“For everyone,” he amended quickly, avoiding mention of the word baby that seemed to hover over them. She was grateful for his discretion.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you to the ER.”
She didn’t want to go but knew he was right. She hadn’t kept anything down, even water, in days. She and her baby needed fluids. School was starting soon and she would need all her strength to take on a new year and new students.
“What about Mari and Rowan?”
“I already texted my mom,” Mari said. “She’s coming to pick me up. If it’s okay with my mom and with Dr. Clayton, Rowan can hang out at my house while he takes you to the hospital.”
She was going to have to tell both Bea and Daisy. It was past time. She should have done it earlier. She should have told them after the Open Hearts board meeting. Keeping the secret had been selfish, her wish to keep the knowledge of her child growing inside her close to her heart a little longer.
“I need to call her,” Stella said. “I need to call Beatriz and Daisy both.”
“I don’t think you’re going to have to do that,” Ed predicted. She wasn’t sure how he knew, but he was right. A moment later the door burst open and Bea rushed through. She looked distraught, almost haggard. Was that only from worry about her? Stella couldn’t be sure.
“What is going on, Aunt Stella?” she demanded. “Mari texted me that you’ve been sick all evening and that you even passed out for a minute.”
Mari was a little snitch. But Stella couldn’t blame her.
“It’s nothing. Ed thinks I need to go to the ER for some fluids. After that I’ll be as good as new.”
“This stomach bug has lasted for weeks. Are you sure it’s not something more? You said you were feeling better or I never would have sent Mari to stay over.”
Daisy burst through the door before Stella could answer.
“You told Daisy?” Stella asked. She wasn’t happy about it, but at least the two were talking. She had worried after the board meeting and Bea’s unkind words that a rift might grow.
“Somebody had to. This has gone on long enough,” Daisy said in her best Daisy-stern voice. “You need to tell us what is going on. I don’t want to hear about the flu. I don’t want to hear about food poisoning. Tell us the truth.”
Almost against her will, Stella looked at Ed for strength. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she felt the heat of it soak through her entire battered body.
Oh, how grateful she was for him. What would she do without him back in her life?
“I’ll tell you,” she finally said.
“Why don’t we let Stella sit down first?” Ed suggested.
They moved into her living room, with the stained-glass windows and the gorgeous woodwork she had so painstakingly restored. She loved this room. Would her baby love it? She would definitely have to do some babyproofing before she delivered.
“Mari, Rowan. Why don’t you go pack up Mari’s things and take them out to my car?” Bea suggested.
The girls looked disappointed at not being privy to the big reveal but she had a feeling Bea would tell her daughter anyway and Mari, in turn, would tell her friend.
It didn’t matter. The whole world could know now.
“I’m not sick,” she began.
Daisy raised an eyebrow. “Huh. You’re certainly giving a pretty good imitation of someone who’s gravely ill.”
“I don’t have influenza or food poisoning, at any rate.”
This was harder than she’d expected. What would Daisy and Bea think of her? Would they think she was too old to be embarking on this journey on her own?
“The truth is, I have bad morning sickness.”
For about thirty seconds, nothing but silence met her announcement. She saw the shock in both Bea’s and Daisy’s expressions.
Daisy was the first to speak. “You’re...you’re pregnant?”
“Pregnant!” Bea turned to Ed, much to Stella’s mortification. “Are you the father?”
“No!” she said sharply. “I hadn’t spoken to Ed in years when I got pregnant. He has nothing to do with this.”
Why did his jaw tighten when she said that? What had she said to annoy him? She couldn’t worry about that now; she had to explain to her nieces.
“The baby is mine. I got pregnant through a sperm donor and artificial insemination. It’s something I’ve been wanting for a long time, a decision I thought long and hard about. I’m having a baby.”
“Wow. That’s a big step. I can’t believe you didn’t discuss it with us,” Daisy said.
“What wonderful news!” Bea exclaimed. “I’m so happy for you!” She jumped up and hugged Stella. After a moment Daisy did the same, though she still looked worried.
“I loved the chance I had to raise you both, as well as all the foster children who have come through those doors, but I wanted a child of my own. Someone who...wouldn’t leave.”
She hadn’t meant to say that last bit. It slipped out before she could clamp her lips down and hold it back. Ed’s jaw tightened again and she could see he had plenty of things he wanted to say to her.
He hadn’t left. She had left him.
She knew exactly what was running through his mind and she had no defense against the truth.
“I think it’s terrific,” Bea said stoutly. “You’re a wonderful, nurturing woman with so much love to give. I’m thrilled for you.”
“If this is what you truly want, I’m happy for you, too,” Daisy said. Despite her words, Daisy still looked stunned and worried.
Stella could relate. She hadn’t yet found her happy place with the whole idea yet, either.
“Thank you, my darling girls.” She hugged them both, then had to sit down, afraid she would pass out again.
“She’s dehydrated because she hasn’t been keeping anything down in days,” Ed said. “Right now the important thing is to get her to the ER for IV fluids as soon as possible.”
“I’ll take you,” Daisy said promptly.
She dearly loved her niece, but right now, for a hundred different reasons, she wanted Ed.
“I would rather have Dr. Clayton, honey.”
She didn’t want to look at him to see his reaction, though she sensed his surprise.
“Do you mind?” she asked.
“As long as Bea is okay with Rowan hanging out with Mari for a while.”
“Of course I don’t mind. She can stay over and you can get her in the morning.”
“Dr. Clayton is right. The important thing now is for you to take care of yourself,” Daisy said.
“You and the baby,” Bea added.
“I’m trying.”
She was grateful beyond words for these girls who had added so much joy and laughter and life to her world. Yes, she had sacrificed a great deal to take care of them. At the time she felt as if she had no choice. They had been so very needy, lost and alone, separated by the foster care system.
She wasn’t sure exactly what had happened to them in the year they were in the system, before she found out Jewel had died. What little she did know broke her heart. Daisy, at least, had suffered things she didn’t want to think about. Her oldest niece had gone from a bright, happy, passionately loyal girl to a child who had been withdrawn, silent, careful not to show any emotion.
It still hurt her heart when she thought about it.
She couldn’t regret any of her choices—even giving up Ed, though she had ached for him for nearly two decades.
She didn’t know what it meant that he had come back into her life at this stage. She didn’t have any expectations that they could pick up where they had left off in their relationship. He had made that clear enough.
Since he had come to Cape Sanctuary, Ed had been friendly enough to her, but he seemed very much like Daisy. He seemed to
hold all his emotions back behind a barrier she could not breach.
He was here now. He was willing to help her at the hospital, concerned over her welfare and that of her unborn baby.
For now, that would have to be enough.
18
DAISY
Daisy closed the door after Stella and Dr. Clayton, still trying to process the shock of the past few minutes.
Pregnant. Stella!
Sometimes she forgot her aunt was still a relatively young woman, barely forty. Stella had tried so hard to be an authority figure with her and Bea when they first came to live with her that Daisy had gotten into the habit of thinking of her as older than her years.
What she never forgot was how very much she and Bea owed their aunt. She had brought her nieces here to begin rebuilding their lives and now she was going to have a baby here.
“Stella’s having a baby. Can you believe it?” Bea’s chandelier earrings danced as she shook her head.
“No. For weeks I’ve been coming up with all kinds of horrible scenarios for why she’s been so ill. I wouldn’t have guessed she was pregnant in a million years.”
“It’s a relief, though, right?”
“Certainly beats a lot of the alternatives,” Daisy said.
“Why has she kept it a big secret, do you think?” Bea asked. She sounded a little put out, which mirrored many of the thoughts running through Daisy’s head. Stella had obviously been working toward becoming pregnant for some time. Why wouldn’t she have wanted to share this journey with Bea and Daisy?
“Maybe she wasn’t sure it would work out. She’s an older mother, after all.”
Stella was only a decade older than Daisy. Her own biological clock ticked louder with every passing year, something she was finding harder and harder to ignore.
“So what do we do now?”
As always, Bea looked to her to lead the way. It had been that way when they were two girls living in a chaotic world, basically raising themselves. She was the older sister and it had always been her responsibility to watch out for her younger sister.
“We’re family. We support each other, no matter what.”
To her shock, tears gathered in Bea’s eyes. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I was a bitch to you after the Open Hearts meeting. I...I’ve been under some stress lately and I took it out on you and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things about you not being busy. I tried to call you a hundred times today to tell you how bad I felt and I was too stubborn to do it.”
Daisy’s heart melted and she hugged Bea. She might not always understand her sister’s vivacity and her spontaneity but she loved her. Beatriz would always be her baby sister.
“I love you,” Bea said. “I don’t say it enough, but I do.”
Something else was going on here, Daisy suspected. Her sister wasn’t crying only because of their spat the day before, which was relatively minor compared to some of the fights they used to get into as teenagers.
“It’s okay. I know. I...love you, too.”
Bea rested her head for a moment on Daisy’s shoulder and she patted her wild tangle of curls, her throat aching with emotions while her sister cried.
After a few minutes Bea pulled away and grabbed a tissue off a side table. “I’m sorry. It’s been a rough evening for me. I was so scared about Stella when Mari texted me.”
That wasn’t everything, she suspected. “What else is going on?”
“I... Nothing.” Bea gave a smile that was obviously fake. “I’m just worried about her. I hope she knows what she’s getting into. Being a single mother is not an easy road, even when you have a great support system. It still comes down to you being wholly responsible for the life of someone else.”
Daisy blinked at the stark honesty in her sister’s words. She was a little ashamed at her own insensitivity. She had always thought Bea had things together.
Some corner of her heart had always resented her sister a little. Everyone had always taken care of her, starting with Daisy when they were kids. From Daisy’s perspective, her sister hadn’t had to struggle much. At least not financially. Maybe in the early days of her marriage, she and Cruz had eaten plenty of macaroni and cheese, but Cruz’s career had hit fast and hard. He made pots of money—which she knew full well as one of his financial managers—and he shared generously with his ex-wife and child.
She wasn’t shallow enough to think money solved every problem. She’d seen too much of life to believe that. But considering so much of her childhood had revolved around her struggle to make sure her baby sister had food and shelter, financial security equated to peace of mind to her.
A person could have more than enough money and still be faced with hardships. Bea had been divorced young from a husband who could never be faithful. And obviously, she struggled more than Daisy understood with being a single mother.
“Stella has a wonderful example in her own family of how to be a single parent with grace and grit,” she said softly.
Bea’s eyes filled up again. “Thank you.”
“And anyway, she won’t be alone. We’ll be here to help her.”
“You’re absolutely right. Also, did you see the way Dr. Clayton was looking at her? Tell me I’m crazy now. The man clearly has feelings for Aunt Stella. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could get together again, after all these years, especially with a baby in the picture?”
Was Ed truly Stella’s lost love? Was he the reason she had never married, even after Daisy and Bea had moved out?
Had she been carrying a torch all these years for the handsome doctor, transferring her need to love and be loved to taking in strays?
It was strange enough thinking about Stella having a baby. Having a baby and a new romantic interest at the same time might blow Daisy’s mind.
“Let’s focus on one thing at a time, should we? You need to get Mari and Rowan home. I’ll wait here to make sure Stella is settled when she gets back.”
Bea smiled, looking a little less lost. “You’re right. You’re always right.”
Daisy only wished that were true.
* * *
She was still trying to process the stunning events of the past few hours when she finally drove from Three Oaks to Pear Tree Cottage after Stella returned from the hospital and was settled in her bed with plenty of fluids, her TV remote and her cell phone.
Daisy had wanted to spend the night but Stella had insisted she would be fine and felt a million times better after the IV fluids.
She had looked better. Not 100 percent, perhaps, but happier, certainly. And Dr. Clayton had been adorably attentive, making sure she had his number programmed into her phone and had everything she needed. He said he would stay until she was asleep, since his daughter was spending the night with Mari.
Was there something between them? She was beginning to suspect Bea was right. Stella certainly seemed to rely on the man.
What had broken them up in the first place?
She knew Stella had just graduated from UCLA when she was able to finally get custody of her and Bea. If they’d known each other in college, was it possible Stella had broken things off with him because of them?
It would be just like Stella to sacrifice her own chance at happiness for her nieces.
If that was the case, maybe Bea was right. Maybe they did need to step in and try to push the two of them back together.
She was trying to figure out ways to do that when she pulled into her driveway, feeling the sense of homecoming she always did here at Pear Tree Cottage.
She loved this house, not only because it provided financial stability, but also because for the first time in her life she had something of her own.
The moment she opened the door, Louie came running out to greet her, his stump tail wagging and his grumpy little face looking so adorable she had to scoop him up.
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“How’s my good boy? Did you miss me?”
The little Frenchie licked her face, which she took to mean, Absolutely and I’m so glad you’re finally home.
She had a million things to do. Quarterly taxes, several investment reports, not to mention half a dozen new commissions for Marguerite to finish. Right now she wanted to do none of those things.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said to the dog, who yelped in excitement and wriggled around in her arms.
She found his leash, hooked it to his collar, grabbed a flashlight and the container of pepper spray she carried when she walked—a girl couldn’t be too careful, after all—and the two of them headed out the door.
The night was glorious, with a full moon hanging over the ocean and a glitter of stars overhead. The ocean below pounded against the rocks in the soothing rhythm that always seemed to provide such peace to her soul.
She and Louie walked the path beside the road that followed the cliffs. He sniffed at every blade of grass and every small crack in the sidewalk while she ambled along, enjoying the wind in her face and the smell of the sea.
She loved it here. Cape Sanctuary was home to her, a beautiful and welcome haven after her first chaotic decade on the planet. Her aunt had made it a stable and supportive place to grow up.
She was so grateful to Stella. Gratitude seemed a completely inadequate word. The debt she owed her aunt was impossibly vast. She could never hope to repay it. She would, however, do her best to support Stella and her unborn baby in whatever way necessary.
Bea would do the same, she knew. They would both help Stella raise her child.
She and Louie were about halfway between Pear Tree Cottage and Casa Del Mar when she spied a dark figure crouched over something at an odd angle. Louie spotted the figure at the same time and started barking—not his stranger-danger bark but his friendly, I-missed-you yip.
The dog’s eagerness immediately gave away the identity of the person. Her heartbeat seemed to accelerate as she recognized the figure now and realized the strange stance came from bending over a tripod.
The Cliff House Page 19
