Stone Rules (A Mitchell Sisters/Stone Brothers Novel)

by Samantha Christy

  My entire body freezes. I stop breathing. The world stops spinning.

  Some lines go across the screen and her machine beeps. She tells me she’s taking measurements. “See this right here?” she asks.

  I don’t see it.

  “That’s the heartbeat.” She hits a button on her machine and all of a sudden I hear “Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.”

  It sounds really fast. But probably not any faster than my own heart is beating right now.

  She presses another button. “One hundred and seventy-five beats per minute,” she says. “That’s perfect.” She takes a few more measurements and then presses her finger into my lower tummy a few times. “Let’s see if we can wake him up a bit, shall we?”

  The blob on the screen wiggles around. “Oh, well hello, little one,” she says.

  I stare at the monitor, seeing little arm and leg nubs jerk around. I think I can make out its head, but it looks as big as the rest of his body and the picture is too grainy to see anything clearly. It’s then I realize what she said. “You said him,” I say. “Is it a boy?”

  “It’s too soon to tell. I tend to use ‘he’ when I refer to the little ones. Don’t read anything into it.” She pulls out the wand and wipes up the gel down there.

  I feel a hand on my shoulder. I almost forgot Skylar was in the room. I look up at her and she’s crying. “Welcome to the club, Mommy,” she says.

  “Skylar.” I look at the ceiling, biting back my tears. “What if I can’t?”

  “You can,” she says. “There are so many people who will help you. Me, Baylor, Piper, my mom, the girls. I promise, we will all help you. You will not go through this alone.”

  The doctor prints out a picture and hands it to me. “As best as I can tell you are nine weeks and two days along. That would put your due date on December 5th and your estimated date of conception on March 13th.”

  I ask Dr. Chavis for a calendar. She hands me a small one from the desk. I flip it back to the second week in March. For the hundredth time today, my heart stops beating. March 13th was a Wednesday.

  Smack dab in between the dates I had sex with Ethan and Zach.

  ~ ~ ~

  I sit on my couch, exhausted from crying. Exhausted from talking about this with Skylar and then Piper.

  Ethan is going to be here in five minutes. I look at myself on my phone and laugh. I look horrible. This is going to be the worst first date in the history of first dates.

  I debated calling it off, but he has to know. He’ll leave right after I tell him anyway. He’ll want nothing to do with me.

  The knock on my door makes me jump. This is it. This is the last time I will ever see him.

  I walk to the door and open it. Ethan takes in a sharp breath when he sees my appearance. He puts his arms on mine. “What’s wrong, Charlie?”

  “Come in,” I say. “Sit down.”

  He hesitates before crossing the threshold. This was one of our boundaries. He never came to my apartment and I never went to his. He didn’t trust himself to keep his hands off me. I didn’t trust myself to resist him.

  But he clearly sees I’m not in any shape to leave, so he steps into my living room and closes the door behind him. He walks me over to the couch as if I’m frail. “Are you sick?”

  I have a quick debate in my head on how to answer that question. I think it’s best not to beat around the bush. Just get it out there. Rip off the Band-Aid. After all, there’s really no way to sugar-coat it.

  “No, I’m not sick. But I will have to go to the hospital,” I tell him. “In about seven more months.”

  I watch his face as it goes through a host of emotions. Confusion. Realization. Shock.

  When I can’t stand to watch it anymore, I close my eyes and wait for it. Wait for him to yell at me. Wait for him to get up and leave. Wait for him to walk out of my life.

  I startle when he takes my hand. My eyes snap up to his and all of those other emotions are gone. All except one. The one I never expected. The one I wasn’t prepared for. The one that has tears falling from my eyes just as they are falling from his.

  “Marry me,” he says.

  A sob escapes me and my hand comes up to cover my mouth as I shake my head at him. “I’m so sorry, Ethan. I can’t.”

  “Why, Charlie?”

  The way he’s looking at me right now tells me how much I’m about to hurt him. Two minutes ago I thought he would want nothing to do with me, and now he’s proposing. Maybe he’s doing it out of obligation. Maybe he’s doing it out of love. Maybe it’s a little bit of both.

  But whatever his reasons, I know I’m about to pull the rug out from under him. Because for just a second, I saw a glint in his eye. A flash of hope. And I wonder if he’s going to hate me as much as he hated Cara.

  “Because it might not be your baby.”

  Part Two

  Ethan

  Chapter Thirty-one

  I let her words sink in. I feel like I was given everything and then left with nothing, all in the course of ten seconds. All these years, I was sure I never wanted another child. I never again wanted to be tethered so completely to someone that my happiness, my own sanity, relied upon another.

  But in those few seconds, I felt something I never thought I’d feel again. In those few seconds, Cat’s entire life flashed before my eyes and I realized that I wouldn’t give up my time with her for anything. Not even to take away all the pain I felt when she died and all the hatred I carried around afterward.

  And in those few seconds, I knew I wanted this. I knew I wanted it with Charlie.

  “Fuck!” I shout. I get up from the couch and pace the room. I want to yell at her. I want to put my fist through the wall. I want to rip the throat from whoever else she’s been with. But something deep down inside me keeps me from doing any of those things. She’s been through hell. Every man she’s ever known has let her down.

  “Who is he?” I ask, in the calmest voice I can muster. I run a frustrated hand through my hair, hoping to God there isn’t more than one.

  She’s still sitting on the couch, crying with a pillow pulled to her chest. “I don’t know,” she says, wiping a tear away. “It was only once, I swear.”

  “I guess once was enough,” I bite at her. “Who is he, Charlie?”

  “You were gone, Ethan. You didn’t want me. You made that perfectly clear. And then when Kyle and Levi came to Mitchell’s a week later, they made it clear as well. They said you couldn’t be with me. That you couldn’t be with anyone.” She takes in a few ragged breaths, picking at the fringe of the pillow. “I was a wreck, Ethan. I did something stupid. I went to a club and hooked up with a guy. The song came on. The one from the concert. I thought it was you for a second. I tried to run away but he followed me and it just happened. And now this. What am I going to do? How did I get here?”

  I lean against the wall of her living room, my hands balled into fists as I listen to her cry. I’m pissed as hell. But I have no one to be pissed at but myself. I pushed her away. I pushed her away right into the arms of another man. Shit. This is all my fault. “You didn’t use a condom?” I ask.

  “No, we did. I always did. Well, except for that time with you in the pool. But that’s not when I got pregnant. The doctor told me when I had the ultrasound that I most likely got pregnant on March 13th. Ethan, that was right in between . . . Oh, God.”

  “You had an ultrasound?” I ask, upset that she didn’t say anything to me sooner. “How long have you known about this?”

  “Today. I just found out today. It was Skylar who figured it out. I got sick at work and she made me take a test. Then she got me in to see her doctor.”

  My head is spinning as I try to process all of this information. She did everything to prevent this. She was on the pill. We used condoms. I can see how distraught she is over this. I can see that she feels like she’s in this alone. I want to support her. But I need answers. “Who is he, Charlie? I need you to tell me everything you know about him.”r />
  “I don’t know anything,” she says, shaking her head. “That Saturday after work, Piper and I went to Ganache—it’s a nightclub over in SoHo. We met these guys, Zach and Kevin. Kevin was married and we joked about him and Piper being our wingmen. We danced. And then . . . ” Shame and regret cross her face. “I don’t know anything else. I never saw him again.”

  “Last name?” I ask.

  She shakes her head reluctantly, looking down at the ground.

  “Zach,” I say, his name rolling roughly off my tongue as if I’d said the devil’s.

  “I’m so sorry,” Charlie says. “I never meant for any of this to happen, Ethan. I’ve created a mess of things. Maybe I should just” —she winces as if she’s in pain— “maybe I should just make it go away.”

  “No, Charlie.” I finally go back to the couch and sit at her side. “You’re not going to do that. We’re not going to do that.”

  “What do you mean we?” she asks, looking over at me with red-rimmed eyes that match the color of her hair.

  I touch her shoulder. “I never should have hurt you the way I did. I knew you had feelings for me. I knew we should be together. But I was afraid. And so I pushed you away. You had every right to be upset. You had every right to do what you did. How can I be mad at you when all of this is my fault?”

  She cocks her head to the side, questioning me with her inquisitive stare. “You’re not mad at me?”

  I shake my head. “No. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself for putting you in that position. And I’m not going to let you go through this alone.” I’m bombarded with thoughts of what she must have felt at the doctor today. “Do you have a picture?” I ask.

  “Picture?”

  “Yeah, from the ultrasound. Don’t they usually print out a picture when they do those?”

  She nods, reaching in between the couch cushions to pull out the black and white photo. It’s a bit crumpled. Not crumpled like she was going to throw it away; crumpled like she was holding onto it for dear life. I stare at it. I trace the tiny little body with my finger, and emotions besiege me. Emotions I haven’t felt in over eight years.

  I take her hand. It’s so soft. So perfectly made to fit with mine. “Listen, Charlie. You don’t know the guy from Adam. He’s history. I’m here. I love you.” I put a hand on her stomach. “And I want this. I never thought I would, but I do. I want this with you. This child can be mine. Even if it’s technically not. We never even have to know. Marry me, Charlie. Marry me anyway.”

  She gasps, more tears flowing down her cheeks. It kills me not to know if they are caused by happiness or pain. The look on her face gives me my answer. She tries to smile. It’s a sad smile. A broken smile.

  “I can’t, Ethan. Thank you for asking. For trying to do the right thing. But I just can’t.”

  “Why?” I ask, searching her eyes for answers.

  “You have blonde hair. I have red. But Zach—his hair was black. You say you’ll try to love it, love us, but what if this baby is born with dark hair? What if every time you look at him, you feel betrayed?” She removes her hand from mine. “I know what it’s like to be hated by a parent, Ethan. I won’t let that happen.”

  “I could never hate it, Charlie.” I put my hand back on her stomach and hold it there. “People raise children that aren’t biologically theirs all the time.”

  “How can you even consider this?” she asks. “After what you’ve been through. After all these years of keeping yourself from relationships. What if something happens to this baby? What if something happens to me?”

  I feel a stabbing pain shoot through me at the thought. And it hurts. “I know because the thought of losing you, or even this baby I’ve only known about for thirty minutes, hurts more than you can imagine. That’s how I know this is right. That’s how I know I need to do this. I need you. I need him or her. We can be a family, Charlie. We can have a great life together. All you have to do is say yes.”

  I see it in her eyes. On her face. I see the war raging in her mind. It gives me hope that she won’t say no. I’m not sure I could take it after this past month. After getting so close to her, closer than I’ve ever been to anyone.

  She sniffs and wipes her nose on the cuff of her shirt sleeve. “Can I say maybe?”

  I look into her beautiful hazel eyes and hold her stare with mine. This woman slays me with her beauty. With her stubbornness. With her determination to break the cycles of her past. I laugh. “You can say anything you want, as long as it’s not no.”

  She smiles at me. But it’s not just a smile. It’s a sign of hope.

  “But I’m going to ask you over and over until the answer is yes.” I grab her left hand and trace my thumb across her ring finger. “Rule number thirteen—some things are just meant to be. And I’m not giving up until you marry me. And I will work my ass off every day to make sure that happens.”

  She leans her head on my shoulder, a huge sigh leaving her body as she molds herself to me when my arm goes around her, securing her against me. And we stay like this for hours, both lost in thought. Thoughts of the future. Thoughts of the past.

  Thoughts of the tiny human being growing within her that we both pray is mine. Thoughts that we will love it to the ends of the earth, even if it’s not.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  “The club is called Ganache,” I tell Melissa. “Have you heard of it?”

  “It’s in SoHo, right?” she asks.

  I nod. Melissa has worked for me for two years now. At twenty-six, she’s older than Charlie, but can easily pass for a twenty-two-year-old if that’s what the guy prefers.

  I pass her a dossier on him, but it doesn’t have much information. “All I know is that his name is Zach and that he has black hair. He has a friend, Kevin, who he was at the club with. Kevin is married. They went to the club on a Saturday night. In my experience, party-goers tend to hit the same spots. Go every Friday and Saturday night for the next few weeks and see if you can meet him. I don’t think he’s a threat, but use caution. Make sure you aren’t alone. Any information you can get would be helpful, but all I’m really after is his last name.”

  “Seems easy enough,” she says, standing and tucking the folder under her arm.

  “And Melissa?”

  “Yeah, Ethan?”

  “This case is personal. Top priority. Whatever it takes as long as you aren’t in danger, okay?”

  “You got it.”

  Melissa closes the door to my office and I stare over at the couch. The couch that could have been the place my child was conceived. It hasn’t even been forty-eight hours since Charlie gave me the news, but it’s all I can think about.

  I visited Cat’s grave this morning. I told her she’s going to have a little sibling. Cat would have been ten years old when the baby is due. I know she would have made a wonderful big sister. I told her how I want to marry the woman who came to visit her grave with me. The only woman I’ve ever brought to meet her.

  After I played a song for her, I sat on the bench and thought about the night Charlie gave me the news. She fell asleep in my arms, exhausted from crying, from going through all the emotions she went through that day, from growing a child in her belly. I carried her into the bedroom and put her on her bed. I covered her with a blanket and then I removed my shoes and laid down beside her.

  I held her all night. And in her sleep, she held me, too. It was incredible. It was exactly what I wanted my future to feel like.

  And when she woke up in my arms, she smiled and thanked me for staying. Then she kicked me out of bed and told me to go make breakfast. While we ate, we talked. She said she didn’t want to rush things. I told her I’d wait as long as she needed.

  She agreed not to contact any of the men on the list without taking me along. I have to trust her with that. Just as I’m asking her to trust me with her heart.

  I know she wants me. I’m pretty sure she might even love me. But every man she’s ever known has failed her. Including
me.

  ~ ~ ~

  “How was your swim?” Griffin asks, dealing the cards for our first hand of poker.

  “It was good,” I say. “Uneventful.”

  They all laugh. I’m not sure I’ll ever live down that video.

  For several hours, we play poker and drink beer. It’s the same routine we’ve followed for over two months. They’ve accepted me as their fourth. Their friend. And I’ve never been more grateful for that. Especially now.

  Mason slams his beer down on the table, splashing some out of the top. “Are we ever going to talk about the elephant in the room? Because it’s getting so fucking big I’m about to suffocate in here.”

  Gavin and Griffin give Mason a dirty look but then turn their attention to me.

  “So,” I say. “I guess you all know the news.”

  “Yeah.” Gavin nods his head.

  “Do you know all the news?” I ask.

  “They are sisters, bro. What do you think?” Griffin asks.

  It never ceases to amaze me how they, too, consider Charlie family even though not one of them shares blood with her.

  “Um, so are congratulations in order, or what?” Mason asks. “We know what the girls have told us, but you know how chicks are. We wanted to hear it from you.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, you can congratulate me all you want. I’m in this for the long haul.”

  “Well then, congrats, man,” Griffin says, reaching out to shake my hand. “Welcome to the club.”

  I guess they don’t know I’d already been a member. Maybe Charlie doesn’t tell them everything after all.

  “Are you going to get a paternity test?” Gavin asks. “I think you can even do that before the baby is born these days. I mean, if it would make a difference.”

  I try not to get mad. After all, I’m their guest here. “Are you saying you think it would? That I would leave Charlie if it’s not mine?”