The Surprise

by Alice Ward

  “I’m not sure. We’re just sort of dealing with things as they come,” I admitted. “I hope my name is cleared first. But if it’s not, I think Ethan will want to leave the team on his terms. He won’t want to wait around to see if Victor fires him.”

  Walt narrowed his eyes. “So he’ll be looking for a new contract… in a new city?”

  I nodded. “I know what you’re going to ask. And I’ve already told Ethan I’ll move with him if he’s signed to a new team.”

  Walt frowned and exchanged a glance with Claudia. She smiled and gave him a slight nod before he turned back to me.

  “I think it goes without saying that I don’t want you to move. Especially now, when I’m finally putting down roots. I’ll be a good sport about it, but you’ll have to promise me something.”

  I raised an intrigued eyebrow. “What’s that?”

  “That you’ll come home next October to be my best man,” he said, his mouth widening with a proud grin. Claudia beamed from the recliner and pulled an engagement ring from her pocket.

  “We were going to wait until tomorrow to tell you,” she said to my open-mouthed expression. She laughed and slipped the ring onto her finger, then held out her hand so I could examine the brilliant round diamond.

  “One of your presents under the tree is actually a best man t-shirt.” Walt’s grin couldn’t possibly get bigger. “Claudia thought it would be a cute way to break the news.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” I gushed, tears falling from my eyes. I hugged Walt, then Claudia before returning to my spot on the sofa. I took my uncle’s hand and gave him a broad smile. “I’d be honored to stand beside you at the wedding. And to be honest, I’m a little relieved that you beat me down the aisle. I always worried you were an incurable bachelor.”

  Walt let out an amused chuckle and squeezed my hand. A few silent moments passed and my uncle’s mood suddenly changed from joyful to reflective.

  “I don’t want you to move,” he said again. “But if that’s the decision you make, I’ll support it. I know you’re a grown woman and need to live your life, wherever it may take you. I know I can be overprotective and opinionated. It’s only because when I look at you, I still see the tiny little girl who used to beg for one last story before bedtime. I feel like I missed so much of your life when you were growing up. I was looking forward to making up for that now that I’ve retired.”

  “Nothing’s decided yet,” I reminded him, pressing my fingers against suddenly wet eyes. “And if Ethan and I do move, I know a guy who could fly you in for a visit.”

  He laughed and relaxed his shoulders. “I know. I’m acting like a sentimental old man.”

  “It’s okay. We have a lot going on, you’re allowed to be sentimental. And for the record, you have nothing to make up for. You worked hard so we could have a nice life. I always understood that. Now, if we’re going to make it through both movies, we’d better get started.”

  ***

  I stepped out of the deep porcelain bathtub and wrapped myself in one of the hotel’s fluffy robes. It was two days after Christmas, and Ethan and I were spending some much needed time together between the holiday and Ethan’s bowl game. I hated that I had to stay behind, but there was no way around it. Keeping our relationship a secret meant we’d be on separate coasts on New Year’s Eve. I’d have no one to kiss at midnight. We’d been doing plenty of kissing to make up for it.

  I padded into the empty bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Ethan entered from the other door a few moments later pushing a room service cart.

  “Breakfast is served,” he said, lifting the metal dome lid off of a plate of pancakes and bacon. He poured us each a cup of coffee while I drenched my food in syrup. I cut a wide triangle through my tall stack and shoved it into my mouth with my fork.

  “Hungry?” Ethan teased with an amused smile.

  I nodded, my cheeks puffed out like chipmunks. I chased the food with a long sip of orange juice and smiled back at him. “Someone spent most of the night working up my appetite,” I reminded him.

  Ethan grinned and cut into his Denver omelet. “I’m pretty famished myself. We need to cut this out or I’ll be too exhausted to go to practice.”

  “Don’t go. Play hooky and stay here with me,” I demanded playfully. I folded a piece of bacon into my mouth and lifted a napkin from the nearby cart. The morning paper was beneath it. My stomach tensed, but Ethan immediately made me feel better.

  “There’s nothing in it,” he assured me. “I googled us while you were in the bath. My only mentions were team related and there are no new stories about you at all.”

  There was an exciting, romantic element to our secret rendezvous but for the most part, they just made me nervous. Part of me was convinced we’d be caught at any moment and our worst fears would become reality. Every time the news came on or I saw a paper, my heart raced with fear.

  “I’ll be so glad when all of this is over,” I confessed and took a long sip of coffee, then cupped the warm mug with both hands.

  “That brings up something we need to talk about. In a perfect world, where will we be when all of this is over?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Ethan ate another bite of his eggs before continuing. “Say you’re cleared before the end of the season and Victor can’t hold the morality clause over my head. Do you want to stay here in Portland? Or should we just assume we’re moving on no matter what happens?”

  “I don’t know… if you’d have asked me a few months ago, I would have wanted to stay here. But now I’m not so sure. I’d miss my family and friends if we left. But I’d be lying if I said a fresh start didn’t sound like a great idea. What would make you happiest?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “I just want to play football. I don’t care where, as long as we’re together.”

  Knots formed in my stomach and I shifted nervously on the bed.

  “What is it, baby?” he pressed, his voice full of concern.

  I let out a long, anxious sigh. “We’re sitting here planning our future, but we’re not even sure I’ll have one. I could still go to prison, Ethan. It’s been easy to ignore that with everything slowing down for the holidays. But it’s still there, hanging over our heads. I’ve been charged with trying to kill a child. What if we can’t prove I didn’t do it? You can’t prove a negative, isn’t that what they always say?”

  Ethan moved the breakfast trays and pulled me into his arms. “I won’t let that happen, Emily. I’ve already told you, if worse comes to worst, we’ll run. I know it’s impossible not to worry. But you can trust that I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  I desperately wanted to believe him, but questions kept forming all around me. “What if we can’t run? What if whoever did this frames me for something else? The police could show up at my house unexpected and take me before we have a chance to leave.”

  “You’re innocent, Emily,” he reminded me, his voice calm but firm. “But if the courts can’t see that the first time around, I’ll hire the best appeals attorneys in the country. And I won’t give up until you’re released. I’ll wait for you and stay faithful to you, no matter what. I love you. And no matter what happens, that will never change.”

  Talking about my fears had put me in a terrible mood, and I resisted Ethan’s efforts to make me feel better.

  “Even if I’m cleared of the criminal charges, the board of education could still revoke my teaching license. I’m not innocent of neglect, and they know it. The kids told them I was on the phone when Alfie collapsed.”

  “You have to forgive yourself for that,” he insisted, pushing my hair back from my face. “But you’re right. You were on the phone. That’s both of our faults, and you’re the one who might have to pay for it. But your life won’t end if your license is revoked. If you couldn’t teach, what would you want to do?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I never thought about it until this happened. I can’t picture myself doing anything but w
orking with kids. And with this on my record, no one will hire me to do that.”

  “Well, what was your favorite subject in school?”

  “I liked English and history… mostly because I’ve always loved to read.”

  “Perfect. You could go back to school, get your doctorate, and then you could teach at a university. You’d be able to teach what you love to people who actually want to be there… grown people who are responsible for themselves.”

  I looked at him in horror. “Do you know how long it would take me to get my doctorate? And even with it, there’s no guarantee that I’ll get hired anywhere. And I don’t think I’d enjoy working with adults as much as children.”

  “I’m just offering a suggestion. Our lives can be whatever we want, Emily. We can be whatever we want. If you love reading and working with kids, we’ll open a children’s bookstore. If you don’t like that idea, we’ll come up with something else. I don’t care if you suddenly decide you want to live off-grid and become a chicken farmer. If you lose your teaching license, it’ll take some time for you to figure out what comes next. But I’m in. Whatever makes you happy, consider it done.”

  “A chicken farmer?” I teased and smiled, scrunching up my nose.

  His eyes grew soft as he looked at me. “I was just making a point. But it’s nice to see your smile has returned.” He planted a firm kiss on my lips and then settled us against the headboard. I curled up against his chest and let out a contented sigh.

  “You know, since our last fight, you’ve done a fantastic job of making sure I know you’re on my side,” I pointed out. “Thank you for that. It makes all of the uncertainties a lot easier to deal with.”

  “I’m sorry I ever gave you reason to doubt that.” He kissed the top of my head and held me a little tighter. “As long as I live, I will never regret anything like I regret not speaking up for you when the reporters mobbed me outside the hospital. I will never make that mistake again. I want so badly to take you by the hand and march up and down the streets, telling everyone that I love you. And I love you so much for understanding why I can’t.”

  “This is bigger than just you and me. The trickle-down effect of a disappointing playoff run or a bigger scandal just isn’t worth it. But the second that’s no longer an issue, I’m going to hold you to that little love parade you just described,” I said, my voice playful and daring.

  “You can hold me to anything you’d like,” he dared back.

  I rolled on top of him, letting my bathrobe fall open. He ran his hands down my bare back and I pulled his face to my chest.

  “Like these?” I whispered, my voice low and sultry.

  “Anything you’d like,” he whispered back. He kissed my breastbone then took my right nipple between his teeth, pinching gently while he teased me with his tongue. My phone rang just as he moved to the left.

  “Don’t answer it.”

  I groaned. “That’s Frank’s ringtone. I have to.” I jumped off the bed. I fumbled in my purse and retrieved my phone, but not before the call went to voicemail. I immediately redialed Frank’s number. He answered on the second ring.

  “Emily, thank God. I was just leaving you a message. How quickly can you get to my office?”

  My heart hammered and I pushed a shaky hand through my hair. “I can be there in half an hour. Why?”

  “I got a call from Nelson. He wants us in his office at ten.”

  I glanced at the bedside alarm. It was only nine, so I had plenty of time to get to the meeting. I just wasn’t sure I had enough time to psych myself up for it.

  “Did the prosecutor say what this meeting is about?” I asked, looking at Ethan. The moment I said “prosecutor,” he sprang into action. He took a sweater and a rumpled pair of black slacks from my duffle bag and set up the hotel ironing board.

  “He didn’t give me any specifics. But my guess is that the police have finally finished reviewing the security footage.”

  I started brushing on makeup while Ethan ironed my clothes. “Frank… is there any chance I won’t be going home after this meeting?”

  “Not unless they somehow have video of you pouring powdered milk into that trail mix.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, I can assure you that didn’t happen.”

  “Then you have nothing to worry about. Nothing new, anyway. I’ll see you in half an hour.”

  “See you then.”

  I ended the call, gripped the edge of the bathroom sink, and took a deep breath. Ethan came into the room, moved behind me, and wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned back against his chest and met his eyes in the mirror.

  “This will be good news,” he promised. “This is the call we’ve been waiting for.”

  “I hope so. Otherwise, it will get a lot worse before it gets better.”

  “I know you’re nervous. I’m nervous for you. I’ll come to the courthouse. If anyone sees us together, I’ll just say that I’m there as a concerned friend.”

  I ran my hand down the front of his shirt. “That won’t work and you know it. I wish you could come with me, but you can’t miss practice. The meeting is at ten. I’ll text you as soon as it’s over.”

  I swiped mascara onto my eyelashes and went back to the bedroom, where Ethan had laid my freshly ironed clothes on the bed. I dressed quickly and slipped on my black ballet flats. As Ethan perched on the edge of the mattress, I stood in front of him and turned in a full circle.

  “How do I look? Like a responsible adult, or someone who’s been up all night carrying on a secret affair?”

  “The first one,” he assured me, his eyes boring into me.

  Blowing out a nervous breath, I reached for my purse and gave Ethan one last hug.

  “This will be good news,” he assured me again. “In fact, I’m so sure of it, I’m going to arrange for a little private celebration at my place tonight. No more hiding…” The corner of his mouth lifted, the dimple coming on full display. “I’m not thrilled by this new habit of yours to call this an affair.”

  I smiled and kissed him hard on the mouth. “Your place, tonight. We’ll celebrate and finish what we started before Frank called.”

  “Careful…” his hands moved down my back to cup my ass, “I just might hold you to that.”

  ***

  “Try to relax, Emily. I know the cops and the prosecutors haven’t been particularly kind to you. But you have to keep in mind that they’re just doing their jobs,” Frank reminded me.

  I nodded and buckled myself into the passenger seat of his Audi. “I know. If I didn’t know me, I’d think I was guilty too. Whoever did this did a good job of setting up a circumstantial case against me. I just hope they don’t do it again.”

  “The more I think about it, the more I think Walt’s right about the parents being the actual target. I’ve interviewed both of the Hollis’s. They both admitted that while they never gave you expressed permission to give Alfie snacks, they knew it was happening. Alfie loved you for it. Who knows how many people learned about your treat stash from them? And those same people would know what Alfie is and isn’t allergic to.”

  “It does make a lot of sense. But it would have been a lot easier for someone like that to get to one of the kids at home,” I pointed out.

  “True, but by doing it at the school, they distanced themselves from the suspect list.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. I keep picturing some faceless person sitting in the dark, contemplating the most efficient way to endanger a child. It makes my stomach turn.”

  “I’m right there with you. I have three kids of my own. Knowing there are monsters out in the world…” His knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. “I’m a humble servant of our justice system, but if someone put one of my kids through what the Hollis boy endured, I don’t know that I’d be able to resist taking the law into my own hands.”

  “Yeah. I’m lucky Mr. Hollis has better control over his impulses than his
wife does. Otherwise, Dickson would have had to take me to the ER before he booked me. I completely understand why they hate me so much. I just wish their anger was directed at the right person.”

  “With any luck, we’ll have the blame off you by lunch,” Frank said with a reassuring smile. He turned into the courthouse parking lot and pulled into an empty space near the front entrance. “Just take a deep breath and remember that you’re innocent.”

  “You’re the second person who’s reminded me of that today,” I told him with a nervous grin. I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid out of the car. I smoothed my wool overcoat, held my head high and followed Frank into the courthouse. We rode an elevator to the third floor, where a painted sign on the window told us we’d reached the prosecuting attorney’s office.

  The heavy glass door opened into a bland, expansive room. Florescent lights hummed overhead, and dingy blue dividers sectioned the space off into tight cubicles. I followed Frank through the maze of desks, the drab brown carpet feeling like Astroturf beneath my feet.

  The door to Nelson’s office was on the far wall, and I drew a lot of disapproving glances as we made our way across the room.

  Ignore them. Most of them know less about what’s going on than I do. They’ve just been reading the papers. The sensationalized version is always more fun.

  Frank knocked on the hollow plywood door and we were immediately instructed to come in. Nelson was behind a wide desk that had been wedged into a room roughly the size of Ethan’s walk-in closet.

  “Have a seat,” he instructed with a wave to the mismatched chairs in front of us. Frank and I squeezed in beside each other and he folded his hands on top of the desk. “I trust you both had a good holiday?”

  “As good as I could expect, given the current situation,” I replied, doing my best to keep my voice warm and calm.

  “You said there was something you needed to speak to us about,” Frank reminded him. “Why don’t we cut the small talk? Miss Kinkaid is anxious to hear if there have been any new developments in the investigation.”