Don't Break My Heart (Return to Redemption, Book 6)

by Laurie Kellogg

  “Then I guess we’re going to Junior’s.” Nick chuckled.

  Justin preferred wherever Trisha planned to have dinner. “Just because Sam voted for a particular restaurant, we all automatically have to eat there?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.” Nick grinned. “In my world, Sammy gets most of what she asks for. You’ll understand after you’re married.”

  Right. So how was he supposed to make that happen when he could barely get the woman he loved to talk to him?

  He glanced toward the front of the theater and found Trisha and Frankie working their way through the crowd along the stage, heading toward one of the side aisles.

  No one had to hit him over the head. She clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

  She’d told him before they’d slept together the night of the wedding that she had no interest in anything serious and only wanted to have a good time for the duration of their vacation. Lovesick fool that he was, he’d refused to believe her.

  He did now, though. The last thing Haley needed was to have her guardian arrested for stalking.

  ~*~

  Nearly a month later, Trisha flinched at a sharp knock on her office door. “Come in.”

  Haley stepped inside. “Hey, I just stopped to say hi.”

  “How are you?” Trisha stood and gestured to the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat.”

  “I’m good.” Haley’s gaze dropped to Trisha’s stomach which had grown exponentially in the last few weeks. Three days ago, not a single blouse in her closet would button over her stomach, so she’d been forced to start wearing her maternity outfits.

  She sank into her swivel chair. “So what’ve you been up to?”

  “I tried out for the play. We start rehearsals this afternoon.”

  “I assume you accepted the role of Maria.”

  “Yeah.” Haley shrugged one shoulder. “Dani’s cool with it. Ryan asked me to sing a couple of duets with his band at next month’s senior dance.”

  “Wonderful. Everyone loved your karaoke performance in the Poconos.”

  An awkward silence reigned in the office for several moments.

  “Uhh, I don’t mean to be rude, but are you pregnant?” Haley finally addressed the proverbial elephant in the room—an apt analogy since Trisha had begun to feel like Dumbo.

  “I am.”

  “Wow. Congratulations. I was afraid to mention it in case you weren’t and you just put on a few pounds. Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”

  “I don’t care as long as he or she’s healthy.” Trisha chuckled. “Although, I think about the baby as a little boy, so I guess maybe that’s indicative of a subconscious preference.”

  “Maybe.” The conflicted expression on Haley’s face suggested she also wanted to know about the father but knew it would be inappropriate to ask. “They can tell the baby’s sex from a sonogram, can’t they?”

  “Yes. I’ll be having an ultrasound soon. But I can’t decide if I want to know the baby’s gender.”

  “Oh, you have to find out. How else will you know what color clothes to buy? You have to take me with you to shop for him. I am his honorary godsister, after all.”

  Trisha laughed. “I guess you are.”

  “That’s something I’ve been meanin’ to ask you. If you’re my honorary godmother, is it all right when we’re alone if I call you Aunt Trisha? Uncle Justin isn’t really my uncle but I call him that.”

  “I’d like that.” Strangely enough, she really did like the idea. “And I suppose we could go shopping some day after school if it’s all right with your uncle. How is he?”

  “Grouchy. I think he misses you. I do, too.”

  “You can stop by and visit any time, sweetie.”

  “He told me not to bother you. If he knew I came to see you today, I’d be in big trouble.”

  Trisha released a soft snort. “Well, you can count on me not to tell him.”

  “I was also hoping you’d come to my birthday party.” Haley clasped her hands in a pleading gesture.

  Darn. She’d forgotten all about it. She had to dig out the necklace she’d promised Haley and take it to the jewelers to have the stone’s setting checked. “It’s on Valentine’s Day, right?”

  Haley nodded. “Unless you have a date that night.”

  “No. I’m not seeing anyone.”

  The child released an audible sigh of relief. “Good. Then you can come?”

  How could she refuse after the pitiful way Haley had cried for her parents the afternoon they’d gone snowmobiling? Trisha knew from personal experience that celebrating her sixteenth birthday without her mother and father was bound to be awful for Haley. She couldn’t add to the sweet girl’s pain no matter how awkward it might be to see Justin.

  “Sure.” She forced a smiled. “I’d love to.”

  He would no doubt hear through Redemption’s infamous gossip network that she was pregnant, so she might as well get the confrontation over with while she had a crowd around.

  “Great. Be at my house at six-thirty a week from Friday.”

  “I’ll be there.” With her belly rounder by another whole week. Trisha leaned closer to Haley and lowered her voice to a confidential whisper. “So, tell me—are you gonna be sweet sixteen and never been kissed?”

  Haley’s cheeks turned pink. “No. Jamal kissed me a couple of times at the resort.”

  “Was he your first?”

  She nodded. “He took me to the movies a few weeks ago, but Uncle Justin insisted on driving. It was so lame.”

  Listening to Haley complain about his protectiveness, made Trisha wonder if maybe she’d overreacted to his suggestion that she fill the role of Haley’s mom. She would love the opportunity to fill the void her friend’s death had left in Haley’s life, and she couldn’t think of a nicer kid to have as her daughter.

  “He worries about you—maybe even more than your own parents would’ve. You have to remember your dad trusted your uncle to take care of you. How do you think Justin would feel if something bad happened to you on his watch?”

  Haley shrugged. “I guess pretty terrible.”

  “I know he would never tell you this, but he bought an I-pad to surprise you for Christmas. Then he had to buy a gift card at the last minute because he didn’t want to ruin your excitement over the gift you got at the wedding reception.”

  “I thought he was just working so much he didn’t have time to shop. Why didn’t he simply tell me?”

  “Because he’s a nice guy, and he loves you. He was so disappointed when he couldn’t give you something special for Christmas.

  “I probably should cut him some slack, huh?”

  “Probably,” Trisha agreed.

  Maybe they both should.

  CHAPTER 10

  “No offense, mi hermano,” Nick snapped at Justin on the phone after work, “but I’ve had enough of your griping. Just call the woman. You’ve been acting like a bear with a thorn in his paw for over three weeks now. If you don’t get laid soon, I’m hiring a damn call girl to sweeten your disposition.”

  “I don’t need to get laid by some puta.”

  “Well, you need something.”

  Yeah, Trisha. But not only for sex. He could just listen to her laugh for the rest of his life and be content. Although, to achieve utter bliss, then, yeah, he’d need her laughing in his bed.

  The front door in the foyer closed. “Look, Haley’s home,” he told Nick. “Hablaremos mañana.”

  “Si. Think about what I said.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He pressed the end call on his cell phone and glanced up when Haley tossed her backpack on the chair in the adjacent family room. “Why are you so late? I was beginning to worry about you.”

  “I started play rehearsal today. Remember, I told you at breakfast this morning?”

  Truthfully, he couldn’t recall her saying a thing. Then again, his mind had been elsewhere a lot lately. “Oh, right. I forgot. How’s extra cheesy mac ‘n cheese with chopped broccoli
in it sound for dinner?” It was one of the few ways the kid would eat anything green besides salad with half a bottle of dressing on it.

  “Okay.”

  He pulled a bag of fresh broccoli crowns from the fridge and laid them on the cutting board. “So how’d the rehearsal go?”

  “Good. I knew most of my lines.” She dug a large pot out of the cabinet. “Ryan was awful, though. Ms. Connor said if he doesn’t memorize more of his script tonight, she’s gonna give the role to his understudy.”

  “He shouldn’t have accepted the part if he doesn’t have time to prepare for it.”

  “I guess. I was thinking about my birthday next week.”

  “What about it?”

  “Before my mom died, we made lasagna together for my birthday dinner every year. It’s my favorite.”

  His, too. Lindsey’s lasagna had the perfect meat, cheese, and pasta ratio, and her sauce had been seasoned just right. “Your mom’s was the best I’ve ever had.”

  “Well, she taught me how to fix it. So after she was killed, I continued making it to celebrate my birthday so my dad and I wouldn’t miss her too much.”

  “Smart idea.”

  “Anyway, before my party on Friday, is it all right if we have a special dinner—just the two of us?”

  “Absolutely. Where would you like me to take you?”

  “No, I want to make my mom’s lasagna as a thank you for taking care of me. Sometimes I act like I don’t appreciate you. You just have to make sure you’re home by six, so we’re done eating in time for my party.”

  “Are you sure, Pinky? You don’t have to cook for me. I love being here for you.”

  “I’m absolutely sure. But you’ll have to take me grocery shopping this weekend so I can get all of the ingredients.”

  “Okay. It sounds nice.” If the meal turned out even half as good as Lindsey’s, he couldn’t wait.

  She quietly filled a pot with water and as she set it on the stove to boil, she released a wistful sigh. “I wish I could’ve made it for my dad just once more.”

  “I wish he was still here to eat it with us, too.”

  “I never really got to say good-bye to him.” She sniffled. “Or tell him how much I would miss him.”

  Justin turned and wrapped his arms around her. “When you pressed that button to release him from his pain, he knew how much you loved him. He was trying to hold on a little longer for you, and when you did that, you told him it was okay to let go.”

  “Do you really think so?” She raised her gaze to his face. Her hopeful expression suggested maybe he’d said the right thing to help her finally forgive herself for the unwarranted guilt she clearly felt.

  “I know so.”

  She hugged him tightly. “I’m glad he made you my guardian. I hope he knows that we’re okay.”

  “He does.”

  She drew back and wiped her eyes. When she opened the pantry door and pulled out the box of deluxe macaroni and cheese, he returned to chopping the broccoli florets into tiny pieces.

  She silently watched him work for several moments before saying, “I talked to Aunt Trisha at school today.”

  He stopped chopping. “You did, huh? When did you start calling her Aunt Trisha?”

  “Just today. She’s not seeing anyone.”

  Especially not him. He shrugged one shoulder and resumed cutting the broccoli. “So how is she?”

  “Pregnant.”

  The knife slipped and sliced his left index finger. “Shit!”

  “You owe me a quarter.” Haley tore a piece of paper towel off the rack and handed it to him.

  He rinsed the blood from his wound and wrapped it. Fortunately, the knife hadn’t cut very deep. “How do you know?”

  “What do you mean, how do I know? You made the rule about paying a quarter for every curse word.”

  “No. I meant how do you know she’s pregnant?”

  “Uhh, she told me.”

  It had been six weeks since they’d slept together. Did Trisha really think spilling her guts to his goddaughter was the best way to inform him she was having his baby?

  “Sonovabitch,” he muttered under his breath and pulled his keys off the hook by the back door. “I don’t know when I’ll be back. You’d better eat without me.”

  “Okay—but I heard that curse and it cost you another quarter!” she yelled after him as he stomped out the garage door and slammed it on the way to his truck. She should be happy he hadn’t dropped the F-bomb that had been on the tip of his tongue.

  He’d been driving by Trisha’s small Cape Cod every day for over a month, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, so the vehicle practically steered itself to her house. It was a good thing because, during the three and a half mile drive, all he could concentrate on was becoming a father. By the time he parked at the curb in front of her home, he’d cooled off a bit and actually began to relish the prospect of being a dad. It would be a big adjustment for him—and Haley—but he couldn’t wait.

  Maybe now Trisha would see they belonged together.

  He jumped out of the pick-up, scaled the four steps to the covered porch, and held down the doorbell’s button, making it chime repeatedly.

  “All right already! I’m coming!” Trisha shouted from inside. Two seconds later she flung open the door.

  “How long were you planning to wait to tell me?” He dropped his gaze to her extra-long blouse and the paunch beneath it.

  Damn. Samantha had never needed maternity clothes until she hit almost four months.

  “It seems I was mistaken.” He stepped away. “Evidently you were making trips to the Colonial Tavern long before we reconnected.”

  “It’s not what you think—”

  “Save your explanation for someone who actually gives a crap.” He descended the steps two at a time and climbed right back into his truck. After starting the engine, he shoved the gearshift into first, and the wheels squealed as he peeled out, laying more rubber than his aging tires could afford.

  He should’ve known. After all they’d used protection every time.

  He swiped at his eyes and sniffed.

  Fuck! Now she had him blubbering like a little girl. He could count on one hand the number of occasions he’d cried since his papi passed away when he was ten. The first time was when Nick and Sam’s premature baby died a few years ago, then he’d lost it at Lindsey’s funeral and again when Marc received the diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.

  The last time had been the day he’d held his best friend’s hand as Marc took his final shuddering breath.

  He smacked his palm against the steering wheel. What the hell was he bawling about? So she wasn’t having his baby. It wasn’t as if anyone had died today. Just his dreams.

  ~*~

  On Saturday morning, Justin flopped into the chair next to Haley in David Lambert’s waiting room.

  “So what did she say when you went to see her?” Haley asked for the third time.

  The previous night, he’d driven around in circles for two hours before he finally stopped at the liquor store. When he arrived home, he locked himself in his office with a bottle of cheap Scotch and spent the rest of the night getting smashed. Sure, he’d already had a bottle of twenty-one-year-old Glenfiddich in his liquor cabinet, but no way would he waste the good stuff on getting hammered—and most especially not over a woman.

  Haley had, no doubt, been scared, but he’d been too pissed off to talk about it—and still was.

  “Well?” She leaned forward, staring him down.

  “I told you on the way here, I don’t want to talk about it. Now, do you or don’t you want Dr. Lambert to sign your drivers permit application?”

  “Yes.” She sank back in her seat. “Will you take me to get my permit on my birthday?”

  Great, another missed morning from work. “Don’t you have school on your birthday?”

  “All the other kids’ parents let them take off to get theirs.”

  “If all the other kids jumped
off a cliff—”

  “How did I know you’d say that? You sound just like my dad.”

  “I do, don’t I?” He smiled and put his arm around her.

  Marc probably would’ve said those exact words. It was the first time she’d made any kind of disparaging comment about her father or, for that matter, talked about him without getting weepy. Maybe the talk they’d had the previous night had been a turning point for her.

  “Of course I’ll take you, Pinky.” He squeezed her shoulder. “You know I love ya, right?”

  “I love you, too. That’s why I want you to make up—”

  “Enough! It’s not my baby, okay? Now we’re done talking about it.”

  “Did she tell you that?” Haley persisted.

  “She wouldn’t already be wearing maternity clothes if I was the father.”

  “Maybe she’s having twins. When Dani’s next-door neighbor had twins, she got huge fast.”

  He hadn’t thought about that possibility. Maybe he should’ve let her explain.

  The nurse opened the door to the treatment area and called Haley’s name.

  He stood up, unsure what to do. This was the first time he’d needed to take her to see her pediatrician. “Do you wanna go alone, or do you want me to come with you?”

  “You can come. It’s not like I have to get naked.”

  The nurse led them back to an examining room where she weighed Haley and then took her temperature and blood pressure.

  Only a minute after she left, a knock sounded on the door and Dave Lambert stepped in. “Hi, Haley, Justin. What brings you in today?”

  “Haley’s turning sixteen on Friday.” Justin handed him the Division of Motor Vehicles’ form.

  “Ahh, the coveted learner’s permit.” David pulled a penlight from his pocket and shined it in her eyes and then looked in her ears. “My wife and I really enjoyed your karaoke performance at the resort. You and Ryan both have a great set of pipes.”

  “Thanks.” She blushed.

  After palpating her throat and checking her reflexes, the doctor listened to her heart for several moments and then hung his stethoscope back around his neck. He opened the door and waved to someone. “You look healthy enough to drive. Nurse Janet will take you down the hall for vision and hearing screenings, okay? After you pass those, I’ll sign off on your application.”