Sisters in Bloom

by Melissa Foster

  “I called. She said it’s fine. If I get tired or feel anything funny, then she said to stop. But I’ll be fine. Tons of women are exercising all the way through their pregnancies, and look at Angelina Jolie. She piloted a plane! That had to be even more dangerous than something like singing.”

  “I can’t wait to hear what you’ve written.”

  Kaylie brought his hand to her lips and kissed the back of it. “Every song I wrote was written for you and her.” She laid their hands on her belly.

  “Or him,” Chaz said.

  “Yeah, but we both know that’s not going to happen. I mean, I’d love a boy or a girl, but I can tell it’s a girl. I can feel it.”

  Chaz’s head fell back as he let out a feigned sigh. “Two women in my house? Estrogen overload.”

  They headed inside, and Kaylie made pancakes while Chaz cut up cantaloupe and strawberries. It dawned on Kaylie that their mornings alone were coming to an end, and then she waited. She waited for that familiar feeling to encroach, the jealousy she’d been trying to ignore but couldn’t deny. A tingle of worry that when the baby was born, she’d be thrust to the background of Chaz’s life.

  “Kay, they’re gonna burn.”

  “Oh, sorry. I was off in space somewhere.” She pushed away the worry and feigned a smile as she put the pancakes on the plate. Chaz made a face.

  “Mickey Mouse pancakes?”

  She hadn’t even realized she’d done it. In the center of Chaz’s plate were two big ears and the signature Mickey Mouse head.

  He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “See? You’re already the best mommy ever.”

  The gentle nag that had been haunting her appeared in the form of a tickle in her throat. Damn it. Did all women worry about being left behind when their baby arrived? She made a mental note to talk to Dr. Marsden about that.

  “What did Cooper say about that woman?” She couldn’t bring herself to even say her name.

  “She can’t touch the festival.” He fiddled with the edges of his boxer shorts.

  Kaylie saw in his eyes that he was holding something back. “That’s good, right?”

  Chaz nodded. “Yup.”

  She felt, more than saw, his body recoil. “Chaz, is there something else? It feels like there’s more.”

  He lifted his eyes and met her gaze. Kaylie held her breath. “Just tell me.”

  He looked away, then down at his hands, which he’d clasped tightly together. His jaw clenched.

  “Chaz.” Her voice rose, and her body followed. She stood in front of him, arms crossed above her belly.

  “It’s not anything to worry about, Kaylie. It’s just something that I have to figure out.”

  “Well, if you have to figure it out, and it has to do with her, then…” She turned away.

  Chaz was on his feet and by her side, his hands on her shoulders. “It’s not her. I promise. I have to tell you something, but I don’t want it to change things, and I’m afraid it will.”

  Kaylie didn’t want to overreact to things anymore. She tried to hide her worry, and she knew she’d failed when Chaz brushed her hair from her face with the most loving, caring, careful look in his eyes.

  “You know how I said that I had…that I’m pretty well off?”

  “Yeah? Why? You’re not? Because I don’t care one single bit about money. We could lose the house and the cars and live with Danica, for all I care.” She put her hands on his strong hips and looked into his eyes. “Chaz, whatever it is, as long as you haven’t been with another woman, I can take it. We can take it.”

  He leaned down and kissed her gently, then looked out over the mountains. The tension in his body dissipated beneath her palms. “I’m not broke. I’m actually just the opposite.”

  Kaylie shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Kaylie, we have more money than we could ever spend.”

  "More money than we can spend? Now, that’s a problem I can deal with." The relief of there not being any more hidden issues—like that Carmichael woman—brought a smile to Kaylie’s lips. Kaylie dropped her hands from his hips. “That’s what you were worried about?”

  He nodded. “Money changes people, and it’s not just the money. It’s where it originally came from.”

  “Hold on. I may need to sit for this. Can we go out to the swing? I think I need fresh air. ” Once outside, she lowered herself awkwardly onto the swing. “Did you rob a bank? Run a Ponzi scheme?” Her fingers clenched a wooden slat on the swing.

  Chaz laughed. “I almost wish I did.” He sat beside her and told her about the trust fund that had been left to him and of how hard he’d worked in the last ten years to create his own wealth and how he’d been successful.

  “Wait. Let me get this straight. You’re embarrassed to have been left a trust fund. You’ve worked your butt off to make something of yourself, separate from the fund...and?”

  “Sounds stupid when you say it like that, but yeah.” He’d told her about the teasing he endured at prep school.

  Kaylie could feel her heart swell. “You poor thing. That must have been awful, especially since you already felt bad about it.”

  Chaz pulled his shoulders back and sat up straight. “Nah. Guys take that crap all the time.”

  Kaylie bit her lower lip and touched his arm, seeing something more behind his eyes. “You can tell me,” she urged.

  “Okay, yeah, it sucked. I hated it, but it made me push harder to become successful, and I’ve grown the festival to be three times as big as it was when I took it over. I invested well, and the money we live on is money that I earned based on those investments.”

  “So, what’s the problem?” She understood that he was uncomfortable living off family money, but he still seemed to be holding something back.

  “Money changes people, Kaylie. Suddenly we stop worrying about how we’ll pay for things and we start spending money like it’s water. Why do you think I hadn’t bought out the festival partners in all these years?”

  “I guess I thought things were fine, so why rock the boat?”

  “Yeah, that’s the real reason, but in the back of my head, I didn’t want to do that until I had earned enough money to live on and buy out the festival. Me. Not my family.”

  “So, you didn’t even really need Lea’s sponsorship?” Her pulse quickened.

  “I told you, we live on what I earn. We need the sponsorships or I’ll have to dig into the family money.”

  “But you have money to buy out your partners, and that money could have been used instead of her sponsorship.” Kaylie felt a lump tightening in her throat. “You chased her to Hawaii, and you didn’t have to.”

  “Kaylie.” His voice was stern, but his eyes were soft and pleading. “It was a choice, yes, to not use the money we live on for the sponsorship money. I made that choice so we would have security. It was a good choice. It was the right choice.”

  She didn’t understand. “But…you’re using that same money—our security money—to buy out the partners.”

  “Yes.” He took her hand. “So that I can ensure that we are never, ever bothered by Lea again, and we’ll never have to worry about anyone trying to buy it out from under us in the future.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Maybe I should have used that money for sponsorships all along, but I didn’t because I never thought that Lea would be as crazy as she was. Had I known, hell, it wouldn’t have been a question.”

  “So, if you’re using our nest egg, are we broke? I mean, I know we’re not broke, but do we have enough money to live on, so you don’t have to touch the trust fund money?” Kaylie had no patience for balance sheets and fine details, and because of that, Chaz handled their household finances.

  “Yes, we’ll just be careful while I rebuild that nest. What makes me nervous money-wise is much different from most people. We have more money—money that I have earned—than we’ll need.”

  “Okay,” she said, relieved, though moderately confused. “So
why does the money have to change things?”

  This time she saw the answer in the arch of his brow, the lifting of the corner of his mouth.

  “You think I’ll change. It’s not that you’re worried about you changing, but me.” She turned away.

  “Not just you, Kay. Anyone. It’s a natural inclination to worry less and spend more when you know money isn’t an issue.”

  He didn’t trust her? Or maybe he didn’t trust anyone. Kaylie spun around, shooting spears with her glare. How materialistic did he think she was? Then she thought of Dr. Marsden and having to relay the conversation to her. Then Danica’s calm, serious eyes made an appearance, and Kaylie took a deep breath. What would Danica say? The anger momentarily ceased.

  “Kaylie? Aren’t you going to say something?”

  Whatever she said, she had to be comfortable saying it to either Dr. Marsden or Danica, because whatever she said would either hurt or heal this moment. Kaylie wanted to start acting appropriately in all situations, and the way she was taking hold of her dramatic side was to remind herself that she’d have to answer to another person. Danica was a good reminder, because Danica called her on every little bit of drama she created. She just needed a minute to pull her thoughts together. She held up a finger to quiet Chaz, then stood and stared out at the mountain.

  Kaylie tried to think of what questions Dr. Marsden might pose to her. Will the money change you? I do love to shop. Will it affect your decisions about strollers, baby clothes, cars, schools? She paced. Would it make a difference? How could it not?

  She felt Chaz’s eyes on her, and a fleeting panic coursed through her.

  Of course the money mattered. It was stupid to assume it wouldn’t play into their lives.

  It was Danica’s voice that rang through her mind, pulling her panic back down to a manageable flutter. Would she love Chaz if he had no money? If he was in a terrible accident and lost both legs? Would she care? Would all the money in the world make her leave him? Most important, if he cheated on her, would all the money in the world make her stay? Kaylie knew the answers. If she met a handsome Donald Trump tomorrow and Chaz was broke, she wouldn’t stray, and if he cheated, nothing could make her stay. Maybe money didn’t have to be anything more than what it had been for him all along—a safety net, of sorts. Can’t we just pretend it doesn’t exist? Can I? Obviously he could, and had.

  He lied to me. She wondered what Danica might say to that. He was protecting their relationship? He’s telling her now, before they’re married. That was worth something.

  She turned back toward Chaz, his shoulders slumped forward and his head hung low. Kaylie walked over and sat beside him.

  “I knew this would happen,” he admitted.

  “There’s only one way I can honestly say this will not affect us.”

  Chaz looked up with hope in his eyes.

  “You can’t tell me how much money we have, and we have to promise to live how we have been living. The family money doesn’t come into play.”

  “That’s so much easier to say than to live by. Believe me. There have been a million times that I wanted to tap into that fountain.”

  “But you didn’t.” She took his hand.

  “My pride held me back. And with a child, maybe everything changes. You’ve seen those spoiled kids with everything handed to them.”

  “I have, and you have my permission to kick me in the head if I raise a child with a silver spoon in her mouth.” She relaxed into him. “I hated those girls when I was growing up, and that’s enough to keep me from doing that to our child.” She realized that she meant it. All of it. “You know, if I hadn’t been forced to work my way through school, I’m not sure I would have become the person I am.” She laughed. “Not the neurotic pregnant woman, but the prepregnant confident woman who wasn’t afraid of going into dark places or following my heart. I know I lived a pretty wild life, but it’s probably better than being a stuck-up snob, right?”

  Chaz laughed. “I guess. But, Kaylie, when we’re deciding on public schools or private—”

  Kaylie held her hand up. “Don’t even go there. No kid of mine is going to prep school. I know you went, and that’s all well and good, but I didn’t, and I’m not sure I would want that degree of separation from the—for a lack of a better word—normal kids around here.”

  “Okay, no prep schools.”

  “And no diamond earrings at three years old, either. She can wait till she’s twelve, like I did.”

  “So now you’re old-fashioned?” he teased.

  “I don’t know. I just know that I want this baby to be normal, whatever that is. She’ll be spoiled enough with so many aunties hanging around. I want our baby to know that she can do anything in the world based on her own personality and abilities. I don’t want to raise a selfish, self-absorbed child. I want to raise someone like you.”

  “I want the baby to be just like you.”

  “No, you don’t. Trust me. I’m really insecure. I never thought I was, but I worry that once the baby comes, I’m gonna fall to the wayside, and that’s totally not normal.” She laughed, but inside, she’d said the hardest thing she’d ever said aloud.

  “Is that what you worry about? Without you, there’d be no baby. I can live without this baby, Kaylie. But I’d never want to live without you.”

  “Does that mean you don’t want the baby?”

  “Oh my God. You’re killing me.”

  She nudged him. “I’m kidding. I know what you meant.” Go away little naggy voice. Be gone.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Danica sat at one of the picnic tables on the lawn of the barn, her hands wrapped around a half-empty large coffee. She’d left a voicemail at the center for Sally to arrange for some of the kids and/or parents to help direct parking. So many parents had offered to help, she knew it wouldn’t be an issue. Then she’d headed to the site to make sure the lights had been hung and the tables set out. The lights were strung properly, but there weren’t enough tables and, although her insides were clawing for her to call the rental company, she knew it was an overreaction. They had hours before the event. She lay back on the bench and stared up at the promising blue sky, reminding herself that it was okay to relax a little. The tables would show up, or they wouldn’t, and if they didn’t, the event could still go on.

  She’d worked hard over the last few months to let go of the controlling side of her personality and allow herself to be more spontaneous and unwound. Unwound. That’s exactly how she was starting to feel. It was one thing to be relaxed, but another altogether to let her fears go. She’d never admit it out loud—to anyone—but Blake was right. If she were to sell her condo, she’d have no place to go if things went bad. The fate of her parents’ marriage kept poking its ugly head into her thoughts.

  Blake’s not Dad. She felt like she was talking to Kaylie. “And I’m not Mom,” she said as she sat up. She wasn’t her mother. She was headstrong and voiced her opinions, and Blake respected them. She was confident and had a career. Two, if she chose to! Danica paced the field, mentally ticking off the things that were different about her and Blake’s relationship from that of her parents.

  He adores me and considers my feelings when making major decisions (rent the condo!).

  He is honest.

  We have common interests.

  We have helped each other grow, and aren't stagnated by each other either personally or in our careers. Oh, yes! That’s a big one! Dad didn’t help Mom grow. Ever.

  The sound of tires on the gravel parking lot interrupted her thoughts. Danica walked back across the property as Blake opened the door of his SUV. She jogged over.

  “Hey, what’re you doing here?”

  He kissed her and then twirled her around. “Did you think I’d let you stress out all by yourself? I went to the shop and Alyssa’s going to handle things for a bit. She’s got it covered tonight, too, so we’re good.”

  He gives of himself for me and to me.

  “Gre
at!” she said with a little clap. Everything was falling into place, and Danica couldn’t keep the smile from her lips or temper the racing of her excited heart. “Come on. I’ll show you where things are taking place.”

  They walked toward the entrance to the barn.

  “How are you going to get people not to just come around the back?”

  “Some of the kids have volunteered to direct traffic in the lot, and they’re putting up one of those ropes so people will come around to the front.”

  “And who’s taking tickets, or whatever needs to be done?”

  Danica stared at the enormous barn doors.

  “Danica?”

  She covered her mouth. “Crap. I forgot. The event runs on donations, so I just assumed that people would toss money into the box and come in. It’s not like we’re in some high-risk area where we have to worry about them taking the money. And Sally’s got someone covering the waivers at a table just inside. I can ask that person to watch the front.”

  “I’ll do it,” Blake offered.

  “No. Really?”

  “Of course. What else would I do? Hang around and do nothing?”

  Danica hadn’t even thought of Blake helping. She was just glad he was going to attend. She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him. “Thank you. That would be great.”

  They walked the property, and by the time they came back around to the front, the roar of trucks could be heard in the distance.

  “Hey,” Danica said as she spun around and faced Blake, stopping him in his tracks. “You…” She touched his chest. “Are buying us a house. And I’m not freaking out about it,” she said proudly.

  He kissed her nose. “I know. I’m so proud of you. My little girl found her big girl panties.”

  By the time the trucks showed up with the rest of the tables and chairs, Danica was ready for whatever the day held.

  Back at the center, cars lined the street. Damn. She’d forgotten about the volunteers meeting. She rushed through the front doors carrying her purse in one hand and an empty coffee cup in the other.