Heath
“Why do I make you nervous?”
Ignoring the question, she pointed at the traffic light ahead. “Make a right at the light. The place isn’t far.”
Fair enough, I had plenty of time at breakfast to get the answer to that question. “Okay.”
I made the turn and let silence overtake the car. There were so many things I wanted to know, but I could be patient and I would be. She seemed content to stare out the window.
“How much farther?”
“Huh?”
Apparently, she wasn’t just staring out the window. With the little bit I knew about her, I couldn’t fathom a guess about what she might be thinking. Trust. Trust was the key to it all.
“How much farther?”
“Oh, sorry. Make a left the next light and it’ll be on the right.”
“Are you okay?”
She laid a hand on her chest. “Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“I’m fine. Just have a lot on my mind.”
“Anything I can help with?”
She shook her head. “You don’t want to be bothered with my problems.”
That couldn’t have been farther from the truth. “It’s part of why I’m here.”
I reached over and covered her hand with mine as it sat on her leg. She glanced down at it and back up at me. I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and parked the car. Before she got out, I turned to face her.
“Look, I know we don’t know much about each other, and you don’t really trust me yet. Just…uh, give me a chance. We have a long time of making decisions together. I’d like to be friends while doing that.”
She watched me for so long, I thought she might throw my suggestion back at me. Then, the corner of her mouth pulled up.
“You’re right.” She dropped her eyes and sighed.
I almost reached up to cup her face but stopped myself in time. Neither of us was ready for that. Yes, I felt a connection to her from the beginning, but we both deserved to get to know one another before anything else happened.
“Let’s start here then. We’ll go in, have breakfast, and get to know each other.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I pulled my hair up into the baseball cap and climbed out or the car. Jenna met me on the curb and we walked to the door of the restaurant. I thought about waiting until we were inside to tell her about the insurance, so if she got pissed, even though she agreed last night, she couldn’t make a scene, but I decided against it. If we were supposed to be starting over inside, laying the cards out on the table before we walked in seemed like the better choice. I didn’t want her to feel like I was blindsiding her with the information. Before she could reach for the door, I took her hand in mine and stopped her. Jenna glanced over her shoulder at me.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, there’s just something I want to tell you before you go in there.”
Her brows drew together and she turned to face me. “What’s wrong?”
I led her over to the bench along the wall. “Let’s sit for a minute.”
Her gaze was razor sharp in its intensity. “I thought we were going inside to start over. Did you change your mind?”
“Change my…what? No. I wanted to tell you this first…in case you got mad.”
She stood and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, spit it out then.”
Great, she was already pissed and I hadn’t even told her yet. I lifted both hands. “After I left last night, I called Reagan and had him get you the insurance.”
Her brows drew together in confusion. “Um . . . okay. We decided you were going to do that last night. I don’t get the big deal.”
“Well, he didn’t stop there. He also picked a new doctor and made you an appointment for this week.”
She opened her mouth, hopefully not to argue, but I decided to beat her to the punch and explain all the reasons it was important for her to have it. “Look, he says she’s the top rated doctor in the area, and. . .” I trailed off, hoping she’d see I wanted to help.
She narrowed her eyes and I braced for what she might say. “Are you done trying to prove your point?”
I nodded.
“All I was going to say was thank you. Now I won’t have to do all the research. It’ll be nice to know I can go to a place where my file won’t get lost every time I go in and the doctor might actually remember my name. Can I catch the bus there?”
“Yeah, she’s downtown, only a few blocks from the diner. I’d offer to get you a car, but I have a feeling you won’t go for that.”
“Then you’d be right. I’ve never needed one before. It was why I sold my grandmother’s. I can get around just fine without one.”
Now wasn’t the time to have this argument. I didn’t want to push too far and break any trust I’d earned. Someday I’d convince her she didn’t need to use the bus. Maybe by the time she really needed one, our relationship would have grown to the point I could get one without question.
“Fair enough.” I stood and offered her my arm. “Should we have breakfast?”
She watched me for a minute and placed her hand through the crook of my arm. “I’d love to.”
I walked her back to the door of the restaurant. “Thank you for not getting mad about the doctor.”
She peeked at me out of the corner of her eye. “I would be if I didn’t know you were doing it out of concern for the baby.”
“And for you.”
She smiled as we went inside. “Thank you.”
The place was cozy inside. All booths with a few tables scattered in the center. My stomach growled as the smell of bacon frying hit my nose.
Jenna smirked. “Hungry?”
I laughed. “You could say that. I don’t think I’ve eaten much in my rush to see you.”
We took a seat in the booth the hostess showed us to.
“You certainly know how to flatter a girl.”
“I do my best.” I picked up the menu and heard her stomach growl. “I guess someone else is hungry?”
“I feel like I’ve been hungry for weeks. Your child isn’t a fan of food as of late. The pizza was one of the few things I was able to keep down.”
I handed her the other menu. “Well, let’s see if we can find something else the baby might like.”
The wistful tone to my voice was obvious even to my own ears. I still couldn’t get over the word baby.
“It still amazes me that you don’t sound mad or freaked out by any of this.”
“Mad? Definitely not. I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t expecting to have kids at this point in my life. But I also know that things don’t always happen on the timetable we want it to. I cherished every moment with my grandmother, but I want my kids to cherish every moment with me.”
Her eyes shimmered in the light of the restaurant and I had a feeling she was thinking about her own grandmother. I reached over and laid my hand over hers. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, the tears were gone, only the sadness lingering. “I just wish she could have met this baby.”
“I know exactly what you mean. I always hoped I’d get a chance to bring a great-grandchild home to her. I wanted her to see all the things I learned how to do because of her.”
“You really do get me.”
“From what I know about you so far, but I want to know more. What were you like as a kid? What’s your favorite food or movie? What kind of music do you like?”
She laughed and the sound was melodic, traveling through me and heating my blood. I ignored my body’s reaction. Now wasn’t the time.
“You have to stop asking questions if you actually want to get an answer to any of them.”
“Point taken.”
I picked up the glass of water the waitress left and took a sip.
“Let’s see, what to answer first.” She tapped her finger on her chin, taunting me. I liked to see the playful side of her.
“Gonna ma
ke me wait?”
“Maybe. Or maybe you asked so many questions, I don’t know which one to answer first.” She took a sip of her own water.
“How about in the order I asked them?”
“And where would the fun be in that for me?”
“Have you both decided?”
I’d been so lost in Jenna’s infectious spirit, I hadn’t realized the waitress had come back to the table.
“Saved by the bell,” Jenna whispered to me before turning to the waitress. “I’ll have the strawberry pancakes with a side of bacon. And a decaf coffee.”
The waitress turned to me. “And for you?”
“The western omelet, please, with a side of home fries and toast. Also can I have a side of scrambled eggs?”
She narrowed her eyes a fraction, probably trying to figure out why I’d want two egg dishes. I wanted Jenna to have another option in case the baby decided they didn’t like pancakes. The waitress left to put in our order.
“Looks like you are hungry.”
“Looks like you’re stalling.”
“Fine, I’ll let you off the hook for now. Let see, my favorite food would have to be anything Italian. I’m a sucker for cheese and meat sauce. And my favorite movie is definitely Dirty Dancing.”
“Not gonna tell me about what you were like as a kid?”
Her face dropped and she shrugged. “Not much to tell. Nana moved us here about a year after my parents died.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just not used to telling this story.”
“You don’t—”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want you to know.”
My goal was never to make her feel uncomfortable. I only wanted to know where the girl in front of me came from.
“Before that I hated going to school. Everyone giving me looks of pity. Even at eight years old, I knew people treated me differently. They were trying to be kind and helpful, but sometimes that’s worse.” She rubbed her thumb across the water glass, removing the condensation. “It’s just a daily reminder of all you lost.”
“What changed when you moved?”
“Things got better. Don’t get me wrong, I missed my parents every single day, but it got a little easier to deal. The teachers treated me like everyone else and the kids didn’t see me as the girl whose parents died. I could be myself.”
“I take it you were always this outgoing.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Absolutely not. I might have been in a new school, but I was also shy as hell. If it wasn’t for my best friend Rachel, I probably would have stayed that way forever.”
“Does Rachel still live around here?” Knowing she didn’t have any family, I’d feel better leaving her at the end of the week, knowing she had a close friend around in case she needed anything when I couldn’t be here.
She frowned. “No. My grandmother got sick the summer before I was supposed to head to college with her. We were going to be roommates and everything.”
“Let me guess. You gave up your chance at college to take care of your grandmother.”
“What else was I supposed to do?”
“Nothing. I would have done the same thing. My grandmother didn’t get sick until after I’d already left for school, otherwise I would’ve probably stayed too.”
“It hurt to give up my scholarship and watch her go without me, but there was nothing I could do. She stayed up there after graduation when she got an internship.”
“Where were you supposed to go?”
“Radford.”
Radford was about a five-hour drive from where we were.
“Do you see her at all anymore? Radford isn’t that far from here.”
“She comes home to visit every once in a while, but her new job keeps her pretty busy. We do talk on the phone at least twice a week, though.”
My heart broke a little for the woman in front of me. She was truly alone in the world. I knew I’d do anything in my power to change that. She deserved someone to care about her who would always be there. My chest tighten. Soon enough, I’d be another person leaving her. The only difference—I’d be back in five short months. Okay, maybe not short, but I’d be back before the baby was born.
I’d make sure of it.
CHAPTER 15
Jenna
Every person I cared about had left me. Not one of them thought ‘Oh. I’m done with Jenna today, let’s go.’ They didn’t try to hurt me, but they did. It made it hard to let people in. I was always afraid they’d need to leave me in the end.
I still couldn’t figure out how Heath had managed to convince me to let down my barriers so easily. I’d known the man for less than forty-eight hours and there I was ready to spill all my secrets to him. It frustrated the hell out of me.
People I’d known my entire life were no longer in it. What made me think the guy I’d just met would stay? I needed to change the course of this conversation. If he got to ask me a million questions, then I got to do the same. At least if he didn’t stick around in the end, I’d have enough information to understand whatever traits the baby might pick up from their father.
“Did you tell her about the baby?”
“Not yet. She’d want to know the father and I wasn’t sure you wanted people to know.”
His gaze snapped to mine. “Why wouldn’t I?”
I lifted a brow at him. He couldn’t be that naive. “I’m sure the tabloids would love to know the famous Heath Marshall knocked up some waitress at a club.”
The fork landed on the table, echoing throughout the diner. Thankfully, my back was to the rest of the room as I felt the heat race to my cheeks.
He opened his mouth and closed it again. A muscle in his jaw ticked. Shit. I really said the wrong thing. Why would he want to broadcast that to everyone? I’d seen my fair share of tabloids in the checkout lines. Hell, I didn’t know if I wanted to be part of all that.
He sucked in a deep breath. “Did you just suggest that I wouldn’t want people to know you’re the mother of my child because of what you do for a living?”
“Yes and no. I mean you keep telling me how you’re not like other celebrities I’ve seen and you want me to believe that you knocking up some server isn’t going to make you sound the same?”
“I don’t give a fuck what other people think. The only people that count in my book are the band and you.”
My heart leaped at his words, but that didn’t make the reality any different. “Besides, I have no desire to be some gossip blog’s fodder for the next few months while they speculate if I’m just out for your money.”
“They—”
“Don’t even say they wouldn’t because we both know they would do exactly that.”
He sighed. “I wasn’t going to say they wouldn’t. I’m not stupid. I’ve seen the way they tried to rip apart the lives of my two best friends, but the only thing I’ve learned about the gossip blogs is that they lose their power when you don’t hide from the truth.”
“What do you mean?”
“How much do you know about my friend Sawyer?”
“Um…not a whole lot. I mean, I heard your songs on the radio before.” I looked down as I ran my finger around the mouth of my glass. “But I didn’t really follow you guys until we met two months ago.”
A smirk lifted the corner of his lips. “Around the time we met? I guess I left a pretty good impression on you, even though you kicked me out.”
I covered my face with my hands. God, I didn’t want to admit to any of this. “You could say that.” I swallowed my embarrassment and looked him directly in the eye. One night in bed wasn’t the only reason I’d kept tabs on him. “You were so good to me that night, I wanted to know more about you.”
He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. “You know you could have called to ask. I left you my number for a reason, not that I expected you to throw it out.”
I shrugged.
“Maybe. Now tell me about Sawyer.”
“Sawyer is the drummer for the band and he’s gay and—”
“I know, you told me last night.”
His head turned slightly to the side. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
I shook my head. “No. Not at all. I’m guessing that didn’t go over well.”
“You really didn’t pay attention to us at all, did you?”
“Hey, give me a break. I work a shit-ton of hours most weeks. The only time I see celebrity gossip is in the magazines in the check-out line.”
A deep belly laugh rumbled out of him. “You have to be one of the few people in the area who didn’t pay attention when he was outed.”
“Maybe, but I don’t get what it has to do with the baby.”
“When the tabloids forced him out of the closet by posting a picture of him kissing a guy, he thought he’d lose it all. They tried to run with a bunch of different stories about him and who might be in the picture with him. When Reagan and Sawyer went on TV for an interview, they were able to clear up any of the gossip that was out there. After that, it was very hard for the assholes to sell their versions when Sawyer and Reagan had been so upfront about everything.”
“So you figure that telling them you knocked up a waitress will make everything okay?”
The man had to be delusional. Like comparing apples and oranges, the situations couldn’t have been any moredifferent. Sawyer was in a committed relationship with someone. That someone might be a man, but it was still a relationship. This was a one-night stand with a lifetime of consequences.
“Being honest with them always works out better. And I have no plans on telling them anything, but I won’t lie about it either. This is our child we’re talking about, not a dirty little secret.”
“I know that, but I also don’t want them to be ridiculed their entire life for being the product of a one-night stand.”
“Like I said, I’m not going to tell them. We’ll tell them if and when you want to. If they find out, we’ll tell them as much of the truth they need, which does not include it being a one-night stand. That’s between me and you.”
“I doubt I’ll ever want to tell them.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t tell you friend, unless you absolutely don’t trust her.”
Cover Me (Jaded Ivory Book 3) Page 11