“I’m so sorry about that.”
She waved me off. “No need to apologize. I hope you don’t mind, but I had Hans bring crackers and ginger ale for you.” I assumed that Hans was the butler since I hadn’t seen anyone else around. “I remember what it was like when I had my first two kids. I had morning sickness all the time. The first time it hit, I was so sick for at least a week until I learned how to manage.”
“Uh, I don’t, I mean..”
“You haven’t taken a test yet.”
I shook my head.
“Well, I would guess that you really don’t need to. You look about the same as I did. Why don’t you sip on some ginger ale? It’ll make you feel better.”
I took a sip and had to disagree with her. I didn’t feel better.
“Give it a few minutes. Keep it by your bed and some crackers also. Eat before you get up in the morning. It should help, but it doesn’t for everyone.”
“That’s reassuring.”
She laughed and folded her hands on her lap once again. “Well, now that we have that out of the way, how about we discuss the charity. Unless you would like to reschedule.”
“No, I think I’ll be okay. I thought we’d start with you telling me exactly what your charity does so I can let our readers know what great work the charity does.”
She smiled and launched into a half hour speech about all the things that the charity provided for families with sick kids and how much of every donation went to those in need. If it wasn’t for the missing money, I would want to do a piece on her charity just to raise awareness to the good she was trying to do.
“Those are very impressive numbers, but unfortunately, they don’t match what the families are actually getting. Can you tell me why millions of dollars are missing from the charity?”
She faltered and looked toward the foyer. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about the fact that I have a source that provided me with documentation proving that people’s donations aren’t making it into the pockets of those that need it. As you know, it would be very bad if the public found out about this.”
“What do you want?”
“I just want to know why you would steal from families that need this money so desperately.” I waved a hand around her opulent sitting room. “Surely, you have enough money to get by.”
“I haven’t been taking money. I don’t even handle the finances. I just organize the events and ask people to help spread awareness.”
I glanced down and saw that she had faint bruises around both of her wrists. Looking back up, I saw her quickly pull her sleeves down further.
“Well, whoever is stealing the money will be caught and when they do, they’ll be going to jail for a long time.” I gave her a pointed look and glanced down at her wrists again. “Why don’t I give you my card and you can call me for your next event? I would gladly cover it for you and hopefully it would give you some good PR.”
She nodded and I slid a card with my number across to her. She took it and hid it in her pants pocket, then stood and gave a tight smile. “Thank you for coming. I hope the charity will get more exposure from this. The children really need it.”
Her voice wavered and I could tell she was shaken by my questions.
“Thank you for your time, Mrs. Sanford.” I shook her hand and headed for the front door, still a little weak on my feet. As I stepped out into the sun, the bright light intensified my headache and I quickly pulled my sunglasses back on. I was so screwed if I was pregnant. Sebastian would be on my ass twenty-four, seven. There would be no more investigations and I would be dragged back to Reed Security kicking and screaming.
I got into Hunter’s truck robotically and just sat there staring out the window for a few minutes before I realized that we weren’t moving.
“You okay there, Freckles? I’ve been talking to you, but you haven’t heard a word I said.”
“Yeah. Pssh. I’m totally cool. Awesome. Nothing’s wrong,” I rambled. It was nothing like how I normally sounded and based on the look on Hunter’s face, he knew I was lying. “I just need a nap. Can you take me home?”
He raised an eyebrow, but put the truck in drive and drove me home. When I got inside, I paced my house trying to figure out how I was going to get my hands on a pregnancy test. If I went into the store, one of my security team would want to go with me, so that was out. I could order it on Amazon, but then I’d have to wait two days. I couldn’t call any of my friends because they were all friends with Sebastian and he would know before I found out the results of the test. There was only one person that I could rely on to run this errand for me. Aggie.
I walked out of my house and crossed to my neighbor’s lawn, well aware of my security team’s eyes on me. They were permanently positioned in a truck outside my house or walking the perimeter, as they called it. Aggie answered her door with a smile on her face.
“Well, hello dear. Come in and have a cup of tea with me.”
“Thank you, Aggie. I actually have something I need to talk to you about,” I said as I followed her into the kitchen. She walked over to her tea pot and filled it with water from the tap.
“What did you want to talk about?”
There was no easy way to say this, so I sucked in a breath and quickly asked before I lost my nerve.
“I need you to buy me a pregnancy test.”
She was grabbing a mug from her cabinet and fumbled, dropping it to the floor where it broke into several large pieces. I grimaced and bent down to pick up the broken mug.
“Oh, dear. I’m guessing that young man of yours isn’t aware of your condition.”
“My condition? Aggie, since when is being pregnant a condition?”
She shook her head and pursed her lips. “In my day, it wasn’t common for a woman to have a baby without being married first.”
“Aggie, you had sex with Harry in my house while I was gone!” I said in shock.
“Don’t mistake me, dear. I wasn’t judging. I was just explaining that my generation called it a condition because it wasn’t proper. That was how I ended up married at the age of seventeen.” She sighed and looked off dreamily toward her wedding picture that was sitting on the side table in the living room. I walked over to it and took a look. Her husband was quite handsome.
“Lawrence was his name. He was quite the charmer and he charmed me right out of my panties, as you young people would say. Our first time was on the beach. We thought it would be romantic, but the sand got in so many uncomfortable places. We were inseparable though and I ended up pregnant. We had to get married before I started showing.”
“Did you love him?”
“Oh, yes. I was devastated when he died. I never thought I would meet another man as sexy as Lawrence,” she said dreamily.
“Sexy? Really, Aggie?”
“Oh, sure. Your man is a stud muffin, but Harry has years of experience on Sebastian. You know, just the other day, we were in this position where Harry had me bent over-”
“Aggie!” I held up my hand to stop her. “Please, I’m nauseous enough without hearing about your sexual positions with Harry. Can you go to the store for me?”
“Yes, dear. Is there any particular brand you want? Digital or regular?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Well, how good are you at following instructions?”
“There are instructions? Don’t you just pee on a stick?”
“Well, yes, but I meant, can you read what one line versus two lines means? Either way, they’re both pretty simple. I don’t understand why someone would need for it to say pregnant or not pregnant, but I’ll get whatever you want.”
I shook my head in frustration. “I don’t care what kind you get. Just get me one that works. No. Get me at least two. I want to be sure it’s right. How much money do you need? Five bucks?”
She laughed at me. “Oh, dear. You really are out of the game, aren’t you? I’ll need twenty doll
ars.”
“Twenty dollars? For a stick I’m going to pee on?”
“Honey, I don’t sell them.”
“How do you know so much about pregnancy tests anyway?”
“I have four daughters. I was with every one of them when they went through this and two of them have daughters of their own. Believe me, I know more about this than I should at my age.” She walked over and grabbed her purse, walking to the door. “Just stay here. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
It took her fifteen agonizing minutes to get to the store and back. I was going out of my mind, wandering around her house and looking for anything to distract me. She was talking to someone as she was coming into the house and I rounded the corner of her living room to see Harry walking in and carrying the bag.
“Harry, I can carry a little bag from the drug store. I’m not an invalid, you know.”
“Since when do you mind me helping you with anything? I thought you liked to see my muscles flexing for you?”
My eyes zeroed in as he reached into the bag.
“Now, what did you need at the drugstore? You’re not feeling sick are you?”
“It was just some medicine for a little problem I have,” Aggie said, trying to stop Harry from reaching into the bag. He pulled out the box and stared at it for a long moment.
“Aggie, no amount of medicine will take care of a problem like that. Why didn’t you tell me? I had no idea it was even a possibility at our age.”
Aggie looked at me, begging me to step in and explain, but I was too dumbfounded to move. Harry grabbed her by the arm and guided her to the couch.
“Sit down, Aggie. You shouldn’t be on your feet in your condition.” I rolled my eyes at his use of the word condition. “Now, don’t you worry about a thing, Aggie girl. I’ll be there for you every step of the way. You won’t have to go through this alone. I’m not a man that walks away from his responsibilities. I know we’re both a little old for this, but we’ll figure it out.”
“Maggie, dear, would you please explain this to Harry before I end up at the doctor’s office?”
Harry looked to me and then back at Aggie. “You mean, you’re not on the nest, Aggie?”
She sighed and pushed Harry away from her as she stood. “Harry, even if I wanted to, that train left the station over twenty years ago.”
“Oh,” he said dejectedly. “I never had a son.”
“And there would be no reason to think that this one would be a boy, if there was one. Besides, can you imagine going through all that at our age? I’m not up for being up at all hours of the night and changing diapers every two hours. And my boobs are saggy enough without having a baby hanging off them every few hours.”
I looked down at my own breasts, wondering what they would look like if I was pregnant and had a baby in nine months. Could I handle being up at all hours of the night to take care of a screaming baby? I wasn’t even sure I wanted a baby, not yet anyway, if at all. I was trying to get my career going again. A baby would get in the way of all that.
“Dear, why don’t you sit down. You look like you might pass out at any minute.”
“No, I need to know. Give me the test.”
Aggie handed it over and I went to her bathroom, quickly reading the instructions and following them to a T. I refused to look at the test until the three minutes were up and even then, I waited another five to make sure it was finished testing. Taking a deep breath, I turned and looked at the test and then promptly passed out.
CHAPTER SIX
Maggie and Sebastian
MAGGIE
There’s nothing more embarrassing than passing out after finding out you’re pregnant. I didn’t pass out because I was dizzy or not feeling well. I passed out from shock that I was carrying a human inside me. I didn’t understand how this happened. I took my pills religiously and always at the same time every day.
When I woke up, Aggie and Harry were standing over me, staring at me. Aggie had a look of concern, but Harry was laughing at me. Seriously, I had been passed out and he was laughing at me while holding my pee stick. I groaned and sat up.
“Harry, I just pissed all over that stick and now you’re holding it. That’s so gross.”
“Tin roof rusted, huh?”
“What? That doesn’t even make any sense.”
“It means you’ve got a bun in the oven,” Aggie said.
“The rabbit died,” Harry said looking at Aggie.
“Up the spout.”
“A pea in the pod.”
“In the pudding club.”
I was getting whiplash from watching them name slang terms for being pregnant.
“In the family way.”
“A bat in the cave.”
“Knocked up.”
“Up the duff,” Aggie said.
“I’ve heard that one before,” I said. A banging sound came from outside and then heavy footsteps followed.
“Aggie? Where is she?” That was Hunter’s voice. I looked at Harry pleadingly as he held my stick for all to see. Aggie quickly grabbed the stick and shoved it into the waistband of her pants and threw the box under the sink.
Hunter appeared in the doorway and looked at me questioningly. “You okay?” He was holding what looked like a medical bag.
“Why is Hunter in here?”
“When you hit the floor, I was worried you hit your head, so I called Hunter and asked him to check you out. Did you know this hunk of beef has a medical degree?” She blushed as she looked over at Hunter, who tried to pretend that a seventy year old lady wasn’t hitting on him. Harry grunted and grabbed Aggie’s hand.
“Come on, Aggie. I’ve got some hard candy in my pocket we can suck on while we wait for Hunter to look at her.”
“Harry! Come on. Nobody needs to know what you and Aggie are going to be doing.”
Harry pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing a handful of hard caramel candies.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, girlie. In my day, hard candy meant hard candy.”
Hunter knelt down beside me and grabbed my wrist, taking my pulse. He stared at his watch as my heart beat out of control. He was going to tell Sebastian about this. I was so screwed. I had to find a way to convince Hunter that I was fine, but he had already seen me looking like shit today.
“I’m really okay. You don’t have to be in here doing this.”
Silence. He took out a flashlight and started shining it in my eyes, moving it away quickly like they do when paramedics check for a concussion.
“I don’t have a concussion.”
He ran his hands around my throat, feeling my glands. With his hands around my neck, I swallowed hard, knowing that his current demeanor was all for show. Hunter was as deadly as they came. As I stared at him, I realized that he reminded me a lot of Dwayne Johnson. His muscles were just as big and he was just as tall. His face was even similar. With his shaved head, he could easily pass as a sibling.
He sat back and stared at me. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean that you looked like shit this morning and you look even worse now. Have you been drinking water?”
Water. He had said I was dehydrated earlier. That was a good excuse. I shook my head sullenly and looked at the floor. He sighed and stood, holding a hand out to me. I took it and let him lead me into the living room to the couch.
“Sit.”
I did as he said and plopped down on the couch. I was still a little nauseous, but I couldn’t tell him that. It would just make him suspicious. He came back into the room holding a glass of water.
“Drink all of it. Now.”
I did as he said, but then slowed down when it made me feel even more nauseous. Taking small sips, I tried to avoid the deadly gaze of the man standing over me with his arms crossed.
“Don’t you have a shirt that fits?” I asked. “Your arms are huge and they don’t fit in that shirt.”
He
didn’t say anything, just glared at me some more. I shut my mouth and finished drinking my glass of water. He took it from me and returned again with another glass. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he watched as I drank the second glass. I felt better when I was finished and laid back against the back of the couch.
“I have to go report in.” He turned to Aggie. “Make sure she drinks another glass. She’s dehydrated.”
He stormed out of the house, leaving me with Aggie and Harry.
“Got yourself in a pickle, huh?” Harry said.
“Harry, you’re having way too much fun with this.”
“When are you going to tell him?” Aggie asked.
“Tell him? Why in the hell would I tell him? I don’t even know what I’m going to do. I haven’t had time to process what’s happening.”
“You can’t keep it from him, girlie. He has a right to know.”
“How is this in any way his decision? We’re not together any more. If I told him, I know exactly what he would say. He would tell me how great it is and that we should get married.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Aggie asked.
“Maybe before, but a baby wouldn’t solve our problems, Aggie.”
The sound of a throat clearing had me whipping my head to the doorway. How had I not heard the door open? Hunter and Derek stood in the doorway, eyes narrowed and accusing looks on their faces.
“Cap wants us to take you to the hospital,” Derek bit out. I looked back at Aggie and Harry with wide eyes. They hadn’t seen them either.
“I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m fine.”
“Doesn’t matter. Cap’s orders were to take you to the hospital or I drag you kicking and screaming back to him.”
He smirked at me as anger overtook me. It was like I didn’t have any say in what happened in my own life. I stood and grabbed my purse, stomping out of the house. It was better if I went to the hospital than if I went back to Sebastian’s. He would be watching me like a hawk and I wouldn’t have any time to figure this out.
Cap_A Reed Security Romance Page 7
