“Okay.” Haley followed the buxom woman out of the room.
When Justin started to leave with them, Dave stopped him. “You can wait here. Part of the reason I’d like Haley to go alone is so we can talk. How’s she doing since she lost her dad? Is she sleeping and eating all right?”
“I think so. Before Christmas, she became so depressed I worried she might hurt herself. I took her to talk to Jake Manion. He’s been seeing her every other week.”
“Good. He’s great with kids.”
“I had to force her to go to Luke and Sabrina’s wedding.”
“She seemed to have a good time.”
“She did. Now that the holidays are behind us, she’s been laughing a lot more.”
“Celebrating her birthday without Marc will be another big emotional hurdle.”
“I know. I’m hoping the excitement of getting her permit will keep her from missing him and her mom too much. My sister-in-law agreed to throw a sweet sixteen party for her that night and invited all of her friends.”
“That should help.”
“Marc recorded a video for her birthday. She’s doing so much better, I’m almost afraid to show it to her. I’m worried it’ll set her back.”
“I’d let her watch it. But wait until the day after. That way it won’t spoil her celebration, and since her birthday will already be over, any emotional fallout from the video will be short-lived.”
“Good idea.”
David stuck his hand out. “You’re doin’ a great job with her.”
Justin shook his hand and held on for a second. “Do you mind if I ask a medical question that has nothing to do with Haley?”
“Not at all.” David leaned back against the counter. “What do you wanna know?”
“If a woman is carrying twins, is it possible for her to show at less than two months?”
The doctor pursed his lips and shook his head. “Not likely. Her waist might thicken a little early, but as for anyone noticing she’s pregnant, I’d have to say no.”
“That’s what I thought.”
He narrowed his gaze at Justin. “Are you wondering if you’ve impregnated someone?”
“I was, but like you said.... ” Justin shrugged.
“Am I wrong in guessing it might be Trisha? The two of you were really hitting it off in the Poconos—only six weeks ago.”
“Yeah.” He snorted. “Hitting it off is a great description for what we were doing.”
David laughed. “Yeah, Casey and I hit it off a lot while we were there. It was great getting her away from Jamie for a few nights. We just got married Thanksgiving weekend, when our daughter was almost three months old, so we only had a two-night honeymoon.”
“Well, Trisha’s pregnant and already wearing maternity clothes.”
“She’s not claiming the baby’s yours, is she?”
“No.”
“Does it make a difference if she was already pregnant before the two of you got together?”
“That’s just it. We’re not together. It was only while we were at the resort”.
“I’m sensing you wanted more.”
Justin nodded. “I think her pregnancy is why she refused to see me after we got home. I don’t think the father’s in the picture.”
“Would you have a problem accepting someone else’s baby?”
Good question. “I don’t know. I love Haley as much as if she was mine, but I’ve known her since—well, before she was born. Her mom and dad were my best friends.”
“If you really care for Trisha and want to have a relationship with her, you would end up knowing her baby just as long. The child is part of her, even if he or she isn’t part of you.”
“Right.” Love her, love her child. “Thanks, Dave.” He shook the doctor’s hand again. “You’ve given me plenty to think about.”
Sure, Trisha could’ve changed over the years, but the sweet girl he’d known would never sleep around as she’d suggested she might. He should’ve realized her snide comments about the Colonial Tavern and having enough teenagers to deal with on a daily basis were merely defensive bravado.
The only thing stopping him from driving right over to her house and convincing her to share his life was the crippling fear that her rejection hadn’t been motivated solely by her pregnancy.
Maybe she simply didn’t want him any more than she did her baby’s father.
~*~
After school on Friday, Trisha sank onto one of the students’ chairs in Frankie’s classroom. “I’m really not looking forward to tonight.”
Frankie leaned her butt against her desk. “Do you honestly believe he thinks you’re a cheap slut as you put it last week?”
“That’s what he insinuated. Haley apparently didn’t tell him exactly how pregnant I am, and he thought the baby was his.” She patted her tummy. “Until he saw my pot. He was so mad.”
“No, I guarantee he wasn’t angry when you saw him.”
“Yeah, right. You weren’t there.”
“Trisha, he felt hurt. Don’t your male students express their pain as anger?”
“True.”
“Well, men don’t change in that regard. If you thought you were about to become a mother and someone told you it was just a false alarm, how would you feel?”
“Upset.” Trish cast a sympathetic glance at her friend. “I guess you have some experience with that.”
“I did.” Frankie grinned. “I took a pregnancy test on Wednesday.”
“And?” Trisha raised her eyebrows. “Come on, don’t keep me in suspense.”
“It was positive. The doctor confirmed it last night.”
“Oh, my gosh! That’s wonderful!” She jumped up and threw her arms around Frankie’s neck. “Aren’t you supposed to see the fertility specialist on Monday?”
“I’ve already cancelled the appointment. The doctor’s best guess is I’m nine weeks pregnant.”
“Nine?” Frankie and Andy weren’t together the beginning of December.
When she frowned, Frankie slapped her arm. “It’s not what you’re thinking. You should know better than anyone that the number of weeks are calculated from the date of a woman’s last period.”
“Oh, right.” She released a breath of relief. “That means you must have gotten pregnant—”
“At the resort. Yeah, we made up for a lot of lost time. I think maybe it helped that making love became fun again.”
She couldn’t imagine it not being enjoyable with Justin. He made everything fun. Of course, that was part of the problem in their relationship. He never became serious enough to really talk about his feelings. He’d always kept their lovemaking light, as if he already had one foot out of the bed.
“So what’d you get Haley for her birthday?”
Trisha pulled the small box out of her purse and showed Frankie the one-inch heart-shaped locket that had a large diamond chip in the center.”
“It’s beautiful. I love the flowers engraved around the heart’s edge.”
Trisha popped opened the cover, revealing a tiny picture of a sixteen-year-old Lindsey.
Frankie’s gaze narrowed as she studied the photo. “Is that Haley?”
“No, it’s her mom at Haley’s age.”
“Oh, my gosh! She’s a clone of her mother.”
“I know. Being with her makes me miss Lindsey a little less.”
Frankie turned the locket over and read the engraving on the back. “Sisters of the heart. That’s sweet.” She squinted and gasped. “This thing says it’s 18K gold!”
“Uh, yeah. Our families both had quite a bit of money.” And after Trisha’s mother passed away, her dad hadn’t said no to much—except accepting Justin’s baby as his grandchild. “Lindsey and I bought one for each other the Christmas we were sixteen and put our pictures in them.”
Frankie hefted the locket and chain in her palm. “Considering the price of gold today, a piece this large and heavy has to be worth a small fortune.”
“About three times what I paid for it. I took it to the jeweler this week for him to check the stone’s setting and polish the locket. He appraised it at about fifteen hundred dollars.”
“Are you sure you want to give her something so valuable?”
“Very sure. I’d give her back her mother if I could,” she whispered, too choked up to speak at full volume. “This is the best I can do.”
Frankie hugged her. “Talk to Justin at the party tonight. At the very least, tell him you used a sperm donor.”
“I don’t want a relationship with someone whose whole heart isn’t in it, Frankie. I remember how needy I was back in college, bending over backwards to get Justin to notice me. And when he finally did, I was so afraid he’d lose interest, I jumped into bed with him before I was ready. We had sex two and three times a day. I don’t want to be that girl again, begging to be loved.”
“Is he asking you to be?”
“No. But I love him even more now. How pathetic am I?”
“You’re not. You’re just in love. And how do you know he doesn’t feel the same way? When you told me what he said at the theater, it sounded like a man who just isn’t good at expressing his feelings. You’ve taken all the psych classes, Trisha. Most men have trouble saying I love you. It doesn’t mean they don’t feel it.”
“So you’re saying I’m expecting to get water from a rock?”
“That’s one way of putting it. Justin may never love with the same intensity you do, but I saw the way he looks at you when you’re not watching. I suspect he loves you much more than you think.”
“Maybe I just need him to look at me that way when I am watching.”
“Then perhaps you need to watch more carefully. You’re forgetting that women show men they love them by giving them sex, which is exactly what you’ve been doing.”
“I guess I have. Maybe the only way I’m pathetic is in not applying the psychology I know to my own life and relationships.”
“Exactly. Some men don’t realize that women don’t receive love the same way they do. It’s all about romance for us.” Frankie tipped her head and narrowed her gaze. “You said you’d give Haley back her mom if you could. Wouldn’t you like the chance to fill in for Lindsey?”
“Desperately. I feel so guilty about abandoning her right before she was about to have Haley. Lindsey needed me more than ever.”
“No. She needs you more now—to love her baby girl. If you give Justin a chance, the two of you could finish raising your friends’ child together, not to mention your own. Doesn’t your baby deserve the chance to know his dad if possible? Especially if you have a boy?”
Trisha tossed up her hands in surrender. “Okay. You convinced me. Tonight, I’ll tell him I used a donor and that was why I hesitated to get involved. If he still wants a relationship with me.... ”
When she didn’t continue, Frankie’s eyebrows lifted. “If he wants a relationship with you, then what?”
“I don’t know. I think he’ll have to convince me he doesn’t want me merely because I’m hot in bed, or I’d be an expedient solution to providing a mother for Haley.”
CHAPTER 11
Damn it, he was late. Justin floored the gas pedal during the last mile of his drive home. He’d promised Haley he’d be there no later than six, and it was already six-fifteen. He wouldn’t blame her if she’d thrown his dinner down the garbage disposal.
He pulled his truck into the garage and closed the overhead door. When he burst through the back door, panting, Haley beamed at him.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I had to pick up your birthday present.”
“It’s all right. I know you, so I made dinner for six-thirty.”
He planted a kiss on her forehead, and handed her the small gift-wrapped box he’d just picked up from the jeweler. If the idiot hadn’t waited until the last minute to engrave it, Justin would’ve been on time. “Happy Birthday, Pinky.”
“Thank you.” She shook the box. “Good things are supposed to come in small packages, right?”
“I’m hoping you’ll think so after you open it.”
She tore off the paper, excitement twinkling in her eyes. She pulled out the heart-shaped key ring and gasped. “It looks a little like my mom’s locket. It even has the diamond in the center.”
“It’s only a cubic zirconium, and it’s brass not gold.”
“I still love it.”
“Your real gift is underneath it.”
She pulled out and unfolded the gift certificate for driver’s training. “Yes!”
“If you take the classes, your insurance will cost less.” He inhaled the heavenly aroma of the lasagna baking in the oven, and his stomach rumbled like a cement mixer. “Dinner smells great.”
He walked through the butler’s pantry into dining room where she’d set the table with her parents’ good linen, china, and stemware. Candles flickered on either side of a fresh floral centerpiece of white carnations and pink and red roses.
“This is beautiful, Haley. Where’d you get the flowers?” he asked, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of it.
“Aunt Sam and Uncle Nick sent them to me.”
Undoubtedly, it’d been Sam’s idea, and on Valentine’s Day, the flowers must have cost a lot more than usual.
Haley had never referred to his sister-in-law and brother as her aunt and uncle before. Did he dare hope she finally felt like part of his family?
He stalled, noticing a bottle of red wine on the table. “And where did you get the bottle of vino?”
“From my dad’s wine rack downstairs. I thought you might like some with your dinner.”
Marc and Lindsey had collected a wide variety of fine wines and had even built a small wine cellar in the basement.
Justin picked up the bottle and studied the label. “Thank you. But this is an awfully expensive vintage to drink alone.”
He knew because he’d bought it for her parents for their last Christmas together. They’d planned to enjoy it on Lindsey’s birthday the next spring and never got the chance. “And don’t even suggest helping me dispose of it.”
“I wouldn’t.” Haley glanced at her watch and raced back into the kitchen. Justin followed and watched her pull the tray of steaming lasagna from the oven. She placed it on the stove next to a baking sheet with garlic bread all ready to slide under the broiler.
The doorbell pealed in the front hallway.
When Haley didn’t run to the foyer as she usually did, he strolled down the center hallway to the front of the house. As he swung the door open the sound of the back door closing distracted him, and he glanced over his shoulder.
He turned, expecting a solicitor, and nearly choked when he, instead, found Trisha standing on the porch, holding a white teddy bear with a tiny gift-wrapped box tied to his paw.
She looked beautiful. She’d always had a flawless complexion, but now her face practically glowed. Her sky-blue maternity top, trimmed in lace, made her eyes look bluer than ever.
He swallowed hard. “Hi. You must be here to see Haley for her birthday.”
“I guess she didn’t tell you she invited me to her party.”
Justin frowned. “The party isn’t here. I had no idea what to do for a girl’s sweet sixteen, so Samantha offered to throw the party at their house in,”—he glanced at his watch—“another fifty-five minutes.”
“Haley told me to be here at six-thirty.”
“She did, did she? Haley!” He stepped back from the door. “Come in while I go find out what she’s up to.”
He stomped back to the kitchen and found it empty. A note lay on the island’s granite counter.
“I think we’ve been had,” he called to Trisha as he read Haley’s flowery handwriting.
I’m sorry. I know you’re probably mad right now, but I had to do it this way. All I want for my birthday is for the two of you to have dinner together and make up. Aunt Sam picked me up for my party at the corner. Please DON’T come. Uncle Nick invited me t
o stay overnight with Dani and is bringing me home tomorrow afternoon.
Love,
Haley
So his brother and Sam had been in on the little stinker’s plan. He shook his head and glanced up when Trisha joined him in the kitchen. He handed her the note to read. “My goddaughter is a piece of work.”
“Our goddaughter.” She laid the teddy bear on the kitchen table and scanned the note. “When Haley heard I was originally supposed to be her godmother, she asked me to accept an honorary position.”
That explained her switch to Aunt Trisha.
“If you have no objection to eating with me, you might as well have dinner. Haley made lasagna.”
“I’d love to. It smells great.”
He pulled a green salad out of the refrigerator and found two parfait glasses filled with layers of chocolate pudding and whipped cream that Haley had made for their desert. He placed a set of tongs in the bowl. “If you’ll serve this, I’ll open the wine.”
Trisha held up her hand. “None for me, thanks.”
“Oh. Right.” He slapped his forehead. How could he have been so clueless? He pointed to her stomach. “That was why you didn’t drink at the wedding.” And why she’d run to the bathroom every two hours. And the morning after the wedding, she’d probably had morning sickness.
She rubbed her abdomen. “Yes, this was the reason. It was also why I told you I wasn’t in a position to get involved right now.”
“Is the father a part of your life?”
“No. Not at the moment.”
“But he might be in the future?”
She shrugged. “That depends on whether he loves me, or just his baby.”
“Can’t he love you both?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “But he has to love me first.”
Justin nodded. If he didn’t risk going out on a limb right now, he would regret it the rest of his life. “What if another guy beats him to you—I mean loving you.”
“Then he’ll be out of luck.”
He took her hand in his. “I thought your baby might be mine. When I found out you were with someone else, I was upset and said some things I didn’t mean.”
Don't Break My Heart (Return to Redemption, Book 6) Page 15