Faded Dreams

by Kari Lemor

  “Delivery?” Luke pressed his lips together and stared at his hands spread over her stomach. “Erik said that was amazing but intense, and he’d never want to go through it himself. Are you scared at all?”

  Her heart melted at his solicitude. Should she tell him the truth? “A little. Most women have someone to help them through it. I wasn’t sure—”

  “I will absolutely be there to help you. There’s no way I’d let you do this alone, Ellie. I want to support you in any way I can. This is my child, too, so you can count on me to make sure their entry into this world is a positive one.”

  Blinking back tears, Elle nodded. Even if Luke didn’t love her or want anything permanent with her, he seemed determined to be in his child’s life. The thought made so much of her anxiety and stress fade away.

  “Thank you, Luke. I appreciate it. It’ll be nice to know I’ve got someone there to go through it with me. You said you wanted to go to my next appointment. It’s two weeks from yesterday.”

  “I’ll be there. You can count on me.”

  Could she? God, she hoped so. Only time would tell.

  Luke peeked out the window for the twentieth time in the past ten minutes. Elle had promised to come today, but he wasn’t sure she’d actually show. He’d offered to pick her up, but she’d insisted she drive herself. If she got tired, she didn’t want to make him leave his own party to bring her back. No matter what he said, he couldn’t get her to change her mind.

  Because of that, he’d told her the party started a half hour earlier than it really did. Aside from his immediate family, no one else was here yet. He figured Elle would be more comfortable meeting a few people at a time. Though his siblings were all married now, so they hardly numbered a few.

  Her small, beige sedan pulled up and parked on the street, even though he’d told her to pull into the driveway. He didn’t want her to slip on the icy road and fall. Rushing out the front, he arrived at her car as she was opening the door.

  “Hey, Ellie. I’m glad you came.”

  She took a last glimpse in the rearview mirror, brushed a red strand of hair behind her ear, then climbed out. Luke took her elbow and assisted.

  “I’m not so big yet that I can’t get out of a car by myself.” Her lips were tight, and her eyes held worry. About falling or the party?

  “The snow on the street hasn’t all melted from that last storm. I didn’t want you to slip.”

  Elle glanced at the road, then took his arm. Luke was happy to hold onto her as they made their way to the house. As they climbed the stairs to the front porch, Gina opened the door, her smile large and infectious as usual.

  “Hi, I’m Gina. Alex’s wife. I’m so glad you could make it.” She allowed them to pass her into the hallway.

  “Gina, this is Ellie Russell.” Luke assisted Elle in taking her coat off. As soon as he’d hung it on the hook on the wall, Gina stepped in to hug her. Elle stiffened for a second, then patted Gina on the back before easing away.

  “Welcome to the family, Ellie. We’re all so excited about another Storm baby. Come get some food before the rest of the cousins show up.”

  Elle’s uncomfortable glare zeroed in on Luke, so he sidled up close and kept his hand on her elbow. The kids scurried around the floor in the front living room while Tessa, Sara, and his dad sat in the connecting middle room, watching them.

  “Dad, I’m not sure if you remember Ellie from our high school days. She was my lab partner for a few years and used to come help me study.”

  His dad stood and warmly welcomed Elle with a quick hug. It’s how his family said hello to friends and new family members. Unfortunately, it seemed like Elle wasn’t used to that kind of greeting.

  “It’s good to see you again, Ellie.”

  “You, too, Mr. Storm.”

  “Please, call me Pete. Or Papa. That’s what the little ones call me. You’ll have one of those soon enough.”

  An awkward silence filled the room, so Luke steered Elle forward. “This is my sister, Sara. You remember she always used to try and distract us from our work.”

  Sara gave a wave and pouted. “I just wanted to hang out with my big brother.”

  “This is Erik’s wife, Tessa. The three rug rats are theirs. Matty’s the oldest one. Kiki’s in the middle, and the little guy toddling around is Joey.”

  Tessa gave her a lovely smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Ellie. If you need any help navigating through the Storms, let me know.”

  Luke chuckled at her joke, especially since Tessa typically stayed to herself when new people were around. Had she sensed Elle’s unease and offered an olive branch?

  “Your children are beautiful.”

  “And rambunctious at times. But they’re thrilled at having a new cousin to play with.”

  “Ellie, you’re here. Luke, why didn’t you tell me?” His mom stood in the doorway to the dining room, hands on her hips. In seconds, Elle was wrapped in his mother’s embrace. “It’s so wonderful to see you again, sweetie.”

  Shit, were those tears in Elle’s eyes? Just then, she closed them and hugged back. His mom had always loved when Elle came by to study with him.

  When Mom finally let go, she swept her gaze from top to bottom. “A new baby is so exciting. How are you feeling? You know Sara’s expecting, too. A month after you. Do you want to sit down? Make sure you let us know if you need anything or get too tired.”

  “I’m fine for the moment. Thank you so much for inviting me.”

  “Nonsense. You’re family now. Of course, we’d have you here. You remember Alex and Erik, right? And this is Sara’s husband, TJ.”

  His brothers stood in the doorway. Each ambled over to embrace Elle and welcome her. TJ tipped his head.

  “If you’re hungry, there’s food on the counters in the kitchen.” Alex said. “Aunt Luci will be bringing more. And Greg’s wife, Alandra, hopefully will make her brownies. That’s something you have to try. They’re delicious.”

  Gina trotted over and took Elle’s arm. “I know you were here when you were younger, but let me give you a tour of the house. Alex and I have done a few renovations.”

  They strolled away, and Luke peered after them, making sure Elle wasn’t sending out rescue signals.

  “How’s she feeling, sweetie?” his mom asked.

  “I’m guessing slightly overwhelmed at the moment.”

  “You think?” Tessa rolled her eyes. Erik chuckled at his wife’s newfound sass.

  Luke loved that his sister-in-law was getting more comfortable with them all. Hopefully, there’d come a day, soon, that Elle would blend right in without any anxiety.

  After wandering into the kitchen, Luke snagged a few pieces of deli meat and nibbled them quickly. He kept his ears alert for Gina’s laughter, letting him know where she and Elle were.

  When they came down the back staircase, Elle had a big smile on her face. Leave it to Gina to make her feel at home. The woman was a wonder. She’d worked miracles in helping Alex cut back on anxiety attacks.

  “You have a beautiful home, Gina. I’ve always loved Victorian houses. This neighborhood, with just the three Victorians, has always been one of my favorites.”

  Gina got an impish grin on her face and stared at Luke. “It is a great place to live and raise kids. I grew up next door until my dad passed away. Then, I came back to visit my grandmother several times a year and most of the summer.”

  “Where she followed me around like a puppy,” Alex whined entering the kitchen.

  Gina held her hands up like paws and panted. “I don’t hear you complaining now, Felix.”

  Luke laughed, then ran his hand down Elle’s arm. “Let’s get you some food. The rest of the family will be here soon, and it won’t be so easy to maneuver.”

  Over the next few hours, the entire group drifted in. During that time, Luke tried to sort them into smaller sets for Elle.

  “Those two are Uncle Kris and Auntie Anna. Kevin and Amy are theirs. Also Nathaniel, who’s mar
ried to Darcy. They have the big entourage. Zane is Darcy’s brother. He stays with them on weekends. Then Hope, Tanner, and the baby, Faith.”

  Elle’s eyes glazed over, but he continued, pointing to more of the family. “That’s Uncle Nick and Aunt Luci. They’ve got Greg, Leah, and Sofie. Greg married Alandra just recently, and they have his son, Ryan, and her daughter, Jillian. Greg and Ali live right across the street.”

  Elle pointed out the kitchen window. “Who lives in the middle house where Gina said she grew up?”

  “Nobody right now. Actually, I wanted to show it to you.” He’d been thinking seriously about buying the house from Gina. Now that he had a new family member coming along, he had more reason than ever.

  “You want to leave? It’s your party.”

  “I’m merely this week’s excuse to get together. Come on. The keys are right here.” He grabbed the ring from the peg near the back door, then angled them through to the front, where they slipped into their coats.

  Luke took her hand as they walked over, making sure to steer her away from any spots that seemed slippery. Elle gazed around once they got on the wraparound porch and rested her hands on the railing.

  “Nice, huh?”

  Her smile was serene as she nodded. “This would be a beautiful place to sit in warm weather.”

  Could he convince her to sit there with their child and rock the baby to sleep? Her apartment was too small, and he didn’t like the fact she had to climb three flights of stairs to get there. How would she do that with a baby in her arms?

  After unlocking the front door, he escorted her through the spacious rooms downstairs; two living rooms, dining room, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, and a small den/office-like room.

  “It looks like some of this stuff is new.” She touched the fresh paint on the walls.

  “There was a fire on the top two floors last year. Gina had those areas renovated, then freshened up the first two floors because they had some water damage. Let me show you up there.”

  They took their time wandering through all the bedrooms. Elle gazed out the window at the view of both the other homes on the street and the large yard. The one Luke hoped their child would play in someday.

  “What’s up there?” Elle peered past the door on the third floor.

  “That’s a turret room. It’s where tons of old junk was stored and where the fire started.” She didn’t need to know about the nasty people who had set the fire and almost ended Alex and Gina’s lives. “Did you want to see?”

  She did, and they spent a few minutes checking out the now empty room. Luke turned around envisioning what they could do with this space.

  “Why did you bring me here, Luke?”

  Stepping closer, he took her hands. “I’m thinking of buying the place.”

  Her eyes opened wide. “What do you need something so huge for?”

  “Maybe I don’t need anything this big, but it’s a great neighborhood. Do you like it?”

  After peering around again, she nodded. “It’s gorgeous. What’s not to like? It’s beautifully updated, yet it still has that old fashioned charm.”

  “My cousin, Sofie, is an interior designer and helped Gina keep the authentic feel to the house.”

  “She did a great job.”

  Now for the big question. Luke swallowed and clenched his fists. “So…you could live here?”

  “Me?” She tilted her head, confused. “I can’t afford something like this. I make a decent salary, but I’ll be out of work for at least six weeks on maternity leave and then I’ll have day care costs.”

  Heat permeated at her words. “You’re going to put our six-week-old baby in a day care?”

  Lifting her hands in the air, she huffed. “I don’t really have a choice, Luke. I’m not independently wealthy. I have to pay my bills somehow.”

  He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “But you could live here for free.”

  Her brows rose, and her mouth dropped into an O. “Here? With you? You want us to live together?”

  He nodded, then took out the big guns. “I think we should get married.”

  Chapter Seven

  Married? Elle’s lungs stopped working. Luke had to be crazy. No other explanation. Not that she hadn’t dreamed of something along those lines, but those were dreams. This was reality.

  “You want to get married? No one gets married anymore just because they’re having a baby. It’s not the dark ages.”

  “Erik and Tessa did. Well, Erik was adopting Matty and Kiki, and the social services lady didn’t think Erik could do it with his bad leg.”

  “But they loved each other. That’s certainly not the case with us.” No matter how much she wanted it to be. Luke wore a pained expression. Because he didn’t get his way or something else?

  “When they got married, Erik had only been back a few weeks. He hadn’t seen Tessa in years at that point.”

  Elle planted her hands on her hips. “I saw how they looked at each other. You can’t tell me Erik and Tessa aren’t crazy in love.”

  “Sure, they are now. But not back then. My mom planned their wedding in eight days, so they wouldn’t lose the kids. Now, a few years later, they’re ecstatically happy and have a kid of their own.”

  “I’m happy for them. But not everyone lives in a fairy tale. I’m ready to go now. Your parents must be wondering where you are.”

  Carefully, she held onto the railing and descended the steps, then started on the next set down to the second floor. Passing the biggest bedroom, Elle sighed. She couldn’t allow herself to be delusional enough to think or hope Luke would ever fall in love with her. A baby wouldn’t change that.

  Before she could head down again, Luke took her elbow and brought her around to face him.

  “What would you do if you lived here?”

  “What do you mean, what would I do?”

  “Which bedroom would you want? How would you decorate the place? What kind of furniture do you think would go well in here?”

  God, she could never live here, even if Luke didn’t. She’d be next door to his brother and cousin, a huge, constant reminder of her mistakes. Chances were that Luke would drop by to visit often. But wouldn’t this place be perfect to raise a child? Imagine the fun her kids would have running up and down the stairs, playing hide and seek in the turret room, zooming around the yard into the woods in the back. Kids. Plural. What was she thinking?

  “I’m not going to live here, so there’s no sense in spending time imagining it. Can we head back to Alex’s? I’m getting hungry again.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. She found she liked to nibble on several smaller meals lately instead of a few large ones. Baby was taking up room, and she got full easily.

  As Luke locked up the house, Elle took a last peek in the window. Yeah, this house was beautiful, and she’d love living here.

  They slipped in the back door, into the kitchen, and Luke took their coats to toss them somewhere out of the way.

  Gina sidled up to Elle and asked, “What did you think?”

  “Of the house? It’s gorgeous. The work you did to it is incredible. I’m sure you’ll get a good price for it.”

  Gina wrinkled her nose. “I’d love to have someone in the family living there.”

  “Luke’s family.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think he wants it unless he can raise the baby there. It’s too big for only Luke. He needs someone with him. I’m not sure I could sell it to some stranger.”

  The thought of the house going to someone else made Elle depressed. “You don’t know me. I’m a stranger.”

  “No, you’re not. You might not remember, but we met a few times, years ago.”

  Elle had remembered but didn’t know Gina had recalled the events. It was over the summer before their senior year when she and Luke had been working on AP class assignments together. Gina had bounced into the house and declared she wanted to go for ice cream. She’d insisted Elle and Luke stop their work and go, too. Elle had m
ade some excuse about needing to go home, but Gina had said Elle had to be there to balance out the guys and girls. After that, Gina had done the same thing a few more times during that summer.

  “Ice cream.”

  Gina laughed, hooking their arms together. “See? When you bond over ice cream, nothing can break you apart. We are forever connected.”

  Elle laughed as Gina hugged her. The woman was infectious, and Elle couldn’t help but feel better when she was around. It wasn’t like she and Gina would ever become sisters-in-law, but when Alex and Gina had kids, her child and theirs would be first cousins. That was something that linked them together. The thought made Elle smile.

  “Whatever you’re doing, Gina, keep it up. I like seeing that smile on Ellie’s face.”

  The words caused her to frown. She narrowed her eyes at Luke.

  Gina smirked. “I’ll bet she was smiling when you put that baby in there.” With a wink, Gina skipped out of the kitchen, leaving them alone.

  Luke grinned and strolled across the room. No, Elle didn’t want him to touch her. She couldn’t think when he was too close.

  “I do remember a smile or two. Can’t I do anything to put another one back there?”

  “You can feed me.”

  “Deal.”

  After filling plates with both food and desserts, they made their way into the dining room where some of the cousins sat drinking coffee or tea. Elle liked listening to their conversations and joined in with a comment or two when asked. The thing that surprised her the most was how everyone seemed to accept her presence there as normal and no one looked at her strangely or whispered behind her back. Her own cousins couldn’t control themselves when it came to being judgmental.

  Matty sidled up next to Luke and whispered in his ear. Luke made a silly face, then slipped part of a cookie to the boy.

  “You are going to make sure he runs all that sugar off, right, little brother?” Erik grumbled to Luke.

  “Oh, yeah. Here I go.”

  Elle couldn’t stop the smile on her face now as Luke played with not only Matty but the other kids as well. He was as silly as they were.