She felt her heart stop and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked over at Daniel sitting next to her and he was as pale as a sheet.
“That’s almost halfway.” She whispered.
“Yes.” The doctor nodded with a frown. “Unfortunately we cannot terminate the pregnancy when it is so far along.”
“What do you mean?” She frowned.
“It means you have to have the baby.” The doctor answered.
“No!” Daniel exclaimed and jumped up from the chair.
“I agree, I can’t have it.” She frowned.
“If you won’t do the procedure, then we will go somewhere else.” Daniel snapped.
“Well, good luck with that. There is not a clinic in the country that will agree to perform that procedure.” The doctor said .”That I can promise you”
Lee and Daniel exchanged horrified glances and Lee sighed miserably.
”I can’t believe this is happening.” Daniel muttered. ”How could you let this happen?”
“Danny, don’t…” She shook her head.
“You can’t have it, Lee.” Daniel shook his head in disgust. “I won’t allow it.”
When Hayley opened her eyes sleepily, she saw that it was light out. She shifted herself into a sitting position and smiled when she saw Lucas fast asleep on the couch. She slowly slid off the couch and tiptoed to the kitchen. She took out two cups of coffee and placed it on the counter. She then filled the kettle with water and switched it on.
“Good morning….” She heard behind her and let out a shriek. She whirled around and saw Lucas standing behind her, looking very attractive and very amused, his hair was a bit disheveled, but he looked attractive nonetheless.
“You scared me.” She exclaimed.
“Good morning to you too.” Lucas grinned at her.
“Mom! Mom!” She heard Owain come running down the hall and she frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, baby.” She answered and kissed the top of his head.
“Then why are you screaming, Mom?” Owain asked.
“Because Lucas crept up behind me.” She said. “I thought he was asleep.”
“Mom, you should really learn to trust your Spidey senses.” He frowned.
“I will remember that.” She nodded and kissed the top of his head. “Good morning.”
“Good morning Mom. Good morning Luke!” He pulled himself away from Hayley and hugged Lucas.
“Good morning buddy.” Lucas put his arms around Owain.
“I’m glad you’re still here.” Owain looked up at him. “I was thinking we could…”
“Baby, why don’t you go get some cereal for us?” Hayley interrupted and Owain nodded obediently.
She turned to Lucas and looked at him. “I don’t want to keep you. You can go if you want to.”
“And disappoint that little man. I wouldn’t think of it.” Lucas smiled at Owain.
“Listen, Luke, I don’t expect you to stay…” Hayley frowned.
“Well, then leave your expectations behind for now. I want to stay.” Lucas smiled at her and walked over to Owain. “Let me help you with that, buddy.”
Hayley looked over at Owain holding a bowl and Lucas was pouring cereal into it. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, a hint of a smile on her face.
“Does he really have to go?” Owain frowned and looked at Hayley and then at Lucas. “Do you really have to go?”
Lucas knelt beside him and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’ll see you again. I promise.”
“Really?” Owain asked and Lucas nodded. “When?”
“Baby, can you go inside please?” Hayley touched Owain’s shoulder and he nodded.
“Bye Luke.” Owain put his arms around Lucas’ shoulders and hugged him.
“Bye buddy.” Lucas smiled and Owain walked back into the house. “Poor kid.”
“Lucas, I want to thank you for staying with us last night. It meant a great deal to the both of us.” Hayley crossed her arms and smiled at him.
“You’re welcome.” He smirked. “I had fun.”
“So did I. We should do this again sometime.” Hayley nodded.
"Why don't I take you and Owain out to dinner next week?" Lucas offered.
"Uhm, sure. I have to check which day though. Is that okay?" Hayley asked,
"Yeah, absolutely." Lucas looked at her.
"Owain will be glad to hear that.” Hayley said. “He seems to really like you.”
"Well, I really like him too.” Lucas smiled and dug in his pockets. He took out a card and handed it to Hayley. “Here's my card, you can call me once you’ve checked your schedule.”
“Thank you.” She reached out and took the card from him.
"See you around, Hayley." Lucas nodded at her and walked to his car.
"Wait." Hayley sighed and turned to him.
He looked at her and smiled slightly.
"Lucas, I'm a mom, you know." Hayley frowned.
“I know.” Lucas laughed and walked closer to her. "Hayley, it's just dinner. No expectations."
Hayley looked at him and found herself smiling slightly. "Okay. I’ll call you."
"Good." Lucas smiled at her.
“And Lucas?” She called out to him.
He looked at her and smiled slightly.
“Thank you, for being here, for everything.” She smiled at him.
“Like I said, any time. Call me if you need anything, I’ll be right over.” He gave her a soft smile and she watched him climb into his car. "Bye."
"Bye." She nodded and walked to the front door and watched him drive away.
"She’s really hot." Nick took a beer out of the fridge and handed it to Lucas. "You should definitely see her again."
"I offered to take her to dinner, but she hasn’t said when yet.” Lucas took the beer from him and sat down on the couch. "At least I know where she lives."
"You can’t let a woman like that slip through your fingers, man." Nick shook his head.
Lucas nodded and looked at Nick with a laugh. "You know what she said to me before I left?"
"What's that?" Nick asked.
"She said that she's a mom." Lucas said.
"One good-looking mom." Nick nodded. "She probably meant that with the kid she has priorities."
"I realize that, but I just want to get to know her." Lucas frowned. “And her kid.”
"Noble gesture." Nick frowned.
Lucas shook his head and shoved at Nick's shoulder. "Shut up man. You wouldn't understand."
"You're right, I don't." Nick frowned and took a sip of his beer. "How do you know there's not a boyfriend or a husband?"
"She wasn't wearing a ring." Lucas said. "And she said no when I asked."
“You asked?” Nick asked him in disbelief.
“Yeah, what’s the big deal?” Lucas looked at him.
"Just because she said there wasn’t doesn’t make it true..." Nick frowned. "Maybe she didn’t want to tell you, I mean, it’s not like she knows you.”
“No, I could tell. She got uncomfortable when I asked about a husband.” Lucas stared at the bottle in his hand.
“She can't be raising that kid by herself. There has to be a guy in the picture. She didn't make the kid all by herself." Nick took a sip of beer.
"Obviously." Lucas rolled his eyes and looked at Nick. “Nothing in her house indicates that there’s a husband, or even a boyfriend.”
“Just be careful man, you know what happened the last time.” Nick warned and sat back in the couch.
"You are my best friend, Nick, but sometimes I wish you would just stop caring so damn much." Lucas smiled at him.
"Sorry man." Nick grinned at him and grabbed the remote control. "So what's on TV today?"
Lucas shook his head at his friend and turned to the television, but he knew no matter how hard he tried, he would not be able to stop thinking about Hayley, or Owain.
“So are you going to call him?” Grace asked over the
phone the Sunday morning.
“I don’t know.” Hayley looked at the business card in her hand and sighed.
“Come on, it’s just dinner, Hayley. Besides, Owain will be there.” Grace said.
“That’s exactly what I am worried about. You know how he likes to talk.” Hayley frowned and put the card down on the counter. “What if he embarrasses me?
“Honey, you drove into the guy’s car and let him sleep over at your house, how much more can Owain possibly embarrass you?” Grace laughed.
“Thanks for the moral support, Grace.” Hayley rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“You’re welcome. Let me know if you need help with an outfit.” Grace said.
“I can sort out my own outfit, thank you.” Hayley said with an exasperated tone.
“Yeah, okay.” Grace laughed. “Listen I have to go. Are we still on for the park later?”
“Yes, we are, one o’clock sharp.” Hayley nodded.
“I’ll see you then.” Grace said and she ended the call.
Hayley placed the receiver on the counter and stared at the business card. “Lucas Donovan.” She murmured to herself. She thought of his eyes and his tanned skin, the way the corners of his mouth curled before he smiled, the way he laughed, his muscular arms, the way he smelled when he sat down next to her on the carpet….
“Mom?” Owain’s voice snapped her abruptly out of her daydream and she jumped, knocking the phone off the counter. She scrambled to catch it and looked at Owain. He was still in his pajamas, looking at her sleepily and semi-puzzled.
“You scared me, baby.” Hayley said breathlessly, placing the phone on the counter and walked over to him.
“You’re scared a lot lately.” Owain shrugged.
“Do you want to talk about last night?” She knelt next to him.
“Not really, Mom.” Owain said.
“I gathered as much. I would have been scared too.” Hayley asked.
“Why do you ask me something if you already know the answer?” Owain asked and rolled his eyes with a sigh.
“Because that’s what moms do.” Haley smiled at him. “You can tell me anything.”
“I was scared.” Owain looked at her.
“It’s okay to be scared, Owain.” Hayley ran her fingers through his hair. “Even I was scared.”
“You were scared too?” Owain asked.
“Of course I was. I was scared something bad happened to you.” Hayley ran her fingers through his hair.
“Then I would have been scared too if I was you.” Owain nodded.
“I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” Hayley pulled him close and hugged him tight.
“I love you, Mom.” Owain said slightly breathless and Hayley let go of him.
“I love you too, baby.” Hayley smiled at him.
“Can I ask you a question, Mom?” Owain looked at her.
“Of course you can.” Hayley nodded.
“Where’s my dad?” Owain asked and Hayley let out a deep breath. “Everyone else’s dads live in the same house as they do. Where’s mine, Mom?”
“I don’t know where he is.” Hayley rubbed her eyes and inhaled slowly. “We had a big fight and he left.”
“A big fight? About what?” Owain tilted his head to her.
“About you.” Hayley said sadly.
“You fought over me?” Owain asked in disbelief.
“Yes.” Hayley nodded.
“Did he get mad because I was a boy?” Owain asked and looked at her.
“No, baby. He got mad because I was pregnant.” Hayley frowned.
“I’m sorry, Mom.” Owain looked at his feet. “If it wasn’t for me, then he would have still been here.”
“Hey, don’t ever say that. Look at me.” Hayley lifted his chin and looked into his chocolate brown eyes. “I would not trade you for anything in the whole world, not even him. We don’t need him. You’ll always have me, and I will always love you, no matter what.”
“I will always love you too, Mom.” Owain put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her.
Hayley felt tears sting her eyes and she closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry I scared you, Mom.” Owain’s muffled voice was softer than usual.
“It’s okay, Owain.” Hayley held him a little tighter and a tear ran down her cheek.
“Mom?” Owain asked and lifted up his head.
“Yes, baby.” She looked at him.
“It was nice when Lucas was here.” He said.
“It was, wasn’t it?” She smiled at him.
“Can we ask him to go to the park with us?” Owain asked, his brown eyes hopeful.
“No, I’m sure he’s busy today.” Hayley frowned.
Owain tilted his head and looked at her with a slight frown. “You don’t like him?”
“No, I didn’t say that.” She frowned.
“So you do like him?” He asked.
“As long as you like him, I like him.” Hayley said diplomatically.
“So that’s a yes.” Owain leaned against the wall.
“Yes.” Hayley looked at him and crossed her arms.
“Good, because I want him around more.” Owain said. “He’s nice.”
“Okay.” She nodded and looked over at him.
“Can I have cereal now?” He asked.
“Sure baby.” She nodded and as he walked over to the cupboard, Hayley breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that he had stopped asking about his father, but for some strange reason, she was relieved that he wanted Lucas around, because secretly, so did she.
“After the babysitter saw me through the window, I made a run for it. It was too risky to hang around. I ditched before she could call the cops.” Carter said. “Luke seemed to have stayed the whole night.”
“What do you mean he stayed there the whole night?” Barry exclaimed loudly and paced around the room. “What was he doing there in the first place?”
“Do you think he knows?” Carter asked.
“I doubt it.” Smitty shook his head.
“Barry….” Al frowned.
“He’s Chad’s kid!” Barry snapped.
“We don’t know that for sure.” Cater frowned at him.
“He’s the splitting image of him, Carter! Are you blind?” Barry bellowed.
“What do you want us to do?” Smitty asked.
“I don’t want you to do anything. I’ll handle this myself.” Barry said.
Barry looked at the three men in front of him and crossed his arms angrily.
“What about Luke?” Smitty asked.
“I’ll also handle him.” Barry snarled and marched out of the room. “Keep an eye on them at all times!”
“Yes sir.” Carter nodded.
“So did you call him yet?” Grace asked when Owain was out of hearing range at the park.
“No.” Hayley shook her head and looked over at Owain.
“Did you tell Owain?” Grace asked.
“No.” Hayley looked at Grace.
“So what did you do for the last day?” Grace asked and looked at the children playing in the park.
“I found out that my child is more attentive than we initially thought.” Hayley looked at Grace.
“How do you mean?” Grace asked. “Did he notice how drunk you were when you got home?”
“He noticed how everyone’s father is around, except his, and he wanted to know why.” Hayley looked at Grace and stretched her legs out in front of her.
“Oh god.” Grace grimaced.
“Yeah, I should have seen that one coming.” Hayley frowned and put her sunglasses on.
“What did you tell him?” Grace asked.
“The truth.” Hayley frowned.
“Which is?” Grace looked at her.
“That his dad left and that we don’t need him.” Hayley said.
“And he didn’t ask any questions after that?” Grace asked.
“No, but I’m waiting for him to drop a question bomb on me.” Hayley sig
hed. “I can see it on his face that he is loading up his ammo.”
“How can you tell?” Grace asked.
“I know my son, Grace. I know when he’s keeping things to himself and I know when he is getting ready to shock me with his profound questions.” Hayley said and looked over at him.
“I suppose.” Grace frowned.
Hayley let out a little laugh and turned to Grace. “He asked me this morning if we could invite Lucas to the park with us today.”
“What? Are you serious?” Grace exclaimed.
“I’m serious.” Hayley chuckled.
“Well, that’s got to be a good sign.” Grace smiled.
“A good sign for what?” Hayley frowned.
“If he wants him to come with, then he likes him, and if he likes him, he wants him around.” Grace said. “Owain doesn’t like a lot of people, Hales.”
“I know, but what makes Lucas so special?” Hayley asked.
“Because as much as you hate to admit it, you want Lucas around too.” Grace grinned. “And Owain is smart, he most probably picked up on that.”
Hayley opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut instead.
Grace smiled smugly and sat back in her chair. “And as much as you hate to admit it, you know I’m right.”
“Whatever.” Hayley muttered and playfully smacked Grace on her forearm.
Grace dug around in her handbag and handed Hayley her phone. “Use my phone and call him.”
“I can’t do that.” Hayley frowned.
“Of course you can.” Grace nodded.
Hayley reluctantly took the phone from her and shook her head.
“Just do it. The sooner you call him, the sooner you can see him again.” Grace smiled.
“And when do you propose we have dinner?” Hayley asked.
“Tomorrow night. The sooner the better.” Grace nodded.
Hayley sighed and scratched in her bag for her wallet. She took out the business card and dialed his number. “It’s ringing.” She whispered and for some strange reason, she felt butterflies in her stomach.
“Lucas Donovan?”
“Good afternoon, is that Lucas?” Hayley asked, realizing too late that it was indeed him. She slapped her palm against her forehead and shook her head in disapproval.
“Yes it is.” He answered, sounding a bit puzzled.
Never Say Never Page 6