The Pregnancy Surprise

by Kara Lennox

  “Are you kidding? She’s the most gorgeous woman I ever saw. Have you even looked at her?”

  Cooper laughed. “Easy, buckaroo. I’ve been too busy looking at my own woman to pay much attention to yours. Is she? Your woman, I mean.”

  Reece sighed. “I wish. I really like her. I like being with her. But, damn it, you’re right. There’s no way we could work this thing out.”

  “Unless you resign from Remington Industries and relocate down here.”

  “Exactly. It’s impossible.”

  “I was making a practical suggestion. Resign. Max and I resigned because we were so overshadowed by our older brothers, and I know your situation is similar. Unless you like playing second banana to Bret?”

  “I like my job,” he said through gritted teeth, though his stomach twinged again.

  “You’re a bean counter. You could do that anywhere.”

  “I could never match the salary I’m making at another company, and you know it. It’s taken me years to get where I am. Not to mention, the company needs me.”

  “First off, you don’t need that much money. You don’t spend half of what you make. Second, if you put yourself out there, you could probably get a job as a CFO at a decent-size company where you’d make decent money and get a little respect. You’re not just a bean counter, you’re an incredibly good one. Let Max put your résumé together.”

  Reece rubbed his stomach. “Can we not talk about this?”

  Cooper shrugged. “Fine. But speaking as one who recently found a woman to spend the rest of my life with, and having overcome some pretty steep odds to make it work, I just want to say that it’s worth it. If you’ve fallen in love with Sara-and I hear it in your voice that you have-don’t give her up for a stupid job.”

  Love? Who said anything about love?

  “I’m not in love with Sara,” Reece said fiercely. “Anyway, we’re too different. Everybody can see that. You and Allie have the same values-you love sailing and fishing. You both loved and respected Uncle Johnny. Sara and I see eye to eye on almost nothing.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  They hardly spoke the rest of the way to the airport. But Reece continued to think about Sara as the miles between them grew, and he anticipated with dread what awaited him back at his office.

  The thoughts he entertained were not those of a man who loves his job.

  ARCHIBALD REMINGTON III, chief financial officer of Remington Industries, entered the conference room and assumed his seat at the head of the table like a king ascending the throne. He eyed each person at the table in turn, his gaze finally resting on Reece.

  Reece had been back for a week, but Archie hadn’t offered any welcome home or asked how things were in Port Clara. But that was normal for Reece’s father. He was a no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase kind of guy.

  Reece used to aspire to be just like him. His father was one of the most respected businessmen in the country. He had shepherded the company’s finances toward ever-increasing profits even when the economy turned down.

  Today, however, Reece looked at his father with new eyes and realized he didn’t want to be like him after all. The man had his good qualities, but compassion, empathy and any ability to have fun weren’t among them.

  Reece’s father called the meeting to order. The purpose of the meeting was so Bret could present a financial overview of a company Remington Industries was interested in acquiring. Reece had actually done most of the work-long-distance from Port Clara-but Bret was far better at public speaking than Reece, so he normally was in charge of presenting their findings to the board of directors.

  Reece had to admit, the PowerPoint presentation was slick. But when board members started asking questions, Bret often floundered and Reece had to step in and clarify.

  When it was over, Archie congratulated Bret on a job well done. He said nothing to his younger son, which irked Reece more today than it usually did, especially because he knew his father would be retiring in a few months and the board would have to name his replacement. Archie made no secret that he wanted Bret to step into his shoes, and he was doing his best to present his eldest son in the most favorable light.

  “We’ll reconvene next Monday, one week from today, at 10:00 a.m.,” Archie said as everyone stood and gathered their things.

  “I won’t be here next Monday,” Reece said.

  Archie went still, looking at him with razor-sharp eyes. “Excuse me?”

  “Cooper’s wedding is next weekend. Afterward I’m driving my car up from Texas. I won’t be back till Thursday next week.”

  “After a month of vacation, you’re leaving again? Hire someone to drive your car. You’re needed here.”

  Reece knew that was the more practical decision.

  Bret and Reece walked down the hallway together toward their offices. “Thanks for saving my bacon,” Bret said in a low voice. “If Dad knew how much you covered for me, he wouldn’t even think of promoting me higher.”

  “I don’t cover for you,” Reece said, sort of meaning it. “We each have our strengths. You can do the CFO job so long as you recognize where you need help, and surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps.”

  “You’ll be right there with me, you know. You’ve pushed me most of the way up the corporate ladder-I’m not going to the top without you. The first thing I’ll do if I get the job is give you a better title and a whopping big raise.”

  They had reached Reece’s office, which was half the size of Bret’s down the hall and in bad need of a paint job.

  “And a better office,” Bret said, looking around.

  Reece just shook his head. “I’m happy where I am.” Or maybe he’d gotten complacent with his mediocre position. “Hey, are you going to Cooper’s wedding?”

  “I wanted to. But Dad scheduled a golf game for Saturday with some bigwig hotel owner. Command performance. He’s trotting me around introducing me to everyone like a damn show dog.”

  Reece couldn’t blame Bret for choosing the golf game over the wedding. He had a lot more at stake than Reece did.

  Reece looked grimly at the stack of paper waiting for him in his in-box. “Guess I better get to work.”

  SARA THREW herself into the last-minute wedding plans, grateful that Reece had left his car, because it turned out she really needed one. She was going to have to do something about her transportation problem soon.

  “I can’t believe Reece left his car for you to drive,” Allie commented as they drove back to the B and B, the Mercedes’s trunk filled with all the ingredients Sara needed to make the lavish Mexican buffet planned for her friend’s wedding. “I think the boy is smitten. Men typically don’t let women drive their expensive sports cars after they wreck them.”

  “The wreck wasn’t my fault. And Reece isn’t smitten. If he were, he would still be here.”

  “Oh, Sara. He can’t just abandon his job. That would be irresponsible, and we both know Reece is anything but irresponsible.”

  “But shouldn’t love be more important?”

  Allie made a frustrated noise. “It’s not that simple. Let’s turn it around. Say you’d been the one on vacation, and you’d met Reece in New York. Would you have just stayed there, abandoning Miss Greer without a second thought?”

  Sara took a few moments to think about her answer. “No, I guess I wouldn’t. But Reece hasn’t asked me to come to New York, so it’s a moot point.”

  “What if he wanted you to go there, and stay there?”

  “I’ve done stupider things for a guy. Yeah, I think I would do it.”

  “I thought you only liked big cities to visit.”

  She shrugged. “I could be persuaded to change my mind. But I would make sure Miss Greer was taken care of. I’d find someone good to take my place.”

  “So maybe Reece has to take care of things back home. Give him time to miss you. If it was meant to be, you’ll find a way.”

  They arrived back at the Sunsetter, and Sara immediately go
t to work mixing the masa harina for homemade corn tortillas.

  “So what should I do when I see him?” Sara asked. She hadn’t felt this insecure about a guy since…well, she never had. Even when she was a teenager she hadn’t angsted about guys.

  “Make your feelings known. Do you love him?”

  “Yes, I think so,” Sara said miserably. “I think about him all the time. I fantasize about being with him. I picture what our children would look like.”

  Allie smiled. “Sounds like love to me. Could you commit to him? As in, the rest of your life?”

  Sara couldn’t answer that question quite so easily. “The rest of my life is a very long time.”

  “So you’re asking Reece to give up everything he knows, everything that’s familiar-including his family and a six-figure income-to hang out with you for as long as it lasts? Think about it.”

  Sara didn’t have to think about it long. Reece was a man uncomfortable with uncertainty. If he made a major life change, he wouldn’t do so unless he was able to map out the next fifty years. Sara, on the other hand, had never been able to commit to anything-not a job, not a man, not even a hairstyle. Once, when she was a little girl, her mother had made her cut her hair for a swim class at the Y. She had cried for a week because she’d been forced to wear her hair the same way every single day until it grew out.

  She’d been expecting Reece to live life the way she did. If she saw something she wanted, she went for it and worried later about all the consequences. He could never conduct his life that way and maintain his identity.

  “Are you thinking?” Allie asked. “Or have you tuned me out?”

  “I’m thinking.” And she was trying not to cry. She’d been doing that a lot lately. Who knew falling in love could be so painful?

  REECE LANDED at the Corpus Christi airport at eleven o’clock Saturday morning on Cooper’s wedding day, two hours before the actual ceremony.

  “You’re cutting it close,” Max said as Reece climbed into his cousin’s red Corvette outside the baggage claim.

  “I know. I had a meeting Friday afternoon that lasted for hours and I missed my original flight. This was the best I could do on short notice. You have the tux?”

  “I have the tux.”

  “How did the rehearsal go?”

  “We didn’t really have a rehearsal. We just had a big party on the private deck at Old Salt’s Bar and Grill.”

  “Was Sara there?”

  Max snorted. “Of course. She’s Allie’s maid of honor.”

  “Did she have a date?”

  “No…” Max flashed a sly smile. “Oh, yeah. I heard about you and the flower child. Bit out of your league, wouldn’t you say?”

  At least Max didn’t mince words the way Cooper had. Cooper, being older, had been protective toward Reece when they were growing up, an attitude that lingered into adulthood. Max, who was younger, had been the one to tease, though in a good-natured way. He still did.

  “She’s so completely out of my league,” Reece said glumly.

  “Aw, now, don’t be like that. I just meant she’s different from the type of girl you usually date. When you date.”

  “I know.” Which was why he should cut it off clean. Cooper, who would soon be on his honeymoon piloting the Dragonfly down to Mexico, had offered to let Reece stay at his house, and he’d accepted. Because he knew that if he stayed at the Sunsetter, he and Sara would most likely end up in bed, and leaving Sunday would be twice as hard as the last time he’d left, because he knew he wasn’t returning.

  The next couple of hours were filled with frenzied activity at Cooper’s house as they all got ready for the wedding. However, Cooper, Max and Reece did find time for a private toast with a very good Scotch Cooper had been saving for whenever the first one of them got married.

  “Well, this is it, guys,” Cooper said. “The end of the Three Musketeers. I’ll be married, and Reece will be half a country away.”

  “We’ll still see each other,” Reece argued. He was happy for Cooper, happy that his two cousins had made the leap away from Remington Industries, where their older brothers would forever have prevented them from reaching the peak of their professions.

  But he hated thinking about being the sole survivor at the family company, without the other musketeers for support.

  When it came right down to it, he didn’t like change.

  “Yeah,” Max said, “but it won’t be the same. Once or twice a year at Christmas or Thanksgiving…”

  “Hey, let’s not get maudlin,” Cooper said. “I’m getting married. Wish me well.”

  They drank a toast to the groom, and to the bride, and it was only after Reece had drained his glass did he remember that he wasn’t supposed to drink with his seasick medicine, which he hadn’t yet taken.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Clifford’s Landing Party Barge was decked out with so much white ribbon, lace and flowers, it looked like a wedding cake.

  Sara wanted to be happy and excited for her best friend, and she was. But she now had something else to worry about.

  For some unknown reason, she’d looked at her calendar this morning, and she’d realized something. She was late. As in, really, really late. And the thought had occurred to her that she just might be pregnant. Yes, she was on birth control pills, but sometimes she forgot to take them.

  Reece would freak out. Truth be told, she was freaking out a little. She’d run to the closest drugstore and bought a pregnancy test, but she didn’t have the time-or the courage-to take it now. She resolved to put the problem out of her mind, at least for today, Allie’s day.

  Sara was pleased with how her very first wedding catering job was going. She’d timed her preparations of the various dishes to perfection. Now, as the hour for departure approached, guests were boarding and Sara was putting the finishing touches on the hot dishes.

  Valerie had offered to assist, and Miss Greer, whose recovery was going so well it shocked everyone including her doctor, had insisted she could manage on her own for a couple of hours so that Valerie could help serve and watch over the buffet while Sara did her maid-of-honor duties.

  “We’re good here,” Valerie said. “You go help the bride.”

  When Sara entered the salon, which had become the impromptu bride’s room, her breath caught in her throat at the sight of tomboy Allie in her girlie-girl wedding gown.

  “Oh, Allie, you look like a princess.”

  “Princess for a day. Every bride is entitled.”

  Sara wondered if she would ever get to be a princess. Thinking about Allie sharing her life with Cooper, having kids, growing old with him-she had to admit it held some attraction. Maybe it was the shock of a possible pregnancy, but she was starting to realize her free-spirit lifestyle couldn’t last forever. Sooner or later she would have to decide who she wanted to be. If she was soon to be a mother…oh, Lord…she would have to be a responsible one.

  Since Allie’s parents were deceased, Cooper’s mother had stepped into the role of helping the bride get ready. She also fussed with Sara’s hair, which she’d wound on top of her head and woven with flowers, then powdered her nose and called it good. Jane, who lived on the boat next door to Allie’s Dragonfly, was a bridesmaid, but she evidently didn’t need any help in the primping department. She looked as if she’d just stepped off the pages of Vogue, and the raw silk dress she’d chosen clung to her size-two figure, making Sara feel like a horse by comparison.

  Jane’s three-year-old daughter, Kaylee, was there, too. She was Allie’s flower girl, and though she was opposite Jane in her coloring with her bright blond curls, she was every bit as beautiful.

  “I think we’re ready,” Mrs. Remington declared. “I’ll cue the musicians to begin, then I’ll go stand with Jonathan, and we can start. Good luck, dear. You’ll need it, being Cooper’s wife. He’s so much like his father, even if he won’t admit it.”

  Allie laughed nervously after her future mother-in-law left. “Cooper would
deny that to his grave, but after seeing him together with his dad, the comparison is obvious.”

  The trio of musicians started the processional song.

  Sara swallowed back the tears that threatened. Honestly, she cried over anything these days. Did pregnancy hormones make you more emotional? But her best friend getting married was a good thing to cry over.

  “I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to say so again,” Allie said quickly, “but thank you both for being my friends. You’re the best friends anyone could wish for.”

  “Allie,” Jane said in a scolding voice, “you promised not to make me cry until after the ceremony. My makeup is going to run.”

  They all drew close for one last hug, and then it was time. As the boat cut smoothly through the water, Jane went first down the makeshift aisle among the guests. Most were standing, as there were only a few places to sit. Then Sara went. As she approached the front of the boat, she got her first glimpse of Reece since his return from New York. Oh, God, did he look handsome in a tux.

  He also looked tense, as he had when he’d first arrived. Less than two weeks back at his job had undone two months of beach life. She wished he could see what the stress was doing to him.

  He was watching her, too, and as she reached the place where she guessed she was supposed to stand, he gave her a little finger wave. She winked at him in answer, and she could have sworn he blushed.

  Little Kaylee trotted down the aisle next, flinging rose petals with great glee. Then all eyes were on the bride as she made her appearance. Not a princess, Sara decided. An angel. Her friend had never looked so radiant.

  The ceremony was short and sweet, the bride and groom exchanging vows with strong, confident voices. They obviously had no qualms about pledging the rest of their lives. Was something wrong with her? Sara wondered. Didn’t most women look forward to the day when they could settle down, maybe have kids and a dog and a house in the suburbs?

  Sara’s attention drifted to Reece again. He was watching his cousin with obvious fondness, but he also appeared solemn. This was serious stuff to Reece. Allie was right about that. He wasn’t going to rearrange his whole life on a lark.