by Lauren Smith
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” he said.
David broke into a smile and went to Felicity. “Sir? I like him, honey.” David smacked Jared’s shoulder and then nodded at the fridge. “Want a beer? We got Corona and Coors. Nothing fancy, but—”
“A Corona would be great.” Jared smiled back. Felicity was watching him and her dad interact. He nodded at her when David’s back was turned, and her shoulders visibly relaxed.
“So you kids went skiing, I hear?” David retrieved a pair of Coronas from the fridge and then opened them before handing one to Jared.
“We did,” Jared continued.
“Felicity has always wanted to go,” Janet explained before turning to her daughter. “How was it?”
“Cold.” Felicity laughed. “Very cold. I get why people go skiing in the spring.”
Her laughter made Jared relax.
David leaned in to Jared to whisper loudly, “Well, was she any good?”
“Quite good after some lessons.” Jared enjoyed seeing the blush on Felicity’s face when he said this.
“Everyone help yourselves to burgers. I made some coleslaw.” Janet set a bowl out, and everyone gathered around the food, filling their plates before they sat down at the table. It was nice to sit down to a quiet dinner. His own family could be large and loud at times.
“So…Jared.” David sipped his beer. “You’re a lawyer?”
Jared swallowed a bite of his burger. He was thirty years old, but sitting here at a table with the parents of the girl he was in love with made him feel like he was sixteen.
“Yes. I practice real estate law.”
“Hmmm.” David grunted and bit into his own food. “How did you meet Felicity?”
The second the question was out of her father’s mouth, a foot kicked Jared’s shin under the table, and he met Felicity’s frantic gaze. Right—edit the story.
“Uh…well, my brother, Tanner, was hosting a Halloween party, and we met there…at the party. We’ve been dating since then.” The truth. It was just missing a lot of the details that would send David Hart running for his Colt revolver, like the fact that they’d shared Jared’s bed and Felicity had slept in his clothes. Everything they’d done after that…
Felicity kicked him again under the table, and he flicked his gaze away. She stared at him meaningfully, but he had no idea what she was trying to tell him.
“Felicity and I are working on a project together,” he said.
“Oh? She didn’t mention it.” Janet scooted forward in her seat. “What sort of project?”
Felicity’s cheeks were still pink. “Jared’s firm is helping to complete a real estate transaction on an old hotel from the 1920s. My boss’s art gallery been hired to do the interior design.”
“That’s wonderful, honey,” David said, his voice full of pride.
“It’s been great to work with Felicity. She’s very talented.” Jared finished his Corona and smiled at Felicity. He couldn’t begin to tell Felicity’s parents how amazing their daughter was.
“She is.” Janet agreed with a happy little laugh. “Ever since she was a child, I’ve never seen anyone so gifted.”
“So you spent Christmas with your folks, Jared?” David helped himself to more coleslaw and passed the bowl to Jared, who accepted it and added more to his own plate.
“We did. My family usually goes to the Bahamas for Christmas, but this year they chose the cabin, and we couldn’t resist getting Felicity out on the slopes.”
“The Bahamas?” Janet’s eyes brightened. “How lovely! I’ve always wanted to go there.” She paused, blushing. “We can’t get off work, and it’s a little out of our budget.”
Jared knew what she meant. Felicity had told him that neither of her parents had ever left the state of Nebraska. It was something he’d considered when he’d spoken to his parents in Colorado before coming here.
“My parents have some flight miles they’re not using in March, and they were looking to give them to anyone who wanted to fly out and spend some time at the Bahamas house. If you’re interested, they’d love for you to go. It wouldn’t cost anything except the food to stock the fridge for as long as you’re there.” Please let them say yes. He wanted so desperately to give something good to Felicity’s parents, to show them that he was looking out not just for their daughter but for them too.
“Mom, you should really consider it,” Felicity urged.
Janet and David exchanged silent glances, and then David smiled. “That would be nice. Thank you, Jared. We could certainly use a real vacation, couldn’t we, honey?” he added, a little twinkle in his eyes as he met Janet’s delighted gaze.
Felicity smiled, but her face was suddenly ashen, and her lips parted as she drew shallow breaths.
“Felicity?” he asked, his heart jumping into his throat. He shoved his chair back from the table and rushed over to her.
“What’s wrong?” David asked.
“I’m just…” Felicity struggled to her feet and shoved past everyone. Jared was right on her heels as he got to the bathroom and she fell to her knees by the toilet, throwing up.
It tore him up inside to see Felicity like this. He pulled her hair back from her face and waited beside her on the floor, wishing he could do more.
“What’s wrong with her?” Janet asked, her nurse side taking over.
“She’s been sick since we got off the plane about five days ago. It seems to be just nausea. She did have an accident while skiing, with a minor concussion, back and hip injuries, but she was able to leave the same day. Her nausea started before then,” Jared explained.
“Right.” Janet knelt by her daughter and searched in the cabinets beneath the sink for towels and handed some to Jared. “Wet these and put them on the back of her neck. I’ll get some water for her to drink.”
Jared soaked the cloth with cold water and placed it on Felicity’s neck. David watched them from the doorway, a small sound curling his lips down. “I’ll go help Janet.”
Once they were alone, Felicity started to cry. Her sobs broke his heart, and he made soft shushing sounds.
“Hey, honey, it’s okay. Just calm down and relax,” he urged.
“I’ve ruined our vacation,” she moaned. Her tone was so full of misery he suddenly laughed.
“No, you haven’t. This is not the worst trip I’ve ever been on.”
“Really?” She turned her face away from the toilet, eyeing him skeptically. He could tell he had her full attention now. It was a gamble, but the best he could do to take her mind off her nausea.
He settled in beside her, rubbing a hand on her back as he started to talk.
“When I was twenty-one, Angelo, Thad, and I went on a float trip. We flew out to Arkansas and spent four days attempting to float the rivers. Have you ever been on a float trip?”
She shook her head.
“Right, well, the way it works is you drink a ton of beer, do cookouts, and sit on rafts that float several miles down the river over a period of days. The weekend we went?” He could not stop chuckling at the memories. “There wasn’t a river to float on. It had dried up completely. So picture the three of us, too drunk, hauling heavy rafts across dry river bottoms for miles with no real water to float on. We kept getting sick because it was hot and we drank too much beer as we were trying to haul those heavy rafts. That was my worst vacation ever.” When he looked her way again, her breathing had calmed and she was sitting back a little.
“I think I’m okay.” She glanced around and exhaled as her mother appeared in the door with a glass of water.
“If you’re feeling better, some fresh air might be best. You could show Jared Harmon Park. The weather is still warm enough for a walk.”
Felicity got to her feet. “It sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Mom.” She turned to Jared, but he was already standing.
“I’ll go get our coats.” He left the bathroom and headed for the front door, where Felicity had left their jackets. He tried not to thin
k about what was wrong with her and how sick she looked whenever these bouts of nausea hit her. It wasn’t natural. When they got home to Chicago, he was taking her straight to the doctor to get her properly checked out. She was his woman, and he would do anything to care for her. Anything.
24
“How far along are you?” Felicity’s mother asked, her voice a whisper.
Felicity froze over the bathroom sink where she’d been getting another glass of water. Her mother stood behind her, brow furrowed. Their eyes met in the mirror. Felicity closed her eyes, trying to quell the wave of shame and panic inside her that her mother had discovered she was pregnant.
“You are pregnant, aren’t you?” Janet asked, a little uncertain now.
There was no point lying to her mother, and she didn’t want to. The idea of having a baby when she wasn’t ready was terrifying, and as silly as it felt, she needed to have her mother’s support and guidance right now.
“A little over eight weeks. I only found out a few days ago when I got into a skiing accident and was taken to the ER. I was on the pill, but the nurse thinks I didn’t use condoms long enough after starting and the pill wasn’t effective yet.” She couldn’t finish as she met her mother’s gaze.
A mixture of emotions flashed in Janet’s eyes. Disappointment, concern, and resignation were the strongest. Each one hit Felicity like a wrecking ball.
“Jared doesn’t know.” It wasn’t so much a question, but rather a keen observation.
“I’ll tell him we get back to Chicago, after seeing a doctor to make sure things are fine with the baby.” Her heart gave an erratic thump-thump as she asked the question that scared her the most. “How’d you know I was pregnant?” What if it was obvious she was pregnant? It would be a matter of time for Jared to figure it out before she was ready to tell him, and she could ruin everything more than she already had.
A rueful smile twitched her mother’s lips. “I threw up constantly the first two months I was pregnant with you. I’d be totally fine one minute and suddenly sprinting to the bathroom or the nearest sink the next. It didn’t matter what time of day. I found food smells, typically meat, made me sicker.”
Felicity would have laughed if her stomach hadn’t turned at the thought. She’d gotten sick after she’d eaten a bite of her cheeseburger.
“Fresh air will do you good.” Her mother paused, strangely hesitant before she spoke again. “You know…your father and I weren’t married when I discovered you existed. It was scary and exciting. I knew I wanted you, no matter the cost.” When her mother admitted this, Felicity reached out, touching her mother’s arm to show she wasn’t upset by hearing this. Janet covered Felicity’s hand with hers before she continued.
“So I told your father, and we got married.” She looked away, her eyes distant as though recalling something from many years ago. “Things were different then. A child meant giving up everything. But now…with Jared, you might have a chance to have children and your dreams as well. I don’t want you to think this means the end of what you’ve dreamt of doing with your life.” Janet met her shocked stare. “You’re the hardest working person I know. If you want a life and children with him and dreams for yourself, you can find a way to have both.”
Felicity couldn’t stop the rush of tears that followed, and she flung herself at her mother, hugging her. Her mother held her tight, an unusual display of emotion that made both women weepy.
“Everything will be fine. Jared seems to be crazy about you. Besides, your father and I will help in whatever way we can.” Janet brushed a hand over her hair in a gesture she hadn’t made in many years, and it made Felicity feel like a little girl again. Safe and loved.
“Thanks, Mom.” Felicity squeezed her mother for a moment longer and then let her go.
Janet rubbed at her eyes. “Now go walk. It will help.” Her mother shooed her out of the bathroom, and Felicity found Jared by the front door, buttoning up his coat. When he saw her, he held up her coat, and she slipped it on and then pulled her gloves on.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.” She reached for his hand, needing to hold it as they left the house. “The park is only a block away.”
She and Jared walked in companionable silence, their hands linked. When they reached the park, she saw a flash of appreciation in his face. Harmon Park wasn’t just a field with a playground. It had a rock garden, a pond that during the summer boasted a large stock of goldfish, and even a set of tennis courts. Flowerbeds lined the sidewalks, the buds dormant now. But the park would be glorious in late spring and in summer with flowers and kids everywhere.
“This is an amazing place. Did you ever come here as a child?” Jared asked.
“All my life, actually. This park is a place for the whole town to come together.” She pointed to a flat field backing up to the rock garden. “My high school graduation happened right there.” She then pointed to the open fields. “And I played soccer there in middle school. We even had a small theater troupe that did ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ every June.”
She couldn’t contain the smile at the memory of those late-summer nights, the crickets stirring with an orchestra of wings rubbing against legs, the stark scent of bug spray mixed with freshly cut grass. The way the sky was dotted with stars as the men and women in vintage costumes paraded around on the flat mats from the school gymnasium. They recited some of the most beautiful verses ever written by man. Sure, it hadn’t been a troupe of actors on the London stage, but the emotions were there, the raw, gut-wrenching tragedies and humorous cracks that made Shakespeare such a genius.
At the other end of the park, a group of children were huddled by the soccer field, seemingly undeterred by the lack of green grass. She and Jared watched silently as the older kids, who looked to be about twelve or thirteen, helped marshal the younger ones into a game of kickball. The littlest of the group had to be about five years old, and he trundled along in a thick winter coat and pants with a cap covering everything but his eyes.
When Felicity looked at Jared, she saw he was smiling as he studied the children playing in the park.
“Jared…” She held her breath an instant before she spoke. “Would you ever consider having kids? You know, in the future.” They paused in front of the small pond where frost clung to the lily pads and ice dominated the water’s surface. Jared could be like a frozen pond. Quiet and calm on the surface, but still holding life beneath. It was the lawyer in him, she had come to realize. He had developed an ability to control his reactions.
He slid his hands into his pockets, and their gazes locked.
“At the right time with the right woman, absolutely. But I’m not ready yet. Once I’ve been a partner for a few years, I’ll feel more settled, and I’d be able to add to the responsibilities in my life. What about you?”
Felicity’s chest crushed in on her heart, squeezing painfully. He’s not ready. But I don’t get a choice. She struggled to compose herself.
“I want kids, with the right guy, someone who would be a partner with me.”
“Me, too.” He squeezed her hand and they came to a stop for the frozen rock waterfall.
Jared opened his mouth to speak, as did she, but the hum of Jared’s cell phone vibrating silenced them both. He dug around in his pockets until he found the cell and answered.
“Redmond,” he said, his voice suddenly deep and businesslike, but when he stared at her, his eyes were bright with mischief. He raised one of her gloved hands to his lips, but she cupped his jaw playfully before he could kiss it, making him catch her wrist and hold her hand to his cheek as though enjoying the way she stroked his face.
Seconds later, however, the light of Jared’s good mood faded.
“Yes sir, of course. I need to get a ticket for my girlfriend—” He was apparently cut off and shot her an apologetic expression then spoke again. “Right. Thank you, Mr. Pimms. See you this evening.” When he hung up the call he sighed, the sound world-weary.
“Work?” she asked. Just when her mother had said things were different now…but they weren’t. There would always be work in the way of life. She might get used to being second, but it wouldn’t be fair to her.
“Yeah, how’d you guess?” He sighed again. “I’m sorry about this. This was not how I planned to end our holiday.”
She nodded, resigned, already thinking.
He raked a hand through his dark hair, mussing it up. “It’s the hotel. The closing is moved up to two days from now, so I need to be back since it’s my account.”
She didn’t say anything, but she knew there was no choice in what they had to do.
He grabbed her hands, capturing her attention so she looked at him. “You’re a part of this too, actually. Sabine will be involved much more once the closing is over. I’d love for you to come back with me so I don’t have to work the holidays alone, if that’s okay?” He paused, searching her face. “Unless you want to stay?”
She thought it over, and realized she needed to be back in Chicago in case Sabine needed her. It would also be possible to get the baby checked out much sooner. Yes, she did want to go back. The thought of getting a doctor’s appointment so she could see the baby again—it was too tempting to resist.
Maybe I can find a way to tell him soon.
“I should go back to Chicago, too.” She let out her own sigh. The vacation they’d vowed to have and enjoy had been burdened with the news of her pregnancy and she couldn’t stand being around Jared and his parents while keeping a secret like that. She would have to tell him sometime soon, but not right now.
“I’ll let my boss know. Did the walk make you feel better?” Jared asked as they turned back toward home. He had already pulled his cell out to text his boss back about flying home, clearly distracted.
“Yes,” she lied. Her nausea was gone, but in its place was now a deep-seated fear for her baby and herself, all because she would be one step closer to losing him.
