by Sonya Weiss
“Didn’t Mason swear something similar?”
Irritated, Jake said, “I have everything under control.”
“Famous last words,” Cole muttered as he headed toward the door.
Jake made a sound of dismissal. He didn’t need Cole’s dire warnings.
Cole was worried he’d fall in love with Holly, but that was laughable. His heart had shattered watching his brother die and had never healed. He had no heart to give any woman.
Chapter Twelve
That evening, Holly dug the mini calendar from her purse. Chewing on the side of her lip, she searched the date and her exasperation turned to dread. Blinking, she stared at the red circle.
Calm down. Don’t panic. A lot of women skipped a cycle every now and then. Except me. I’m always punctual.
The scarring from repeatedly having ovarian cysts removed made it impossible for her to get pregnant. The doctor had been adamant and while a small part of her had grieved over the diagnosis, she’d known it was probably for the best. She wouldn’t wish her way of life on an innocent child.
Dropping the calendar, Holly paced the room, telling herself to be rational. Stress could mess with a cycle. Okay, that one was good. What else? She’d lost some weight. That could do it. What else? Wait…forget this. She needed to be sure. Tomorrow, she’d stop by the drug store and pick up a pregnancy test. Then, she’d—
“Holly?”
Holly jumped, startled by Bessie’s appearance in the doorway of her bedroom.
“I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I thought you could use these.” She placed an armful of clothes on the bed. “These belonged to my daughter, and she didn’t want them. I believe they’ll fit you.”
Glancing at the pile of clearly designer clothes, Holly said, “And your daughter left the tags on them?” She smiled at the other woman’s chagrin. “Your white lie is showing. Jake told you to get some clothes for me, didn’t he?”
“He might have mentioned it. I have shoes for you, too.” She put her hand on Holly’s arm. “I promise you he doesn’t have an ulterior motive with this. As long as I’ve worked for him, I’ve watched him see needs others have and meet those needs. A single mother who works in the company had her car stolen. The insurance company wouldn’t pay her what it was worth, so he replaced it. One of the employees had a wife who was in an accident. Lost the use of her legs. Jake paid to have their house fitted for her wheelchair and gave the man six months’ paid vacation to be with his wife.”
She moved into the room, pushed the clothes aside, and sat down. Moisture pooled in her eyes. “Whenever he sees a news story about anyone who’s in need, Jake anonymously helps. He changes the world one heartbreak at a time.” Linking her hands together, she said, “He’s a good man. I promise you that.”
“I hear a ‘but’ in your voice.”
“He can be his own worst enemy.” Shaking her head, Bessie rose. “You go on and find something to wear. I’ll be back with the shoes and accessories. Jake called, he’s on his way and said he was taking you to Gallagher’s pub tonight. Avoid the hot wings.” With a smile, she left Holly alone in the room.
Running her hand over a short red dress with spaghetti straps, Holly decided she’d wear that one. She took a quick shower, and when she returned to the bedroom to change, Bessie had added several boxes containing shoes as well as bags of bras and panties. She picked up the garments, letting the silk slip through her fingers.
After she was dressed, Holly swept her hair up into a loose tangle of curls at the base of her neck, and fastened it in place. She’d be lying to herself if she said the thought of spending the evening in Jake’s company didn’t thrill her. While she waited for Jake to get ready, she called Mia and checked on Liam. There had been no word from and no sign of Burt, but still she worried.
“I have a car now, so I’ll leave early tomorrow and come visit him. How has he been?”
“He’s fine, Holly. While you were in Aspen, he spent that time hanging out with my family. How are you? You sound weird.”
Gripping the phone, Holly shut the bedroom door and said, “I might be pregnant. I need to pick up a test.”
There was a second of silence. “If you are, how would you feel about that?”
“Scared, I think. How could I run with a baby? How can I protect Liam if I don’t?”
“Wow. Listen, I can’t stay on, I’ve got someone here, but we’ll talk tomorrow. If you want, I’ll pick up the test for you and you can take it here. That way, you won’t be alone with the results.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jake was standing by the fireplace when Holly walked into the living room. His dark gaze roamed the dress and as he crossed to where she stood, he said, “Did I mention that red is my new favorite color?”
“You think I wore this for you?” she teased as she retrieved a coat from the closet.
He took the coat and held it out so she could slip into it. “I’m thinking the entire time we’re out together, I’ll be imagining it off of you.”
She shivered when his fingertips caressed the back of her neck but kept a straight face when she turned to face him. “Ready? I’m starving.”
“I have something for you.” He pulled a necklace box from his pocket and opened it.
“Jake, it’s beautiful.” She touched the diamond snowflake.
“I got it from a jeweler in Aspen. Turn around.”
“I can’t accept this. It’s—”
He put a finger against her lips. “Please. For me.”
Holly turned and let him fasten the necklace. She touched her fingertips to the snowflake. When she turned back around, Jake said, “I would kiss you, but if I do that, we’ll never get out of here.”
…
Forty-five minutes later, they were seated at a table in the back of the pub. Holly’s first impression was one of warmth thanks to the thick wood pillars throughout the space. The waitress placed silverware secured in napkins in front of them. “I suggest the Irish stew with an order of soda bread.”
“Sounds good to me,” Holly said, and started to order a beer, then thought better of it. She didn’t know yet if she was pregnant but wanted to be cautious just in case. “I’ll have a water to drink.”
“I’ll have the stew as well and a beer,” Jake told the waitress, then gave Holly a look. “You can’t visit Gallaghers and not try the beer.”
Thinking fast, Holly said, “I have a headache and the water will probably help with that.”
“Be right back.” The waitress walked off.
Jake reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “We don’t have to stay.”
“No, I’m fine. We have to stay so I can trounce you in a game of pool.” She grinned because she’d beaten him at every game they’d played at his house.
“I thought I was good, but you’re definitely a master,” he admitted. “Who taught you?”
“I picked it up here and there.” The days she used to skip classes in middle school in the hopes of earning money, she’d hung out with a group of older kids who’d taken her under their wing. Taught her how to play pool and hustle unsuspecting patrons too drunk to know they were being played.
“On the run?”
Holly took a drink of the water and asked, “Is this an interrogation?”
“Not at all. I want to know more about you. What made you the woman you are today, because she’s pretty damn interesting.”
“Mystery isn’t a bad thing, Jake, and the past is better off buried.”
“Not when it allows people to get away with crimes.”
She stirred the straw around the glass. “Why do I get the feeling you’re talking about your own life?”
The waitress returned with their food and set the steaming bowls of stew in front of them, then dropped a pile of napkins in the center of the table.
Jake cleared his throat and unwrapped one of the spoons. “I don’t like
injustice, and I don’t like for innocent people to get hurt.”
“You look like it’s still eating at you.”
“You could say that.” He blew on a spoonful of the stew.
The way his lips slightly pursed made her think about the way they felt on her skin. Her stomach flip-flopped. She liked the way his shirt fit, the way he half smiled sometimes when he talked. She liked—Whoa, hold the farm. Holly exhaled slowly. Thoughts of Jake were consistently popping into her mind lately, and that wasn’t a good thing. Trouble resided at the end of that road and the last thing she needed in her life was more trouble.
“What are you thinking about?”
Holly picked up her spoon. No way was she going to admit she’d been thinking about him. “I’m going to leave early tomorrow and go visit my brother.”
“Would you like company?”
So he could find out about the pregnancy test? A hundred times no. She wasn’t ready to say anything about that yet. “It might make Liam uncomfortable.”
“You’re close with your brother?”
“Very.”
The conversation turned to favorite sports and half an hour later, Holly inclined her head toward the pool tables. “Ready for me to beat you? I mean, teach you how to really play?”
He tossed aside his napkin and took a drink of his beer. “You don’t have to tiptoe around my ego. I don’t mind a woman teaching me things just like I don’t mind teaching her things.”
“That smacks of innuendo.”
“I can’t help what conclusions you jump to.” He stood. “I’ll pay the bill and meet you back there.”
Holly wandered toward the tables and chose a cue stick from the rack. She chalked the tip of it, then watched the couple one table over play. The way they shared loving glances caused a foolish yearning in Holly’s heart that she quickly shut down. That couldn’t be her life.
“I’m ready for you,” Jake said as he came up behind her. “I’ll put myself in your hands.”
Holly swung around, ready to give him a smart comeback, but she was too close to him and the pull of magnetism radiating from him. Tipping her head back, she met his gaze. “Um…”
He stroked his fingers along the underside of her forearm, setting fire to her skin down to the palm of her hand. “You can’t look at me like that in public, because I can think of a lot better use for this table than a game of pool when you do that.”
Swallowing, Holly looked away from him. “Grab your pool stick first and—” Oh God. Now he had his fingers at the small of her back, and she couldn’t think about anything other than how much she wanted him.
“Don’t run from this, Holly. I won’t hurt you.”
His words acted like a cup of ice water thrown in her face. Sanity returned. If she fell for him, he might think he wouldn’t hurt her, but he wouldn’t be right. Turning her attention back to the game, she said, “Right. Let’s play.”
…
Something had spooked her. He’d seen the change on her face the minute she decided to shut him out. Jake wouldn’t pursue it. Chasing her until she gave in wasn’t what he wanted. She needed it to be her decision not to run from the fire between them. If she did that, she’d end up not wanting to run at all.
He didn’t know what would happen after that. Like he’d told her, they’d take it one day at a time. No promises. She was sexy, funny, and he enjoyed her company. There was nothing wrong with that. Cole thinking he’d end up involving his heart was ridiculous.
“Let me show you why I keep beating you. You need to put your feet this way.” Holly nudged his leg with hers and when he didn’t move it where she wanted it to go, she leaned her cue against the table and put her hands on his thigh and lower leg. The gentle pressure of her hands brought a part of his body to life that he was thankful was hidden by the table. He didn’t know how the hell he was supposed to concentrate on the game when all he wanted to do was take that red dress off and—
“What?” he asked when she frowned at him.
“I was talking about the break shot and asked if you understood.”
“You’ll need to show me how to hold my…stick,” he said innocently.
Holly’s eyes narrowed. “Okay. If that’s how you want to play.” She stepped up beside him. “Make sure you keep your left arm straight. The stick needs to be held more loosely than the way you’ve been handling it. You should be able to slide your right hand up and down with ease.”
“Then what?” he asked, still thankful for the table.
“You play.”
Jake hadn’t counted on how hard it would be to have Holly’s body pressed up close to his while she gave him instructions. Every time she moved, he caught a whiff of her shampoo and that made him think about her hair spread out across his pillow while he was above— “What the hell?” She’d squeezed his ass.
“You’re not paying attention.”
He wanted his body against hers, his tongue twined with hers. Wanted to feel her arch against him. He was paying attention, just not to the damn game. After flubbing a few shots because he couldn’t stop thinking about her, Holly shook her head and leaned forward, giving him a bird’s eye view of her shapely rear. Two guys at a nearby table were also checking her out and one of them said something that carried back to him. Jake wanted to leap onto the table and pound his chest with his fists.
He raked a hand down his face. Where had that come from? It wasn’t like Holly was his girlfriend. He had no ties on her and he didn’t want them, either. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to stand by while some tool ogled her and made suggestive comments. Moving deliberately, he stepped into their line of vision. When both of them looked at him, he shook his head. “Looks like your game is over.”
They looked at each other, then moved to put their pool sticks away.
“That’s not the first time I’ve run into morons,” Holly said. “I usually ignore them, and then if they hassle me, I can take care of myself.”
“Maybe so, but I think the thought of an ass beating was a little more intimidating to them coming from me than from you.”
Holly sighed as if he didn’t understand. “Are you ready to finish the game?”
“No. I want to go home, take that dress off of you, and drive you wild the rest of the night.”
Her lips parted, and she blinked.
He could pinpoint the exact second something in him shifted. He wanted Holly, but it was more than lust, more than a good time, but he didn’t want to examine what that something was. He couldn’t understand why that thought made his stomach feel like he had a serious case of food poisoning.
Chapter Thirteen
Holly had been a bundle of nerves since wondering if she might be pregnant and now it was the moment of truth. She tapped her foot, paced Mia’s office, looked at her watch, and paused to tap her foot again.
“Time’s up,” Mia said, sounding just as worried as Holly had when she’d taken the pregnancy test into the bathroom and mumbled her thanks.
“Okay.” Holly took a deep breath. “It was one broken condom, and I have ovary issues. The odds are higher that I’m not pregnant than that I am. Right?”
“There’s only one way to know.” Mia walked with her into the bathroom. “Open your eyes, Holly.”
Holly opened her eyes. One line meant not pregnant. And there were two. Two lines on the stick. She picked it up and stuffed it back into the box, then shoved it into the depths of her purse.
“There are two lines.” Holly’s legs began to tremble. Oh my God. I’m pregnant. “How can there be two lines?”
“Because you slept with Jake and a condom broke?”
“Jake. He’s…I can’t tell him. No. I have to tell him. A baby. This isn’t the plan.”
Mia took her by the shoulders, and steered her to a chair. “Take a deep breath. Drink this.” She uncapped a bottle of water and handed it to her.
Holly took a sip, then set it down on the side table. “I can’t be a mom. I’d be a
terrible mom. Always running.” She pressed her hands to her abdomen. “My poor baby.”
Pulling a chair close, Mia sat beside her. “First things first, Holly. There’s no decision to make today. Take a few days to let this sink in, then decide what you need to do.”
Holly’s hand shook as she reached for the water. “I never imagined Jake in my life after that night, much less a baby.”
“Life has a way of throwing us a curve ball. You know I’m here for you. I have an extra bedroom in my apartment, and you are always welcome there if you don’t want to stay at Jake’s house.”
Unable to sit still, Holly started pacing again. “If I stay, my uncle could get to Liam.”
“You need to stop thinking so much right now and let this sink in,” Mia reminded. She glanced at the clock on the wall. “The transportation van will be back with Liam by now. Are you going to tell him about the baby?”
“Not yet. The first person I need to tell is Jake. Once I figure out how.”
“You’re not just going to run without telling him?”
Holly’s eyes widened. “I would never do that. He has a right to know.”
Mia looked worried. “Don’t have any expectations. He might not be thrilled with the news. From what I gather about his reputation, Jake’s life goal doesn’t include a family.”
“I don’t have expectations,” Holly said. “I’ll let you know what happens.” She hugged her friend and went in search of her brother.
Liam’s bed was unmade and he was sitting in the floor in the middle of the room with a scowl on his face. He liked routine and found comfort in his schedule. Whenever something interrupted his schedule, it made him upset.
“What happened?” Holly asked.
“Stupid alarm.”
“You were late?”
He nodded and threw his shoe across the room.
“Liam, what does your therapist say about you throwing things when you get angry?” Out of all the places that Liam had been, New Hope had done so much more to teach her brother vocational and living skills. His therapist had worked wonders with Liam’s social skills and managing his tantrums and meltdowns.
