A Family Affair - First Born

by Marilyn McPherson

  “Jack was telling me how Tom and you found each other after all these years. It’s the most amazing story. Boy, I... I just can’t believe how good looking you are,” Nikki continued, looking him up and down. “Sorry, I know I already said that.”

  That comment seemed more than a little inappropriate coming from his new stepmother. He was already bored by her.

  “You must have a girlfriend, Kane. Is she here?” Nikki asked, looking around.

  Kane shook his head. “No girlfriend.”

  “Really? Well, I have some fabulous girlfriends who would love to meet you.”

  “Uh, huh.” Kane wasn’t at all interested.

  “Jack says you are a personal trainer. Is that right?”

  “Last time I checked.”

  “I would love it if you could train me. I’ve been meaning to improve my fitness, and it will give us a chance to get to know each other better.”

  Kane hated these conversations where people tried to get free training. “Of course. It will need to be out of hours though, as I’m not supposed to train people for free. The gym doesn’t like it.”

  “Oh,” said Nikki, looking embarrassed. “I didn’t mean... I’m happy to pay you, of course. Money is not a problem.”

  Kane supposed it wasn’t, now that she was married to Jack Bradley.

  “Well, sure. Give me a call sometime, and I’ll line something up.”

  Kane was suddenly aware of Jack’s conversation with two middle-aged people he didn’t recognise. It looked tense. “Who’s Jack speaking to?” he asked.

  Nikki turned around. “My parents. They are meeting him for the first time tonight.” Perhaps she was seeing what Kane had noticed. Jack was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. “I should go and rescue him.”

  Nikki’s father seemed especially angry about something, and Kane wondered what was being said. However, Jack’s attention wasn’t solely focussed on Nikki’s father. He was also closely watching Nikki and Kane talking, with an odd expression on his face. Was Jack jealous that his new wife was talking to another man?

  “Well, it was great to meet you, Nikki.” Kane leaned in closer to his newest family member and kissed her on the cheek slowly. Jack’s nostrils flared. He was jealous. How ridiculous! What kind of marriage were they celebrating here exactly?

  “You too, Kane,” Nikki said, looking flushed. “I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”

  Kane watched her leave. Jack needn’t worry. Nikki was of no interest to him. Although attractive enough, she seemed sort of vacant. What sort of woman would marry a seventy-year old man in any case? Obviously Jack’s money was important to her, but the question hadn’t been answered by meeting her. He guessed there would be ample time to learn more about his new stepmother if he chose.

  Chapter 25

  When Nikki first met Kane at the party, she had felt overwhelmed by an attraction to him. In trying to hide it, she had asked numerous mundane questions, and must have seemed like a lunatic. He had probably seen straight through her. In any case, she wasn’t much of an actress. There was no denying it; he was the kind of man that you wanted to pull into a dark closet and have your way with.

  Nikki shook away that thought and tried not to think about doing inappropriate things with her husband’s son. Such thoughts were a betrayal of her marriage vows, and wrong on so many levels.

  However, the first seven weeks of her and Jack’s marriage were not going well, she had to admit. Her parents were furious that she had married an older man. In fact, Nikki didn’t even have a chance to say hello to them at the party - they stormed out within five minutes of meeting Jack, and had refused all contact since that day. It was unlike them to be so stubborn, and Nikki could not work out what was really going on.

  Jack had seen three doctors now, and had tried numerous medications – all to no effect. They were newlyweds who had not consummated their marriage after seven weeks. Nikki was desperately regretting the decision to get married so quickly. If only they had waited a few more weeks, she would have changed her mind. Neither Jack nor she had raised the topic of an annulment, but it was surely on his mind as well. It was hard to understand how things had gone wrong so quickly; there had been so much chemistry initially.

  At the party, Nikki’s eyes had followed Kane for the remainder of the night. Within a few days, she had started personal training with him. It was wrong to spend so much time with a man like Kane, a man whose clothes she wanted to tear off. But she just wanted to be close to him, regardless of the personal cost, and her time with him became an outlet for her marital frustration.

  Kane usually trained her in his gym or sometimes in the nearby park. But today was different - he was coming to Jack’s apartment to demonstrate how to work out at home. Jack was playing golf and would be out for most of the day. She would have an hour alone with Kane, to fantasise about him while building up a sweat. After he left, she would have enough time alone to imagine how their time together could have been spent differently, given certain constraints were not in place. It was a dangerous sort of fantasy, but one that Nikki didn’t seem to be able to stop enjoying.

  When he arrived, Nikki let him in with an expectant dizziness starting to take over. The adrenaline was pumping through her body, ready for the tough physical workout he was about to deliver. Being around Kane was starting to feel like a drug, her body reacted to his very presence. Nikki noticed how defined his arm muscles appeared today, and wondered how tightly he could wrap those around her.

  “Nikki, hello,” Kane said, interrupting her fantasy, and returning her concentration to the present moment. “You look a million miles away. What were you thinking about just then?”

  “Nothing much,” Nikki lied.

  “Where’s Jack today?” he asked, looking around.

  “Golf.” Suddenly she noticed dark puffy rings under his eyes which were only half open. Something was wrong. “Is everything okay, Kane?”

  He looked up and stared deeply into her eyes. He seemed to be looking at her in a new way, with a new understanding. “You don’t want to hear about...”

  “Hey, it’s okay.” Nikki saw an opportunity to put her arms around him in a comforting manner. She was his stepmother after all. It was okay to comfort him when he needed it.

  He let her hold him, and she enjoyed every sensation of his body against hers. It was lucky he couldn’t hear the wrong and dirty thoughts which were running through her head. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

  Kane pulled back from the hug, but strangely kept his hands around Nikki’s waist. “It’s a girl,” Kane admitted. “Someone I care about. I can’t get her out of my head. I don’t know if she feels anything back. She says she doesn’t, but it hurts so much. If I feel like this, how can she feel nothing?

  Was Kane talking about her? She wasn’t sure.

  “This morning, it was all just too much for me to take. I took a couple of pills, I don’t know. Maybe I took too many.”

  Nikki was suddenly worried about his state of health. Kane didn’t seem like the sort of person to take pills. “Maybe a workout isn’t what you need today,” she suggested.

  “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I’m sorry, Nikki. I shouldn’t be putting all of this onto you.”

  “It’s okay. I’m glad I’m here for you. We’re family you know.”

  “We’re not really family though, are we?”

  He must have been talking about her.

  Kane’s hands held onto her waist tighter and tighter. This was not feeling like normal family touching any longer. Nikki’s fantasy was playing out in reality exactly the way she was planning to imagine it later on. Of course, she should pull away. There was no question of that. She was married to Kane’s father, for goodness sake.

  “You’re beautiful, Nikki,” he murmured, his fingers caressing her sides. “You’re a beautiful woman. I know I shouldn’t be touching you like this. I know that you’re married to my father, but I like the way you fee
l in my arms.”

  Nikki didn’t say anything, too stunned to form words. Kane took her silence as consent, and started to unbutton her shirt. The words telling him to stop were nowhere to be found. His hands moved quickly and suddenly they were around her breasts, and rubbing her nipples under her bra. She couldn’t believe that her breasts were being touched by Kane. The image looked wrong, even though she had imagined it so many times vividly in her mind. He roughly pulled her bra strap to one side and his lips found her nipple. Pangs of desire shot through her body. There was no stopping this now. Her marriage with Jack was likely to end soon anyhow, all by itself. She might as well end it emphatically. She and Kane felt right together. Ever since she had met him, he had been on her mind. It was obviously meant to be. She loved him and he obviously felt the same way.

  Kane stripped her clothes off quickly, and was now starting to undress himself. Nikki had allowed herself to be a bystander rather than an active participant so far. But no longer. If this was going to happen in reality, she was going to make the most of it. Her fingers found his clothes and started to rip them off with a wild intensity. He stopped moving and let her do the work. Nikki pulled him down to the ground and manoeuvred him on top of her. “Wait, Kane,” she suddenly screamed, pushing him away after almost forgetting herself in the passionate act. “Do you have protection?”

  “I’m not able to have children,” he whispered into her ear. “Don’t worry.”

  There was no time to feel sadness or surprise about his statement, as things were moving too quickly. Nikki made a mental note to ask him about that statement afterwards. She stopped resisting and pulled him closer. He took charge from that point. It had been so long since she had felt a man inside her, but Kane was certainly worth the wait.

  Chapter 26

  When Ellen’s pregnancy was a little over half-way, the baby started kicking. She felt it for the first time while helping Estella prepare for a family lunch.

  “Oh,” she said, straightening up.

  “What is it?” Estella asked, rushing over. “The baby?”

  “I think I just felt something.”

  “Did it kick?”

  “I think so.”

  “May I?”

  “Of course, Estella.” Ellen put Estella’s warm hands on her stomach, and together they felt the same strong push from the inside.

  “It’s a strong healthy baby. This is twenty-one weeks now, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” A tear came to Ellen’s eye, and she wiped it away quickly.

  Of course Estella noticed, and gave Ellen a soft hug. “I’m so thrilled for you and Mr Bradley. You deserve this happiness.”

  Everything was just perfect in Ellen’s life. Married life was better than either she or Tom could have imagined, and not a day passed when Ellen didn’t count her blessings.

  Tom had wanted to share his happiness by inviting the family to lunch. Kane was coming, along with Jack and Nikki. Margaret and Jack were now talking to each other in a cordial manner by all accounts, but Tom decided it was still too soon to have them both seated around the same table. Besides, Margaret had taken all the animosity she once reserved for Ellen and redirected it ten-fold towards Nikki. The two of them could definitely not be in the same room under any circumstances.

  Ellen was starting to feel quite tired on her feet, and Estella seemed to notice. “You mustn’t overdo it, Ellen. Go and sit on the deck and I’ll bring you some tea.”

  Ellen could see that the deck was in sunlight and it certainly looked inviting.

  “Off you go now.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to leave all the work to you.”

  “Everything is nearly ready here. I insist. Mr Bradley would not be happy with me if you exhausted yourself.”

  “Thanks, Estella. You’re very good to me.” Ellen took herself to the deck and flopped into a chair with her hands cradling her and Tom’s baby. Knowing that the child was inside her was Tom’s was a source of overwhelming happiness. Nothing could go wrong now. Ellen remembered that dark, dark time when the possibility of Kane being the father had existed. She shuddered at that awful memory.

  “Ellen, hi,” Nikki said, sticking her head around the corner.

  “Hi yourself.” Ellen checked her watch in surprise. Nikki was forty-five minutes early. Everyone was supposed to arrive at midday.

  “Sorry, I know I’m early. Jack wanted to go looking for a vintage bottle of red wine. He’ll probably be late now as he’s driving into the city and back. I saw the opportunity to get dropped here early, so I took it. I was thinking we could chat. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course, not. Grab a seat. Tom is just finishing some paperwork in his office.”

  Estella arrived at this moment with a tea pot, two teacups and some jam cookies she had baked the day before. She must have let Nikki in.

  “Ah thank you, Estella,” Ellen said.

  “Estella, if you ever get sick of working for Tom, come and work for me,” joked Nikki.

  Estella wasn’t sure how to take her comment. “I’m very happy working for Mr Bradley.”

  “She’s just joking, Estella.”

  “Oh, okay.” Estella looked relieved.

  “Hey, Nikki,” said Ellen. “Estella and I felt the baby move before.”

  “Really? That’s fantastic. I’m jealous.”

  “I’m sure it will kick again soon. I’ll tell you if it does. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt.”

  Estella was finished setting up the tea and biscuits, and started to retreat back to the kitchen.

  “Thank you, Estella,” Ellen said, smiling at her. “So Nikki, how are you? How is Jack?”

  Nikki carefully watched as Estella retreated and didn’t say a word until she was out of earshot. Her mood suddenly darkened, and the facade of a happy newlywed vanished. “Elle, I need someone to talk to,” she said glumly.

  Her words surprised Ellen. “Of course. You know I’m here for you.”

  “Well, I know you are Jack’s son’s wife, so I’m conscious that maybe I should talk to someone else...”

  “Don’t be silly. I will keep your confidence.” Tom would understand, Ellen was sure. He was pleased that the two women had become friends since the wedding. It was nice to have a female friend again. Maybe one day they would become close friends.”

  “I think I’m pregnant.”

  Ellen wasn’t sure why Nikki said it with such gravity. “That’s great. I didn’t know you and Jack were trying.”

  Nikki didn’t say anything.

  Ellen guessed that maybe they weren’t. “Is it because of his age that you look so worried? I guess seventy is quite old to become a father again.” The news meant that Tom would have another brother. The Bradley family was growing month by month at the moment.

  Nikki hadn’t said anything, but suddenly put her head in her hands. Something was bothering her terribly.

  “What is it, Nikki? You can tell me.”

  Nikki looked up. “I don’t know how it has come to this. I thought I knew what I was doing – marrying Jack I mean.”

  “You and Jack have a bond that nobody would deny after seeing the two of you together.”

  “It was a mistake to marry him.”

  “No, Nikki. Don’t say that. I know how much he loves you. I see how happy the two of you are. Whatever is going on, I’m sure you can work it out.”

  “We should have just stayed friends. We both read more into our chemistry than we should have. Maybe if he had been younger, it would have worked.”

  “But you’re pregnant, Nikki. Jack will always be a part of your life now.”

  “The baby is not Jack’s.”

  So that was what was bothering her. Nikki had been unfaithful. Ellen sat back in her chair, shocked and concerned. She wanted to support Nikki, who was obviously unhappy, but she didn’t want to condone anything that would hurt Jack. He obviously had no idea, as he had only yesterday reaffirmed his love for Nikki over the
phone to Ellen.

  “How can you be sure it’s not Jack’s child?” Even if Nikki had been unfaithful, the child could be either man’s. Perhaps Nikki had already performed a DNA test on the unborn child like Ellen had done all those months ago.

  Nikki shook her head. “Please don’t tell anyone this, but... there is no chance that the child is Jack’s.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Jack hasn’t been able to...” Nikki looked embarrassed.

  “Oh, I see.”

  “He’s been to see numerous doctors, but I think he has given up now. He is content for us to do... other things.”

  “Oh.”

  “It’s not enough.”

  There was unspoken understanding between them. The child must belong to the other man. Ellen became curious. “Who is the father then? Do I know him?”

  Nikki looked terribly guilty. “It’s Kane’s child,” she admitted reluctantly.

  “No, Nikki.” Ellen’s breath caught in her chest. Why did it have to be him? It was an awful sensation which reminded her of the time when she thought she might be pregnant to Kane. The two of them had more in common that Nikki realised.

  “I know it’s not good, Elle. I mean, Kane is Jack’s son.”

  Ellen tried to focus on her breathing. Tom would need to be told this news. She couldn’t keep this to herself, even though she had promised to keep Nikki’s confidence.

  “Ellen, you’re changing colour.”

  “Sorry, I’m just surprised.”

  “I know what you’re thinking. He is family. It’s wrong, and stupid of me to have fallen in love with him.”

  “You love him?” Ellen couldn’t believe she had heard right.

  “I do, Elle. I love him. I want to shout it from the top of a mountain. I’ve tried to deny it for weeks now, but I won’t any longer. I just want to be with him so much. It’s better that Jack knows now, rather than a year into our marriage. That’s right, isn’t it?”

  Elle knew it couldn’t be Kane’s child inside of Nikki. She remembered the doctor’s words. Kane was infertile, and unable to have children without medical assistance. “Are you sure it’s Kane’s child?” she asked. Maybe there was a third man involved in this messy situation.