Tangle of Strings (Sweeney Sisters Series Book 4)

by Ashley Farley

  Faith shrugged. “I don’t know what they said. Sam didn’t elaborate”

  “I want you to understand, Annie, that we don’t have a problem with Thea,” Mike said. “She seems like a nice girl. But her brothers are trouble, based on everything we’ve heard from Eli. He’s had several run-ins with them over the years.”

  “Okay, I get it. Stay away from the only friend I have.” Annie gathered up her books, tucking them under her good arm. “I thought I liked this town. Turns out it’s just as bad as everywhere else I’ve ever lived.”

  EIGHTEEN

  Cooper

  Cooper’s parents pulled into the driveway in his father’s Mercedes only seconds after he arrived home from the library. From the pinched expression on their faces, he could tell something was wrong. He grabbed his backpack and got out of the car. “How was dinner?” he asked.

  “Lovely.” Jackie flung her cape around her body. “Until Bitsy dropped her little bomb and brought the party to a screeching halt,” she said, and marched toward the house.

  “What bomb?” Cooper asked his father.

  His father placed a hand on Cooper’s neck and walked him to the door. “We need to talk. It’s cold out here. Let’s go inside by the fire.”

  They found Jackie in the kitchen gulping down a glass of wine. “Geez, Mom, slow down. What could a seven-year-old possibly say to upset you so much?”

  Jackie slammed her glass down on the counter. “She didn’t just say it to me. She announced it to the whole table. Annie is pregnant.”

  Cooper’s jaw hit the hardwood floor. “That’s not possible.”

  Jackie stared him down. “Are you saying it’s not your child?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying.” He collapsed against the counter as the events of New Year’s Eve rushed back to him. “I’m surprised is all. We had sex only one time, and it didn’t go very well.”

  “Puh-lease!” Jackie’s hand shot up. “Too much information.” She snatched up her wine glass and took it to the adjoining family room.

  Cooper trailed his mother with body slumped and head lowered. Bill poured a Maker’s Mark, neat, and joined them.

  “You’ve disgraced this family,” Jackie wailed. “I will never be able to show my face in town again.”

  “Please, Jack. Dispense with the theatrics.” Bill took his wife by the hand and led her to the sofa. “Let’s all sit down and talk about this situation rationally.”

  Cooper dropped to the chair, like a bird stunned after flying into a window. Poor Annie. First the accident. Now this. “Annie must be devastated.”

  Jackie snorted, an unbecoming habit she reserved for when she was really angry. “This affects your life too. If she gets some crazy notion in her head about keeping this baby, she will try to force you into marriage. And you can kiss medical school goodbye.”

  Cooper combed his hands through his auburn mop. “I don’t want to be a doctor, Mom. But that’s a subject for another day.”

  Bill’s eyebrows danced across his face. “That’s news to me. You’ve wanted to be a doctor since you were a boy.”

  “No, Dad. You wanted me to be a doctor. I went along with it to make you happy. I’ve decided to major in graphic design.”

  “Graphic design?” Jackie said as though the words tasted sour in her mouth. “That sounds more like a hobby than a career.”

  “This might come as a surprise to you, but success isn’t defined by medical and law degrees.”

  Bill leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Let’s not get sidetracked here. We can discuss Coop’s career choices some other time. For now, we need to focus on the crisis du jour.”

  She snorted again. “He won’t have any career choices if Annie has her way. He may very well end up working at Sweeney’s for the rest of his life.”

  “Chill out, Mom. Obviously, getting married wouldn’t be my first choice, but Annie didn’t get into this situation alone. I’m just as much to blame as she is. Maybe even more so.”

  “I won’t argue with you there,” Bill said. “After all the conversations I’ve had with you boys about practicing safe sex. I even bought you a box of condoms. Why didn’t you use one?”

  Cooper thought about the box of Trojans his father had given him when he turned sixteen. On a boring Saturday night last winter, he and Sean had blown their condoms up like balloons and stuffed them in a friend’s car while the friend was out on a first date with the hottest girl in their grade.

  “Because I’m not experienced at these things. And I didn’t think to use one. It all happened so fast. So see, I’m more to blame than Annie. I should have been looking out for her. I should have protected her.”

  Jackie let out an exaggerated sigh. “Your careless behavior may have cost you your future.”

  “Why are you so sure Annie wants to keep the baby? Did she say that?”

  “I haven’t talked to Annie, but I know girls like her. She’ll try to sink her claws into you any way she can. She had her eyes set on you from the beginning. My guess is, she’s been planning this for months.”

  Cooper’s face turned a shade of red a little less orange than his hair. “Shut up, Mom. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Jackie stood suddenly. “Like hell I don’t. And don’t you ever tell me to shut up again.”

  “You need to calm down, Jackie. And you, son, need to watch your mouth,” Bill said, glaring at each of them in turn.

  Cooper looked away. “Sorry, Dad.” He removed his cell phone from his pocket.

  His mother loomed over him. “Who are you calling?”

  “Who do you think? I’m calling Annie. She must be going out of her mind.”

  “Oh no you don’t.” Jackie seized the phone and tossed it onto the carpet across the room. “I forbid you to communicate with anyone in this family unless one of us is present.” She gestured in her husband’s direction.

  Cooper rolled his eyes. “That’s ridiculous. Why?”

  “Because Annie may be planning to file a paternity suit. And we don’t want you to say anything that might implicate yourself.”

  Cooper appeared dumbfounded. “Why would she need to file a lawsuit? The paternity isn’t in question. I admit to being the father.”

  Bill interlaced his fingers. “I have to agree with your mother this time, son. We should proceed with caution. When you speak to Annie, you need someone present who can be objective, not just about what’s best for her but about what’s best for you. After a couple of days, when we’ve all had a chance to think the situation through, we will sit down together with Faith, Mike, and Annie.”

  “I have meetings in Charleston tomorrow and Thursday that I can’t put off,” Jackie said. “The three of us will talk more about this when I get home on Friday. When we’ve decided our position, we will schedule a time to meet with Faith, Mike, and Annie over the weekend.”

  “You’re crazy!” Cooper jumped up out of the chair. “I can’t wait until the weekend to talk to Annie. This is just as much my problem as hers. She needs to know she’s not alone in this.” Cooper made a move toward his cell phone, but his mother beat him to it.

  She slipped the phone into the pocket of her silk tunic. “You can have it back in the morning.” She kissed her fingertips and touched his cheek. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m merely looking out for your best interests.”

  Cooper never promised his parents he wouldn’t talk to Annie. He thought it absurd for them to ask him to avoid her, especially since they attended the same school. But his parents were so pissed off, he figured he’d better try. Shouldn’t be that hard. He didn’t share any classes with Annie. He passed her in the hallway several times during the day, but they no longer ate lunch at the same table in the cafeteria. On this particular Wednesday, however, he couldn’t get away from her. He saw her in the parking lot before school. Sat behind her at morning assembly. And encountered her in the library after lunch for the bimonthly lockdown drill. Each time her eyes
searched his for answers. Each time he forced himself to look away. Lucky for him, fate took control of the situation when he requested a hall pass to use the restroom during last period and collided with her as she was exiting the women’s room.

  “Annie… I…uh… I don’t really know what to say.”

  “Then don’t say anything, Cooper. I get it. You’ve been avoiding me all day. You’ve made it obvious how you feel. You didn’t want to be with me before. I’m sure you don’t want to have anything to do with me now that I’m pregnant.”

  She started to walk off and he grabbed her good elbow. “I would have called last night when I heard the news, but my mom took my phone away from me.”

  “Why’d she take your phone away?” Annie’s Bambi eyes grew wide. “You mean, so you couldn’t call me? Wow! I knew she’d be upset, but I didn’t think she’d go that far.”

  “I haven’t seen this uber-bitch side of Mom in a while. You’ve gotta understand, though, we just learned about the situation last night. My parents need time to wrap their minds around the problem. They asked me not to talk to you until we can all sit down together.”

  Annie yanked her arm away. “No amount of time is going to make this situation any easier for your mother. Tell them they don’t need to get involved. I can handle it on my own.”

  He slumped back against the wall and pulled her gently with him. “You shouldn’t have to handle it alone, Annie.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. “This is just as much my problem as it is yours. I care about you. My feelings for you haven’t changed.”

  Annie sniffled. “Then why did you break up with me?”

  “Because I needed to figure out my life. But all that seems so far away now. I will stick by you no matter what you decide. If you want to get married and have this baby, then that’s what we’ll do. Accident or not, we’ve created a human being that is part me and part you. I have to say though, if it’s a girl, for her sake, I hope she gets your hair and not mine.”

  Annie pushed away from him. “I like your hair.” She ran her hand across the top of his head. “I have to say I’m surprised. I thought you’d be more upset.”

  “I am upset. Of course I’m upset. But we made a reckless mistake. I’m trying to handle it like an adult.”

  “I don’t want to mess up your life, Cooper, anymore than I want to mess up mine. I don’t think either of us is ready for marriage and a family.”

  “Are you saying you want to—”

  She pushed off the wall. “Get the hell out of this town as soon as I can? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Staring down at the ground, Annie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t want to have this baby, Cooper. I want to terminate the pregnancy. Unfortunately, I’m too young to do it on my own. I told Faith and Mike I’d think about it until the weekend. So that’s what I’m doing. They think I’m going to change my mind, and put the baby up for adoption, but I won’t. Mike will eventually give in and sign the consent forms. At least I hope so.”

  A heaviness settled over him. Wasn’t an abortion what he wanted? To get rid of the problem so they could all move on with their lives. “I’ll go along with you, if that’s what you really want. But I think we need to talk about all the options first.”

  Annie’s body went rigid. “I’m so tired of hearing that. Why won’t everyone stop talking and start listening?”

  NINETEEN

  Annie

  Thea dropped Annie off at home after school on her way to work at The Grill. She crawled into bed, drew the covers up over her head, and fell fast asleep. The sound of voices in the hallway outside her bedroom woke her an hour later.

  Her door flew open and Bitsy skipped into the room, stopping short at the sight of Annie in the bed. When she tiptoed over to her side and saw that Annie’s eyes were open, Bitsy asked, “Do you want to take Snowflake and me for a walk?”

  “Not today, Bits. I have a lot of homework.”

  Bitsy’s eyes traveled the room, falling on Annie’s backpack on the floor beside the door. “Then why aren’t you doing it?”

  “I was taking a nap. I needed to work up the energy to study.”

  Bitsy climbed into bed beside Annie. Placing her tiny hand on Annie’s tummy, she asked, “Is the baby gonna make you fat?”

  “I don’t know, squirt. Can we please not talk about it?”

  Bitsy cocked her head to the side. “Why not?”

  Annie brushed a strand of lank brown hair out of Bitsy’s face. “You know how mad it makes you when we’re having a family party and all the grown-ups keep telling you it’s time to go to bed, but you want them to forget about your bedtime so you can stay up late?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Well, that’s how I feel. I just want everyone to talk about something else for a change.”

  “Okay,” Bitsy said, even though Annie was pretty sure she didn’t understand. The little girl hopped off the bed and started for the door. “I’m gonna get a snack. Do you want one?”

  “Sure. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

  Bitsy spun around, her tiny finger pointing at the ceiling. “Don’t move! I’ll be right back. We can have a tea party in your bed.”

  Annie settled deeper beneath the covers. She thought back to her encounter with Cooper in the hallway. She could still feel his body against her, hear his voice close to her ear. My feelings for you haven’t changed. Maybe they could have a future together after all. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine being married to Cooper with their orange-haired little girl or boy playing at their feet. His family had plenty of money to help them. But she didn’t want their support. She preferred to make her own way in the world. She’d be stupid to say no if his parents offered for them to live in the guest cottage out at Moss Creek Farm. At least for a while. She could work at Sweeney’s while Cooper got his degree. She wondered if the College of Charleston had a graphic design program. Charleston was only forty minutes away. Not such a long commute. Or he could spend the week with his mother at her show house—the current renovation project she never stopped talking about—and come home on the weekends. What was she saying? Love conquers all? Did she and Cooper love each other enough to make a marriage work? He could end up resenting her for trapping him into a marriage and family he wasn’t ready for. Or she could end up like her mother, bailing out on Cooper and the baby and running away to culinary school in New York.

  Heidi. She’d only been a few years older than Annie was now when she got pregnant. She wasn’t married to Annie’s father at the time. Had she considered terminating the pregnancy, ridding herself of the baby she clearly did not want? She’d only lasted six months before she took off for Hollywood. Had she always aspired to be a movie star? Or had she jumped at any opportunity to get out of a miserable situation? Heidi was pretty now. No doubt she’d been hot back in her prime.

  Annie had never asked Heidi about her past. She’d never had the opportunity. Never wanted to know. Until now.

  Bitsy appeared in the doorway. “Our snack is ready. But Mama says we have to eat it in the kitchen.”

  Annie’s stomach rumbled and she realized she hadn’t eaten since lunch. “What’s on the menu?”

  “Peanut butter on apple slices and chunks of cheese.”

  Annie swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Sounds yummy,” she lied. It sounded like a snack for a seven-year-old, not a pregnant woman. She was hungry enough to eat a large pepperoni pizza by herself.

  Faith was waiting for them at the kitchen table, a glass of sweet tea in front of her. “How was school?” she asked, looking up when they entered the room.

  “Fine. I’m pretty much caught up with the work I missed.” She pulled out the chair opposite Faith.

  “How did you get home?” Faith asked, an accusatory tone in her voice. “Bitsy and I waited for you in the carpool line for thirty minutes.”

  “Thea gave me a ride. I didn’t know you were planning to pick me up. Why didn’
t you text me?” The image of her cell phone tucked away in the front pocket of her backpack came to mind.

  “I tried. You didn’t respond.” Faith took a sip of tea and set her glass down. “You know how I feel about you hanging out with Thea.” Her gaze shifted to Annie’s stomach. “You have precious cargo to protect.”

  “Sorry,” Annie said in a petulant tone as the voice in her head screamed, “Everyone please stop talking about this damn baby!”

  “Guess what, Annie?” Bitsy said, her mouth gummy with cheese. “Mary picked me for her kickball team today.”

  “You go, girl!” Annie offered up a high five. Bitsy hero-worshipped Mary—the most popular girl in second grade, with mermaid hair, blue eyes the color of Cookie Monster, and two older sisters who doted on her. “Did you kick a home run?”

  “Nope. But I got to first base.”

  While they devoured their snack, Bitsy babbled on about Mary and the other new friends she was making at school. When Annie first met Bitsy at Faith’s wedding back in June, the timid little girl was emerging from twelve months of silence—a post-traumatic stress disorder that had resulted from abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her father. With her mother and new stepfather nurturing her, Bitsy had transformed from a shy child afraid of her own shadow to an outgoing chatterbox.

  When she’d finished her snack, Bitsy deposited her plate in the sink, announced that she was going to play with her dolls, and skipped off to her room.

  “It’s warmer outside than it’s been in a while,” Faith said. “Would you like to sit on the porch for a few minutes before you start your homework?”

  Annie hesitated. “I guess.” She retrieved her fleece from her room and went out onto the screened porch. She slipped her good arm in one sleeve, draped the other sleeve over her injured arm, and eased down to the rocking chair beside Faith.