“Not about my whereabouts or the baby.” She walked over to the island and sat on the stool beside Aaron. “My father despised my mother and anything connected to her. That included Candace. He never wanted me to associate with them. I was twelve before he allowed me to go see my mother in the summer, and that was just because I insisted. He considered them nothing, and he preferred that they never be a part of my life. He won’t like it that I’m here with her baby.”
“Are you saying your father won’t accept the baby because of your sister?”
“Yes. Pretty much so.”
“No.” Aaron pushed the coffee mug aside and turned to her. “John is innocent like every other baby in this world. He had no choice when it came to his birth parents. Lia, I won’t let him be victimized because of who his birth mother was.”
“I agree. You’re a thousand percent right. But I don’t know that I can change what’s in my father’s heart.”
“So we’ll talk to your father together. We’ll tell him that as far as we’re concerned, John Aaron is our baby and that’s how he’s to be treated. There’s no middle ground to that. None that I’m willing to accept,” Aaron said. “And you can talk to your father about Dallas.”
She sighed. “Dallas and I have to tell all the people who work for us and our friends.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“I have to do this. I’m not enthused. I dread it,” she confessed. “But our press agent, Conner, is great at handling the media. He’ll keep the press release generic. Like, ‘We regret to announce the end of our long-term relationship but remain on good terms. We appreciate all the fans who have supported us over the years and hope they will continue to support us through this transition in our life.’
“Since there’s no scandal attached to the split, it should only last like one news cycle before it fades. I’ll still be hounded by the media for a little while because they are always looking for something they can sensationalize,” she said. “The public is fickle. That’s a plus. Something else may break on the same day that’s ten times more exciting than Dallas and me. If that happens, I won’t be gone long.”
“What do you mean?”
“After Conner goes public with the announcement, I’m planning on going to the ranch in Colorado to avoid the media for a couple of weeks.”
He looked as if she’d struck him. “Colorado?”
“I don’t want the media to know about us. I want to keep you and the baby out of this. I don’t want trash printed about you or your family or about my sister’s baby either.” She tried to think of how to explain it. “It’s like a being caught up in a storm, and then it blows over. I have to ride out the storm alone.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.” She stroked his face. “And you have to take care of John Aaron until I get back. Okay?”
He walked over to the sink and poured out his coffee.
“Aaron, you knew I was going to have to leave on the eighteenth.”
“Yeah, well, I thought maybe things had changed.”
“There’s something you should know.” She walked up and hugged him from behind. “I’m not through loving you.”
* * *
Late that evening, Aaron sat in the rocker, giving John his eight p.m. bottle. “I think you’re gonna like being out in the world.” He had moved John out of the NICU pod and into the special-care nursery. “If you keep doing this well, I think I’ll take you home Sunday. You’ll love your room. It’s full of great stuff.”
As the baby sucked vigorously on the bottle, Aaron battled his concerns about Lia. Julian Montgomery sounded like a controlling asshole who had his daughter so intimidated she kept things from him. She hadn’t told her father about her sister’s death, the baby left behind, or that her relationship with Dallas had long been over.
Aaron was trying to be understanding about the situation. He understood what it was to feel animosity toward an ex-wife, but that shouldn’t carry over to a baby. He hoped Lia’s father would come around. It might take time, and he was okay with that. It all came down to love. He loved Lia and he knew she loved her father, so there would have to be some give and take.
But he was not open to her “riding out the storm” by herself after the breakup with Dallas. He had thought about it during the drive to the hospital, and he couldn’t agree to that. He wasn’t going to let her go to Colorado and hide out for weeks. That was ridiculous.
If she had to go to Nashville on the eighteenth, he was going with her. John Aaron should be fine with Miss Pauline for a few hours. He’d make sure one of his partners was on standby. Lia could get things settled that day, and they would come home. He didn’t give a shit if reporters camped out in his yard.
“She needs to be here with us.” He cuddled the baby close. “With bottles every two hours, you’ll keep everyone busy.”
“Aaron.” Dr. Jack Burnell, one of Aaron’s partners, entered the special-care nursery. In his mid-forties, Jack had a short, squat neck that made his head appear to be sitting directly on his bulky shoulders, which gave him the look of a linebacker even though he had never played football. “I’m glad to see you.”
“What is it?”
“New OB admit through the ER. They are prepping the patient for a section, and we’re looking at twenty-five weeks gestational age on the fetus. Probably less than two pounds, and it may not be viable. They’ve got medivac on standby for a flight to Nashville,” he said. “I’m on call, but if you can scrub in on this with me, I’d appreciate your expertise.”
“Sure,” Aaron answered, knowing it had now turned into a long night for him.
On the elevator, he sent Lia a text message.
Loretta, don’t wait up for me. I’ve got some emergency stuff going on.
Her reply lit up on his phone. He chuckled as he saw she had used the title of a Loretta Lynn song in her message.
Just don’t come home a drinkin’ with lovin’ on your mind, Cole.
Funny. He added a laughing emoji with tears running down its face.
Chapter 14
At the Country Corner Café, the lunch crowd dispersed after the noon hour passed, and Lia managed to get a window table that offered a view of Court Square with a profusion of roses blooming on either side of the old courthouse. She sat at the table waiting on Gilda, who was en route from Nashville, as well as Aaron.
He was at his attorney’s office with the home study provider, Mr. Stanton. The home study had gone well. Mr. Stanton had been impressed with the house, and he said the nursery was the best-equipped nursery he had ever seen. Besides the environmental part of the study, he had conducted interviews with everyone, including her. Mr. Stanton had been happy to meet a biological member of the baby’s family who intended to be part of the baby’s life, and he was pleased that she supported the adoption.
“What can I get for you?” A server stopped by the table.
Lia ordered a glass of tea and told the server she was waiting on a couple more people. As she sipped her tea, she looked at the messages on her phone. Her father had sent her a photograph of him and Sheila with the Eiffel Tower in the background. She responded with an upbeat message of how happy she was to hear the tour was going so well, and she was thrilled that they were in Paris.
She looked at her father, and she thought of how many times she’d sat in the control room in the studio with her dolls while songs were cut. The sound engineer and producer on a lot of those songs, her father would push the singers and musicians to be their best. So she had always tried to be her best, too. She hoped that he would not be too disappointed in her come next weekend.
A text message from Aaron popped up on her phone.
I’ll be there shortly. We’re finishing up here. Maury says we’re good to go on the adoption proceedings now.
She smiled and typed: I’m so happy!
I think we should go out tomorrow night. We might run into a sale on grape Popsicles. LOL. See you in a few.
A b
lush colored her cheeks as she tucked her phone in her purse and thought about the grape ice pop. At midnight last night, she had been restless. Aaron hadn’t come in from the hospital, and the bed felt empty without him.
She got up. The house was dark and still. Frank and Stevie were sleeping upstairs, so she quietly made her way into the kitchen and turned on an under-the-cabinet light. Rummaging around in the refrigerator, she found a box of ice pops in the freezer. She chose her favorite frosty flavor, grape, and unwrapped it.
She had just stuck it in her mouth when Aaron came through the kitchen door. “You’re up.”
She took the ice pop out of her mouth. “Yeah. Midnight treat. How did it go?”
“It went.” He got a bottle of water out of the fridge. “When you’re dealing with underdeveloped organs, all you can do is stabilize and transfer.”
She nodded. “How is John Aaron?”
“He was doing fine tonight. I think he likes being out of the incubator.” Aaron took a sip of his water. “Your lips are purple.”
“I know.” She bit off the top of the ice pop. “I love these things. My grandmother made batches of them and kept them in the freezer for me.”
He set the bottle of water on the kitchen island. “I don’t want you to go to Colorado.”
“We already went over that.” She stuck the ice pop in her mouth.
“I want to go to Nashville with you on the eighteenth.”
She yanked the pop out of her mouth. “Aaron, what about the baby? If something happens to him, you need to be here. You can’t leave. End of story.”
Aaron pushed away from the island and walked aimlessly over to the sink where he looked out the window. “We don’t have to be gone that long.”
She took a small bite of the ice pop. She didn’t want to leave either. Not him or the baby. Love overwhelmed her heart as she walked over to where he stood. She hopped up on her bare toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Along with the kiss came a quick decision. “I won’t go to Colorado.” That was the last place she wanted to be. “When it comes to me, there probably won’t be much interest. I’m not the star.”
He cut his eyes toward her. “Yeah, you are.”
She leaned against the counter, ego flourishing, and sucked on the grape ice pop.
She noticed Aaron watching her eat the frozen treat. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and snapped her picture. “Hey, my lips are purple.”
He laughed as he laid his phone on the island.
“If you want a Popsicle, there’s a box in the freezer. But there’s not another grape one. I got the last one. But there’s strawberry and pineapple.”
His gaze drifted down to where the words “Sweet Dreams” were printed across the knit top of her pink sleep set. She licked the ice pop. It was almost gone. As Aaron looked up, she met his gaze. “Do you want to be the Popsicle?”
He stared at her, watching her purple tongue skim the ice pop like it was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. “I’d love to be the Popsicle.”
“Okay.” On the way to the bedroom, she let the rest of the ice pop melt in her mouth. “You know,” she had whispered as she put her arm around his waist. “My mouth is gonna be freezing cold.”
“Not for long,” he had whispered back.
Lia stirred her iced tea, smiling to herself. She’d had her midnight treat and given him his. Looking out the window, she noticed Gilda’s car as it appeared on Main Street. Gilda drove a yellow hatchback with a multicolored peace sign painted on the top. The car stood out in a crowd, just the way Gilda did.
Gilda wore a short paisley-printed tent dress over black leggings and strappy sandals. Besides gemstone rings, she wore mandala earrings with a matching bracelet, and her silver-blond hair sparkled in the sunlight as she crossed the street. Lia smiled. She could practically hear the opening guitar chords to “Black Magic Woman.”
Lia stood to give Gilda a hug as Gilda joined her at the table. “I’m so glad you could come today.”
“Me, too.” Gilda sat across from Lia. “You look stunning.” She admired the handcrafted trade bead necklace and gauzy Western print scarf Lia wore with a white peasant blouse tucked into her jeans. “Lots of positive energy coming from you. That’s how it is when the planets line up in your life.”
Lia smiled. “I don’t know about the planets, but I do feel super-positive.” She told Gilda about the successful home study and that John Aaron was doing much better. “I saw him this morning. I usually go twice a day to see him, and I feed him. I never knew a baby could be so amazing,” she said. “Sometimes I stop by the waterfall where I scattered Candace’s ashes and tell her about him and how much I love him. I know that’s silly.”
“No,” Gilda assured her. “Her spirit still exists, and who is to say that she isn’t there, listening to you. Next time you go, you should take a small wind chime and place it in a tree. That way she can let you know she’s there. Most people think it’s the wind that makes the chimes work, but it’s the spirits flowing though the chimes.”
“Next time I go, I’ll take a chime,” Lia said, even though she didn’t believe in Gilda’s theory. “John Aaron weighs over four pounds now. He’s so cute. We’ll stop by the nursery before we go to the house and let you take a peek at him.”
“I can’t wait to see him.”
“I want you to be his godmother.”
Gilda reached across the table and squeezed Lia’s hand. “That’ll be an honor.”
The server came by and took Gilda’s drink order. After she left, Gilda tented her fingers and tapped them against her lips. “So you and the doctor are intermingling now?”
Lia’s eyes widened. “Is it that obvious?”
“It’s the aura.” Gilda waved her hand in a circle around her face.
Flushing, Lia nodded. “Yeah, things are kinda steamy sometimes. We’ve grown close. Very close,” she amended. “It definitely feels like it’s meant to be.”
“Ah.” Gilda thought on that. “That’s your love guides talking to you.”
“Love guides? I like what they’re saying.”
“Just don’t do anything rash,” Gilda reminded her.
The server left a cup of coffee on the table for Gilda, who put a packet of sugar in it. She stirred the coffee and asked Lia, “What about Dallas?”
“I haven’t heard from him. I’m assuming he’s going to meet me at the house in Nashville on the eighteenth so we can talk to Dad and move forward. We have to do that.”
“Have you heard from Julian?”
“Yeah. He sent me a picture of him and Sheila in Paris. They’re having fun.”
“Paris.” Gilda let out a wistful sigh. “The city of light and magic.”
Lia glanced out the window and saw Aaron on the block across from the courthouse. “Gilda.” Excited, she motioned for Gilda to look out the window. “See the man with dark hair, sunglasses, and navy suit, walking this way? That’s Aaron. I love him in a suit.”
Gilda leaned against the table and looked out the window. “Oh, Lia.” She sighed and turned back to Lia, giving her a knowing gaze. “Now I understand completely. I can see why you’re hooked.”
“Who said I was hooked?” Lia teased.
“Everything about you since the day you met him.” Gilda sat back in her chair. “But is he hooked? That’s the question in my mind now.”
“No, Gilda.” Lia protested, holding up her hand. “Let it go.”
“I’m not going to say anything,” Gilda assured her. “I don’t have to. Men are a thousand times easier to read than women. Move to that chair.” She motioned for Lia to change chairs. “I want him sitting directly in front of me.”
Lia slid over to the empty chair beside hers while Gilda dug in her tote bag. She withdrew a small spray bottle made of brown glass, and she sent a couple bursts of mist into the air in the direction of the chair that Lia had left vacant.
“What is that?” Lia asked. It smelled a bit woodsy.
�
�It’s shaman’s mist. Just a little something for balance.”
“We’re not going to get high, are we?”
“No, dear. Not high.”
Lia smiled at Aaron as he joined them. “Hi,” he said as he sat in the chair beside her. His gaze locked with hers for a moment, setting off a tangible simmer inside her. If there was such a thing as love guides, they were hard at work.
“I want you to meet Gilda.” She made the introductions. “Gilda moved into my grandmother’s neighborhood when I was a little girl, and we’ve been like family ever since. She’s one of my dearest friends and surrogate mother.”
“I prefer to think of myself as Yoda.” Gilda shook hands with Aaron. Then she turned his hand, taking a quick glimpse of his palm before she released it.
“Are you involved in the music industry?” Aaron asked her.
“At one time. I was a groupie in the early seventies before I went on to broaden my horizons. Not with LSD,” she explained. “I became a professor of Far Eastern religions and culture, social anthropology, and Celtic folklore. I’m a spiritualist now.”
“A spiritualist?” Aaron gave Lia a curious glance.
“Gilda is the one who gave me the rose quartz.”
“The pink rock,” he said.
“No.” Gilda reached over and patted his arm. “The rose quartz is not a pink rock.”
After an hour of food and a lecture from Gilda on crystals and their history, along with other mystic traditions, the three of them left the café. Lia had ridden downtown with Aaron, but she was riding with Gilda over to the hospital to see the baby and then to Aaron’s house so she could show off the nursery.
On the sidewalk beside Gilda’s car, Aaron loosened his tie as he spoke to Lia while Gilda started the hatchback. “I’m trying to decide if she’s sane.”
“Of course she is.” Lia smiled. “She’s the ultimate in cool quirkiness.”
“I definitely agree there.” He stepped a little closer. “What do you think about getting a cabin on the lake for tomorrow night? I’d like to celebrate, and that’ll be our last chance to party before I bring John Aaron home on Sunday.”
Not Through Loving You Page 18
