I laugh incredulously, “Are you kidding me? So my plans to drug you in order to flee to the nearest courthouse are all for naught?”
His smile returns, “Would you have hated me for it?”
I bite my lip as I decide how to best answer him, “I’ve tried to hate you since that night, but I can’t. You’re like a poison in my bloodstream, and at the same time—my oxygen. I don’t know how to be Beth without David.”
He drops the clothes in his hands, “Fuck—I mean shoot. I did some research and at fifteen weeks, the baby can start to hear outside the womb. I’ve gotta clean up my language.”
My eyes fill with tears, “You know how far along I am?”
David runs his hand over his beard and I can tell he’s deciding how to answer me. “I did the math and I may or may not have called up Dr. Harper to confirm that.”
I gasp, “The important job you got?—that was it wasn’t it? Beating out the other guy because you got your bid in first?” I’m leaning over, wheezing with laughter now.
“Dam—darn it, Beth. I was so effing proud that you were carrying my baby, but I wanted you to tell me when you were ready.” He tosses a pillow at me, “Stop laughing—it’s not funny!”
I continue laughing until tears pour down my face, “I’m sorry—I can’t get over the fact that you compared getting me pregnant to getting the bid on your dream job. I thought you were awfully excited about it.”
He comes over to me and wraps his arms around my waist, and drawls, “I’m torn between wanting to strip you down and get in there real nice and deep-like or treating you like you’re made of glass and not touching you for the next twenty-five weeks.”
I feel as if the air has been sucked from the bedroom and I answer breathlessly, “The first choice. Definitely the first one.”
Then I throw caution to the wind and jump into his arms. He pulls my shirt up, placing a sound kiss on our baby, “Okay, twist my arm—but tomorrow, we’re going down to the courthouse and withdrawing those divorce papers.”
I quickly agree before reaching for the button on his jeans, “Whatever you say, Mr. Greene.”
“So you wish to withdraw the petition for divorce?” The county clerk ignores me and focuses solely on Beth.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The clerk spends the next few minutes looking up our file. “Here we go, Elizabeth Marie Greene and David Michael Greene. Looks like he never filed a response, so we’ll just need you to fill out a form to dismiss everything.”
I smile cockily, I can’t help myself—I’ve been given everything I wanted. I don’t even care.
Beth is busy signing the required documents when we hear a commotion near the front doors.
“Let me in. I have information the court must hear!”
I move until my body is shielding Beth’s from whatever the hell is taking place near us. She puts down her pen and turns in confusion. “What’s going on?”
I shake my head, “Not a clue—stay here.” I make my way to the front doors and there’s Lauren—in a stand-off with several other people.
“David!” She sounds out of breath, “Thank God! I was just about to call my boyfriend, Detective Mike Sullivan, to sort this out.” She eyes one man suspiciously.
The whole thing is so ludicrous, it makes me laugh. “What seems to be the problem here?”
The man getting the death glare from Lauren answers, “This woman barged into the courtroom and demanded to be heard. No one knew who she was or why she was there though.”
I look over at Lauren, who is studying the ceiling intently. “Laur?—what the hell?”
She pants slightly from being out of breath, “Well, you were meant to be in the court making your grand stand. That’s what I told you to do, so I assumed you listened. It would’ve been much more dramatic!”
I look at the man restraining her, “She’s here for us.”
He gives me a puzzled look, “You’re sure? She seems kind of unhinged.”
Lauren clears her throat, “I can hear you.” She looks back at me, “Where’s Elizabeth? She’s going to want to hear this.”
I thank the man and lead Lauren away from the crowd, “You could’ve gotten arrested pulling that shit. What the hell were you thinking?”
She smiles, “I thought it’d be like one of those courtroom dramas, where the key witness rushes in at the eleventh hour with information that could turn the case around.”
I roll my eyes, “You watch too much television—you know that?”
She slaps my arm good-naturedly, “Let’s get this show on the road, Dave!”
Beth is just finishing up when we arrive, “Lauren, what are you doing here?”
Lauren gestures to the chair, “You’re going to want to sit down for this.” She looks over at the clerk, “If you weren’t already sitting down, I’d suggest you do so as well.”
The clerk ignores her completely and goes about her paperwork.
Lauren leans over, still trying to catch her breath. “Laur—you okay?” Beth pats her on the back.
“Yeah,” she wheezes, “I may have run a bit farther than I’m used to. Just give me a sec—I’ve got a side cramp.”
I sit in a chair and begin restlessly tapping my fingers along the armrest, “Sometime today, Lauren.”
Her phone dings and her eyes brighten once she sees it, “Okay, our guest is walking in. We can begin.”
She leaves and comes back with a woman I don’t recognize. I look over at Beth and it’s obvious she knows her.
“Rose?” Beth asks questioningly.
The woman, Rose, nods, “Hi Elizabeth.”
Lauren interjects, “Okay, here we go—I did some digging after we hung up yesterday, David. I kept running into dead ends until I thought to go visit our new friend, Rose. Turns out, Rose had been doing some digging too. There were a lot of record inconsistencies with the chart of Jessica Davis. She’s been seen regularly in the recent months, but never by a doctor on staff. There’s only been one nurse to see her every single visit—”
I interrupt, “Carolyn?” It was the only nurse we ever saw.
Lauren nods, “Carolyn Brandon. Last week, I overheard Jess offering Carolyn money—I initially thought she was looking to have an abortion, but something didn’t make sense.”
I circle my hand, growing impatient, “Wrap it up, Lauren. What did you find out?”
Rose answers, “Jessica Davis is not pregnant, nor has she ever been.”
I drop my hand weakly and Beth makes a small sound of surprise before asking, “But the paternity test?—how?”
Rose continues, “I’ve gone back and reviewed everything. It appears that Carolyn was paid an unknown amount of money to disclose patient information and to forge the test results.”
I look up, “If that sample for the paternity test didn’t come from Jess, then who did it come from?”
Rose smiles and looks over at Beth, “The blood sample used in the paternity test came from your wife, Mr. Greene. The lab confirmed it this morning.”
I stand up suddenly, “That means that—”
Beth gets up and walks toward me, tears flowing freely down her face, “That means that we’re having a little boy!”
I pick her up in my arms and note that the clerk who wasn’t interested in us a minute ago is now leaning over her desk, completely absorbed.
I look over at Rose, “So, what’s going to happen now?”
“Well, besides there being a huge HIPAA violation—both women will be charged. Jessica will be hit with lesser charges of solicitation to tamper with medical records while Carolyn will be facing tampering charges along with falsifying medical records. Paternity fraud charges will most likely be added in as well. I think it’s safe to say that you won’t be bothered by either one of them anytime in the near future.”
Lauren is grinning like a cat who just caught a canary, “Did I come through or what?”
I grab her arm and pull her into our impromptu grou
p hug, “You did better than I could’ve imagined.”
Rose smiles, “I’ve got to go, but Lauren has all of my contact information. Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions.”
I look down at Beth, who is laughing and sobbing simultaneously. I kiss her on the lips, “We’re having a little boy, Beth.”
She wraps her arms around my neck, “I feel like I’m dreaming right now.”
I smile at her words.
I’ve felt like I was dreaming since she agreed to stay with me yesterday—even without knowing what today’s outcome would be.
I feel like the luckiest son-of-a-bitch alive. I don’t know it yet, but my luck’s about to take a turn for the worse.
December 5, 2014
(27 weeks)
“Happy birthday, baby.” David’s warm breath tickles my ear and I burrow back under the comforter.
I sleepily reply, “I’m not ready to be thirty-one though.”
He strokes my much rounder belly, “That’s too bad, because I booked a spa day for the birthday girl. If you see her, let me know.”
I pull the covers back, “You did? When?”
David turns and looks back at the clock on his nightstand, “Your appointment is in an hour, so you might want to get moving.”
I roll over to face him, “You’re the best ever—you know that right?”
He kisses my nose, “Anything for my girl. Do you want some hot tea?”
I smile and little man begins kicking in my belly. I grab David’s hand and place it back on my belly. “Your son is telling you good morning.”
Like he’s done ever since that first kick, David gets this mesmerized look on his face and begins talking to his son, “Hey little man. You working on your mornin’ swim?”
And like I’ve done ever since that first kick, I tear up. I never thought we’d be here—in this place. I never imagined that we would be able to claw our way back to each other, but here we are.
I got to witness my tough guy of a husband cry at his first ultrasound appointment. It was funny, something that I’d become accustomed to, was a brand new world for him. He held my hands in a death grip and kept whispering, “We made that. That’s our little man.”
David interrupts my thoughts, “What about Lucas?”
I wrinkle my nose, “I don’t know…I’m not feeling it.”
It’s the one thing we cannot agree on—baby names. I want to wait until March, when he’s born, and see what he looks like. David wants it decided now so that he can finish up the nursery. Apparently, he’s building a wooden sign with the baby’s name—I’ve been forbidden from entering the workshop because he wants it to be a surprise.
“David, what if you just use our last name over his crib?” I know this is an exercise in futility here. He’ll just keep trying to wear me down.
He scoffs, “I can’t have a kid with no name, Beth. What about Michael?”
“Your middle name? I don’t know…it’s not great.”
The only thing we’ve agreed on is the middle name—John, after his dad. It felt right, and with such an important middle name, I want to have the perfect first name to go with it. I guess if this is what we’re fighting about now—we’ve come a long way.
David sighs and then smiles at me mischievously before sliding his hand between my legs, “What if we agree to disagree for the moment?”
I’m instantly wet—seriously a good strong breeze in his presence just about does it for me these days. I kind of thought the hormones would taper off, but if anything, they’ve increased.
David had a long talk with Dr. Harper at our last check-up about it. That wasn’t embarrassing or anything—nope, not one bit. He wanted to make sure that it was safe for the baby, first and foremost. Secondly, he wanted to know if it was normal for a pregnant woman to want sex every day—sometimes more than once. I mean that only happened on one occasion—two occasions, tops.
Dr. Harper mercifully was on my side and said as long as I felt okay and had no complications that we were okay to have sex up until the baby was born. She then told David that some of her patients end up on bedrest and are unable to have sex for a good chunk of their pregnancy. He didn’t ask questions after that.
His hand slips beneath the waistband of my sweatpants, “You’re awfully quiet over there. Was that a yes?”
I moan as his fingers stroke me, “Yes…always yes.”
I pull into the driveway late that same afternoon. The sky is already darkening and it makes me miss the late evenings of summer. I pull my relaxed body from the warmth of my car. When David said “spa day,” I envisioned a facial and maybe a massage, if I was lucky. No, he booked me an entire package of services. I got there and they started with an aromatherapy bath before a prenatal massage. I was served lunch on fine china before I was whisked away for a facial and then my day ended with a manicure and pedicure. Considering I haven’t been able to reach my feet in the past few weeks, that may have been my favorite part.
I set my purse down on the kitchen counter and am in the process of debating whether or not to take a nap when the doorbell rings. I look through the peephole and see that it’s Landon.
My blood runs cold. I haven’t seen him in person in months—he’s been a favorite for the local news stations as he tirelessly searches for Katya. I feel awful that the poor woman has been missing for four months now, and police still have no leads. Landon won’t give up though—he even put her picture up on billboards.
My heart breaks for him, but I’m still wary of opening the door. I hear my garage door open and panic sets in before I realize it’s David. I’m going to have to deal with this before he gets involved.
I take a deep breath and open the door.
“Hi Landon.”
He stares at my face, I’m still fresh-faced from the spa, and he frowns. “Elizabeth? Are you sick?”
I smile, “No—just spent the day at the spa,” I hear David walk in, and I know I need to wrap this up. “What can I do for you?”
Landon looks over my shoulder as David comes up behind me. He wraps his arms possessively around my waist, resting his hands on my belly. Landon’s gaze travels downward and he actually stumbles back a step, “No…” his words are whispered, but I can read the look of anguish on his face.
David steps around me, shielding me with his body, “I believe my wife asked you a question. What are you doing here?”
He refuses to look at David, instead focusing on me, “You’re pregnant? You lied to me!”
David takes a step toward him, “Do not speak to my wife like that!”
Landon laughs caustically, “Your wife? Oh, it’s all ‘my wife’ now. Where were you when I was fucking her though? I’m pretty sure you couldn’t have given two shits she was your wife then. No, you were too busy fu—”
David lands a solid punch into Landon’s face and he stumbles into the bricks. I scream out in fright, backing further into the doorway.
David stands over him and growls, “Don’t fucking curse in front of my son!”
Landon stands back up, wiping blood from his mouth, his eyes never leaving mine. “I guess I’ve been laboring under a false pretense here—thought you two were divorcing, that’s obviously not the case. I just stopped by to say Happy Birthday, Elizabeth. Sorry to ruin your night.” He turns and goes back to his Tahoe.
David looks at me, confusion etched over both of our faces. “Did he just leave…just like that? He didn’t even try to swing back…”
I nod, while swallowing a lump in my throat. David closes the front door and locks it behind us. Tears prick my eyes and he wraps me up in a hug. “Come here, Birthday Girl. Let’s not let an asshat like Landon Scott ruin our night. He knows I’m back permanently now—that should put an end to these surprise visits.”
I nod against his chest, wanting to agree with him—more than anything. The problem is that I knew Landon better than he did and his eyes said that he wasn’t finished.
December 14, 2
014
(28 weeks)
I place another log on the fireplace. “Thanks, David. I can’t get warm.”
I smirk over to where she’s bundled up in three blankets on the couch. “And you’re sure you want a bowl of ice cream right now, babe?”
She smiles and pats her stomach, “Well, someone’s craving it. I’d rather have a salad, but this kid is demanding sweets!”
I chuckle and head for the freezer as she calls after me, “Do you really think we’re going to get a blizzard over the next few days?”
I grab the ice cream and begin dishing it out, “Hard to say, babe. You know how hard it is to predict the weather around here. With all this hype, I wouldn’t be surprised if it missed us completely.”
She sighs, “It’d be nice to have a white Christmas for once.”
I place the bowl of rocky road ice cream in her lap before joining her on the couch. “Beth, even if we got thirty-six inches of snow, I doubt there’d be any left on the ground by Christmas—”
—“And we’re back with our top story of the night, Blizzard Watch 2014. Ryan, what can you tell us?”
“Thanks, Lynn. Folks, this storm is no joke. Our early models show this storm strengthening as it moves into the area later tonight. As you can see, our viewing area is clear now, but we expect visibility to begin decreasing in the early morning hours. Travel is highly discouraged and remember if you have pets, tonight is not a night to leave them outside. We’re expecting five to ten inches on the ground by mid-morning tomorrow, but snow will increase again around lunch-time. High winds will create white-out conditions and then we’re expected to get an additional ten to twenty inches. Lynn, back to you.”
Beth gestures to me with a spoon full of ice cream, “I told you…storm of the century.”
Forsaking All Others (From This Day Forward Book 2) Page 16