Jack (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 1)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  I walked back into the house to see Harper staring at the television.

  “Sorry about that. There was a line.”

  I went to the kitchen and got some more water for her and handed her a pill. She drank it and snuggled into the couch. I made myself comfortable in a chair and just stared at her.

  “You don’t have to stay. Sitting here looking at me is kind of creepy and won’t make me feel better.”

  “I’ll stay until Drew gets home. I don’t want to leave you alone.”

  “Do whatever you want.”

  She slept on the couch for a while and when she woke up an hour and a half later, she asked me to make her some soup. I was so relieved that she was feeling better that I practically ran into the kitchen to get her soup and crackers. She didn’t eat much, but I was pretty sure she was testing her stomach. She slept on the couch the rest of the day, waking periodically and drinking some water. I had the television on low and tried to discreetly do some research on cancer. It was difficult because there were so many factors to consider and I really couldn’t research properly until I knew what kind she had. Drew came home and told me he would take over. I nodded towards the door and Drew followed me out.

  “So, what did the doctor say?”

  “It’s cancer.” Drew’s face grew dim and he tried to school his features, but I saw the sadness there.

  “I thought it might be something like that. She’s just been so sick this week and…I’ll get her to talk to me about it and we’ll go from there. I’ll let you know as soon as I know something. I don’t want to push her until she’s ready to talk about it though.”

  I hated to leave, but Harper and I weren’t together and trying to force my way back into her life wouldn’t help any. I would offer my support and do everything possible to be there for her when she finally decided to tell me. She just better not wait too long.

  Two days had passed and I still hadn’t heard anything. I texted Drew and she still hadn’t said anything to him, but she did have another appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I pulled the time out of Drew and made the appropriate arrangements at work. The next day, I arrived at the clinic a half hour ahead of time. I wanted to catch her before she went in so I could lend my support.

  When Drew and Harper pulled up at the clinic, Harper looked shocked to see me there. She glanced at Drew and he gave her a sheepish look. She climbed out of the truck and threw her hands on her hips.

  “Jack, what are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted to be here for you.”

  “I already told you that it’s just a stomach bug. This appointment is just to make sure that I didn’t catch anything else.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll go with you.”

  She ignored me and walked into the clinic and checked in. She sat down in the waiting area and I followed her over there, sitting right next to her and grabbing her hand to hold. I had to touch her. I needed to feel her hand in mine and know that she would be okay. More than anything, I needed her to know that I was here for her. Screw it. I couldn’t pretend like I didn’t know. I wanted to go back to the room with her so that I could support her.

  “I want to go back with you.”

  “Uh, Jack, this is a private appointment. I don’t want you there.”

  The nurse called her name and she started walking over. I needed to get back there with her.

  “I know you have cancer,” I shouted across the waiting room at her. She turned beet red and I felt like a shit for embarrassing her, but the time for going slow had passed.

  “Jack, I don’t have cancer.”

  I walked over to her and lowered my voice slightly.

  “Sweetheart, I know that you don’t want to burden me with this, but I want to be here to support you. The pharmacist said that the medication was used with people undergoing chemo.”

  “Did he also tell you that it’s used for morning sickness?” I looked at her in confusion.

  “I’m pregnant. That’s why I’ve been so sick. I have Hyperemesis Gravidarum. That’s why I needed the nausea medication.”

  I stood there stunned and when I didn’t say anything for a minute, she turned and followed the nurse. I stumbled on shaky legs over to my chair and flopped down absolutely stunned. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. We hadn’t slept together since New Year’s Eve. She had slept with someone else.

  Drew looked equally as shocked and I really hoped that it wasn’t him that had knocked her up. As I looked at him further, I noted a hint of relief on his face. Of course, we both thought that she had cancer, so this was a good thing in comparison, but she had moved on. I had been pining over her for six months and had stupidly thought I could win her back. I turned to Drew.

  “Did you sleep with her?”

  He held up both hands. “I swear, we’ve never even kissed. As far as I know, she hasn’t been with anyone. But…she was in England for three weeks.”

  He looked almost sad to be saying that. I had a feeling that he actually wanted the two of us back together, but I was too late. What chance did I have at getting her back now? She didn’t want me with her, so I left the building in a daze and drove to the nearest bar and ordered a drink.

  How could I have been so stupid? I actually thought that she hadn’t been with anyone else since we broke up. I thought she was just as depressed over our breakup as I was. Here I was, ready to give her everything just to be together again and she had gone and gotten pregnant.

  I ordered a few more drinks and after awhile, it all seemed pretty funny. Pretty soon, I was telling funny stories from my time with her to anyone who would listen. I had the whole bar laughing hysterically about the turkey incident. Of course, they were all drunk, so anything was funny to this crowd.

  I was in the middle of the football story from Thanksgiving when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

  “Hey, man.” I turned around to see Logan sitting at the next bar stool.

  “Hey! It’s Logan. How are ya? I was just telling the guys about how I hit Harper in the face with the football.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good story.”

  “I know, right?” I turned back to finish the story.

  “Drew called,” Logan said. “He told me Harper’s pregnant and that you haven’t been with her since you broke up.” I turned back to him and then ordered another drink.

  “Yeah, that was quite the shock. I followed her to her appointment because I thought she was sick and I wanted to be there for her. She didn’t want me in the room with her, so I stood up and shouted across the room, ‘I know you have cancer’. The whole waiting room got really quiet and she turned bright red.” I huffed out a laugh. “Guess I don’t always have the best way of going about stuff. That’s when she told me that she didn’t have cancer. She said she was pregnant, and I just stood there like an idiot. Then she went to her appointment and I came here.”

  “That sucks.” We drank in silence for a few minutes. “Do you still want to be there for her?”

  “You know I love Harper, but I’m sure she’s going to go be with the sperm donor. They’ll meet up again and she’ll tell him she’s having his kid. He’ll take care of her. Who wouldn’t want Harper? She’s the best.”

  “So, if she’s the best, why are you walking away before you even talk to her? You don’t even know when it happened. Wasn’t she over in England for a few weeks? It could have happened over there. She didn’t sleep with any of the guys we set her up with. We made sure of that.”

  “Even worse if it’s a Brit. They have those accents that the chicks love. What do you mean ‘we made sure of that’?”

  Logan started laughing. “We all got together and made a plan to get you two back together.”

  “Well, you did a bang up job. See how happy we are together right now?” I said mockingly.

  “You guys were on your way back to each other. It was working. This is just a minor hiccup.”

  “A minor hiccup? She’s pregnant with another guy’s baby. How is tha
t minor?”

  “Look, the way I see it, you have two options. You can sit here and drink and wallow in this new information, and live the rest of your life miserable and alone. Or, you can go home and sober up. Go visit Harper tomorrow and talk this shit out. You already told her you wanted a kid with her. Does it really matter if it’s not your kid, as long as you have Harper?”

  I thought about it for awhile as I drank the rest of my drink. It didn’t really matter. I wanted Harper and that was all that mattered. The kid thing was new to me. I hadn’t planned on having kids, so it was a foreign idea to me anyway. I just had to be man enough to crawl back to Harper and beg her to take me back. I couldn’t lose her now. We had been so close to getting back together. Hopefully, she still wanted that.

  “Logan, I need you to take me home and in the morning, come get me to get my truck.”

  “It’s already taken care of. Do you really think I came alone? The guys are in the parking lot, waiting to drag your ass out of here, in case you decided to come to the wrong conclusion. We’ll drive your truck home and we’re even gonna make sure you wake up thinking the same way. Cuz if not, we’re gonna beat your ass.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Harper

  I was devastated when I found out I was pregnant. Jack and I were headed towards a reconciliation, but Jack wouldn’t want to be with me if I was having a kid with someone else. He didn’t even want one with me. It took us being apart for a long time for him to realize that he was willing to have a kid. But this? This was too much. I had slept with someone else and I didn’t know if we could come back from that, even if we were broken up.

  I wasn’t ready to tell Drew that I was pregnant and he kept looking at me funny. I told him that it was a really nasty stomach bug and my appointment was just a check-up to make sure the medicine was helping me. I spent the next two days working on my book to keep my mind off the baby. I had a doctor appointment the next day where I would meet with a nurse and go over my family history and get all the information I would need for my diet during the pregnancy. Drew said he would take me and I was grateful because even though I was taking the pills, I still didn’t feel well most of the time.

  I was surprised to see Jack at my appointment and Drew’s face said it all. He had told Jack. I tried to get him to leave, but he was being stubborn. I walked into the clinic and checked in, then went to sit in the waiting area. Jack sat next to me and I really wanted to ask why he was there. When Jack tried to follow me back to the room, I knew I had to put a stop to this. When I told him it was a private appointment and I didn’t want him back there, he shouted across the room.

  “I know you have cancer.”

  Shit. That’s why Drew was looking at me all sad. He and Jack came to the conclusion for some odd reason that I had cancer. Now I was going to have to tell Jack and he would hate me.

  “Jack, I don’t have cancer.”

  “Sweetheart, I know that you don’t want to burden me with this, but I want to be here to support you. The pharmacist said that this medication was used with people undergoing chemo.”

  “Did he also tell you that it’s used for morning sickness?” He stared at me in confusion and I could tell I was going to have to connect the dots for him. I hated to do this to him. He would be devastated.

  “I’m pregnant. That’s why I’ve been so sick. I have Hyperemesis Gravidarum. That’s why I needed the nausea medication.”

  When he just stared at me, I turned and walked away. I didn’t need his anger right now. How he chose to handle this was on him, even though it pained me to think it. I was going to be a mother and that meant putting my child first. I followed the nurse back to the office and filled her in on my family history and all the pertinent details of my medical history. The nurse went over all the pregnancy pamphlets with me and scheduled my next appointment. When the appointment was over, I walked out to the waiting room to see Drew sitting by himself. Jack had left. Disappointment flooded me. I knew it was too much to hope for that Jack would stick around, but I had been expecting this reaction, so I shrugged it off and moved on. Drew and I walked out together and he was quiet the whole way home. I knew I needed to talk to him, but two brooding men in one day was just too much.

  When we got home, Drew asked to speak with me and led me over to the couch.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”

  “I didn’t want to tell anyone yet. As soon as I say it out loud, it’s real. I just wanted a little time to process.”

  “What are you going to do about Jack?”

  I blew out a breath and leaned back into the couch. “I’m pretty sure Jack isn’t going to stick around. I had sex with someone else. This isn’t his child. Why would he still want me?”

  “Well, whatever happens, you have me.”

  “Drew, that’s really sweet, but I am going to be a single mother and the sooner I get used to that the better.”

  A grin appeared on his face. “Does that mean you’re kicking me out?”

  “No. I just don’t want you to feel like you’re responsible for this child because you live here.”

  “What about the father? Where’s he?”

  “Well, that was a one night stand when I was in England. I don’t even remember his name. I don’t have the first clue how to find him. Besides, after I slept with him I started crying and he bolted for the door, so I’m pretty sure he would be perfectly happy to never hear from me again.”

  He pulled me against him, wrapping his arm around my stomach to slightly hold her belly. “You’re gonna be a momma. I can’t wait to meet this little guy.”

  “Why would you think it’s gonna be a boy?”

  “More like hoping. I think it would be cool to teach a little boy how to throw a ball and ride a bike. Let’s just say it’s wishful thinking.”

  We went to bed together like we always did and Drew held me as I slept. I laid awake for a long time thinking about what life was going to be like from now on. I felt comforted being held by Drew and for the first time since I found out, I was happy.

  The next morning, I woke up to a queasy tummy. I got out of bed, and as usual, ran to the bathroom to be sick. When I had purged all I could from my stomach, I walked downstairs in my bathrobe and sat at the breakfast nook. Drew had my pill and some water waiting for me. I had to let the nausea lessen some or I would end up throwing up my pill. I laid my head on the table and waited. After a few crackers, my stomach felt slightly better and I took my pill. It took about a half hour to kick in. Drew made me some toast and I slowly ate it, even though it tasted like cardboard to me. I took a cup of peppermint tea to the couch and sat down. I hated it, but it helped my tummy settled, so I drank it.

  I was watching some television when a knock sounded at the door. I got up and answered the door and was completely shocked. Jack stood on my front stoop looking sexy as hell. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, but that was how I preferred him. I looked down at myself and was embarrassed to see that I looked like I hadn’t showered in a week. My hair was pulled up in a messy knot on the top of my head and my ratty bathrobe had crumbs from my toast of it. I knew I still looked deathly pale. It had become my new complexion these last couple of weeks. This was definitely not the way I wanted Jack seeing me.

  “Hey. Can we talk for a minute?”

  I stepped aside and let Jack inside. He came in and waited for me to sit down before taking a seat next to me on the couch. “How are you feeling today?”

  “Still pretty shitty, but the medicine helps.”

  “I know that you must be wondering what I’m doing here. I didn’t react very well to your news yesterday.”

  “Well, I suppose I should have told you earlier when we were in private. I just didn’t want you to know that I had…you know.”

  “Slept with someone else? I think I would have figured it out when you were walking around with a big belly. At the very least, when you were carrying a baby.”

  “I could h
ave told you I ate too many Oreos and that I had adopted.”

  He smiled at that and I felt some of the tension leave the room.

  “So who’s the guy?”

  “Jack, I really don’t want to do this with you. What’s done is done.”

  He held up his hand to stop me from saying more. “I’m asking because I want to know if he’s going to try to get parental rights. I don’t want someone coming in trying to take our baby from us.”

  “No, I don’t know…wait, what did you say? Did you say take the baby from us?”

  “Yeah, pretty girl. I did. I know I was shocked yesterday and I’m not gonna lie, it hurt to hear, but I pulled my head out of my ass after the guys threatened to kick my ass.”

  “Aren’t you wondering about the father? I mean, I slept with someone else. It was only once, but still.”

  “I don’t need or want to hear about that. It’s in the past and that’s where it needs to stay. We were broken up and you were trying to move on. I can’t fault you for that.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this? This isn’t something you can just back out of. Once the baby’s here, I need you to be ready for this. I don’t want you to do this out of some sense of obligation to me.”

  “Honey, I don’t feel any kind of obligation other than what a husband is supposed to do for his wife, and we will be married. As soon as possible. We’re going to love this baby and if we don’t kill this one, maybe we can make another one.”

  My eyes grew wide. I hadn’t even had this one and he was already talking about me having another. “How about we just start with one and go from there?”

  “Sounds good to me as long as we get to practice in the meantime.”

  Jack leaned forward and kissed me. He was about to deepen the kiss when I pushed him away and ran to the bathroom. And that was what the next few months were like for us. I was finally over the morning sickness by my fifth month. We had decided to find out the sex of the baby and to my surprise, Drew was right. It was a boy.