Romance Me (Boxed Set)

by Susan Hatler

  “Yes, but it’s a small town. I didn’t want word getting out about this guy. Thanks again, and as for the promotion, you don’t owe me. You earned it. Take care,” Eric said before ending the call and placing the phone on top of his briefcase.

  “Sir, everything okay?” Connie asked, remaining in the doorway, her laptop in hand.

  “Yes.” Eric raked his hand through his hair. Don’t do it. This isn’t your business.

  “Sir?” Connie stepped into the room. “You look like you just found out your mother’s in the hospital.”

  “Not my mother, but someone I know.” Visions of Lisa lying in that bed while that man paced outside her room, urging her to end her baby’s life, shredded his resolve. “Can you pull up every previous case in the last ten years regarding child custody prior to birth?”

  She nodded and retreated to her desk.

  Eric knew the law, but he’d hoped to find some sort of loop hole. If this man didn’t want the baby, perhaps Eric could find something to dangle in front of him.

  He rolled up his sleeves and sat down just as his phone buzzed. “Hey, Mom. How’s Lisa? Everything okay?”

  “Yes, it’s you I’m worried about.”

  “Don’t be. Listen, I have to go. I’ve got a lot of work to do.” Eric held the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he retrieved his laptop from his briefcase.

  “You do?”

  “Yes. I know Lisa’s not my client, but I’m doing a little research.”

  “I knew you couldn’t turn your back on her,” his mother said with an air of pride in her voice.

  “Yes, well, you were right. I couldn’t save my child, but maybe I can save Lisa’s.” Eric cleared his throat, not wanting to talk anymore on the subject.

  “You’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do?” she asked.

  “Of course, but for now, keep an eye on Lisa. I’m better off helping her from my desk than the hospital room, but you can’t tell her anything. I don’t want to get her hopes up.”

  “Understood. Good luck, son.” His mother ended the call and he set his phone on the desk.

  “I’ve got my laptop running a search. You need anything else?” Connie asked.

  “No, but I hope you don’t mind working some over time. I’ll pay you, of course.” He opened his laptop and switched it on.

  “Not necessary. My cousin Cathy told me about this SOB. I’ll work pro bono, too.”

  “Does everyone know?” Eric asked.

  “Pretty much. The entire town’s pulling for you to save the day.” She winked.

  “I’m not her knight in shining armor, you know. At most, I’m riding a broken down horse cross-country in a snow storm. You know this is a worthless search as much as I do.”

  “Yet, I know you’ll figure something out. You’re a big shot corporate attorney from New York City. If nothing else, you’re used to bluffing and getting things done.”

  “Bluffing?” Eric asked, his fingers stopping in the middle of typing in his password.

  “Yes.” Connie quirked an eyebrow at him.

  Eric shot out of his chair. “You’re a genius. Put some coffee on, we’ve got some paperwork to file.”

  Adam was right. Everyone had their price, something for which they were willing to get their hands dirty. That innocent baby and Lisa was his.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Lisa woke to the sound of the garbage truck taking away her trash. Too bad it couldn’t take away her pain. She rolled on her side, her cheeks crusted with dried up tears. Glancing at her clock, she turned off the alarm before it could ring. Seven in the morning, only an hour until she had to be at the hospital for the sonogram and blood work.

  Night after night, she’d dreamt of holding her little one in her arms, only to discover its lifeless body wrapped in white cloth. A shiver shot through her and she folded into herself. Daytime was no better, filled with the knowledge she’d lost one baby already…and Eric.

  Her phone chirped, indicating Judy was trying once again to reach her. The woman had been a gem, bringing her food and watching over her without hovering.

  I’ll be there soon, Judy’s text read.

  She hadn’t told Judy about today’s appointment, but it didn’t surprise her. Judy had a way of finding things out.

  No need. I’ll come by the antique store after, Lisa replied.

  She had to be strong and figure this out on her own. Just like she’d always done. It was time to stop depending on Judy. She was Eric’s family, not Lisa’s.

  Lisa pushed from the bed and dressed slowly, reminding herself that she had to follow the doctor’s instructions to the letter, avoiding stress, getting lots of rest, eating and drinking properly, and taking her vitamins. She’d never been sedentary for so long. It had been torture.

  After brushing her teeth, she slid on her tennis shoes, not wanting to risk a fall on the icy sidewalks, and retrieved her coat.

  Ding Dong.

  Lisa traipsed to the door and peeked through the side window. Judy stood on her front porch, waving back at her. “It’s just me. Open up. It’s cold.”

  Lisa swung the door open. “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, hon. You didn’t really think I’d let you travel to the hospital on your own, did you?”

  Lisa shook her head. “It’s only five miles from here.”

  “Doesn’t matter, I want to be there with you. Besides, you’re on bed rest. So, I’ll drive.” Judy about-faced and marched from Lisa’s little rented house, brooking no further discussion.

  A bitter chill swept up the front walk. Lisa hesitated, wanting to return to the warmth and safety of her bed. Yes, it had been torture lying still for so long, but anything was better than facing potentially bad news of her baby.

  “Come on, now,” Judy called from the car.

  Lisa locked the front door and shuffled to the car, avoiding icy patches. As she climbed into the passenger seat, a warm air blowing from the vents and Judy’s Lilac perfume greeted her. A scent she’d grown fond of.

  Judy slid the car into gear then guided it down the drive and onto the quaint side street before turning onto Main. A soft tune about love and loss sang from the speaker by Lisa’s leg, an appropriate cadence for her ride to the hospital.

  In an attempt to force her racing thoughts toward something positive, she slid her finger up to illuminate the display on her phone and glanced over her email.

  “You haven’t heard from him at all?” Judy asked.

  Lisa scrolled through the messages. “I wasn’t checking for that. I thought I might have some business to take care of.”

  Judy patted Lisa’s hand. “Hon, you know you can’t lie to me.”

  Lisa bowed her head. “No, not a word. How did you know?”

  “I know you. And besides, the online shop isn’t even active yet, so what business would there be?”

  Lisa straightened in her seat. “I meant to tell you about that. It’s just with everything that happened. I mean, I’d never start something without speaking to you first. How did you find out about it?”

  “Calm down. I knew you wouldn’t do anything without speaking to me. Cathy mentioned it. She stopped in the other day and asked about it. Of course, it was an excuse to find out how you’re doing. And, of course, she wanted to gossip and speculate about what happened before you arrived here.”

  Lisa chuckled. “In her own way, I think she cares.”

  “Oh, she cares all right. She’s got a big heart, but she has a mouth to match it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cathy. She was there for me a long time ago. It’s just, I’ve learned to keep some things to myself. Everyone in the town has a big heart. We’re just all different in how we show it.”

  Judy rolled to a stop and lowered her window while guiding the car into the parking garage. The loud buzz from the ticket machine erupted until Judy snatched the gold paper and drove forward, pulling into a space on the second aisle.

  Every moment that ticked away, Lis
a willed the news to be good. “Judy?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you,” Lisa mumbled, twisting her purse strap.

  “For what, honey?”

  “Being here. Everyone always leaves me. But the one person that should turn her back to be with her son is by my side.”

  Judy leaned over and wrapped her arms around Lisa. “Oh, hon. I know you worry about being alone, but you don’t have to. I’m going to be here through the entire pregnancy.”

  “No.” Lisa leaned back, her heart turning into a solid mass. “If the baby’s okay then I’m leaving. I’ll go back to New York and face the music. I’ll figure out how to deal with Mark, but it’s time for me to stand on my own two feet.” The words she’d practice sounded robotic, even to her, but she had to do this. It wasn’t fair to separate a mother and son because of her issues. “And if the baby’s not okay, well, then…”

  “Shh. Enough of this non-sense,” Judy scolded. “Now, first of all, my son would want you to stay, so don’t go leaving because you think it’s better for him. It’s not. I’m his mother and you’re what’s good for him. He just doesn’t know it yet. He’s scared. After losing one woman and baby, he can’t bring himself to face that kind of loss again. Not yet. Yes, he did step aside, thinking Mark should be the one here for you, but if he knew Mark wasn’t here—”

  “You can’t tell him that. I won’t have him around because he feels sorry for me.”

  Judy held up one hand. “I don’t break my promises. But, I think you’re both being silly. As for the health of the baby, I’m sure everything’s fine. Now, get over yourself and get your tail end out of this car and into that office.”

  Lisa unbuckled and opened the car door. She knew better than to argue with Judy. If Eric hadn’t won an argument with her, Lisa didn’t stand a chance. Lisa climbed out of the car and followed Judy to the lobby.

  The woman had to be an angel and Lisa couldn’t bear to hurt her. Judy put on a brave face, but Lisa knew that losing her one true love all those years ago had destroyed her. Only Eric had filled a void in Judy’s heart, and Lisa couldn’t take that away. No, even if she had to leave in the middle of the night she would, but she refused to be in the way of Judy and her son. He’d been ‘out of town’ on business since that day in hospital, but Lisa knew he didn’t want to return because of her.

  The elevator ride to the diagnostic wing dragged on, stopping with a ding on every floor, until they reached five. Entering the office, a few people already waited in the stiff armchairs. The sight of magazines, the smell of disinfectant, and the murmured conversations around the front desk made her heart race.

  Judy directed her to one of the chairs. “Sit before you fall down. I’ll sign you in.”

  Lisa lowered into a chair and listened to Judy ramble off questions for twenty minutes as she filled out the form. Finally, Judy placed the pen on the clipboard and leaned toward her. “For a girl who didn’t want to be pregnant and thought she’d make a bad mother, you sure do look petrified about facing the possibility of not being pregnant. I think you have your answer. You were born to be a mother. Trust me, I’m always right. Just ask Eric.”

  Lisa and Judy sat in silence, Lisa going over all the possibilities in her head. She’d been researching every known deformity and disorder she could think of on the internet. If the child had autism, she’d have a difficult time, but would face the challenge to the best of her ability. For a missing limb, there was always therapy. Even a more severe disorder didn’t stop her from wanting the baby. She just prayed it was still alive in there. She’d willed it to move in her womb, growing anxious when she didn’t feel anything for long periods of time, but the most she’d ever felt was the butterfly movement in her belly.

  “Lisa Mortan?” a woman dressed in scrubs called from the doorway to the exam rooms.

  Lisa trembled.

  Judy took her hand. “Come on, dear.”

  They followed the narrow white hall to a room, the world sounding as if it came through a tunnel. Staff spoke to her, but Judy answered all their questions. Lisa only focused on the health of the baby.

  Judy’s phone, vibrating in her purse, ripped Lisa from her blank state, but Judy ignored it. When the nurse left and Lisa was dressed in her gown and lying on the exam table, Judy’s phone vibrated once more.

  “Popular woman,” Lisa teased, trying to ease her nerves.

  Judy smiled. “Not me, darling. It’s all questions about you.”

  “Oh.” But who else knew she was getting the sonogram this morning? She hadn’t even told Judy about it. “Who?”

  “You sure you want to know?” Judy winked.

  Lisa’s heart fluttered, the only emotion besides terror that had broken through her numbness since she’d woken. “Who?” It’s not him. Don’t go there.

  “Eric. He’s been texting every five minutes, wanting to know how you’re doing. He asked me if Mark was here. But I told him that I didn’t think it was my place to tell him, but he’s worried about you.”

  Then he should be here. She shook her head. No, that’s not fair. He didn’t deserve that.

  The ultrasound tech came in and Lisa prepared herself for gasps of horror as they looked at her baby.

  “Relax, sweetheart. This won’t hurt. Okay, let’s take a look and listen for the baby’s heartbeat.” The nurse turned the monitor so they could all see. An image of a head appeared on screen, but quickly whirled away. The woman kept swishing back and forth, but only paused for a second then moved on.

  “Is everything okay?” Lisa asked.

  “Yes, dear.” The tech clicked a few more buttons on the ultrasound machine then stood up. “Stay right here, Ms. Mortan. I’ll be right back.”

  “There’s something wrong? You couldn’t find a heartbeat, could you?” Lisa started trembling, her body shaking like she’d never imagined it could.

  “You need to calm down. I’ll be right back.” The tech’s eyes were wide with fear as she fled the room.

  “Oh, God. I knew I didn’t deserve to be a mom.”

  Judy’s eyes were brimming with tears, but she took Lisa’s hand. “Now, you stop that. We don’t know anything yet.”

  The door opened once more and Dr. Hendricks came in with another woman dressed in scrubs. “Ms. Morton. How are you today? Are you cold?”

  Lisa could only shake her head as her body continued to tremble.

  “Nurse Thompson, please get some heated blankets for Ms. Mortan,” he said, then turned back to Lisa. “I need you to calm down and listen to me. The nurse was unable to locate the heartbeat, but I have the best tech in the hospital right here, Ms. Janson. We spoke about the possibilities of the remaining fetus. Now, I need you to be brave so that she can check. Can you do that for me?”

  Lisa’s teeth chattered so loud she barely heard Judy’s phone buzzing again. Judy ignored it and clutched Lisa’s hand. Holding onto Judy tight, Lisa nodded.

  The tech sat down. “I’m going to turn the volume all the way up and I’ll be pushing on you a little here and there. Is that okay?”

  Lisa nodded again. She fought the shaking and tried to be still, but her belly rolled inside out and she clutched her middle. “Oh.”

  Ms. Janson smiled. She only touched Lisa for a second before a loud pounding sound echoed in the room. “Ah, I think we’ve found your baby.”

  Tears streamed down Lisa’s face. Nurse Thompson returned and warm blankets wrapped around her shoulders and feet. Judy squeezed her hand. People spoke, but no words reached her ears. Only the beautiful, loud thumping of her baby’ heart filled her ears.

  After several minutes, during which Ms. Janson took measurements, Dr. Hendricks turned to Lisa and shook her hand. “You had me worried for a minute. I thought you were going to go into shock, breaking my perfect record of never losing a patient to emotional distress.”

  Judy and the nurses all chuckled along with him while Lisa stared at the ceiling, listening to her baby’s heartbeat.

&nb
sp; “Ms. Janson, can you please show Ms. Mortan to my office when she’s ready?” Dr. Hendricks said.

  “Certainly, Doctor,” Ms. Janson agreed, then handed Lisa a picture of her baby.

  The entire time Lisa dressed, all she could do was stare at the picture in disbelief. No matter what came next, she could handle it.

  Ms. Janson led her to Dr. Hendricks’ office, Judy by her side the whole way. When they reached the small room, Judy pulled out her cell. “Oh, my. I think I freaked Eric out. Poor kid. It’s killing him not to be here.”

  Lisa didn’t respond. She sat in one of the office chairs, staring at her baby’s picture, her heart full of love and hope for the first time since she could remember.

  Dr. Hendricks entered and sat down behind the hard wood desk. “Well, Ms. Mortan. I must say you’ve been my most interesting and exciting case. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you,” Lisa said.

  Dr. Hendricks’ expression turned serious. “But I’m afraid this is one of those pregnancies where the drama won’t end until the baby is born. You see, the baby is small, and there is Echogenic Foci on the heart. There’s a chance the baby could have down syndrome or another disorder.”

  “How do we find out?” Judy asked.

  “There are two options. You can have an amniocentesis—”

  “You said that was too dangerous,” Lisa quipped.

  “I still believe that,” Dr. Hendricks said, “but ultimately, it’s your decision. The chances of preterm labor are high.”

  “What’s the other option?” Lisa asked.

  Dr. Hendricks closed the folder and laid it on the desk in front of him. “To wait for the baby to be born.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Lisa set the sonogram picture next to her laptop and pulled her chair closer to the table. The smell of cinnamon and spice wafted from candles set on the counter and the table in front of her. “It’s good to be back at work.”

  Judy set a cup of warm tea with honey next to Lisa’s computer then handed her a throw. “I’m sure, but I promised Dr. Hendricks you’d stay seated as much as possible. No heavy lifting, bending, or excessive stress, got it?”