by Mia Carson
“Viktor! Ah, there you are! I was starting to get worried and—oh, hello there, dear,” she said. “I’m Theresa Hartmann, Viktor’s mom, and you must be Evelyn.”
Viktor stared from his mom to Evelyn, watching the latter’s face pale before she plastered a smile on her face and held out her hand to his mom. Theresa brushed past it and pulled her into a hug. His mom’s eyes darted to him over Evie’s shoulder, but what she was trying to tell him, he didn’t know.
“Welcome to our home,” Theresa said, stepping back. “I’m so glad you finally brought her over! Your cousins are dying to meet her, and your father as well.”
Viktor rolled his eyes. “Course they are. Did you tell them to keep it down a few notches tonight?”
“Our family keep it down a few notches? Oh, son,” Theresa said with a deep laugh, patting his cheek. “You tease.”
“No. No, that was not teasing. That was me being serious,” he muttered as he followed his mom and Evelyn deeper into the house. He smiled when Evie relaxed with each step, looking at the house around them as they passed through the high-ceilinged living room with a central stone fireplace before moving through a large open dining room and finally, to the glassed-in back porch with another fireplace. His family members were all out there, drinking and laughing as his nieces and nephews played outside in the bit of snow that had fallen that morning.
“Everyone,” Theresa called out, clapping her hands. “Viktor is here, and I would like to introduce you to his girlfriend, Evelyn.”
Viktor smiled when his cousins moved forward to hug her and greet her, pulling her further into the room. His two female cousins, Sheila and Beth, chatted away, asking questions, wanting to know all about her. He thought of rescuing her, but the laughter on her face was genuine and he forced himself to take a few deep breaths to silence his worries.
“Son,” his dad, Jeremy, said as he stepped next to him and clapped him on the back. “So proud of you.”
“We’re just dating, Dad,” Viktor said as they were joined by his other cousins, Harry, Tim, and Zach, along with the two spouses of his other cousins.
“Right, dating,” Tim said and handed his cousin a whiskey. “Looks like there’s a bit more than dating going on there.”
Viktor choked on his whiskey. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
His dad laughed. “It means you both won’t be just dating for long.” He checked his watch, chuckling at Viktor’s face, then excused himself to go check on dinner. Theresa joined him when he called for her, and they disappeared back inside the main house.
“You know Sheila and Beth are probably telling her every embarrassing thing you ever did as a kid,” Harry warned, wearing the same crooked grin that ran in the family.
Viktor tugged hard at his beard, debating again whether or not he should intervene, but he forced his feet to stay where they were. “Probably. Could be worse, I guess.”
“How’s that?” Harry asked.
“Evie could be stuck talking to your fat mouth,” Viktor mocked and earned a smack to the back of his head as they all laughed together. His cousins and he had grown up extremely close and were only a few years apart here and there. Before Mary had shattered his heart, he spent nearly all his free time with his family, but after, he’d drifted from them.
Now, with Evie bringing his life back into focus, he realized how much he’d missed them all. They chatted, chortling about old times and making plans for the holidays and future trips together, when Theresa and Jeremy called out that dinner was ready.
Harry called the kids to head on inside, all six of them, and the rest moved to the dining room. Viktor waited for Evelyn at the door and led her to the table.
“How’s it going?” he whispered when he noticed she wasn’t drinking her typical wine but a glass of water. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”
“Yeah, think it’s just a cold or something,” she said, resting her hand on his arm. “I’m fine, really, and your cousins are great. I’m having a good time.”
“Good,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. He wanted to believe her, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something was wrong, and he needed to find out what before he did what he planned on doing that night.
Jeremy and Theresa brought out the food—deer chili and fresh fish from the market—along with steaming bowls of vegetable casseroles and his mom’s homemade biscuits. They dug in, the whole family barely fitting at the dining table while the kids took up the kitchen table, and the room was filled with contented sounds of eating. Talk turned to plans for next spring and what they were going to do as a family when Theresa set her wine glass down and asked Viktor when he was going to tell them how he and Evelyn met.
She kicked him under the table, and he reached for her hand, grinning. “We bumped into each other by accident,” he said, shooting her a reassuring wink. “At the café in town. Started talking, and we just clicked.”
“Just like that,” Sheila said across the table, eyeing them both. “You actually sat and talked with this oaf?”
Evie laughed and he let out a quiet breath when her eyes lit up. “Yeah, I did. Not sure why. He did buy my coffee that day. Not a bad start.”
“No, not at all,” Theresa mused. Her eyes stayed on Evelyn, and suddenly, the worry was back on her face and she stared down at her plate.
Viktor wanted to ask what the hell was going on between them, but the conversation turned and Evelyn was soon explaining about the house and land she’d bought for the future sight of a new foster home. She told them a few highlights of her past bouncing around foster homes but left out the more gruesome details.
Viktor’s gaze didn’t stray far from her, and he wondered why she continually eyed his mom as if she would suddenly accuse her of something terrible. When dinner was eaten and everyone satisfied, Viktor was dragged out back to smoke cigars with his dad and cousins while the women stayed inside, chatting about kids and married lives. Viktor wanted to pull Evie aside and talk to her but didn’t get a chance, and before he knew it, he had a cigar in hand and was listening to his dad ask him what his plans were for the future.
“For the company? You know what they are,” he said, distracted.
“No, son, not the company.” His dad chuckled. “With Evelyn. She’s quite the woman. I see a fire in her, and it looks as if she brought it back in you as well. Nice to see it again.”
He smiled and fumbled with the ring tucked safely in his pocket. “I don’t know yet,” he admitted quietly.
“Why not? Clearly, you’re in love with the woman,” Harry said, and his cousins nodded in agreement. “Just pop the question and hope for the best.”
“Not that easy,” he told them. “She’s had a rough life, worse than what she told you. I’m not sure if she’s ready for that yet, and I don’t want to scare her off by asking her to spend the rest of her life with me.”
Jeremy sighed, blowing out a smoke ring. “Son, if you wait too long, you’ll regret it.”
He nodded and pulled out the ring to show them. “I know,” he muttered. “I just want the timing to be perfect.” His relationship with Evelyn was nearly perfect, and the last thing he wanted to do was screw up by putting her on the spot.
***
Evelyn’s stomach twisted in knots and she tried not to cringe. She knew she shouldn’t have eaten, but she’d barely had anything all day. The food roiled in her stomach, but what worried her was the strange fluttering low in her belly. She bit her lip, not sure what to think of the new sensation.
Viktor’s mom and cousins talked around her, and she chimed in and acted normally as they sat in front of the warmth of the fire. When Theresa had come forward and Evelyn realized she was the woman she’d met at the grocery store the day before, she’d nearly died. She had seen the pregnancy test and had shot her excited, knowing looks all night long. At least she hadn’t said anything to Viktor. Evelyn was still trying to figure out how to tell him.
She gulpe
d her water, but her stomach suddenly rebelled. She quickly asked where the restroom was.
“Just down that hall, dear,” Theresa said gently. “Are you alright?”
“Perfect,” Evelyn managed to say through the fake smile as she hurried off down the hall. She barely made it to the bathroom before everything from dinner came back up. She hugged the toilet, hating that she was sick at his parents’ house. If he found out, he’d know something was wrong and she’d have to tell him. She wasn’t ready yet, hadn’t worked up the nerve.
Her face covered in a fine sheen of sweat, she stood on shaky legs, leaning against the counter. A flash of pain shot through her abdomen, but she dismissed it as nothing more than a gas bubble. After splashing water on her face and hoping she looked decent, Evelyn sucked in a few deep breaths and opened the door.
Theresa stood in the hall, wringing her hands. “Evelyn, I know it was you yesterday at the store.” She glanced down as Evelyn’s arms immediately wrapped around her belly. “Are you… are you pregnant?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she opened her mouth to answer when heavy steps rushed around the corner and Viktor appeared, staring at her wide-eyed. Evelyn gasped and took a step back.
“Is it true?” he asked quietly. “Evie?”
She tried to nod, but couldn’t and no words came out of her mouth. She pushed past him and out the front door. The cold hit her hard, and she stopped on the drive, staring up at the night sky, holding her belly. Another flare of pain ripped through her middle, and she hissed out a breath.
“Evelyn!” Viktor called out, running to her. “Evelyn, why didn’t you tell me?” he asked and turned her around gently. His thumbs wiped the tears from her cheeks as she stumbled over her words.
“I’m sorry, I was scared,” she whispered. “Scared we’d lose what we had. I didn’t know how to tell you and I just… I wanted to know that we could actually work before this happened, but then it did and I—”
He kissed her gently, cutting off her rambling, and held her in his arms as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. “Evelyn, you have nothing to be scared of,” he said, holding her face sweetly in his hands. “I’ve actually been waiting for the perfect moment to ask you something, and now that I know this, I think it’s time.” He pulled out a ring from his pocket. It glittered in the light from the open door of the house. “Evelyn Turner, I love you and have given you my heart. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
She flinched at the question as his family poured out of the house to watch the proposal. Her automatic response was to say yes, but she frowned. “No,” she whispered.
Viktor’s face fell. “No?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, but why is now the perfect… perfect… oh God,” she groaned and doubled over as pain exploded in her stomach.
“Evelyn? Evie!” He glanced down and his eyes widened in panic. “Call an ambulance!”
She gasped as she collapsed. He fell with her and cradled her in his lap. “Viktor, it hurts,” she whimpered, curling into him. “I can’t…” Her words trailed off as another intense surge of pain forced her into the fetal position. She heard more steps as the rest of the family rushed over and someone talked on a phone in a panicked voice. Something warm spread between her legs, but she didn’t have the strength to glance down.
“Just hold on, Evie,” he soothed, his arms tight around her. “Evie! No, stay awake, just stay with me. Evelyn!” He kept talking to her, but her eyes closed against the onslaught of pain and she wanted nothing more than to get away from it.
The darkness beckoned, and Evelyn couldn’t deny it. Maybe there, she wouldn’t feel the pain.
Chapter 19
Viktor paced the waiting room, incapable of sitting still as he rubbed his neck and cursed every few steps before turning around and repeating the process. The room was filled with his family, minus Beth and Tim, who had stayed behind with the kids.
“Viktor, dear, sit down,” Theresa insisted again. “They’ll tell you as soon as they know anything.”
“Why is it taking so long?” he growled angrily, his fists clenching at his sides.
For a brief moment, he’d been the happiest man alive. The woman he loved was pregnant with the child he’d always wanted and he’d asked her to marry him, and in a split second, everything went wrong. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the image of her collapsing in his arms and the blood—
“Viktor,” Jeremy said sternly, stopping his son’s pacing with his hands on his shoulders. “Wearing yourself out will do you no good. When she’s ready to see you, you have to be there for her. You have to be strong.”
Viktor sagged against his dad, fighting the fear consuming him. What if he couldn’t be strong enough for her? What if she didn’t come out of this unharmed?
“Where is she?” a new voice asked loudly, and Viktor glanced up. Ajay hurried forward with two people trailing behind him. “Viktor, where’s my sister?”
“They’re taking care of her,” Theresa said when words failed him. “I’m Theresa Hartmann, Viktor’s mom.” She held out her hand, and the two people behind Ajay stepped forward.
“We’re her foster parents, Diana and Daniel Turner,” the woman said, on the brink of tears.
The two women stared at each other before hugging each other tightly, two mothers sharing their fear. Viktor shook hands with Daniel, who still seemed unable to form words, and Ajay stood by his side.
“She’ll be fine,” he muttered. “She’s always fine.”
Viktor nodded, praying he was right. He hung his head, his hands on his hips, and glared at the floor. It was all his fault. If anything happened to her, it would be his fault. Maybe he was cursed and he wasn’t meant to find happiness. Maybe he should give up before he hurt anyone else with his blind ambitions.
“Evelyn Turner?” a woman in scrubs and white lab coat called out as she entered the waiting room.
Viktor stepped forward, nodding. “How is she? Is she alright?”
The woman nodded, but her lips pressed in a thin line. “She is, and I’ll let one person back to see her. Who are you?”
“He’s her fiancé,” Ajay said and shoved Viktor forward. “Go on, tell her we love her.”
Viktor nodded and followed the doctor numbly down the hall, dread settling in his stomach as she told him quietly what had happened. When they reached the door to Evelyn’s room, he leaned in the doorway and cried.
***
Evelyn’s whole body ached as her eyes fluttered open. The room was dimly lit by a lamp, and she frowned. A man sat hunched in a chair in the corner, and she sat up, cursing with the pain. The man’s head shot up, and he rushed to her bedside.
“Viktor? What happened?” she asked, her mouth dry. She felt exhausted.
“You don’t remember?” he asked, holding her hand tightly and resting his other against her cheek. His gaze slid down her body, and she followed it, landing on her belly.
Slowly, her hand pressed against where the small bump had been. The memory of collapsing in his arms returned, and she let out a cry. “No—no, the baby,” she whispered, her voice strained with pain. “Viktor, the baby?”
He shook his head sadly, and something inside her broke. She’d lost the baby, their baby. It was gone, and the room closed in around her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as he kissed her forehead and tried to soothe her, telling her she was going to be alright after a day or so. But she shook her head and tried to push him away.
“No, I lost our baby! I lost it,” she cried. “Viktor, I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you sooner.” Her whole body shook with sobs, and she couldn’t stop the flood of tears as pain and horror settled over her.
“Evelyn, look at me,” he said sternly, angry tears brimming in his eyes, though they didn’t fall.
She could take his anger. After all these years, she’d been able to give him the child he wanted and she’d lost it. Gone forever. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled again, but he cursed and kis
sed her fiercely.
“Stop saying you’re sorry,” he ordered. “It’s not your fault, and I only care that you’re alright, so don’t you dare apologize to me one more time.” She shook her head and couldn’t meet his eyes. “Listen to me. The doctor said it had nothing to do with you. It happens, so stop blaming yourself,” he said sternly. “Look at me, please.”
“You should find someone else,” she gasped through the agony ripping a hole through her, unwilling to look at him. “Someone who won’t lose your baby. What if I lose another one? What if we can’t have children, Viktor? I won’t do that to you!”
“Are you telling me to leave you?” he asked in disbelief.
She nodded as her heart cracked and more tears poured from her eyes. “I won’t be the reason you can’t have children.”
The stubborn look that came over his face as he slid gently into the bed beside her and held her tightly to him made fresh tears form in her eyes. “Evelyn Turner, I did not fall in love with you on the chance we would have children,” he said, resting his cheek on the top of her head. “I fell in love with your stubborn pride and your fiery passion. I fell in love with a woman who knows what it’s like to go through hell and is willing to do everything she can to stop others from doing the same.” He shifted and turned her to face him. “Goddamn it, woman, I love you no matter what happens in the future.”
She wanted to believe him, but she knew how desperate he’d been to have a child. “But what if we can’t? What if there’s something wrong with me?”
“I said I love you, Evelyn, and that means all of you, no matter how broken you think you are. I’ll love those broken parts more than the rest of you until you understand that,” he insisted. “Besides, we’ll have plenty of babies to take care of once the foster home opens.”
A laugh escaped her lips, and she tugged on his beard so she could kiss him, muttering against his lips, “I love you, Viktor. I love you.” He held her tightly and kissed away the rest of her tears until they finally ceased falling.
