by Lacey Silks
He pulled the covers over us, bringing my small body into his. I curled, pressing my bare back against him, feeling his warmth seep around me.
Derek lived up to his promise that night. I don’t quite remember how many times I ended up opening my legs for him; for his mouth and for his cock. But how could I have not when he was so hard against my ass and touching me as if he’d never touched a woman before? I think I dozed off once after one of our orgasms with him still inside me. That was one of the best nights of my life. It was a night I would hold long in my heart.
CHAPTER 12
Annabelle
I parked the car in front of the doctor’s office, noting a “Now Hiring” sign on the front door. Today was Sunday and the clinic was closed. Other than a few stores, not much was open.
It’d been five days since Derek and I had made love. Five long days of me avoiding him and Derek getting more confused every morning. But the guilt was eating me alive. My conscience kept banging on my brain that I should have been completely honest with him. Something was happening between the two of us, much deeper than a friendship, and I couldn’t put my mind around it simply because I was ashamed. I tried to be honest, but each time I had, I remembered Rick’s warnings. The idea of telling anyone about him was like putting a red bull’s-eye on that person’s back, right in the middle of a bull-fighting ring.
As I looked at Dr. Marvey’s office, the prospect of getting a job in Ogden made me pause. But I wasn’t ready to work as a secretary. That’s not why I’d been studying for the past three years. I wanted to help people. The smell of fresh coffee and baked pastries from the cafe beside the pharmacy filled my lungs. The caffeine part of the aroma made me think of San Francisco, while the croissants, muffins, and pies reminded me of Ogden. As a scent, the combination was so perfect that I wished life was as easily blended.
Derek left early this morning to feed the pigs. He took his brother Kyle with him and said they would stop by the lake for a swim. I came to town to grab extra pastry cutters from Mrs. Gladden as I’d planned to bake cookies with Missy later on. Now that the delicious aroma of baked goods hit me, I was sure that I’d walk out with much more than I planned to buy.
I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a longer whiff of the delicious aroma. Was it possible that Mrs. Gladden lived at her bakery? It seemed whenever I passed by, the town smelled of fresh pastries. The sun was still high, lifting dust off the main road. Sometimes our little town reminded me of an old western. Any street you drove into was lined with one- and two-story stores, many of them with wooden siding, some updated to stucco. I rolled down the window and closed my eyes, leaning back against the seat.
After a few minutes of buzzing silence, the sound of a mother talking to a child jolted me upward, and I remembered why I stopped by the bakery. The familiar voice drew my attention to a woman, facing away from me, and a little boy she was leaning down to. She wore a sundress and cowboy boots—the way most girls and women in our town did. He wore no shoes, and his feet looked like the lower part of his body had just finished a mud-wrestling match. Where in the world did he find mud in this heat?
By the look of his mom’s hands on her hips, she was obviously not amused with him. “T.J., this is the last time I tell ya. Pee and dirt don’t mix! Now we’re gonna walk home, and you’ll wash yourself under the hose before you step elsewhere.”
The petite blonde whose voice I recognized had a thick braid running over her shoulder. She turned around and I gasped. Well, at least she used to be petite. Her side view was definitely not what I’d expected.
“Liz?” I asked, pulling on the door handle.
“Anna-banana?” My kindergarten buddy wobbled toward the car with a little one grasping at her dress. I wrapped my arms around her, pushing my midsection backward to make room for what looked like her nine-month-old belly. “I’m so happy to see you. I heard what happened to your parents and I wanted to come say hello, but J.J. had the flu. He’s at home with his father, and this one here is pushing on my bladder like it wants it gone.” She smoothed her hand around her flattened navel.
“Thank you.” My gaze flew from the little boy to her belly, then to the boy again before I asked, “J.J.? You have another one?”
The boy beside her couldn’t have been older than four, but then again, I didn’t know much about children.
“He’s with John now. J.J. is John Junior. This is T.J. Thomas Joseph after both his grandfathers.”
Somebody’s been busy! “You married John the Great?”
Before I left, the quarterback in high school all opponents feared had dated Liz. Once he had a football under his arm, no one dared to stand in his way. He guaranteed his team a victory every time. In fact, since John joined the team, the Wolverines hadn’t lost a game. Scouts made him offers no one had ever heard of.
“He knocked me up that summer, and a month after you left we said our I do’s.” Liz lifted her head with pride.
“You’re married?”
“Of course. You know how people look at bastard children around here. We were going to get married anyways, and a bit early didn’t make a difference.” She waved her hand as if it was old news.
And I guessed John’s football career ended that day. With two at home and another one on the way, John had probably had to find a job quickly. This was exactly the kind of a situation I wanted to escape. Now Liz was stuck as a housewife and a mother with no future prospects.
She pulled out a spare wooden chair from beside the cafe and motioned for me to join her. Holding on to the table, she spread her legs wide to make space for her belly and plopped down. Liz looked like she was ready to pop the kid out—and perhaps a watermelon as well—any minute. I wondered how in the world her small frame could support such a big belly.
“When are you due?” I asked.
“Yesterday.” She laughed, her stomach shaking up and down. She held on to it as if holding on to a giant medicine ball. A slight grimace showed on her face, as if she just got pinched. “I’m glad this one waited for John. He’s just returned from school.”
“John’s in college?” I felt my eyes grow bigger by the minute. He left her on her own? And Liz didn’t seem to mind it?
“Of course he is. His body won’t be able to take the football all his life, so we need to have a backup plan if he doesn’t make it to the pros.”
“And you’re here, raising the kids?”
“Yes. It gets busier in the summer when school’s off. The daycare fills up, and I need to hire people to help me. A few more months and things will settle down.”
“You’re running a daycare?” Gosh, it felt like I’d been gone for decades, not four years.
“You know me. I’d be bored to death if I didn’t do something.”
That was true. Liz was the most outgoing girl in our school. She dreamed of studying law or business, but now it was all over. Yet she seemed as happy as ever, even when I’d pictured her up to her ears in diapers and snot. Did it matter she never went to college or pursued her dreams? It seemed like she had fast-forwarded her life’s goals by a few years.
Liz frowned slightly before her brows narrowed. A flash of pain crossed her face. “We lived with John’s parents at first, but the business took off so fast we could afford to rent a house in town. In a few years, we’ll buy one of our own. And the home is right beside the daycare, so it works out well.”
“Are you feeling all right, Liz?” I asked.
She waved her hand. “Oh, just some Braxton Hicks. Believe me, when this baby wants to come out, everyone in town will know it, and no one will make it on time to see it.”
“That fast?”
“Yeah, I pop ’me out like a pro. They come out as if from a catapult.” She laughed.
I looked at my watch, noting the time. I wasn’t too sure why I’d done that—perhaps it was an instinct.
“And you’re running it all? You know, the daycare. With two kids?”
“T.J.’s amazing.”
She eyed her son, who’d found a stick and begun picking at the drying dirt, then shook her head. “And most of the time he thinks before he acts. I can’t wait until you meet J.J. too. They both have John’s eyes and lips and want to be so helpful all the time. They’re their father’s biggest fans.”
“I can imagine.” I watched as T.J. began to collect the pee dirt he’d scraped off with his foot into a small pile.
“They each sleep with a football, and I’m praying this one will be a girl.”
Liz almost glowed like a lightning bug when she spoke about her family. Yet I couldn’t help but notice that her facial expression had changed since I first saw her a few minutes ago. The naturally happy smile was gone when she spoke, and even though she tried to seem uplifting, there was something that was bothering her.
“Anna, you have no idea how happy I am that you’re here. I hope you’re here to stay. Dr. Marvey is desperate for help. And it’d be nice if there was a woman in his office.”
“He’s looking for a nurse?” I asked.
“That’s what I heard when I was there on Friday.” Liz shifted in her seat, adjusting her belly, rubbing it gently. I checked my watch again. “You know, your father took the boys on a pig ride once at the market, and they still keep talking about it. I hope he gets well soon.”
“He’d do that, wouldn’t he? And thank you. Mom should be released next weekend, but Dad’s still in recovery. He’ll stay under observation a while longer. At least they’re in the same room now.”
“He was so proud when he spoke about you studying in San Francisco. He hoped you’d come back and work in Ogden. We need good nurses around here.”
“Thank you, but I’m not sure where I’ll be staying. I’m writing an exam in two weeks and have to go back to San Francisco.”
“But you’re coming back, aren’t you?” she asked, her gaze darting to her stomach for a moment.
“I don’t know yet.” I looked at my watch again. It’d been four minutes since I’d last seen her shift uncomfortably.
“Well, if I’d gone through what you had, I’d—”
Liz’s thought was interrupted when Derek and Kyle stepped out of the pharmacy. Derek of course only wore his jeans. My mouth dried at the sight of him. His caramel tan and glistening pecs and abs were definitely an eyeful. A bloodstained cloth was wrapped around his left hand. He had a lazy smile on his face when he looked my way, and I couldn’t help but smile back. Liz followed my gaze.
“What happened?” I asked as he stepped closer. I’d never met anyone as accident prone as Derek.
“I sliced my finger and needed bandages.”
“Let me see that.” I shot off the chair.
“You can look at it at home.”
“You’re staying with Derek?” Liz asked.
“Hi, Liz. Hey, T.J.” He gave T.J. a high-five and a packet of Twizzlers that he pulled out from his pocket.
“I thought Blake would be the one taking care of Anna. What do you say, T.J.?”
“Thank you.” T.J. opened the wrapper and began chewing on the red rubbery candy.
Contrary to people’s belief, Blake and I never dated. “We’re not together,” I said.
“You have someone else?”
Derek’s head tilted to the side as he waited for my reply.
“I need to take care of my parents now and figure out where they’ll live. Besides, I have a job waiting for me in San Francisco.”
“So you’re not staying in Ogden? Right. The house burnt down.” She lowered her head, narrowing her brows. At first I’d thought she felt bad, but then Liz got that mischievous look on her face. The same one she had when we saved a litter of kittens by hiding them in my closet for a week, then hers for another.
And then the look disappeared. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I’m sure Blake would help you if you stayed. As much as you want to believe you belong in the city, you’ll always be one of us; an Ogden girl. You shouldn’t be afraid to come back here. This place has changed.” She squeezed my hand.
“It’s okay. I’ll figure it out. Ogden will always be my home.” I looked over to Derek who said, “I have to see Mrs. Gladden at the bakery. I’ll be right back.”
Derek took my cue, saying to T.J., “See you later, and leave some for your brothers.”
“Okay,” T.J. replied, stuffing another Twizzler into his mouth.
“How old is T.J.?” I turned back to Liz.
She paused for a moment, eying me knowingly, “Almost three. You know, I always thought you and Blake would be the first to have kids.”
“Oh, no. Blake’s with my half sister, Missy, from the general goods store.” I pointed to where Missy worked. She waved from behind the counter. She didn’t usually work on the weekends, but the owner had asked her to come in for inventory. “And I’ve sort of started seeing Derek.”
“Well thaa-ah-a-a-a! Wow there!” Liz grasped her belly.
“All right, Liz, that’s exactly four minutes since the last one. These aren’t Braxton Hicks. Come here.” I lifted her off the chair and steadying her under my arm, we walked toward my truck parked by the curb.
“T.J. Come here!” Liz’s scream definitely didn’t sound like it was coming out of her mouth. In fact, she sounded possessed. T.J. ran toward us; his dirty little feet couldn’t move fast enough at his mother’s demand. “Mamma’s gonna need some help, baby boy. Your brother or sister is bouncing too much in my tummy. Wow!” She grabbed her belly. “Anna, I think this baby wants to come out.”
“Come out of where, Mahmah?” T.J. asked, tilting his head to the side. By this time, Liz was having another contraction, much closer than the last one. As she screamed, T.J. covered his ears and joined her. Both their voices echoed in a harmony so high, they pinched my ears. People began gathering on the sidewalk. Liz rested her hands on her knees, her legs shaking underneath her.
Missy ran out of the store right toward us. “What’s going on?” she asked, holding on to her own belly as a puddle appeared on the ground between Liz’s legs.
“Oh, my!” My sister gasped.
“Mahmah, you peed too! You said no peeing in the dirt!” T.J. shouted.
“T.J., honey, take Missy to the store and bring me some towels, will you?” I looked at Missy, who took the little boy’s hand and nodded.
“We need to get to the hospital,” I said. Liz’s labored breathing made me doubt whether she’d be able to wait until Dr. Marvey got here. She screamed again.
“And I guess that was a contraction?” I asked.
“You think?”
And that was a mood swing. “Get in the car. We have to get to the hospital.” I supported her weight as much as I could, and for a moment I thought she had triplets in there. As petite as she was, with her belly she probably weighed twice as much. Though I wouldn’t dare say that to her.
Liz gritted her teeth as if I was the husband who got her pregnant. “The way this baby’s pushing, you’ll need a plane to get me there on time.”
I opened the back door to the truck and helped Liz up. “All right. Lie down. Try to relax, Liz. I’m gonna call Dr. Marvey.”
“Annabelle, you have to get me to the hospital.”
That’s what I just said! I knew from my training at the hospital that women in labor talked nonsense, and Liz was definitely beginning to mess with my mind. “Don’t worry Liz, I’m doing everything I can.” I lifted Liz’s legs to a more comfortable position so that her heels rested on the ledge of the seat.
By this time, there was a handful of onlookers nearby. I’d forgotten how nosy this little town could be. Mrs. Gladden, along with Derek and Kyle, stepped out from her bakery at the same time as Missy arrived back with T.J. and a handful of towels.
“What’s going on?” Derek asked.
“Mrs. Gladden, Liz is in labor. I’m not sure if we have time to drive her to the hospital. Can you please help with some privacy?”
As they asked people to take a few steps back, Li
z had another contraction, and I could no longer pay attention to the crowd. Her bellow echoed through the town, and I was sure Dr. Marvey could follow the sound to where he needed to be.
“Missy, please call the ambulance.”
“I want my mahmah,” T.J. cried.
“Come on, T.J. I think I have some candy at the store. Kyle, you too, honey. I could use a little help with T.J. Do you want to show me which candies are your favorite?” Missy took the boys and I saw Derek dialing for the ambulance. Since the hospital was an hour away, I was pretty sure we’d have a baby by the time they got here. Liz’s contractions were getting closer.
“I want to push!” she screamed.
“Not yet, Liz. Squeeze your legs tighter. Hold it in.” I held her hand.
“You think that’s going to help?” Her sarcasm blew over my head. Of course I knew that wouldn’t help. Wasn’t I allowed to panic just a little? This was my first delivery, for goodness sake! “There’s no way this baby’s staying in there long. I thought you were a nurse. Don’t you know how to deliver a baby?”
“Studying and practicing are two different things, Liz. I’ve seen babies delivered but haven’t done one myself.”
“That’s not the best thing to say to someone who’s about to pop one out!”
I sure hoped she wasn’t about to pop it out. “How long did it take you to have your first one?”
“Two hours,” she said between her hee-hee-haws.
I was afraid to ask about the second one, but Liz beat me to it. “The second one was thirty minutes.”
That meant this baby was possibly coming out right now. “What are you doing in town so close to your due date? You should be at the hospital, Liz.”
“Really?” She had the strength and wits to roll her eyes at me, then screamed. “Between the daycare and the kids, I guess that slipped my mind!”
“All right, lift your dress a bit for me. I’m going to help you with your underwear and check you. Is that all right?”
“Anna, I can’t move to get them off.”
“No worries.” I looked over at the basket of “everything” Missy brought from the store, and found the scissors. I took them and cut through the fabric at each of Liz’s hips.
