“Are you okay, Ethan?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just feeling lucky to have you on my arm.”
“Flatterer.” She smirked up at him.
“No. Just stating a fact. I was lucky you gave me a chance.”
“If Logan and Karen loved you, I knew I would, too.”
“Are you sure you’re up to our weekend at the lake? We can reschedule.”
“I’m fine.” She patted his arm and smiled.
They entered the reception room and he felt her grip tighten on his arm.
“Lizzy?”
“I’m fine. Something here just smells weird.”
“What smells weird, dear,” Susan MacLaughlin, Lizzy’s mother, stopped in mid-stride.
“Nothing, Mom.”
“Her stomach is bothering her,” Ethan chimed in, but received a swift cuff to the shoulder from his date.
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
“I’m fine. Just hungry.”
“Oh, all right.” Susan turned toward him and glared before continuing across the room. What the hell was that for?
“Your mom just gave me the stink eye because your stomach hurts. How is your stomach my fault?”
Lizzy laughed next to him and his anxiety over her sudden illness and her mother’s anger melted away. If she didn’t think her mother was upset, maybe he was reading too much into it.
“Mom has given the stink eye to every guy that’s ever taken me out. She has to make up for Dad not being here.”
A surge of jealousy wormed its way into his mind. “How many guys have you been out with?”
“Simmer down, soldier.” She giggled and winked. “My love life is boring and consists of one guy in high school and two guys in college. I wasn’t a nun, but it wasn’t like I got around either. You have nothing to be all caveman about.”
“Sorry, I was having a moment.” He really was. The thought of any other man touching her, kissing her, putting hands anywhere on her body made his blood boil.
“No worries, but would you mind terribly going and getting me a plate of bread and cheese. I swear the buffet smells like something died and then came back to life, but I’m starving and desperate.”
His concerns returned full-force with her joking comment about smelly food. Something was going on with her. It’d been nearly a week since he’d seen her eat any meant and that was very out of character.
“Sit here, baby. I’ll be right back.” He helped her into a chair at an empty table and then went to the buffet table.
The spread of food ranged from deliciously smelling barbeque, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, cole slaw, and trays of crackers, cheese, and fruit. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary to him, but he grabbed an assortment of crackers and cheese, along with a few pieces of fruit, just in case she might want some.
He walked back to her and set the plate in front of her along with another glass of water he’d snagged from a passing server.
“Thank you.” She smiled and popped a cracker in her mouth.
“Anything for you, baby. I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well.”
“I’ll be fine. I promise. I’m already feeling better,” she answered and bit into a slice of cheese. “This is really good.”
“Little sis, you okay?” Karen said you weren’t feeling well.” Caiden’s voice over his shoulder startled him. He was the only one of Lizzy’s brothers who could sneak up on him.
“I’m fine, Caiden. Don’t you dare go telling Trevor or Harvey. I got a little overheated outside. I’m fine. Ethan is taking good care of me.”
Her big brother snorted and Ethan bit back a grin. The MacLaughlin brothers all liked him, but after walking into the dressing room this morning with Lizzy’s sparkly lip-gloss smeared on his mouth, they were rescinding their approval temporarily.
“I’ll come back in a little while and check on you again.”
Ethan turned in his chair and met Caiden’s hard glare. “I won’t leave her.”
“I know.” Caiden sighed and nodded. He stepped toward his sister and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
She smiled and patted her brother’s arm. “You worry too much. Go back to Lina and enjoy the party.”
Lizzy was lucky to have brothers that loved her so dearly. He’d grown up with a drunk for a father, a juvenile delinquent for a half-brother, and a drug addict for a mother —who’d died after abandoning him with his plastered and abusive father. Police showed up a week after she disappeared to ask his Dad to identify her body. Cameron Hart had been too wasted to go and he’d gone instead. He’d never forget her cold lifeless face on that morgue table. She may have been a pain pill addict, but at least she’d loved him. It was more than his father could claim.
“Keep a close eye on, Lizzy. She looks pale.”
“I will,” Ethan replied.
“Sitting right here, boys.” She pointed to herself and rolled her eyes. “I told you, I’m fine.”
“Okay.” Caiden added before walking away.
She continued to munch on the assortment of crackers and finished off the few pieces of cheese that were left.
“Can I get you more?”
She looked up and grinned. “No, thanks. I’m just waiting on the cake now.”
Cake? She was thinking about cake. Women’s minds never ceased to surprise him. He’d have to remember to stock the cooler for this weekend with some sweets and crackers or she might starve, since he’d planned on cooking up steak and potatoes.
“I think we missed the cake cutting while Caiden was over here. What kind would you like?”
“Chocolate, please.”
He nodded and stood. “I’ll be right back.”
Manuvering through the crowd, he snagged a couple pieces of chocolate cake and turned back. Lizzy’s brother Harvey bumped his shoulder.
“Hey, Caiden said Liz wasn’t feeling good. She okay?”
“She’s fine, just got too warm outside.” He repeated the mantra she’d been feeding them. Not convinced of its truth, but for now, it didn’t really matter.
“Cool, I was headed that way, but the women got there first.”
Women? Sure enough, standing in a huddle around Lizzy were Lorelei, Lina, Olivia, and her mother Susan. He smiled. It was a good thing they all cared so much for each other. Made him respect and care for the family even more. Lina and Olivia weren’t technically MacLaughlins yet, but they weren’t far from it. Harvey and Caiden had both shared they were just waiting for the right time to pop the question. It wasn’t pressure to move his relationship with Lizzy any faster, but it did give him reason to think on it. Now that he was out of training and she was out of school…well, at least for a while. The crazy amazing woman was already talking about starting a doctorate in the spring.
“Good luck,” Harvey said, clapping him on the back with a laugh.
He chuckled and headed to the table surrounded by giggling women. At least they are happy.
“Do I need to get more cake for you ladies?” He put one piece in front of Lizzy and the other where he’d been sitting next to her.
A chorus of no thank yous answered his question.
“You two enjoy,” Lorelei said. “I’ve got to go find Trevor and mingle more.” She leaned into his side and he gave her a quick squeeze. “Y’all have fun at the lake tomorrow.”
“We will,” Lizzy answered and winked. “Have a good time on your cruise.”
Lorelei moved and gave Lizzy a hug and hurried off.
“I guess we’ll let you enjoy your cake,” Lina added and tugged Olivia away as well. Susan followed them and he finally had Lizzy all to himself again. Her color had returned. The sugar must have done the trick.
3
“Let me grab a few more things and I’ll be ready.” Lizzy pulled out a bikini, just in case and a pair of shorts to add to her bag, filled mostly with nighties and only a few pieces of actual clothing.
Ethan would approve.
They were both so excited to have more than a f
ew hours to themselves. There wouldn’t be any time for clothes.
She tossed in her pack of birth control pills and sighed. It was the third period cycle this year she’d had with no period. No doubt her doctor would want another battery of tests and surgery.
When her periods stopped it usually meant her body had stopped responding to the dosage of birth control she was on. She’s kept hoping it would get over itself and get with the program, but two months in a row didn’t bode well.
Ethan deserved to know about her condition. He deserved to know that he’d never be able to have a family with her because of the cysts that grew like weeds on her ovaries and uterus, keeping her from ever ovulation and throwing off so many hormones that she’d been given a ninety percent sterility diagnosis. She took birth control to help slow down the growth of the cysts. Last summer she’d had her third surgery to remove them and scrape out scar tissue. She had a great doctor. He always tried to stay positive, but eventually she knew all her lady parts would have to come out. They were merely fighting an inevitable countdown clock.
“You still with me, baby?”
She met his gaze from the door. He walked to her side and enveloped her in those big strong sexy arms of his. Arms cut with muscles that would make any woman wet between their legs and drool shamelessly. Those were the arms around her. She loved them. She was safe in his arms.
“Just thinking. I need to share something with you, Ethan, before things get really serious.”
His body stiffened for a split second. The unease between them filled the air, but he didn’t let go. “Does it have something to do with that birth control pack being on your cycle week and you not?”
She looked down at her bag. It was laying right there on top of everything, glaring up at her in defiance. “Kind of, but me not having a cycle is a very common occurance.”
He stayed quiet and kept her wrapped tightly in his arms.
“I have this problem…I get cysts on my ovaries and uterus so badly that they’ve stopped working correctly and almost completely stop the ovulation process.”
He whirled her in his arms. She gasped. His gaze met hers. “Is this condition dangerous. Are you…” He swallowed and couldn’t finish.
“No, I’m not going to die from it, but it is slowly sterilizing me.”
She waited, but he betrayed, broken, pity-filled stare never came. When she’d told her mom, both pain and pity had been the first reaction. Even her brothers had been quite and apologetic for weeks until she told them they’d better stop or she’d beat the pity right out of them. They stopped. And, she’d made peace with her body, but she hadn’t expected such calmness from Ethan.
“Does this mean you can’t have kids?”
“Ninety percent.” She sighed. “According to the doctor after my last surgery. I was ninety percent sterile. He said I can probably have two more surgeries before he will recommend a full hysterectomy.”
“What does the surgery do?”
“It removes the cysts and scar tissue.”
“But they come back?”
“Yes. They come back worse each time.”
He released her shoulders and walked to the chair in the corner of her room. It creaked under his weight. He ran his hands through his short brown hair.
She sat on the edge of her bed and took a deep breath. “You deserve to know you aren’t getting a whole package with me. Before this goes too far…” Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t want to lose him. But he deserved to know she couldn’t give him children. He deserved the right to choose.
“Lizzy!” He moved from the chair to the bed and hugged her again, pulling her close. “I don’t care. We can adopt or foster or anything your heart desires. I’m so in love with you, baby girl. My only concern was whether or not this thing would steal you away from me.”
Did he just say adopt, foster, and that he was in love with me all in the same breath? Oh my God! He really is serious. She turned in his lap to straddle him and wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing every inch of her body as close as humanly possible. She lay her head on his shoulder and let the tears pour.
He let her cry. He rubbed her back and kissed her hair and just let her cry. It wasn’t going to be a repeat of junior year in college. He wasn’t going to leave her.
The tears slowed and she got off his lap. Wiping her cheeks, she met his compassionate gaze. He didn’t’ pity her. He wasn’t feeling sorry for himself. He loved her. She could see it. Why had she doubted him?
“When I told the last guy about this, he punched through a wall in my dorm room and walked out the door without a word.”
“That’s it?”
“That was it. He never spoke to me again.”
“I love you, Lizzy MacLaughlin.”
She smiled and wiped away the last of the tears. “I love you too, Ethan. So much.”
“Do you still feel up to going and relaxing at the lake with me?”
“Yes, and we’d better hurry if we want to get out of here before the rest of the family shows up.”
“I like your family a lot, but hell no! Come on girl.” He laughed. “Is this the only bag you need?” He asked, grabbing her duffle from the bed.
She nodded, slipped her feet into some flip-flops next to her door and hurried down the hallway after him. She loved living with her mom, but sometimes it could be very inconvenient. She looked at her watch.
“Hurry!” She squealed. Family would be invading her mom’s house any minute from the wedding reception.
<><><>
They were coming up on the last corner store before the lake. Ethan pulled into the parking lot and up next to the gas pump. Might as well refill now and grab a soda and some snacks. Lizzy was passed out in the front seat. He got out quietly and locked the truck before going into the store.
“Afternoon,” the clerk called out.
“Afternoon,” Ethan returned. He wandered through the little store, grabbing a bag of this and that. The way she’d been eating lately, there was no telling what she’d prefer.
He turned down one line and paused. Condoms. Nope, got plenty of those packed. But sitting ominously next to them were pregnancy tests. Pink boxes filled with possibilities. What if? She had so many symptoms. He should be familiar with them all. His direct supervisor was just entering her second trimester. What the hell. Maybe she’ll take it just to make sure. Grabbing one of the boxes, he stuck it under his arm and continued down the aisle toward the register.
“Any cigarettes or tobacco?” The clerk asked, not even looking up.
Ethan unloaded his items onto the counter. “Nope, but I need forty on the pump outside.”
“Sure thing, mister.” The kid rang up everything quickly, until he got to the pregnancy test.
Ethan narrowed his gaze, daring the pimple-faced teenage boy behind the counter to say anything.
“So you…” He glanced at Ethan and paused. “need anything else?”
“Nope. Thanks.” Ethan swiped his debit card, grabbed the plastic sacks, and walked back the truck.
The vehicle chirped when he pressed the key fob to unlock it. After putting the snacks with the rest of their bags in the back seat, he pumped the gas.
Ten minutes later they were back on the road and Lizzy was still sound asleep. She didn’t stir for another hour, not until they hit the dirt driveway to the lake house.
“Hey, sleepyhead. You feeling better?”
“Mmmm, yes. Hungry, too.” She stretched her arms and twisted them behind her back until he heard several loud pops. Poor girl had barely stirred during the entire two-hour drive.
“It’s just up here. Then you can get out and I’ll pull out the snacks I got us.”
“Sounds great.” She leaned forward and stared through the windshield. “Ethan, it’s so beautiful out here!”
He nodded. This place was his favorite spot to relax. It was nice to finally have someone to share it with again. His grandfather had left it to him a few years ago
when he’d passed. After his mom died, her father offered him a room and an escape from his dad. He took it. His father was a dead-beat abusive drunk and his half-brother was a juvenile delinquent with a hobby for hurting animals. He’d spent almost every weekend with his grandfather, even before his mother died, just to avoid the rest of his family.
The paint on the house was bright and clean, whitewashed to perfection. He’d had it touched up at the beginning of the summer and the sun glinted off the fresh white gloss like a cut gemstone. The front of the house, facing the road didn’t look like much, but the back had a huge covered patio, an outdoor barbeque, and a covered hot tub.
“Just wait till you see the lake side.” He pulled the truck around and parked on the side of the house. “Walk around to the back. I never use the front door.”
“Do you want me to take a bag?”
“No, I’ll come back for them in a few minutes. Go explore.” Plus he needed time to figure out how to ask her to take a pregnancy test. His beautiful sweet Lizzy, who’d just spilled her heart to him about probably never being able to have kids…yeah. Ugh. Maybe not.
Lizzy slid out of his truck and threw him a quick grin before wandering toward the back of the house. She disappeared around the corner. A squeal of glee brought a smile back to his face. He’d just hide the test. No need to push the subject this weekend. What was the hurry? If she was pregnant, the baby wasn’t going anywhere.
He grabbed the grocery bags from the back seat and tramped across the backyard after her. She wasn’t on the porch when he turned the corner. He followed the sidewalk up to the covered patio and unlocked the back door. Glancing back, he spotted movement on the dock and waved before going inside.
He looked forward to getting her into the hot tub later tonight. After her marathon nap, she should have plenty of energy for fun later. First, he had to find something she might want to eat for dinner.
4
Lizzy walked along the dock, taking in the gorgeous scenery. The dark water of the lake rippled in the soft breeze. The trees along the shore were a beautiful emerald green. It was a personal paradise.
Lizzy (A MacLaughlin Family Novella) Page 2
