by Laura Iding
She quickly interrupted to prevent the conversation from going anywhere close to the assault. “I can take care of myself, Mikey. And even if I can’t, the mistakes I make are my own. Now, play nice with Caleb, or I won’t introduce you to my boyfriends ever again.”
“Sure, no problem.” Michael rocked back on his heels and gave her a cheeky grin. “But just so you know, I already spilled the beans to Ian and Slade.”
She knew it! She scowled at him. “Great. Thanks a lot. I should make you sleep in a hotel.” She turned toward Caleb. “See what I mean? I tried to explain what it was like living with them, but you thought I was exaggerating.”
The corner of Caleb’s mouth quirked upward. “Nah, I knew you weren’t exaggerating. I don’t have a sister, but if I did, I think I’d probably feel the same way they do.” He lifted one shoulder in an apologetic shrug.
“That’s right, you would.” Michael clapped him on the back, as they finally saw eye to eye on something.
She suppressed another sigh. “Well, grab your gear, then, and come on up. What time does your training start?”
“Noon.” Michael glanced at Caleb in surprise when he fell into step beside them. “I hope you don’t mind if I bunk here for the next two nights,” he said, as if realizing three was, indeed, a crowd. “I haven’t seen you in a while and figured this would be a good chance to catch up.”
Which was his way of telling her that she’d better not plan on having Caleb stay over while he was there. As if she would.
“It’s fine,” she assured him. “Caleb’s dad is actually scheduled to come home from the hospital either later today or tomorrow anyway.”
“The hospital?” Michael’s eyebrows rose. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope he’s okay?”
“He had triple bypass surgery and a valve replacement a few days ago, but he’s doing much better,” Caleb told him.
“I’m glad,” Michael said.
“Mikey’s a volunteer firefighter and a paramedic back home in Cedar Bluff,” she explained for Caleb’s benefit.
“I’m impressed. Fighting fires is a tough job.”
“Well, I do more paramedic work than anything else,” her brother said modestly. “Thankfully there aren’t a lot of fires in Cedar Bluff. We have to do a lot more training, though, since we don’t get as many chances to work in real fire situations. Which is why I’m here in Milwaukee.”
Raine led the way inside her apartment, greeting Spice who lightly ran over to meet the newcomers. Spice veered away from Caleb, but meowed softly and brushed up against Michael’s leg.
“She’s a cutie. Probably smells Leo, the male tomcat we have down at the station,” Michael said, bending down to stroke the cat. “Leo is quite the Romeo.”
“Just like you, huh?” Raine said dryly. For all his protectiveness of her, her youngest brother was legendary with women. “Does anyone want coffee?” she called out, heading into the kitchen.
“I do,” her brother announced. “Give me a minute to borrow your bathroom.”
When her brother disappeared behind the bathroom door, she glanced at Caleb. “Are you all right?” she asked, considering he hadn’t said much since meeting her brother.
He threw her an exasperated look. “Raine, your brother doesn’t scare me. None of your brothers scare me. Don’t worry about it. Although I do see what you mean about what it must have been like living with them. They don’t recognize any personal boundaries, do they?”
“Not really.” She filled the coffee-maker with water and started the pot brewing. “My parents died when I was just a sophomore in high school. The three of them were really pretty wonderful, moving back home to raise me.”
Caleb’s gaze was full of sympathy. “That must have been hard on you.”
“It was hard on all of us. Mikey was a senior in high school himself, but Ian and Slade put their own college plans on hold to come home to help keep the family together. Truly, I owe them a lot. Which is why I pretty much got used to them sticking their nose into my personal business.” She tried to lighten the sudden seriousness of the conversation. “Can you believe they went so far as to read my diary? Nothing was sacred. Absolutely nothing.”
Caleb’s lips twitched. “Will you let me read it?”
“No.” She glowered at him. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Raine!” her brother bellowed from the bathroom.
She ground her teeth together, tempted once again to tell Michael to go find a hotel. “Now what’s the problem?” she asked.
“My problem?” Her brother stomped out of her bathroom, a deep scowl creasing his forehead, and it took her a moment to realize he had her pregnancy test kit clutched in his hand. “Here’s my problem. Are you pregnant?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
RAINE’S eyes widened in horror as her brother, the human bulldozer, revealed her most painful, shameful secret. She glanced frantically at Caleb in time to watch all the color drain from his face as he stared with utter disbelief at the pregnancy test kit.
And in that one awful, terrible moment she knew. No matter what he’d said earlier, he didn’t trust her. Would likely never trust her.
Which meant he’d never love her the way she loved him.
There was a moment of dead silence before she moved, snatching the kit out of her brother’s hand, wishing she dared to smack him with it. “No, I’m not pregnant.” The stomach cramps she’d experienced earlier that morning convinced her that her period wasn’t far off. “Keep your nose out of my business.”
“Raine, you having a baby is my business. Our business. The child would be our niece or nephew. Of course, we’d help you raise the baby if some jerk took off and abandoned you.” Michael glared at Caleb.
Caleb opened his mouth to speak and she sent him a dark look, warning him not to say a word, either in his own defense about the child not being his or about the assault. “Leave Caleb alone, Mikey. I mean it. You’re my brother and I love you, but that does not give you the right to intrude into my personal life.”
Her brother raised his hands innocently, as if realizing he might have pushed too far. “Hey, I’m just saying-we’ll stand by you.”
She let out a sigh, knowing that at least that much was right. Her brother had always been there for her. And if she had gotten pregnant, her brothers would support her.
Unlike Caleb, whose face was suddenly completely devoid of all expression.
Obviously, she and Caleb needed to talk. Yet at the same time she couldn’t help feeling irritated at his reaction. Why did she always have to explain herself? Couldn’t he ever just once give her the benefit of doubt? What good would any explanation be if he refused to believe in her?
She’d known earlier that Caleb’s lack of trust wasn’t something she could help him overcome.
This was only irrefutable proof that he’d need to fix his problems on his own.
An awkward silence fell and she dreaded the conversation she and Caleb needed to have. “Mikey, give us a few minutes alone, would you?” she asked softly.
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Michael glanced between the two of them, with a shrug. “Actually, I was looking for a razor so I could shave.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Can I borrow one of yours?”
“Help yourself,” she said, knowing he would anyway. After her brother left them alone, she turned to Caleb. “I’m sorry. I tried to tell you my brothers were over-protective.”
“You thought you were pregnant?” His tone was accusing.
She lifted her chin. “I guess attempting a second chance wasn’t a good idea after all.”
A flash of disbelief glittered in his eyes. “What sort of second chance did we have if you weren’t honest with me? You never said a word about possibly being pregnant.”
She stared at him, wondering if he was using this as an excuse to quit on the relationship before it even started. “I told you about the sexual assault. Didn’t it occur to you that pregnancy might be a consequence? Besides,
what difference does it make now? I used the test, I’m not pregnant.”
He blew out a breath and turned away, avoiding her gaze. “Why didn’t you say anything to me about it? You told me everything else, didn’t you?”
She shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. This was his issue, not hers. “And if I say yes, I’ve told you everything else, will you believe me?”
When he didn’t immediately answer, she swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Caleb, but this isn’t going to work.” Trying to ignore the way her heart was aching, she walked over to her apartment door and opened it. “Thanks for driving me home. I’m sure I’ll see you around at work.”
Caleb stared at her for a long moment, and then walked past her. “Yeah. See you around,” he muttered as he left the apartment.
Fighting tears, she slowly closed the apartment door behind him and then leaned heavily against it. Her stomach clenched and the familiar nausea that she now knew was a result of stress returned with a vengeance.
Caleb hadn’t believed in her before the assault and he clearly didn’t now. Even after the closeness they’d shared.
This time she knew their relationship was over.
Caleb left Raine’s apartment and walked outside, reeling from their argument.
He couldn’t believe she’d never told him her fears about being pregnant as a result of the assault. Of course he’d considered the possibility but hadn’t pushed for the details. When she hadn’t mentioned it, he’d assumed it wasn’t a problem.
What else hadn’t she told him?
Earlier that morning, he’d been angry when he’d thought she’d taken off without a word. He could readily admit that he’d overreacted, automatically thinking the worst.
When he’d found her outside, sitting on the deck with Grizzly, he’d felt like a fool. Especially when she’d given him a look full of reproach. He’d known then he needed to stop reading the worst into everything she said or did.
But this was different. They’d grown closer together over these past few days. They’d spent the night making love. Why would she keep secrets from him at this point in their relationship?
It was clear that if her brother hadn’t found the test kit and bluntly confronted her with it, she wouldn’t have mentioned the possibility at all.
He was so lost in thought he didn’t realize he’d walked several blocks past his car until he came upon a stop sign for a major road. Muttering a curse, he spun on his heel and stalked back to where he’d left his car.
As he opened the door, about to slide in, he couldn’t help glancing up at Raine’s apartment window. Of course she wasn’t standing there, watching him. He climbed in behind the wheel and slammed the door behind him.
He hoped, for her sake, she did tell her brother what had happened. Raine had been through a terrible ordeal. She needed all the support she could get.
His cellphone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced at the number, surprised to realize it was the hospital. His dad? His heart rate spiked in alarm as he quickly answered. “Hello?”
“Caleb? Can you pick me up?” After yesterday’s visit, his father sounded surprisingly upbeat. “Doc says I’m ready to be discharged.”
“Really? Sure, of course I’ll pick you up. I can be there in a few minutes.”
“Are you bringing Raine with you?”
His father’s innocent question sent a shaft of pain through his heart. Raine would have loved to come with him to pick up his father. For a moment the reality of what had just happened upstairs in her apartment hit hard.
Their relationship was over. For good.
But this wasn’t the time to tell his father the news. Not yet. “No, her brother is in town right now, visiting with her.” He tried not to let his father hear the desolation in his tone. “But I’ll let her know you’re coming home. She’ll be thrilled.”
“Okay.” His father readily accepted the excuse. “And don’t forget we have to pick up Grizz on the way home.”
“I won’t forget. See you soon, Dad.”
Caleb started the car and headed straight over to the hospital, grateful for something else to think about rather than the mess he’d made of his personal life.
Because there was no denying how lonely his house would feel now that both Raine and Grizzly were gone.
Caleb had been fully prepared to stay with his father during the first week after his hospitalization to help care for him at home. But surprisingly his father seemed to have taken Raine’s advice to heart.
“Caleb, this is Marlene Fitzgerald, one of the volunteers at the animal shelter,” his father said, introducing him to a spry, silver-haired woman standing next to him. She looked to be similar in age to his father, which by itself was unusual, since his father’s women in the past had all been much younger. “Marlene, this is my son, Caleb. He’s a doctor on staff here in the emergency department at Trinity Medical Center. He chose the path of taking care of people rather than animals.”
Caleb stepped forward to take the older woman’s hand. “Hi, Marlene. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same here, Caleb.” Marlene smiled, blushing a bit. “I hope you don’t mind if I temporarily move in to help care for your father for a few days.”
Temporarily move in? He arched a brow at his father. “Uh, no. Of course not. But I can help too, Dad. You’ve had major surgery, and I’ve arranged to take some time off work.”
“There’s no need for you to take off work for me,” his father said gruffly. “I appreciate your efforts, but Marlene offered to help and I think together we’ll be able to manage just fine.”
“If you’re sure…” Caleb gave in, as it appeared his father had planned everything out. “I’d still like to stop by each day to see how things are going.”
“I’ll take you up on that offer. Can’t pass up the opportunity to get a house call,” his father joked.
Caleb carried his father’s belongings as Marlene pushed his wheelchair down to the hospital lobby. He went round to bring up the car and, as promised, stopped by his house on the way home to pick up Grizzly.
Marlene didn’t seem to mind the dog, greeting Grizz with enthusiasm. She clearly loved animals as much as his father did.
He wanted to believe Marlene and his father were meant to be together, but the old suspicions wouldn’t go away. Marlene seemed perfect now, but his father’s relationships never seemed to last.
After dropping Marlene and his father off at home, taking time to ensure his dad was settled comfortably in his favorite recliner, with Grizz at his feet, Caleb headed home.
Greeted by nothing more than the echo of his own voice, he called the hospital to notify them he was available to work if needed after all. They promised to call if something opened up or if someone called in sick. Dejected, he stared out at his back yard, wondering what to do with the extra time on his hands.
If Raine was here, he would have been thrilled to have more time off work. But now he would rather have something to do to keep his mind off her.
Raine had been right about one thing. His trust issues were his own problem to fix. Keeping secrets wasn’t the way to inspire trust, yet even before that he’d known he’d made mistakes.
Mistakes he wasn’t sure how to fix.
Was he doomed to the same fate as his father? To have nothing but one failed relationship after another?
As much as he didn’t want to go down that same path, he was at a loss as to how to break the pattern.
Raine sank down onto her sofa, overwhelmingly relieved when Mikey finally took off to attend his training session. She wanted, needed time alone to pull her battered emotions together.
She couldn’t help replaying that moment her brother had asked if she was pregnant over and over in her mind. Her stomach clenched painfully. Even though she knew that Caleb hadn’t fully trusted her before then, the shattered expression in his eyes still haunted her.
Did Caleb have a right to be upset? Should she have told him her fe
ars?
Maybe.
She and Caleb had been doomed, right from the beginning. She’d been right to break things off before the assault.
The past would always stand between them.
Spice jumped up on the sofa beside her and she drew the cat into her arms, cuddling her soft fur. If only people were more like animals, full of unconditional love.
Her brothers loved her unconditionally. Was it unfair to expect the same from Caleb?
She didn’t think so. Her parents had died too young, but she’d always known how much they’d loved and cared for each other. She wanted and deserved the same sort of love.
Since sitting around and wallowing in self-pity wasn’t an option, she decided to spend the rest of her afternoon at the animal shelter. With Dr. Frank gone, they were probably short-handed. And she’d rather be busy to keep her mind off of Caleb.
She took a quick shower, shocked to discover her instincts were right. She’d gotten her period.
She’d begun blowdrying her hair when her phone rang. For one heart-stopping moment she wondered if the caller was Caleb. Was he calling to apologize and beg her to come back?
And why was she even tempted by the possibility when nothing had changed?
She dashed over to the phone, slowing down with a sharp stab of disappointment when the number displayed an unknown caller on her caller ID.
Letting the call go to her answering-machine, she headed back towards the bathroom to finish up. But stopped dead in her tracks when a familiar voice came over the speaker.
“Raine, this is Detective Carol Blanchard with the Milwaukee Police Department. Please call me as soon as you get this message. We need your help in identifying a suspect we have in custody. We believe he could possibly be the man who raped you.”
They had a suspect? Raine dropped the brush she was holding, unable to believe it. Her fingers trembled so badly she had difficulty dialing Detective Blanchard’s phone number. She told herself not to get her hopes up too high, but she held her breath, waiting for the detective to answer.
