“Yeah,” I said, finally feeling the familiar burn in my eyes. “I know.” I gave her a grateful smile. “Carly, you’ve been so much help…I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“You would have managed,” she said softly. “I’ve seen you in action. You would have made it work. But now you have me to help ease the load.”
“If it’s ever too much,” I said. “If you want to go back to work at the nursery…or not at all…”
She reached out and grabbed my hand. “I’ll tell you, okay? Don’t worry about me. I know you both think it’s strange that I want to be here and help, but I’ve spent most of my life alone, and I love being part of a big happy family.”
“We’re not a real family,” I countered. “Well, besides Violet and me, I mean. We’re just an assortment of friends.”
“Don’t let the fact they’re not blood relations fool you,” Carly insisted. “They’re family, and they all love you and your sister.”
I gave her a quick hug, then said, “Put me to work.”
“Everything’s ready,” she said, walking over to the stove. “I just need to take the potatoes and the pork loin out of the oven and put in the asparagus and the bread.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Finish setting up the dining room table?” she asked.
“On it.”
Neely Kate had already set out the plates and silverware, and I was thankful the farmhouse had a huge dining room and a dining room table big enough to crowd all thirteen of us around—likely from when the original owners had hired farmhands to work the land.
I’d just set out glasses when I heard a commotion outside. The kids were shouting, “Uncle Joe!” and when I got to the front door, he’d scooped them both up into his arms and was swinging them around. Ashley had her arms around his neck and Mikey squealed with delight.
Maeve pulled in seconds later, and I told them all it was time to come into the house and eat.
Neely Kate and I helped Carly haul out the food while Joe and Jed carried Violet in and got her settled into the wingback chair Jed had set at the head of the table so she could sit comfortably during the meal.
Ashley stood back watching her mother, anxiety etched onto her face. She held her little brother’s hand, and I realized Ashley had taken up her own cross—caring for her brother—and somehow I’d missed it. The ever-observant Maeve gently herded them to the half bath to wash their hands, keeping them from seeing Violet at her most feeble.
Finally, the food was laid out on the table and we were all in our seats. Everyone had been talking at once, but now that we were settled in, we hushed and turned to Violet in expectation.
I sat at Violet’s right hand and Ashley sat at her left, with Mikey sandwiched between his sister and Joe. I knew he’d purposely situated himself next to the kids to help take care of them.
“Everyone got so quiet,” Violet said with a smile. “I suppose you’re wondering why I called this dinner, but I’m not gonna tell you yet. Let’s eat first and we can discuss it over dessert.”
Voices and laughter filled the air again as the multiple bowls and platters were passed around. We all ate, with the guys taking seconds and thirds, and everyone thanked Carly profusely for cooking such a delicious meal.
Violet mostly pushed food around on her plate, so I excused myself and fixed her a protein shake so she’d at least get some calories in her. She didn’t drink much, but I felt better about her by the time we cleared off the table and Carly and I served dessert—apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.
When everyone was almost done with dessert, Violet shifted in her seat, cuing us in to the fact that she was ready to tell us the reason for our get-together.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re all here,” she said with a smug smile. “I could say it’s because I love being able to get y’all to do what I want at the snap of my fingers, and we all know that’s true.” Her grin spread. “But that’s only part of it.”
Ashley looked up at her mother in confusion.
“I’m dyin’,” Violet said matter-of-factly, but her voice broke the tiniest bit. “It’s no secret, and once I accepted it, there was no runnin’ from it. I decided I wanted to spend every moment I could with my family and friends. I know it was hard for some of you to accept that I didn’t want any more treatment, and I’m sorry for that, but I don’t regret my decision to give it up.” Violet reached across the table for her daughter’s hand.
I wondered if she should be discussing this in front of the kids, but she’d been very open with them that she was dying.
Violet smiled at her daughter, squeezing her hand, then looked up at her guests. “Once I’m gone, I want you to have a party.”
“What the heck are you talkin’ about, Violet?” Joe asked, sounding incredulous. Mikey, who had finished his ice cream, was getting restless, so Joe scooted his chair back and slid the toddler onto his lap.
“I expect there to be tears—there better be lots of ’em—but then I’d like you to celebrate my life rather than just mourn it. It’s partly for Rose and Ashley,” she said, squeezing Ashley’s hand. “So they can see that there is life without me. You have to show my girls that as long as they have great friends and family, they can survive anything.” She glanced around the table at all of our friends. “That’s where all y’all come in. I need you to plan the party.” She reached for my hand then and squeezed.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“We’ll plan it,” Neely Kate said, swiping at a tear on her cheek. “We’ll have it here at the farm.”
Violet gave Neely Kate a beaming smile. “I knew I could count on you, Neely Kate.”
My sister started giving everyone directions about what she expected, and Ashley, not fully understanding what was going on, soon began throwing out suggestions too.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out, surprised to see Henryetta Medical Clinic show up on my screen.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, heading for the front porch so I would be able to hear over all the voices. When I reached the door, I answered, trying not to worry that I’d received a phone call this late. “Hello?”
“Rose?” a familiar voice asked. “It’s Doctor Newton.”
I shut the door behind me, surprised I was speaking to the doctor herself. “Hi, Dr. Newton? Have you gotten the test results back already?”
“We won’t hear back about the blood tests until tomorrow at the earliest, but I had our lab tech run an in-house test. Then, just a short while ago, I heard a nurse on the phone telling someone about the results.” A hard edge crept into her voice. “I want you to know that I’ve already fired the nurse in question and have personally called all the other staff who had already left to remind them about HIPAA laws. I’m not treating this lightly, and I want you to know that I’ll do my very best to make sure your privacy is protected, but I fear it might be too late to contain the breach.”
I leaned against the porch railing as I tried to understand what she was saying. Why would she care if a lab tech gossiped about a test she ran unless there was something wrong with me?
“Am I sick?” My breath stuck in my chest. What if I was dying too? Now that I thought about it, I had a lot of the same symptoms Violet did. Was her type of cancer hereditary?
“No, Rose, you’re not sick, and I’m so sorry you’re finding out this way. It was just a standard test I give before prescribing certain medications. If I had thought it was a serious possibility, I would have mentioned it while you were in the office.”
My heart was beating so hard I’d become breathless. “Dr. Newton, what’s wrong with me?”
“Rose, you’re pregnant.”
CHAPTER 12
“N o,” I asserted in a strong tone. “That’s not possible. I’ve been very faithful about taking my pills, and I’ve been spotting every fourth week. I can’t be pregnant.”
“I repeated the test myself to be sure. Yo
u’re pregnant.”
Feeling light-headed, I sat in one of the wicker chairs while she explained that it had likely happened in August, after I started taking my new pills, and that Dr. Arnold should have warned me to use backup contraception. She told me it was possible to have spotting during the placebo week, even though I was pregnant, and the soreness I’d felt in my breasts over a month ago, which I’d attributed to the new pills, was actually due to my pregnancy.
“How pregnant am I?”
“Given that the pills would have made ovulation erratic, I understand your confusion, but based on the date you changed your pills, I would guess you’re anywhere from five to eleven weeks along, but it’s hard to say because the usual gestation period is determined by your last period, not ovulation, which means we’re dealing with quite a spread of time. It could have happened this month, which would mean you’re still quite early,” she said.
I did a quick estimate in my head. “I haven’t had sex in nearly two months, Dr. Newton.”
I figured this afternoon didn’t count since I couldn’t have gotten pregnant that quickly.
She hesitated, then said in a strained voice, “Oh.”
“So I’m at least nine to ten weeks along,” I said, surprised at how rational I sounded.
“Given that information, I’d say yes, but I’d like for you to come in so I can do a sonogram and narrow it down. There are certain tests we need to do to make sure you and the baby are healthy. We’ll need to get you started on prenatal vitamins right away.” She paused. “When you come in, feel free to bring your boyfriend so he can see the baby too.”
Boyfriend? Then I remembered what she’d heard about Joe. “Uh…I need to get my head around this before I drag someone else into it.”
“I realize that the timing stinks, but sometimes life’s biggest surprises are our greatest blessings.”
A baby? In this mess? What was I going to do?
“Or…” she said, sounding less sure of herself. “If this isn’t something you want, finding out the due date is even more important, especially since we suspect you’re farther along. If you’re ten to eleven weeks, your window for changing course has greatly narrowed.”
Changing course. An abortion.
I instinctively placed my hand on my belly. “No. That’s not an issue.”
“I still want to see you right away, Rose,” she said, “especially since you haven’t been feeling well. And I fear you might be the subject of some gossip. I’m sure that Anne told someone. I know this is a small town and you’re not married…”
Anne.
My heart sank. I knew exactly who Anne had told—her good buddy Dena. Which meant half the county likely knew by now.
My heart seized. Joe.
Dr. Newton continued, oblivious to my distress. “I assure you that there are recourses for this. We’ll file an official complaint to the state to have her license revoked.”
I shook my head, too overwhelmed to think about that part.
“We’ll discuss it more tomorrow,” Dr. Newton said. “For now, why don’t you take some time to process the news?”
“Thank you, Dr. Newton,” I said, then hung up and cradled the phone in my lap, staring out at nothing, feeling nothing.
I was going to have a baby.
The front door opened and Joe walked out. “I should be back around ten or a little after,” he said as he tromped down the steps. “Are you still good with taking the kids home?”
It struck me that the gossip might be thrown at him at whatever meeting he was about to attend. Dena wouldn’t hold back.
When I didn’t answer, he turned to look at me. Whatever he saw on my face must have alarmed him because he hurried back. “Rose, what’s wrong?”
I looked up at him, still in shock. “I’m pregnant.”
His eyes flew wide and he dropped to his knees in front of me. “Wait. What?” When I didn’t answer, he said, “I…Are you sure?”
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. “That was the doctor.” I shook my head as it all began to sink in. “She said she runs a pregnancy test before she prescribes certain kinds medication, but she didn’t seriously think I could be pregnant because I’ve been taking my pill.” My chest began to heave. “I’ve been taking my pills, Joe. I haven’t been careless, but she said Dr. Arnold should have told me to use a backup when I changed pills. He didn’t, and now I’m pregnant.” I ran a hand over my head as the implications of what this all meant hammered into me. “People are going to think it’s yours, Joe.” Tears flooded my eyes. “Dr. Newton caught a nurse in her office calling someone to tell them, and I’m sure she was callin’ Dena, because that same nurse was ugly to me. She said she was Dena’s friend.”
Joe looked shell-shocked.
“I’m so sorry. So sorry. I keep trying to do the right thing, but I just keep diggin’ a deeper hole and pullin’ everyone in with me.”
“Hey,” he said with a gentle smile. “When did I ever care about what everyone else said?”
“But Dena…”
“I stopped carin’ about what Dena thought about me the day I told her it was over.” Some of the warmth left his eyes but not his voice when he said, “I’m presuming it’s Skeeter Malcolm’s.”
Shame filled me, but I lowered my gaze and nodded.
“What do you plan to do about that?”
I sniffed, keeping my gaze down. “In a perfect world, I’d spend a few days—or weeks—figuring it all out myself. Then I’d tell him.” My face lifted and I looked him in the eye. “I’m not sure how he’ll respond. He’s made no secret of the fact that he’s not a family man.”
But James kept his ear to the ground. If there was even a rustle of gossip about me, he’d hear about it, and he deserved to learn the truth from me first.
His eyes hardened. “Will he think you tricked him?”
I shook my head, my chin trembling. “No. He’ll know better.”
Given his profession of love and his assertion that he wanted a life with me, I wasn’t sure how he’d take the news, but I had no delusions that he would be happy about this.
“What do you need me to do, Rose?” he asked, sounding firm yet encouraging.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to say when Violet asks me who the father is, let alone the rest of the world.”
He swallowed, then took my hand. “We’ll figure it out. Just tell them it’s none of their business.” A sympathetic smile lifted his lips. “Unfortunately, you’re well acquainted with gossip.”
Sadly, he was right.
I felt a tingling in the back of my head, and I was plunged into a vision.
I was sitting in front of a desk I recognized all too well, along with the man behind it.
“Didn’t waste any time getting her pregnant so you could lock it down, huh, Simmons?” Mason snapped.
“You’ve got no claim on her,” I said in Joe’s voice, sounding equally harsh. “She risked her life to save you, and you ran off with your tail between your legs because of what she resorted to doin’ to save your ungrateful ass.”
“She lied to me,” Mason spat out. “She was working with Skeeter Malcolm.”
“Savin’ your sorry ass. Would you have preferred to die?”
“She should have come to me,” Mason said heatedly. “She should have told me what was going on.”
“Maybe so,” I said. “But then you never really knew her, did you?” I stood. “I confess, I didn’t either. I’d pigeonholed her, thinking she was innocent and naive, and she was when I met her. But she outgrew my perception of her, just like she outgrew your perception of her too.” I leaned forward and rested my hand on his desk. “You didn’t leave her because she lied to you. You left her because she grew up without you, and your damn ego couldn’t take it.”
Mason got to his feet. “Get out of my office, Simmons.”
A huge grin spread across my face. “Gladly. I’d rather go home to Rose’s warm bed tha
n sit here with you any day.”
Mason charged around the desk and threw a punch at me, clipping my chin. But I shoved him up against his bookcases, making the books shake on the shelves, and clenched his shirt in my fist.
“Careful, counselor,” I said in a mock chipper tone. “I’d sure hate to be forced to file assault charges against the state’s special prosecutor. I’m sure that would make headlines.”
Mason’s body shook under my hand, and then he shoved me off. “Get the hell out of my office.”
“Gladly, Deveraux.”
The vision faded and I blurted out, “Mason thinks the baby’s yours.”
He blinked and rocked back on his heels. “You had a vision?”
I nodded, wondering what it had all meant. Had Joe just made that comment about sleeping in my bed to provoke Mason?
“Is he gonna confront me tonight?” he asked, worry in his eyes.
I mentally reviewed the vision. “I don’t know. I think you saw him at night because you mentioned going home…to bed.” Better to leave the rest out of it. “I doubt he’d find out so quickly, but Dena said something about goin’ after Mason.”
“When the hell did she say that?” he asked with a hint of a growl.
“This morning.” I waved him off. “I can deal with her.”
“Where’d the confrontation with Mason happen?”
“His office.”
Joe stood, his grin spreading. “Even better.”
“Joe…”
“Don’t you worry about a thing, darlin’. We’ll sort this out when I get back. And my meetin’ isn’t even in the courthouse. It’s at city hall.” His smile faded and his gaze darted to the front door. “If gossip’s already spreadin’, maybe you should go in and tell everyone. I’m sure they’d rather hear the news from you.”
My stomach fell to my feet. “I found out like five minutes ago.” I stared up into his face. “I had no idea, Joe. Not a clue.” I took a breath. “I don’t know if I can handle this.”
Joe grasped my upper arms and gently tugged me to my feet. “Yes, you can. You’re the damn Lady in Black. You stared my father down with eyes so cold you could have cut diamonds with ’em.” He placed his hand under my chin to keep my gaze on him. “If you can do that, you can do and face anything. Go inside and take ownership of this before people start treatin’ you like a victim, because you, Rose Gardner, are a victim no more.” He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and smiled. “I know this seems like the worst possible timing, but you’ll be a great mother, Rose.”
Come Rain or Shine: Rose Gardner Investigations #5 (Rose Gardner Investigatons) Page 12