Through the Storm (Bellingwood Book 8)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "Maybe. But you can't say anything to him."

  Polly sat back. "Why would I say anything to him? The two of you aren't acknowledging that it happened. I'm not getting in the middle of that."

  "You can't tell Joss or Sal or Lydia or anybody."

  "I'm telling Henry."

  "No! You can't. Not yet."

  "I tell him everything."

  "Just not yet. Can you swear him to secrecy?"

  "Oh, for heaven's sake, Sylvie, it was just a kiss. People do that all the time." Polly leaned over on her left arm and pecked Sylvie's cheek. "See, I just kissed you. The world didn't end and you weren't swallowed up in a sinkhole."

  Sylvie brushed her cheek off and glared at Polly. "You'd better be good or I won't tell you if it happens again."

  "I'll be good. I'll be good. So what happened after the kiss? Did you guys talk like normal people or was it uncomfortable?"

  "It was pretty uncomfortable. He went outside and after I finished in the kitchen, I went upstairs and called around, trying to find out what people knew about you. I spent the rest of the night on the phone in my room. And then this morning, Aaron came over and then I went to work and now I'm here. And I texted him to tell him that we were going to eat out tonight, so he was on his own."

  "So in essence, he thinks he screwed up by kissing you."

  "No!" Sylvie slapped her hand on her forehead. "He wouldn't think that. He didn't screw up. I just don't know what to do with this."

  "You hid from him last night. Do you always go up to your room after supper?"

  "Well, no."

  "Then you've avoided him all day today and you're hiding from him again tonight. He thinks he screwed up with you."

  "Crap. What am I going to do?"

  "You're going to talk to him. And you're going to do it soon before he develops some big immense story in his head about why you don't like him."

  "But I do like him. He's been wonderful to us."

  "I suppose you talked to him about moving back to the apartment."

  "Yes. This morning. Oh no," Sylvie said. "I talked to him about that this morning. I'm an idiot."

  "Yes you are, my friend. You have to fix this. When did you tell him you were leaving?"

  "I don't know. I just told him we'd get out of his hair. He's put up with a lot from us. What should I do?"

  "If it was me, I'd text him and ask if he wanted to have supper with you somewhere. He'd come down here to Boone. Or maybe you go to Davey's. Just make it casual."

  "I promised the kids McDonalds. He isn't going to want to eat McDonalds."

  "You're assuming. So, do you want him to kiss you again?"

  "What? I don't know."

  "You're trying to tell me that you didn't think about this all night long? Come on, Sylvie. You're a girl. You've been obsessing about it since the moment it happened. You've thought through every single twist of your lips, you've imagined his touch. Everything."

  "Maybe a little bit."

  "So, do you want it to happen again?"

  Sylvie took a breath in and when she exhaled, she said, "Yes. I think I do. Even if it's just to know that it wasn't a fluke. I don't want to marry him or anything, though."

  "Then just take it slow, but don't kick it to the curb."

  Another knock came at the door. As it pushed open, Lydia, Andy and Beryl came in.

  "Are you ready for more company?" Lydia asked. She gave Sylvie a smile, "Hi sweetie. I saw your boys in the lobby."

  "I should get going. I'm taking the kids to McDonalds and then we have to get home so they can work on homework." Sylvie stood and bent over to hug Polly. "I'll text him," she whispered.

  "We didn't mean to rush you out," Lydia said. "Please stay."

  "We've been here long enough. It's time to go. The boys have been patient and I don't want to push that." She hugged each of the women as she headed for the door and waved back at Polly before walking out.

  "When are they releasing you from this prison?" Beryl asked, pounding lightly on the windows of the room.

  Lydia held her hand out to Polly, who took it in hers and said, "Tomorrow, if I'm a good girl."

  "We'll break you outta here, chickie. All ya gotta do is give us a sign," Beryl said.

  "I think I'll let them give me drugs and take care of me for one more night."

  "Someone is taking care of you." Andy chuckled and pointed at the candy on Polly's bed.

  Polly pushed it away. "Sylvie and Andrew thought I needed sustenance beyond what the nutritionist here gives me. I begged for the Dew, but they did the rest on their own."

  Andy poked Lydia. "Go ahead. You might as well."

  Lydia took her hand back and opened her bag so Polly could look inside. "I couldn't help myself either. Do you want me to take these to your office or leave them here?"

  Polly reached in and took out a bag of chocolate covered donuts and two Diet Dews. "You're the best. I can make sure these get home with me."

  "You just don't want to let that caffeine out of your sight, do you?" Beryl asked.

  "They aren't very generous with it, that's for sure." She took Lydia's hand again. "Has Aaron told you anything? What about my truck?"

  "Your truck is gone, honey. Surely you know that."

  Polly's shoulders dropped. "I was afraid you'd say that. I didn't want to believe it. What about the kid I hit? Is he okay?"

  "He's lucky to be alive. Especially after what he did to you. It's a good thing Aaron rounded up those other two boys. A whole lot of people in Bellingwood were ready to string them up."

  "That certainly wouldn't help things," Polly said.

  "Who does that? And who are the parents that have kids who think forcing cars off the road is a good idea?"

  "It sounds like there are some parents who have to hire good lawyers."

  "That Seth Davis's parents have a lot of money. They're already scrambling to figure out how to get rid of the charges."

  "He kept ramming me," Polly protested. "I didn't know what to do."

  "I know. It's going to be a mess. He's a senior. Was supposed to go to K-State to play football next year. That's why his daddy's so upset. He had a scholarship and everything."

  Polly sat back and flinched as her ribs adjusted to the movement. "Stupid kids."

  "We're really here to see if there's anything we can do at your house before you get home."

  "I don't think so. Henry and Jessie are there."

  Andy put a notebook on the table in front Polly. "You are supposed to write down your favorite meals in here. Everything from entrees to side dishes to desserts. I'm organizing all of the people who want to do something for you."

  "That's nuts. Henry's perfectly capable of cooking and so is Jessie. And if we don't cook, we order pizza or sandwiches. And besides," Polly said, waving her fingers weakly, "this doesn't work very well."

  Lydia sat down and looked Polly in the eyes. "There are a lot of people who were scared to death last night and you have to let them ... you have to let us do something for you. If the only thing we can do is make a meal, you have to tell us what you like and then say thank you. Do you understand me?"

  "Umm, yes?"

  "I'm not kidding. This is how people tell you that you are loved. You are responsible for writing all of the thank you notes when it's finished, though. You can't believe the number of calls Jeff has been fielding today. That doesn't include all of the people who called me and those who were contacting Henry."

  "He didn't say anything."

  "Because he's as embarrassed about accepting this kind of love as you are. So the two of you are going to smile and say thank you and that's just the way it's going to be. Got it?"

  "Got it. And I love you." Polly picked up the notebook and handed it back to Andy. "In between the hourly checks tonight, I'll talk to my note app on the phone and tell it what food we like. I promise." She glanced surreptitiously around the room. "Check it out. I'm wide awake and there isn't a nurse around. But as soon as I
fall asleep, they'll tip toe in and need to take my temperature and check my pulse. They're the nicest girls on the planet, but wow it's hard to get any good sleep in a hospital."

  Henry stood in the doorway. "Well, this is a scary looking group. Are you three trying to break her out of here before the doctor releases her?"

  Beryl sidled up to him. "I tried, but she whined. Something about needing more drugs. I think you might have an addict on your hands."

  "Yep that's me," Polly said, rolling her eyes.

  "You come sit beside your pretty wife," Lydia said. "We just dropped in to check on her. Let me know when she's settled at home. I have dinner tomorrow night. Am I right to think that we should have enough for Rebecca and Sarah and Jessie too?"

  "Evelyn Morrow is going to be staying with Sarah for a while," Polly said.

  "She's wonderful. That's a great connection to have made. We'll tell people they should generally prepare for six people." Lydia waved Andy and Beryl to the door. "I love you sweetie," she said and blew a kiss to Polly.

  Henry bent over and tried to kiss Polly's forehead. She touched his face and drew him to her lips. "I missed that last night," she said. "I've gotten really used to sleeping beside you."

  "The animals kept me warm, but they weren't nearly as much fun." He picked up the bag of donuts. "What's this?"

  "Don't tell the coppers," Polly hissed. "Do you want one?"

  "Do you?"

  "Of course I do. It's not an ice cream sandwich, but a girl has to have something."

  "Has your afternoon been busy?"

  "Not too bad. Sal called. She's in Massachusetts. Joss called and said that she talked to Jessie about babysitting sometime so she could come over once I got home. Sylvie was here ..." Polly stopped, then pursed her lips.

  "What?" he asked.

  "I'm not supposed to tell you because you have a big mouth."

  "I do not!"

  Polly leaned forward and whispered, "Eliseo kissed her. She made me promise not to tell you, but I had to, didn't I? Because we're married?"

  "Sure," he said, chuckling. "Because we're married. What are they going to do with that?"

  "Apparently, they're ignoring it right now. She was emotional and vulnerable. That's her story."

  "Poor guy. When I think he's had enough of dealing with a crazy woman, I'll sit down and have a talk with him."

  "Because it worked out so well for you."

  "Exactly."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  "Dishes are done and everything is put away," Jessie announced. "Rebecca was a lot of help. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

  Polly leaned back on the stack of pillows Henry had brought out to the sofa. "No, thank you girls. I appreciate everything. The apartment looks great."

  Jessie dropped into a chair. "It will be good to be back in my room. I finally got everything up here and then I was gone again."

  "What do you mean?" Polly creased her brow. "You weren't staying here?"

  Henry sat under Polly's feet and idly rubbed her toes. "Mom, smart woman that she is, said that since you weren't here and Rebecca was with Sylvie, Jessie should stay with them. She's had the full-on Sturtz experience for the last few days."

  "Oh. I suppose that makes sense. Do you have everything back where you want it?" Polly asked Jessie.

  "Almost. I have two more bags in the car to bring up, but I'll do that tomorrow." She pulled a phone from her pocket and swiped it open.

  "Where'd that come from?" Polly asked. "I thought yours was destroyed. I'm so sorry I didn't have time to help you."

  "It's fine. Mrs. Sturtz and I went down to Boone to buy this. She says that if I'm going to work for them, I need to be connected to the world. We put it on my regular plan and she's taking it out of my paycheck a little at a time."

  "Oh, that's nice," Polly said. "It sounds like things are working out well for you over there."

  "She's really good to work for. Your company is really busy, Henry. I can't believe how many projects you have going on. And Mr. Sturtz and Mr. Specek are talking about bringing on another person for the shop."

  Polly chuckled and nudged Henry with her foot. "She knows more than I do about your business. I'm a bad wife."

  "Yes you are. Don't you forget it."

  "Are you done with your schoolwork, Rebecca?" Polly asked. "Are you working on anything interesting?"

  "I'm done. I was just drawing Leia's face. Ms. Watson says I should draw whenever I don't have something else to do."

  "I'm so glad you had a good time with her."

  "She wasn't scary at all."

  "Beryl is pretty wonderful," Polly agreed. "So are all my friends. Now tell me what is happening tomorrow. Where do I need to be? What do I need to do?"

  "You don't need to do anything or be anywhere," Henry said. "I'll take Rebecca to school and Jessie is on her own for work."

  "I'm not going to be good about having all of these people feed me, no matter what Lydia says."

  "Be good," Henry said. "They want to help you."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

  He stood up. "Rebecca, isn't it time for you to take a bath and get ready for bed?"

  Everyone looked at him in astonishment.

  "What? I can't watch a clock? Polly, do you even know what time it is?"

  "No. I guess not." She giggled. "Who knew he was such a dad!"

  "I can be responsible when I have to," he said. "I'm going to take the dog out one last time and you all can quit laughing at me."

  Rebecca closed her books and put things in her backpack. "Will you still be awake when I come out, Polly?"

  "Sure, sweetie. Go get started. I'll be here."

  Jessie and Polly watched the little girl go to her room and then run across the floor to the bathroom while Henry left by the back door with Obiwan.

  "First no one was here with us and now it feels normal having you all back where you belong," Polly said. "Do you like working with Marie?"

  "She's wonderful and she told me that if you couldn't go next week to Oelwein for Dennis's trial, she'd go with me."

  "That's why I love her son."

  "Polly?"

  "Yeah, Jessie."

  Jessie leaned forward and said, "I have something else I need to talk to you about."

  Polly's heart sunk. She really couldn't take one more thing this week, but oh well. "What's that?"

  "I think I'm pregnant."

  "That seems really fast. Are you sure?"

  "No, not from Troy. From Dennis."

  "And you're sure?"

  "Yeah. I'm sure."

  "Honey, we need to get you to the doctor. Tomorrow."

  "You're not mad?"

  "Oh, Jessie. Why would I be mad? How long have you known about this?"

  "I didn't pay any attention. Everything was just so weird and upside down and then last week when I was in South Dakota, I started thinking about how I hadn't had my period and then I bought a pregnancy test. I've done it like five times."

  Polly chuckled. "Of course you have. That's exactly what I would have done." She sat up a little and swung her legs off the edge of the sofa, then clutched her chest. "That is gonna hurt for a while."

  "Can I help you? Are you trying to get up?"

  "No, I just want to be able to look at you more directly. Because I want you to hear this."

  "Okay, you're sure you aren't mad?"

  "Not at all. Jessie, you are an adult. Your decisions are yours to make, and I will be here to help you do the right thing whenever you ask. But you need to realize that from here on out, those decisions of yours don't just affect you. If you keep this baby in your life, all of your decisions affect the child. You need to start taking care of yourself and you need to accept this for what it is. Don't be ashamed, don't be afraid. If you want to stay here, Henry and I will help. If you want to move out into your own place, we'll help you with that, too. Tomorrow you need to talk to Marie and then you should call Doc Mason and schedule an appointment.
Sweetie, you're through your first trimester and your baby needs you to be healthy. Are you ready for this?"

  "I don't think so," Jessie's voice shook as she spoke.

  "Have you told anyone else yet?"

  "No, I've only known for a few days."

  "What about your parents?"

  "Mom won't care and Dad can't do anything."

  "You need to tell them. Don't hide this. It's better that they know now rather than having you show up with a little kid in tow."

  "I can't believe you aren't freaking out about this."

  Polly shook her head slowly back and forth. "With all that's been going on the last week or so, I'm pretty much just taking it all in stride. Have you given any thought to what you want to do?"

  "I definitely want to keep it."

  "Then I'm proud of you. You do know that there is going to be some more legal stuff you have to go through with Dennis now. We'll need to talk to your lawyer."

  "I don't have to do that right now, do I?"

  "No, let's get Dennis locked into a jail cell before springing something like this on him." Polly sat back and clutched her side again. "Dang, you'd think I'd learn. No moving."

  Obiwan came tearing into the room and jumped up beside Polly on the couch. She moaned as her body bounced. He dropped his butt into a seated position and reached over to lick her on the face.

  "Thank you," she said, laughing. "I missed you, too. You were gone so long!"

  He dropped his head into her lap and rolled over onto his side, then to his back, his belly up for rubbing. Polly obliged. "You know, Jessie. It's all going to be okay. I'm sure this seems like the worst thing that could happen to you right now, but in a few years, you'll have a child who loves you and these days will be but a dim memory."

  "I'm kinda scared and I can't believe that creep is the dad."

  "It might not be ideal, but it's what you have."

  "Sometimes I worry that I'm going to be like my mom. I don't want my kids to hate me and run away to all the corners of the country so they don't have to be around me."

  "I always tell people that our lives are made up of choices and consequences, Jessie. Every choice you make from this point forward will decide the consequences you deal with down the road. If you are loving and kind, gentle and firm, you will raise a child who loves you and respects you."