by Amy Knupp
Evan stared at Selena but she didn’t say a word. He went back to the door, completely dumbstruck by the woman who’d just shown up. She was making her way toward the house again, climbing the single flight of stairs from the driveway, as out of place here on San Amaro Island as a black stallion among dairy cows. She was dressed to the hilt, and though Evan didn’t know the first thing about ladies’ handbags, the one she carried looked like it cost more than his truck.
Then the limo driver appeared, loaded down with three enormous bags. He was following her to the house, Evan realized. And the woman didn’t appear the least bit bothered that she was only carrying her purse while the driver could barely walk.
It struck him that the pregnant woman on the couch was more of a stranger to him than he’d ever guessed.
Selena’s mother waltzed through the door and down the hallway to her daughter, barely acknowledging Evan. He went out to help the driver with his load. He took the biggest suitcase from him and groaned as he lifted it. That thing had to weigh close to seventy-five pounds. What the hell did the woman have in there? And how long did she intend to stay?
“You may set my bags by the stairs, please.”
Evan refused to let his jaw drop, though it took serious effort. He glanced over at Selena, but she didn’t appear to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Didn’t that just speak volumes.
Who was this woman he’d thought he was getting to know for the past few weeks? Who was her mother? And maybe more to the point, who did she think she was?
The older woman handed the limo driver a bill — a large bill — and the guy left.
“What are you doing here, Mom?” Selena said tiredly.
“I could ask you the same.” Her mother sat pristinely on the old armchair closest to the couch. “It’s been almost two months, Selena. Do you know how sick with worry I’ve been?”
Evan still stood near the stairway, trying to absorb this new facet of the woman he was trying to marry.
“Evan, this is my mother, Clara Cambridge-Jarboe. Mom, Evan Drake.”
Mrs. Cambridge-Jarboe turned and offered a hand to him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise, ma’am.” He shook her hand, then moved both lasagna plates to the end table. He sat on the edge of the couch, by Selena’s knees, not really sure how he fit in.
“Who told you where to find me?” Selena asked her mom, clearly upset.
“No one. At first I assumed you were traveling, but after so long, I figured the only place you could be was the beach house your dad left you. I came as soon as I found replacements for my social commitments.”
Now Evan’s mouth did gape open. Selena owned this house? Its value had more zeroes than he’d ever see in his lifetime. What a fool he’d been, trying to help her with a three-hundred-dollar doctor’s bill.
“So you found me. What do you want?” Selena asked.
“I want you to come home.”
He felt Selena’s body tense behind him. He whispered to her to relax. Getting upset wouldn’t help anyone. Least of all the baby.
“Are you kidding? I can’t relax,” she said aloud. “I’m not going back to Boston, Mom.”
“It’s your home, Selena. You belong there.”
“This is my home now.”
“Your brother asks about you every time he calls.”
Low blow, Evan thought.
“All he has to do to talk to me is come home. Permanently.”
“I don’t want to argue about this again. That’s not what I’m here for.”
“Right. You already said what you’re here for and I’m not coming home. So you can leave now. You’ve done your matronly duty.”
Hurt flickered over Mrs. Cambridge-Jarboe’s face. “I just flew across the country. I plan to stay here a few days.”
“You cut me off from our money and then expect me to put you up here?”
“I was just trying to get you to come home, honey. The house is awfully quiet.”
“So turn the TV on.”
“That’s not fair, Selena.”
Selena pulled out the extra cushion from behind her back and reclined on the sofa. Her lips moved slightly and it took several seconds for Evan to realize she was counting to herself.
“I’m sorry, Mom. It’s not a good time for me. I really need to rest.”
“You look pale. Is everything okay?”
“Things are fantastic,” Selena muttered tiredly.
Evan took Selena’s hand, her obvious fatigue worrying him. “Does she know anything that’s happened?” he asked her quietly.
“I do not,” her mom said. “Yet.”
“You need to tell your mom what’s going on,” Evan said. “I can leave the room or I can stay. But you have to tell her.”
“Selena, what is this man talking about?”
Selena closed her eyes, frowning. As she inhaled, he could see her chest rise slowly. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“Where to start?” Selena said flippantly, opening her eyes.
“You decide,” he replied, planning to stay with her unless she asked for privacy.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” her mom said. “Are you involved with my daughter?”
Involved was one word for it.
“Do we have to do this right now? For real?” Selena asked Evan.
“Get it over with. Then sleep.”
Selena stared at the ceiling. “Well, Mom … I’m pregnant.”
Her mother gasped. Loudly. “Selena?”
“Knocked up. Your grandbaby is due June twenty-eighth. If it makes it through the week.”
Silence fell over the room for several seconds. “What do you mean, if it makes it through the week?”
Selena explained about her fall and related the doctor’s prognosis.
“Oh, honey … you’ve been handling this all by yourself?”
“Do I look like I’m alone?”
Clara turned her attention to Evan, studied him. “Are you the baby’s father?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve been trying to convince Selena to marry me.”
“I see,” was all she said, and her tone was indifferent.
“Stop planning the engagement party, Mom. We’re not getting married.”
“I wasn’t planning. I was trying to process everything you’ve just told me. How could you not call me? I would’ve sent you money for the doctor if I’d known.”
“Oh, crap. Evan?” Selena said, paling. “I didn’t think about that. How big a check did you have to write at the hospital this morning?”
“I didn’t pay for any of it. They’ll bill you. I don’t know how much.”
“I’ll leave you money for it,” her mom said, and she started digging through her handbag.
“I’ll figure out how to handle it, Mom. I’ve got an income now.”
“You … what?”
“I have a job. Two jobs.”
“My God, Selena. What has happened to you?” She said it as if Selena had announced she was joining the circus.
“What did you expect me to do when I couldn’t withdraw money to buy food?”
“I already told you. I expected you to come home.” Selena looked as if she was about to snap a reply but she stopped herself.
“I think it would be best if Selena got some sleep now. Stress is the last thing she needs,” Evan said, stunned by their exchange. By her mom’s visit and everything it had revealed so far.
Selena looked at him with gratitude in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” her mother said. “You’re right, Evan. What can I do to help, honey?”
“Nothing right now,” Selena said. “Actually…”
“Just say it. Whatever you need.”
What had happened to the woman who was horrified her daughter had taken a job?
“Since you’re in town, could you stay here tomorrow so Evan can go to work?”
“Of course.”
“I’ve already made
arrangements, Selena,” Evan told her. “I said I would stay with you and I meant it.” He had a shit ton to process about the things he’d learned tonight, but he was a man of his word.
“I’ll be here already,” Mrs. Cambridge-Jarboe said. “Nothing to worry about. You can visit if it makes you feel better but I can handle the job.”
“Or you two could both get lost and give me some peace.” Selena pressed her fingers to her temples.
“What fun would that be?” Evan asked.
“I can become better acquainted with Evan,” her mom said.
“Maybe I can join you,” Selena said drily.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” her mom said, standing. “Which room may I sleep in?”
“Take your pick. I don’t know what condition they’re in.”
“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll take care of it.”
“The bed might need to be changed, Mom. It might still smell like smoke.”
Her mom’s eyes widened. “What else have I missed, Selena?”
She told her mom about the fire, downplaying it.
“I’ll check the sheets,” Evan said as he stood. “Please. Relax.”
“You don’t have to change my mother’s bed.”
“Shh. Rest. Where are the extras?”
“In the hall closet on the second floor. This is ridiculous.” Selena started to get up.
“Down,” Evan said with a gentle but firm hand to her shoulder. “I’ve got it.”
Mrs. Cambridge-Jarboe was halfway up the stairs. Her luggage still sat on the entry floor, waiting for someone to carry it upstairs. He picked up the largest bag and took it with him. He found her in the second room on the left, which overlooked the beach. She’d already pulled back the covers and was running her hand over the sheet. She bent down to smell it, then nodded.
“Bad?” he asked.
“Needs to be changed. But I’ll do it.”
Hallelujah.
“I’ll say good night, then. I’m going to help Selena to her bed before I leave.”
“Good night.”
There was no need to help Selena do anything, Evan realized when he came downstairs to an empty couch. Her bedroom door was ajar and he tapped on it. When she didn’t answer, he pushed the door open a little more and looked in. The lights were out and he could barely see her. She didn’t stir. He could’ve walked out and she wouldn’t have known the difference, but he was compelled to go into the room.
He stared at her face as she slept, wondering what other major parts of her life she’d neglected to mention. Was he making the mistake of his life in trying to get her to marry him?
Chapter Eighteen
After three days of bed rest, Selena was climbing the walls. She’d been horizontal for so long that she could no longer sleep, even though it was just after seven in the morning.
Her appointment with Dr. Martin was in less than two hours, so she might as well shower.
She’d had minor spotting the day after the fall and had worried herself into a fit, but it had stopped soon after, just as her mother had somehow managed to calm her down. Other than that, the only problem was achiness from the fall itself, and she’d been assured that was normal. She had high hopes for a good report on the baby and really hoped she could get back to her more normal but abnormal life.
She was almost done with the firefighter mural and had been working on the design for the next one, at the nature reserve. If she didn’t get back to it soon, she’d risk missing the deadline the city had set for her and the bonus payment that was tied to it.
After a long shower, she slowly got dressed in real clothes for the first time since her wipeout. She sat on her bed to dry her hair, worn out from getting ready.
By the time she had eaten a bagel with peanut butter, it was eighty thirty. Her mother hadn’t come downstairs yet, was most likely still asleep. The appointment wasn’t until nine. Macey was supposed to pick her up in fifteen minutes, so Selena decided to wait outside.
Stepping out the front door, she stopped short. Evan sat in his truck, engine off. His head was reclined and his eyes were closed.
She walked around to his side and tapped on the window. He jolted awake.
“Hey,” he said as he opened the door.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Your appointment’s at nine, right?”
“Yes. But Macey’s taking me.”
“I’m taking you. This is important.”
“I figured you were at work.”
“I got off at seven. You know that.”
“You look tired.” A close look at his face revealed shadows under his eyes.
“Long night.”
She pressed her hand over her racing heart. “Bad call?”
“Just lots of little ones. I think we had four after midnight. We’d get ten or fifteen minutes’ sleep and then another alarm would go off.”
“But you’re safe.”
“Of course I’m safe. And flattered you care.”
“You should go home and go to bed.”
“No. Whether the news is good or bad today, it’s big. I’m going with you.”
“What should I do about Macey?”
“Call her and tell her I’ve got it covered, or she can go with us.”
Selena took her phone out of her purse, knowing it was pointless to argue — and maybe secretly a little glad to have Evan with her. “I’ll see if I can catch her.”
oOo
Dr. Martin was running behind, and it was all Evan could do to stay awake in the waiting room.
“Go ahead and sleep,” Selena said, touching his thigh and having more of an effect on him than she could probably ever guess. Maybe lust could wake him up.
The nurse finally called Selena’s name, and they both stood and followed her to the same ultrasound room they’d been in at the first appointment.
The nurse hurried through several questions and said the doctor would be in right away. Her brisk manner unnerved Evan, as if she expected bad news and didn’t want to be cheerful.
“Turn around,” Selena said to him, holding the sheet in front of her.
He stared at her for a moment. Was she kidding?
“Evan.”
“I’ve seen all that before, darlin’.”
“Not here. Please?”
Slowly, he bent over and put his hands over his eyes.
“Thank you.”
She undressed in record time and secured the sheet around her waist. Evan might’ve teased her if he hadn’t been so tense and ready to get this over with.
It seemed as if they sat there, in silence, for an hour, but in reality, only about eight minutes had passed. Dr. Martin knocked softly on the door and got straight to business, which Evan appreciated. There was a time for chitchat, and waiting to find out if your baby was still alive was definitely not it.
“I’m going to see if we can find the heartbeat with the Doppler first,” the doctor said. “It’s less invasive. But keep in mind it may be a little early in the pregnancy to hear it. So if we can’t, no panicking.”
She lifted Selena’s shirt a few inches and lowered the sheet to reveal her lower abdomen. After rubbing gel over the area, she held an instrument on Selena’s skin and moved it around. It sounded like the sea in a seashell through a microphone, but Evan didn’t hear anything resembling a heartbeat.
The doctor probed for a couple minutes and frowned. “Okay. We’ll do another vaginal ultrasound.”
She was all business as she rolled the equipment closer and put gloves on.
Evan leaned his head close to Selena and kissed her cheek. “Doing okay?” he asked.
She nodded, looking slightly green. “You?”
“Not in the least.”
“Almost ready,” Dr. Martin said. She turned the lights out and started the procedure.
Once again, Evan couldn’t make heads or tails or heartbeats out of anything on the screen. Seconds ticked by as the doctor s
earched and Selena cringed. He closed his eyes, trying to prepare himself for bad news.
“There it is,” the doctor said, her relief evident. “That little heart is still beating away.”
“Yes!” Evan said. He brought Selena’s hand to his mouth and kissed it.
“Everything’s okay?” Selena asked in a small voice.
“That heartbeat is exactly what we wanted to see, hon. I’m going to glance around a little more, but your baby looks good.”
Selena finally exhaled and smiled up at Evan. He kissed her again and thought how bizarre it was that they were so relieved. If someone had told him three months ago he would be here praying for a heartbeat, he would’ve said they were out of their mind.
“The placenta appears to be in good shape,” Dr. Martin said. “That was our main concern. Baby’s growth is perfect.” She wrote something on Selena’s chart. “Due date is still right on target.”
After a few more minutes of viewing the blob on the screen, the doctor finished up and turned it off.
“Everything’s okay, but I want you to take it easy for another day or two. No long walks or vigorous activity. Understand?”
Selena nodded. “I don’t have to stay in bed, right?”
“Right. But naps are your friend.” The doctor fixed Evan with a stare. “You going to see to it she lies low?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“If you have any more spotting, I want you back in here or the ER right away. Same with abdominal cramping or pain. Got it?”
“Got it,” Selena said. “Thank you, Dr. Martin.”
“Okay. No more romantic walks on a wet boardwalk, you two.”
Selena met Evan’s eyes as they both recalled how unromantic that walk had been.
“Anything else?” Evan asked.
“I’ll see you at your regular appointment. Take care.”
oOo
“So,” Selena said when they were back in the truck. “Sounds like we’re going to have a baby after all.”
“Sounds like it. You still okay with that?”
“Strangely … yes. I think I’d be at least a little upset if something bad happened. Sick and twisted much?”
“Pretty damn twisted.” He leaned his head back and drummed the steering wheel with his index fingers. “Me too.”
