Rachel Laine (The Women of Merryton Book 3)

by Peel, Jennifer

  Chapter Two

  Well my hopes that I would never see or have to mention Andrew Turner again were all but dashed a week later. Just as my worries were subsiding, he paid me another visit on a Friday morning. I could hear the delight in Liza’s voice as she called to inform me he was there. If I didn’t think declining to see him would cause more suspicion, I would have told her to tell him I was unavailable, but she would have known that wasn’t true, so I resigned myself to seeing him again.

  I didn’t wait for him to knock on my door. I met him there with my stomach in knots and my fists clenched.

  He was dressed much more casually this go around. Last time he had come in a suit and tie, like he was ready to conduct business. Today he was in jeans and a t-shirt, with a Bears cap on.

  I had done some research on him after our last meeting. He’d retired from baseball the year before—at the age of thirty-five—due to a shoulder injury. He was the Bears’ most winning pitcher in the team’s history. On a personal note, he had never been married and had been named Denver’s most eligible bachelor a few times. His bio also indicated that he had no children. That was a lie, and it made me wonder how many other Drews he had out there. All the articles made him sound like this stand-up, all around good guy, but I knew better. Stand-up guys don’t get young women pregnant and leave them. They also don’t show up eight years later and basically try to buy your silence.

  “Rachel,” he began, “thanks for seeing me again.”

  Yeah, nice is getting you nowhere, pal. “Andrew, why are you here? I thought we had nothing left to say to one another.”

  His nervous smile disappeared with the less than warm reception. “Please, can I come in?”

  I blew out a heavy breath. “I suppose.”

  “Thank you.” He walked in and took up the same spot as he had the week before.

  I too sat where I had the week before—as far away from him as I could on the couch. I turned to face him, waiting for him to state his reason for coming here again, and praying he still wanted nothing to do with Drew.

  He took his hat off and ruffled his hair. He was definitely nervous, which made me nervous. I was afraid of him.

  “Rachel—or do you like to be called Rachel Laine? That’s what your receptionist called you.”

  I didn’t want to be called anything by him. “Either is fine.”

  He tentatively smiled. “Rachel Laine, then.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. What he called me was the least of my concerns.

  “Well, after our meeting last week, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’m sure I came off as a real jerk last week.”

  I nodded my head in agreement.

  He ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair again. “I know,” he said. “First of all, I wanted to offer my condolences about Sydney. I really had no idea.”

  “Well, maybe if you would have listened to her, or even responded to her letter, you would have known.”

  His face turned a dark shade of red. “Rachel Laine, I barely knew Sydney and—”

  “You knew her well enough to have sex with her,” I cut in.

  I watched him try to compose himself before he spoke. He looked both angry and embarrassed. “I know it wasn’t my finest moment, and I’m not proud of my behavior back then, but honestly I had no reason to believe your sister’s story. It wasn’t like I was the only guy on the team who had—”

  I held up my hand. I didn’t need to hear what he had to say. It wasn’t surprising, but still, he was talking about my sister.

  He held his tongue and sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m really not here to make excuses.”

  “Why then?” I almost cried.

  “I couldn’t get Drew’s face out of my mind, so I went through some old pictures my parents had given me and I found this.” He pulled a picture from his shirt pocket and handed it to me.

  I reached out for it, as if in slow motion. When I turned it over, I placed my other hand over my mouth. If I didn’t know better, I would say it looked exactly like my little guy, right down to the missing teeth.

  “I know,” he said. “The resemblance is uncanny.”

  I nodded my head in agreement and handed the photo back to him.

  “So … what do you want?” I was afraid of the answer, and for good reason.

  “Well, I’d like to meet him.” He sounded about as nervous as I felt.

  I closed my eyes and rubbed my lips together. How could this be happening? I wasn’t ready for this scenario. When I opened my eyes, I found him staring at me. He looked sincere, but … “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Rachel Laine, I’m his father.”

  “No. You’re the Y chromosome that made his life possible. Fathers don’t ignore their son’s existence for eight years.”

  “I didn’t even know about him until last week.”

  “And whose fault is that?” I dared him with my eyes to blame Sydney.

  The muscles in his face tightened as he thought about his response. “I have rights.”

  I clutched my heart. “You’re going to take me to court?”

  His eyes softened. “I don’t want to have to do that. I only want the opportunity to get to know him.”

  My eyes filled with tears. “Andrew, I love him more than life and I have done everything in my power to protect him. How do I know that this isn’t a whim for you? How can I introduce you into his life after all of these years?”

  “This isn’t a whim. I understand why you probably won’t believe that, but doesn’t Drew deserve to know he has a father?”

  What did he know about what Drew deserved? “So, what are you going to tell him when he asks where you’ve been all this time? And what will you tell him about his mother?”

  He sat forward and rested his arms on his thighs. “I know. I’ve been thinking about that all week.” He looked my way. “That’s why I thought perhaps we wouldn’t tell him right away. We could let him get to know me first.”

  Nausea consumed me. “As what?”

  “I don’t know, a friend of the family?”

  “I don’t want to lie to him.”

  “What about a date?”

  “I don’t date.”

  He sat up and laughed some.

  “What?” This was no time for levity.

  “I find it hard to believe that you don’t date.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re beautiful.” He waved his hand around. “And by the looks of it, successful, too.”

  “How would I take that the wrong way?”

  “Well, I don’t want you to think I’m interested in you.”

  “Wow. Did you eat arrogance bran for breakfast this morning?”

  “Arrogance bran?” He smiled.

  “Don’t worry, Andrew, I would never entertain the idea. You’re the last man I would ever be interested in.”

  He smiled again. “Well, now that that has been cleared up, how should we go about this?”

  I thought for a moment. I had to be smart about this. I didn’t want the courts involved, and I was holding out hope that this was only a blip on his radar. “Well, first of all, I don’t want it to be in public, you’re too well known.”

  “Agreed,” he said.

  “I guess you could come over for dinner. I can tell Drew I met you at the office and I thought he might like to meet you because you played for the Bears.” With the right spin, that was true.

  Andrew’s eyes sparkled with childlike eagerness. “Does he like baseball?”

  “He’s more of football guy. He plays quarterback for his little league team.”

  He tilted his chin down in disappointment. “Does he have a good arm?”

  “The coaches say they’ve never seen one better for a kid his age.”

  He grinned at the news. “So, can I come over tonight?”

  “So soon?” Is this guy trying to kill me?

  “Please, Rachel Laine.”
>
  Those eyes. Those eyes always got their way.

  “Does six work for you?” I sighed in resignation.

  “Perfect.”

  I made a deal with the devil, all in the name of protecting the most precious thing in my life.

  Chapter Three

  It was anything but perfect. I had to leave work early because I was so sick about it. I felt like my world was suddenly slipping away from me, and I had lotion on my hands that prevented me from grasping on to it at all. The worries that had plagued me for a week were now becoming reality. What if Andrew decided to become a permanent fixture and he took me to court to get custody? What if I really wasn’t enough, and Drew loved his new-found dad more than me? I couldn’t bear the thought of either. I cried all the way home.

  To cope, I cleaned like a mad woman before I had to pick up Drew from school. I didn’t know why, but I felt like everything should be pristine for our visitor. I didn’t want him judging me, although I had judged him quite a bit. I had zero respect for the man, but I knew I had to play nice. I was hoping this was an impulse for him, and he would realize he didn’t really want to be involved. The only problem with that scenario was the next time Drew asked me if I knew who his dad was, or if I could find out, I would have to tell him the truth. I could only imagine the pain that would cause my son, to know that his father had met him and wanted nothing to do with him.

  By the time I left to get Drew, the house shined and smelled fabulous. I had seasoned chicken in the crockpot for chicken enchiladas, and I had made Drew’s favorite apple spice Bundt cake. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to eat any of it due to the horrible pit in my stomach, but I was at least going to put on a good show.

  The first thing Drew did when we got home was tear through the house, leaving a trail of his school things behind him. No matter how many times I’d asked him to hang up his jacket and place his backpack on the entryway hooks, he still needed a reminder every day. Don’t even get me started on the stinky socks I’d found in the most interesting places. One thing for sure, life was never dull around here, and tonight wouldn’t be an exception.

  As Drew devoured his afternoon snack of oatmeal cookies and milk at the breakfast bar, I mentioned that we were having company for dinner tonight.

  “So does that mean I have to use manners?” he whined.

  “That is exactly what that means, bud.” I smiled. “You should probably use manners, regardless.”

  In return, he burped loudly and laughed. I had no choice but to laugh as well.

  I kissed the top of his head and hugged him tight. “I love you more than infinity.”

  “I love you infinity plus one, but don’t kiss me when people are over.”

  “I’ll make you a deal, you keep your burps under wraps, and I’ll keep my lips to myself.”

  “Deal” He grinned.

  I decided I better explain to him a little about our guest for the night. “You know who the Denver Bears are, right?” I filled the tortillas with seasoned chicken, trying to get through the conversation.

  “Yeah, Mom.”

  “Great. So the man that is coming over here used to be a pitcher for them.”

  Drew shrugged his shoulders. “That’s cool.”

  I knew if I told him Paxton Matthews, the quarterback for the Stallions, was coming over, he would have been excited about that. If only he were the one coming over here. Maybe it was wrong and selfish of me, but I hoped he never found his father to be cool. At least not cooler than me.

  I tried my best to be truthful. I managed okay. I hated bringing this man into our lives, and even more, doing it under false pretenses. I didn’t know what kind of man he was, other than a man who beds young women and leaves them. To top it off, he was arrogant and self-serving. Just the kind of role model I wanted for my son. But what could I do? I knew if I didn’t let him see his son under my terms, I would have to follow someone else’s eventually.

  As soon as Drew finished his snack, he hopped off his seat and ran up to the loft where his bedroom was. Our chocolate lab, Jake, followed after him. They were the best of friends.

  The loft was all Drew’s. I figured since it was only the two of us, he might as well have the whole upstairs. Drew had turned it into a shrine of sorts for the Denver Stallions, Colorado’s professional football team; it looked like a memorabilia store threw up in it. He had posters of his favorite players hung everywhere, and my dad even found a Stallions pinball machine. It was a fun space. Drew and his friends had gotten plenty of mileage out of it. The only downside was having our rooms on separate floors. Drew would never admit it, but on occasion, he would still get frightened in the middle of the night and would make his way down to my bed. I didn’t mind; it was the only time he would really cuddle with me anymore.

  Six o’clock came way too soon. Dinner was ready and the table was set, but my heart was anything but. I jumped a little when the doorbell rang.

  I opened the door to find Andrew standing there with flowers in hand and a grin on his face. “Don’t get the wrong idea, but these are for you.” He pushed the flowers my way.

  I took the large fall bouquet out of his hands. “Um … thank you?”

  “These are just a way for me to say thank you for having me over, nothing else.”

  “Yeah, I get that you’re not interested in me. You don’t need to keep reminding me.”

  He smirked.

  I opened the door wider and welcomed him in.

  He looked around as I took his jacket and hung it up. “Nice place.”

  I looked around, too. I loved this house, nestled among the aspen and pine trees, although the aspen trees were all but bare since it was the middle of October.

  “Thank you.”

  We both looked at each other. Nervous energy hung in the air.

  I sighed and called up to my son. “Hey, bud. Why don’t you come down and meet our guest?”

  “Mom, can I please have five more minutes? I’ve almost beat this level.”

  I looked at Andrew, who shrugged.

  “I think that sounds reasonable.”

  Why he thought he had any say in the matter, I had no idea. I rolled my eyes. “Five minutes. That’s it,” I called up to him.

  “Yes!” I heard him say.

  “Well, have a seat.” I motioned toward the couch. “Make yourself comfortable.”

  I headed to the open kitchen to put the beautiful flowers in a vase.

  Jake decided to come down and greet our guest by jumping on him.

  I looked up from filling a vase with water. “Sorry.”

  He scratched Jake’s ears. “No problem. I love dogs.” While he indulged our lovable lab, I noticed him looking around with interest.

  “So how long have you lived here?” he inquired.

  “We moved in this past spring.”

  “Did you buy or do you rent?”

  What a funny question. I think he was apprehensive and didn’t know what to say.

  “I own it. I even helped design it.”

  “Impressive. So, insurance agent by day and architect by night?”

  “No, my good friend is a semi-custom builder and he bought some of the one acre lots in this subdivision.” I used the term subdivision loosely. There were only six homes for now, and we were all spread far apart. The lots were so forested you hardly knew you had neighbors, but it was lovely.

  “Well, it’s really nice.”

  I don’t know how many times he was going to say how nice my house was. Not that it wasn’t true, but I found it funny.

  “Thank you.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “It smells delicious in here.”

  “Let’s hope it tastes that way.” I placed the flowers on the coffee table in front of him.

  He leaned back against the couch and grinned in response. I noticed he had changed from this morning. Jake took a liking to him and rested his head on his legs. Normally I wouldn’t let him do that to company, but I figured he des
erved some hair on his pants.

  “Where do you live?” I asked out of curiosity.

  “I live in Highlands Ranch.”

  “That’s a little bit of a drive from here.” Highlands Ranch was a suburb of Denver and about an hour or so from Merryton.

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  I looked at the clock and five minutes had passed way too quickly. I took another deep breath in. “Drew, time’s up,” I called.

  “Ahhh man.” His voice echoed through the vaulted ceiling. At least he came running down the stairs without a second invitation.

  Both Andrew and I stood up in anticipation. Drew immediately came to my side. I protectively put my arm around his shoulders. If only I could hold on to him forever.

  I looked between Andrew and Drew. “Drew this is Mr. Turner. Remember, I told you about him earlier?”

  He nodded his head yes.

  “Andrew, this is my son, Drew.”

  Andrew met my eyes for a moment before holding out his large hand to shake Drew’s. I could see the excitement and hesitation in his eyes as he did so.

  “You can call me Andrew.”

  Drew took his hand. “Hey, that’s cool. My name is Andrew, too.”

  “It’s a great name,” Andrew replied.

  I did my best not to roll my eyes, but then I did my best not to laugh when Drew responded, “Well I think Drew is better. Andrew is for old people.”

  Andrew took it all in stride and laughed. “Do I look old to you?” he asked Drew.

  Drew leaned his head sideways and looked him over. “Kind of.”

  “What about your mom, does she look old?”

  I looked at Andrew like he should know better than to ask such things, especially since we barely knew each other and I didn’t like him. He winked at me like an idiot.

  Drew looked up at me and smiled. “No way.”

  I gave him a little squeeze before he took off for the table.