“You know, Cal, I like that young woman. I always have.”
He’d been hearing that a lot lately. “Okay.”
“She was pretty upset when I saw her.”
“Did she tell you what was wrong?”
“Multiple things. But I think what upset her most was feeling like she failed the teenager in her program.”
He knew she’d taken the news of Patty’s pregnancy pretty hard. He also knew she was tough and didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, so to confide in his dad wasn’t like her. “You win some, you lose some.”
“She’s not responsible for the choices others make.” Ken rested his elbows on his knees. “Only her own. She told me about the baby she gave up for adoption.”
“Really?” The intensity of his tone disturbed Annie who’d just drifted off and he shushed and bounced her until she settled again, then looked at his father. “I’m surprised she told you about that.”
“You make it sound as if she should be ashamed. In my opinion she showed courage, grace and dignity in an impossible situation. At fifteen and without family support there was no way for her to care for that child. A child she loved enough to give up. A child she’ll think about and miss every day of her life. I think she paid a very high price for that mistake and it’s not something I can hold against her.”
“What about the mistake with me? The one where she didn’t tell me that she was pregnant with my child. Your grandchild,” Cal added.
“The way I understand it, you made it crystal clear that you wanted no strings attached. Looking at it from her perspective, and knowing how deeply she cares about people, I believe she was trying to do the right thing.”
So not what Cal wanted to hear.
“You’re saying it’s my fault that she didn’t come clean about the pregnancy?”
“I think your past has affected you to the point that you’re painting every woman with a black brush.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” When Annie stirred in her sleep again, Cal stood and carried her to the blanket he’d set on the floor. Mental note: He really needed to get a crib. After putting his daughter down and soothing her until she quieted, he stood and motioned his father into the kitchen. “So you’re saying I sabotage every social interaction with a woman because of what happened in my marriage?”
Ken leaned against the counter beside the refrigerator and crossed his arms over his chest. “Look, son, all I’m saying is that you might want to cut Emily some slack, and give yourself a break. She made a mistake but so did you.”
“How?”
“Lori lied to you—”
“So did Em.”
“It’s not the same,” his father said. “Your wife was a master of manipulation. She lied to get you to marry her. She faked suicide attempts to pressure you into not leaving her.”
“You think I don’t know the attempts were a cry for help? I needed to spend more time with her and work on the relationship.”
“Which is exactly what she was counting on. If she’d been serious about killing herself, she’d have succeeded. It was emotional blackmail and worked brilliantly.”
“Until she walked out,” Cal said.
“Another way to hurt you.” His father looked grim. “She understood your competitive nature. After all she was there in high school. The cheerleader watching the quarterback pull out all the stops to have an undefeated season. Leaving you when she’d exhausted all exploitation to prolong the marriage was clearly a way to get back at you, to keep you from getting a notch in the win column.”
“What’s your point, Dad?”
Ken blew out a long breath. “Your mother and I tried to teach you and Brad to always do the right thing.”
“And?” Cal prompted.
“It backfired with you because of your tendency to be an overachiever who hates to lose. You take yourself out of play rather than risk failure.”
“Are you trying to give Dr. Phil competition?” Cal said.
“Hardly.” The older man smiled sadly. “I’m just pointing out that there’s no such thing as perfect.”
“You and Mom practically are.”
“We work at it, son. You don’t see that. We’ve had our ups and downs. Don’t get me wrong. There are more ups, but relationships aren’t easy. The alternative is a series of unsatisfying social interactions. That sounds lonely and sad to me and I can’t stand by and say nothing while your personal life is turning into a train wreck.” Ken met his gaze. “Emily is the mother of your daughter.”
“Not a newsflash.” Cal didn’t want to hear this. “Are you playing cupid, Dad? Because if you are, I gotta say that the costume doesn’t look all that good on you.”
“You’re manufacturing a reason to keep Emily at arm’s length. She’s a remarkable woman.”
“A regular Mother Teresa.”
Ken put his hands on his hips. “She’s not a saint, but why would you want that? The flaws are so much more interesting. Humanity is all about learning from mistakes and trying to do better. Believe me you could do far worse.”
And he had, Cal thought. His father was right about one thing—he didn’t want to repeat the failure. Was he right about the rest? That he refused to give the right one a chance because the wrong one had worked him over?
Em remarkable?
Definitely.
Hot?
Oh, yeah.
Had he already taken a big, emotional step with her without realizing it? Was he in love with her? His father stopped short of saying that, but there was certainly some truth in everything else he’d said.
* * *
Em hit Cal’s number on her cell phone speed dial and waited for him to pick up while the knots in her stomach knotted just a little tighter.
“Hello?”
The sound of his deep voice so strong and confident shouldn’t be that wonderful to hear because it was the stuff of heartbreak, but she couldn’t stop the feeling. “Cal? It’s Emily.”
“I knew that. What with my caller ID and all. What’s up?”
“I need a favor.” She sat on her sofa and watched Annie toddle around the coffee table, trying to get the TV remote control that was just out of reach, then screech in frustration. Determination would be fantastic when she was an adult, but not so much now.
“What do you need?” Cal asked. There was no hint of suspicion in his voice and that should count for something.
“Can I leave Annie with you? I know you’re probably tired from working today, but—I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”
“I didn’t work today and I’d love to keep Annie.” Now suspicion slipped into his tone. “You’ve got a date?”
“I wish.” That remark made her into the liar he already believed her to be. He was the only man on the planet that she’d give her heart and soul to be with. “Patty and Henry are gone. I need to look for them.”
“Gone? Where?”
She almost smiled. “If I knew the answer to that I wouldn’t have to look.”
“Okay. Right.” The way he sounded now meant he was running his fingers through his hair. And probably pacing.
“She and Jonas had a big fight when she told him about the baby. He was pretty upset.”
“Understandable.”
“I agree. But now she and Henry are gone and he’s frantic. He was going to skip work to look for them, but he can’t afford to lose his job. I told him I’d go and keep him informed. So I’ll bring Annie over and the portable crib because I’m not sure how long I’ll be. It would be easier on her if you kept her overnight so—”
“I’ll help you. We’ll look together.”
“You don’t have to. If you could just take care of Annie. The places I’m going to look aren’t anywhere I want to take her.”
“Then you shouldn’t go, either.”
“I have to.”
“Not alone. Pack her stuff. I’ll pick you guys up and we’ll take her to Mom and Dad’s.”
Before s
he could protest or ask how he knew his parents would be free or even want to watch Annie he hung up.
* * *
After dropping their daughter off with her ecstatic grandparents, Em sat in the front passenger seat of his SUV as they headed back across the valley toward old downtown Las Vegas.
“You didn’t need to come with me,” she protested, even though she wanted to kiss him for being there.
She wanted to kiss him for other things, too, but mostly for not letting her do this by herself. She knew all too well how “alone” felt and being with Cal was so much better. Also something she shouldn’t count on or get used to because he’d made his feelings, or lack thereof, perfectly clear.
“Like I said before hanging up on you, I’m not letting you do this by yourself. Two pairs of eyes are better than one.” He glanced over and headlights from passing cars revealed the concern in his eyes. “We’re almost to the shelter, but if she’s not there—do you have any other ideas where Patty would go? Maybe to her family?”
“I already called.” Em hadn’t thought it was possible, but her stomach knotted some more. “Her mother said that she hadn’t heard from Patty and even if she had, she’d have told her one baby is bad enough, but two is ridiculous. She doesn’t want anything to do with her or Henry. Then she called that sweet, innocent little boy an ugly name.”
“Mother of the year. Not.” His expression was grim. “My folks may drive me crazy with caring, but at least they do care. I can’t imagine how Patty must feel.”
“I can.” She gripped her hands tightly together in her lap to keep from picking at her fingers, a nervous habit she’d finally conquered. “Talking to that mother, and I use the term loosely, brought back a lot of bad memories.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” She met his gaze for a moment and smiled. “You’re here. Show, don’t tell. You don’t talk the talk. You walk the walk. And I appreciate you being my friend.”
“You’re welcome.” Cal glanced in the rearview mirror, then said, “So we’re going to the homeless shelter?”
“It’s where I first found her before bringing her to Helping Hands.”
He exited the freeway then drove through one of the parts of town that the Office of Tourism didn’t talk about. She saw people sitting in doorways or curbs with everything they owned in tattered backpacks or wire shopping carts.
The shelter was on Bridger Avenue and Fourth Street, not too far from the Clark County Justice Center. That seemed ironic when it felt like there was no justice in the world. It was dark and dirty and scary. At least when she’d been on the street, she’d been able to protect the baby inside her. Patty had two lives depending on her, and Em knew from personal experience how terrifying and awful it was. She prayed that Patty was somewhere safe.
After parking in front of the lighted building, Cal came around to her side of the car and opened the door. She slid out and looked around. People sat on the curb or bus bench. Some had nothing but a brown paper bag hiding a bottle inside that contained their poison of choice. Others looked with eyes vacant and hopeless. These were the ones who didn’t get a roof over their head and a bed for the night. She remembered being one of those unlucky ones and the fear threatened to pull her under.
Standing beside the open car door Cal’s big body blocked her in. “Em, what is it? You’re shaking like the boogeyman is chasing you.”
“He did once.” It was still 80 degrees, but her teeth chattered. “I was fifteen and on the street and it was dark. Some guy tried to f-force himself on me.”
“Em—” His jaw tightened. “Did you—Did he—”
“No. I kicked him, you know, and ran like hell.”
“Attagirl.” Resting his wrist on the top of the car he leaned down and met her gaze. “I can go in alone and look for her if it’s too hard for you. But I don’t want to leave you here by yourself.”
And she didn’t want to be left. “No. I’m okay.”
He stood back and chirped the car locked after shutting the door. She started to step on the sidewalk when he stopped her and pulled her into his arms. The solid chest and warm skin were always safe and secure and satisfying, but felt especially wonderful right now. In the future, on cold and lonely nights the memory of this reassuring gesture and his solid presence would fill all the dark places in her soul. She slid her arms around his waist and held on. Just for a few moments.
She wanted so badly to pretend that he was here for her, that he cared about her for her sake and not just because she was his daughter’s mother. But once upon a time she’d pretended that someone loved her. Instead he’d selfishly used her body and left her pregnant so that she ended up living on the streets. It had made her face reality and she’d promised herself to keep it real always.
Sighing, she stepped away and smiled up at him. “Thanks for that.”
He nodded. “Let’s go see if Patty’s in there.”
“Okay.”
Before they could go inside, a movement from a doorway caught Em’s attention. In the yellow glow from a streetlight there was a flash of blond hair followed by the cry of a child.
“Cal, over here.” Ignoring the pleas for loose change from the few people on the sidewalk, she hurried to the doorway. In the shadows she saw a slight figure shrinking back with something in her arms. “Patty? It’s Emily. Cal is with me.”
“Em?” The teen stood and peeked out, then burst into tears.
Em pulled her and Henry into her arms and whispered comforting words, told her everything would be all right. Finally, Henry started to wiggle and slide out of her grasp.
Cal grabbed him into strong arms. “Hey, buddy, where do you think you’re going?”
Patty sniffled and her lips trembled. “We don’t have anywhere to go. By the time we got here the shelter was full and couldn’t get us in.”
“You do have a place,” Em told her firmly. “We’re here to take you home.”
“But I’m pregnant. Jonas said—” A sob choked off her words just before tears trickled down her cheeks and glistened in the glow from the streetlight.
“Jonas is worried sick about you and Henry,” Cal said. “Stuff happens. To everyone. We all need help at one time or another. You can’t take yourself out of the game.”
“But I don’t know how to make this better.”
“And running away from the people who care about you is going to help?” Cal asked, sympathy in his eyes as he looked at Em. “You’ve got Lucy and Oscar. Emily. Me.”
“You?” Patty said.
“I drove,” he answered. “That makes me the leader of this rescue party. Jonas would have been here but he had to work. With another baby on the way he couldn’t afford to jeopardize his job.”
“I forgot. He wanted me to call if there was any news.” Emily looked at the teen. “I’m going to let you do that.”
Patty nodded and took the cell phone Em handed her. They moved a few feet away to give her some privacy while Henry yawned and put his head down on Cal’s broad shoulder.
“I’ve been thinking,” Cal said.
“That’s encouraging. Although a little scary.” Em studied him, her insides going all mushy at the sight of him with the small child in his strong arms.
“Right.” He rested a wide palm on the boy’s back. “Anyway, what do you think about signing Annie up for the convent?”
She knew he was trying to make her smile, right out here in the worst part of town. How heroic was he? And what harm could it do to go along with him.
“Right now?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“I don’t think it’s like Little League sign-ups,” she pointed out.
“It should be. Because the thought of her growing up and having to let her go is a pretty unpleasant thought. For the record I’m not in favor of her moving away from home until she’s at least thirty-five. Although I hear they’re always looking for candidates for the convent.”
“That doesn’t mean we have to listen,” he countered.
“Isn’t it our job as parents to listen?” She glanced at Patty who was still talking on the cell. “My mom never did. I understand now what she was up against as a single woman raising a child and how difficult that is. And there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have gotten the message if she’d actually talked to me about it then. I was too young and self-absorbed. But she didn’t try. More important, she didn’t try to find out how I felt. She just told me how it was going to be and if I didn’t like it, the door was right where it had always been.”
“That’s pretty harsh.”
“Yeah. It was. But soon enough I found out the streets were a whole lot harsher. I’d never have gone back with my mom if there’d only been just me to worry about.”
“I’m glad you took care of yourself. I’m glad you went home.” His voice was rough, laced with emotion.
“Why? It meant giving up my baby. You made it clear how you felt about that.”
“I talked the talk. But I didn’t walk the walk that you did.” He tightened his hold on Henry. “I’m sorry.”
Her throat grew thick with emotion and she swallowed it back. “You don’t have to say that. But thanks.”
Patty finally hung up and told them that Jonas would meet her back at the apartment when he got off work. So the four of them got back into the SUV, with a sleeping Henry in Annie’s car seat, and drove home.
Cal pulled up in front of her place and turned off the car. They walked Patty and Henry to the door where Lucy opened it.
The redhead hugged her friend. “I’m so glad you guys are safe.”
Jonas took his son from Cal and hugged the sleeping boy, then put his arm around Patty. “You okay?”
“Yes.” Patty nodded as tears filled her eyes. “Thanks to Em and Dr. Westen. Oh, Jonas—It was so awful. Henry was hungry and I didn’t have any money to buy him food.”
“Look, babe, I’m sorry. I acted like an ass. It was a shock, you know?” Jonas kept her close to his side. “But I didn’t mean for you to run away. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
Committed to the Baby: Claiming King's BabyThe Doctor's Secret Baby Page 31
