A Baby And A Wedding (2 page)

“Yes, of course. I could come right now if that would work.” She glanced at the clock. “I could be there in half an hour?”

“That’s fine, Emily. I’ll see you then.”

Emily dropped the cordless phone, which she had talked Brad into buying, onto the counter. He’d said that a cell phone was enough of a cordless phone for him, so Emily had begged. In the end she had showed him that the idea wasn’t so bad, except lately she kept losing the cordless phone, which she blamed on pregnancy hormones and how forgetful she’d become.

Without a second glance, and lunch and coffee forgotten for Jed, Emily grabbed her purse and the keys to Brad’s truck. Dashing out the door and turning the corner, she bumped into Jed.

“Whoa there, little lady,” he said in the same deep voice as Brad. His rough, calloused hands gripped her shoulders, and then he stepped back, dropping his arms to his side.

Brad’s teasing glance immediately changed as he stepped around his brother, with a questioning glance at Emily and her flustered appearance.“Em, what’s going on?”

She shifted her gaze between the two brothers, who were both watching her as if they expected her to go off the deep end at any moment.

“Dean Banks phoned from Trevor’s school. He asked me to come in now and see him.”

Brad snatched the keys out of her hand. “Why?”

“I don’t know. He said it was something he couldn’t discuss over the phone.”

“Whoa, hang on a second, is there a problem?” Brad asked.

The man could get annoyed faster than a nest of angry hornets, and Emily realized that she was giving him the wrong impression. Jed was watching her in a way she couldn’t read at all.

“No, he said it was nothing to worry about,” she replied. “He just didn’t want to talk over the phone.”

Emily really wanted to get going because it annoyed her when she didn’t know what she was walking into. Her mind would conjure up half a dozen problems before she even arrived at the school.

“Well, for one, you’re not going, and he shouldn’t have called you and asked you to come down.” Brad walked to the front door, where he’d tossed his tan cowboy hat, and pressed it on his head.

Emily felt her stomach pitch in a freefall of hurt. “Why, because I’m not Trevor’s mother?”

Brad froze, before turning around slowly to face her.

Jed glanced over his shoulder at his brother, and said, “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go check out the horses.” He stopped just in front of Brad, and shook his head before continuing to the door.

Emily crossed her arms and frowned, at which Brad raised his eyes to the ceiling. She was blinking hard, past the burning in her eyes, unable to believe what he’d said. Emily had looked after Trevor and loved him more than any mother could. She had fought for help for the boy, who had been diagnosed with autism.

“Jed, hold up a second!” Brad called to his brother, who had one foot out the front door.

Emily turned her back on him, unable to keep her tears from leaking out. She started to walk  towards the back stairs that would take her upstairs to their room, but a hard hand clamped her shoulder and spun her around.

“Emily, for God’s sake, knock it off,” said Brad. “That’s not what I meant. And, just so you know, you
are
Trevor’s mother. But, look at you; you’re five months pregnant, tired and you overreact to everything lately. We’re getting married in two days. I don’t want you driving. That’s what I meant. And I mean to have a talk with Dean to ease up on you. Look, you were ready to bolt out the door without saying a word, and what about Katy?”

Emily wiped away the last of her tears before a fresh batch started. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s the matter with me, but I’m going, Brad. I’ll wake up Katy and take her with me.”

“No, you’re not! Jed, how would you feel about sticking around here and keeping an eye on Katy? Her room just happens to be your old room when you were a kid.”

Brad didn’t turn around as he spoke, but looked at Emily as he ran his fingers through her long, brown hair, and brushed it back over her shoulder.

“Suppose I could,” Jed replied in a drawl as he leaned in the doorway with his arms crossed, watching them as if they’d just provided him with his entertainment for the day.

Emily gripped her purse. Brad took her hand in his and led her out of the house, but she stopped as the screen door smacked shut behind them. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, starting to go back. “Jed, I’m so sorry. I said I’d make you lunch and coffee...” That’s all she managed to say before Brad lifted her up and carried her down the steps to the truck.

Jed shook his head and watched as his brother carried the very pretty, brown-haired lady who would soon be Brad’s wife while speaking to her in a sharp, irritated voice.

“He’ll be fine. Jed’s a big boy and can feed himself,” Brad said as he deposited her in his fancy new black truck and shut the door.

Shaking his head again, Jed jumped when he heard a whimper behind him.

“Mama?”

There stood a little blonde, curly haired girl with big blue eyes, staring up at him. Jed didn’t have a clue what to do.

Chapter 2

Trevor had started kindergarten earlier that year at Forward Thinking a new school, located just outside Hoquiam. He went four days a week with ten other students. When Emily had researched the schools with their autism consultant who Brad hired to runTrevor’s autism programming, Dean Banks a principal met with Emily, Brad and their consultant and how a custom designed program for Trevor based on his needs was in line with the new education model for the 21
st
century, which Forward Thinking was designed around.

Because this was the first year that the school, opened its doors away from the regular public system, it was small, with only a hundred kids in attendance. What set the school apart were the ‘personal learning paths,’ which were co-created between teacher and child, instead of having predesigned courses. For a child with autism, that was ideal.

Brad ushered Emily into the small community school, to which he and his ranch hands had donated time, money and labor to help renovate. They wandered into the small, front office and Brad rapped his knuckles on Dean’s open door. The man was hunched over his desk.

“Is there a problem, Dean?” he asked.

The man bolted upright. “Oh, heavens, no,” he said. “I wanted you to see Trevor’s breakthrough. His educational assistant, John, has been working with your consultant on a social program, building a bridge with the other children. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise, but Trevor and a little girl named Sylvia have been paired. Working together over the last week, Trevor has expressed interest in Sylvia, beyond parallel play and he is using his words.”

Dean stood up and walked around his desk. Tall and lanky, the man was balding in spots, so he shaved his head. Brad thought he was one of those men who made you feel good just by being around them.

“Come and follow me. I want to show you,” he said, leading the couple out of his office and down the wide hallway to the first classroom on the right.

Emily held Brad’s hand and he gently squeezed hers; they shared a meaningful look.

The door of the room was open and through the glass front they could see the entire kindergarten class. John was a younger man with long, brown hair, which he tied back in a ponytail. He stood at the back of the classroom with the teacher, watching Trevor, well removed from the boy’s space.

Trevor was on the floor with two other children, building a Lego house. One was a girl and the other a boy whom Emily knew was a dickens, always getting the last word with his teacher. Trevor handed a Lego figure to the little girl, who smiled and said something. He looked at her and smiled back, before touching her hand and saying something. She giggled and Trevor pointed to something on their creation.

Brad glanced down at Emily as she pressed her hand over her heart.

Bending down, John touched Trevor’s shoulder, and gestured to Emily and Brad. The boy looked up and searched the room, not spotting them right away. He was smiling and looked happy, and Emily suddenly realized how far he had come in such a short time. Trevor hadn’t made his ‘whop whop’ noise or whined in a long time. He was using words and he was playing; he actually wanted to be with the other kids.

“Brad, look at him,” she said.

He pulled her closer and brushed a kiss on top of her head. “I see darling, I see.”

Chapter 3

When Brad parked the truck back at home, there was a black Mercedes with a rental company sticker on the license plate parked beside Jed’s brown truck. Emily glanced at Brad. Trevor was buckled into his car seat in the back.

“Your mom and dad are here,” she said.

Brad reached over and touched Emily’s cheek. She leaned into his hand.

“The gang’s here,” he announced. “Are you ready?”

Emily grabbed his wrist and shut her eyes, needing to take a breath. She loved his mom and dad, but when Jed showed she felt all stirred up and couldn’t put a rational thought together. Maybe it was because of the way he had caught them earlier; locked in her soon-to-be husband’s arms, and carrying on like two love-struck teenagers.

Brad tucked a strand of Emily’s wavy brown hair behind her ear. “What’s wrong?”

She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid over to Brad, who pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t know what the matter is with me. When your brother showed up, I couldn’t pull it together. What must he think of me? And I just, I can’t catch my breath. I’m nervous.”

Brad wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. “You were embarrassed because I was kissing you silly on the front porch and we were busted by my brother.”

Emily sat up and looked at him. “You’ve taken me way out of my comfort zone, and at times I don’t know how to handle it. Sometimes…” She rubbed her soft, rounded belly and gazed up. “And the wedding... I just want everything perfect.” She gazed out the window at the heap of broken vehicles. “Like this junk here.” She shoved her flattened hand toward his window. “Could you not move this for the wedding? I don’t want everyone showing up and seeing it. I want everything to look nice.”

Brad opened his door, grabbed Emily, and lifted her down. Then he reached into the back and pulled out Trevor. Wrapping an arm around Emily’s shoulder, Brad turned her towards the house. “So the tarps not working for you?” he asked.

A giggle burst out of her mouth, which she covered with her hand.

“I’ll take that as a no,” he said with a sigh as they stepped onto the front porch. “I’ll get Jed to help me move it all tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Emily replied, turning to him. Standing on tiptoe, she pulled his head down and kissed him.

Voices drifted out from the house, making Brad smile wickedly. “You know, I can send Trevor in, and then you and I can finish what we started out here when my brother interrupted us.”

Emily’s jaw fell open and she swatted his shoulder. “I don’t think so.”

Brad chuckled, a deep rumble, as he led her into the house.

In the living room, Katy was sitting on the floor with another guy who resembled Brad and Jed. He had darker hair, and was dressed more conservatively in a green sweater and neatly pressed blue jeans. The man lifted Katy in the air and made a buzzing sound like an airplane, making her giggle over and over.

Emily stopped. Trevor let go of Brad’s hand and raced into the kitchen.

“Oh, there’s my grandson. Give me a hug!” Becky’s sweet voice drifted in from the kitchen, followed by the sound of chairs scraping back and footsteps clicking on the floor as everyone poured into the living room.

Brad’s father, Rodney, who was an aged version of his son with gray hair and wise old eyes, strode over to her. “Emily, you’re looking good,” he said, giving her a hug and kissing her on the cheek.

“It’s good to see you, too. How was your flight in?” she asked.

“Long, but Neil here made it entertaining as he flirted with the stewardesses, arranging a date with both.”

The sharply dressed man who had Katy flung over his shoulder strode over, flashing a brilliant smile with straight, white teeth.

“I knew the moment you walked in that you had to be Emily, you gorgeous thing. I’m Neil, the middle child, and your future brother-in-law, at your service my dear.”

Neil lifted Emily’s hand and kissed it, making her blush.

Brad tightened his hold around her waist. “Get your hands off my wife and stop flirting with her,” he said, shoving his brother on the shoulder just as he set Katy down.

Neil grinned wickedly. “Ah, but she’s not your wife yet.”

Katy chose that moment to yank on his sweater, squealing, “Up, up, Uncle Neil, airplane.”

“Ha ha, I’ll take this one,” he shouted, lifting the little girl up, and twirling her around as she giggled.

Before Emily could say anything, a short gray haired woman, dressed in a light brown sweater and tan slacks, pushed past Rodney and pressed Trevor into his arms. It was Becky, Brad’s mother. She gave Emily a big hug.

“Oh, Emily, you’re looking so good,” said Becky. Stepping back, she lowered her soft brown eyes, which were filled with such deep love, to the pregnant woman’s stomach. “May I?” she asked.