“But that’s the problem, sir. I don’t have much more time. The baby’s due in the next week or so.”
“That certainly is a complication. Have you gone out to see her?”
“Of course, but she won’t let me in the house.”
“Have you been to the diner?”
Vance shook his head. “I don’t want to upset her and I knew showing up there will send her over the edge.”
“I’d say you don’t have much of a choice at this point, Ryan. You’ve got to get her back.” Peters stood, signaling the end of the meeting.
Vance stood and reached across the desk to shake Mr. Peter’s hand. “Sir, you’ve been a great help.”
“Well, I don’t know how much I did, but if talking about the situation helped, I’m here when you need me.”
Vance turned and headed to the door, unsure of his next move. As he grabbed the door knob, Mr. Peters yelled for him to stop. “Yes, sir?”
“I forgot to give you this.” He walked up to Vance and handed him an envelope. “Even though you didn’t stay out in LA as long as we wanted you to, you did a hell of a job while you were there. Here’s a little bonus to show our appreciation. And welcome back.”
“Thank you.” Vance exited the office and got on the elevator before opening the envelope. His mouth dropped open at the numbers written on the check. Damn!
Chapter Twelve
Her back aching, Summer tried to reach around to give it a quick rub. Nowadays, with the size of her belly, she really couldn’t do much reaching. The baby should be putting in an appearance soon. Her due date was in exactly one week and while she looked forward to her son’s birth, just thinking about the delivery made her sad. She wouldn’t have Vance in there with her.
The last flower delivery was well over a week ago, and he hadn’t even attempted another stop by the house. Maybe she should have given him more time to explain himself. At least her mind wouldn’t be filled with all kinds of terrible theories about why he did what he did. There had to be a good reason for his actions, right?
“How you doing out there?” Ginny bellowed, rousing Summer from her funk.
“I’m good.”
The cook rounded the corner and gave her a pointed stare. “You need to be at home resting. I can tell you’re in pain.”
“I’m fine,” Summer lied through her teeth. “Anyway, I’d rather be here working than bored at home.”
“I’m quite sure you won’t be bored at home. You need to put your feet up and store some sleep in the old reserves. When little Harold gets here, you’ll be wishing for time to rest.”
Summer scrunched up her nose and vigorously shook her head. “No child of mine is going to be named Harold.”
“How about Lester? Leroy? Leonard?”
“Um, no to all.” Truthfully, Summer did not have a clue as to what she’ll name the baby. She and Vance had kicked around some, but never agreed on the perfect name. Since he was now out of her life, she supposed that it was all up to her to decide.
“Well, from the looks of it, you don’t have much time left to pick something. My pop was named Harold. Always thought that was a strong name for a young man. Think on it, okay?”
Summer gave her a quick nod and just as swiftly relegated the name to her mental dust bin. Her son will have the perfect name, whatever it may end up to be.
Another look at the clock let her know that it was almost closing time. Before she could stop herself, her gaze wandered over to the front door and the bell. She missed the way her heartbeat speeded up when he walked through the door. Only Vance did that for her.
With a heavy sigh, she headed for the kitchen so she could help Ginny clean up. Maybe she was right: Summer was bone tired and needed to get ready for the birth. Spring had offered to take over both shifts. With Ginny and Amy helping, it was a possibility.
“Hey Ginny. Let’s get out—” As the words slipped out of her mouth, the bell above the door tinkled, indicating they had one last customer. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. Vance.
He stood by the door, waiting for her to say something, anything. Had he made the right decision waiting until closing time to speak with Summer? Maybe he should have come during the day, when she was at home.
Taking a cleansing breath to fortify himself, he stepped forward and thrust yet another bouquet of flowers in her direction. He smiled when she slowly reached out and plucked them from his trembling hands. She looked good, damn good. Pregnancy suited her, made her even more beautiful if that was possible.
“How are you feeling?”
She licked her lips and dropped her gaze to the floor. “Alright, I guess. The baby has been really active lately.”
“Can I, I mean, do you mind if I touch your belly? I want to feel him.” Cautiously, Vance moved a little closer and placed his hand on the top of her swollen belly. He smiled when his son immediately kicked. “You’re right. He is moving around a lot.”
“Especially when I’m trying to go to sleep.”
“I’m sorry, Summer. For everything.”
“Let’s sit down and talk, okay.” She awkwardly took a seat at the counter and he hopped up on the one next to her. “Let me start by saying I overreacted. I shouldn’t have given you the ring back.”
“Thrown the ring at me,” he said with a wry smile. “You have quite an arm. Hopefully our son will take after you in that department.” They both laughed at his remark.
He took her hand in his and rubbed it against his face. “Does this mean we’re a couple again? I promise never to keep anything from you again.”
Tears began to roll down Summer’s cheeks and Vance quickly whisked them away with the pad of his thumbs. “I love you, Summer Hughes.”
“And I love you, too.” Vance helped her off her stool and gathered her into his arms.
“Bout time you two made up,” Ginny boomed from the kitchen. “Now both of you get out of here before I start to cry.”
“I think we need to do what the lady tells us to,” Vance said as he ushered Summer out the front door. “We’ve got a wedding to plan.”
As they reached his car, Summer grabbed her belly and let out a little cry. “I think our son may be telling me we need to make a stop by the hospital.”
“Now?” Vance said with a note of panic in his voice. He quickly helped her into his car and turned the engine over.
“I’d have to say your timing was perfect, Mr. Ryan.”
With a smile as wide as the Monongahela River, Vance stood at the alter awaiting his bride. The pair decided to wait a couple months after their son’s birth to actually get married. If it was up to them, they would have simply gone to the district magistrate for the ceremony, but Summer’s father insisted they have a church wedding. It had been madness getting everything in order, but with the help of a lot of people, they were able to pull it off.
Vance’s heart swelled with love thinking about how much he treasured Summer. And to think he could have lost her because of his actions in not telling her the whole truth. But today, none of that mattered. Today, Summer was going to become his bride.
Suddenly, the music cued the arrival of the bride and her father. Despite his failing health and difficulty walking, Mr. Hughes would have it no other way than to walk his first born down the aisle. Tears leaked from Vance’s eyes as he watched Summer slowly make her way toward him, her gaze locked on him. She was simply beautiful.
As Mr. Hughes handed Summer off to him, he leaned close to whisper “Take care of my girl” in Vance’s ears. All Vance could do was nod yes, not trusting his ability to speak. Then he tucked his soon to be wife’s hand in the crook of his arm and turned to face the minister.
“And does anyone wish to speak—” Before the minister could get the words out, little Wade Ryan let out a shrill cry, making everyone laugh. His auntie quickly thrust a pacifier in his mouth, which quieted him down for the moment.
Soon, the ceremony was over and the newlyweds rushed over to lit
tle Wade and carried him to the entrance of the church. “I love you, Summer, with all my heart.”
“And I’ll never let you forget that, Mr. Vance.” They both kissed their son before heading to the waiting horse drawn carriage and their happily ever after.
STEPPING UP by Rhonda A. Marks
Kindle Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Rhonda A. Marks
Cover by http://www.coverfreshdesigns.com
ISBN 978-0-9889770-6-8
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Stepping Up Copyright © 2014 by Rhonda A. Marks ISBN: 978-0-9889770-6-8.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.
Attorney, mother, wife and compulsive planner, Rhonda Anderson Marks has always been an avid reader of all types of fiction. After many years in the courtroom, she’s decided to put her vivid imagination to work and down on paper. Tag along on her publishing journey as she spins tales of romance and suspense. You can reach her at [email protected], Twitter/@rhondamarks and Facebook/ramarks. Her website is www.rhondamarksbooks.com
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