by Jill Sanders
Walking over to him, she reached up, kissed him and said. “I can’t imagine my life without him. He was a huge part of my life.”
She pulled him to the couch and sat next to him.
“He was there after Iian’s accident, and we lost our father. Not to mention, he was always there to bandage us up when we grew up. I always thought of him more like my grandfather.”
“Lacey,” he pulled her into his lap, kissed her some more. “Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart. How can I ever repay you?”
“Aaron,” she took his face in her hands. “You can start by taking me to bed.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Aaron and Lacey had just finished eating dinner. They were sitting bundled up on the back porch watching Bernard and Cleo playing in the fresh snow.
“I had an interesting patient in the office today.” he said.
“Mmm?” Lacey replied lazily.
“Yes, Stacie Walberg. She says she went to school with your brothers.”
Lacey’s back stiffened. Her eyes turned towards Aaron.
“She’s quite the talker, that one.” he murmured looking out over the yard at Bernard was rolling in the snow.
“What was wrong with Stacie?” Millions of images flooded Lacey’s brain.
Just then the phone rang and Lacey jumped.
Aaron was about to hit the button to send the call to voice mail when Lacey grabbed his arm and said. “Get that!” She had such a funny look on her face, he picked up the phone.
“Hello, Dr. Stevens.” he paused. “When? How far apart? Yes, we can meet you, yes, she’s here.” Aaron handed her the phone.
“Hi sis.” Todd’s voice was muffled. “You ready to be an aunt?” Lacey let out a squeak and jumped up from her seat.
“We’ll meet you there.” She hung up and grabbed Aaron’s arm to pull him up. “Well, come on. What’s taking you so long?” She tugged his arm and had him laughing.
“We have time yet; her contractions are only ten minutes apart. Come here.” he said and had her sprawled across his lap, his mouth was on hers before she could blink.
Pushing her hands up and between them she pulled back. “How can you sit here and be so calm. A baby is coming! A Jordan baby, come on let’s go!” she pushed harder against his chest.
“One more kiss, and I promise we’ll go. Just one more… mmm” he leaned over; he hadn’t realized he had needed it, but he soften the kiss taking his time to run his lips over her soft mouth, while his hands reached up and pulled her hips against his arousal.
Pulling slowly away she looked down into his eyes.
“This is no time to be starting something.” she smiled into his eyes.
“Right.” he stood up abruptly setting her on her feet next to him. “Let’s go have a baby, shall we.”
Matthew Steven Jordan was born at two thirty two AM. on February 10th, he weighed seven pounds eight ounces and had blonde curly hair with blue eyes, which Todd swore would turn to sea green just like Megan’s.
Lacey had never seen Megan smile so much. She laughed and cuddled their new son. Lacey almost had to fight her to hold Matthew for a half hour. Between her two brothers and Megan, she was lucky she got that much time.
A few hours later, just as the sun was rising, Aaron carried Lacey into the house. It was becoming a habit of his to carry her, one she didn’t mind.
“I never thought having a baby would be so draining and I wasn’t even the one giving birth. It was amazing, I have never seen anything so… I don’t know how to express it… There are no words…” she sighed into his shoulder. “Matthew is the most precious baby I have ever seen, he looks a lot like Megan, but I can see some of Todd in there as well. He looks a little like Iian when he was brought home from the hospital.” Was she running on?
Aaron could hear her speech slur and smiled as she let out a large yawn.
He laid her down gently on the comforter; she stretched her arms above her head. He could make out her form under the light t-shirt she was wearing.
How had it come to this? He not only wanted her most of the time, but he needed her. Needed her in his life; needed to wake up next to her, for her to be home when he got home, and to see her to hear her and to smell her.
He had set out to make a home for himself. Now looking around the place, he realized he had accomplished that, but the walls, paint and furniture didn’t make it a home. It was the small woman lying on the bed staring up at him with big sexy sleeping eyes and the slight smile on her lips.
“You did well today Dr. Stevens .” she reached up for him.
“Hmmm… You didn’t do so bad yourself. Although I think you were more nervous than Todd.” he smiled remembering when Lacey had almost pulled his arm out of its socket trying to get to the hospital.
He had always wanted a family, a brother or sister to spend time with. Instead he had been shipped to boarding school after boarding school. He had never even really spent holidays with his parents.
He didn’t have a home to go home to as a child, that’s why he took such great stock in this place. He could imagine raising kids here in this house. He wanted to be a father. He wanted to spend his weekends wrestling with kids in the back yard, going to school plays, or just helping them with homework. Looking down at Lacey now, he could just imagine doing that with her. The idea didn’t scare him like it had with Jennifer. With Jennifer he couldn’t see the future. Seeing Lacey’s family made him feel the emptiness that his childhood had left was now full.
“What?” Lacey said looking up at him. He had been staring into space, his eyes not focused. She leaned up and pulled him closer. “Where were you just now?”
Aaron shook his head to clear it and took a deep cleansing breath.
“Sorry. I’m back.” he smiled down at her and played soft kisses along her jaw.
“Mmm, you know, someday your going to have to talk about it.” she felt him stiffen. “Aaron, I’m not pressuring you, but sometimes it’s better to get it out in the open.” she pulled back and looked into his eyes.
“What’s in the past is done.” he said simply. She pulled back further when he tried to return to her neck.
“It’s not in the past if it keeps coming between us. Is it that you don’t trust me? Or just the fact that this is too personal?” Lacey reached over and flicked on the bed side lamp.
“It’s neither. It’s just done. I don’t want to talk about it.” He ran his hands thru his hair and walked over to the window.
Maybe it was the nerves or the fact that he had gone almost thirty hours without any sleep or a real meal, but he just couldn’t talk about Jennifer with Lacey, now or ever. He didn’t want something so evil to in any way touch what they had. He didn’t know how to convey this or whether he should even try.
Lacey quietly got up and walked over to him.
When she reached up to him, he stiffened and she quickly pulled her hand away.
“I don’t mean to pry. I thought….” she trailed off remembering the conversation yesterday before Todd’s phone call. Had Aaron been hinting at something?
His shoulders were stiff and his back remained to her. She didn’t know what she had thought. They had been so close the last couple of months; it was starting to feel like they had been building up to something more.
Her brothers had always warned her of getting too close, of being so trusting. Aaron had come from the city, had in fact lived in the city his whole life. He had admitted to her just a few days ago that he had only dated models, actresses, and that type of women. Maybe he was bored already. How could she compare to the life he had come from? Standing there looking at his back, things finally sunk in.
She’d been such a child. It was apparent he had wanted to pull away. She could imagine he had become bored of the small town girl. The house was done, what was to stop him from selling the place. He would sure make his money back now that it was fixed up. Taking a step back she turned and looked around the room. She’d been st
aying here almost every night for months. Was she smothering him? Did he want his space? She hadn’t meant to smother him; she looked at his back again. A little piece of her broke. It had been time to move on and she’d been so blind, a child. Well, it was time she was an adult.
Aaron had stood there looking out the window. His head ached and he wanted nothing more to just make love to Lacey and fall asleep next to her. But, she wanted to know about Jennifer. And in his mind that would never happen. Turning around finally he noticed that she’d retreated across the room. Her shoulders stiff in determination.
“I’m sorry Lacey.” It came out as a whisper as he started walking towards her.
“Don’t.” Lacey held up her hands and took a deep breath. “I understand. I’m sorry for prying. Listen, I need to get home, I forgot my uniform there. I have to be in work early for some interviews and I’m just a little punchy.” she tried to smile.
“Lacey, I want to explain.” he tried again.
“It’s not necessary.” She looked around, for what she thought might be the last time. “Goodnight.” Turning she walked quickly from the room.
He let her go without a word.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Aaron woke to the screeching of his phone. His head hurt, his eyes stung from the lack of sleep and his heart hurt. Answering it, well more like mumbling a hello. He knew the day wouldn’t get any better when he heard his mother’s voice on the other end.
His mother told him they had just landed in Portland, were on their way down to Pride and would be there by noon. Because he had no say in it, he told her to meet him at his office. It was funny, he’d been living in Pride for almost eight months and his parents had contacted him only twice.
His parents hadn’t really put any stock in his life, that was until the last few years. He had gone to the finest boarding schools around the world and then on to the best colleges his parent’s money could buy. Oh, he had worked hard all his life, but never for them. Only and always it had been for himself. Now, he had moved to Pride for the same reason.
Oh, they were extremely proud when he had proposed to Jennifer; they had taken an instant liking to her, she came from the right kind of family that they thought he should marry into. It seemed his mother had talked more to Jennifer on the phone than she had to him his entire life. They had flown out there several times to visit during their brief engagement.
When Aaron had broken off that engagement, he thought he would never hear the end of it from his parents. It seemed that they thought Jennifer would be the best match for their daughter-in-law role.
Making his way to his office, Aaron noticed Lacey’s car at the Golden Oar, and felt a twinge in his chest.
He’d let her walk away because he thought it best. He wasn’t in the mood to explain anything to her. Now, however, he wished he hadn’t let her walk away at all.
He had a hard time getting to sleep; he kept reaching for her only to find a cold pillow. He was determined to stop by tonight and explain everything. He wanted her back at home where she belonged.
Lacey had woken up early, not that she’d gotten any sleep. Her eyes had been swollen and red when she’d heading into work. She got there two hours early. There was always something there she could do to keep herself busy and keep her mind off of Aaron. She had a few interviews that morning, she hadn’t lied to Aaron about that. It’s just that they were at eleven. She was the only one in the place this early in the morning and would be for hours, she enjoyed it, or so she told herself.
Trying to convince herself that it was better for her to walk away from Aaron, after all what did she really know about him, sure over the last couple months they had become very close, practically living together. But, he never opened up about himself, never talked about his childhood, or his past. She knew there was a big weight of an old relationship, but knew nothing about it.
She could tell his heart had been broken. He would sometimes look off and she could see him reliving the pain. She’d hoped that one day he would open up to her, but now… She hated to think that somewhere out there was the woman he really loved and she’d been just a rebound girl. After last night, that possibility played in her head more and more.
Iian walked in several hours later as she was filing some paperwork in the office. He took stock of her, taking in her red eyes and puffy cheeks and had her in his arms in less then two strides. Iian had a second sense for these things. She cried in his arms as he murmured comforting words into her hair. It was so nice to hear him speak, to hear his voice. Holding on to her brother, she let it all go.
Aaron’s office was full of kids; evidently one of the McKenzie kids had gone to a birthday party in Portland and come back with the chicken pox.
Well, of course little Susie McKenzie had then gone on a play date with Katie Norris who then passed it on to the whole church group gathered for some brunch at the church. At this point, there were about a dozen children and parents crammed into his small offices. Children with calamine lotion and runny noses, along with either one or in some cases both worried parents sat or stood in his waiting room.
Aaron decision to hire Betty Thomas was paying off; the older woman had quickly come in and organized his appointment books. She had a small desk shoved up against one wall in the front office and was holding a baby covered in red blotches.
Even during one of the worst days in his California offices, he hadn’t had to deal with so many cases in one day. A day in which he had only a few hours of sleep. His mind kept wondering back to Lacey and their conversation last night. He wondered why she’d backed away so quickly. Was she trying to back away from the relationship? Did she want her space? Well, she would just have to get disappointed. He had no intentions of backing away or letting her back away either.
Half the waiting room was cleared out by the time his parents strolled in. He had his next patient on one of his hips, she was a small child covered with red blotches, her fevered head rest on his shoulder.
His mother looked perfect, of course, not a hair on her head was out of place as usual. She had on one of her designer suits the color of pearls, a light pink jacket, and sensible heels. She was taller than most women at five-eight. Her slender build and tan face could easily be that of any model on any glamor magazine. Her medium blonde hair was styled in the latest fashion and of course she had on all the right jewelry, no doubt bought at Tiffany just for this occasion.
His father had always reminded him of an older version of himself with the exception that his father always looked like a GQ model in his suits.
His father’s hair was cut shorter than his and was always well trimmed. His blue eyes never missing any small detail of a room as he walked in with his wife casually draped on his arm.
He had never seen the pair wearing jeans or any other form of casual wear. Aaron had seen a picture of them once when he’d been a child; they were on a beach somewhere tropical and both clad only in bathing suits. Still he remembers thinking that it could have easily been a professional shoot for a bathing suit commercial.
But, what really shocked him was the woman who stood behind his father’s left shoulder.
She was taller than his mother, thinner, and looked like she’d just walked off the catwalk. Her longer blonde hair ran down her back in a wave. She had on one of those smiles that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Eyes that were scanning and criticizing everyone and everything. Aaron’s back stiffened and his headache tripled.
Just then the small child in his arms lifted her heated head from his shoulder and groaned.
“Aaron, what are you doing here?” His mother asked when she looked around at the room of crying, itching children.
Handing the child to Betty, he said. “Please take Melissa and her mother to room three. I won’t be long.” Then he said to his mother. “Hello Mother. Please come back to my office.” he ushered the trio to the back room.
As soon as the door was closed, he rounded on them, but before he could get o
ut a word, his mother interrupted.
“You go away for a week sabbatical and we find you living here. Jennifer was worried, we haven’t heard from you in almost eight months. We show up to find you doing God only knows what. Really Aaron, we raised you above all this.” she said waiving her hands around the room.
Jennifer stood in the background twisting the engagement ring she’d refused to return when he’d called it off. Her eyes scanning the back of his parents and refused to meet his glare.
“Mother, what I do is no concern to you. I’ve been here almost a year with only two calls from you and one was just today. I’ve left several messages for you on your voice mail with no return calls. I’m living here now and have taken over Grandpa’s practice for good. I have a house, a practice, and no intentions of having that woman in my life anymore.” He pointed to the corner Jennifer stood in.