Once everyone had eaten, Patrick O’Mallory rose. His wife crossed the porch to join him and beamed at the group. The silence was sudden.
Siblings exchanged glances. Annalise reached for Dominic’s hand. If it was bad news, she needed his support.
“You mother and I have an announcement.”
“You’re not pregnant!” one of her brothers called.
Everyone laughed.
“No, we did that enough times,” Helen said. She smiled up at Patrick.
“Since we are having a new grandbaby in the family come next summer,” he smiled at Lianne, “time to do something extravagant right now. We are going on an archeological dig in the Yucatan. We leave just before Christmas and will be gone for five months. So no delivering that baby before we return,” he said, with another smile at Lianne.
The group broke out in questions and comments. Annalise sat back, feeling oddly bereft. Her parents didn’t even know about her baby—and they were leaving in a few weeks for months. She had to tell them before then. She glanced at Dominic, he was studying the group’s reaction.
“We’ll tell you all about it,” Patrick said. And he began to relate how they decided to try something new, how they researched opportunities for amateurs to help, how he was taking a sabbatical from his practice. They had been planning this for months and no one in the family had had a clue.
Dominic leaned closer to Annalise and said softly, “You are not the only one who can keep a secret.”
She nodded, holding back tears. Once again she had to keep silent. She would not take away from her parents’ glow of excitement. She’d tell them before they left, but not today.
She pulled her hand from Dominic’s and balled it into a fist. If not for his reaction, everyone would have learned of her pregnancy weeks ago, and be celebrating it like Lianne’s. If he had acted like this around Phyllis, no wonder the woman had become clingy, she wanted to make sure he’d stick around.
When her father finished talking, she stood and went to give her parents a hug.
“I’m excited for you both. What a fun adventure. Next maybe you can go to Egypt or something,” she said, careful to keep her voice excited.
“We may not like it, sounds like a lot of work,” her mother said. But the happiness shining in her eyes belied her true belief.
Annalise stepped aside for her brother Declan to hug her parents. She slipped off the porch and walked to the water’s edge. Maybe a walk along the beach would help. She felt all mixed up, happy for her parents, annoyed with Dominic, feeling a bit sorry for herself.
“Hey, wait up,” Lianne called and then came hurrying after Annalise.
“I thought I’d take a walk along the beach,” she said when her twin caught up.
“I’ll go with you,” Lianne said, turning to head north.
Glancing over her shoulder, she waved. “I think Tray will join us, unless you want a private time.”
“Doesn’t much matter, does it, don’t you tell him everything,” Annalise said.
“Pretty much,” Lianne admitted. “Unless you told me in confidence, then I’d never say a word.”
“I’m not much company. Sometimes I get so angry at Dominic I want to slap him or something. Everyone’s rejoicing in your pregnancy. Now Mom and Dad are doing something fun and exciting and we’re all happy for them. I haven’t told anyone but you about my baby, and soon my parents will be a thousand miles away and they may not know even then.” To her horror, she burst into tears. “Oh, great, now they’ll think I don’t want them to go,” she said, brushing the tears away.
Lianne put her arm across her sister’s shoulders. “No one can see, they are too far away. Come on, a walk will put things into prospective. You can always march back there right now and tell them you’re pregnant.”
“And spoil Mom and Dad’s announcement day? I don’t think so. Besides, I’ve held off because I don’t know what Dominic’s going to say or do.”
“So press him for some answers, wait a weekend or two and then have another gathering, another announcement.”
“And if Dominic isn’t on board by then?”
“What if he never is?” Lianne asked gently.
“I don’t want to have to choose between a baby or my husband.”
Dominic watched as Annalise went to the water’s edge. Her sister went after her and the two headed up the beach, just out of the reach of the waves. She had pulled away from him after her parents’ announcement. Was she upset over their plans? Maybe. She had them around all her life. And as far as he could tell, they certainly reacted differently to their children than his father had to him.
A few minutes later, Patrick walked over. Dominic smiled and reached out to shake hands. “Congratulations—sounds like the adventure of a lifetime.”
“Hopefully the first of a few.”
“Your children are all grown, even though Kelly and Shea are still in college. It’s time to do what you want at last,” Dominic said.
Patrick looked at him oddly. “I’ve always done what I wanted. Sometimes I feel very selfish, having my life go just the way I planned.”
“Didn’t having eleven children tie you down?” Dominic asked.
“Maybe having so many limited what we could do, but I wouldn’t trade any one of them for anything else in the world. Helen and I knew when we were still dating that if we got married we wanted a large family. How could a man ask for better children?”
“You did great with Annalise,” Dominic said, trying to ease the seriousness of the conversation. “Have you always wanted to be part of an archeology dig?”
“No—in fact, I didn’t even enjoy history that much when I was in school. I always knew I wanted to practice medicine, so science classes caught me every time. But in the last few years, I’ve discovered how much I enjoy learning about the past. When Helen first suggested we try a dig, I jumped at the idea. Now we’ll see how much we really like it. Digging in the dirt and uncovering artifacts from five hundred years ago should prove interesting. Maybe we’ll love it. Or maybe we’ll long for home and the kids. This’ll be the longest I’ve been away from them all.”
Dominic thought about his father, who hadn’t been able to wait until Dominic was out of the house. He thought of his own dreams when he’d been sitting on the ratty sofa he and Phyllis had owned, wishing his life were different.
And of the guilt when his wish came true.
He shook his head, still not understanding the O’Mallorys.
He and his father went years without seeing each other. Every visit was a duty on Dominic’s part. In memory of his mother more than anything. She would have encouraged him to visit had she lived.
“And our first Christmas away,” Helen said, joining them. She linked arms with her husband and smiled at Dominic. “My parents are hosting Christmas this year. They’ll have Patrick’s folks to help out, so all you children can plan to get together. If we can, we’ll call that morning. But who knows what the conditions at the dig will be like?” She squeezed Patrick’s arm. “I can’t wait to find out.”
“At least winter there should be halfway tolerable,” he said.
“Dad?” Declan called from across the porch.
“We’ll see you before you go,” Dominic said. He stepped to the top of the stairs, looking up the beach.
“Want to go find them?” Tray asked, coming up beside him. “I could use a break from the crowd.”
“Sure,” Dominic said, starting down the stairs. When they were out of earshot from the porch, he glanced at Tray. “Overwhelming?”
“Do you know Lianne worked for me for five years and I never even knew she had a twin—much less ten brothers and sisters. Add that to the older generations and you have the makings of a small town. I still don’t know who is who and who is married to whom.”
“It takes a while. I had the advantage of knowing the siblings before their marriages started. We’ve been married the second longest after Mary Margaret and Sam
.”
They reached the hard-packed sand and turned to follow the pair of footprints heading north. The women could be seen in the distance.
“Heard you and Annalise bought a house,” Tray said.
“She bought it. I’m helping refurbish it, but I don’t want to live in it,” Dominic said.
“We’re in negotiations to buy a place out here. I have a house in Richmond where my uncle and I lived. Now that he’s dead, I debated keeping it for the future, but I know Lianne would be happier with her own cottage here at the shore.”
“You lived with your uncle?” Dominic asked.
“He raised me. He was my mother’s brother. She died when I was two weeks old and he stepped in. He never married. I figure one kid was enough for him and he was afraid if he married, he’d end up with a bunch.”
“Must have been hard to raise a child that was not even his own,” Dominic said. “What happened to your father?”
“He took off when my mother died. I was kidding about Uncle Hal not wanting more children. He said he never found the right woman. I think he would have been thrilled to learn Lianne and I are expecting a baby. He was the best father a kid could have had.”
“He didn’t resent having to raise you?”
“I don’t think so.” Tray looked at him. “Should he have?”
Dominic shrugged. “Having a baby ties a man down. Keeps him from doing what he wants.” He knew he was parroting his father, and that other men did not appear to resent family life. Tray’s uncle had been a single man who took on another’s child. Surely he’d felt there was more he could have done on his own, with the freedom to choose?
Tray laughed. “Sure it can. But only if the man lets it. Otherwise, what a grand opportunity to shape some of the future. I’ll teach our child about my family history, and Lianne has a lot to share about hers. We’ll take trips, educate him or her to be a responsible, contributing member of society. And get a boatload of love in return. I’m overwhelmed by Lianne’s family, but I recognize the love and devotion evident in all of them. Do you think Patrick resented having so many children? He’s a doctor—he certainly could have prevented any of those pregnancies if he’d wanted.”
“Some men are better suited to be fathers,” Dominic said.
Ahead of them his wife and her twin had turned and were walking back.
“I hope I’m one of them,” Tray said quietly.
“How will you know? What if two years into it you wish you were free again?”
“I can’t imagine ever wishing to be free of Lianne. And this baby is part of her. So I will always love it, no matter what.”
The baby Annalise carried was part of both of them. She seemed happy enough about the situation. It was only he who wasn’t. She saw it like Tray, while he kept hearing echoes of his father. He would make a terrible father. He needed to step away, let Annalise find some man who wanted children, who would make a good father for her baby.
For his baby. Could he step aside and let her walk out of his life?
CHAPTER SEVEN
LIANNE smiled as they drew closer. Dominic compared the twins. Despite their different attire, they looked identical. Even to the way their hair blew in the breeze. The only difference evident today was it looked as if Annalise had been crying. That hurt. Was it the thought of her parents being gone for several months? As her father had said, they’d never been apart that long.
“Are you okay?” he asked when they met.
“Fine,” she said, still walking. He turned and fell into step with her.
“Upset about your parents leaving?”
“Partly. Partly about us.” She slowed her pace, and soon Lianne and Tray were ahead of them. “I want to go home now,” she said.
“You could still tell your parents today,” he said.
Maybe he should just acknowledge he was tied for the next eighteen years, do the best he could and then be free again.
Or he could choose to end his marriage and continue with life much as it had been this past week. Long lonely nights. Eating fast food or makeshift meals. No one to talk to, to laugh with. Who was he trying to fool? He missed his wife. Only, he didn’t believe he could give her what she needed.
Ending their marriage would be impossible to deal with. They’d been together since college. Shouldn’t the fear of parting be stronger than his fear of the baby? Maybe there wasn’t love between them? The fault lay with him. He had not loved Phyllis in the end. Was history repeating?
When they reached the cottage, Annalise ran in to get her purse and bid everyone goodbye. Dominic heard her give the excuse of being tired from working on the house. Which brought a new round of conversation as people asked her how things were going. Sean asked after Randy. Bridget told them about the garden. Dominic felt like a fifth wheel, standing on the periphery, listening to the interested discussion and wishing nothing more than that the house would burn to the ground and end Annalise’s interest forever.
* * *
When they reached the outskirts of Washington, Dominic asked where she wanted to go.
“To the house,” she replied.
Nothing had changed—except an added wrinkle with her parents leaving. She wasn’t giving in one bit. Dominic was annoyed at her decision. Yet one part of him admired her for her stand. He had thought a night or two away would have her returning home. Or at least calling. Instead, she acted as if she didn’t have a husband to consider.
“Let’s have dinner first,” he suggested.
“No, I’m tired. I just want to go home.”
“Your home is with me, at our flat,” he said tightly.
She gazed out the side window. “I’m not up to it tonight, Dominic.”
Working on the house was too much. She’d mentioned how tired she was, being pregnant. She should be taking better care of herself, not adding additional chores on top of an already heavy workload.
Which she wouldn’t have to do if he would step up to the plate. He should be supportive of his wife—offering extra help instead of adding to the stress of the entire situation.
He should.
He would.
Dominic poured himself a tall drink when he reached the empty apartment. He had no desire to go to bed this early. He wasn’t sure he’d sleep when he did go to bed. He usually lay awake late into the night, trying to decide what to do with his life. He’d set himself goals years ago and had met most of them. Now he had another thirty or forty years of work before retirement. Who knew how long after that? Could he really see the years ahead without Annalise? Work was fascinating, but not all-consuming. He liked traveling with her. Entertaining with her. Sleeping with her. He’d never thought of the future in those terms before.
He took a long pull of the whiskey. He should end this separation, admit defeat and implore her to come back.
What if she said no?
Do you love me?
He woke early, and after a quick breakfast headed for work. At least there he knew what to expect and how he felt about things.
Around ten, Bill Patton came into his office.
“Bill,” Dominic greeted him, automatically disengaging his monitor so it went black. Not that he needed to keep anything secret from Bill. He was the general manager of the security firm and kept his finger on the pulse of all assignments. But old habits were hard to break.
“We need someone in Rome, ASAP. An Italian pharmaceutical company bought an American program, have had it for four years, and now suspect someone has infiltrated and is stealing research information.”
Dominic leaned back in his chair, looking at Bill. “How long?”
“Depends on how long it takes to debug it. The program may or may not have been infiltrated, but a thorough check will be needed. And if you find a link they’ll probably want you to trace it out so they can apprehend the thieves. I’d plan on a week at least. Maybe longer.”
“Can you get Bart?” Dominic asked. A second later, he wasn’t sure who was more aston
ished—Bill or him. He never turned down assignments. The major perk of his job was the constant traveling. Yet the thought of being in Rome alone was unappealing. What if Annalise needed something?
While in Hong Kong he’d gone to the client’s office and then to his hotel, with a stop at a restaurant some evenings. Other nights he’d just ordered room service. The fun of travel was seeing the sights of each place. But after five years, he’d visited most of the major cities of the world with Annalise. When he went back a second or third time, or even more, the visits were flat unless she was there with him.
“I could ask him,” Bill said carefully. “Something I should know about?” he asked.
“My wife’s pregnant. I think I should stick close to home for a while.” This was the second person Dominic had told, but the most important one.
“Hey—great news. Congratulations! Lucky man. I’ll see what I can do to rearrange the schedules for the next few months. When’s she due?”
Dominic didn’t even know that basic fact. Quickly he tried to calculate nine months from when he thought she’d become pregnant. “June,” he guessed.
“Then I suppose you’ll want to stick close to home for another year or so, right?”
Bill rose and offered his hand. Dominic rose also, and took it, feeling like a fraud.
“I can still take trips if needed.” He didn’t want to cut off travel completely. But the timing wasn’t right for Rome.
“Right. But only if no one else is available. Glad you told me. Give Annalise my best,” Bill said, turning to leave.
Dominic watched him depart and almost called him back to change his answer. It was starting. He was going to end up staying home out of duty, envying the other men in the firm who traveled to exotic locations.
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