Take A Chance (Lake Placid Series Book 4)

by Natalie Ann

  “Your parents came around fast. They weren’t even upset over it. Surprised and shocked, but then they were happy. Happy enough to take you shopping this morning. I kind of expected something similar from my mom, but it didn’t happen.”

  She got up and moved over to sit in his lap and put her arms around him. He looked like he needed it.

  “What happened?”

  He proceeded to tell her, and her blood started to boil. She never expected Ginger to be that selfish. To blame Cole for this, or put that much weight on his shoulders.

  “Needless to say, she left here upset with me. Thinks I’m putting you in a bad position to follow in her footsteps of being a single parent, so to speak. Said no one should have to go through that.”

  “That’s not true, though,” she argued. Why would his mother feel that way? Ginger hadn’t been a single parent at all.

  “She didn’t want to hear anything I had to say about it. Then Celeste showed up shortly after.”

  “I hope she didn’t react the same way.” Rene couldn’t imagine that happening, but it was best to know everything.

  “Not at all. She came here because my mother called her in tears. She and Celeste got into some heated words, which doesn’t happen often.”

  “So we caused a fight between your family now?” Great, just great. Could anything else happen to them?

  “Not really.” He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight, burying his face in her neck, then kissing her softly. If he was trying to distract her, he was.

  “So now what?”

  “Well, it’s not a secret anymore. So you can let Max know. I’m sure it’s going to come out soon anyway, so it might as well be from you tomorrow. I’m not sure how long Celeste can hold it back.”

  “She was happy then?”

  He pulled back and looked at her. “Thrilled. Probably almost as excited and happy as I am.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad.”

  “She wants us to stop over tonight. Said she needs to congratulate you in person. Are you good with that?”

  “I am. We can stop at my grandmother’s on the way back, if you don’t mind.”

  “Why’s that? Does your father want to run me through the wringer again?”

  She laughed, not bothering to tell him about her talk with her dad earlier. “No. But he can help me pack up some stuff.”

  It was time to move on. It was time to stop being selfish, time to think about Cole’s feelings now. First her, then her family, and now his mother. No one seemed to be on his side or considering what he was going through. It was time to change that.

  He held her stare, the hope obvious. “Pack?”

  “Yeah. I’d like to shift my clothes over to start. I don’t have much more really to move. If that’s okay?”

  He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her loudly on the lips. “It’s more than okay. You just made my day!”

  Ultrasound

  “There’s the soon-to-be daddy.”

  Cole smiled at Ava, who was manning the front desk at Rene’s office. “That’s me.”

  Rene had indeed gone into work and told everyone she was pregnant. Her coworkers took the news like coworkers would. They were happy, excited, and had been picking on her nonstop for the last two weeks.

  “Does Rene know you’re stopping in? She never mentioned anything.”

  “No, but it’s important. Is it possible to just talk to her for a second between patients?”

  He hated bothering her like this, but needed to talk to her in person. He was short on time, and it wasn’t something to call or send in a text message. He could only be thankful she wasn’t scheduled to be in surgery at the hospital with Max right now.

  “Hang on, I’ll go back and find out where she is. You can go to her office to wait if you want.”

  He slipped through the door and made his way to the back, passing Amber on the way. “Congrats, Baby Daddy.”

  He’d been hearing a lot of that term lately. He used to think it was funny, now he was annoyed over it. He shouldn’t be, but it just reminded him that he really wasn’t much more than that. A baby daddy.

  “Thanks. Ava is going to get Rene for me. I’ll just wait in her office.”

  He sat at her desk and looked around. She was a neat person and her desk reflected that. So did everything she touched in his house.

  It seemed every time he went to look for something, it was gone and had been moved somewhere else. He finally gave up looking and just decided to ask instead.

  She’d worried he was mad she was rearranging things, but he wasn’t. Secretly he was thrilled she was making herself at home. So far, though, she hadn’t brought up anything about decorating or changing anything else, and he was slightly disappointed over it. Maybe with more time. Or maybe he should bring it up.

  His eyes roamed over her desk some more and landed on a picture frame tucked on the shelf. It was a photo of the two of them someone took at Celeste’s wedding. A great shot of them dancing and looking at the camera. Actually, it was a funny shot, because he’d picked her up so that their faces were closer together, but no one could see that with the way the photo had been cropped.

  Next to it was one of the pictures of the last ultrasound. She’d kept that on her desk. He was touched more than he could say, and it only made what he had to say even harder. He grabbed that picture and tucked it into his pocket.

  “Hey,” she said, opening the door to her office. “What’s up? Ava said it was important.”

  He looked at her, still showing no signs of pregnancy. Then again, she was wearing baggy scrubs.

  “You know the floods going on around the Gulf right now?”

  “It’s been on the news since yesterday.”

  “It’s still raining hard and they’re calling in the reserves.”

  “Oh,” she said, her mouth hanging open. “You’ve got to go?”

  “Yeah. My flight leaves in four hours.” Which was why he didn’t have much time to spare.

  “That’s fast,” she said, not moving. She wasn’t showing much of a reaction right now and he didn’t know what to make of it.

  “It normally is. That’s how it works.”

  “How long will you be gone?” she asked.

  “Two weeks, tops. With any luck I’ll be home before that. Even if the rain stops, along with the flooding, it takes time to clean up and get supplies in. I’ll be one of the few flying stuff in.”

  “So you won’t be on the ground? I’ve heard there is a lot of looting during times like this.”

  “There could be, and that is one of the things they try to keep under control. Like I said, I’ll probably be spending most of my time flying in supplies, loading and unloading things. Nothing too dangerous, just time consuming.”

  She nodded her head. “Okay. So I won’t have to worry too much then.”

  “You shouldn’t worry at all,” he told her. “I’m sure I’ll be worrying more about you back here.”

  “There’s nothing to worry about here, either,” she said.

  “I know. But I still will.”

  “Guess it goes both ways.”

  “Can I at least get a hug and kiss before I leave?”

  He couldn’t believe they were just having a normal conversation about this. He’d been prepared for tears on her part, but it seemed he was the only one upset.

  “Yes,” she said, rushing forward. “Sorry, I’m just trying to process it all. I guess I didn’t expect things to happen this fast when you got called in.”

  “The good news is I won’t be called in for another year. After the baby is born, so no worries about it as we get closer to your due date.”

  “That’s good to know. I might have tied you to a chair, locked you in the basement, and told them you were missing if that happened.”

  He smiled. He never expected she would take the news this well, let alone joke about it. He’d even contemplated leaving the reserves, but now he was going to push it off
. He leaned down one more time, kissed her long and hard.

  “I’m sorry about this, but I really need to run home and pack, take care of a few things, and get on the road. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  “I’ll be waiting for your call,” she said.

  “Feel free to send me messages. Even if I don’t get back to you, I’d like to think they were still waiting on my phone for me.”

  “I can do that,” she said.

  ***

  “How are you holding up?” Amber asked her a week later.

  “Not bad. It seems weird being in Cole’s house by myself at night. But I like knowing what he’s doing right now. That he’s helping people. Makes me proud to be his baby mommy.” Rene snorted. “Yeah, that was stupid. Still, makes me proud to be with him.”

  Amber shook her head. “Are you scared?”

  “Of being alone, or Cole being there?”

  “Both, but I was really more concerned about you being alone in his house.”

  She didn’t understand why everyone was so worried about her all the time. It was getting annoying.

  “Not really. I’m still getting used to the noises, but it’s not bad. Cole called me last night and asked if I went back to my grandmother’s. I thought for a moment he was going to tell me to do that, or go stay at Celeste’s house so that I wasn’t alone, but he didn’t. Instead he just said that he was glad to know I was there waiting for him.”

  “You two are almost too sticky sweet for me. I’m kind of losing all the manly respect I had for Cole.”

  “I’m slightly offended by that. Cole is one of the manliest men I know. Especially in uniform.” Rene lowered her voice and looked around to see if anyone else was there besides the two of them. “I found some pictures of him in the service. Oh my God, if he had been home when I found them, I would have jumped him.”

  Amber laughed. “Wow, I never expected you to be such a wildcat. As for Cole being hot in his uniform, no argument there. Still, I didn’t think he’d be this sweet and considerate. No, I take that back, he’s always been considerate. I guess maybe I’m just jealous, if you want to know the truth.”

  “You?” Rene said. “You’re jealous of me?” Who would have thought that?

  “Yeah. I think so. Cole’s a great guy. I never thought I’d see the day he would settle into a relationship. I don’t think anyone did, so it is nice to see. Still, it’s kind of hard to lose one of the most eligible bachelors in Lake Placid.”

  “Sorry, but he’s off the market,” Rene said firmly.

  Rene thought back to that conversation when she went home to Cole’s later that night. Sure she’d said he was off the market, but was he really?

  Yes, they were living together, but that was it. Nothing else had changed in their relationship. Neither one of them had yet to speak about the future much more than their work schedule for the week. They hadn’t even picked out a nursery room or colors yet. The house was still more his than hers.

  She was just carrying her bowl of ice cream to living room when there was a knock at her door. Walking over, she pulled the curtain aside and saw Ginger McGuire standing there. She couldn’t imagine what this was about.

  Opening the door, she said, “Cole isn’t here.”

  “I know, Rene. He’s in the Gulf of Mexico somewhere. Can I come in to talk?”

  She stepped aside. It wasn’t in her nature to say no. “Sure. Can I get you something to eat or drink? I’m just having a snack right now.”

  “No, I won’t keep you long.” Ginger stopped and looked at the bowl. “Chocolate chip. That’s Cole’s favorite.”

  “I never cared for it, but I can’t seem to get enough lately. Then again, I can’t seem to stop eating in general.”

  Ginger smiled. “I was the same way. Are you sure there aren’t two in there?”

  Cole hadn’t talked to his mother since that one day almost a month ago. Rene hadn’t talked to her at all. “No, just one. Would you like to see the ultrasound?”

  Ginger’s eyes started to gloss over. “I would, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  Rene set her bowl down and grabbed the picture she had on the fridge. The one in her office was missing, and she had no idea where it went.

  “Here you go.”

  Ginger looked it over, then ran her fingertip across the image. “Do you know the sex yet?”

  “No. In a few weeks we’ll find out. Cole will be home by then, too, or I would have rescheduled it.”

  “Cole told you about my reaction to the news?”

  “He did,” Rene said.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I was selfish about it. It seems both of you are very happy and excited about the baby.”

  “We are. I’m sorry you’re not.”

  Ginger smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I don’t remember you being so up front before. It’s a good trait to have with Cole. Maybe one I should have had more of with my husband.”

  Rene ignored that comment. “Can I ask why you’re visiting? Why now, when Cole isn’t here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you myself. I’d like to mend the fence with Cole, and figured the only way was to mend it with you first.”

  “There’s nothing to mend with me,” Rene said.

  “There is. Cole hasn’t been talking to me or returning my calls. I finally put it all together and it’s not because of me so much, but because of my opinion of you, and your relationship with him. If I can’t make peace with you and your relationship, then he won’t give me a chance. I won’t risk losing him over my insecurities. I’ve lost too much already.”

  Rene hadn’t expected that of Cole. She hadn’t expected that he would put her before his own mother, someone she knew he was closer to than his father, and the guilt that her relationship put a strain on the one with his family was weighing heavily on her.

  “I don’t want to come between Cole and his family. I’d never want that. I’m not sure what I can do to help, though.”

  “I just want to know that you don’t hate me for my reaction,” Ginger said, her voice quivering.

  “No. I don’t hate you at all. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t hurt. Or upset and a bit mad at what you said to Cole and made him feel, though.”

  “I’d expect no different. Please, I’d like to be a part of your and Cole’s life, and to see my grandchild. I don’t like this wall that he’s put up, but I really have no one to blame but myself. I knew it’d all come back to me someday.”

  It seemed to Rene there was something more going on right now, but she didn’t want to pry too much.

  “When Cole comes back, I’ll let him know you stopped and we talked. That it’s time to get together and move forward.”

  “I’d appreciate that. More than I probably deserve,” Ginger said.

  Again with comments that weren’t in line with what happened weeks ago. “I want our child to know his or her grandparents.”

  “I want that, too.” Ginger reached in her purse and pulled out a small sealed cardboard box. “If you could give this to Cole when he returns, please. Don’t tell him it’s here. I want him to open it himself. He’ll understand what it means when he sees it.” Rene took the box and set it down, then stood up when Ginger did. “If you aren’t working tomorrow night, I’d really like it if you could come to dinner with me. If you’d rather wait until Cole returns and you can talk to him first and see if he is okay with it, I’ll understand.”

  “I’ll talk to Cole tonight. I’d like to have dinner with you very much, but if Cole doesn’t feel comfortable right now, I won’t go against his wishes either.”

  Ginger hesitated, and then reached out and hugged her. “I truly am sorry for any pain or hurt I may have caused you and Cole. It was never my intention.”

  Rene watched Ginger leave and sat back down to eat her melted ice cream. There was more going on, she knew that, only she had no clue what, and she wouldn’t bring that part up to Cole tonight. He didn’t need anything else to worry about
right now.

  When she was done with her snack, she put her dish away and went to the bedroom to put the box on the dresser, but knew if she looked at it for the next week it’d drive her insane wondering what was in it.

  Instead she pulled open one of his drawers and pushed some shirts aside to set it in there, only she found another box. A smaller one. A ring box.

  Her hands started to shake when she picked it up and looked inside, then covered her mouth with one hand. This was more than a suggestion and she wondered why he hadn’t brought it up again.

  Quickly, she placed the ring back where it was and put the box from his mother in another drawer.

  Need to Know

  Cole couldn’t get home fast enough. It’d been a long two weeks and he was missing Rene something fierce.

  They’d barely had a chance to talk more than five minutes the entire time he was gone. He was at least thankful for her text messages throughout the day. They kept him going.

  The ultrasound picture he’d stolen from her office was worn now from the number of times he’d pulled it out and looked at it. More so when she told him she thought she felt the baby move.

  He wanted to be there for that, but she laughed and told him he wouldn’t be able to feel anything yet. That she could have mistaken it for gas. When she said that, he laughed even louder.

  Then she said his mother had stopped over. He didn’t have enough time to find out what it was all about, but she wanted to know if he was okay with her having dinner with his mom. He wanted to say no, and almost did, but waited until she said, “She apologized for her reaction and wants to make it up to me.”

  “If you want to have dinner with her, you can. If not, then we can talk more when I get back.”

  “I do. She reached out and she is trying, so I’d like to give her a chance.”

  Yeah, Rene was still tender and more forgiving than him, but it was for the best. Not talking to his mother for so long was bothering him more than he thought it would.