Dating Daniel (Cloverleaf #4)

by Gloria Herrmann

  ***

  Rachel

  Oh God. She had just received a text message from Liam. It was clipped, and there were some misspellings, almost as if he were in a hostage situation. But she got the gist, and she was not thrilled. Angry was a more accurate description. Her father had decided to come up. Why hadn’t her mother or Chelsea, especially her, warned Rachel? She couldn’t help but wonder what Robert Montgomery wanted. He had refused to come to her wedding. She had kept her distance after that, only responding to the rare email he would send. Her brother, Ethan, had tried to make excuses for him, but ultimately agreed their father was at fault. Rachel understood he may not have agreed with the rushed nuptials and the unplanned pregnancy, and he had been dead set against her moving up to Birch Valley, not because it was so far away, but it wasn’t anywhere prestigious enough for him. Should she have chosen Seattle or Portland, anywhere but the sleepy, rural community of Birch Valley, he would have been fine.

  A knock on her office door disrupted her thoughts. Karen peeked in. “Your hubby is on the phone.”

  “Thanks, Karen.” Rachel offered her a weak smile. She wasn’t happy, not one bit, and it was difficult to try to mask her annoyance. But Karen was kind and sweet, and certainly didn’t deserve to have any of Rachel’s grief taken out on her.

  After Karen carefully closed the door, Rachel reached for the phone on her desk. “Hello?”

  “Hey, babe.” She could hear the hesitation in his voice, as though he were walking on eggshells.

  “So where is he now?”

  “Well, we just got back into town. He asked to be dropped off at the motel here, and your mom and Chelsea are actually window shopping.”

  “Where are you?” Rachel didn’t mean to snap at him. It wasn’t his fault any of this was happening. Rachel felt dizzy, upset, and almost queasy, something she hadn’t felt for almost six months. She was due in less than a month, and her first couple months of pregnancy had been spent near a toilet.

  “Rachel, I’m sorry, hon. I know you aren’t happy. I was totally surprised. I don’t think he likes me much,” Liam slowly answered. “I’m over at my brothers’ shop.”

  “Oh, Liam, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bite your head off. I don’t feel well, and it’s just annoying that he’s here. I mean, this is for a baby shower. It would have meant more if he would have come up for our wedding.” Rachel felt her throat tighten, her eyes burning with tears begging to be shed.

  “I’m sorry, babe. Maybe you guys can work this out somehow?”

  Rachel severely doubted that. She glanced up at the clock. School was about to let out. “You coming to pick me up soon?”

  “Getting ready to leave here. What do you want to do about dinner? It might be easier to go out?”

  “No, I think we will order out, but it’s probably best if we handle this is at home, don’t you think?”

  “Why? Are you going to make a scene?” Liam teased, but she could hear the seriousness behind it.

  “With the way I feel right now, anything is possible.” She wasn’t lying either. Rachel couldn’t explain her swirling emotions, or the twisted knots forming in her stomach. Yet there was a sense of excitement at seeing Chelsea, though she was a little mad with her. At least Liam had the sense to try to warn her. Chelsea could have least sent her a message. What could have Rachel done, stop the plane?

  “You know, maybe we should just go to Herrick’s?” Liam offered.

  Rachel responded harshly, “Why? So that way I’m so embarrassed I can never show my face again? I love Herrick’s, but it’s my happy place, Liam. I won’t let my dad ruin it for me.”

  “True, you do love their fries.”

  “I sure do.” Rachel could almost taste the homemade golden fried shoestrings of perfection.

  “Remind me never to upset you. The thought of you choosing fries over me, well, it’s pretty sad.”

  “Well, I don’t need to remind you just how scrumptious Herrick’s fries are, do I?”

  “I’m not scrumptious?” She could almost picture him pouting.

  Rachel let out a laugh, and Liam joined her. She would get through this because she had Liam.

  ***

  Rachel exhaled the breath she had been storing inside her cheeks, her arm looped through Liam’s as they walked to the table where her father, mother, and Chelsea were seated. Liam had told them to join them for dinner at the only Mexican restaurant in the whole county, Burrito Borealis. It was so out of place, and it didn’t look one bit like a traditional Mexican food place—at least not like the ones in southern California. The decor was woodsy and very Pacific Northwest, with shadowed sculptures of moose and deer on the walls. There was a mural of the aurora borealis on the ceiling. It might not look like a place that would have extraordinary burritos, but they were there, and they even gave the burritos back home a run for their money.

  Evelyn and Chelsea hopped out of the seats and ran to her. “Oh my God, you are huge,” Chelsea exclaimed, but then seemed to regret her words. “But, like, in a totally awesome way. I mean, you’re having twins, Rachel. Oh, I’ll just shut up now,” Chelsea rambled, laughing as she hugged Rachel tightly.

  “I have missed you so much,” Rachel replied. She felt the tightness in her chest return as she was overcome with emotion.

  “Me too.” Chelsea seemed reluctant to let her go. Evelyn pulled Rachel away.

  “Let me look at you. Oh wow, you are having twins. But you’re positively glowing, Rachel.” Her mother squeezed her lightly. “Pregnancy looks fantastic on you.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  Finally her father approached, almost sizing her up. Well, he looked like he always had, dressed in a crisp polo shirt, his tan set off by the pale, robin-egg blue. He flashed her his perfect Newport Beach smile. “Rachel.”

  “Dad,” Rachel managed. Robert paused. He didn’t seem sure if he should hug her, but then decided to very awkwardly and quickly side-hug her.

  “Why don’t we have a seat?” Liam had sensed her discomfort and guided her to the table.

  Looking over the menu, they all debated on what sounded good. Her parents had a small squabble over whether or not the salsa had cilantro or oregano in it. Somehow, they managed to get halfway through their burritos before another argument started to heat up.

  “Robert, honestly, you have no idea what you are talking about. You haven’t even been here before. Remember when our daughter got married in July and you were too busy?” Evelyn spat, her voice pitched loudly.

  “She knows perfectly why I didn’t attend.” Robert swung a quick glance in her direction. Rachel swallowed, looking to Liam. She saw a muscle tick in his jaw. He was harboring his temper, trying to show restraint, but Rachel knew that, as easygoing as Liam was, he could get upset, especially when it came to protecting those he loved.

  Rachel peeked over at Chelsea, who frowned back and stared down at her food. Chelsea had witnessed many fights between her parents. This wasn’t anything new, but that didn’t change how utterly embarrassing and uncomfortable it was. Rachel felt her head starting to pound as her parents started to both raise their voices. Yes, not going to Herrick’s had been wise.

  “You have no idea how important it was. She needed you, Robert. You’re her father. You should have walked her down the aisle, end of story.” Evelyn was fuming, and her milky skin was blotchy with pink patches as the color crawled up her throat.

  “Evelyn, you didn’t want to go to the wedding either, so quit trying to act like you’re the perfect parent.” Robert was smug, glaring hard at her mother.

  “At least I showed up,” Evelyn countered, staring him down. She was not going to relent. This had been a problem for years. Neither of them could compromise, and they would square off, unrelenting, with no one apologizing or backing down.

  “Guys, please stop.” Rachel felt her back stiffen, a searing pain driving through her. Her brain felt fuzzy, her chest aching. God, was she having a heart attack? Pressure was building
fast. It felt as though someone was on top of her. She couldn’t breathe. It was as though her lungs were emptying, becoming deflated balloons. The pounding in her head had migrated to her ears, increasing with a piercing ringing of a siren. She could hear someone talking to her, but their words were confusing and muddled. What was happening to her?

  ***

  Liam

  “Rachel?” Her eyes had become fixed, her breathing irregular, as if she were gulping for air. Liam gingerly shook her. “Babe, are you okay?” Liam started to panic. He sent a glare to Rachel’s parents. This was their fault.

  “Chelsea, call nine-one-one,” Liam ordered. He rubbed Rachel’s back soothingly, willing her to breathe. She continued to suck in the air, fear present in her blue eyes. Liam had never been so scared as he was in that moment.

  “Oh, Rachel,” Evelyn cried and then turned to Robert. “This is your fault.”

  “It’s both of yours,” Liam shouted back. “Robert, how do you think your daughter feels that you wouldn’t come to her wedding, one of the single most important days of her life? And then you just show up now.”

  Robert started to answer, but Liam shot him a look which told him to hold his tongue. “I understand she’s your daughter, but she’s my wife and the mother to both of my daughters.” Liam glared back at Evelyn. “Evelyn, you know how stressed she is, and this is not helping. We need to figure out what is happening. So just enough with the fighting, okay? Is Robert in the wrong for not being here? Absolutely. But it’s in the past and he’s here now, hopefully to right things with his daughter.” Liam sent Robert a glare.

  “You’re right, Liam. You love our Rachel, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you standing up for her.” Evelyn got out of her seat, her eyes wet with tears. She started to pat Rachel and kiss the top of her head. She looked to Liam. “Thank you for loving our daughter so much.” Evelyn kissed Liam on top of his head, then returned her attention on Rachel.

  “Hey, Liam, the ambulance is on its way, okay?” Chelsea called out as she went to Rachel’s side. He nodded a curt thanks to her. They all surrounded Rachel, but she was still gasping for air, almost like a fish out of water. Her eyes were wide, and Liam did the only thing his mother had taught him to do when things seemed too far out of control—pray. Praying worked in several ways as far as Liam was concerned. One, it calmed down the person praying, allowing them to focus their worry. Two, asking God to help never hurt, and he wasn’t about to risk not asking Him to watch over Rachel and their girls.

  Two men with a stretcher entered the restaurant. They worked quickly, taking vitals, trying to gauge what was wrong with Rachel, and to stabilize her for the short ride to the hospital. Liam recognized one of the EMTs, a guy he had grown up with, but he had been a grade or two above him—probably in Patrick’s grade.

  “Do you know what could be wrong?” Liam asked him, as the man jotted down some numbers onto a notepad.

  “You know, hard to say. Panic attack, maybe? Her blood pressure is dangerously high. Did you want to ride in the ambulance with her?”

  “I will,” Evelyn answered instead. The man looked to Liam for approval, and Liam nodded.

  Evelyn hugged Liam before she followed the stretcher out. Chelsea stood next to Liam. Robert was still seated, his face frozen in shock.

  “Do you think she will be okay, Liam?” Chelsea asked softly, tears hanging off her eyelashes.

  “Well, just pray. Let’s head over to the hospital.” Liam walked to Robert, placing his hand firmly on his shoulder. “Do you want to go with us?”

  Robert simply nodded. He struggled to speak, but clamped his lips shut. Rising from his seat, he followed Liam.

  ***

  Rachel

  Dreams were a funny thing. Sometimes they moved fast, like a flurry of activity she couldn’t quite capture. Other times they were vivid and real, but this was not one of those times. The sounds of everything around her were muted and that only confused her more, but dreams were like that. Rachel just didn’t recall going to bed. She wracked her brain, begging herself to wake up. Willing herself to not allow the dream to swallow her up, she blinked hard. Pain still traveled around her body, but it settled in her back and chest. She never had felt pain in a dream before. It was so odd, all the sensations she was experiencing, like she was moving, but she was laying down and moving. It didn’t make any sense at all, and Rachel gave up trying to figure things out. Her dream went dark, but only briefly.

  “Rachel.” Rachel could hear now. Sound was present once again, but it seemed distant. She felt her eyes fluttering open to see who was calling for her through the tunnel. She looked up to see Dr. Salinger standing next to her. Blinking hard and trying to shove the fog out of her brain, Rachel tried sitting up. “No, you just lay there, okay?” Dr. Salinger’s voice was soothing, but it sounded like it was surrounded by a tin, almost metal echo. Rachel couldn’t figure out why her doctor sounded that way, which made her feel even more out of place and worried.

  “Rachel, you are here in the hospital.” Dr. Salinger spoke slowly, pronouncing each word carefully. “Your babies are fine.”

  Rachel was shocked Dr. Salinger knew she was going to ask that, and thankful she didn’t need to try to construct the sentence. Her mouth was dry and felt slightly numb. What had happened to her? The haze was starting to lift and Rachel could see Liam, with a look of concern she had never seen before. Her mother’s eyes were red, and Chelsea’s flawless makeup was smudged from crying. All of sudden, Rachel’s mind started to fire off the last bits of pictures of where she had been. The Mexican food restaurant. Her father, where was he? She turned and saw him with his head cradled in his hands. She had never seen him look distraught. Again, Rachel pondered what had happened.

  Dr. Salinger’s soft voice started to explain why Rachel was in that hospital bed, and Rachel was thankful her brain was allowing her to understand what was being said. Though one phrase stuck out more than high blood pressure and severe panic attack—strict bed rest.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rachel

  “I wish you would quit making such a fuss, Liam. Geez, I’m fine now.”

  Liam frowned. “Look, that was the scariest thing I have been through, so just stop being difficult and let us take care of you.”

  Rachel huffed. She had only been home from the hospital for two days, and she was done being babied. Of course she had been scared too, as she had no idea what even had happened. She was thankful that her daughters were fine, but with Liam, Chelsea, her mother, and even her father constantly hovering over her, watching her every single movement, every breath she took, it had just become too much. Even the O’Brien family had stopped by to check on her. Then that was met with constant phone calls making sure nothing had changed since the last time they had called, which usually was only a span of twenty or so minutes. She’d had enough.

  “Tomorrow is the shower. You excited?” Chelsea asked from across the living room of the cabin. Chelsea was curled into the recliner. She had been playing on her cell phone all afternoon, obviously distracted by something or, rather, someone.

  “Well, oddly enough, yes. I think mainly because I’m dying to leave the house.”

  Liam returned into the living room with a serving tray. He had made tea for all of them. Her mother was out with Mary working on last-minute touches for the baby shower. Her father had stayed for the last two days, and they spent most of their time talking and breaking some ground on the many deep issues they had buried over the years. Liam had driven her father to the airport that morning, and returned in a great mood, not because he was rid of this man, but because they were forming a relationship. Rachel’s episode, as she called it, had brought some peace to their family, even if it was temporary.

  “Here, babe. It’s hot, so be careful.” Liam handed her a cup, then gave one to Chelsea.

  “Thanks, Liam,” Chelsea said, turning her attention back to her phone.

  “Okay, I have to ask, who or what
are you doing on that phone? You have been like surgically attached to it all flippin’ day,” Rachel said.

  Chelsea rolled her eyes. “Whatever, mother.” She laughed and then explained, “Actually, if you must know, it’s this guy I am kind of seeing.”

  “You didn’t mention you were dating someone. Details, please.”

  Liam took that as his cue and carried his tea to the kitchen. “I’m going to go grade some papers. If you need me…” He bent down to kiss the top of her head as he passed the couch.

  She stopped him in mid-sentence. “Yes, I know, geez. I’m not an invalid. Go grade papers before your boss fires you.”

  “Oh, babe, you wouldn’t want to do that, then I would be here all the time.”

  “Good point.” Rachel kissed him backed as he leaned over the couch, and then shooed him away. Turning her attention back to Chelsea. “Okay, spill it.”

  “Well, his name is Ian, and he actually used to live in Spokane,” Chelsea started to explain.

  “That’s sort of cool. So tell me more. What’s he like? How did you guys meet?”

  “It’s funny actually. Do you remember Kimberly?”

  “Sort of, wasn’t she in your yoga class?”

  Chelsea nodded. “Yes, well, her boyfriend plays on the Angels baseball team. So she had some tickets and invited me, and I figured, why not? So we went and it’s actually a lot more fun than I realized. And the uniforms, Rachel, my God,” Chelsea started to ramble.

  “Okay, I got it, you love baseball now. But what does this all have to do with Ian, was it?”

  Chelsea sighed and paused briefly, as if composing her thoughts. “Yes, it has everything to do with how I met Ian. So, here we are at this game, suddenly a player hits what I guess is called a homer or something. Well, the ball winds up in my beer cup.” Chelsea started laughing, and Rachel joined her. Only something crazy like that would happen to her pal. “So, next thing I know, people are sort of surrounding me, like trying to take the ball. Then this guy, wearing some other team’s hat, I think it’s a Washington team, but anyway, he sort of protects me and tells everyone to back off.”