“Wait!” He held up his hand and then turned to Tori. “I got you pregnant?”
“Christ, man. She’s not the kind of woman who just sleeps around. Give her some credit.”
He was about to give Scott a fist to the jaw.
“Chris, let’s go inside and talk.”
“All this time I thought you were having his baby and it was mine?”
“Chris…”
“You didn’t think you could tell me?”
Scott shook his head. “Right, because you might just walk out like you did when her sister died.”
That was the last straw. Chris pulled his fist back to swing at the man, but found himself knocked on his ass.
“Oh, God!” Tori rushed to him. “Scott, what are you doing?”
“I’m walking away. I shouldn’t have come in the first place.” He looked at Christian. “For your information, asshole, I never even slept with her. And if you’d been the man in her life I wouldn’t have even been involved. I came to take on your responsibility, because she’s a good woman and the kids are fantastic kids.”
Scott turned and walked down the steps and a moment later he was speeding off down the street.
Christian moved his jaw from side to side.
“If the baby was mine why didn’t you tell me?”
She was sobbing now and that hurt him as much as his jaw.
“How did you know? I didn’t tell you. I didn’t tell anyone but Sonia.”
“Well, he seemed to know.”
She sat back on the ground. “He found the test. Chris, I didn’t plan this. I just figured I’d raise the baby alone. You couldn’t commit to a life with me and Scott walked away.”
“You would have considered him over me? You would have let him raise my baby?”
There was some clarity for him.
He got to his feet. “Let’s get this out in the open.” He looked down at her not even offering her a hand. His attitude had changed from one of acceptance to blinding anger. “You are pregnant from our one night?”
She nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“And you didn’t think it was important to tell me this in light of all the time we’ve been spending together?”
“I thought you’d be mad.”
“I’m mad, because all this time I thought it was Scott’s baby you were carrying and you were afraid I’d turn you away.”
“I never slept with Scott.”
“That’s what makes this worse. Don’t you see it? You don’t even trust me enough to tell me that you’re carrying my baby. My baby.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys.
“Where are you going?” Tori struggled to stand. “Chris, what are you doing?”
“I need some time to think this though. If you can’t trust me to be part of my own child’s life, how can you trust me with anything?”
He saw her struggling, but he had to keep moving. Accepting the baby was one thing, but to know she held the information from him on purpose, that was what hurt. If she loved him like she said she did then she should have told him.
He put the keys in the ignition and started the truck. As she made it down the stairs he drove away.
Victoria stopped as the truck screeched around the corner. The tears fell freely now and her heart ached so that she thought she could die.
He was right. She hadn’t told Christian about the baby because she couldn’t trust him to stay.
She placed her hands on her stomach and held the tiny swell. Dear God, what had she done?
Dragging herself back toward the house she picked up her bag and walked inside.
She felt sick again. Her entire body shook and the tears wouldn’t stop. Falling onto the couch, she let the sorrow of the moment take over and the tears rolled until she no longer had tears to cry.
By then, it was dark outside and she’d been on the couch for nearly three hours trying to put all the pieces of the past few months into place.
Finally, she stood and walked toward the kitchen. She’d long forgotten that in her car were groceries to make dinner for Chris. She was going to ask him to marry her and to have their baby. His reaction wasn’t the one she’d wanted, but there was a part of her that had been prepared for it.
She thought about the picture that she had to show him. What would he think if he could see their baby? As she turned around to find the bag she’d drug in with her she noticed the flowers, the glasses, the sparkling cider—and the ring.
Her knees went weak and she grabbed hold of the back of the chair. What had she done?
It took her another hour to pull herself together. Once she did, she drove to Sonia’s house where when Sonia opened the door she fell into her arms and cried even more.
“I should have told him. I should have told him right away,” she sobbed against her best friend’s shoulder. “He hates me. He left.”
Sonia ran her hand over her hair. “Sweetheart, calm down.”
“I can’t. He’s gone. I ruined it.”
“No. Shhh.” She kissed the top of her head. “Listen, give him some time.”
“I can’t. I messed it all up.” Victoria sniffed. “I—I lied to him.”
“You just didn’t come forward when you should have.”
“You do think I’m wrong.”
“I think you’re misjudging him. That’s all.” She wrapped her arm around Victoria’s shoulders and walked her to the couch. She guided her down and sat next to her.
“Tell me what happened when you got home.”
Victoria took some deep breaths and tried to get her composure. When she could she explained how everything happened when she got home. How Scott was there to apologize and how he told Christian all about the baby.
She long ago should have run out of tears, but she hadn’t yet.
Then she told her about him leaving and how she then found the ring.
“A three diamond anniversary band?”
Victoria’s eyes opened wide.
“Yes.”
“He came here and asked the kids if he could ask you to marry him.”
“Are you kidding me?” The tears were drying.
She shook her head. “He showed them the ring and Ali asked for one too.”
That finally made her chuckle.
“What did he say to that?”
“That he’d buy her a ring and Sam wanted a baseball.”
God he was wonderful and she’d let him out of her life a year ago without a fight and again when he drove away.
“What am I going to do?”
“Don’t you suppose that he needs some time too?” She rubbed Victoria’s back. “And when he was talking to the kids he asked them if it would be okay if the two of you had more kids. Do you think he knew?”
Victoria looked at her friend. “He did know.” She shook her head as if she’d only just realized it. “He said he thought I was having Scott’s baby.” She wiped away the last of her tears. “He didn’t say how he knew, but he knew.”
She looked at Sonia who shook her head. “I didn’t say a word.”
“Last night when I got sick he asked how much longer it was supposed to last. He meant the morning sickness.” She sucked in her breath. “Why didn’t he tell me he knew? He just kept asking me if I had something to tell him.”
“Calm down.” Sonia took her hands in hers. “You need to just calm down. If he knew about the baby and even thought the baby belonged to another man and was still going to ask you to marry him, don’t you suppose once he’s done being angry that you didn’t tell him he’ll come back around? Tori, he loves you.”
“I’m scared. I’m so scared.”
Sonia pulled her back into her arms. “He’s a Keller man. And Keller men don’t let the women they love out of their grasp.”
Victoria nodded at that. “I love him. I don’t want to do this without him.”
“Give him a few days.”
She agreed, but she wasn’t
sure she’d survive a few days without him—not anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The night was extremely dark. Christian sat on the tailgate of his pickup and looked out over the ball field which was still just piles of dirt.
Just like the field, where he could imagine the bleachers, the bases, the people cheering—he could imagine his life with Tori, the kids, and their baby.
He ran his fingers through his hair. Arianna had prepared him for the thought that the baby might be his, but he’d never really bought into that. It just didn’t make sense, that if the baby was his, why didn’t she tell him? And as angry as he was, what did it really matter? He loved her and Ali and Sam. And there was a part of him that loved that baby more than anything.
He let out a steady breath. He was going to be someone’s father. Not their uncle or cousin or brother—their father.
His head began to spin as though he’d actually drank the bottle of Jack he’d bought, but the seal was still intact—he’d known better.
And then the thought in his head went full circle. He’d gone to her house that night when he’d found out she was pregnant, but it wasn’t the reason. The reason he went back was because he loved her. The pregnancy was just a reason to get her to let him in. With or without the baby he’d always loved her. Nothing was going to take that away.
There’d been a little ring at the store that he’d remembered seeing. That ring belonged to Ali, he’d stop and pick it up. Sam needed a new baseball and Christian had the very one. He’d kept it for years—it was signed by his father.
He’d looked into coaching T-ball and maybe that would make the day of the young boy who was probably lost in all the talk about marriage and babies.
And of course the baby—oh he knew the perfect thing to buy the baby. He hoped Victoria would appreciate it too.
He’d go to her tomorrow as he did every night after work—and he wouldn’t go back home. Never again.
~*~
When Christian walked into his brother’s office the next morning he didn’t look amused when Christian told him he needed another afternoon off.
“It’s all for a good cause and everything is up to date,” he promised.
“First you mope around all year and now you’re gone all the time. What gives?”
Christian sat down in the chair in front of his brother’s desk. “Well, I have to go buy a ring.”
“Mom and Darcy said you did that already.”
“Oh, I bought one for Tori. Now I have to buy one for Ali.” Ed’s look of confusion was priceless. “I just signed on to coach T-ball too.”
“You did not.”
“I did.”
Ed laughed. “I think this is your calling.”
“Well it looks like I have a baby on the way so…”
Ed came out of his chair and was on his feet. “No. Really?”
“Your wedding was a lucky night.”
“You’re kidding. Really?”
Christian stood and met his brother. “Really. So I need to get over there with rings and gifts and get this all solidified. I want her to marry me before the baby gets here. This is how it should have always been.”
“Go. Take tomorrow too. But then, damnit, you’d better not miss another day.”
“I’ll do my best.”
He made his stops around town. The baseball was in his house, in the room he’d made a shrine to his successes. It was all worthless now. Nothing could compare to what was about to come. A trophy was plastic. A wife and a family—that was forever.
The ring was small and the stone was pink. The man assured him that they could resize it if it didn’t fit Ali. He’d thought buying a ring for Tori—twice—was hard. This had been harder.
His final stop before heading home to his family, was to buy a baby outfit that looked like a baseball uniform. On the back he had printed KELLER 15 to match the jerseys he’d once worn.
Now it was time to make amends and become a family.
It was nearly four-thirty when he pulled up in front of the house, but the minivan wasn’t parked in the driveway. That was even better. He would go inside and be waiting.
When he walked into the kitchen the flowers were still on the table where he’d arranged them with the sparkling cider and the glasses. Still there was the ring he’d planned to give her. But there was a new addition to the items.
Christian moistened his lips as he sat down in the chair. Next to the ring was a small framed picture. The frame said OUR BABY and inside was a sonogram picture of just a little bubble—his bubble.
He could feel tears well in his eyes. That made it all very real.
The front door opened and Christian’s heart rate kicked up. It was time. She was there and she wasn’t going to kick him out—not ever again.
When he looked up Sonia was walking toward him. Her eyes were dark and her cheeks flushed.
“I thought I’d find you here. Your brother said you’d taken the day off.”
His heart raced faster now, but now with a pain that he couldn’t quite explain.
“You went to my office?”
She nodded as she looked at the table. “I have the kids at home with Craig.” She moved closer to him and he now could see that her eyes were red and moist. “Tori’s at the hospital.”
His uncomfortable heart rate became nearly so painful that he had to put his hand on his chest to ease the discomfort.
“Is she okay? Is everything okay?”
Sonia shook her head. “She’ll be fine. They are just keeping an eye on her. But, Chris, she lost the baby.”
He’d never in his life burst into tears, but at that moment he did. The pain of her words was so incredibly sharp, that he felt like he might die in that chair. He felt as he did when he couldn’t get to Dave to save his life in the crash. Christian Keller was helpless.
Sonia moved to him and he pulled her into his arms.
“I can give you a ride.”
“I can get there,” he said into her hair as she held him tight.
“Your uncle left the clinic and went up to the hospital to be with her. He’s there now.”
Of course he was. There was always a Keller man ready to help someone who needed them. He’d been the only one not to take that path the first time.
“I’m going to go to her,” he said pulling away.
“She loves you. She’s very distraught about the baby and not telling you.”
He wiped his eyes. “None of this matters. She’s what matters and she is what always mattered.” He picked up the picture on the table. “There will be other babies.”
She gazed up at him and smiled. “What are you going to do?”
“Be there like I should have always been.”
He kissed Sonia on the cheek, picked up the ring, and headed out the door to the hospital to help Tori mourn what was lost and prepare to move on.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Curtis Keller was waiting just outside the elevator when Christian stepped off. He was in blue scrubs and had at least a day’s worth of beard growth.
“Is she okay? Tell me she’s okay.”
Curtis moved to him and placed his hands on his nephew’s shoulders. “Tori will be fine. Miscarriages at this stage aren’t uncommon. She can go home in a little while. We’re just getting her some fluids, because she’s very dehydrated and some pain meds.”
Christian nodded. “What? How?”
His uncle dropped his hands. “She began to have bleeding and pain. When that happened, she had Sonia bring her into the clinic. It happens, Chris. You have to understand that, it just happens. She didn’t do anything wrong. There just was a reason that this baby didn’t make it full term. It doesn’t mean it’ll affect her having more babies.”
Christian nodded again. “I just want to see her.”
“C’mon.”
He walked him down the hall to a room where the door was open just slightly. He could hear her sobbing and that pained him.
“Forever.”
His uncle gave him a smile and walked away leaving him to be with her and heal her emotionally after having caused her so much grief.
Reaching for the door had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. Walking away from things like this had always been easier and too often the road he’d taken.
Her back was turned to him when he walked in and shut the door, but she didn’t turn to look.
“Tori.” His voice was unsteady as he called to her.
She rolled toward him. Her eyes were swollen from all the tears she’d cried and her cheeks were wet. An IV line was taped to her wrist.
“You can go. You don’t have to be here,” she said on a sob.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m not pregnant anymore. You don’t have any responsibilities to me.”
Christian swallowed hard. He could argue with her, but he wasn’t going to. This was the moment he needed to know what it was to be a man and accept life in all of its ugliest forms.
He moved to the edge of the bed and looked down at her. Her blonde hair was matted to the side of her face and her skin was red from all the crying.
Without invitation he sat at the edge of the bed. “I’m heartbroken over the baby.”
“So am I,” she said softly.
“I saw the picture on the table.”
That seemed to upset her as the tears came harder. “Just-yesterday,” she sobbed. “How-can it go-so bad?”
“Curtis said this just happens, but doesn’t mean it’ll happen with your next pregnancy.”
She shook her head. “I won’t do this again. No.”
Christian reached up and placed his hand on her cheek. “We will.”
“We? You think you’re going to keep me after this? After I didn’t trust you? After I didn’t tell you?”
“Tori, I’m never going anywhere. Don’t you understand? I love you. I’ve been a lousy fiancée this year. But the vows are through sickness and health until death do us part. Well, all of that got thrown at us in one year. And I didn’t handle it well.”
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