
I swiped at the tears so I could see her alarmed face better. I didn’t want to upset them, but I could hardly stop the tears from falling. I smiled a wobbly smile at her and sat on the bed, pulling her onto my lap. I waved at Annabelle, who shook her head and stayed where she was at the door.
“I have to go away for a while,” I told them, speaking loudly enough for Annabelle to hear although she was stubborn in not wanting to be close to me. I hurt for her because they didn’t deserve another abandonment, especially when I had no choice.
“Why? Is it because you and Daddy were shouting at each other?” Isabelle asked, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t want you to go, Laurel. I want you to stay here and be our mommy.”
Her words broke my heart. “Oh, honey, I’ll be back to see you,” I remarked, smiling through the pain in my heart. “I’ll come pick you up and we’ll go shopping and go for lunch and do all the fun things you want to do.”
A shadow at the door, taller than Anabelle’s, caught my attention. I stiffened as I saw Jarrod, who had entered the bedroom. I hoped he wouldn’t make a scene in front of the children and upset them more than they already were. Isabelle also saw him and jumped out of my arms, running to him.
“Daddy! Daddy! Laurel’s going away,” she cried heartbrokenly. “Make her stay! Tell her she can’t go!”
Jarrod looked at my suitcases on the bed. “Laurel’s an adult, Isa,” he told her regrettably. “I can’t tell her what to do. She does what she wants.”
“You don’t want us anymore!” Isabelle turned to me and cried, sobbing her little heart out. “I hate you! I hate you!”
She ran from the bedroom, Annabelle chasing her. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks, and I returned to my suitcase, ignoring Jarrod.
“You know this only confirms what I already knew,” he claimed. “You’re ready to throw in the towel and give up.”
I spun around to face him in disbelief. “You expect me to stay here after all the accusations you heaped upon my head?”
“I expect you to stay if what you’ve said is true.”
“And have you continue making disparaging remarks?” I asked him bitterly. “You don’t believe me, Jarrod, and you’ll never accept that this child is yours. I won’t even insist on a paternity test after the baby is born. Think whatever you want of it, but if you don’t want this child as a fetus, you don’t deserve to be its father!”
“I don’t deserve for you to try to get me to accept a child as my own when I’ve had a vasectomy,” he argued stiffly.
“A vasectomy is not always foolproof!” I shouted at him then closed my eyes and calmed down. “I’m not going to argue with you. I only have one request. I do want to pick up the girls from time to time to spend time with them.”
“So you can play your games with them too?”
“No, so I can continue to love them and watch them grow,” I replied.
“Where are you going?” he demanded when I zipped up the bag and grabbed the handle.
“I’m sure you already have that figured out,” I spat at him, knowing he was thinking I’d be going to Scott’s. What I planned to do was stay at a motel for a few days while I figured out what to do. “Excuse me.” I pushed by him, dragging the two suitcases with me. They were heavy but not as heavy as my heart. He followed me to the front door, but I didn’t pay him any mind. I went around to the garage to get my car, the one I had brought with me to this house.
“Let me help you with that,” he said stiffly, reaching for my suitcases to load in the car trunk.
I turned to him with one last plea. “Regardless of what you think of me, I’d appreciate it if you do not badmouth me in front of your girls.”
He scowled at me. “What kind of man do you think I am?”
“And what kind of woman do you think I am?” I snapped at him before getting in my car and slamming the door.
I drove away without looking back, teary-eyed and crying so badly, I missed the motel and had to double back. The long-stay hotel was nothing compared to Jarrod’s estate. The studio type room had a comfortable full-size bed facing a television and a white table, and two chairs leaned against one wall, plus a refrigerator and a fully functional kitchen.
I didn’t bother to unpack my clothes, not knowing how long I would be here for. I paid the fee for a week’s stay. I hoped Jarrod would come to his senses and realize his mistake. The words he’d thrown at me pierced me deeply, but I loved him. If he apologized and recognized his error, I might possibly forgive him.
And if he didn’t come around and acknowledge this baby as his? Then I’d move on, as hard as that would be to do. I still had my mother’s house in Taylor. I could always sell it and stay in Dallas on my own or maybe move to Austin to start over. I also had much of the initial cash Jarrod had given me for the contract still in my bank account. I could do this alone if it came to it.
The pillow was soaked with my tears by the t
ime I fell asleep that night. I missed Anabelle and Isabelle, missed putting them to bed and reading them a bedtime story. I missed lying beside Jarrod and the way he would reach for me at night, pulling me into his arms, sometimes slipping his hard rod inside me to make love in languor.
I lay a comforting hand on my tummy. At least I had this baby, and if it was just the two of us, we would be a family.
Chapter 30
Jarrod
I loved her, I admitted it. I had to love her to contemplate taking her back and raising a child as my own who wasn’t. But that had to be better than this empty feeling inside me, the hollowness of her absence in my life. I wasn’t the only one affected either. The girls were sad and hardly spoke to me, although I tried to get them to be as involved as when Laurel was with them, but they understood the difference and were not going to be appeased so easily. They wanted Laurel back as much as I wanted her.
If only she would be honest with me and tell me the baby wasn’t mine. I was willing to overlook her indiscretion. Our situation had changed afterwards, and if she had been impregnated before we grew serious about each other, I shouldn’t blame her for it, even when it hurt that she was able to sleep with me and another man at the same time. But if she promised me she was over the other guy and did love me, we could work it out.
She merely needed to be honest, and if she insisted in sticking to her tale…well, I would be armed with the evidence to confront her this time. Maybe then, she would drop the pretense.
“Mr. Simpson,” Dr. King announced, walking back into the consultation room. Dr. King, a balding man in his late fifties, took a seat behind his desk opposite me. He frowned at the sheet of paper he looked at. “We have the results of the test.”