by Andrews, Amy
A baby. With Lacey.
Worse things had happened to him.
“They’re right Lacey,” Coop said, his jaw completely numb now from the cold. “It’s the honourable thing to do.”
She turned to face him. Her eyes telling him in no uncertain terms that they’d all lost their minds. “We will talk about this later. Privately.”
Well she had that right at least. She’d be explaining why the hell she felt the need to keep the most important part of her breakdown last night to herself. If he’d known, they could have already dealt with it prior to coming here today and saved a lot of this aggravation.
“Well I don’t know where,” Ethan said, his voice hard, “because Coop’s sure as shit not welcome in this house anymore.”
“What?” Lacey spluttered. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Ethan folded his arms. “I don’t trust him around you.”
Coop took a deep breath and reminded himself that Ethan had just been dealt a huge whammy that he clearly didn’t know how to deal with and he didn’t mean what he’d just said. Because Ethan had always had Coop’s back. And Coop his.
Which was precisely how he came to be here in the middle of this predicament today.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, Ethan,” she yelled. “He can’t get me any more pregnant. This is my house too and if he’s not welcome here, then I’m not staying either.”
“That’s fine by me,” Ethan snapped.
Coop glanced at JJ, who appeared unconcerned by the raging argument. She seemed happy to just wait it out like she knew it would eventually run out of steam. Coop hoped so but right now it looked like Ethan was determined to be difficult, so he said the one thing he knew would goad Ethan into changing his mind. “Don’t worry, Lacey. I’ll take you back to Brisbane with me.”
“The hell you will,” Ethan said, “you’re not taking her anywhere and if you think you’re going to skip out on her by going back to Brisbane then you can think again. You got her in this state? You’re going to be here with her every step of the way, mate.”
“Old man Campbell at the auto-repair shop reckons his wife’s been bitching about taking their caravan away for a holiday for the last ten years,” Jarrod said. “Reckon he’d be happy to go if we vouched for Coop.”
Marcus nodded. “Perfect,” then pulled out his cell and dialled a number, his eyes never leaving Coop’s face. “Alec, its Marcus Weston. I’ve found you a mechanic who can cover for you while you and your lovely wife take that holiday.” There was silence for a moment before Marcus said, “Oh, Coop can do it ASAP, Alec.”
The phone was handed over to Coop. Alec Campbell’s delight was evident and Coop found himself agreeing to cover for the man for two weeks. He set up a meeting with him tomorrow before handing the phone back to Marcus.
It appeared, regardless of how the Lacey situation played out, he was stuck doing a spot of auto repair in Jumbuck Springs for the immediate future. Apparently this was going to score Alec major bonus points with the wife.
So now the state of the Campbell’s marriage also depended on him.
Luckily he owned his own business and could take off at the drop of a hat.
“You can have one of the rooms at the pub until … other arrangements can be made,” JJ said, finally entering the fray.
“And I’ll go with you,” Lacey announced.
Coop schooled himself to not show the alarm that slid through his system at Lacey’s announcement. Living with her was not high on his must-do list. The degree of temptation alone—pregnant or not—was enough to bring him out in a sweat.
But it would all be moot soon enough. It was a … storm in a teacup. They’d all look back on this in years to come and laugh.
Probably …
If the Weston brothers didn’t take him out in the middle of the night, murder him, then bury him deep in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range.
Marcus folded his arms. “No way.”
Lacey stepped back until she was by his side, her hip and her thigh rubbing his. Coop’s belly stirred at the close contact. “I go where he goes,” she said staring her brother down.
“I thought you wanted to come home?” Jarrod murmured.
She shrugged. “I’m in Jumbuck Springs. That’s enough for now.”
Ethan shook his head. “We should have spoilt you less and spanked you more as a kid.”
“Okey dokey,” JJ said. “I really don’t think anything more is being gained here. I’m going to take Lacey and Coop back to the pub and get them settled and then when everyone,” she looked at the three Weston brothers, “has calmed down a little, you can all have a civilised discussion.”
Coop nodded. It suited him just fine. The situation was ridiculously tense and he needed to get Lacey alone.
“Thank you, JJ,” Lacey said. “At least someone around here is acting their age.”
JJ folded her arms in a way Coop suspected few people messed with. “Don’t think spanking you hasn’t crossed my mind either.” Her voice was tinder dry, like the landscape they’d passed on the way into Jumbuck Springs. She pointed to the doorway. “Let’s go.”
A contrite Lacey did exactly as she was told, not bothering with the usual effusive goodbyes. She was smart enough to know there weren’t going to be any of those today.
Coop lagged behind, glancing at Ethan. His friend was shocked and angry. But was the prospect of his best friend and his sister really that repugnant? Ethan knew the kind of man Coop was. He ought to know that he’d treat Lacey with respect.
There were a lot worse guys out there.
“Is it really that bad, Ethan? Me and Lacey? Am I that fucking unworthy?”
Ethan rubbed his hand over his jaw in defeat. “Shit man … you were supposed to be looking out for her.”
Yeah … Coop nodded. Ethan had him there.
He turned and followed JJ and Lacey out the door.
* * *
It was another twenty minutes before he was able to get Lacey alone. JJ rode back to the pub with them and during which only very awkward small talk was made. They were careful not to rehash any of what had just transpired, steering clear of the elephant in the car.
Lacey ran into two people in the bar that she knew and introductions were made, delaying them further. It took a full ten minutes to extricate themselves from that and then JJ was all brisk and businesslike as she showed them to their room, prattling on about poor occupancy rates and giving them the large family room at the back.
The Stockman was typical of all pubs in country towns—a big, old, two-storey monstrosity. Pub downstairs, accommodation upstairs. A huge veranda ran the entire length of the upstairs façade. An overhanging tin roof provided shade, while intricate iron lace work on the railing provided a touch of fancy to an otherwise very functional looking building.
By the time Coop and Lacey had emptied her stuff from his car, including her precious sewing machine, and dumped it in their room—number five—they were finally alone. He kicked the door shut after him, placing her two suitcases on the single bed, avoiding the double altogether.
The room was spacious. Along with the two beds there was an open kitchen area with a round table and four chairs. The middle of the room had been fashioned into a lounge area with use of a big three-seater couch that probably doubled as a pull-out bed and a coffee table facing the reasonably modern television hanging on the wall. A large bathroom opened out behind him.
It wasn’t five star but it was clean and well appointed. He’d stayed in worse places on his travels. It’d do for two weeks.
Lacey had taken her ponytail out and her dark hair hung in long loose waves around her face and shoulders as she stood in the kitchen, pouring hot water into two mugs. It was all glossy and shiny and he was constantly amazed at how it transformed her.
Goodbye Lacey the little sister.
Hello Tracey the woman.
He remembered how good it felt brushing his chest and shoulders and sliding through hi
s fingers. How silky it had been as he’d twisted his hands in it when she’d gone down on him that first night. How it had smelled like flowers as he’d buried his face in it as he’d drifted off to sleep.
Her hair gave him a hard-on for Christ sakes.
For a crazy moment he even let himself think about living with her here in this room, her hair always down, her clothes always off.
He cleared his throat as much for his benefit as for hers. “Well now,” he said, raising an eyebrow as he shoved his hands on his hips. “This is all a bit of a mess, isn’t it?”
The throb in his jaw was a solid reminder of just how much. Had she really thought through the implications of having a baby with a man who had another family?
Her shoulders sagged as she raised her gaze to meet his. “I’m so sorry, Coop. I shouldn’t have just blurted that out, but they just made me so angry.”
Coop didn’t doubt it. Lacey was easily riled but she could definitely have handled the bombshell better. “Why on earth didn’t you tell me you were pregnant before we went in there?”
How on earth did she even let it happen in the first place? In this day and age of cheap and accessible contraception? But that was a question for later. And kind of moot anyway.
“I could have at least been prepared. I could have gone and seen Jeremy with you and we could have had all this stuff ironed out before coming here today. This whole thing could have been approached much differently. Much better.”
Lacey frowned. “Oh no. I don’t—”
“Oh come on, Lacey, you don’t think it could have been handled better?”
“Coop I—”
“It’s fine though,” he said. “I’m sure we can undo some of the damage. We just need a plan.”
Coop was big on plans. As a cop he’d been used to planning operations down to the last contingency. And, in his thriving car restoration business, a comprehensive plan of attack was needed for every vehicle.
She picked up the mugs and brought them over to where he stood. “Take a breath, Coop. I’m not pregnant.” She passed him his drink. “I lied.”
In retrospect Coop shouldn’t have been surprised. She had, after all, lied to him in a fairly significant way from the very beginning and had played fast and loose with the truth on and off over the time he’d known her. But somehow he still was.
Lying about her age paled into comparison to lying about being pregnant.
A surge of relief warred with the urge to strangle her and he counted off three breaths before he spoke. “What. The. Ever-loving. Fuck?”
“I know,” she sighed, sitting on the nearby three-seater couch. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She looked up at him. “I didn’t plan on faking a pregnancy, really I didn’t, but then Ethan laid down those stupid conditions and I thought well screw them, serve them right if I was pregnant and then suddenly it seemed like a good solution and it just tumbled out and then everyone stopped talking about me leaving and it was already out there and …”
Her voice trailed off as her eyes pleaded with him to understand how what had seemed like a good idea at the time had turned into something bigger than the Great Dividing Range. And he did understand Lacey and her impulsive ways. But this? He’d stepped up for her because he’d genuinely believed she was pregnant.
“I backed you up,” he said, his grip tightening on his mug. “Marcus punched me.”
“I never asked you to do that, Coop.”
True. That had all been on him. “You asked me to be on your side.”
“Not by becoming the fake father to my fake baby!”
Coop snorted, his anger simmering. Her gratitude was overwhelming. “Oh and how do you think your thirty-eight-year-old, married-with-two-kids lover was going to go over with your brothers? Believe me, I was the lesser of those two evils.”
“Except I’m not pregnant,” she snapped.
“Yeah. But I didn’t know that did I?” he said, teeth gritted.
“How was I supposed to know you were going to support my crazy?”
The simmer hit a boil as Coop stared down at her. “Really?” he yelled. “You have to ask that? When haven’t I supported you, Lacey? When haven’t I had your back?”
* * *
Lacey blinked as Coop’s bitter words rained down on her like a shower of hot sparks. He had supported her every time she’d asked him to. Unfailingly. Him jumping into the fire with her should hardly have been surprising.
She took a breath. After all, he’d just been reacting to her reaction. Neither of them had put a whole lot of thought into it but Coop had gone above and beyond as usual.
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t even thank you.” She lifted her hand and slipped it into his. “Thank you. What you did was … amazing. It was above and beyond and I’m sorry that my lie put you in such an awkward position with Ethan.”
He got that brooding look she often saw on his face when he was in the middle of pulling her out of a scrape. Like he was trying to assess her sincerity. Or her need to be spanked.
Or kissed.
He let go of her hand as he sat beside her with a resigned sigh a moment or two later. There was a cushion’s distance between them but the usual wild ovarian flutter that kicked in whenever he was near did its thing.
“I have to say, I’m relieved you’re not pregnant,” he said.
Lacey smiled for the first time since she’d dropped her bombshell at lunch. “Same here.”
He sipped his coffee and didn’t say anything for a while, but Lacey knew what he was doing. She could practically hear the cogs turning in his brain as he mulled through her problem.
“Okay,” he said eventually. “So, this isn’t that bad. We can walk this back. We can go over there later tonight … the morning’s probably better actually … and just tell them the truth. Trust me, the fact that you’re not pregnant will go a long way towards helping your brothers forget all about the collective heart attack you gave them today.”
Lacey nodded. It all made perfect sense. She could still walk it back.
Except she didn’t want to.
It was underhanded and she knew it but being here was all that mattered right now. Despite the tumult of the day, she already felt easier in her bones. And she’d take that however it came.
“I don’t want to,” she said, dropping it into the silence, bracing for the immediate reaction.
Coop swivelled is head in her direction, his brows drawn together. “What?”
“If I take the pregnancy out of the mix it leaves me right back at the beginning, Coop, and I’m not having the college slash deathbed–promise-to-Mum fight again. I’m where I want to be now and I’m not giving that up. I know it’s dishonest but I just don’t care.”
“Lacey …” Coop shook his head. “This is crazy. You think they’re pissed at you now? How much worse is it going to be when they find out the truth? How long do you think you can fake it for?”
“Not for long, obviously. And I will tell them … in a bit. I just want to find myself a job and somewhere to live. Prove to them that I can look after myself and don’t need their permission to run my own life.”
“And how long’s that going to take?”
She shrugged. Jumbuck Springs was a small town with the same kind of youth unemployment rates as a lot of small towns. But she was a Weston and that opened doors. “Maybe a month or so?”
He put his mug on the nearby ancient wooden coffee table. He didn’t bang it but the controlled way he did it spoke volumes about his state. “A month?” He shook his head “That’s not fair to them, Lacey. And it’s not fair to me. I’m already having to put my life on hold for two weeks to fill in for Alec Campbell because of this crazy situation and now you want me to hang around for another two?”
Lacey frowned. What the? “I’m not asking you to do that.”
“Don’t be naïve. You know your brothers have certain expectations.”
“My brothers are being Nean
derthals. This isn’t Victorian England. We don’t duel anymore or have women being sold into marriage by their male relatives. I’m perfectly capable of handling this debacle by myself. You’ve already done enough.”
He shook his head a look of indignation crossing his features. “To hell with that. While you’re carrying my fake baby I’m doing the honourable thing and standing by you. I’ve already disappointed your brothers enough by knocking you up in the first place. I can’t just leave you here to deal with it on your own because as far as they’re concerned this is real and they’ll see it as me shirking my responsibilities. And I am not a shirker.”
No. Coop was definitely not a shirker. “We’ll work it out somehow,” Lacey assured. “I’ll tell them that you’re really busy at work so you’ll travel back and forth when you can and that you’re … paying money into my account and … have already started a college fund. Or something.”
He shook his head. “No. It’s all or nothing, Lacey. It’s what your family expects. Damn it, it’s what I would expect of myself if this whole fucked-up situation was actually real.”
“Yes, but it isn’t real, is it?”
“As long as your family thinks it’s real then you better believe it is real. Very real.”
“Well then I guess you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, aren’t you?”
If Coop thought she was going to cave in because of this then he clearly didn’t know anything about her. She wasn’t backing down—not now she’d come this far.
“And what if I tell them the truth?” he asked.
Lacey’s breath hitched. “You wouldn’t.”
Coop stood and stalked to the other side of the room. “You have no idea what I’m capable of right now.” He shoved his hands on his hips as he looked down at her, his brooding face on again. Was he thinking about dobbing on her?
Or was he thinking spank or kiss?
“I just need a little time to establish myself back here again, that’s all.”
He pursed his lips and Lacey thought he was going to refuse. “You have two weeks. Until Alec gets back.”