by Elena Aitken
Jade tried to laugh but it came off weak and unsure. “What’s with all the questions? I feel like I’m on trial.”
“Hardly. But I would like answers.”
Jade wanted to answer her. Gwen was the closest thing Jade ever had to a real girlfriend, someone she could confide in and ask for guidance. And if she could ever use some guidance, now would be the time. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. It probably wouldn’t hurt to talk it all out with Gwen. In fact, it might really help. Besides, Mitch knew the truth now. Not that it mattered because it was so clear that he wanted nothing to do with talking about it. She really had nothing else to lose. “It’s complicated,” she said. “And it’s kind of a long story.”
“I’ve got nothing but time. Spill,” Gwen commanded.
Jade didn’t need to be asked twice. If Gwen was willing to listen, she was ready to talk. “I’m pregnant.”
Gwen didn’t say anything right away. She blinked. Once and then again. “Pardon me? I must have water in my ears because I could have sworn you just said you were pregnant and I know that just the other day you told me in no uncertain terms that—”
“I am.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry I lied to you. But I just wasn’t ready to tell.”
“Wow. So…it’s for sure?”
Jade nodded. “Deanna confirmed it. It’s still really new, like maybe only five weeks. But it’s happening. I’m going to have a baby.”
“So you are having it?”
It was a blunt question, but Jade could appreciate it. She nodded. All of the uncertainty of the last few days vanished. Of course she was keeping the baby. No matter what her mom thought, no matter what it might do to her career, no matter what Mitch decided to do. She was definitely going to be a mother and that thought made her heart happy. “Absolutely.”
With a big splash, Gwen threw her arms around Jade and squeezed. “I’m so excited for you. You will be a fantastic mother and you totally have to stay in Cedar Springs now. I mean, Mitch—it is Mitch’s?”
Jade splashed in her friend’s direction. “Of course.”
“What did he say? Is he excited?”
The happiness she’d felt a moment earlier evaporated and her heart sank. “Not entirely,” she said. “He kind of…well, he got kind of mad.”
Gwen used her hands to push up out of the water and sit on the edge of the hot pool. “Mad? That doesn’t sound like Mitch. Why would he be mad? I mean…I assume none of this was planned, and…are you guys even together?”
The confusion that lined her friend’s face mirrored what Jade felt inside. The whole situation was a mess. Were they together? No. He wasn’t interested in her. Not like that. Well, not for a relationship anyway. He’d liked her plenty for some fooling around but when it came to being worthy of a relationship…she didn’t want to think about it. It hurt too much.
“No,” she answered. “We’re not. He was dating Evie.”
“Evie?”
“They’re not together or anything, but they went out right after he told me I wasn’t his type.”
“That’s bullshit.” Gwen kicked her feet in frustration. “I’ve seen you guys together. You’re perfect for each other. And he knows it, too. He’s just being stupid. Men are so stupid sometimes.”
She couldn’t disagree with that statement, but men weren’t the only ones who could make bad decisions. Jade shrugged. “I also might have told him that he didn’t have to worry about it because I didn’t want anything from him.”
“You did what?”
Jade looked down at the water swirling around her. “I told him that whatever I decided, I’d take care of everything and he didn’t have to worry about it.”
“And that’s why he got mad.” It wasn’t a question, but Jade nodded anyway. “Shit, Jade.”
She pulled herself out of the water and sat next to her friend. “I know. I kind of made a mess of that, didn’t I?”
“I’d say so.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jade moved her feet through the warm water, letting the bubbles flow over her legs. The therapeutic waters felt good—she could happily sit in them all day—but as relaxing as they were, they weren’t going to be the solution to her problems. No matter how badly she wished they would.
“So how did you leave things?” Gwen finally asked.
“He slammed out of my house, and I haven’t seen him or heard from him since.” It hurt her to say the words. “I told you, he was mad.”
“Of course he was mad, Jade. You told him you didn’t want anything from him.” Gwen spun around so she faced her. “Did you even ask him what he thought about it all? Or did you just treat the baby like a problem he didn’t need to concern himself with?”
She didn’t need to answer.
“Jade.” Gwen grabbed her hand. “I don’t know Mitch all that well myself, but I know him well enough to know that he would have been hurt by that because he’s not the type of guy to not worry about it.” She made air quotes with her fingers. “And for you to assume he would just walk away from you and the baby, that’s hurtful.”
Gwen’s words hit home. She had been cold. But she hadn’t meant to be, not at all. “I was just trying to protect myself,” she said. Tears pricked at her eyes and her throat started to swell with emotion. “I just didn’t want him to think I did it on purpose and I know the baby will mean my career will…well, I don’t want it to ruin everything for Mitch, too.”
“Ruin everything?” Gwen grabbed her by the upper arms and shook her gently. “Is that what you think, Jade? That the baby will ruin things?”
Unshed tears burned her eyes.
I will not cry. I cannot cry.
A tear escaped and ran down her cheek.
Dammit.
She swiped at her face, hoping Gwen wouldn’t see.
She did.
“Hey,” Gwen said gently. “Talk to me, Jade. What’s going on? I mean, I get it…you must be completely overwhelmed with this news, but a baby isn’t going to ruin anything. Why would you think that?”
“Because it’s true.” The tears came fast now and she didn’t bother trying to stop them. “My career, my…well, everything.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Gwen wiped her cheek. “It’s not the fifties. Women today have careers and children—you must know that.”
Jade shrugged. Logically she did know that, but it was one thing to know what a baby would do to your life and another thing to know it. She’d never advance the way she wanted to because there would always be sick days and school plays and appointments and something that was more important than a client. She’d be passed over for promotions and raises, and that would be okay because her child would be more important. But what if one day…
“It’s not just my career.” She wiped her eyes and tried to force a smile. “It’s just that…I don’t want to do it on my own, Gwen. I don’t want to be a single mom. I don’t want to do all the midnight feedings by myself and celebrate first steps on my own and go to recitals and—”
“Whoa.” Gwen’s smile was kind and despite the fact that Jade knew she was being crazy, now that she’d started, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. No one is saying that you can’t have it all. A baby, a career, a relationship—you can have it all, Jade. You know that, right?”
More than anything, she wanted to say yes. But she couldn’t help but hear her mother’s voice in her ear telling her she was ruining her life, the same way having Jade had ruined hers. Men, children…love. It would be the end of everything.
“Jade?” Gwen prompted when she didn’t answer right away. “Tell me that you understand that a child will only make your life better, not worse. You do know that, right?”
“I do.” She nodded. “I really do. It’s just that…my mother always told me to stay away from all of it.” She laughed a little, realizing how crazy it sounded. “She taught me to chase my dreams and not to let a man or a child come between me and wha
t I wanted.”
Gwen listened for a minute and squeezed Jade’s hand. “And what if that is exactly what you want?”
She thought about that for a moment. What if that was everything she wanted? Having a family had never been part of her dreams before, but maybe that was just because she didn’t even realize it should be. What if this was fate’s way of telling her that love and family was more important than a job title or a raise or—
A fresh round of tears started, only these were different.
“Jade?”
She nodded. “I think you’re right, Gwen.” She smiled through the hot tears that streamed down her cheeks. “I think this might be exactly what I want.”
Gwen laughed. “Then why are you crying?”
Jade joined her in laughter. “I don’t know. I’ve never cried so much in my whole life.”
“Hormones,” Gwen said matter-of-factly, sparking a fresh round of giggles from Jade.
She let herself laugh because it felt good and more than that, it felt good to release herself from the confinement of years of thinking she shouldn’t allow herself to want a family of her own, when deep down it was what she’d always craved.
It was freeing, but a new realization came quickly after that.
Not only did she want the baby—she wanted the family. She wanted Mitch.
And she’d screwed up everything.
Talking to Seth and Cynthia had made Mitch feel better. It had also made him even more anxious. After they’d excused themselves to put their baby down for a nap, Mitch had stayed in the bakery as long as he could before finally he needed to get up and get some fresh air.
Not hearing from Jade was making him crazy. He’d tried calling her a dozen more times, choosing not to leave a voicemail after the first few. He’d sent her text messages, but if she’d read them, she wasn’t replying.
Why was she ignoring him? Was she that upset?
“Dammit, Jade.” He muttered under his breath and kicked at a stone on the rocky lakeshore. Walking along the beach had always made him feel better when he was a teenager. It had given him the peace to think about whatever it was that was bothering him. Of course, when he was younger, his biggest problem had been which girl to take to the various festivals and dances in town. Now, all these years later, walking along the shoreline wasn’t helping him find the answers he needed. The only thing that could do that was Jade herself.
He pulled his phone out again, prepared to call her one more time, but a text message flashed across the screen.
Where are you? Get to the Dockside ASAP.
Ian. It was the third message he’d sent. No doubt he was pissed because Mitch hadn’t shown up to help out. Which, he had to admit, was pretty shitty of him. After all, Ian was counting on him. But how could he be expected to concentrate on work of any kind when Jade was missing? Then again, maybe it would be a good distraction. And maybe Ian could ask Gwen if she knew anything. Yes. Why hadn’t he thought of that before?
Mitch turned around and jogged in the opposite direction, toward the Dockside.
“It’s about time you got here,” Ian hollered to him from the office the moment Mitch stepped onto the dock.
Mitch shrugged.
“Have you seriously been ignoring my texts all day?” Ian asked when he got closer. “What the hell?”
“I’m sorry,” Mitch said. “What’s the big emergency?” All the boats were out from the dock, and he could see the two jet skis ripping around in the lake. If everything was rented, he couldn’t need the help too badly. “Looks like you have things under control around here.”
“I wanted to show you something.” Ian put his arm around Mitch’s shoulder and moved to lead him inside the office. “Or should I say…someone.”
“Jade?” Mitch all but pushed Ian out of the way to get inside. “I’ve been looking everywhere for—” The words died on his lips when he saw who waited for him inside. “Dec?” A smile stretched across his face when he realized his little brother stood across from him. “Dammit, Declan. What are you doing here?” He pulled his brother into a strong hug. It had been way too long since he’d seen him.
“Hey. Good to see you, man.” Declan slapped his back and hugged him in return. “It’s been way too long.”
“No shit.” Mitch took a step back and shook his head in wonderment. “Seriously. What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were in Botswana or something saving the world.”
“Haiti,” Dec corrected him. “And I don’t know about the world, but I’m sure doing my best for as many as I can.”
His little brother was truly the nicest, most considerate person with the biggest heart. Never in Mitch’s life had he met anyone who’d come close to sharing the type of compassion Declan demonstrated on a regular basis.
“What are you doing here?” He asked again.
Dec pretended to look offended before he chuckled. “I kept hearing about how much fun you all were having and there was no way I was going to let you have all that fun without me. Besides, I needed to properly meet my new sister-in-law to be.” He elbowed Ian in the ribs. “I can’t believe you finally convinced someone to marry you, old man.”
“Ha. I’m hardly old, little brother. And as for Gwen, I was just waiting for the right one. And man, is she ever the right one.”
Seeing the love shine in his big brother’s eyes sharpened the sting of the pain in Mitch’s gut.
“Hey,” he interrupted. “Speaking of your lovely bride-to-be…does she know where Jade might be?”
“Jade?” Declan wiggled his eyebrows, but Mitch ignored him.
“Of course she knows,” Ian said. “Jade picked her up this morning and they went up to the Springs.”
“The Springs? Like the new resort?”
“The one and only,” Ian confirmed. “Something about Gwen needing to finish the scripts and Jade wasn’t going to let her leave or have any distractions until they were done. No phones, no nothing. They left bright and early and honestly, I don’t expect them home until late. Gwen’s been struggling a little bit with this and I don’t know why. But I’m sure Jade will help her figure it out.”
“I’m sure she will.” Mitch nodded, but he was already putting a plan in motion to drive up there and find her. It made sense that she hadn’t answered his calls or text messages if she didn’t have a phone. Assuming she didn’t have hers either if Gwen hadn’t been allowed to take one. Maybe if he got up there, he could convince someone to tell him what room she was in and surprise her with—
“Don’t even think about it.” Ian interrupted his train of thought. “They need to get the script done, Mitch. Do not go interrupt them.”
He glared at his brother. “Why would you think I’d do that?”
“I see that look on your face.” Ian shook his head and crossed his arms. “There’s no way I’m letting you go up there.”
There was no point trying to fool him. Ian clearly had him figured out. A direct approach was what was warranted. “Look, Ian. I need to talk to her. Like, I really need to talk to her. I don’t think you understand.”
“I do.”
“Who is Jade?”
“Screw this.” Mitch wasn’t going to stick around and have this conversation. He tried to push past his big brother, but Ian shoved him back. He stumbled backward and crashed into a rack of life jackets. “Get out of my way, Ian.”
“No.” Ian shook his head and stood his ground.
He’d gone up against his brother before, but not since they were teenagers. Mitch had lost as many of those fights as he’d won. They were pretty evenly matched, but that was before Mitch had something to lose. This time he had everything to lose and he was not going to let it happen.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you and Jade, but this is not happening. Not like this.”
“Ian, I’m warning—”
“Who is Jade?” Tired of being ignored, Declan grabbed Mitch’s shoulder and pulled him back, putting himself between
his two older brothers. “Seriously, who is Jade and what is going on here?” Declan looked between the two of them, waiting for answers.
“Jade is…she’s…” Mitch drifted off, unsure of how to describe exactly who Jade was and more importantly, what she was to him.
“Jade is the woman Mitch is in love with.”
“What?”
“What?”
They both spoke at the same time, turning to Ian.
“I’m what?”
“Wait,” Dec said. “You’re in love?” He slapped his back. “Congratulations, man. That’s awesome. Now I have two future sisters-in-law to meet.”
“What?” Mitch spun around to his younger brother. “No. You don’t. I mean…” It wasn’t a bad idea. In fact, it was a damn good idea. But he couldn’t get ahead of himself. First things first. He focused on Ian again. “What are you talking about—I’m in love with Jade? What do you know about it?”
“I’m not blind, brother.” Ian laughed and Mitch was so wound up, he would have taken a swing at him just to wipe the grin off his face if he hadn’t wanted to hear what he had to say. “It doesn’t take a genius to see how you look at her. You’ve been in love with her from the very first day you met her at the summer festival. Hell, I was a little preoccupied with my own drama, but I still noticed.”
The festival. Just the mention of it brought back a rush of amazing memories from that night. She’d looked so sexy, and when she opened her mouth to challenge him, he’d wanted her on the spot. Maybe Ian was right. Maybe he had fallen in love with her that night. At any rate, they’d always have a souvenir of that particular festival and the night they met.
Mitch shook his head. “She’s pregnant.” He blurted it out, needing to tell someone.
“She’s what?” Ian’s eyes grew wide.
“Damn. I’m going to be an uncle?” Dec slapped his thigh. “Now I’m really glad I came back.”
“Who’s going to be an uncle?” Cal walked into the office. The three brothers turned to stare at him.
“Seriously?” Declan shook his head at Cal. “Sometimes I think it’s a good thing you make a living with your looks because you’re not the brightest of the bunch.”