One Baby, Two Secrets

by Barbara Dunlop

  “We’re talking about you getting married. Where have you been the past week? Or did the anesthetic permanently addle your brain?”

  “My brain’s not addled. You’re the one who’s addled.”

  “I’m not marrying Kate.”

  Even if their relationship hadn’t completely broken down, she’d made it clear: her perfect life was in suburbia. Her perfect life was being a soccer and bake-sale mom for Annabelle. It was an admirable goal, but it didn’t include Brody.

  “You’d better marry her,” Blane said.

  “Why had I better?”

  “Because you’re in love with her.”

  Brody wasn’t rising to the bait. “I was infatuated with her. I’m over it.”

  “You’re the worst liar in the world.”

  “You didn’t see me in California. I rocked at lying.”

  Brody had surprised himself with his acting ability.

  “Maybe,” Blane said. “But you suck at lying to yourself.”

  “I’m not lying. I’m accepting reality.”

  Kate was in Brody’s past. There was nothing he could do to change that. He might miss her, and he might desperately wish he could be with her again. But reality was reality.

  Blane wouldn’t be deterred. “Give me one good reason you can’t have her.”

  “I’ll give you three. She doesn’t trust me. She won’t leave Seattle. And she has purple hair.”

  “Give me one that matters.”

  “Those all matter.”

  “No, they don’t,” said Blane. He counted off on his fingers. “She now knows she can trust you.”

  “On this, maybe. But what about the next thing?”

  “Her hair will grow out. And Seattle’s just geography.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “It means there are other places in the world to be a responsible, caring parent and raise a wonderful child. Right here, for example.”

  “You want me to bring Kate here?”

  “That would be traditional.”

  “Well... I...” Brody abandoned his answer. There was no point in trying to talk sense to Blane right now. “You want something that matters?” he asked instead.

  “I do.”

  “Okay.”

  Brody’s brain conjured up a kaleidoscope of Kate, laughing beside the pool, dancing in his arms, pushing the stroller through the park and holding Annabelle on that last morning before he’d blown it with her.

  “Brody?” Blane interrupted. “You’re not saying anything.”

  “Here’s the reason.” Brody forced himself to be brutally honest. “I should never have fallen in love with her in the first place.”

  “I think you just made my point for me,” Blane said softly.

  “Yeah.” Brody felt a giant weight had just settled onto his chest.

  He loved Kate. He loved her more than life. Sitting here pretending he didn’t was hopeless. It wasn’t going to work, and his feelings weren’t going to go away.

  That left him with a stark choice. Live the rest of his life missing her and wondering what they might have had together. Or put his heart on his sleeve and go back to her. Maybe he was the one who should apologize.

  He had to do something. He didn’t want to keep living like this.

  “I have to go get her,” he said mostly to himself.

  “You have to go get her.”

  “What if she says no? What if she won’t consider Scotland?”

  “Maybe you stay with her.”

  “In Seattle?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that you don’t give it up. If she’s everything you say she is, you don’t give it up.”

  Brody looked over his shoulder at the family castle. Could he give this up?

  “It’s just geography,” said Blane.

  Brody pictured Kate and Annabelle, and the little condo in Seattle. He pictured himself there, and it looked good.

  In an instant, he knew he could give up the drafty castle. He could give up anything for Kate.

  “You promise you’ll get married and have a few sons?” he asked Blane. “Because if I do this, we’re going to need a few more Calders.”

  “Deal. But I might need your help finding a willing woman.”

  “Oh, get over yourself. As soon as you’re up and around, there’ll be a lineup halfway to the village.”

  * * *

  Kate didn’t think it was possible for her to feel worse. But she was wrong. She did feel worse.

  Her lawyer put the contracts in front of her, all approved and signed by the executor of Quentin’s estate and the court-appointed advocate for Annabelle. As soon as Kate signed, it would be a done deal.

  Brody would own Beast Blue, and Annabelle would have a portfolio of investments that would give her the means to do anything she wanted in life. Kate could do anything she wanted as well, because the allowance for raising Annabelle was ridiculously generous.

  Trouble was the only thing she truly wanted was the thing she couldn’t have.

  “Something wrong?” the lawyer asked.

  “Nothing.” Kate put the pen to the line on the last page and signed.

  Wild thoughts rolled through her mind on the drive home, memories and regrets. Where had she gone wrong? What should she have done differently? Would it have changed anything if she had?

  She had no way of knowing what Brody thought of her now. He might well be completely over their fling. He might not have given her another thought. He might have made the deal for Beast Blue solely because it suited him. It didn’t mean he cared about her at all.

  By the time she got home, she was no closer to an answer than she’d been when she started. She pulled into the short driveway and gripped the steering wheel. She had limited choices here, but she did have a couple of them. She could leave things as they were and move on with life. Or she could try to do the right thing. She could at least take a stab at doing the right thing, and maybe clear her conscience.

  She stepped out of the car and slammed the door behind her. Her principles told her she needed to apologize. It was the same set of principles that had made her go after Annabelle in the first place, the same ones that had ended up putting their lives in jeopardy and lost her Brody.

  “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose.” But she knew deep down she had to stick with her beliefs.

  She swung her purse over her shoulder and marched up the walkway. One thing was sure, without principles, she had nothing.

  She opened the front door to find Nadia on the floor with Annabelle, a stack of blocks between them.

  “I’m doing it,” she said.

  “Then I’m with you,” Nadia said looking up. “What exactly are we talking about?”

  “I’m apologizing to Brody. I signed the contracts. Annabelle’s future is secure. But I was wrong. And I’m sorry. And I’m going to tell him so.”

  “You’re calling him?”

  Annabelle knocked the colorful block tower over with a clatter. She grinned up at Kate.

  “Well done, sweetheart,” Kate said. “I’m not calling him.”

  “Emailing? That’s probably better. You might get tripped up trying to talk. If you write it, you can take your time, compose it just right. And you won’t have to—”

  “I’m going to Scotland.”

  It took Nadia a moment to speak. “Say again?”

  “I’m going to Scotland. I’m not wimping out on this. I’m going to face him, look him in the eye and tell him I was wrong and I’m sorry.”

  Nadia came to her feet. “That’s a bad idea.”

  “It’s the right thing to do.”

  “No, honey. It’s a bad thing to do. You’re sorry. I know you
are. But that’s not why you’re going to Scotland.”

  “Yes, it is.” Kate had just gone over this in her mind in minute detail. She knew what was right and what was wrong.

  “You’re going to Scotland to see if he’s in love with you.”

  “I’m not. He’s not. I’m over that fantasy.”

  “I know you so well, Kate. I can tell you’re not over that fantasy. And I’m worried about you. If you go to him, and it’s not what you hope, you’re going to get your heart stomped on. And it’s going to happen in person, overseas, and you’ll be all by yourself when it does.”

  “That’s not why I’m going.” Was it? “I have no expectations.”

  Nadia put an arm around her shoulders. “Your expectations are written all over your face.”

  “But—”

  “But, nothing. You’re going to lay your heart on the line, and there’s a better than even chance it’s going to go completely wrong.”

  Kate didn’t want to hear this. She did not want to hear that her last hope was gone.

  “But, what do I do?”

  “I tell you what you do.” Nadia paused for a long time.

  “What?” Kate all but shouted.

  “You take me with you.”

  Kate swallowed against a sob, but then Nadia’s words registered. “What?”

  “I’m your best friend. No way I’m letting you go through this alone.”

  Kate couldn’t help a watery smile.

  “Remember when I had to stand up to that awful principal and you stuck with me till the end?”

  Kate remembered.

  “You should do this, Kate. If you love him that much, and it’s obvious to me that you do, then it’s worth the risk. For you and for Annabelle. Whatever happens, I’ll be there to cheer you on and have your back.”

  “You’d come to Scotland?”

  “I’ll buy the tickets.”

  * * *

  The Calder butler Jeremy Clive entered the library where Brody and Blane were drinking brandy. Blane was getting better in leaps and bounds. His color was back. His energy was increasing. And he claimed he felt better than he had in years.

  “Sir?” Jeremy said.

  “Yes?” Brody and Blane answered simultaneously.

  “Sorry to disturb you, but there’s a young lady in the main foyer. She declined to give her name.”

  Brody reached out and rapped Blane heartily on the shoulder. “You see that? Word’s gotten around already.”

  “She’s here to see you, Mr. Brody.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes.”

  “How young?”

  The stately Jeremy looked confused. “I would guess in her twenties. She’s not a child.”

  “Pretty?” asked Blane.

  “I would say so.”

  “If you don’t want her, I’ll take her,” Blane said.

  They were on their second brandy, and Blane’s tolerance for alcohol seemed to have diminished while he was sick.

  Brody rose to his feet. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

  As he exited the library, he tried to figure out who might be stopping by. Jeremy knew most of his friends, and he certainly knew the people in the village, better than Brody did in fact.

  He’d met a woman in the airport a couple of weeks ago. So, she was a possibility. What was her name? Mandy or Sandy or maybe Katrina? If he couldn’t remember by the time he got to the entrance foyer, this was going to be a bit embarrassing.

  He came around the corner of the hall and halted.

  Her back was to him, and her hair wasn’t purple, but he could swear it was Kate.

  He blinked his eyes and gave his head a shake.

  Then Annabelle’s little head popped up over her shoulder, and joy surged through him. He quickly set down his drink and strode forward.

  “Kate?”

  She turned, and he drank in her beautiful face. Her makeup was subtle, her hair had grown longer. She’d either cut off or colored the purple bits. She was wearing a fitted, smoke-blue dress with a navy cardigan.

  She looked classic and beautiful beneath the portraits and shields that decorated the hall. She looked as if she’d been born to the castle.

  “You’re in Scotland,” he said.

  “Hello, Brody.”

  She looked and sounded so formal, he was afraid to hug her. He stopped a foot away.

  He smiled. “Hi there, Annabelle. She’s grown since I saw her.”

  “Every day,” Kate said.

  “Come in.” He motioned. “I’m surprised to see you.”

  “I hope it’s okay.”

  “It’s more than okay.”

  “And who do we have here?” asked Blane, making an appearance in the hall.

  “This is my brother, Blane,” Brody said to Kate.

  She gave Blane a broad smile. It was the smile Brody wanted for himself. He felt a shaft of jealousy and an urge to shove Blane back into the library.

  “Hi, Blane,” she said.

  “This is Kate Dunhern.”

  Blane’s eyes went wide. “This is Kate?”

  “Yes.” Brody instantly worried about the brandy consumption and what it might do to Blane’s judgment.

  Blane strode right over to her and took her hand. “And this must be Annabelle.”

  “Brody mentioned us?” Kate asked.

  The question set Brody back. Did she think he wouldn’t? Did she think he’d tell his family the story of Quentin and LA and leave her and Annabelle out?

  “He more than mentioned you,” Blane said.

  “That’s enough,” Brody interjected, fearing what might come next.

  “He’s in love with you.”

  Both Kate and Brody went completely still.

  Then Brody found his voice. “Are you kidding me?” he said to Blane. He could have socked his brother.

  Instead, he took Kate’s hand. “Ignore him. Let’s go inside.” He led her away from Blane, back down the hall where he shut them into the library.

  “I’m so sorry about that. He’s been sick.”

  “I know.”

  “He’s a little drunk right now.” Brody was mortified and scrambling for the right words. “And, well, he made some funny assumptions about things I said when I first got back.”

  “You don’t have to explain.”

  “He was way out of line.”

  She moved closer. “You don’t have to explain. I came to say I’m sorry, Brody.”

  “For what?”

  She gave him a look of disbelief. “For not trusting you. For that last morning in Seattle when I accused you of plotting against me. For throwing out everything we had together because I couldn’t bring myself to—”

  “Stop.” He put his fingertips across her lips.

  “You won’t accept my apology?” She looked positively demoralized.

  He stepped closer.

  “Gah,” Annabelle told him softly. She reached out and patted his lips.

  “Gah,” he said in return. “Kate, you don’t owe me an apology,” he said.

  “Yes, I do.” He shook his head. “I behaved terribly, and you made the deal anyway. You took care of Annabelle, and of me.”

  “I love you.” He couldn’t hold it in any longer. “My brother is right. I love you, Kate.”

  She blinked at him, seeming completely flustered. “I don’t even know what that means.”

  “It means I love you.” It felt good to say it over and over.

  “But... What...”

  “I think the ‘what’ depends on you.”

  She still looked confused.

  “Do you love me back?”

 
“Yes,” she answered quickly. “Oh, yes.” Then she gave a nervous laugh. “I guess I should have said that right away, shouldn’t have I?”

  “It’s traditional.”

  “I meant, what does that mean for us? You live here and I live there, and...”

  He smiled. He almost laughed. “What do you want it to mean?”

  “You keep answering my questions with questions.”

  “That’s because I don’t care about anything but loving you. We can do anything. We can live anywhere. It’ll have to be together. But beyond that, I’m open.”

  She looked around the room. “Hmmm. Well. This is a big castle.”

  “It is that.”

  “My condo’s pretty small.”

  “No argument from me. But Seattle has other houses, bigger houses. And I understand you’ve recently come into some money.”

  “You’d do that for us? You’d move?”

  “I’d do that.”

  This time when she smiled, her eyes shimmered with tears.

  “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said. “We can finish this conversation later. But right now I’m going to kiss you.”

  “Oh, please do.” She raised her lips to his.

  Epilogue

  In the anteroom of the cathedral, Brody double-checked his tie. His gray vest was smooth under the crisp tuxedo jacket, and his cuff links bore the Calder family crest. He wanted to look perfect, not that anyone would be looking at him. All attention would be focused squarely on Kate.

  The heavy oak door to the chapel hallway swung open, and he turned, expecting to see Blane checking on his parents.

  Instead, it was Kate rushing into the room in a cloud of tulle and lace.

  “You can’t be here,” he told her, quickly averting his eyes. It took about three seconds for curiosity to get the best of him, and he glanced up.

  She looked wonderful, classy and elegant in a satin and jeweled snow-white gown. Lace decorated her smooth shoulders, the bodice was fitted to her slim waist, while the filmy, full skirt cascaded out from a satin belt.

  “I’m not supposed to see you in that.” Even as he said the words, he continued to stare at her.

  Her hair was a soft cloud around her beautiful face, dark lashes emphasizing her brilliant blue eyes. And her lips looked dark and luscious. He couldn’t wait for the part where he got to kiss her.