Thirteen
Brody recoiled as his lips parted. That can’t be right. He shook his head slightly. “You mean, like money for gas?” She shook her head, and his heart skipped a beat. Tilting his head to one side, he asked, “How much money did she offer you?”
Reese didn’t answer at first, which made him anxious. Finally, she said, “I didn’t count it, but she said the envelope had twenty thousand dollars in it.”
Twenty thousand dollars? Holy crap!
“When…” He scraped his hands through his hair. “When did this happen?” He could see the distress in Reese’s face, but he had to know.
“Sunday. At the barbecue.”
He remembered Avery telling him that Reese and their mother were talking in the house. At the time he had been happy that they had been getting to know each other. But that hadn’t been what was happening at all. Instead, his mother had been trying to buy off the woman he loved to get her to skip town.
Then he thought about Reese coming out of his parents’ house and telling him she wasn’t feeling well. Then, that very night, she had gotten an email from her brother saying their mother was gravely ill, and that she needed to go see her right away.
Was that all just a ruse? So she could take the money and get out of town?
Doubts swirled in his mind, and he stared at Reese. He had to ask. He had to know.
“Did you take it?” he asked. “Did you take the money?”
Reese’s mouth fell open as her hand flew to her chest. “No. Of course not. I never even considered it.”
Brody believed her. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew she was telling the truth. Then he felt like a class-A jerk for even asking. “I’m sorry. That was a stupid question.”
Rage at his mother for having the gall to do such a thing swept over him, but he shoved aside those feelings to focus on Reese.
Despite being hurt at the thought that he considered her capable of taking a bribe, Reese immediately forgave him for asking. It wasn’t his fault that his mother had made such a horrible offer, and it wasn’t unreasonable for him to want to know if she had taken it. “That’s okay.”
He gazed at her. “Come here.” Then he drew her into his arms.
Allowing herself to be embraced, she savored the love she felt from him as she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled close.
“You’re something special, Reese,” he murmured next to her ear. “Do you know that?”
The words her mother had said the day before echoed in her head: You’re no better than the rest of us. It was hard to accept Brody’s compliment when the memory of her mother’s words, coupled with Grace’s words, competed for the same place in her mind and heart.
“Do you?” he asked, pulling away from her and staring into her eyes. “Do you know how truly special and unique you are?”
Wanting to make the intensity in his face disappear, she nodded. And with his love anchoring her, she could almost believe it, was actually starting to believe it.
Brody focused on Reese, happy to know she was starting to understand that what his mother had said was a total and complete lie—they were absolutely right for each other. More than that, he couldn’t allow himself to think about his mother trying to bribe Reese into leaving. The idea made him beyond livid, and he didn’t want those negative feelings to come between him and Reese.
He would deal with his mother later.
Instead, he wanted to focus on Reese and what he could do to help her, to build her up, to convince her that it was he who needed to be worthy of her. His doubts in her had fled, and his trust in his feelings for her had grown.
“I’m glad,” he said. “Because you mean everything to me, and it kills me to think you don’t believe that.” When he had been with Megan, their love been effortless. With Reese, it was completely different. Every step they had taken in their relationship had been a struggle. But that made every success that much more meaningful.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way,” he said, “I think we need to talk about where we go from here.”
Reese had no idea where they should go from there. But one thing had become startlingly clear: Keeping things from Brody had only brought her heartache, and that was something she wanted to avoid.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to tell him about the baby, and opened her mouth to speak.
“I’m not saying,” he began with a soft laugh, “that we should rush into getting married and having a family or anything. But I do think we should take steps toward a future together.”
Reese’s mouth snapped closed.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “You were about to say something.”
Almost afraid to hear his answer, she asked, “Are you saying you don’t want to have a family?”
He laughed. “No, not at all. I definitely want a family. Just not yet. I mean, we’ve been together less than two months, and we’re just now starting to figure things out.”
With no clue how he would react, but relieved to know a family was something he saw in the future, she decided to press forward with her news. “Sometimes things happen on a timeline different than our own.” She smiled with uncertainty.
His eyebrows drew together. “Wait, what?” Then his eyes rounded. “Are you…Are you saying you’re…pregnant?”
Her pregnancy didn’t seem real to Reese yet, but the doctor had told her there was no doubt. Smiling tentatively, she nodded. “That’s what I’m told.”
Fourteen
Brody’s ears began to ring as Reese’s unexpected announcement sank in. Then his mother’s words clanged inside his head. She has their genes, Brody. Do you really want your children to inherit those kinds of genes?
Stunned, he didn’t speak. The baby will have my genes too. And I love her. Like I told Mom, she’s not her parents.
“Brody?” Reese’s eyes were steady on his. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head slightly, but when he saw Reese’s expression begin to shut down, he said, “Yes. I’m good. Just…just surprised.”
Her features smoothed out, and his gaze went to her flat stomach before meeting her eyes.
Wow! I so didn’t see that coming. Even so, the more he thought about it, the more okay he was with it. “How are you feeling?”
She smiled. “I feel fine. Just a little more tired than normal.”
“Is there anything I should be doing for you?”
Her smile grew. “No. But I love you for asking.”
Gently kissing her on the mouth, he said, “And I love you for trusting me enough to tell me, even after I’d just stuck my foot in my mouth.”
She laughed, and the sound delighted him. It seemed like he hadn’t heard her laughter in a while. It’s up to me to make sure she has lots of laughter in her life. She deserves it.
Thinking of the child growing inside her—his child, Brody smiled. “When did you find out?”
“Today. When the doctor told me the results of the blood test.”
“Oh.” He paused a beat. “That must have been quite a meeting. First learning you’re not a match for your mother, and then finding out you’re pregnant.” He wished they hadn’t parted the way they had the night before. Then he could have been with her when she had gotten the news.
Biting her lip, she glanced at her lap before lifting her gaze to meet his. “Actually, he said I am a match.”
Confused, he shook his head. “I don’t understand. I thought you said you weren’t.”
Her lips compressed. “What I said was, I couldn’t help my mother. Which is true. Being pregnant disqualifies me from donating an organ.”
Without conscious thought, he tried to remember exactly what she had said, and though he couldn’t remember the precise words, he almost felt like she had misled him. Then again, she had just found out she was pregnant. That, on top of what his mother had done? Yeah, he could understand why she hadn’t been eager to tell him everything at once.
Still, there had been s
o many omissions, so many tiny white lies, he had to know if there would be anything else sprung on him.
He took her hands again and locked eyes with her. “Reese, I need to know. Is there anything, anything at all, that you’re not telling me?” He swallowed. “If there’s to be a future for us, I have to know I can trust you, and you have to be able to trust me.”
“No,” she immediately replied. “There’s nothing else.” Her eyes were clear and bright.
A sense of tremendous relief poured over him. I believe her.
Feeling like they had crossed a mammoth hurdle, he smiled. “Good.”
Happiness was evident in Brody’s eyes, which thrilled Reese. With no idea how he would react, she had been nervous about telling him she was pregnant, but his reaction had been better than she had hoped it would be. And the fact that she truly had no other secrets she was keeping from him made her feel light as a feather.
Craving the warmth and security of his arms around her, she leaned against him, and he enfolded her in his arms.
Laughing softly, he said, “I can’t believe we’re having a baby.”
Staying in his arms, she said, “You’re really okay with it?”
“I’m getting used to the idea.” Rubbing the palm of her hand with his thumb, he said, “When is the baby going to arrive?”
“Next March.”
“That seems like a long time, but there’s a lot we have to do before then.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll need to get you moved in to my place and then set up a nursery, of course.”
Reese hadn’t thought that far ahead, and though she wasn’t against the idea of moving in with him, she also wasn’t sure she was ready to give up her independence.
You should have thought about that before you got pregnant.
“And,” Brody said, “we should start planning the wedding.”
Reese straightened and turned to face him. “The wedding? Who said anything about a wedding?” There was no doubt that they loved each other, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to commit to marriage. She had barely come out of a marriage. A marriage that had failed. Was she ready to get into another one?
He laughed. “That was totally unromantic. Let me try it again.”
“It’s not that,” she said as panic began to engulf her. “We don’t have to get married. You just said a few minutes ago that you weren’t ready to get married and have a family. Now you’ve done a one-eighty. Things are moving a little too fast for me.”
“Okay, we don’t have to rush into anything, but as you may have noticed, my family is kind of traditional, and they might frown upon us having a baby when we’re not married.”
Having their approval was important to her, but she already knew how his mother felt about her, and she wasn’t going to let the opinion of his family push her to do something she wasn’t ready to do.
“Maybe I need to back up a bit,” he said. “Are you planning on coming back to Malibu at some point?” His expression became troubled, like he wasn’t sure she would.
All along she had expected their relationship to be over, so the idea of going back to Malibu hadn’t entered her mind. But now? Everything had changed. “I…I guess so.”
Fifteen
Frowning, Brody tried to come up with a reply to Reese’s unexpected answer. Naively, he had assumed she would come back to Malibu, that her visit with her mother was only temporary.
“Why wouldn’t you?” he asked. “Especially now that we’re going to have a baby.”
“For one thing, my mother’s sick, and she might need me. For another, how can I go back there when your mother hates me?”
Pain flickered in her eyes, bringing Brody’s anger at his mother to the fore. Reese shouldn’t have to deal with her. “I’ll take care of my mother.”
She put her hand on his arm. “I don’t want to come between you and your mother.”
Eyebrows bunching, he said, “What are you saying?” Can you really be so selfless that you’d duke it out with my mother to save my relationship with her? Amazed with Reese’s fortitude, Brody’s respect for her grew.
Reese thought about her statement. What am I saying? Do I really want to face her down on my own? But she knew it had to be her. She was the one his mother had an issue with, so she was the one who would have to deal with it whether she wanted to or not.
But the idea terrified her.
“It’s got to be me, Brody,” she said. “I have to show her that she can’t intimidate me.” Like that could ever be true. The woman is a Deputy District Attorney, used to prosecuting criminals. How can I possibly stand up to her?
“You don’t have to do that,” he said, obviously knowing how difficult it would be. “She’s my mother. I can handle her.”
No doubt you can. And how I would love to turn her over to you. “I appreciate that. I do. But if you and I are going to have a future together…” And, oh, how I want to believe that we do! “Your mother needs to know that she can’t intimidate me or push me around.”
Brody stared at her. “How are you going to accomplish that?”
I have no idea, but the obvious doubt in your voice isn’t helping! “I don’t know yet.” Reese shook her head. “It doesn’t matter right now anyway, because I can’t come back to Malibu yet. My mother needs me.”
Does she? She didn’t seem all that needy when you visited her the last two days. In fact, she seemed like she didn’t really want you there at all.
Saddened by the truth, Reese frowned.
“I’d like to meet your mother,” Brody said.
Of two minds on the matter, Reese hesitated. On the one hand, she was eager to show off the man of her dreams to her mother, especially now that they had made so much progress. On the other hand, she was worried about what her mother might say or do in front of Brody—something that would embarrass Reese or just prove what Grace had said about Reese’s roots.
“Come on, babe,” Brody said with a warm smile. “She can’t be that bad.”
With a soft sigh, Reese nodded. “Okay.” She paused a beat. “Yesterday I brought her soup, which she seemed to like. Why don’t we pick something up for lunch and bring it to her?”
Hearing Reese’s suggestion to bring her mother lunch—which only confirmed that she had come to Indiana to see her mother and that she was actually sick—the last of the doubts Brody’s mother had planted in his mind were permanently erased. And seeing how willing Reese was to help her mother—first through the efforts she had made to see if she could donate a portion of her liver, and now with her offer to bring her mother lunch—coupled with her selflessness in regards to dealing with his mother, Brody’s love and admiration for the woman who would be the mother to his child grew.
She’ll be a wonderful mother—loving, tender, compassionate. Exactly the kind of mother I want for my child. And exactly the kind of woman I want for my wife.
Soul-deep love coursed through him, and he took Reese’s hand. “I want to marry you, Reese.” Intensity vibrated in his voice. “Even if you weren’t pregnant I’d want to marry you. You’re the woman for me, and I want to make it official.”
He stared into her eyes, willing her to agree. “Reese, will you marry me?”
Rendered speechless by the sincerity of his proposal and the magnitude of love in his eyes, Reese swallowed over the knot that formed in her throat.
“Say that you will,” he said. “We don’t have to get married right away, but I need your commitment. I need to know you’re in this with me for good.”
Touched by the passion emanating from him, Reese knew he was right, that they needed to make this commitment to each other. It had nothing to do with her pregnancy, or with proving anything to his mother. It was just about them, about their love for each other, about their desire to tell the world that they were a rock-solid team that couldn’t be torn apart.
A smile of pure happiness curved Reese’s mouth as she nodded. “Yes. I will marry you,
Brody Ford.”
His blue-green eyes lit up as he laughed, then he drew her into his arms and held her against him, and she knew she was in the safest place she could be, a place she never wanted to leave again.
“You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world,” he said next to her ear.
She sank against him, her heart filled to overflowing with happiness she never thought she would have, hadn’t realized until that day that it even existed.
Thrilled beyond belief that Reese had agreed to marry him, Brody tightened his arms around her and breathed in her unique scent. He didn’t know when they would actually get married, but that would be a conversation for another day. For now, he was satisfied that she had made the commitment.
Relishing holding her in his arms, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax and enjoy the moment.
His cell phone rang.
Not wanting to be interrupted, he was prepared to let it go to voicemail, but when Reese pulled away from him and said with a smile, “We should probably get going to see my mom,” he nodded and took his phone out of his pocket.
The screen indicated it was his mother. A muscle moved in his jaw, and he became even more reluctant to answer.
Reese glanced at the screen, then looked at him. “Don’t tell her our news yet.” Her smile grew. “I want to keep it between us for now.”
Brody nodded, but it was easy to agree. He had no desire to hear his mother’s opinion on his future with Reese.
“Hello?”
“Brody? Oh thank goodness I got a hold of you.”
Her voice sounded strained, something he wasn’t used to hearing from her, and he immediately was on alert. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s your father,” she said. “He’s had a heart attack.”
Sixteen
Reese could see by the expression on Brody’s face that something bad had happened, and her body tensed as she waited for him to finish the call.
Searching for Love: The Complete Story Page 32