Committed to the Baby: Claiming King's BabyThe Doctor's Secret Baby

by Maureen Child

  “Really?” Patty blinked back more tears.

  “Yeah. It’ll be rough, but I know we can do it. Together.” He looked at her. “I think we should get married.”

  “Now? But I thought you wanted to wait.”

  “That was before. Things have changed.” He smiled down at her flat stomach.

  “There’s nothing I want more than to marry you.” Patty smiled lovingly at him. “I know that means I’ll have to leave Helping Hands, but it’s time, I think. If I leave it will open up a place for someone who’s all alone and doesn’t have anywhere to go.”

  Em nodded as feelings crashed through her that she didn’t have the emotional reserves to sort through right now. She promised the teens a long talk when they were all rested up, then Cal walked her to her place.

  He took her key and fit it in the lock, then opened the door. “Hell of a night.”

  “That’s an understatement.”

  “I guess there will be a wedding,” he said.

  “I guess.” She took her keys from him and spotted her daughter’s doll on the floor. The emptiness closed in on her. “Do you want to get Annie in the morning from your folks?”

  “Yeah. Maybe we—”

  She cut him off before he could ask to come in. “Thanks for that and for everything tonight. I appreciate it.”

  She couldn’t let him stay because she wanted so badly for just that. Except they’d wind up in her bed and that would only put off the goodbye. The fact was that he couldn’t give her his love and that was what she wanted more than anything.

  “Good night, Cal.”

  Wordlessly he nodded and backed up, letting her shut the door. She leaned her back against it and listened to the deafening silence. She figured a place in hell was getting dusted off for her because of so many bad things she’d done, but mostly because she was jealous of the two teens who had each other. They were lucky. And she was happy for them, but so sad for herself.

  Even walking the streets as a pregnant teenager with no place to go hadn’t prepared her to be without Cal. She had never felt more alone than she did at this moment.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Emily watched Sophia take a bite of pepperoni-and-sausage pizza, then sigh with contentment. The other woman chewed enthusiastically and spoke with a full mouth. “There are very few things in life that pizza and wine can’t fix.”

  “Or,” Em said, “when you’re full of carbs, fat and liquor you don’t really care about the bad stuff.”

  “True.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Patty told me about her pregnancy, which explains her mood swings.”

  “She and Jonas are pulling together now.”

  “Legally speaking,” Sophia said. “She invited me to the wedding.”

  “I’m a bridesmaid. Lucy’s the maid of honor and Annie is going to be a flower girl,” Em confirmed.

  “All in all a lot of good things that don’t require pizza and wine but we’ll indulge anyway. Eat, drink and be merry.”

  Not so much. Emily looked at the generous slice on her own plate and just sighed. It was barely touched and she couldn’t work up a whole lot of enthusiasm to finish.

  Her friend had called to suggest a girl’s night in with wine and a whole lot of comfort food, the kind that would stick to their butts and thighs. Annie was spending the night at Cal’s and Em hadn’t wanted to be alone so she’d agreed. Now she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea.

  After setting her plate on the coffee table, Em said, “I’m sorry to be such pathetic company tonight.”

  “Thank God you finally said something.” Sophia put her half-eaten pizza on the plate and set it aside. “My jaw is strained from smiling and talking. The cheerful act is starting to get on my nerves. You must be about ready to choke me.”

  “No, but now that you mention it—” Em grew serious and asked, “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “You’d have sidestepped me. Your favorite response when I ask what’s going on is, and I quote—‘oh, you know’—unquote.” Sophia picked up her glass of red wine and sipped. “Are you ready to talk?”

  “Same old, same old,” she answered with a shrug.

  “Something’s different tonight.” Sophia studied her as she tapped her glass to her lips. “It’s like your spirit imploded.”

  “It feels like that.”

  “So what’s changed?”

  “I don’t want to bring you down.”

  “Too late.” Sophia met her gaze. “Spill it, my friend.”

  Emily hadn’t planned to talk about this, figuring it would be best to keep things to herself, but the truth was her spirit was imploding and she didn’t know how to stop it.

  “Annie isn’t just at Cal’s tonight,” she explained. “The Westens are having a party to celebrate that she’s legally one of them. The paperwork is completed—signed, sealed, delivered and in the eyes of the world Cal is her father.”

  Em didn’t need the paperwork for that to be true. Annie looked more like Cal every day and she knew that even if he’d never come back into her life she’d be reminded of him on a daily basis.

  “So, why aren’t you there with Annie instead of here bringing me down?” Sophia asked. “Did they not invite you?”

  “No. Cal asked me to come. I just figured it would be best to stay away since it was my fault things happened the way they did in the first place.”

  “Then he didn’t try very hard to let you know you were welcome.”

  “Actually, he told me he wasn’t taking no for an answer, so I said something about not feeling well and keeping my germs to myself.”

  “You lied?”

  “It got him to back off,” she said, which neither confirmed or denied. Em slid into the corner of the couch and tucked one bare foot underneath her. “In his mind I was simply living up to his low expectations.”

  “You’re telling me he’s still got trust issues after you went to all the trouble of doing the court stuff to get him legal rights to his child?”

  “He can’t help it, Soph. I understand why.”

  “I don’t. You’re the most trustworthy person I know.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “You’re welcome.” Her friend took another sip of red wine. “You haven’t slept with him again.”

  “How do you know that?” Em cried. “Do I have a tattoo on my forehead? Is there a dialogue bubble over my head revealing my most private thoughts? What?”

  “Your eyes are sad,” Soph said simply.

  “I hate that you know me so well.”

  “I hate that you’re in love with him.”

  “Me, too.” Em sat Indian style and faced her friend. “Samantha Tenney, his medical partner’s wife, says that we’re all broken in some way, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. I guess I’ll have super powers by the time I get a handle on this.”

  “That’s the spirit.” Sophia nodded.

  “The thing is that I feel like—I wish I could blame Cal, but—” To Em’s horror, her throat closed with emotion and her eyes filled with tears. “I should be so happy that Annie has her family. She has people, and I only have her.”

  “You have Cal.” Sophia put her glass on the table and moved forward.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I beg to differ. He was there for you while you were going through that whole thing with the breast lump.” She tapped her lip in thought. “And the time he stopped by after a bad day at work. That’s proof of—something.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Em sniffled. “What would that be? He came to see Annie.”

  “He came to see his family. You. And Annie, too. But mostly you. You’re his people. Whether he knows it or not, he cares about you.”

  “C-caring is a lot different from being in love with,” Em pointed out, far too rationally considering this emotional meltdown.

  She’d thought the pain of childbirth was a challenge but this soul-deep ache was far worse. Cal’s past had broken som
ething inside him and it couldn’t be fixed. Her past had broken something in her that wouldn’t let her risk his rejection and now he’d require a lie detector test to verify her honesty. If only were the two saddest words in the English language.

  When two fat tears slipped from the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, Sophia swore in the most unladylike terms and gathered her close. “I’m going to give Cal Westen a piece of my mind.”

  “It won’t do any good.”

  “It will do me a world of good,” Sophia protested.

  “How?”

  “He needs to take his share of heat.”

  “He didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “I don’t care. There should be some payback for being the one who holds you when you cry over him.”

  Em laughed and cried and counted herself one of the lucky ones even though her heart was breaking. What had she done to deserve such unwavering friendship?

  She also had her daughter. If she listed the pros and cons of her life, it would be heavy on the positive side. Maybe one of these days the pain wouldn’t go so deep when Annie was with her father and Em was on the outside with her nose pressed up against the glass, looking at what she’d always wanted most and had let slip through her fingers.

  * * *

  It was the beginning of September and the thermometer was still registering in the triple digits but Emily couldn’t wait for fall—Halloween and dressing Annie up in a costume, Thanksgiving and turkey. Christmas with presents and watching her daughter rip into them. She and Cal were going to have to figure out which of them she was going to spend the holiday with—just like a divorced couple with a child, except they’d never been married.

  She’d just put her little girl to bed and was trying to figure out whether to mop the kitchen floor or clean out the refrigerator when there was a knock on the door. Her heart jumped because it was unusual at this time of night. But the thought that Cal might have stopped by really got her ticker kicking.

  She peeked through the peephole and tried not to feel disappointed because Patty stood there. After opening, she said, “Hi.”

  Jonas was behind his fiancée. “Sorry to bother you. It’s getting late, but we couldn’t wait to tell you.”

  “Okay,” she said, standing back to let them in.

  Patty was practically vibrating with excitement. “We’re moving out.”

  Em turned the deadbolt. “Really? Are you sure that’s a good idea? Waiting just a little while would let you guys save some money and with the baby on the way—”

  “The place we’re getting won’t cost us much,” Jonas said. “And it’s a house.”

  “I don’t understand.” Em crossed her arms over her chest. “Is there some kind of housing grant or a program I’m not aware of?”

  Patty looked at her guy. “It’s called the Cal Westen housing plan for teen parents with initiative.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Dr. Westen bought a house and is going to let us use it for twenty-five dollars a month until Jonas finishes school and gets a good job.”

  Em could feel her jaw drop as she stared at them. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “We thought he was kidding,” Patty said. “He wasn’t, and said we should consider it part of the Westen wedding gifting.”

  “His words,” Jonas added. He put his arm around Patty. “So a week from now we’ll be married and have a house. With a yard for the kids.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Em smiled at them. “I expect to be invited to the housewarming.”

  “You’ll be the second person on the list,” Patty told her.

  “Dr. Westen is first. He called me earlier but Patty wanted us to tell you together and I just got off work.” Jonas grinned. Actually he hadn’t stopped since the door opened. “We have to get back because Lucy’s watching Henry, but we wanted to share the good news.”

  Em walked them to the door. “This is wonderful. I’m so happy for you guys. Really.”

  “Me, too.” Patty hugged her. “It’s just like you said, Em. Things have a way of working out.”

  For some, Em thought after she’d closed the door. Others were destined to make mistakes and live with the fallout. And that was possibly the most pathetic thought she’d ever had. No time like the present to stop feeling sorry for herself. Before she could figure out how to do that, there was another knock. Patty and Jonas probably forgot to tell her something.

  She opened the door and Cal stood there. Her heart kicked up again and it would be a miracle if he couldn’t hear it. “Hi.”

  “Hey,” he said. “Can I come in?”

  She didn’t remember him saying he was going to stop by and that’s something she wasn’t likely to forget, what with being in love with him and all. That meant this wasn’t planned, which meant—“Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah. I just needed to see you.”

  “Annie, you mean,” she clarified. “You wanted to make sure your daughter is all right.”

  He shook his head. “I meant you.”

  Wow. “I’m fine, and so is Annie. She’s asleep, but you’re welcome to see her. Anytime.” She stepped back so he could come in.

  “Thanks, Em.” He walked past her and into Annie’s bedroom where he pulled the light blanket over her chubby legs. After dropping a soft kiss on her forehead, he followed Em into the living room.

  She twisted her fingers together. “Actually I’m glad you stopped by. There’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”

  “Me, too.” He frowned and folded his arms over his chest. “You first.”

  “I was thinking that fall is just around the corner. Now that all your legal rights as her father are in place, I thought we should decide how to divide up where Annie spends the holidays.”

  “I don’t want to give up any time with her.”

  Em’s stomach knotted. “Silly me for thinking anything had changed simply because you decided to help Patty and Jonas with housing.”

  “They told you?”

  “Just a little while ago. It’s very nice of you, by the way.” She wanted to hate him, but couldn’t manage it.

  “I didn’t do it to be nice.”

  “Oh?”

  “I’ve been lucky with my relatives, so I’ve taken some things for granted. Lately it’s come to my attention that the definition of family is more than just the people who share your DNA.” He looked down at her. “Those two kids feel like part of my family.”

  That capacity to care was just one of the many things to love about Cal Westen. How she’d misjudged him.

  “You’ve really changed your tune from the day you wanted me to turn my back on Helping Hands and this neighborhood because it wasn’t the right environment for Annie.”

  “Yeah.” He looked uncomfortable. “It turns out I learned a lot from your next-door neighbors. Jonas showed me what it means to ‘man up’ and quit running away.”

  “He’s a good kid.”

  “So is Patty,” he agreed. “With a little support they’ll have a great start to building their future.”

  “Yeah.” It’s what she was trying to do. Move on. Not easy, but she’d pulled off hard stuff before. Which brought her back to more hard stuff—the fact that Cal didn’t want to share his daughter for the holidays. “Now that you know about Annie it won’t be easy to not have her on a holiday, but we have to agree—”

  “I’m not finished yet.”

  “Oh.” That was too bad because she so wanted this painful face-to-face to be over.

  “I’ve made so many mistakes with you.”

  “You have?” That got her attention. He had it the moment she’d seen him in the doorway, but now he really had it.

  “I tried to forget you when you dumped me.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand. “I understand now. You had no reason to believe that the man who was renouncing commitment would treat you any differently than your mother.”

  Em stared up
at him, hoping this wasn’t a dream. “So you’re not painting me with the liar’s brush anymore?”

  “You have the purest heart I’ve ever known.” He stared at her. “You take responsibility for your actions and would do anything for the people you care about. When Patty ran away you’d have moved heaven and earth to find her. I wish I had half your heart.”

  “You do, Cal. What you’re doing for those kids is extraordinary.”

  “It’s selfish. I did it to get your attention. To show you I understand the meaning of commitment. And to get you to give me another chance.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “The first time I saw you, I fell in love with you. Then you broke things off. It wasn’t about who walked away first, it was about you taking my heart when you left. That hurt more than anything and I didn’t ever want to feel that way again. So I dated. A lot. As Rhonda so eloquently put it, I got older but the women I went out with didn’t.”

  Em really didn’t want to hear about other women in his life. “You don’t need to tell me this.”

  “I need to tell it.” He rested his hands on his lean hips. “The day you walked back into my life, I fell for you all over again and it scared the crap out of me. I used anything and everything to push you away. Believe me, I know what an idiot I’ve been.”

  Em had never expected to hear any of this from him and joy surged through her. “Cal, I don’t—”

  He held up a hand to stop her. “I promise to never let you down again. And I’d like it very much if you’d marry me, but I understand if you can’t bring yourself to believe in me.”

  “I—That’s really—Wow, you don’t beat around the bush, do you.”

  “Not when I want something.”

  “You want me?” she asked.

  “Oh, yeah.” There was a question in his eyes. “Do you love me? I understand if you can’t.”

  “If I said no it would be a lie.”

  “So that’s a yes, no?” he asked.

  “It’s a yes, yes.” She started laughing and he gathered her into his arms.

  The corners of his mouth curved up and love sparkled in his eyes. “You’ve set a high bar for honest and straightforward, so it would be best to start our life together on a truthful note. I would never understand or accept a no to my proposal. I’d already planned to just hang around until you changed your mind. I’m not willing to lose you again because I’m too much of a coward to take a chance.” Intensity hummed through him. “Marry me, Em. Make me the happiest man in the world. Give me the family I’ve always wanted.”