Circle of Friends Complete Collection

by Susan Mallery

  Alicia nodded solemnly. She sat cross-legged on her family room floor, with her parents on the sofa, right behind her. Crissy stayed out of the inner circle, content to watch but not intrude on this surprisingly intimate moment.

  There was a connection between Josh and the little girl, a bond she would guess had been forged by a battle against death.

  Josh carefully handed over the puppy. Sashay sniffed Alicia, then swiped at her face with a long, pink tongue. Alicia giggled with delight and hugged the puppy close.

  “I love her,” the girl whispered. “I love her nearly as much as I love you, Dr. Josh.”

  “I’m glad,” he said. “I brought my camera, so I want to take pictures.”

  But pictures had to wait for a while as Sashay met her new family. Crissy laughed as the puppy explored the family room and tumbled around with Alicia. When the two of them went out for a potty break, Josh and Alicia’s father went along with them while Crissy followed Alicia’s mother into the kitchen to make coffee.

  “I’m not sure I’m ready for this,” Jayne said, but she sounded happy. “A puppy is a lot of work.”

  “I think Alicia is going to be happy to help.”

  “I know she is. She’s very responsible and empathetic. That happens to a lot of kids in her position. Being that sick and spending weeks in a hospital causes children to grow up quickly.”

  Jayne walked to the window over the sink and stared out into the backyard. Sashay and Alicia were running around the yard.

  “She’s so healthy now,” Jayne said, her voice thick with emotion. “Look at how she runs.”

  “She’s a beautiful girl,” Crissy told her. “I would never guess she’d ever been sick.”

  “I know. Isn’t that amazing. I give thanks every day. Do you have children?”

  Crissy thought briefly of Brandon and knew she couldn’t rightfully claim him as her own. “No.”

  “When you do, you’ll understand. I was terrified when she was diagnosed. Things only got worse as doctor after doctor said there was nothing they could do. Treatments for her kind of cancer were too difficult for children. The risks were too high. No one would help. Then we met Dr. Josh. He said sometimes there’s a miracle. With Alicia, there was.”

  Jayne busied herself with putting cookies on a plate. She sniffed, then looked up. “We were so afraid. Even after all this time, I remember the terror. But he was with us. When we started the treatments, when she only got sicker. He was right there. I can’t remember how many nights I spent at the hospital. I would wake up in the bed next to hers and Dr. Josh would be sitting beside her, holding her hand, whispering that she was going to get better and that she had to hang on. He poured his whole heart and soul into making her well and it worked. We owe him everything.”

  “I’m sure Josh doesn’t see it that way,” Crissy said, not completely surprised to hear about his involvement with the family.

  “He doesn’t,” Jayne told her. “He’s like that for all his patients. He’s an incredible man, but then you probably know that.”

  “I do.”

  Crissy was very clear on Josh’s good points. But were they also his flaws? Did he give so much to his kids that he had nothing left for anyone else? Was he hiding behind his work because it was easier than facing a life of his own?

  The questions made her feel guilty—like she was actively looking for trouble. Without his commitment, Alicia might not be alive. Did she, Crissy, wish things were any different?

  She knew the answer to that, but she was still confused about the situation. Did Josh know how to balance work and personal life? Did he want to? What, exactly, was he looking for from her? What did she want from him? How were either of them going to handle their relationship if she found out she was pregnant?

  * * *

  THE NEXT COUPLE of days were difficult for Crissy. She didn’t see Josh and wasn’t sure if he was as busy as he claimed or if he was avoiding her after exposing too much of himself. She was currently voting for the busy being real, but wasn’t sure if her luck was that good.

  Because she didn’t have enough on her worry list, she went out and bought two different pregnancy kits. Only a couple more days until she would know if she was pregnant or not. Sometimes she was convinced she was playing a head game with herself and other times she was positive she was “with child” as her grandmother used to say.

  In a desperate attempt to distract herself, she decided to clean the bathrooms in her house. It was a job she loathed. Even laundry was better than scrubbing toilets and the shower. She collected all the equipment and cleaning products she would need, then pulled on her rubber gloves. But before she could get started, the phone rang.

  Her brain went immediately into “Josh or not-Josh” mode. She glanced at the clock and figured it was unlikely that he would be calling at eight-fifteen in the evening.

  “Hello?”

  “Crissy? Thank God. It’s Abbey. I’m sorry to bother you, but I have no one else.”

  Abbey sounded breathless and frantic. Crissy ripped off her gloves, then began searching for shoes.

  “You’re not bothering me. What happened? How can I help?”

  “It’s Hope. She has asthma. She’s having a horrible attack. I’ve called nine-one-one and they’ll be here any second. I know they’re going to take her to the hospital and I have to go with her. Pete’s at the station, my neighbors are gone, I can’t find Josh. I can’t leave the other two kids alone.”

  “Give me your cell number,” Crissy said, then wrote it down. “Go now. Right now. Tell Brandon to lock the door behind you and that I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. He can be alone for that long, can’t he?”

  “What? Yes. Emma’s already in bed. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Don’t. Just go.”

  * * *

  CRISSY DROVE AS carefully as she could. The last thing any of them needed was for her to get in an accident. She arrived at Abbey’s house seventeen minutes after hanging up and saw the paramedics had arrived before her.

  There was a fire truck parked in front of the house and a paramedic van in the driveway. Flashing red lights cut through the night.

  Crissy found a spot a couple of houses away, then hurried to the front door. It was open and she stepped inside.

  Hope lay on a gurney, with an oxygen mask on her face. Abbey bent over her, soothing her. Two paramedics prepared to transport her.

  Crissy glanced around and saw Brandon and Emma huddled together by the stairs. She hurried over and crouched in front of them.

  “Hey, guys. This is scary, huh?”

  They both nodded.

  She touched Emma’s arm. “Do you remember who I am, honey?”

  Emma stared at her. “Mommy’s friend. Crissy.”

  “That’s right. I’m going to stay with you tonight.” She had no idea how long she was going to be there, so didn’t bother trying to state a time. “Your mom will go to the hospital with Hope.”

  Brandon put his arm around his sister. “She’s been sick before. It’s scary, but she gets better.”

  Emma’s eyes were huge. “Can I go with Mommy?”

  “I know you want to,” Crissy said. “But it’s late and she’ll be busy helping Hope. The three of us will spend the night together. Like a sleepover. How’s that?”

  Emma didn’t look convinced. Abbey hurried over.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” she said.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I was around to help.”

  Abbey kissed her kids. “Be good for Crissy. I don’t know if we’ll be back tonight or in the morning. Daddy will come home when he can, but it shouldn’t be later than seven. Okay?”

  They nodded.

  Abbey smiled. “Good. We’re all going to be fine and that’s
what matters. Now let me talk to Crissy for a minute, okay?” She pulled Crissy into the hallway.

  “Pete’s at a fire,” she said in a low voice. “He’ll leave the station as soon as he gets my message, but I don’t know how long he’ll be. He’ll come home and relieve you.”

  Crissy shook her head. “Let him go to the hospital to check on Hope first. The kids and I will be okay.”

  “Are you sure? That would be great if he could be with me. I could use the support.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Thank you. Josh will probably come by when he gets my message. If you could stand to let the kids hang out with you on the family room sofa, that would be best. Eventually they’ll fall asleep. But I don’t want to make them go back to their rooms. They get scared when stuff like this happens.”

  “Of course they do.” Crissy was terrified and she was a grown-up.

  “We’re ready,” one of the paramedics told Abbey.

  She nodded, kissed her kids and went out with Hope. In a matter of seconds, the sound of the siren filled the house and then that, too, was gone.

  Crissy turned back to Brandon and Emma. They both looked small and young, standing together, looking expectantly at her as if waiting for her to make things right.

  “I think a movie is in order,” she said. “Something funny.” And distracting, she thought. They all needed that. “Brandon, why don’t you go pick out three movies and we’ll choose between them. Oh, and maybe grab some blankets so we can cuddle up properly. Emma, let’s go in the kitchen. You can show me where everything is so we can have a snack. Does your mom ever make hot chocolate?”

  The girl looked at her with big, frightened eyes. For a second Crissy thought she might burst into tears. Then Emma sniffed, took her hand and led the way into the kitchen.

  “There’s chocolate and marshmallows,” she said, her voice a little thick. “The big ones. Can I have two?”

  “Sure. I think we’ll all have two marshmallows with our hot chocolate.”

  Thirty minutes later they were curled up together on the sofa watching a cartoon movie that had both kids laughing. The hot chocolate had been a big hit. Even Crissy had appreciated the familiar and comforting flavor.

  She sat in the middle of the large sectional sofa, with a child on each side of her. Emma kept nodding off. Finally she put her head down on the pillow that Brandon had brought from her room and went to sleep.

  Crissy glanced at Brandon, who seemed completely awake.

  “There’s a little left,” she said, motioning to his mug. “I could heat it up for you.”

  “Okay.”

  She stood then made sure Emma was tucked in and comfortable before heading to the kitchen. Both kids had been great, she thought, grateful no one had given in to hysterics.

  She wondered how long it would be before they heard anything from the hospital, then sent up a prayer that little Hope would be all right.

  As she picked up the small pot to put it back on the stove, she heard a noise and turned. Brandon stood just inside the kitchen. He looked troubled and scared and a lot of other emotions she couldn’t define.

  “Brandon? What’s wrong?” she asked as she put down the pot and crossed to him. She crouched in front of him and smiled. “Scared about Hope?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, but...” He cleared his throat and stared into her eyes. “Are you my mom?”

  * * * * *

  What could she possibly say? It had taken her twelve years to get the courage to finally meet her son, and she was loving every second of it. The wrong answer could destroy that. Then again, so could the right one. In Circle of Friends Part 6, Crissy has a tough choice—and no time to consider the consequences. Taking a deep breath, Crissy gave her answer...

  ISBN-13: 9781488024634

  Circle of Friends: Part 5 of 6

  First published as Her Last First Date

  This edition published 2016

  Copyright © 2006 by Susan Macias Redmond

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com

  CIRCLE OF FRIENDS:

  Part 6 of 6

  Susan Mallery

  Contents

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “Are you my mom?”

  The last thing Crissy Phillips imagined Brandon would ask was this elephant-in-the-room question. How did he guess? She thought she was doing a good job pretending to be just a friend of Uncle Josh’s. The jig is up. Time to answer the question...

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CRISSY SWALLOWED HARD. She felt another wave of panic, but this one had nothing to do with Hope’s asthma.

  What was she supposed to say? How could she handle this? She wasn’t prepared. She didn’t have the answers to tell herself, let alone a twelve-year-old boy. It was crazy.

  She’d thought that eventually she’d want to have this conversation with Brandon, but not now. Not unexpectedly, when they were alone and there was no one to guide her through this.

  He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and looked away. “I heard my mom and dad talking about you. About how you were getting involved in my life, which is what they always wanted. How it was good for me to know you.” He shrugged.

  “Oh, Brandon,” she whispered, not sure if she should pull him close and hug him or let him stand alone.

  She didn’t know anything about him or how to make things better for him. Which was only her own fault. Why hadn’t she been willing to be a part of her son’s life? Why hadn’t she done this years ago?

  Her throat tightened and her eyes burned. She wasn’t sure if the tears she held back were for him or herself. Maybe both.

  “I didn’t want to say anything to them,” he mumbled. “But I wondered.”

  Not knowing what else to do, she put her arm around his shoulders. “How long have you known this?” she asked.

  “A couple of days.”

  “That’s a pretty big burden to carry. It must have been hard. Then with Hope getting sick...you’ve had a rough week.”

  “I can handle it.”

  He sounded tough, but he was only twelve.

  There was no one to help her with this situation. She would have to deal with it as best she could.

  “Come on,” she said as she stood and led the way to the kitchen table. “Let’s talk.”

  He followed her and took a seat. She went to the stove where she heated the last of the hot chocolate, poured it into a mug, added two marshmallows, then set it in front of him. She took the seat across from his.

  “I don’t know where to start,” she admitted. “I gue
ss the big announcement first makes the most sense. Yes, I’m your birth mother.”

  He’d been staring at his mug, but now he looked at her. “For sure?”

  She smiled. “Yes. For sure.” Her smile faded. “I didn’t plan this conversation. I don’t know what to tell you or what you want to know. Would it be easier for you to ask questions or do you want me to talk?”

  He swallowed, then looked at her. “You were young, right?”

  Oh God. The pain of being rejected by the woman who gave birth to you. It had to be what he was thinking.

  “I was seventeen,” she said, aching for him and not sure how to make it all better. “Five years older than you are now.”

  “Four and a half. I’ll be thirteen this summer.”

  “Right.” At his age, getting older was important, she reminded herself. “So I was four and a half years older than you are now. I was supposed to go to college and suddenly I was in high school and pregnant. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Were your parents mad?”

  “Not mad so much as disappointed. But they wanted to be supportive, which was great. I didn’t think I was ready to be a mom, so we talked about adopting. But that was hard, too. I mean I wanted to find the right people. The perfect parents. I didn’t know if I could.” She smiled. “Then I met Pete and Abbey.”

  He seemed to relax a little. “You liked them?”

  “From the second I saw them. They were so in love. Kind of like they are now.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “They’re always kissing. It’s gross.”

  “You’ll like it more as you get older. I liked everything about them. They were so excited at the thought of you. They had plans for your room and adopting other brothers and sisters for you. They talked about family vacations and how they wanted you to grow up. I knew they were the ones from the moment we met.”

  He brightened a little. “That’s cool.”

  “It was. Abbey was there with me when you were born. She held you right away and I knew by the look on her face how much she loved you.”