Oliver couldn’t believe what he was hearing. If there was any man in the world who should not have a child, it was his brother. He couldn’t fathom the idea. He wasn't thrilled to hear that the stunning woman in front of him was his brother's ex-lover, and he was dumbfounded to know that it had resulted in a child.
He looked at his brother. Lance was still standing stock still, trying to wrap his mind around it. Lance shook his head slowly. "It's not possible."
Grace raised her eyebrows. "Oh, it's possible. It's definite."
He shook his head again. "No, I mean, I always wear condoms. I always use protection. It isn't possible. I never have sex without a condom."
She sighed, hoping desperately that he was just in denial and that he would come around. "You didn't wear one that night. Don't you remember? I asked you if you had one and you said yes... and then afterward you realized you didn't put one on. I was furious with you, don't you remember?"
Lance stared hard at her and his mouth opened slightly, as if he might be remembering some sliver of the night, but then he closed his mouth again. "It can't be mine. There's just no way it's mine. You're trying to pin this on me."
Oliver stood straight up out of the chair and glared at his brother.
Grace lifted her chin. "I guarantee it's yours. I haven't been with anyone but you."
Lance backed away from her and shook his head again. "I... I don't know what to tell you, lady. It's too bad you're pregnant and on your own, but it's not my problem. I never wanted kids. I have no interest at all in being a father. None." He turned and began to walk out of the room.
Grace felt like there was a hurricane of emotion in her, wrecking her in every place. One hand flew to her mouth, the other to the edge of the sofa behind her, to steady her balance. She gasped and held her breath as tears stung her eyes. She knew he may not want to be with her, but she had never dreamed that he wouldn't want anything to do with his own child. Tears hovered at the edge of her thick eyelashes as she watched him turn and walk away from her.
Oliver could not believe his brother had reacted the way that he did. He felt an anger rise up in him that he had never felt before, and it culminated in a shout as he called his brother's name.
"Lance!" he bellowed.
Lance spun around and looked at Oliver with wide eyes.
"I'll speak with you in the other room." Oliver said in a low and dreadful tone. Then he turned to look at Grace, who was also looking at him with a startled expression.
"Please take a few moments to yourself, relax, and enjoy your tea. We'll be back as quickly as we can. I must ask you to be patient while my brother and I discuss this issue."
Oliver looked back at Lance, who looked like a trapped animal. "Let's go," he demanded. Oliver didn't wait to see that Lance was following him, he marched to a side door in the library and opened it to the adjoining study beyond. Lance followed him in silently, and Oliver closed the door firmly behind him.
Lance walked over to a chair and sat slowly in it, raking his hand through his hair before looking up at his brother in frustration.
Oliver spoke first. "What in the hell is the matter with you?" he ejected at his brother, standing over him and looking down at him angrily.
Lance's eyes narrowed and he scowled. "What! You don't believe her, do you? You can't honestly believe that she's pregnant with my kid, can you?"
Oliver glared hotly at him. "I'm pretty sure that is your child! I'm amazed it hasn't happened before now!"
Lance leaned back in his chair and sliced his hand through the air. "It can't be my kid. I always wear a condom!"
"Except this time, apparently!" Oliver shot at him. "There is a good chance that the woman in the other room is carrying your child, Lance! You have an obligation to that baby, to our family! That may very well wind up being the heir to this family! Not to mention the fact that you have a responsibility to the woman carrying your child! How dare you tell her you have no interest in being a father and it's too bad she's pregnant! How dare you!"
Lance flew up out of his seat and stepped forward to his brother until they were almost chest to chest. "I barely remember screwing her! I have no idea if she's lying or not because I can't remember if I wore a condom with her, but since I always wear one, it's a safe bet that I was wearing one then!" He took an aggressive step toward Oliver until they were almost nose to nose. "Don't you dare get on your high horse with me, little brother, because she is just some random little whore who got knocked up by some irresponsible little prick and now she's coming here to free load because she knows we have enormous wealth! She just wants money, that's all. It's not my kid, and I don't want it!"
Oliver was furious with him. He could not believe that his brother was acting with such cold indifference. "You don't know that it's not your child! You admit that you were intimate with her, and yet you argue there's no chance you could be the father? Where is your brain? More to the point, where is your heart? How could you turn away from any woman who tells you that she is carrying your child?"
Lance growled and pressed his hands to Oliver's chest, shoving him away and then striding toward the door. He turned to face his brother as he reached it, giving him an icy look.
"Listen! It's not my kid!" he insisted.
"You don't know that!" Oliver threw back at him.
Lance yanked the door to the hallway open, going out of the study in such a way that he would not see Grace. "Fine. You're so worried about it? You take care of it. Do whatever you want. I'm going to the tropics and I don't know how long I'll be gone. Just get rid of that whore in the other room before I get back."
With that, he walked out and slammed the door behind him, leaving Oliver staring at the door incredulously. There was no talking to him. There was no reasoning with him. He knew that Lance would be out of the house faster than Oliver could blink. He'd have his bags packed and be on the plane to southern tropical islands, where no doubt he would sleep with every woman he could get his hands on.
Oliver was left to stand in the study, uncertain how to deal with the chaos that his brother had left in his wake. He thought of the woman in the other room. He thought of Grace. He realized how difficult it must have been for her to realize that she was having a child on her own, and to have to find Lance after nothing more than a one night stand a few months before, and then come and tell him that they were having a child together. Then to be treated as she had been; he shuddered at the hideousness of it all.
As he stood there thinking of her, he made up his mind and decided to do exactly what his brother had told him to do. He turned and walked toward the door that led back into the library. He was going to take care of it, and of her.
Grace sat quietly in the massive library. It was a two story room, and every wall was lined with books. There was a rolling brass ladder with cushioned steps that could be moved around the edge of the room to reach every book on the lower walls, and there was a spiral staircase that led up to the second floor, where a balcony framed the edge of every wall so that one could walk along it and select books.
It was one of the nicest libraries she had ever been in. She sipped her tea and heard the voices in the other room reach a new volume, but she could not make out what they were saying.
Grace felt sorry that her news had caused a fight between the brothers. She had hoped that Lance would take the news graciously and help her. She needed the help, desperately. Judging by his vehemently negative reaction, however, she was fairly certain that he didn't want anything at all to do with her or their child, and it was going to leave her in a seriously scary predicament. She had no idea how she could ever have the baby on her own. She was a strong woman, but it took a lot more than strength to raise a child. It took every resource she didn't have. Family, money, insurance, and then strength. She only had one of those, and her strength alone was not going to be enough.
The door they had gone through opened up and Oliver came back through it alone. He looked grim and his mouth was s
et in a thin line. He walked in slowly; each step seemed as if it was heavy and difficult for him. Grace studied his handsome face and could determine nothing by looking at him. The nervousness in her was almost electric. She watched him as he walked to her and sat beside her.
Oliver didn't know how he was ever going to say to her what he needed to say, but he turned on the sofa to face her and he looked at her with all the kindness in him.
"My brother has had to leave. He's headed out of town for an extended trip. I'm not really sure when he will be back. You actually caught him packing, that's... that's what he was doing upstairs when you arrived." it sounded as awkward to him as it felt.
Grace wanted to groan inwardly. He was running away without taking care of anything and she was going to have to handle it all on her own... but she stayed silent and her eyes connected to Oliver's. She liked his eyes. They seemed to radiate solace and compassion. She hoped his words did the same.
He lost himself for a moment in the dark depths of her eyes as he spoke to her, but then he focused again. "I don't want you to worry about anything. We are taking full responsibility for this. We're going to take care of everything. You are not in this alone. Not for any part of it," he told her with a kind voice.
She heard his words and knew instantly that there was truth in them, but also the shadow of a falsehood. She turned her head away from him and scoffed for a moment and then looked back at him. "You mean you are taking full responsibility for this and you are going to take care of everything, not Lance. Is that right?" she asked quietly.
Oliver stopped short and caught his breath. She had caught him. Immediately. She had seen right through the facade he had thought he could show her, a rouse to save the face of the family.
Before he could speak again she held her hand up a little to pause him. "I didn't know how he would react. I knew I was taking a chance coming here. I didn't expect....I didn't expect what happened, though." Grace looked back at him. "You don't have to try to cover up for him," she said in a soft voice. "I wish the news of his child meant more to him, or meant anything at all to him, but I guess it doesn't. Some men just don't want to be fathers. I guess I didn't think he would be one of them."
Oliver felt his heart squeeze with a strange blend of sorrow, regret, and sadness for her.
He leaned a little closer to her. "We will help you; and by me, I mean my father and I... our family. We won't let you go through this alone."
She shook her head at him. "It's not your responsibility, though!" she told him sadly.
Oliver lifted his chin. "That baby is part of this family, and every part of this family is our responsibility. We stand by that. Listen, how are you set for things? Where are you living? What kind of job do you have?"
She knew it would come. There was no way around it. "I am living in my apartment for now. I had a job... I was a florist in a flower shop, you know, making flower arrangements, but the shop closed and I was laid off, so now I'm just looking for work."
She felt horrible saying it. It was like admitting defeat. It was like admitting that she had no money; she had nothing, and she felt like she was coming to them begging for help. There was no dignity in it whatsoever.
He tilted his head slightly. "Do you have family? Anyone helping you?"
Grace shook her head. "No. I have no family left, really."
Oliver nodded thoughtfully. He couldn't imagine having no family, or no one to turn to. "What do you have for medical coverage? Do you have some sort of health insurance?" he asked curiously.
Grace shook her head. "No. I don't have anything like that. I'm on my own for this pregnancy."
Oliver shook his head adamantly. "No, Grace, you aren't. You are not in this alone. I promise you that. At the very least, you have me. So, you are in between jobs, you don't have health insurance and you are living in an apartment. Correct?"
There was nothing for her to do but admit it. There must be no shame in the truth. She nodded and her eyes fell to her lap.
Oliver's heart went right out to her. He reached his hand to hers and held it gently. He had to help her. There was no one else for her. He had never felt the need to help someone so much in his life.
"It must have been difficult for you to come here, to seek out a man who is practically a stranger to you, to tell him that you are carrying his child. It must have been awful finding out that you were pregnant and not knowing what to do or where to turn. I can't imagine what you've been through. You were smart enough to find Lance, and brave enough to come here alone and try to tell him about this life changing event for you both, and then to sit here while he tells you-" he cut himself off.
He was speaking so many words that were in her heart. Things that had kept her up at night and tormented her with fear and anxiety about the unknown days ahead. It had been terribly challenging for her to go through all of it alone, and here before her was a man who understood that. She wished with all of her heart that it could have been Lance, because it was his child, but she was grateful beyond measure that his brother was there to pick up the pieces he had left behind.
Oliver looked at her seriously. "Listen, Grace, I realize that this may sound sudden to you, but I want you to move in here at the house. I don't like the idea of you being on your own and trying to go through this pregnancy alone. You're renting an apartment and you're in between jobs. I don't want to worry about what will happen if you don't find a job, or if you lose your place, or if you have enough of even the basics that you will need, or the medical care you'll require. We have to keep you well looked after. We have a little one coming into this world, and that little baby deserves all that we can give to it."
She stared at him, and then looked around the voluminous library around them. "Move in here? Into this house?" she barely breathed.
Oliver squeezed her hand gently in his. "Yes, move in here."
Grace shook her head. "But Lance lives here, and I don't think he—“
He wouldn't hear it; he shook his head and stopped her. "It doesn't matter what he thinks. My father and I live here as well, and I can promise you that he will want you here just as much as I do. There's nothing more important to my father or me than family. I don't want you to worry about Lance. We'll figure him out later. He's not even in town for a while. I can't worry about what you don't have and what you need.
“I am asking you... requesting of you, that you move in here to the house with us. You'll have your own room, and you can have full freedom to come and go as you want. I'll get our family doctor over here immediately to give you private care, and you will be our guest indefinitely... at the very least until well after the baby is born. Please... give me some peace of mind, and think first and foremost of this baby that is inside of you. That tiny one needs all the love and care it can get, and there is no end of that here with us. We are family now, so let us take care of you like family, please. Move in as soon as you can," He pleaded with her.
Grace could hardly believe it. She hadn't expected that kind of a response at all, not even in the best possible scenario with Lance that she had imagined in her mind before she went to the house.
"I... I don't know what to say!" she whispered, raising her hands to her mouth to cover it slightly. "I'm so overwhelmed!"
Oliver reached up and took both of her hands in his again, holding them and looking sincerely into her dark eyes. "Say yes, please... say yes."
She could think of nothing else to say, so she laughed a little and did nothing to stop the few tears that escaped her eyes. Tears of relief and hope. "Yes..." she said uncertainly, and then she repeated it with more confidence. "Yes." She nodded and took her hands from his, reaching around him to hug him tightly. "Thank you so much, Oliver." She sniffed as he carefully reached his arms around her and hugged her back, closing his eyes and breathing in her jasmine scent. Her cheek pressed against his felt soft and smooth and his heart beat a little faster for a moment before he let her go and smiled at her.
"It's going
to work out just fine. You'll see. It'll all work out. We're going to take such good care of you and the baby. We're doing this for you both, you know." He nodded at her and she smiled at him gratefully.
"Thank you so much," she said in a soft voice. She looked at him suddenly serious. "When will I meet your father?" she asked curiously.
Oliver bit his lip and thought for a moment. "Oh, well, actually, I think he's left already. He's just headed out of town for a couple of days, but he will be back soon and then you can meet him. How soon will you be able to move in?" he asked lightly.
Grace thought about it for a moment and raised her eyebrows thoughtfully. "I could probably move in tomorrow. Would that be alright? Is that too soon? I was just thinking that I don't have much, and it wouldn't take me long to bring it," she said quietly.
Oliver shook his head. "No, no, that won't work," he told her seriously.
Her eyes grew wide. She thought she had somehow misunderstood him. "It won't work? Oh, well, I could move in later, some time when it is more convenient for-"
He stared at her and then laughed, and his laugh was deep and soft, and it made her stop and laugh as well, just by its infectiousness. "That's not what I meant. Yes, please move in tomorrow, but no it won't work to move your own things. You're pregnant. I'll have a moving company go and box up all of your things and bring them over here, and you can go through the boxes when you get settled in here. Is that alright?" He looked at her with a sweet smile, his green eyes alight behind his glasses.
Grace felt her heart flutter a little. "Yes, I would really appreciate that, thank you so much." She paused a moment and gave him a half smile.
"Are you sure? I mean... really sure you want to get involved in this?" she asked him hesitantly, anxious to feel secure in his offer.
He looked at her earnestly. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life. Yes, we want you here, and we will be so glad to take care of you and the baby. Please make this your home, come and go as you please, do as you like. Be comfortable here. Be happy."
The Baby Shower Page 56
