Feels Like Family

by Sherryl Woods

  “Tuesday?” Helen echoed.

  “You’ll know for sure by then. Don’t waste a second sharing the news, okay? I mean it.”

  Helen read the determination in Maddie’s gaze and knew she meant every word. Maddie wouldn’t care how much she infuriated her if she thought she was doing the right thing in the long run.

  “It’s too soon to tell anyone,” Helen said, grasping at any straw to try to get Maddie to back down. “You know there’s a high risk of miscarriage at my age. You didn’t even tell any of us about your last pregnancy until you were well past the first trimester.”

  “Don’t try that excuse on me,” Maddie said. “I told Cal because the father has a right to know from the very beginning. You need to tell Erik for the same reason.”

  “But if I do lose this baby, then I’d never get another chance, not with Erik anyway.”

  “That’s a risk you’ll have to take,” Maddie said, her gaze unflinching.

  Helen sighed. “Come on, Maddie, this needs to be handled on my timetable, not yours.”

  “Tuesday,” Maddie repeated firmly. “I’ll get Elliott now. He can take you to your office.”

  “When did you learn to play hardball?” Helen asked with grudging admiration.

  “I’ve spent most of my life around you,” Maddie retorted. “It was bound to rub off.”

  “I should have known I’d live to regret my influence over you,” Helen said. “I’ll be in touch.”

  Maddie nodded. “See that you are.”

  Helen couldn’t seem to stop the smile that tugged at her lips. “You can stop the tough-guy routine now. You’ve made your point.”

  In fact, she’d made it so effectively that Helen wondered if she’d be able to salvage anything out of this mess she’d created. The only thing keeping her from sinking into despair was the thought that in just a few months, she’d be holding her own child in her arms. That would make any of the consequences she suffered worth it.

  Karen was walking into The Corner Spa for her morning workout when she spotted Elliott leaving with Helen. A streak of pure jealousy shot through her. She was so absorbed in watching the two of them, in noting the way Elliott bent down to listen more intently to whatever Helen was saying, that she bumped straight into Maddie, who was coming out of her office.

  “I’m so sorry,” Karen murmured.

  Maddie followed the direction of her gaze. “I thought you’d broken things off with Elliott.”

  “I did,” Karen admitted.

  Maddie regarded her with sympathy. “But now you’re regretting it?”

  “I might have been a little hasty,” Karen said. “But it looks as if he’s moved on.”

  Maddie shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with all the women I know,” she lamented. “Not one of you has a grain of sense.”

  Karen stared at her. “Excuse me?”

  “Never mind,” Maddie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Elliott’s not interested in Helen and, believe me, she is definitely not interested in him. He’s giving her a ride to her office because some guy has threatened her and she’s not supposed to go anyplace alone right now.”

  The relief that washed over Karen was telling. “I see,” she said softly.

  “If you want him, do something about it,” Maddie advised. “Helen’s the least of your worries. Elliott is surrounded by temptation all day long. As far as I can tell, he’s shown no interest in any of the women around here who throw themselves at him, but that could change in a heartbeat.”

  “What should I do?”

  “Tell him how you feel. Be honest. People don’t seem to be using that strategy nearly enough these days,” Maddie said heatedly.

  Karen looked taken aback. “Are we still talking about me and Elliott?”

  “Not entirely,” she admitted. “Just remember what I said. Directness and honesty are traits to be valued in any relationship. The lack of either one can doom you.”

  Karen nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Maddie gave her shoulder a squeeze and headed for the treatment area.

  Fifteen minutes later when Elliott walked back in the front door, Karen spotted him at once. She shut off the treadmill on which she’d been doing a halfhearted workout and stepped down, then marched across the room until she was almost toe-to-toe with him. It was the first time she’d forced a confrontation since they’d broken up.

  She put her hands on his shoulders, stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his mouth that would have shot the temperature in the steam room up another fifty degrees. When she stepped back, he looked dazed.

  “I thought we’d broken up,” he said eventually.

  She shrugged. “I changed my mind. I think that was a bad idea. How about you?”

  His lips twitched. “I always thought it was a bad idea.”

  “Then can we go out on Sunday? Just the two of us?”

  He shook his head and her heart plummeted.

  “We can go out on Sunday only if you bring the kids along. It’s my niece Angela’s first birthday. There’s a family celebration.”

  Karen stared at him. “And you want us to go with you?”

  “I do,” he said solemnly.

  “Your family will have questions,” she warned him.

  “Believe me, I know that even better than you do. Are you prepared for that?”

  She thought about it, thought about Frances’s insistence that Elliott was a family man who’d stick by her side through thick and thin. Maybe this was her chance to see that firsthand. Hopefully it would tell her everything she needed to know before she opened her heart all the way.

  She lifted her gaze to his and nodded. “I think I am.”

  “Then I’ll pick you up at noon. No need to bring a present. I’ll get something from all of us.”

  “From all of us?” she echoed. That would be a declaration of sorts.

  He nodded. “Is that a problem?”

  “No,” she said slowly. “No, it’s not a problem at all.”

  For the first time, he gave her a full-fledged smile, then touched her cheek. “I’m glad you changed your mind, querida.”

  It was the first time he’d used the endearment. It touched a place inside her that had been cold and lonely for way too long. “Me, too,” she said. “But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, okay?”

  “How far is too far?” he asked. “Just so I understand the rules.”

  Suddenly feeling more daring than she had in years, she told him, “No rules. Let’s just improvise.”

  “Slow-track improv,” Elliott concluded. “I can do that. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.”

  So was Karen. It didn’t mean she wasn’t scared. Nor did it mean the future was certain. But she was looking forward with anticipation, rather than panic and dread. It was a darn good feeling.

  Helen got dressed after her examination, then went into the obstetrician’s office. She hadn’t been able to read anything from Dr. Matthew Dawson’s expression while he’d been poking and prodding her.

  In his office, she sat across from him while he made notes in her chart. Her pulse scrambled wildly as she waited for the words that would confirm whether or not she was finally going to have the baby she wanted so badly.

  Eventually he looked up, his expression grave. Once again, her pulse went crazy. Wouldn’t he look happy if she were pregnant? Or at least neutral?

  “You’ve been really anxious to get pregnant, haven’t you?” he said at last. “We talked about it the last time you were here.”

  Unable to speak, she nodded.

  “Well, the good news is, you’ve gotten your wish. You’re definitely pregnant.”

  Helen heard a but in there, a very worrisome but. “Why do I get the feeling you’re not as happy about that as I am?”

  “I’m not unhappy,” he told her. “I’m just concerned. Your blood pressure’s not as low as I’d like to see it at this stage. With your history, it’s going to be very
tricky for you to safely carry this baby to term.”

  “I’ve been under some unexpected stress the past few days, but I’ll work harder to get it back down,” she promised eagerly. “I’ll do whatever you tell me. I want this baby more than anything.”

  “Enough to agree to complete bed rest if I decide it’s necessary?” he inquired skeptically.

  “Absolutely,” she said at once. She would find some way to work it out. She’d divert her clients to other attorneys. She’d hire a housekeeper. Whatever it took. Nothing was going to endanger this chance to become a mother.

  “You say that now,” he said, “but you’re a very driven woman, Helen. That’s how you got yourself to this point. Stress is part of your daily life. How are you going to eliminate that?”

  Seeing Brad Holliday arrested would certainly help, but she didn’t want to get into that. The doctor would probably recommend she spend her entire pregnancy on some nice, quiet island.

  “I’ll take yoga classes. I’ll meditate. I’ll exercise.”

  “All things you’ve been promising me for months that you’d do,” he reminded her.

  “And I have,” she said. “At least most of the time.”

  “Your blood pressure says otherwise.”

  “I’ll do better,” she promised. “Really. I’ll be a model patient. Nothing means more to me than having a healthy baby.”

  To her relief, he seemed to believe her as he wrote out prescriptions. “One’s for a prenatal vitamin. The other’s for a stronger diuretic than the one you’ve been on. We need to avoid water retention. Take them. And do all of those other things you promised. I want to see you again in two weeks, rather than a month. We’re going to need to monitor you closely if you’re to carry to term.”

  “Can you tell how far along I am?”

  “I’d say a month, maybe six weeks at the most. We’ll do an ultrasound next time and we’ll know more.” For the first time, he smiled. “Congratulations, Helen. I’ll do everything I can to see that you have the healthy baby you want. You just need to do your part. Avoid stress above all else. Understood?”

  “Yes,” she assured him.

  She just had two stressful conversations to get through and hopefully by then Brad would be in jail. From then on, she intended to eliminate anything even faintly stressful from her life.

  She decided she’d start by talking to Dana Sue. Once Dana Sue had calmed down, she might have some ideas about how she should tell Erik. And no matter how badly either of them reacted, Helen had to put it behind her. From now on this baby was her number-one priority. Period.

  For three months Erik had been caught up in a situation he couldn’t explain, all but living with a woman who didn’t seem to have any expectations outside the bedroom. Helen wasn’t demanding. She didn’t seem to be interested in staking some sort of claim. All she cared about was the kind of hot, steamy sex men dreamed about. In fact, he was just about worn-out from all the late nights. As incredible as it had been, he couldn’t help thinking that there was something going on he didn’t totally understand, especially over the past week.

  He knew Helen had been annoyed with his protectiveness despite her own concern that Brad Holliday might come after her, but it was more than that. She’d been quieter than usual, more withdrawn, especially since Caroline Holliday had wound up in the hospital. He would have chalked it all up to fear, but Helen was the kind of woman who faced fear head-on. He was beginning to get a sinking feeling that this had more to do with him.

  He was on his way into the kitchen at Sullivan’s when he heard raised voices coming from Dana Sue’s office. He recognized his boss’s and then Helen’s. Unable to stop himself, he walked closer to the door.

  “Dammit, Helen, what were you thinking?” Dana Sue shouted. “How could you do something like this? Maddie knows, doesn’t she? That’s what she’s been so annoyed about lately.”

  “Maddie guessed, but I don’t see what you’re getting so worked up about,” Helen replied stiffly. “You knew all along that Erik and I were spending time together. Heck, we’ve been living together ever since Brad Holliday became a threat.”

  “Of course, and I couldn’t have been happier,” Dana Sue said. “You two are great for each other. I’ve been waiting for weeks now to have one of you admit you were falling in love. Instead, you come in here, tell me you’re pregnant and that you’re dumping him. You’ve used him, accomplished your goal, and that’s it? How could you, Helen?”

  Erik stood rooted in place as Dana Sue’s words sank in. Helen was pregnant? How the hell had that happened? She’d told him… What had she told him? He searched his mind, trying to remember a single conversation they’d had about birth control. Surely way back at the beginning they’d talked about it, he thought. Then he recalled one hastily uttered claim from her that everything was okay, that he didn’t need to worry. He’d taken her at her word. Why wouldn’t he? Helen was supposedly one of the most trustworthy people in town.

  And now she was pregnant? And if he was correctly interpreting the gist of her conversation with Dana Sue, that had been her plan all along? She’d apparently wanted a baby and chosen him to help her make one, despite his oft-repeated statements that kids were not in the cards for him.

  A blind rage swept through him. Before he could think about it or reconsider, he pushed open the door and stalked into Dana Sue’s cramped office. Both women regarded him with dismay. He faced Dana Sue first.

  “Out,” he said tersely.

  She scrambled from behind her desk, gave him one last sympathetic look and left.

  After her initial shock, Helen faced him with a surprisingly calm expression. “I gather you heard.”

  “Enough,” he said. “Maybe you ought to start from the beginning, though, and spell it out for me. I want to be sure I have all the facts straight.”

  “It’s nothing for you to be upset about,” she began in a reasonable tone that made him want to start breaking things.

  “Maybe you should let me decide just how upset I want to get,” he retorted. “You’re pregnant, is that right?”

  She nodded. “But I don’t expect anything from you. I’m happy about this, Erik. Really happy. I’ve wanted a baby more than anything for a long time now.”

  “More than anything,” he echoed, ice in his voice and in his veins. “But you saw no need to mention that to me?”

  “Actually we have talked about it, at least in a general way,” she reminded him.

  “A general way?” he echoed. “Oh, yes, I do remember that. But I don’t recall a single mention of the role you intended for me to play. Didn’t you consider that perhaps I ought to have at least some say?”

  She swallowed hard. “I see your point. I probably should have discussed it with you.”

  Erik saw red. “Probably?” he all but shouted, then fought to bring his temper under control.

  She regarded him earnestly. “Erik, I swear to you that I can give this baby everything it needs. You’re under no obligation to be part of his or her life at all. It’s not as if I did this to trap you or something.”

  “Which doesn’t exactly deal with the real issue, does it?” he said. Clenching his fists to keep from grabbing her and shaking her, he said, “And if I want to be a part of the baby’s life?”

  That seemed to rock her back on her heels. “What?”

  “I asked you how you feel about me being involved in the baby’s life.”

  “I told you it’s not necessary,” she said. “I know you don’t want children.”

  “And yet here we are,” he said sarcastically, “with you pregnant with my baby.”

  “But there’s no reason for you to feel obligated,” she insisted again. “This is my baby. I take full responsibility for what happened.”

  “It happened because you made it happen,” he said. “Isn’t that right?”

  She winced. “I suppose you could say that. I knew it was a possibility.” At his scowl, she said, “Okay, I did eve
rything possible to make it happen, which is why I’m taking responsibility and expecting nothing from you.”

  “It doesn’t work like that, sugar,” he said grimly, not sure if he was more furious about her decision to have this baby without consulting him, or about her willingness to shut him out of their lives as if he’d been nothing more than some anonymous sperm donor.

  Granted he hadn’t ever planned on becoming a father, not after losing his baby when his wife died. The pain of that loss had stuck with him and was something he couldn’t bear to risk repeating.

  Nor had he thought about marrying again, especially not to Helen. Their casual relationship with no demands, mind-blowing sex and mind-challenging conversation had suited him just fine. Now, suddenly, all of that had changed and he didn’t intend to be shut out of her life or their child’s.

  He grabbed the chair from behind Dana Sue’s desk and set it down right in front of Helen, then straddled it. Given the room’s lack of space, she had no wiggle room at all. She had no choice but to stay where she was and listen.

  “Here’s the way it’s going to be,” he said, looking at her intently. Despite the shock he’d felt when he’d heard the news, he was as certain of what needed to happen next as he’d ever been of anything. “You’ve gotten your way apparently. You’re pregnant. Now I’m going to do what I want. Are you listening, Helen? I really need you to hear every word of this.”

  She nodded, her eyes wide, her expression shaken.

  “You and I will get married,” he said flatly. “We will go through this pregnancy together. After the baby’s born, if you still want to be some kind of supermom on your own, we’ll talk about a divorce, but I will have shared custody of our child. That’s it.”

  She regarded him with an unmistakably panicked expression. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m as serious as a heart attack.”

  “But why?”

  “Because I lost one baby and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I won’t lose another. And if you think I’ll change my mind once I’ve had time to think things through or that you’ll just postpone and delay your way out of making a commitment, think again.”