“Well, what are you going to do then? Stay with your idiot sister? Who obviously can’t even take care of herself? Stay with Emma? I don’t think so!”
Ally saw the look on the woman’s face and felt a rage unlike anything she’d felt in a long, long time. She grabbed the woman’s wrist, and used all the pressure she could to get the woman to loosen her grip. “She’s not going anywhere with you!”
“And just who are you?” The woman turned toward Ally and shook her arm, as if Ally was no more than an irritant. “Gracie is my daughter, and if I say she goes, she goes!”
“No, she doesn’t,” Ally said, moving to stand toe to toe with the taller woman, barely aware of Kelly saying her name or Emma moving closer. A man stepped up to Ally’s left, but she only spared him a glance. He was as tall as Dan and darker, around Dan’s age. He wrapped his hand around Ally’s arm, his grip insistent but still gentle. His blue eyes held a touch of embarrassment. Ally tried to jerk free and he held on.
“Let’s go someplace and talk about this. I’m Joe Phillips, and you are?” he asked in an apologetic tone. “I’m sure we can all work something out that works for everybody.”
“Take your damned hand off her, Phillips, before I break every bone in your body.” Ally closed her eyes in a mixed moment of stark relief and trepidation when the voice sounded from behind Phillips.
The girls’ mother spun around, in an almost comical move. Her hands went to her face and her eyes widened dramatically, filling with fear. “Oh my God! You!”
Chapter 34
Dan had never wanted to physically hurt someone as much in his life. This was the woman responsible for so many of his years of pain. She’d taken his very life away from him, and now she stood there staring at him like he was the monster. “I suggest you both turn around and walk away, right now.”
If they didn’t get out of his sight, he didn’t know what he would do.
The little doc shook Phillips’ arm, still trying to dislodge the man’s grip. That sight made Dan just as angry as the sight of his ex-wife standing over his injured daughter as if she had every right to. Phillips had no right to touch the doc. Ever. He glared at Phillips until the man got the message. The other man had two seconds to let go of the doc...
“These are my children.” Beth spat the words at him, but she kept distance between herself and Dan.
“I think you gave that right up years ago.” Dan put himself between the doc and Phillips, wrapped his own hand around the man he’d thought was his friend’s arm. It took every bit of his control to keep from ripping the man’s arm out of socket. “Phillips, take Beth and get out of here. I’m giving you fifteen minutes before I call the police about outstanding warrants against Beth. These are my children, and you will never harm them again! J.T., take Kelly and her sisters to the car. I want you all to wait for me outside.”
There were things Beth was a long time in needing to hear. And by the look in her eyes as the girls and J.T. followed his instructions, she knew it. The little doc wrapped her fingers in his sleeve and paused a moment as she passed him. “Dan, for Kelly’s sake…”
Dan patted her fingers, squeezed them gently. Resisted the urge to drop a kiss on her sweet lips. She was such a contrast to Beth, sweetness to Beth’s brassiness. Beautiful. “Don’t worry, doc. No scene, today. Just take care of my girls for me, ok?”
“Of course. Don’t take too long. Kelly needs to rest.”
***
Beth watched the doc walk away, derision in her eyes. “My replacement? A bit young for you, isn’t she?”
“She’s perfect. And four times the woman you will be or have ever been.” Dan bit back all the things he’d always wanted to say to Beth. Now wasn’t the time or the place. And he knew his girls were watching; he could almost feel their eyes on him from where the car waited.
“Here’s how it’s going to be. Gracie stays with me. I have custody and always have. You are not to contact her without going through me first. It’s up to Kelly and Emma how they want to handle their relationships with you. If you so much as think to circumvent me in any way, I’ll have some friends of mine serve the warrant for your arrest. Phillips, same goes for you—I will have Martin Santiago issue a warrant for you on custodial interference. Other than that, I never want to see, speak, or hear from you again. For any reason. Beth—I want all the girls’ things shipped to the St. Louis division of the FBI, care of myself or Kelly. Now, I am taking my family home.”
Phillips stared at Dan a moment, and Dan held his gaze, wanting nothing more than to rip the man to shreds. His ex-partner. Why had he done it? “Phillips, tell me one thing? Why?”
Phillips looked at Dan then at Beth. “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I’ve regretted it, and I am sorry.”
“Sorry can never adequately address it. You stole my life from me. I hope you’re happy with the results. Get out of St. Louis and don’t ever come back. Either of you.”
***
Dan didn’t bother looking back at the two people who’d destroyed his life. His future waited in his SUV with his girls. J.T. slid out of the driver’s seat and climbed into the back. Dan took his place. The doc sat in the passenger seat, worry clear on her pretty face. Dan squeezed her hand quickly, without thought to the girls in the backseat. “It’s ok, doc. No scene, just like I promised.”
Emma popped her head between their seats. She smiled at their joined hands. “Still, it would have been nice to see you clean their clocks.”
“But a public hospital is not the place for that.” The doc pulled her hand free, her cheeks slightly reddened. “So what did they say?”
“They really couldn’t say much of anything. The law is on my side.” Dan checked the review mirror, checking on each of his girls before he pulled the SUV into gear. “From this point on, we are all finished with her. Unless you girls want otherwise, then that’s up to you.”
Chapter 35
Ally missed him. She couldn’t explain it, but since she and the children—and Kelly—had returned to their home two weeks after Kelly was shot she had missed being with him. They had developed a good routine during those days, and she’d enjoyed it. They would ride to work together, leaving Kelly in Emma’s care, drop Gracie, Ryan, and Aislin off at their schools and preschools, then head over to the Bureau. Just the two of them on the ten minute drive. Then he would walk her to the lab, and if he remained in town, would meet her at her office at five.
It was nice.
Now six weeks after she and Kelly had returned to the little house they rented, Ally still almost wished for it again. The house just didn’t feel like home anymore, and it definitely didn’t feel safe and secure. Not since the break-in. No leads had been found, either for the break-in or for who had shot Kelly, and Ally had a hard time forgetting that. Ed Dennis had ordered someone to patrol the neighborhood. That did little to alleviate Ally’s fear.
She also knew from Kelly that Dan was still searching for the people responsible, but she saw very little of him. Only the Monday morning briefings when his team was still in town. And then he sat with his team and she sat with hers.
He spent most of his free time—from what she’d heard from Kelly—with Gracie and Emma. And Kelly when she visited.
Ally sighed as she sorted the packages and documents that had been sent to the lab for processing from the various teams. It would just take her time to get resettled and adjusted.
Thankfully, Ryan and Aislin didn’t seem aware of what had happened. She and Marianna had managed to get the house cleaned up without the kids noticing. They were finally settling in to a good routine and adjusting to the move, and that made her happy. How could it not? They had seemed to enjoy being at Dan’s, playing in his huge backyard and with Paige’s dog Cletus, but they were glad to be back at home with their own things and toys.
But Ally wasn’t sleeping at night, and the exhaustion was starting to wear her down. She rubbed a hand against her eyes. Twenty minutes and sh
e could go home. And nap. Marianna was taking the kids for the evening, and Kelly had made plans with her sisters. It would give Ally much needed time alone. And all she planned to do was sleep.
She hadn’t been this tired since she was pregnant with Aislin five years ago. And before that…when she was pregnant with Ryan.
When she was pregnant... Ally was always like clockwork; even stress and illness wouldn’t mess with her cycle. Had she had a period since moving to St. Louis? The week of the move. That was ten weeks ago. She should have had a period. At least one. It was past time for another.
Ally had only been late twice in her lifetime, and both of those times had been because of pregnancy. Ally’s hands clenched on the edge of the desk. Oh, God.
She’d not renewed her birth control shot because her doctor had recommended she not at the checkup she’d had a few weeks before the move. There had been evidence of some bone density issues for Ally at her last checkup, and Ally hadn’t felt the need since she and Jack had been divorcing. Still, there should have been enough hormones left in her system when she and Dan had been together to prevent pregnancy. At least a month’s worth, as the shot lasted for up to fourteen weeks! It was stress, pure and simple.
There was no way she was pregnant with Dan’s baby. Fate would not be that cruel.
What if she was? She was thirty-six years old; risk factors for birth defects were greater for her age bracket now. Shouldn’t she find out as early as possible? Just to be on the safe side? And what would it hurt? She would take it, it would be negative, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about it at all. She could get herself settled into her home and continue building her new life. Put what happened between her and Dan behind her. Forget about it, really.
But…what if she was? What would she do? How would she tell him or the kids? God, how would she tell Kelly? It would break Kelly’s heart to know Ally had betrayed her that way. You didn’t sleep with your best friend’s father. That was just not done. No matter what the circumstances.
Ally felt sick.
There was only thing she could do; stop off at the drugstore and buy a test. Or two, though she knew the accuracy rates for home pregnancy tests were pretty high. She would take two just to be certain.
Chapter 36
The house was quiet for the first time in weeks, and Dan hated it. Having his girls around was all he’d hoped it would be, and then some. There were problems, of course. But he’d expected that. And he’d discussed with Hellbrook and Georgia, both psychologists, what to expect from the weeks following the reunion. So far, everything his friends had said would happen had.
Dan’s biggest worries were his relationship with Kelly, Emma’s seemingly obliviousness to any problems or resistance in her life, and Gracie’s introvert tendencies. He knew things would just take time. All three of his girls were out, leaving him alone in the house with his thoughts. Cletus, the mastiff Paige had found during a recent case, was keeping him company while Paige was on assignment, but it didn’t help. The house was too damned quiet.
He welcomed the knock on the door when it came, and he chased Cletus to the door. He refrained from barking like a madman, though. It surprised him to see the little doc on his doorstep.
“Doc? What can I help you with? Kelly’s taken the girls to a movie, if you’re needing something from her.”
She was pale, and her eyes were worried. It had him frowning and motioning her inside, out of the rain. She said nothing as she pulled her coat off and put it on the hook behind the door; the same place it had rested during those two weeks she’d stayed with him. Tempting him every time he’d turned around. God, she had tempted him.
She pulled in a deep breath and twisted her fingers together. “I’m not here to see Kelly. I knew she was at the movies.”
“So what’s the matter? Tell me and I’ll do my damnedest to fix it.” Dan dropped his hands to her bony shoulders and massaged gently. Damn, it felt good to get his hands on her again, even through the soft knit.
“We need to talk.”
“About?” Now he was puzzled, for sure. What was the matter? “Doc, just spit it out.”
“That night. When Kelly was shot. And I told you I was on birth control? Apparently, there wasn’t enough in my system. There should have been.” Tears leaked out of pretty blue eyes and landed on his forearm. He wiped them away.
Then what she’d said sunk in. “Birth control. You’re telling me there was a problem with your birth control. And that means…”
She nodded, her lower lip trembling, nerves and fear in her eyes. Her words were a soft whisper that he almost had trouble hearing. “Yes, I’m…pregnant.”
“Shit!”
She flinched and pulled away. “I’m sorry! This ruins everything!”
She grabbed her coat and had her hand on the door before Dan even realized she was running away.
Running from him, upset and obviously afraid.
He had her around the waist before she even had the knob turned. He pulled her back against his chest then turned her to face him. Her sobs were the only sound in the room. She trembled in his arms. So scared.
Dan lowered his chin to rest on her hair as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. A question occurred to him, and he suddenly needed the answer before he could even think what to do next. “Doc? How long have you known?”
She sniffled, buried her face in his chest. Skinny arms were around his waist. Her words were muffled but he had no difficulty understanding. “An hour. I bought a test at the drugstore three blocks from the lab and took it in the rest room. I couldn’t risk Kelly seeing the box. Or Ryan.”
He closed his eyes, not wanting her to see how her words hit him. He could barely put into words how it made him feel knowing she’d come straight to him. No thought of not telling him had ever been in her mind. It hadn’t even occurred to her to hide this child from him, to keep him out of its life. A swell of emotion hit him, and he had to choke his next words out. “So you’ve not been to a doctor, yet?”
“I don’t even know who to go to in this town. We have a new pediatrician, but not a physician for me…” She looked up at him through wet blue eyes that melted him. He just hoped that didn’t show on his face. She needed him. “I took a second test. A different brand. It said the same thing.”
“We need to figure out what to do next, and how we are going to tell the kids. And I need to think.”
Worry was on her face and in her tone. “I’m so sorry, Dan. I never meant for something like this to happen. And it never even occurred to me. I have been on the shot since six weeks after Aislin was born, and my last injection was the month before the move. There should have been enough in my system to prevent this. It’s supposed to last for up to fourteen weeks. I am so sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. We both knew the risks of what we were doing that night. All three times. We will figure this out.” He didn’t want her apologizing for that night. It had been beautiful and what they both needed. And he could not—would not—regret it. He didn’t want her to, either. They were consenting adults who were free to do as they wanted with whomever they wanted. He would not regret that night.
Or the repercussions of it. But one thing was absolutely certain in his mind. He would not miss out on a single day of this baby’s life. Nothing in hell would prevent him from being his or her father. Nothing.
Chapter 37
Ally stayed snuggled against Dan on his couch for a couple of hours, though neither of them spoke much. What was she supposed to say? She wasn’t ready to make plans, and felt he was of the same mind. The first thing she needed to do was visit a doctor, confirm the pregnancy and get a due date. Although, she would have little trouble calculating that herself.
He hadn’t stopped touching her since the moment she’d told him. She barely knew what to think of that. His hands had been warm on her back, her face. Now he held her in the crook of his arm with the fingers of one hand under her sweater and over her abdomen. He’d e
ven kissed her hair a time or two.
This reaction wasn’t exactly what she’d pictured on the drive over to his house. She’d pictured everything from him yelling at her, denying the baby was his to him threatening to take the baby from her. She hadn’t pictured him cuddling her, acting as if they were a long-together couple facing the birth of a planned child. Jack hadn’t even acted like that when she’d told him of Aislin. He’d been coldly indifferent, feeling that one child was plenty. He’d ignored her for days after she’d told him.
“How are we going to tell our children? They will hate us.” Ally could picture that so easily. Kelly would never speak to her again, and all of Ryan’s hopes for his father’s return to their lives would be completely dashed, destroyed. She had no idea how Emma would react, and Gracie was just getting used to having a parent who cared about her in her life, and now she would be expected to share him with a much younger child? No, none of the children—with the possible exception of Aislin, who loved babies—would be happy about this. How could she do that to them?
“Emma and Kelly are old enough to understand that things like this do happen. They might not like it, but they will eventually adjust.” Dan’s words were confident, and Ally appreciated that—even if she didn’t quite believe him.
“But Gracie and Ryan…they are going to hate us. And I don’t think Kelly will ever forgive me for this.” How could she? She was Ally’s best friend, and Ally had betrayed that friendship. The tears started again, and Ally hastily wiped them away.
“Of course she will. As for Gracie and Ryan, kids are resilient. And we can give them all the help they need to understand it,” Dan said and pulled her tighter to him. Ally went willingly. He was warm and confident and safe. She wasn’t alone in this.
Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet Page 10
