by Lacey Legend
“I told him not to come today. You wanted to come so I told him my mother was coming with me because we had other things to do today as well.”
“Why would you do that? We’re going to have to all get along if we’re going to be one big happy family.” Mason smiled at her.
“He doesn’t know you’re the father,” she admitted.
That finally made him stop and he slipped out of the game he was playing. “Why doesn’t he know? Who does he think is?”
Her gaze traveled to the floor and he knew immediately that she’d made up some lie. She was ashamed that he was the father and probably told him that it was anyone else on earth but Mason. Mason sat back hard in the chair, anger replacing the fun he’d just been having.
“Wow, that’s harsh.”
“I’m sorry Mason, it wasn’t my idea to lie about it. It was my parents and once it started I…”
“You didn’t stop it.” He finished her thought for her.
Her gaze hit the floor again and he knew he was right.
“Listen, I know I’m not up to your standards, Princess, but that doesn’t mean you just get to pretend I don’t exist. You plan on telling him?”
She nodded but still wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Yes, I am. I’m telling him today. I just didn’t think the doctor appointment was the right place.”
“Good, you’d better tell him or I will.”
Just then a nurse came out and called for Kelsey. She grabbed her purse and stood up with generous help from the chair and any trace of the girl with a conscience that he’d just seen was gone and she straightened herself and strode into the office as if she owned the place.
Mason shook his head and followed behind her. This was all becoming far more complicated than he had ever anticipated it would be. The entire time they waited inside the small office, Mason felt seconds away from running out of the door. He wanted to be a dad, but this was just too much.
Is that why his own dad had left them? That he’d wanted to be a dad but his mother had just made it all so complicated that he just couldn’t? He’d never thought of that before, but now that he was in this situation he could see how that might be a major possibility. He was just about to open his mouth and tell Kelsey that he had to go when the doctor came in reading over her charts. She stopped and looked at Mason when she realized that he wasn’t the man she was used to seeing next to Kelsey. “I’m Dr. Elms I don’t think we’ve met.” She stuck out her hand and Mason shook it.
“I’m Mason, I’m the… father. I’ve been away on business,” he tried to explain. The doctor looked skeptically at him but when she glanced at Kelsey and she nodded her confirmation she seemed convinced enough.
“So, how are you feeling Kelsey?”
Her eyes flicked to Mason and he could see she was weighing telling the truth vs making herself sound strong. He assumed she landed somewhere in the middle of that decision when she admitted that she’d been tired a lot, but that was all she admitted. The doctor nodded and told her it was normal.
He watched as Kelsey laid back and lifted her shirt while the doctor squirted blue goop all over her belly, clearly this was routine for her and he couldn’t help but feel badly that he’d missed all of these before. Again the urge to slip out of the door was strong and he wondered if he should just do it quickly and get it over with, making everyone’s lives easier.
But the moment he’d made the decision to do that he heard something coming from the machine next to Kelsey’s head.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“That,” the doctor said as she turned the monitor toward him, “is your baby.”
Chapter13
When Mason heard the heartbeat of their baby, Kelsey’s eyes were trained on him. She was mesmerized by his reaction. For a man who tried hard to hide every emotion behind his cocky mask, every emotion that he was feeling came over his face. She knew exactly how he was feeling, because it was exactly how she had felt the first time that she had heard her daughter’s heartbeat. Joy, amazement, excitement, terror, and wonder at what she’d done… all of it was written across his face as well. It was interesting to her that all of those emotions were so easily written across his face when so very little had been written across Alan’s when he heard the heartbeat.
It was possible that he had so few emotions because it wasn’t a baby that he had created with Kelsey and instead was one that he was more or less adopting from her mistake. Or maybe he wasn’t all that crazy about babies in general, she wondered why she’d never asked him that before. If she was supposed to spend her life with this man, then why hadn’t she thought to ask about having a family before? But right there in that moment it didn’t really matter to her what Alan thought of children and a family.
At that moment, the only thing that mattered was the way her heart felt filled watching Mason watch the screen. She wanted to see that look every day for the rest of her life and she knew the way she could. While the idea of being with him was extremely far in the past, she could let him be a part of his daughter’s life.
She knew the face he had in that moment was one that he would have the day she was born, her first day of kindergarten, when she got her first bump, when she graduated from high school, and when she became a mother of her own.
She would have to tell Alan the truth. She’d have to tell him that Mason was the real father, not some old boyfriend from school, and she would have to tell him that he wanted to be a part of the baby’s life.
Mason didn’t have much to say after the appointment. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was still reeling from it all, or if because he was still mad at her, but he only gave her a quick goodbye before he jumped in his truck. She should have apologized and told him that she was going to tell Alan the truth, but she couldn’t get the words out. Call it pride or call it fear, either way the words stayed glued to her tongue.
Back at home, she paced her halls. Alan was working and she had nothing to do but wait for him going over again and again the words she needed to tell him. She knew there was every possibility that he may not want to marry her after she told him the truth, he’d of course think she’d gone “slumming” like everyone else would and his view of her would be forever altered.
And while the thought of hurting him was awful, the thought of people thinking so low of her was also awful, but the thought of the wedding being called off didn’t upset her as it should. She wasn’t getting married until after the baby came anyway, so maybe it was just that the excitement of the wedding hadn’t really hit her yet. That had to be it. She was thrilled to be marrying Alan and lucky to have found someone like him.
She hoped that he wouldn’t call off the wedding, at least she thought that’s what she hoped. To keep her mind occupied, Kelsey wandered into the kitchen that she’d never used. As she thought about it she realized that she hadn’t ever used her kitchen at her parents’ house either. But she needed to do something so she opened up the cupboards and the fridge and started rummaging through what was there. Because he had a cook that came in, she liked to keep everything fully stocked. She pulled out some rice and a couple of steaks, found some asparagus in the fridge and spent the rest of the afternoon looking up recipes and doing her best to recreate them.
By the time she finished, she had a complete meal that she had to admit smelled delicious and she knew Alan would be home any minute. So she set the table nicely, hoping that her efforts to make him happy would soften the blow of her truths. When she heard the front door open, she was sitting at the dining room table in a nice yet casual dress. Her hair was done perfectly and she’d applied subtle makeup which highlighted her own features.
“Oh wow, something smells delicious!” he exclaimed the moment he walked through the door.
He loosened his tie and took off his jacket while he walked into the room. “Oh, steaks! But it isn’t Evelyn’s day to come today.”
Evelyn, his cook, came every few days and would make a fresh meal while making a
few freezer meals to be reheated throughout the week.
“No, actually, I cooked tonight.”
That stopped him in in tracks and he turned and gave her a big grin. “You can cook?”
Kelsey shrugged. “I guess I can, who knew?”
He took a couple of large strides and kissed her on the forehead. “This is lovely; thank you so much.”
Kelsey examined him as he settled into the table. She noticed that he really was a nice looking man. He had a very defined jaw and deep, beautiful eyes. All of her friends stared at him constantly and she knew what they’d be doing with him if they had him behind closed doors. But as far as anything physical, other than kissing, nothing had occurred between the two of them.
She tried to get excited over him, tried to appreciate that he was good looking, and she did most of the time. Just not in the way that caused any sort of passion. She used her pregnancy as an excuse and he seemed to be understanding with it and never pressured her, but the truth was she was waiting, hoping that some sort of fire would ignite inside of her for him.
He ate quietly, as usual, while he perused emails and daily news updates. She longed for conversation from him, but he wasn’t one for much talking. He was more into quiet reading and work than he was for conversations about how her day had gone. But that was something that she really needed and she would continue to try. Especially when she had something so important to tell him about. She cleared her throat and took a sip of water.
“How was your day?” she started. Innocent enough and a prompt for him asking her the same thing. In fact, it made her wonder why he hadn’t asked her first, why he hadn’t wanted to know how her doctor appointment went.
“My day was fine thanks.” He barely looked up from his phone while he answered. There was a long pause as he chewed and read before he continued. “How was yours?”
This was her opportunity and she needed to take it. She put down her knife and fork to give him her full attention. “Well, actually, there is something I need to talk to you about.”
She waited for him to look up at her and she felt her frustrations rise as it took him far longer to respond than she’d hoped. How could he possibly be so busy that when his fiancé says she needs to tell him something he doesn’t even look up? Tamping down her frustrations, he finally looked up and she knew she had to continue.
“I wasn’t honest today when I said that my mother was coming to my doctor appointment with me.”
“Oh?” he asked with very little interest in his voice. She saw him glance back down to his phone and she knew she had to get her words out before she lost his attention and her nerve.
“Yes. Actually, the father of the baby recently came back and wants to be a very big part of her life.”
That finally got his attention and he wiped his mouth on his cloth napkin and put his utensils down.
“And what does that mean exactly?”
“That means that he wants to get to be her father.” Alan’s eyes looked concerned so she rushed onto reassure him “He and I are very much in the past, but I can’t keep him from his daughter.”
Alan sat back and thought about it for a very long moment. “No, I suppose you can’t. Well, considering that he comes from an upstanding society, I trust we will be able to work all of this out like men. As long as nothing is going on between you two, then I don’t see why there would be a problem.”
Kelsey swallowed hard and she felt beads of sweat on the forehead. Here was the most important admission and it wasn’t going to be easy at all.
“There’s something that I need to tell you about the father.” She took a shaky breath and pushed forward. “The father isn’t who I said he is. He wasn’t in my school and he doesn’t come from an excellent society.”
Alan arched an eyebrow and Kelsey knew he was waiting to hear exactly who it was.
“The father of the baby is Mason Craig.”
There. She had gotten the words out and the truth was out in the open. What he would do with it, she didn’t know, but at least she had done the right thing. But Alan didn’t react right away, instead he sat there staring at the table mumbling the name over again clearly trying to place the name with the face. She could see the moment of recognition when he finally placed who exactly Mason was.
“The landscaper?” The way he said it sent chills down her spine.
But she kept her head up and answered his question. “Yes. We had a summer fling and then he disappeared. But he’s back now and knows about the baby and wants to be a part of her life. I have no right to keep her from him and I don’t intend to.”
Alan stood up so fast he knocked down the chair he’d been sitting on causing Kelsey to jump. He paced the floor chewing over everything she just said.
“For what it is worth, I’m sorry for the lie. It wasn’t my idea, but my parents’, and when I didn’t think he was coming back, I didn’t see any harm in saving their reputation.”
There were daggers in his eyes as he turned to her. “And lying to me making me look like a fool, causing me to make up for the mistakes of that street rat.”
He was pacing faster now and she was frightened by his anger. Always so calm and cool she’d been unsure if there was even an angry bone in his body, but apparently feeling foolish caused him to feel that way.
“What will people think of you and of me when they find this out? They’ll think exactly that you tricked me into marriage and that you are not a respectable woman of society, that you have a street rat for a child.”
This time it was her turn to jump up, startling him. “You can say whatever you want about Mason and you can cancel the wedding so that you don’t have to look like a fool. You can even say whatever you want about me since you clearly think so little of me, but I will not let you talk about my baby that way!”
She was panting hard and realized that this anger had been building up in her for so long just waiting to explode. For months she’d been holding in her truths and her feelings letting only herself know exactly how she felt inside. But with his harsh words it was like a beast was unleashed inside of her and she was going to let it out. Alan noticed the change in her and looked at her closely, examining her with scrutinizing eyes. Suddenly, he softened and the fire she’d seen in him was back to cool embers, just like always.
“I’m sorry darling. You made a mistake and you shouldn’t have to pay the price any longer for it.”
He walked across the table and kissed her tenderly on both cheeks. “Let me take care of all of this for you okay? I’ll make sure that everything is OK”
His strong hands were holding her cheeks on both side and she could feel herself relaxing at the thought that someone else knew exactly what was going on and didn’t want to hide it, he simply wanted to help her take care of it. Her affection for him grew in that moment and for the first time in months she felt at ease.
“If you’ll just excuse me, there are a few things I must take care of tonight. Why don’t you finish dinner without me and then go relax. I’ll be to bed in a little while.”
Kelsey nodded and watched him walk out of the room when he turned back toward her again. “Don’t worry, this will all be taken care of very soon.” He smiled at her.
Kelsey tried to smile back but she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly that meant.
Chapter14
Mason didn’t hear from Kelsey for a few days after the appointment. He had thought about going over there again or calling, but he didn’t want to push his luck. There was nothing he wanted from her except when it came to being a father, so he figured that when she needed something again, he would know about it.
He wished he hadn’t gotten her number again, the itch to call her just to hear her voice was too strong, but they had needed to so that when things happened she could reach him in an instant instead of needing to drive all the way to his house. Especially when it was time for his girl to be born.
His house was another constant thought as he was sp
ending all of his time fixing up the broken home with the full intention of selling it. He knew he wouldn’t get much for it, but he was hoping to get enough to put a good down payment on a house in a better part of town.
It not only was an area where he did not want to raise kids but he didn’t think it was healthy for Adam to be growing up in the same home where he found his mother dead in her bed. He held off on finding a job by using the rest of the savings that he had and the little bit of money that his mother had stashed away. Getting the house fixed up had to be his first priority so that he could get rid of it. Once it was fixed up, he’d find a job and go get a house.
He had to admit how well he was handling everything, save for the one night of binge drinking. But after that night, he dumped every drop of alcohol down the drain and didn’t even think twice about it. Truthfully, he had felt good doing it.
Every day, Mason would send Adam off to his pre-school so that he could work around the house. At the end of every day, Adam loved to come and inspect all of Mason’s work and ask questions while Mason made them dinner. After dinner, he’d tuck him into bed and then fall into bed himself, exhausted, just to wake up the next day and do it all over again. It was true he was tired, but everything was going so smoothly that he couldn’t complain.
While he was outside working on the gutters, a sleek, dark car pulled up to his driveway. There would be nobody but Kelsey that would be coming to see him, so he immediately climbed down the ladder to find out what she needed. Maybe another doctor appointment or maybe she actually did tell her fiancé the truth about Mason and she wanted to let him know.
He figured the first was most likely, the second idea he doubted. It still made him slightly agitated when he thought about the fact that she lied about the baby being his. That she’d been ashamed to admit to people that she’d been with him, he didn’t give a damn what her parents had thought. She was a grown woman who made her own choices and she should have owned up to them instead of pretending like they’d never happened. He knew he would never pretend that she hadn’t walked, or fallen rather, into his life.