by M. Malone
But not tonight.
Tonight she was thrilled to see all the guys’ vehicles in front of the house because it meant that Eli was probably there. That was far preferable than having to call him and explain her problem over the phone. This was already guaranteed to be humiliating enough. Especially since she didn’t want the rest of her friends to know about her problems with Trent. He was their friend, too. It wasn’t fair to put them in the middle, especially when she wasn’t really sure what was going on.
As she walked up the steps, the front door opened. Ridley stood in the entryway, one hand on her rounded belly.
“Mara! I’m so glad you’re here.” Ridley grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over the threshold.
Several children raced by, followed by the sounds of shrieking. Something crashed in the distance. Her friend didn’t even blink. She followed as Ridley tugged her toward the kitchen.
“The guys were supposed to take the kids out so we could have a quiet night in but then Jada got sick so Nick didn’t want to take her too far. So now everyone somehow ended up here. Katie came over to help with the kids and brought Hunter and Matthew. Then Laura’s husband Pete brought Annabelle and Isabelle.”
By this time, they’d reached the kitchen which was just as loud as the entryway. Nick stood in the corner bouncing his daughter Jada in his arms. She wasn’t impressed by his efforts if her screams were any indication.
Ridley dropped into one of the kitchen stools with a heavy sigh. “It’s chaos in here and I’m too tired to keep up with it all. Hunter asked me to find his mom and I couldn’t even search the first floor without getting tired.”
Mara felt a tug on the edge of her sleeve. When she turned she recognized one of the neighborhood kids. Brown-skinned and curly haired, he looked a lot like his mother.
Ridley held out her hand. “This is Katie’s youngest boy, Hunter.”
“Pleased to meet you, Hunter.” She held out her hand, very formal, and managed to keep a straight face as he shook it solemnly.
“Can you help me find my mom?” he asked.
Ridley sighed. “Katie was just here a few minutes ago. Would you mind looking for her?”
“Of course. It’s no problem. You stay here and catch your breath. Hunter and I will go on an adventure.” She offered Hunter her hand. After a moment, he took it, glancing up at her with big trusting eyes.
They explored the lower level, peeking into the living room and the massive home gym. When she glanced out in the backyard, she saw several children running around and recognized Bennett, the oldest of the Alexander brothers, talking to a group of people that she didn’t know. That explained why most of the rooms were empty. Everyone was outside enjoying the spring weather.
When they got upstairs, they came upon several young boys in one of the bedrooms. Hunter suddenly screeched “There’s my brother!” and raced forward.
“Do you want to stay here and play while I look for your mom?”
Hunter nodded eagerly, his attention already on the other children. Jackson’s oldest son, Chris, offered him another toy. “It’s okay. I can watch the little kids. My dad said that I can be in charge.”
Mara grinned back. “Excellent. I will leave you in charge then Mr. Alexander.”
Chris’ chest puffed out as he turned back to the other kids. “Okay, lets play with the robots first. And everyone has to share.”
Mara walked back out into the hallway and then hesitantly pushed open the door to the master bedroom. It was dark, the curtains drawn, so the entire room was in shadow. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a soft sniffle. She peered around the bed. Down on the floor next to the window, Katie sat with her head on her knees.
Mara crouched down low. “Katie? Are you okay?”
Her head lifted and their eyes met. The other’s woman’s eyes were bloodshot and swollen. She quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand.
“Sorry. I just needed a minute away from all the noise.”
“I get that. It is pretty crazy down there. Hunter was looking for you.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. The other boys are showing him their robot toys. I think he forgot I existed as soon as he saw that. Typical men, huh?”
Katie laughed softly. “Yeah, some things never change I guess.”
“Any reason you’re up here hiding out? I mean, I know why I’m hiding out.”
“Are you? Hiding, I mean?” Katie peered at her curiously.
Normally she wasn’t given to dumping her problems on strangers but she recognized a woman on the edge. Sometimes when you were at the end of your rope, you just needed someone who was open to listening and sharing. Even if they weren’t a close friend, just being there was enough.
“Well, yeah. I have some hard decisions to make today. And I’m probably going to hurt some of my friends and family when I make them.”
Katie was nodding along. “Me too. Actually I already made my decision.” She looked away. Her shoulders shook with an involuntary shiver. “I’m officially divorced as of today. My husband doesn’t even care. He didn’t fight for us. What’s worse, he didn’t even fight for our kids.”
“I’m sorry.” Mara moved closer so her head could rest back against the wall.
“I’m not crying over him. I’m crying that my kids have a father who couldn’t care less about leaving them behind. And also that I have no way to support them. Don stopped paying child support and I have no idea how I’m going to pay the mortgage.“
“That is so wrong. He can’t do that. Have you told Jackson? Maybe he knows someone who can help.”
“I’ll be okay. I can’t tell Jackson and Ridley because they’ll try to pay it for me. I can’t have people giving me charity. I’ll figure something out.” Katie glanced over at her. “What about you? What’s your story?”
Mara leaned back against the wall. “I think my fiancé is cheating on me?”
“Do you guys have kids?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Well, figure it out now. Don’t end up like me. Make note of everything so that the next time it happens no one can say you’re just being hysterical or imagining things.”
"It's nothing. Just a hunch more than anything. And the fact that he's suddenly traveling a lot more."
Katie sat up, the fervor in her voice increasing with every word she spoke. “Even if it's just a hunch, follow it. If he’s flying somewhere, get his flight number. Get the number to the hotel where he’s supposed to be staying. Use seduction to scramble his brain and then ask him questions. Do everything you can to figure this out because if it’s not going to last, it’s better to know that now than after two kids.”
Chapter Three
TRENT PUSHED OPEN the double doors leading to the pediatric wing of the hospital. After a few days visiting Avery and Travis, he’d left for the airport only to get a message from Avery that Travis didn't feel well.
When he'd first read the message, he'd assumed that Avery was just being overprotective. The stress of worrying about when James would come back had made her moody and needier than usual. Then she'd written again to say they were at the hospital. He'd come straight there from the airport, thankful that he'd been running behind and hadn't taken off yet.
There was truly no reason for his heart to be beating so fast or for his pulse rate to feel like it was about to explode. From experience, he knew that it was probably just Travis’s asthma and that the little boy would be fine.
But experience didn’t keep his heart out of his throat.
The nurse behind the desk looked up when he stopped and leaned his arms on the counter. “I’m here for Travis Townsend.”
Her brow furrowed. “Name please?”
“Trent Townsend. I’m his uncle.”
At that she perked up. “Of course. His mother told us to expect you. Follow me.” She rounded the counter and led him down the hall, her shoes squeaking slightly on the linoleum floor. “Your family has been so
generous, Mr. Townsend. The new asthma research study funded by the Townsend grant has made such a difference already. My granddaughter has asthma.”
Trent nodded along but everything she was saying faded away as soon as they crossed the threshold into one of the patient rooms. Travis turned and Trent let out the breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding.
“Uncle! You came back!” Travis raised one of his hands but it didn’t get far off the bed before he let it drop.
Trent sat gently on the side of the bed and kissed the top of his nephew’s blond head. “Of course I came back.”
He glanced over at Avery. “Is he okay?”
She came to stand on the other side of Travis’s bed. “The doctor just left. He was having trouble breathing and making these strange wheezing sounds. The inhaler only helped a little so I brought him in. They want to do some tests.”
Trent turned around at the sharp tug on his shirtsleeve. Travis watched him with his big blue eyes. “Is my Daddy coming home now?”
Trent swallowed against another tide of anger at his brother. His negligent, party-loving, irresponsible brother. “I’m still trying to find him, buddy. But I’m going to do everything I can, okay? Right now, I want you to just rest for a bit.”
“Okay.” Travis rubbed his face with one chubby hand and then clutched the stuffed elephant he took with him everywhere.
He got up, motioning with his head for Avery to follow. After one last kiss to her son’s head, she came to stand next to him, facing the doorway.
She sniffled and then delicately wiped beneath her eyes. “About what you said… I guess that means he isn’t coming back then?”
In that moment Trent would have given anything to be able to lie to her. Because having to tell one of his best friends that the man she’d loved forever had no intention of being there for her, sucked in a major way.
When she finally smiled, he kissed her on the forehead and released her.
“I’m so sorry to keep pulling you away from home. How does your fiancée feel about all this? And why haven’t you brought her to meet me yet? It’s not like you to be so secretive.”
Trent shook his head. “I’m not being secretive.”
“Yes, you are,” she insisted. “You've always been so strange about girls. Remember when you liked that foreign exchange student during freshman year of high school? You were so funny. Every time she talked to you, you’d turn beet red and act like you couldn’t understand what she was saying. Even though I was friends with her, you never asked for an introduction.”
Trent laughed. “I don’t even know who you’re talking about.”
Avery smirked. “Sure you don’t. Well, I remember perfectly. Her name was Genevieve and she wore sweaters so tight you could practically see her rib cage. And you blushed whenever she talked to you. If you’d wanted to impress her you could have easily. Your French was better than mine even back then. But you never did.”
For a moment, she looked pensive then her gaze came back to rest on Travis. “It’s amazing how much has changed since then. But you’re still the best friend I’ve ever had.” She hugged him and he tried to pretend he didn’t feel her shoulders shaking as she cried quietly.
“I am so sorry.” Sorry that his brother was an ass. Sorry that she had to sit in this hospital and watch her baby struggling to breathe. There were so many things that he’d fix for her if he could but just like always, he was forced to watch it all unfold. Everything out of his hands. He felt almost as helpless as he’d felt as a freshman struggling to find the words to tell Genevieve Marchant that she was pretty.
“I’m so sorry. I swear I would kick his ass for you if I only knew where he was.”
“It’s okay. None of this is your fault. And I feel so bad every time I have to call you. Every time I have to take you away from your life to help me out. I should be able to deal on my own.”
Trent squeezed her arms gently. “I don’t want you to do that. I love you and Travis and you know I’d do anything for you. You shouldn’t have to do all this stuff alone. Don’t worry about things for me. I’ll deal.”
“Why don’t you just bring her with you? I would love to meet her.”
"I'm planning to bring her home soon," Trent hedged.
Suddenly her eyes narrowed and her fingers tightened around his forearms. Painfully. “Trent Townsend. What are you not telling me?”
He didn't meet her eyes. Ever since they were children Avery had the uncanny ability to suss out when he was lying about something. She'd corner him and badger the truth out of him if necessary. "It's nothing. I just haven't introduced her to the family yet."
“What do you mean she hasn't met the family? I’ve been hearing about this girl for years. You’re getting married.” She stared at him, her gaze penetrating until he felt like he was being held under a laser beam.
“She doesn’t know about the money,” he admitted finally.
Avery’s mouth fell open. “Um… okay? What the hell does that mean?”
He grabbed his hair with both hands, tugging on the strands as if pulling his hair out would lessen the sudden pressure behind his forehead.
“You know about what happened with my father after high school, right?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, James told me about it. Your father told you that there was no way you could make it in the world without your family’s influence. You walked away and didn’t come back.”
He nodded along at her summary. “Basically. However, the most important part of that story is that when I left, I created a new life for myself far away from Manhattan. I could have gone to school any number of places but if I’d chosen any of the Ivy Leagues there would have undoubtedly been someone who connected the Townsend name with our family. I would have never been able to escape it.”
“That’s why you chose Virginia?”
“Yes. I wanted someplace small with access to the water so I could surf in the summer. I was checking out college campuses and just stumbled across the perfect fit one day.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you haven’t brought Mara home yet.”
“Avery, when I’m in Virginia, my life is completely different than it is here. I live in a two-bedroom townhouse. If we want to take a vacation, we can’t just go. She has to ask for permission from her boss.”
Her eyes had gotten bigger and bigger with every word. “Well, okay. I understand that you think this would be overwhelming for her.”
He shook his head. She still wasn’t getting it. “We have a mortgage that we pay every month. If Mara lost her job, she’d worry over how to pay it.”
Then he spoke the words that he knew would drive the point home.
“She drives a Honda, Avery. Your last spa weekend cost more than her car. It’s an entirely different world. The people there don’t know how much money I have. Apparently, they like me for no reason at all.”
Avery blinked. It appeared that for the first time since they were children, she was speechless.
“James said you were going rustic but I didn’t really know what he meant.” She peered at him curiously. “And you’re happy?”
He thought back to his last argument with Mara. The way they’d been over the last few weeks. He’d been keeping this from her for so long, hurting her with lies of omission. The past few years had been some of the best of his life and had literally made him into a man. He’d had valid reasons for starting over and keeping his life in New York a secret had been a necessity to that.
He wouldn’t give up the years of anonymity and peace he’d gained for anything. But Mara was his soul mate and it was time for him to show her his beginnings. Things would finally come full-circle and the life he’d run away from would allow him to provide her with every luxury. He could finally treat her the way she deserved.
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” he replied with total honesty.
* * * * *
BY THE TIME Mara came back downstairs, everyone else had arrived.
“Mara, there you are. Kaylee just arrived so we’re all here now.” Ridley announced.
Mara looked around, finally noticing Kay across the room. Kaylee Wilhelm was a talented local pop singer that Ridley’s husband, Jackson, had signed to a music deal the prior year. Mara had always liked her, even though their personalities were like night and day. Kay was shy and sweet and easily flustered which strangely enough made her the perfect partner for the gruff Eli Alexander.
Ridley struggled to her feet, one hand on her distended belly. Before she could stand completely, Kay was there at her elbow. “Sit down. You’re supposed to be staying off your feet.”
Ridley accepted the gentle scolding with a smile. “How are you? It feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.”
They all moved over so Kay could sit down. “It’s been hectic. I had a gig in Vegas and now your husband is keeping me in the studio. He’s determined for us to finish our duets album before the baby is born.”
Ridley let out a little sigh. “I’m so happy he’s singing again.”
“I think the world is happy he’s singing again,” Kay agreed.
Mara tried to smile appropriately as the conversation turned to all the baby preparation that Ridley was doing. Normally she’d have been all over a conversation about decorating a nursery but this time she had her mind on other things. Such as the possibility of her future husband being a cheating scum bucket.
“Did Eli come with you?” she asked Kay, as casually as she could manage.
Kay stopped talking mid-sentence. “Uh, yeah. He’s over there somewhere.” She gestured toward where Ridley’s husband, Jackson, stood talking to his parents. “Were you looking to torture him some more?”
Mara winced. When Kay and Eli were getting together, she’d had the bright idea of making Eli jealous by hooking Kay up on a blind date. The date itself had been a disaster and the follow-up date had been even worse since Eli’s truck had literally exploded before it was over.