The Baby Contract

by Amy Brent

  “Whoa! Jesus, what the hell is that Lily?” I pinched my nose with one hand but it was too late, the oddly sweet and bitter smell was lodged in there.

  "It's, um, tea," Lily said, shooting me a bashful shrug.

  “Tea? There’s no way that’s tea. More like castor oil mixed with a gallon of syrup. What are you making?” I gave her an accusing glare, “Is this another one of your concoctions?”

  Lily grabbed the book, hastily carrying it over to the small kitchen table and plopping it open again in front of me, pointing to a page yellowed with age.

  My eyes widened as I read the title scrawled along the top of the page in a flowing script font.

  “A love potion?” I choked out the words, “Are you serious, Lily? This is a new weird, even for you.”

  "I found it at the library." She shrugged, taking the pot off the stove and wafting away the steam to help cool it. After a moment, she poured it into two tiny porcelain teacups and brought it back to the table, placing them on the surface with a soft rattle.

  Lily looked over at me then. “What harm could it do?”

  I glanced into the cup, grimacing at the dark greenish-brown liquid. "Why is it so thick?"

  “Oh, come on Quinn. You’re supposed to be the brave one.”

  “How do you know it’s not poisonous?”

  "There are only natural ingredients in there. Nothing bad for you."

  “Are you sure? Because it looks like death.” I leaned closer and nearly gagged, “and smells even worse.”

  "Come on Quinn. Are you really going to be a chicken?" Lily baited, knowing it was exactly the right thing to have me reaching out and taking hold of the ridiculously delicate teacup.

  “Can we just get this over with?” I muttered. Knowing Lily, I wouldn’t get anywhere until this ‘love potion’ was digested. I held it to my lips, squeezing my eyes shut and trying not to inhale.

  “Wait. Wait. Wait.” Lily shouted, making me nearly drop the damned thing.

  “What?” I growled, shooting her an annoyed glare.

  “For the potion to work, you have to close your eyes and think about the person you want the spell to work on, got it?”

  “Yeah. Got it. Hocus pocus and all that.”

  Lily rolled her eyes at my words but then grew serious as she closed her own eyes and breathed deep and even. I cast one more look at the vile stuff. Lily was lucky I loved her like a sister. I wouldn’t do this kind of stuff for anyone else.

  “Well, bottom’s up.” I murmured the words between clenched teeth before closing my eyes and tilting the liquid into my mouth. Liquid was being polite. It was more like trying to drink cinnamon and motor oil flavored paste.

  We both let out a choking gasp and I put the cup back on the table, shoving it as far away as I could for good measure.

  “Jesus, that stuff is terrible. Even worse than when you tried to make a potion that could make us invisible.”

  "It wasn't so bad." Lily grimaced, trying to put a brave face on it but really, it was that bad. It was worse. After a moment, Lily popped to her feet, grabbing a bottle from a shelf and two more teacups before bringing them back to the table.

  "Here, this should help." She poured a shot of tequila into each of the teacups and handed one to me. She shot me a grin, "Bottom's up."

  I threw back the shot, grinning back at her with a rueful shake of my head. “I need to get you some shot glasses.”

  "A vessel is a vessel," Lily said sagely as she poured us both another and re-took her seat across from me. "So, what's up? It's obvious something's bothering you."

  “I’ll tell you, but…I need you to keep it between us.”

  Lily gasped in affront, “You know I’m the best secret keeper there is. Jonah still doesn’t know about that night you snuck out to go to the lake with Matt Lockney.”

  "And it better stay that way." I took another sip of the liquor for fortification before continuing. "This is a little bit different."

  “Different how? I’m assuming it’s something you don’t want Jonah to find out about.”

  I toasted her with the tequila-filled teacup, "You assume correctly." After a deep breath, I opened my mouth and the whole story came falling out.

  “When I got back into town I ran into someone, literally,” I gave a slight laugh as I remembered how we had collided on the sidewalk in front of Lucky’s, “We’ve been…seeing each other.”

  “Quinn Moore? Dating someone? I do declare.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it dating,” I said with a shrug, “More like we tear each other’s clothes off and go at it like animals whenever we’re in the same room together. Can you call that dating?”

  “Listen, you and Leo can call it whatever you like, but–.”

  “Wait a minute, you know about us?” I looked across the table at Lily in shock but she just gave me a knowing look.

  “Quinn, I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he drops by the Mayhew place, which is suspiciously often. And, I’ve seen the way you look at him too. You liiiiike him.” Lily drew out the word like a playground taunt but this hit the mark.

  “That’s the problem, Lily. I do like him. And I don’t know what the hell to do about it.” I shook my head in despair, my temper boiling as I remembered the earlier scene when Jonah had nearly walked in on us.

  “One minute he had been about to tear my clothes off and the next he was joking with Jonah about going out to the bar and scoping out women. What am I supposed to do with that?”

  Lily cast her a sympathetic look. “Listen, Quinn. Leo has been in Coral Springs for a few years now so I know enough that I can credibly tell you…that man is a player.”

  “I know. He basically told me from the first that he could up and leave at any moment. That he got ‘restless’.” I shook my head, “But I can’t help but think, maybe this is different. Maybe what we have is different.”

  "Maybe," Lily said with a shrug, "All I know is that I've never seen him stay with the same women for more than three nights, so maybe you're right, but Quinn, I don't want you to get your heart broken over him if he turns out to be just another asshole, okay? You gotta look out for yourself."

  "You're right," I said, nodding in agreement.

  “I’m…right?” Lily looked at me suspiciously. Damn it. She knew me too well.

  “Yes, Lily. You are right. I need to be sure.”

  “Sure of what?”

  “Whether he’s an asshole or not.” I nodded more vigorously as the plan formed. Maybe it was the ghastly love potion or just the tequila spurring me on. “Let’s go find out before I get in too deep.” I hope it’s not too late.

  “What are you planning, Quinn?”

  “We’re going to Lucky’s. We are going to observe the lion in his natural habitat,” I chuckled to myself at the small joke but Lily just gave me a nervous look. “I’m going to catch him in the act.”

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea–.”

  “I need to know the truth, Lily,” I gave my best friend a serious look, “I already care about him more than I should. I don’t…I just need to know, okay?”

  Reluctantly, Lily nodded and I jumped to my feet before glancing down at myself. I was still wearing my work clothes and they were covered in paint and smeared with dirt and god knows what else.

  I looked back at Lily. “First, do you have something I can wear?” A slow grin spread across my face, “Something sexy?”

  Chapter 14

  Leo

  A heavy, unfamiliar feeling sat in the pit of my stomach as I took the glass of beer that Stella had just placed in front of me and I threw back my head, chugging half of the glass in one go. The alcohol wasn’t seeming to help drive the feeling away. If anything, it was making it worse, my thoughts swirling and tangling up in one another.

  On the one hand, I should be happy that Jonah intervened. I knew I’d been getting too close to Quinn. Letting her get too close to
me. The whole thing was too much for me. I should have cut things off between us weeks ago, long before I started helping her out around the old farmhouse.

  This was the perfect chance for me to end things with Quinn before it got messy. Right? I should be ecstatic. I hated drama and relationships were nothing but drama. I’d learned that lesson. So then, why wasn’t I happy, damn it?

  Instead, I hated the fact that I didn’t get a chance to explain to Quinn that I was just trying to keep Jonah off their trail. That I hadn’t meant any of the things that I’d said. And there was the rub of it. The normal Leo would have meant them. Four weeks ago, I would have been more than happy to throw back a couple beers with Jonah and chase women. What did it mean that that was the last thing I wanted to do now?

  I took another sip of the beer, grimacing at the suddenly bitter taste before setting it on the bar and pushing it away. No, the beer wasn’t helping. I honestly didn’t know what the hell would. My thoughts were still a tangled mess when I glanced over at the front door just in time to see Jonah toss me a wave as he made his way over.

  There was a pretty decent crowd in the bar already. At seven o'clock it would only get busier before it started to die out in the early morning hours as the last of the stragglers made their way to their own beds. Lucky's was the only bar in the town and basically, everyone stopped in to have a drink and unwind after the work week.

  “Stella, can I get a drink? Whatever’s on tap.”

  “You got it, Jonah. Coming up.”

  I waited until Jonah took a seat next to me before turning to him with a nod.

  “Hey, man. I’m glad you talked me into coming out. Not sure what’s been going on with me.” I nearly bit my tongue as the words flew out. They were far too close to the truth for comfort.

  "It happens to the best of us sometimes," Jonah said with a grin as he took the beer from Stella and raised it high, "Cheers, to a good time and even better lays."

  I had no choice but to grab my own glass and clinked it against Jonah’s.

  “Cheers.”

  We both gulped down a few drinks, Jonah nearly finishing his whole glass before he spoke again.

  “Honestly, I’ve been pretty slammed myself. With this new job that’s behind schedule and everything with Quinn…it feels good to relax, you know?” Jonah took another swig, draining the last drop before gesturing to Stella for another round.

  I knew I shouldn’t but I couldn’t help myself from asking. “What do you mean, everything with Qui– your sister?" I quickly changed my wording, hoping he didn't notice. I was afraid he'd hear the familiar tone of my voice. Damn, this was tricky business keeping a secret from a best friend.

  “It’s just everything with the property. I mean, you know how it is over there. It’s a lost cause, that place, but she’s convinced she can fix it up. She’s got, what, five months left before that buyer comes here? I should just stop her before it goes too far, but, damn it, she seems so happy you know?” Jonah shook his head, drowning another sever gulps of beer. “I don’t have the heart to take it away from her, not after…”

  “After what?” I prompted. It was too late to back out now, and if I was honest with myself, I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know everything about her. I didn’t look too closely at why.

  “The whole reason we got the property in the first place.” Jonah shook his head and for a moment I wondered if he would go on but it seemed like the alcohol was already loosening his tongue. “Some lawyer showed up on the doorstep with a deed in hand. Apparently, our grandfather had left the property to our mom when he died like twenty years ago but she just let the place rot.”

  Jonah snorted in disgust and I just sat there in silence. I didn’t know what to say, so I just let him talk. After a moment and another chug of beer, he did.

  “Well, turns out that there was another clause in the old man’s will. If the first recipient passed away, the property would pass onto the next surviving relative. Which means me.” Jonah raised his glass again, somewhat less cheerful this time before taking a drink.

  It took me a moment for the meaning of Jonah’s words to sink in and when they finally did, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

  “Shit man. I’m sorry. How did it happen?”

  "Don't be sorry," Jonah said after a long minute of silence and staring into the foam of his beer. "They weren't really parents, you know? More like shitty roommates that would pass out with lit cigarettes and make a mess that you'd have to clean up afterward."

  I sat in silence. There was nothing to say to that. I knew how it felt to have a rough childhood but there was something different in Jonah’s voice. He meant every word he said. There was no over-exaggeration here. Just the plain, stark truth.

  “When they left it was hard on Quinn, even though she pretended it wasn’t but for me it was almost a relief,” Jonah shot me a guilty look but I was the last person to pass judgment, “I know that probably sounds terrible but by that time, I was basically raising Quinn on my own anyway. This way I didn’t have to worry so much about making sure she didn’t accidentally get into their drugs or see them passed out and pissing themselves.”

  He went silent again and I motioned Stella for another round. I had a feeling this wasn’t exactly the way Jonah had thought the night would go, but I could tell he needed to get it off his chest. It was eating him alive.

  “It was a car accident. My mom was driving and she od’d on some cocktail of drugs. She ran off the road and killed them both.”

  “Jonah, I–.”

  “Jesus, don’t say you’re sorry again.” Jonah cut him off but there was no anger in his voice. Just resignation, “Honestly, it’s a miracle that they survived that long but in the end, they had each other. They always had each other.”

  I grabbed the beers with a grateful nod to Stella, handing one over to Jonah before raising my own for a toast, “Cheers, to fucked up parents.”

  Jonah shot me a sideways glance but finally raised his own glass as well, “To fucked up parents.”

  We both drank deep but like an itch I couldn’t scratch my mind turned back to Quinn.

  “So, how did your sister take the news?” I wracked my mind but I couldn’t remember her mentioning her parent’s deaths to me before. I was pretty sure I would remember something like that. I didn’t know why, but it bothered me. It bothered me that she hadn’t told me. That she hadn’t confided in me. Oh, like you’ve confided in her?

  “She’s taking it alright. It’s hard to tell, you know? She keeps things close to the vest as they say.” Jonah was starting to slur his words just slightly but his eyes, so much like Quinn’s were still clear and sharp, “She was only ten when they split so for her, I think they died a long time ago. But like I said, it’s fucking hard to tell. Women are convoluted creatures.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” I followed suit, taking a sip of my beer. I was about to open my mouth to ask more questions about Quinn now that Jonah was talking more loosely about his past, and his sister, two topics he was usually closed lipped about but the hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood on end.

  I glanced behind me and didn’t see anything at first. It wasn’t until I scanned the crowd, reaching the space in front of the door that I found her. Quinn. I stared at her as something washed over me, trying to make sense of it all.

  Quinn. Quinn was at the bar. Quinn was at the bar while I was hanging out with her older brother who would definitely kill me if he even suspected what was going on between us. It wasn’t until she stepped out from behind someone else that I realized she was wearing one of the shortest dresses I’d ever seen. It was a soft pink and blue with flowers on it but the sweetness only doubled down on the sinful way it hugged her curves.

  I was so distracted by Quinn’s sudden appearance that it took me several moments to realize Lily was trailing nervously behind her as she headed towards the bar. It took several more moments after that to realize that Quinn
was shooting me a deadly glare that should fry me on the spot and what was even worse, she was headed straight in my direction. Great. That’s just fucking great.

  With as much resolve as I could muster, I drained the last of my beer and prepared myself to deal with whatever storm was headed my way. It sure as hell wasn’t going to be pretty, I just hoped I would come out the other end with my skin still intact.

  I saw Jonah finally notice his sister on the warpath, and then a moment later her attire and the way his eyes narrowed. Well, so much for that.

  ***

  Quinn

  By the time Lily and I got to Lucky’s, the anger that had been raging inside me at a simmer since earlier at the property was back up to a full boil. I had spent the entire drive there telling myself that Leo was a no-good woman chaser, and I was just another one in a long line of prey that he’d play with as long as he liked before moving on to the next one.

  I didn’t admit to myself that I was focusing all my energy on that anger so I wouldn’t have to deal with the cracks in my walls, the same ones that Leo had snuck through before I even realized they were there. Didn’t, or couldn’t. I’d never been good at dealing with emotional fallout. Probably a leftover from my parents. It was easier just to shove the feelings to the farthest, darkest corner of my mind and hope they went away.