All along, she had been home with her cousin Melanie, at least when she wasn’t in the hospital, sick and dehydrated due to her pregnancy. A pregnancy he had no idea about.
Tossing his head in disbelief, he chugs the remainder of his beer before cracking open another.
“Thought I’d find you here,” Logan’s deep voice resonates from within the brick-lined emptiness of the alley.
“Nowhere else to go.”
“I hear ya. So, man, what happened?”
“What happened? You mean the woman that had me completely wrapped up in her and left didn’t spill all her secrets?”
Logan shakes his head and turns to look back at him.
“You know she isn’t like that, Austin. I didn’t talk to her long, I wanted to make sure you were okay, but I overheard her tell your mom and Avery that she was really sick and wasn’t sure if she’d lose the baby.”
Those last words capture his attention.
“What do you mean she thought she would lose the baby?”
“She told Avery that she had some severe morning sickness, couldn’t keep anything down, and then she started bleeding. They had her on bed rest until recently.”
“She should have told me. She should have let me be there for her.”
“I know, man. That’s something you’ll have to talk to her about. But I’m here for you, and so are Avery and your brothers and sisters.”
“I’m just so mad and confused,” he says, taking a long pull from the bottle. “I just keep thinking that I must have done something wrong. How could she hate me so much to keep this from me?”
“She doesn’t hate you. If she did, she wouldn’t have come back.”
Austin sits back, taking a deep breath through his nose, then releasing it into the air through his mouth. The swirl of his breath hitting the chilled air filters out around him like smoke.
“I can’t be with someone like that; someone that willingly kept something like this from me. I mean, it’s my child, too. I should have been told and I should have been able to be there if something had happened.”
“Then we’ll stand behind you if that’s how you really feel. But don’t go completely cold on her. She is the mother of your child and Avery’s best friend. You’re going to be around her for a long time.”
Austin nods in agreement, not mentioning that he had previously planned on being with her the rest of his life, then rises from the steps and grabs the plastic loops of the six-pack between his fingers. He steps towards his truck, Logan following closely behind, and they wave goodbye to each other, promising to meet up for New Year’s.
Turning on the ignition, Austin sits in his truck, listening to the engine rumble for a moment, before shifting into gear and driving back to the home he finished building a few weeks ago.
The 3,000 square-foot farmhouse sits on forty-five acres of trees and pasture, with a small plateau overlooking a man-made pond. When he came across the old farm for sale, he knew he couldn’t pass it up: it was the perfect property on which to start a family. The old house had been in disrepair, half of the building burnt to a crisp from a kitchen fire, but luckily for him he had the skill to tear it down and build his dream home in its place.
Austin sits in the cab of his truck, staring at the front porch where the swing rocks gently back and forth, the same swing he had pictured himself and Nikki rocking in, enjoy the soft rays of early morning light. Staying in the house since she left had been agony. He had subconsciously decorated every room with her in mind, the colors she liked and the furnishings she always pointed out in magazines. He couldn’t help it; this was the house where he wanted to have a family with her.
And now it had all gone to shit.
She didn’t seem to want him in her life, and he wasn’t about to give her the opportunity to take her second chance and burn him again. He had learned the hard way that no relationship was perfect – heck, Avery, his newly discovered half-sister, was a testament to that.
Deciding not to open the garage, Austin parks the truck in the driveway and makes his way up the steps. His beagle, Duke, is waiting anxiously for him.
“It’s just you and me right now, bud, but how would you feel about a brother or sister?” he says, crouching down, eye-level to the dog.
Duke barks in response, happily wagging his tail in excitement.
“Yea, that’s how I feel too. You’ll be a great big brother,” Austin says, rubbing Duke’s head before standing and walking towards the back door. “Come on, go do your business.”
As he waits for Duke to come back to the door, Austin glances around the living room and where it opens into the entryway, dining room, and kitchen. He can still picture Nikki in this space, her small body tucked in the corner of his couch, reading a book: the same position she was always in at her apartment.
Running a shaky hand through his hair, he sighs as he looks up at the ceiling and the exposed beams over the living room.
“Not again. I can’t do it again.”
A small scratch jerks his attention back to the door, and he lets Duke return inside before tossing the six-pack into the fridge and heading upstairs to the bedroom.
Exhausted from the day, Austin tugs off his shirt and tosses it onto the floor, then flings his tired body onto the bed.
Adding to his bitter thoughts of Nikki, his dreams are plagued by visions of his past. Ashley, the first woman he ever fell for, haunts his mind as he tries to escape her hold. Her parting words echo through his mind, reminding him why second chances are no different than the first time around.
“You gave me what I wanted when I needed it and now I’m done. I’ve found someone better and really, did you expect me to marry a construction worker?”
“What are you talking about?” Austin had asked her. “You’re the one that wanted to get back together after we broke up after high school.”
She had run her hands down his chest to his waistline - and that should have been his first clue that she was up to something.
“Yes, well I was lonely, and you know that we were good together. Granted, it took far more convincing than I expected. But I needed someone to take care of me and now… I’ve upgraded.”
“God, Ashley, I thought we were going somewhere. I was thinking about proposing!”
She laughed and then pushed his chest gently.
“Propose? With what? A piece of plastic? Look, Jeremy can give me the life I want and I’d be stupid to give that up.”
Little did she know that he had just made his first million in the three years since he graduated college. His designs were being sought all over the country and he had crews all over.
“Jeremy is your step-father and that’s fucking disgusting. How long were you sleeping around behind my back?”
An incessant pounding on the door wakes Austin from his tossing and turning. Nightmares of Ashley had been happening far more frequently since Nikki left, and visions of her always left him on edge.
Yelling from atop the stairs that he’s coming, he finally opens the door after the third round of pounding.
“What?” he commands, opening the door and realizing that Avery is standing on the other side. Softening his features, he relaxes slightly before apologizing and ushering her inside.
Avery is his half-sister from an affair his father had while separated from his mother. She was a surprise to him and his five other siblings, but she was loved no less. His parents had been searching for her for years, even since they had learned she existed. Despite the family’s determination to show her that she deserved the love they were bestowing on her, she was just now learning to accept it.
She was also pregnant and engaged to his best friend, Logan.
“You look like shit,” she begins, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes.
“Yes, well I slept like shit and your friend turned my world upside down, so I’m sorry if I’m not quite as chipper as you are this morning.”
Tucking her chin
to her chest, she murmurs, “Don’t be an ass.”
Sighing, Austin takes a deep breath and shakes out his arms before reaching forward and wrapping her in an embrace.
“I’m not trying to be an ass. What can I do for you this morning? Do you want something to eat?”
“Not now, but I need a favor and you’re not going to like it.”
Stepping back, Austin furrows his brow in her direction. “What kind of favor?”
“Well... see, I’ve moved in with Logan and we left the apartment vacant. Nikki had been paid up, but they evicted her anyway. Mom and Dad offered to let her stay with them, but she doesn’t want to impose. To make matters worse, Logan’s practice had to replace her while she was away, so now she is out of a job.”
“How does this concern me?”
“She’s the mother of your child and my niece or nephew. I was hoping that you could use that big heart that I know you have and offer to let her work for you, and help her find a place to stay that she can afford. I’ve looked all over and all the reasonable places in town have no vacancies.”
“You want me to let her stay here.” Austin says: a statement, not a question.
“Only if that’s what you want. I’m really just hoping you can offer her a job. She’s been over to Angie’s Diner, but with all the health problems she’s been having I don’t think waitressing is good idea. And she only has a GED so she isn’t qualified for a lot. Please, Austin,” Avery says, a loving gleam sparkling in her eye. Had she had the opportunity to use this look on their father, Austin feels sure she would have received anything she wanted.
“Dammit, Avery!” Austin explodes in exasperation, striking a hand through his thick mane of hair. “I will do my best to get her a job and help her find a place, but you have no idea how much you owe me. That woman destroyed me when she left.”
Frowning, Avery steps forward and wraps her arms around his waist.
“She left because she was scared. She loved you too much to risk ruining your life with a child. It took everything she had to come back here.”
Leaning his chin on her head, he whispers back, “She tell you that?”
She doesn’t acknowledge his question, but continues, “Don’t be too hard on her. There are a lot of things you don’t know, but she does want to be a part of your life and for her, that is a major step.”
“Ok, Avery. I’ll help her with a job, but I can’t promise I’ll do much more than that.”
“I understand. Thank you, Austin. I’ll see you next weekend for New Years. I’ll let myself out.”
“You know your fiancé would kill me if I didn’t walk you out.”
She chuckles as he walks her to her car, then watches her leave, a cloud of dust trailing behind her Audi SUV.
Duke sidles up next to Austin and sits back on hind legs, the two of them watching as Avery disappears onto the main road.
“I swear, Duke. That woman can talk me into anything. Let’s hope I don’t regret this.”
The beagle stares up at Austin with soulful brown eyes and barks in reply. Noticing a squirrel, he is suddenly off, racing to the back yard in hot pursuit.
“God, I hope that I don’t regret his,” Austin whispers to the air before turning and walking back to the house. Before he has time to think, he is dialing a number on his cell phone that he had hoped he wouldn’t have to call again.
T HE POUNDING IN her head wakes her from her restless sleep on the guest bed in Logan and Avery’s home. Nikki sits up slowly, making sure to keep her nausea in check. She has learned over the past few months that certain movements and smells irritate her stomach more than anything she actually eats. Slouching over while perched on the edge of the bed, Nikki gently places her hands on the sides of her slightly-distended belly. The flutters began a week ago, proof that a piece of her and Austin was growing inside her body. Talking softly to the baby deep within her womb, she moves her hands around until she feels the tiny kicks against the side of her abdomen. Of course, the baby liked it best when she talked about Austin – heck, she liked it best, too.
“Hey, sweet one. How are you doing in there?”
Small flutters respond to her question.
“Good. I saw your daddy last night. He looked as handsome as ever, not that I had any doubts. You’ll be gorgeous just like him and his family.” She sighs, her lower back aching from the weight of the rapidly-growing infant. “Anyway, let’s get this day started. I need to find a job and a place for us to stay once you get here. Love you, sweet one.”
More flutters graciously respond to Nikki’s endearment and she revels in the feel of instantaneous love for her child.
The past four months had been difficult at best. Nikki remembers the panic she felt as she realized that she was two weeks late - the need to rush to the pharmacy in the next town over. She ashamedly took the pregnancy test in the store restroom, then sat in her car crying as she realized that she was going to destroy Austin’s world.
They had never talked about kids, marriage, or anything further that their nightly rendezvous, but she loved him fiercely. The pull she had so long ignored in favor of the logical choice of pursing her boss, Logan, spread ten-fold when she finally gave into their chemistry. She had no idea sex could be so explosive: in the moments that their lips first met, the world had halted. It was just the two of them and everything else ceased to exist. They were together for two months before she recognized the early symptoms of her pregnancy.
And then she fled. She fled out of fear, out of duty to her child, and out of love for Austin. Nikki had loved him so much that she couldn’t imagine burdening him with a child. He had a career, after all. Owner of and architect for Connelly Construction, Austin had the world at his feet.
Staring at the pregnancy test, Nikki’s fears had bubbled to the top of her heart and immediately overwhelmed her. She loved Austin, but she knew he didn’t feel the same – no one did. Her mother had left their family in disarray when she ran off with the boss of Nikki’s father – thus having her father fired and black listed in the financial world, all at the same time. Her mother didn’t care that she upended Nikki’s world, or that her father would never recover and lose himself to the bottle. Her father’s love for her slipped through the amber liquid, along with his health and his will to live. The only love Nikki felt was that from her aunt Andrea, Melanie’s mother. She had taken her in as Nikki’s guardian and given her shelter from the cruel world.
Once again, Melanie and Andrea had been her rock as she fled from Carson and needed a place to think. They were with her the time she was rushed to the hospital when she started bleeding while working at a local restaurant, and they held her hand as she heard the baby’s heartbeat echoing in the small room. It was at their insistence that she found herself back in Carson. They urged her to tell Austin about the baby, Melanie gently assuring her that everything would work out for the best. And if it didn’t, she had added kindly, she could always move back to Georgia with them.
Nikki didn’t know yet if she had made a mistake by coming back to Carson, but after her hormonal outburst at the Connelly Christmas gathering last night, she felt she had made the worst out of an already turbulent situation.
Peeking out from the guest room, Nikki glances into the hall before grabbing a pair of leggings and a sweater from her suitcase, attempting to quietly make her way to the bathroom. She only makes it two steps before the hardwood floor squeaks, and Logan’s deep voice booms from the kitchen.
“Nikki, is that you?”
Taking a deep breath, she nervously shuffles towards the kitchen, taking great care to make sure that the pile of clothing in her hands forms a protective barrier in front of her body.
“Hey,” she responds softly.
“Morning, Nik. Can I make you something to eat?” He asks, flashing a genuine smile in her direction. That same smile in the past would have been something she would have taken as a flirtatious invitation, but now she sees that it is the smile Logan gives to
his friends.
She bites the edge of her bottom lip and shakes her head no, saying that she didn’t want to be a bother: she would grab something while she went out looking for a job.
“Nonsense. Avery’s been craving pancakes, so if you’re okay with that, I’ll make you a batch as well.”
Nikki laughs lightly at his commanding tone, knowing that she will have no choice but to eat those delicious-smelling pancakes, or Logan would tie her to the chair and let Avery force-feed her.
“Hey, I was wondering if you were awake,” Avery whispers from behind Nikki, startling her.
“Oh my gosh, please don’t sneak up on me like that.”
“Not my fault you were in your own little world. Ooooo, Logan are you making pancakes? God, I love you.”
“I am, sweetness. I was just telling Nikki that I’ll make her a batch, too.”
“Good, and make that two for her please,” she says, turning to face Nikki once again, “You’re far too skinny to be almost five months pregnant.”
“I was really sick, Avery. The only nourishment I had was through an IV. I’m just now able to eat real food again, so please keep your comments to yourself,” Nikki snaps. A growl reverberates from the kitchen before Nikki notices the wetness swimming in Avery’s eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Avery whispers, “you’re right. It’s none of my business.” She moves quickly to join her fiancé in the kitchen, swiping at her face to remove the unwanted tears.
“God, Avery. I don’t mean to be a bitch. It’s these hormones I swear. I just…” Nikki murmurs, shuffling her feet from side to side. “I just was really, really sick. So sick that the IV is the only thing that kept me alive. I couldn’t even keep down water. But now I’m fine and the baby is healthy, so I’m trying to forget my time in the hospital. I didn’t mean to get angry at you.”
“I wish I had known you weren’t well. Every time I spoke with you, you told me that you were working and getting yourself together. I had no idea the personal holiday you took was because you were pregnant. You never even hinted at it.”
Coming Alive: Welcome to Carson, Book One Page 22
