Wrecked (Stories of Serendipity #8): #8

by Anne Conley

  “Hey, you.” Jason’s guttural voice washed over her as he entered the kitchen, and Renae froze. She’d been busted drinking fully caffeinated coffee with a plateful of cookies. What would he say? “You look delicious in my shirt.” His warm lips nuzzled at her neck as he bent down to cuddle her from behind.

  Well, that wasn’t so bad.

  He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to her, his hip leaning on the counter. “You in here solving the world’s problems all by yourself?”

  “We need to talk.”

  He sipped his coffee, eyebrows raised, watching her. His body had stiffened as if he were bracing himself.

  “Look, we need to slow down. I’m not comfortable with us like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Living together, sleeping together.”

  “I’m still prepared to marry you.”

  “I’m not marrying you without love. And we’re going about this entire relationship, if that’s what you want, the wrong damn way. You don’t live with each other and sleep together before you even know what your favorite colors are.” Renae said the words, but didn’t quite feel them. She was pretty sure the intense feelings she’d been having towards Jason were the stirrings of love. That realization rolled through her as she watched Jason’s face.

  “Green.”

  “What?” Still stuck on her previous thought, she wondered if she really did love Jason.

  “My favorite color’s green.”

  Okay, she might love him, but did she trust him? All these thoughts ran through her mind, repeating themselves while her mouth was working independently of her brain. “Well, good for you, but that doesn’t mean we actually know each other.”

  Jason sat in the chair next to hers and took her hand. The earnest look on his face broke a brick in Renae’s defenses. “Look, I was trying before. When I didn’t know you were pregnant. I was trying to do things the right way, aside from knocking you up the first time I looked at you.”

  “Second.”

  ‘What?”

  “You knocked me up the second time we looked at each other. Remember the wreck?”

  A rueful smile graced his lips. “How could I forget it? Okay, the second time. But I was trying to do things the right way when you told me you were pregnant. After I got over being angry at you for hiding it from me, I wasn’t going to miss another moment.”

  “You don’t have to miss anything, but you have to move out. I’m not comfortable with this.” She wasn’t comfortable with this entire conversation. Yeah, she had trust issues, and for some reason they were compounded with Jason. Maybe it was all this talk of marriage. If he moved out, he might quit talking about it. He might see it wasn’t necessary. Two people raised children without being married all the time. They could still have a relationship, but she was scared of this.

  He was looking at her like she was crazy. She wondered if he could read her thoughts, and then remembered what she’d just said. “Why not?”

  Again, her mouth said the wrong thing. “Because you’re some guy who’s living with us.” Her mouth really needed to learn some tact.

  A corner of his mouth turned up. “Some guy?”

  “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “What did you mean?”

  Thankfully, she didn’t have to answer that question. A knock at the door sent her rocketing out of her seat to answer it, leaving Jason in the kitchen with his mouth hanging open.

  Les stood on her doorstep holding an enormous bouquet of red roses, looking at her shyly under lowered eyelids. What the hell?

  She ignored the flowers in his hands, choosing the path she was familiar with. “Hey Les. What’s up?” He shoved them in her hands, the plastic wrapped around them crinkling as she took them, floral smells overwhelming her.

  “I wanted to talk to you. It’s important.” Wordlessly, she followed him into her living room. “Sit down.” His voice was authoritarian, and she was helpless to argue with it. Her muscles acted of their own volition, and her knees crumpled, sending her to the seat of the platform rocker. Les sat himself on the stool at her feet.

  “Renae, I don’t think you realize completely how I feel about you. I want you to listen to everything I have to say before you talk. Just listen, and when I’m done you can tell me what you think. Okay?” His brown eyes were pools of earnestness, and Renae was compelled to look long and hard at her friend.

  Les was a nice looking guy, about her own height and well-built. He was full of muscles from hard work, not the gym. Since his business had taken off in the last year, he’d firmed up a lot, his frame looking solid, exuding a powerful strength she hadn’t noticed before. He was wearing new-looking jeans with a long-sleeved oxford shirt tucked into them and belted with a worn leather belt. His cowboy boots were also worn but polished to a gleaming shine. She had known Les her entire life and had always thought of him like a brother or a cousin, one who would always be there to lean on. He was one of those sorts of guys. But she knew where this conversation was going. The roses made that obvious as well as the fact he’d been asking her out for years. Giving him the benefit of the doubt and needing something to concentrate on besides the issue in the kitchen, who had suddenly gone quiet, she nodded.

  Les took a deep breath before beginning as if steeling himself. “I know you’ve never really thought of me romantically before despite my best efforts. And I know you’re going through a hard time right now even though you haven’t really told me about all of it. That’s okay, though. I know you. We’ve been friends since we were kids. And I think that’s a great basis for what I have in mind.” He liked his lips and sucked in more air. “I want to marry you, Renae. I want to be a father for your baby and Kelly. I want to be a partner with you.” She watched as he slid off the footstool and knelt at her feet, holding onto her knees. “I want to marry you because I love you.”

  She was suddenly embarrassed when he touched her knees. Les was proposing to her while she wore nothing but another man’s shirt. Suddenly awkward, she took a deep breath to speak, but he stopped her.

  “I’m not through yet.” He ran his hands through his hair, mussing it. “I know you don’t feel the same way about me, but before you answer, I’d like for you to take a day or two to think about it. I’m not a bad guy, and you know I’ll take care of you. We have a history, Renae. You know what to expect from me.”

  Loud clanging from the kitchen seeped into her consciousness. Whereas before, it had been silent in there, now it sounded like an angry chef was cooking. Jason must have heard Les and gotten mad about it. Served him right for eavesdropping.

  Les must have realized it too, because he stood. “Just think about it, okay? Please?”

  She stood too, and suddenly they were chest to chest. Les’ eyes drifted to her lips, and she saw the decision being made behind his eyes before she registered what he was about to do. She was unable to react in time.

  His lips slid against hers at the same time his hands wrapped around her waist, hauling her body against his. She let out a gasp of air that Les inhaled, using the opportunity to swoop his tongue inside her mouth. She tasted coffee and toothpaste as he kissed her like this was his only chance at happiness.

  A roar from the kitchen broke them apart. “Breakfast!”

  He let go of her and stepped back, nearly tripping over the footstool. “Just think about it. Okay?”

  She nodded, unable to speak. She’d never kissed Les before, and while it was a great kiss logistically, she was overwhelmed by the fact it was Les.

  Jason came into the living room, and Renae could see he was upset but trying valiantly not to show it. He gritted out through clenched teeth, “Les, you want to stay for breakfast? I can whip up another omelet.”

  Les looked like he was about to say no but thought better of it. Slowly, he nodded, a mischievous gleam coming to his eyes. Oh no, Les… Don’t do it.

  “Sure, that sounds great.” Shit.

  She followed him into
the kitchen, noticing for the first time ever how nice his ass looked in jeans. Stop it, this is Les. Chiding herself, she sat at the table and watched Jason crack more eggs into a bowl. He was shirtless, wearing plaid pajama bottoms and his glasses, nothing else. She consciously compared the two men, unable to stop herself. She had just gotten proposals from both of them this morning, so she was just weighing her options, wasn’t she? Any normal woman would.

  Les sat next to her at the table, watching her intently. She chewed on her lip while she fiddled with her hands. Looking back and forth between Jason and Les, she thought about them.

  She knew practically everything there was to know about Les: his birthday, his favorite color, his favorite song, his tastes in women, his parents’ names, their birthdays, what he normally did at holidays, she even knew he sat down when he peed. That last one was a definite plus on his list. Jason, she didn’t know many of those things about, yet when they kissed, there was a fire in her belly that couldn’t be put out. She lost all semblance of control around him, and she was learning the rest.

  But he hadn’t said any of those things that Les just had. He hadn’t said anything about love.

  Jason put plates on the table, dropping Les’ in front of him before seating himself.

  “Dig in while it’s hot,” he murmured before shoveling food into his mouth. She watched Jason eat while she put a forkful in her mouth and chewed. He wasn’t normally like this, and she knew he was pissed at Les. Pissed he’d stayed for breakfast, pissed he’d proposed. Did he see the kiss?

  Anger etched Jason’s face, drawing hard lines around his mouth and eyes. His jaw was clenched, and Renae marveled he was even able to chew with all the tension he was radiating.

  “Hey, man. I got another gig at the Gin in a couple of weeks. You in?” Les was either oblivious, ignoring the tension, or trying to ease it.

  Jason looked at him, swallowed, and took a drink of coffee before answering. His eyes were cold and dark and sent a shiver of unease down Renae’s spine. She didn’t like this side of Jason. It reminded her of Cody.

  “Why are you asking me to play with you?” Disbelief colored his words.

  “We play well together, don’t you think? I thought we did. This is a really good omelet, man. I wish I could cook stuff like this.” He forked another bite into his mouth, unperturbed.

  Jason shoved his plate away and pushed himself back from the table. “You are unbelievable. Are you really that clueless? You come over here and propose to my girl and expect me to act like that didn’t happen? You want me to play with you like you didn’t just try to rip apart everything I’m trying to put together over here?”

  Something fluttered inside Renae at Jason’s anger. She wasn’t glad he was angry, but when he called her his girl, she’d felt a joy rise inside of her she didn’t know she was tamping down. Les looked amused by his reaction.

  “Y’all aren’t together, are you? Last I heard, you were just staying here to take care of her, making sure she took care of your baby. I can do that, too.” He stuck another forkful of eggs into his mouth. “I didn’t think there was anything going on between you two.” He chewed. “Besides, she’s thinking about it, so it’s not like I swooped in here and stole her outright.”

  Jason was silent for a minute, and Renae admired the control he was exhibiting. She watched his temple move as his jaw clenched and unclenched before he threw his napkin on the table and stood.

  “You’re right. I’m just some guy who’s living here.” Spinning on his heel, he left without another word.

  Renae and Les continued eating, Renae increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, she asked, “Why did you ask him to play with you?”

  Les shrugged, “Because he’s good. I thought he might like it.” He used his toast to swipe remnants of food off his plate before popping it in his mouth. “This was a really good breakfast. I should go.” Standing, he pushed his chair in. “I really want you to think about us, Renae. I think we’d be great together.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

  Renae let out a sigh. What the hell? She wanted to go back to bed and start the day over. Now she had two marriage proposals and didn’t know what to do with either one. Jason and Les both seemed serious, but she wasn’t looking to get married. The whole idea of marrying her to help her care for a baby was so antiquated and almost insulting. Did they not think she was capable of doing it by herself? Jason was the father and had made it clear he was going to stay in the picture. That was all she could really hope for, but to marry the guy? Sure, she cared for him a lot, could love him even, but to get married before all that? Just because she was pregnant?

  And Les… That had been unexpected. She’d known he wanted to get romantic with her, but they’d never really gone out before, not on a date. She’d always turned him down. But that kiss had been nice. He probably wouldn’t disappoint in that department, but he was like a brother to her, or at the least, a cousin. She couldn’t even begin to think of him that way.

  Overwhelmed, she turned to find Jason, fresh out of a shower, staring at her. Her breath hitched at the sight of him, barely dry under a t-shirt that clung to his chest and a pair of khaki shorts. When he had her attention, he asked her, “You aren’t seriously considering it, are you?”

  Renae chewed on her lip, “Les? I told him I would.” She tried to shrug her way out of it, but Jason wasn’t going to let her.

  “You don’t like him like that. That’s what you told me. He’s like a brother.” His mouth was a sneer as he said the word brother, and she could see anger radiating off his body in waves.

  “He is, but he’s right. I know him, and he’s in a position to take care of me. Look… I didn’t say yes, only that I would think about it.”

  Jason stalked over to where she was standing and grabbed her upper arms. “You’ll think about what I said, too, won’t you?”

  “Of course I will.” She’d thought of little else since. Who else got proposed to twice before breakfast? Although Jason’s flippant ‘I’m prepared to marry you’ didn’t really compare to Les’ roses and one-kneed proposal.

  The phone rang, interrupting them. Renae extricated herself from Jason’s grasp and answered. It was her OB/GYN’s office.

  “Ms. Stanford? The results of your triple screen came back. Because of the results and your age, we need to do additional testing.”

  “What do you mean, additional testing?” Jason’s eyebrows rose at her question, and he mouthed the word, “What?”

  “You’ll need to come in for an amniocentesis. Can you make it this afternoon?”

  “Um, yeah. I can.”

  When she hung up the phone, Renae relayed the information to Jason, so he wouldn’t miss anything.

  “What part of the triple screen did you fail?”

  “I didn’t fail any of it, it’s not a final. Just something showed up that required additional testing.” Her heart thudded in her throat. Additional testing didn’t sound good.

  “What does the triple screen test for?”

  “Genetic anomalies, I think.”

  The prior conversation was forgotten, and Jason started pacing the kitchen, muttering to himself under his breath. “… Great grandma Irene… Mom’s sister… Uncle Jimmy, and second cousins…”

  Renae rolled her eyes and left him to his freaking, while she went to go take a shower. Under the hot spray, she did her own freaking out. She had heard of the amniocentesis, hadn’t everybody? Weren’t they dangerous, and didn’t they involve a humongous needle?

  What could be wrong with the baby? She’d done everything right, and with Jason here watching her every move, he certainly hadn’t left anything to chance. She was too old. She shouldn’t be having babies at her age. Sure medicine had come a long way, but she should have been more responsible in the first place. Of all the lectures she’d given Kelly, and she hadn’t heeded her own advice.

  A knock on the bathroom door interrupted her. “I’m going to go see
Dad, and I’ll be back in time to take you to the doctor’s. See you later.”

  His voice through the door did more to her than the water sluicing over her body. As much anger as she still heard lacing his voice, the smooth tones still washed her with sexual awareness. Renae leaned her head on the shower wall, wondering what she was going to do. If he could be believed, he would marry her in a heartbeat, but marrying a man just to give her baby a father was a stupid move. There was nothing saying he couldn’t be a father without the marriage. She didn’t want him to resent her like Cody.

  Why was she so obsessed with comparing him to Cody? He wasn’t her dead husband. They were light years apart. So why couldn’t she just let go of the past and move on with her future?

  And she couldn’t even think about Les right now.

  She got out and toweled off before selecting clothes to wear to the doctor’s office. Back in the kitchen, she mentally prepared herself for the doctor’s visit but couldn’t let go of breakfast, and Les.

  Les hadn’t even been on her radar before this morning. He was a friend, a brother. She should have just told him no and been done with it. But he’d been so earnest, pleading with her even. She didn’t want to totally crush him.

  And after all that, Jason had actually invited him to eat breakfast even though he was obviously pissed.

  She didn’t want to be grateful for his kind gestures. She didn’t want to be indebted to Jason. She didn’t want to love him. Another relationship was scary. Renae had been happy with her life before him. Why would she go and complicate it by having a new relationship?

  Renae dropped her head on her arms, the amnio looming darkly in her head. What if there was something wrong with the baby? So wrong she had to terminate the pregnancy? She tried to think of things that would be that wrong Down Syndrome, some other chromosomal disease… nope. None of those would make her want to get rid of her baby. She would just have to make more adjustments to her lifestyle to accommodate it and let him or her thrive.

  Which man would be most likely to stick around a baby with issues like that? Jason? Les? Neither?