0373659504 (R)

by Brenda Harlen

  “That must have been awkward,” Avery said.

  Ellen managed a smile. “Incredibly awkward and uncomfortable,” she agreed. “And although Nora didn’t stay long—and stayed out of touch for a long time afterward—it shook the whole family. But I think it affected Justin even more than either of his brothers.

  “Because despite his faults and flaws—and I know he has them,” his mother assured her, “he also has a very strong moral compass. And it took him a long time to forgive his father for breaking his vows and hurting me.”

  Ellen lifted her water glass to her lips and sipped. “My purpose in telling you this is to help you understand that Justin wouldn’t have asked you to marry him if he wasn’t prepared to commit himself to you, heart and soul. He would never make a promise he didn’t believe he could keep.”

  “Maybe finding out about his half sister has something to do with his desire to marry me,” Avery suggested. “To ensure that he doesn’t miss out on his child’s life the way John missed out on Nora’s.”

  “If that was all he was concerned about, he would have hired himself a lawyer,” Ellen said matter-of-factly. “Any decent attorney could protect his parental rights. If Justin asked you to marry him, it’s because he wants to marry you.

  “And, of course, you already know that I’d love for there to be a wedding before the baby is born, but for more reasons than the child you’re carrying.”

  “What other reasons are there?”

  Ellen smiled again. “That’s something you need to figure out for yourself,” she said gently. “But regardless of what happens between you and Justin, I want you to know that John and I are thrilled about becoming grandparents again, and we hope you’ll let us help out in any way that we can. Whether that’s watching the baby for a few hours so you can sleep after a long shift at the hospital or helping out with a few meals or just throwing in a couple of loads of laundry—whatever you need.”

  Her words were sincere and heartfelt, and Avery’s eyes filled with tears.

  Ellen rummaged in her pocketbook for a packet of tissues, which she passed across the table. “Justin’s not going to be happy if he finds out that I made you cry.”

  Avery dabbed at her eyes. “It’s not your fault—I think pregnancy hormones are running amok through my system, and you and John have both been so accepting and supportive. I guess I’m just feeling lucky and grateful and a little overwhelmed.”

  “Why would we be anything but accepting and supportive?” Ellen asked her.

  Avery could only shake her head. “I haven’t begun to figure out my feelings for Justin,” she confided. “But I can tell you that I’ve fallen in love with his family.”

  Now it was Ellen’s turn to tear up. “That’s a Garrett baby you’re carrying,” she said, “which means that we’re your family now, too.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m thinking of getting a name tag that says, Don’t Hate Me—I’m His Sister,” Nora said, wrapping her hands around her mug of coffee.

  Justin finished the text message to a colleague and set aside his phone to give her his full attention, because clearly he’d missed something. “What are you talking about?”

  She shook her head. “Do you really not see it?”

  “See what?”

  “The looks I get every time we come in here together.”

  He glanced around the atrium but didn’t notice anything or anyone out of the ordinary. “What kind of looks?”

  “Let’s just say, if looks could kill, I would have been on my way to the morgue on my first day.”

  Nora had been working in the PT department for six weeks now and he tried—if their schedules allowed—to meet her for coffee at least every couple of weeks. The first time he’d invited her because he felt a strange sort of obligation, but the more time he spent with her, the more he found that he actually enjoyed his sister’s company. “You have quite a flair for drama, don’t you?”

  “And you have blinders on,” she countered. “The women here all want to be with you. Of course, if the rumors are to be believed, more than half of them already have been.”

  “The rumors are not to be believed,” he told her firmly. “And you shouldn’t pay attention to hospital gossip.”

  “So is there anything to the rumors about you and Dr. Wallace—or ‘Wall-ice’ as she’s otherwise known?”

  He winced at the unflattering nickname. “Don’t call her that.”

  “I’m not the one who does,” Nora told him.

  Justin took a bite of his chocolate-glazed doughnut.

  “And you sidestepped.”

  He chewed, swallowed. “What?”

  “You sidestepped the rumors about you and Dr. Wallace,” she explained. “If they were unfounded, you would have said so. The fact that you said nothing suggests otherwise.”

  “Did you ever think about becoming a lawyer instead of a physiotherapist?”

  She shook her head. “My brother Connor is a lawyer—one in a family is enough. And you’re sidestepping again.”

  “The rumors are unfounded,” he told her. “I’m not having a torrid affair with Dr. Wallace. We are, however, going to have a baby together.”

  She gaped at him. “Seriously?”

  He nodded.

  “Why would you tell me that?” she demanded. “Don’t you realize how quickly I could elevate my standing in the hospital community by sharing such a juicy tidbit of information?”

  “I do,” he confirmed. “But I know you won’t.”

  She frowned. “You’re right—but how do you know I won’t?”

  “Because you’re my sister,” he said simply. “And regardless of whatever differences we may have, family looks out for family.”

  “Not all families,” she told him.

  “Maybe not. But ours does.”

  “Ours, huh?” She smiled, just a little, as if pleased to be included but still uncertain.

  “When you barged into our Father’s Day family barbecue last year, you made a statement. Like it or not, you’re one of us now.”

  “You guys take some getting used to,” she said. “But I think I like being one of you.”

  “In that case, I’ll tell you another secret. I’m not just the father of Avery’s baby—I’m hoping to marry her.”

  Nora didn’t seem nearly as surprised or impressed by that revelation. “Because she’s pregnant?” she challenged. “Because Dr. Wallace doesn’t strike me as the type of woman who would worry about having a baby without a ring on her finger.”

  “The baby’s only part of the reason,” he said. “The biggest reason is that I love her.”

  “The halls will be littered with broken hearts when that gets out,” she warned him.

  “Then it’s a good thing I don’t have to worry about it getting out, isn’t it?”

  * * *

  After her lunch with Ellen, Avery was on her way home when she saw her brother’s truck parked outside of the office of Renovations by Ryder. She pulled into the parking lot beside his vehicle and made her way into the building.

  “Do you actually still work here?” she asked from the doorway of his office.

  Ryder looked up from his computer and offered a quick smile. “Less and less all the time,” he admitted.

  She ventured into the room and gestured to a pile of envelopes on his desk. “What’s all of that?”

  “The network has decided to shift the show’s focus next season. They’re offering home renovations to three lucky viewers who write in to explain why they need Ryder to the Rescue.”

  “I heard something about that,” she admitted. “How many entries have you got?”

  “Over three hundred legitimate ones, so far.”

  She lifted a brow. “Are you getting illegitimate offers?”

  He pulled an envelope from a smaller pile and passed it to her. “Check it out.”

  Curious, she opened the flap and pulled out a neatly clipped document. The front page was an
official contest entry form, with the applicant requesting a makeover of the master bath. The next three pages were photos of the current bathroom—with the homeowner in each one. Naked. Lounging in the soaker tub; standing in the shower; sprawled on the granite counter.

  “That’s a gorgeous bathroom,” she remarked. “I particularly love the glass-tiled shower enclosure with the body jets.”

  He nodded. “Absolutely no renovation required.”

  “So you just tossed the contest entry aside? Because I’m pretty sure that’s a phone number beneath the lipstick kiss on the page.”

  “Not interested,” he said bluntly.

  “It must be tough being you,” she teased. “A decently good-looking and moderately famous guy with women throwing themselves at you at every turn.”

  “It’s tougher than you think,” he acknowledged.

  His obvious discomfort made her think about Justin and the way women were always throwing themselves at him. Because he handled the situation with such apparent ease, she hadn’t considered that he might not want all the attention. Or maybe she was only considering the possibility now because she wanted to believe he was the man she needed him to be.

  “Have you narrowed down your choices?” she asked Ryder.

  “Not really. I’ve discarded some of the obviously unsuitable ones, but more and more are coming in each day. Thankfully, the contest closing date is Friday.”

  “I bet you put them all in a bag and draw out three at random.”

  He grinned. “You know me so well.” Then his smile faded. “Except that the producers really want to push the local angle, so at least one of the chosen properties has to be in or near Charisma.”

  “So one bag for the local entries and another bag for the rest,” she suggested.

  “There’s an idea.” He turned away from his computer now to give her his full attention. “Tell me what’s going on with you.”

  “Nothing too interesting. I saw the folks when I was in Atlanta.”

  “Did you tell them about the baby?”

  She nodded. “Mom warned me that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Dad was equally surprised—but surprisingly supportive. He actually sounded as if he was looking forward to becoming a grandfather.”

  “How are you feeling?” Ryder asked her.

  “Actually, I feel great.”

  “How are things with the dad?”

  She thought about the weekend she’d spent with Justin in Atlanta. She couldn’t deny that her feelings for him were growing, but she was still afraid to risk her heart—and even more afraid to risk their baby’s future. “Fine.”

  “You want to expand on that at all?”

  “Nope.”

  “You might want to give him a break,” her brother suggested. “He’s not really a bad guy.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “How do you know he’s not a bad guy?”

  “I went to see him last week.”

  She shook her head. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you who the father was, because I knew...” Her words trailed off and her gaze narrowed. “Wait a minute—I didn’t tell you who the father was.”

  “No, you didn’t,” he confirmed.

  “So how did you find out?” she demanded.

  “Amy.”

  She frowned at that. “Where and when did you see Amy? And how did you get her to give up his name?”

  “I ran into her in the paint department at the hardware store. She wanted to do the trim in her bedroom but she didn’t know what kind of brush to use with the paint she’d picked, so I helped her out and we chatted for a bit.” He shrugged. “In between our discussion about natural versus polyester bristles, I casually mentioned that you had some concerns about your baby’s father sticking around and she immediately assured me that ‘Justin’ would never walk away from his child. In fact, ‘the whole Garrett family’ would support you and the baby.”

  “You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?”

  “I am clever,” he reminded her. “And Amy left the hardware store with everything she needed.”

  “And you left there and decided to track down Justin.” She shook her head again. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me.”

  “It wasn’t a big deal—we just had a couple of beers and pizza.”

  “You had beer and pizza with Justin?”

  “And as we talked, I realized that Amy was right,” Ryder told her. “There’s no way that man is going to bail on you or your kid.”

  “Oh, well, what am I worried about, then?” she asked, her voice fairly dripping with sarcasm.

  He slid an arm across her shoulders. “I know it’s not easy for you to trust—especially after Wyatt and especially with this guy being a doctor, too. I’m just suggesting that you give him a chance—I think you’ll be surprised.”

  “I don’t want to be surprised,” she insisted stubbornly. “I want him to be the irresponsible and unreliable Casanova I expected him to be.”

  Ryder kissed the top of her head. “I love you, sis, but you’ve got some serious issues to work out.”

  * * *

  If Avery could face her father and tell him about the baby after what she’d been through with her mother, Justin knew that he had to talk to his brother. He made arrangements to meet him at the Bar Down, their favorite hangout, when they were both finished work.

  “I haven’t been here in a long time,” Braden noted, sliding into the booth.

  “You haven’t been anywhere in a long time,” Justin pointed out.

  “Dana and I have been sticking pretty close to home,” his brother admitted. “But it sounded like there was something important you wanted to talk about.”

  “There is.” He nodded his thanks for the two glasses of beer that Chelsea set on their table.

  Braden waited until the bartender was out of earshot before he guessed, “Avery’s pregnant.”

  Justin frowned. “Where did that come from? You don’t even know Avery.”

  “True,” his brother admitted. “But I know that you took her home to meet Mom and Dad, and you haven’t taken a woman home to meet Mom and Dad since...Darcy?” He waited for Justin’s nod at the mention of his college girlfriend before continuing. “I figured you were either planning to marry her or she was pregnant.”

  Justin sipped his beer. “Or maybe I just wanted her to meet my family.”

  “So she’s not pregnant?”

  He sighed. “No, she is pregnant. But I was hoping to ease into sharing that news with you.”

  “No need,” Braden said, lifting his glass to his lips.

  “And I do want to marry her,” Justin added.

  “Wow. She must be something special.”

  “She’s unlike any other woman I’ve ever known.”

  “Considering how many women you’ve known, that says a lot.”

  Justin growled his frustration. “I really haven’t been with as many women as everyone seems to believe.”

  “No need to take offense. The rest of us mere mortals are simply awed and amazed by your legendary reputation.”

  “Avery isn’t,” he said, picking up his glass again.

  “And yet she slept with you, anyway,” Braden noted drily.

  “It only took three years.”

  His brother chuckled. “She’s really got you hooked, doesn’t she?”

  The choice of words reminded Justin of the feeling he’d had when Avery first told him about her pregnancy—of a hook lodging painfully in his gut. Maybe the hook was still there, but his feelings about the baby and for Avery were different now.

  “I haven’t thought of another woman—wanted another woman—since the first night we spent together,” he confessed.

  “So when’s the wedding?”

  “I’m still working on that.”

  “You asked her to marry you and she turned you down?” Braden’s tone was incredulous.

  He nodded.

  His brother picked up his beer coaster, h
eld it several inches above the table, then let it drop.

  “What are you doing?” Justin asked him.

  “Testing gravity, because apparently the laws of nature have been turned upside down.”

  “Ha-ha,” he said. “And by the way, gravity isn’t a law of nature but a principle of physics.”

  Braden waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever. I’m more interested in why she turned you down.”

  “She thinks I’m only trying to do the right thing, and she keeps insisting that it isn’t necessary. She’s promised that we can work out the details of a coparenting arrangement, if that’s really what I want, but she has no desire for a legal union that’s doomed to fail.”

  His brother winced. “She actually said that?”

  He nodded.

  “Ouch.”

  Justin nodded again.

  “She’ll come around,” Braden assured him.

  “I know,” he said, attempting to project a confidence he didn’t actually feel. “I just hope it doesn’t take her another three years.”

  “My money’s on you.”

  “So what’s new in your life?” Justin asked.

  “I’m trying to talk Dana into taking a vacation.”

  “Anywhere in particular?”

  His brother stared into the bottom of his glass. “Wherever she wants to go,” he said. “For the past few years, it seems that we haven’t had a conversation about anything but babies. I just want to get away somewhere so that we can focus on us. I want my wife back.”

  “Have you told her that?”

  Braden nodded. “She insists she hasn’t changed, and I can tell she really believes that, which makes me wonder if the woman I fell in love with even exists anymore.”

  Justin found himself thinking about his conversation with his brother for a long time after Braden had gone. He knew marriage wasn’t easy, but being surrounded by so many happy newlyweds at family events had allowed him to temporarily lose sight of the difficult realities.

  His parents were a case in point. He’d always believed their marriage was solid. He never would have suspected that his father had cheated on his mother, because his father wasn’t that kind of man. The ten-month affair he’d carried on with Fiona Reardon—regardless of the circumstances—wasn’t just a betrayal of the vows he’d exchanged with his wife but their whole family.