by Amy Field
“Nothing,” she muttered.
David grew impatient by her reluctance and held her by the chin forcing her to look at him.
“I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong, Ruth,” he implored making her see that he genuinely wanted to help her.
Her tears began to flow uninhibited and it caused something to snap in him. David drew her into his arms and ran slow soothing circles against her back. Without thinking he kissed the top of her head in comfort.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he cooed. “I’ve got you; I won’t let anything hurt you,” he promised.
David found himself lifting her into his arms bridal style as he took off for the living room. Not wanting to release her, he sat in the sofa with her still in his arms as he cradled her head against his chest.
They remained in that position for over ten minutes, neither saying anything, him offering her strength. Suddenly her head turned to look at him and he found himself bending his head towards her. When their lips connected, it felt like fireworks went off in his head.
Her lips were soft and warm and sent jolts of electricity pulsating throughout his body. He had never felt anything quite like this – not even with Sarah.
When they finally came up for air, he rested his head against her forehead as they both tried to catch their breaths.
“Are you ready to tell me what has you so scared?” he asked looking down at her.
Ruth removed herself from his arms and scooted over to the other end of the settee, her head bowed in shame.
“You won’t look at me the same if I tell you,” she replied.
“You’re judging what my reaction will be. Try me,” he implored.
After a few more minutes of silence, she finally spoke.
“I had an abortion six months ago,” she dropped the bomb.
David sat silent, stunned. He knew there was more to the story.
“Riley, the guy from earlier, he told me that if I didn’t get rid of it I would live to regret it. I listened to him and I went and had my baby aborted. It was the stupidest thing I have ever done and I can’t take it back,” she sobbed.
David sat still and closed his eyes for a moment. In a flash what he’d learnt in his Amish upbringing about love and forgiveness, punishment and rejection whirled through his mind.
Suddenly he became calm.
He reached for Ruth and pulled her back into his arms.
“I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for you but I am proud of you for admitting it. That’s the first step to healing,” he told her.
This made her cry even harder as her arms encircled her tummy. He waited for her tears to subside before asking.
“What does this Riley fellow want now?” he asked.
“He said if I don’t marry him, he’s going to tell my parents and everyone what I did,” she replied her voice flat and void of feeling.
David once more kissed her forehead.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” he assured her.
Oddly enough, Ruth believed him. His arms made her feel safe and protected. She felt like she could stay that way forever and the evils of the world would never get to her.
That evening, David took Ruth home, asking her to keep Hope while he ran some errands.
The first thing he did was to return home for his checkbook and then he left for the small bread and breakfast that was run by an Amish family on the outskirts of town.
After enquiring about Riley, he found out that the young man was due to arrive back at any moment. He decided to wait for him on the porch.
“Riley,” David called out as soon as the young man made it up the steps.
Recognition dawned and he smiled mischievously.
“You’re Ruth’s boss right?”
“That is correct,” he replied in a somber voice.
“What can I do for you?”
David looked him squarely in the eye.
“How much will it take for you to disappear and never return?” he asked seriously.
The young man laughed.
“So what are you; her savior?” Riley asked jokingly.
David rose to his full height and sauntered towards the man. Riley took a step back as he recognized he was no match for David.
“It doesn’t matter what you see me as. I asked you how much will it cost for you to disappear forever?” he asked once more staring the young man down.
“Fifteen Grand,” Riley replied.
David smiled as he removed the checkbook from his jacket.
“Consider this your payment to never set foot back here,” he said tearing out the check he had just written.
Riley eagerly took it as a broad smile stretched across his lips.
David looked him straight in the eyes once more.
“If I ever set eyes on you again, you will be sorry,” he threatened, moving around the boy who swung to the side to avoid him.
As he made his way home, he felt relieved that it had been that easy to get rid of the stupid little boy. He couldn’t really say that Ruth was completely out of the woods yet but as he made his way home, he made up his mind to do something that would put him in the hot-seat with a lot of people.
The next morning, Josef dropped his daughter and Hope off at David’s.
Ruth anxiously knocked the door not sure of what to expect.
The door swung open and she stared in shock at the person before her. If it had not been for his smoky grey eyes she probably would not have recognized him.
“David?” she asked disbelievingly.
He smiled, the action causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle as she saw the lift of his high cheek bones and the defined laugh lines on his clean shaven face. He was truly a handsome man and it took her breath away – literally.
“Hi Ruth,” he greeted, moving aside for her to enter.
Hope looked at him as if unable to determine if it was her father that was before her or not. She reached up to touch his beardless face.
“Papa,” she said as if seeking confirmation.
“Yes Hope Dopey, it’s me,” he responded. Hope reached for him and he took her.
“Come,” he gestured for Ruth to follow him.
“Why did you remove your beard?” Ruth asked him as she sat in the sofa.
“I thought it was time for a change; to stop living in the past,” he replied.
Setting Hope beside her, he proceeded to kneel before her. Taking her hands he stared intently into her eyes.
Ruth stared at their connected hands, wide-eyed.
“I’ve been thinking a lot lately,” he started. “I need a mother for Hope, which would mean I also need a wife,” he continued to say.
Ruth simply stared at him waiting for him to continue.
“Since you came into my life, I’ve felt so alive again and try as I might to ignore it, I started developing feelings for you. I see the way you look at Hope and I know that you love her as if she was your own little girl. That makes me happy. When Riley threatened your wellbeing and I saw how distraught you were, I realized I never wanted to see you hurt like that. I would do anything to protect you Ruth,” he said the last part with much feeling.
At his revelation, tears began to run down her face as she waited for him to continue.
After a deep breath, he continued.
“What I’m trying to say is, I love you Ruth and I want you to be my wife. I can’t promise you that we won’t go through hardships but I do promise to make you and Hope my priority and I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how happy you make me feel. Even if your father or the community doesn’t agree, I still want to marry you.”
When Ruth didn’t say anything, he rushed on, “That is, if you’ll have me.”
Instead of answering she looked at Hope who was looking at their exchange with curiosity. She smiled at the little girl before turning to face him again.
“I love you,” she responded, making his heart jump for joy. “And yes, I will marry y
ou.”
Ruth cupped his face in her hands and adjusted her head so that their lips met in a sweet endearing kiss. She then reached for Hope and hugged her to her chest as David sat beside her with his arm over her shoulder.
They were starting a new journey in life. They both decided to leave their past behind as they sought to make new memories together. To them nothing else mattered but their new family.
THE END
Secret Baby Romances
Book I
The Billionaire’s Secret Baby
Chapter One
Camellia Moore twirled, remaining rooted in the same spot, as she examined the interior of her almost completed project. The project was one of her most recent jobs, the complete designing of an untouched apartment that her clients, the Fergusons, had bought. The Fergusons were dream clients, they didn’t complain and they actually listened to her when she was talking about improvements instead of trying to push half-baked ideas down her throat. She liked clients like them.
“The mural isn’t done yet,” she frowned.
Tracy Jackson, her invaluable secretary of four years looked at the ceiling. She had a folder in her hand in which she noted down the complaint. It was her job to take down every problem that Camellia spotted.
“I’ll ask them to get on that,” Tracy assured her.
“They should have finished it already. The Fergusons want the apartment in two weeks and I showed them the plans for the ceiling. The design was my idea and I can’t have it incomplete.” Camellia said and then looked at the wall. “I told them to finish the painting of the walls too.”
“I am sure they’ll get right on that,” Tracy said. “You worry too much.”
“I guess I do,” Camellia said sheepishly.
Tracy giggled and looked at Camellia. In the years she had worked with Camellia, she had come to appreciate her as a friend and employer. Camellia was young, twenty-five, but already the owner of a successful independent architectural firm. The firm had only two employees, her and Camellia but people didn’t matter. It was the quality of the people that mattered, which was the first thing that Camellia had told her. Tracy herself was three years older than Camellia and felt a sisterly affection towards her; Camellia inspired that feeling in everyone.
Camellia’s looks played a big part in that. She had large, innocent blue eyes with long, auburn hair which went with her heart shaped face. Despite her delicate features, Camellia was taller than Tracy without wearing heels and had the quiet dignity that select women were born with.
Tracy, herself, was just as pretty with short blond hair and a perfect figure. It paid to be good looking as a secretary as Tracy had learned. No one liked to wait until you had an appealing face, a sad truth.
“Earth to Tracy,” Camellia said, waving her hand in front of Tracy’s face.
“Huh? I am sorry,” Tracy said automatically.
“Where did you go off to?” Camellia laughed.
“I got a bit distracted,” Tracy said. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
Camellia smiled warmly at her and opened her mouth to say something. As she did, an uncomfortable feeling bloomed in her stomach and began to push its way up to her throat. She tasted the sour liquid and bent down, her hand going to cover her mouth. Tracy was immediately by her side.
“Camellia!” Tracy exclaimed. “What’s wrong?”
“The bathrooms work right?” Camellia managed to say.
“They do,” Tracy confirmed and had barely finished her sentence before Camellia took off running towards the nearest one.
Camellia barely made it to the toilet and was throwing up her breakfast of eggs that her lover, Jared Baker, had made for her. Tracy stood by the doorway, a conflicted expression on her face.
“Are you okay?” Tracy asked tentatively as the bathroom elapsed into silence.
Camellia nodded weakly and wiped her mouth with the toilet paper, avoiding looking at the toilet bowl. She flushed it and washed her hands.
“I just have a bad case of food poisoning,” Camellia said.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Tracy contradicted. “I watched you for the last few days and you have been sick for a while now.”
“It’s a bad case,” Camellia tried to say.
“No more excuses. I am making an appointment for you tomorrow.” Tracy wagged her finger at her.
Camellia started to protest but at the fierce expression on Tracy’s face, she stopped and smiled.
“Well, I guess I have no choice but to accept it.”
Camellia didn’t like hospitals.
It wasn’t because she had a traumatic experience but she didn’t like the smell or look of it. It always smelled like alcohol and sickness. Today, it was especially worse. The smell made her want to run for the bathroom but she had skipped breakfast that day so she didn’t really have anything to throw up. Or so she thought until she ended up inside the bathroom.
She was being a bit harsh but as she stared at the people around her, she began to feel ill at ease, stamping down the urge to leave. She had promised Tracy and she hadn’t told Jared about it which was foolish of her. He deserved to know but he was busy with his law firm.
Jared Baker was six years older than Camellia and was well on his way to become the partner in his firm. She had met Jared during a housewarming party thrown by one of her clients.
To this day, Camellia knew it had been Jared’s eyes that had attracted her towards him. They were dark but warm with an intensity that mesmerized her. He was good looking, that was sure, with an impressionable face and friendly demeanor which was useful for his cut throat profession. He was well-liked by everyone and Camellia had been surprised to see how much when she had been taken by him to her first high-class event. Since then, she hadn’t looked back.
It was their third year of dating and recently they had begun to talk of their future. Words that made her heart flutter in joy.
“Miss Moore?” A nurse was calling out.
“That’s me,” she stood up hastily.
The nurse indicated towards the door and Camellia went in. Inside, a doctor sat by the chair, he was well in his fifties with white hair and a smile on his face. Camellia sat down.
“What seems to be the problem?” the doctor asked pleasantly.
Camellia told him about the nausea and added that she had felt quite tired recently. The doctor nodded and took down notes.
“For now, I’ll ask you to take a routine blood test and I’ll give you some vitamins. Come back tomorrow for the results.”
Camellia nodded and took the prescription. It had taken all of ten minutes. As she walked out, she was relieved it was over. A small blood test and then she could tell Tracy that her fears were unfounded.
What could happen?
“You can’t be serious,” Camellia gaped at the doctor.
“I’m afraid I am,” The doctor said gravely. “You are pregnant.”
“How… but… I… “ Camellia spluttered.
She heard the doctor’s voice from far away, telling her that she was ten weeks along and it was surprising that she wasn’t showing yet. It was quite common to experience nausea during this stage and he was going to prescribe some more vitamins for her along with an appointment with a gynecologist who could take an ultra sonogram for her.
“The ultra sonogram can be arranged now if you want it,” the doctor said helpfully.
“Yes,” Camellia said automatically.
The doctor smiled and picked up his telephone, speaking into it. Meanwhile, Camellia lay trapped in her thoughts, trying to absorb this knowledge. She was pregnant. How had this happened? Usually they were so careful but it had to be a day when they weren’t so careful. How could she be so careless? This wouldn’t do…
But was it so bad?
Someone was tapping her shoulder and she looked up to see a nurse. Camellia blinked in surprise.
“She’ll take you to the ultra sonogram room,” the doctor said.
; Camellia got up and followed the nurse. She was prepped and laid on the chair, her blouse pulled back so that her stomach was exposed. A female doctor came in, smiling at her and squirted the cold bluish gel onto her stomach. She winced as the wand moved along her belly.
“There we go,” the doctor said in satisfaction. “This is your baby.”
Camellia looked at the screen and saw her baby. It-he looked so small. Suddenly everything was clear, this was it. This was her baby. Why had she been hesitating? The baby was the most important thing for her.
“I can have an image right?” Camellia said, her voice filled with emotion.
“Of course you can,” the female doctor said warmly.
Afterwards, Camellia remained in her car, staring at the sonogram as tears gathered in her eyes. Her baby, the product of her and Jared’s love. She couldn’t wait to tell Jared, hadn’t he always talked about having kids? So this was a bit sooner than they had planned but what did that matter? He would love to hear the news!
She looked at the clock, it was after five but he was surely at the office. She would go there and surprise him, he would be so happy! They would get married soon and buy a house together. She would take care of everything, especially the nursery.
Everything would be perfect.
Chapter Two
Camellia was strangely nervous as she stood in the lobby of Jared’s workplace. She had been here several times and, though she knew most of the employees, they waved at her as they passed by; she couldn’t smile back at them. Today, there was tension brewing in her. She supposed that it was from the news. The tension wasn’t the only thing that was hindering her. She was a little scared as well, thinking of Jared’s reaction. What would he say? Would he accept this baby or…
She couldn’t think of that possibility.
Camellia sighed and stared at the clock. She had been seated at this lobby for more than fifteen minutes. The clock showed six-thirty and Camellia knew she had to get a move on. As a rule, Jared was usually home by eight and she didn’t want to risk the chance of missing him. Camellia looked at her wrinkled attire and tried to smooth it out.