Connor (8 page)

“Can
I use your bathroom while I’m here?” asked Connor.

“What,
no, no.”

“Okay,
I guess I can wait till I get home.”

“Sure
you can, but let me go and clean it up before you go in there. With not feeling
so great, I’ve let the cleaning lapse a little.”

“There’s
really no problem. Just take me a minute.”

Jennifer
headed down the hallway, shut the door, and picked up the stick which unfortunately
still said she was pregnant. She opened up the top drawer next to the sink and
pushed it way to the back. She took the box and threw it in another drawer.

Connor
knocked on the door.

“Everything okay in there?”

“Perfect.”

She
opened the door back for him. “It’s all yours.”

He
went inside and shut the door. She headed back into the kitchen and put the
casserole dish in the fridge. She heard the toilet flush and soon Connor was
back in the kitchen with her.

“Sure
you’re feeling okay. You seem jumpy.”

He
pulled her in close to him.

Geez,
her boobs were tender and it hurt like hell.

She
pulled away a little.

“Something
wrong?” asked Connor.

“My
time of the month and I get sore breasts.”

Connor
stepped away and held his hands up. “Yep, I have a sister, so I know all about
the PMS stuff. Not a great time to be around a lady. Maybe that’s another
reason I’m a stick in the mud bachelor.”

She
was going to cry again. It had to be the pregnancy hormones.

“Connor,
if you don’t mind I’m still feeling a little tired from the food poisoning.”

“Of course.
Maybe we can
get together next week and use something else from the erotic gift basket.”

Jennifer
nodded and walked him to the door.

“No
rush on returning Mom’s casserole dish, and if you need more soup just give me
a call.”

“I
will and say hello to your dad for me.”

“Will do.”

****

Jennifer
had been in one hell of a strange mood and he didn’t think it was all down to
the PMS. He drove to his parents’ ranch to see Katy’s car parked in the
driveway. He parked his truck, got out, and went inside to see his mom and Katy
peeling potatoes.

“Your
father’s requested chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, which is a good
sign,” said his mom.

“You
need some help?” asked Connor.

“You
could get the steaks out of the fridge,” said Katy.

“Honey,
can you bring me some soda?” shouted his dad.

“Sure, honey, coming right up.”

His
mom left with the drink and Connor thought it the best time to ask Katy for
some more supplies.

“Hey,
you have any more of the raspberry scented condoms?”

“No,
they got recalled. Guess you were right to be suspicious about those things.”

“Recalled?”

“Yep,
seems the raspberry scent they added somehow weakened the latex and those
babies develop minute holes in them. Geez, I shouldn’t call them babies because
I’m guessing some babies will result from the recall.”

Connor
dropped the steaks on the floor.

“What?”
asked
Katy.
“
You having
a
stroke or something? Your mouth’s open like you’ve just had a shock or
something.”

“Shit,
Katy, I’ve been using those condoms.”

“But
you said…”

“I
know what I said, but I used them.”

“How many?”

“At least four.”

“With who or should that be plural?”

Connor
shifted his feet.

“You
don’t have to tell me. It’s Jennifer Nealon, isn’t it?”

“What’s
Jennifer Nealon?” asked his mother, returning to the kitchen.

“Connor’s
been sleeping with Jennifer. He’s been using recalled raspberry scented rubbers
and, Mom, I think your wish for grandchildren might be about to come true.”

Chapter Eleven

Jennifer
looked at her belly sideways in the mirror. One good thing about being on the
curvy side, her bump wouldn’t be so obvious when it started to get bigger. She
ran her hands over her belly. A little part of Connor was inside there. A new
generation of Nolan-
Delaneys
was on the way and how
ironic, and if not appropriate, that a single mom just like Sarah Smith would
be the bearer of it. At some point she’d have to tell Connor.

She
heard the doorbell ring. Maybe it was her mom, someone else she didn’t want to
tell until she’d gotten used to the idea of being pregnant. She walked to the
door and opened it to see Connor standing there again. This time he wasn’t
carrying any casserole dishes, but maybe he’d left something behind.

“Are
you pregnant?” he asked.

Geez,
were the Nolan-
Delaneys
psychic or what?

She
couldn’t tell him just yet. She couldn’t deal with this right now. She had to
let it sink into her own brain for at least a week or so.

“No,
I told you I have my period.”

He
looked at her.

“Can
I come in?”

“Sure.”

He
stepped into the hallway, got hold of her hand, and led her to the living room.
He made her sit down next to him. He turned to her.

“Those
raspberry scented condoms we’ve been using have been recalled. They have holes
in them.”

Well
at least she now knew how this big mistake had happened. If only she’d been on
the pill it would have been backup contraception.

“Thanks
for telling me, but we were obviously lucky.”

“Jennifer
Nolan, you’re lying to me.”

They
were psychic.

She
was and she hated doing it. She hated lying to anyone unless she really had to.
Hated it even more that it was Connor she was fooling. Yes, she’d always been a
little in love with him and now she was a lot in love with him. But he wasn’t
husband or father material.

Life
stank.

“You
haven’t had food poisoning. Your breasts aren’t sore due to the time of the
month. I might be a guy, but I know that’s also a sign of being pregnant.”

Jennifer
bit her lip, determined not to give in, but he squeezed her hand and looked
straight into her eyes.

Game
over.

“Okay,
I am pregnant.”

“Shit.”

“Yes,
oh shit, but I guess we only have ourselves to blame. We’re not teenagers. We know
the odds when we have sex. Nothing’s foolproof,” she said.

He
stood and ran his hands through his hair but didn’t say anything.

“Well
at least we know it wasn’t really our fault. Katy said the company who make the
condoms will probably offer some sort of compensation to any couple who’s had a
pregnancy result from their faulty product.”

Compensation.

“You
feeling okay?” asked Connor.

“I’m
fine, just a little sickness each morning. I’ve made an appointment tomorrow
morning for a blood test that the nurse suggested I get.”

“And
you’re going to keep it? I mean the baby not the appointment?”

“Of
course I am. Is that okay with you?”

“Whatever
you what is perfectly okay with
me.
And you know if
you need me at the doctor’s office, any appointment, medical bills that need
paying, well I’m here for you.”

“I
know that, Connor.”

He
nodded. “You mind if we talk about this some more
later
?
I’d like to let it sink and have a think for a while.”

She
knew that. It was still sinking into her brain too.

“Absolutely.”

“I’ll
call you tomorrow.”

She
watched him walk back to his truck.
Whatever
you do is perfectly okay with me
.

He’d
made her mind up for her. She was going to Texas with her parents where she’d
raise her child as single mom.

****

Connor
knocked on the door of
Granstville
State Bank. It was
just a few minutes past closing time but surely as his family had banked there
for generations they’d allow him one small favor.

A
middle aged lady walked toward the glass door. He recognized
Minna
Jones straight away.

“Connor,
we closed five minutes ago,” she said, tapping her watch face.

“I
know, but this is urgent. There’s something I need to get from my safety
deposit box.”

“We
open again at 9 a.m.”

“I
know, but I need it now. Can I come in and explain?”

She
looked at her watch again.
“Only because I’m voting for you
in the election.”
She unlocked the door and let him inside. “Now what
could possibly be this urgent?
A winning lottery ticket in
the deposit box or what?”

“No, but something just as valuable to
me.
The engagement ring my grandma left to me.”

“Engagement ring.
You’re finally
tying the knot?”

“I
am.”

“And
may I ask who the lucky girl is? Well, I should say I have to know or you can’t
get access to the deposit box until tomorrow.”

He
knew she wasn’t kidding.

“It’s
Jennifer Nealon.”

“A Nealon.
You do know the
history of your two families?”

“I
sure do and this is going to be the way to mend the rift.”

“Well,
well, if this isn’t the surprise of the century. Okay, let’s go get that
engagement ring.”

Connor
followed behind her.

“You
going to propose tonight?” she asked, sliding open the door.

“Yes,
while I still have the courage.”

“She’d
be crazy to turn down our next sheriff.” She opened the door to the area with
the safety deposit boxes. “What’s the number?”

“367.”

She
walked over to the wall, turned the key, slid it out, handed it to him, and
then headed out. “Don’t be too long.”

“I
won’t.”

Connor
put the key in the box, turned it, and then opened up the lid. The velvet box
containing the ring sat at the back. He lifted it out and opened it. It still
sparkled. It wasn’t the biggest diamond, his granddaddy hadn’t been the richest
of guys back then, but it was a beauty.

He
put it in his pocket, put the box back, and then headed out.

“I
want an invite to the wedding,” she said.

“Sure thing.”

He
walked outside, patting his pocket. He’d decided he’d wanted to marry Jennifer
on the drive from her place. Yes, the pregnancy thing had brought the idea
forward a little, but he knew in his heart she was the right one for him. He’d
never find a woman who made him laugh or he could laugh with, like her. Ms.
Right had been in his life since his school days, and he hadn’t even known it.

Chapter Twelve

The
doorbell rang again. She was really popular today. This time it had to be her
mother. As Connor now knew about the baby, she didn’t see any point in not
telling her parents too.

She
opened back the door to see Connor standing there yet again.

“Can
I come in?”

“Sure.”

He
stopped inside, pulled her by the hand into the living room, and got down on
his knees.

Oh god, is he
about to do what I think?

When
he produced a blue velvet box from his pocket, opened it, and she saw the
beautiful ring sitting there she knew that yes, yes he was.

“Jennifer
Nealon, will you marry me?”

She
knew the answer. She knew how he thought and that he might want to do the right
thing, not the thing he really wanted to do and she couldn’t let him.

“Connor,
I do not need a pity proposal.”

“Pity proposal?”

“Yes,
that’s what this is. You feel sorry that you’ve knocked me up and now you think
you have to marry me and you don’t.
After all this is 2015.”

“That’s
not what this is.”

“Connor,
you don’t have to lie.”

“I’m
not. I’m doing this because I want to.”

“Really?”

“Of course and just think about our
lives together.
You can finish campaigning with me as my wife, my pregnant wife.”

So
that was it, votes. It was his chance to show undecided voters that he was a
family man just like Matt Patterson.

“Connor,
I’m going to be a single mother and that’s my final word on it. Thank you for
your kindness, but this wouldn’t work out. You’d end up regretting it and I
couldn’t live with you ever hating me.”

****

“Connor,
you up yet?”

His
mother called through the door to him. It took him back to high school when
he’d had his first taste of partying and yes, drinking without his parents
knowing and waking up at 11 a.m. the following morning with the mother of all
hangovers. He’d come home this time to lick his wounds. Rejection wasn’t a
pretty thing. He grimaced and looked at the clock. It was going on nine. The
blue velvet box sat mocking him.

“I
am, but I don’t need any breakfast.”

“You
okay?”

“Fine.”

There
was silence and then another knock on the door.

“Connor,
it’s Dad, can I come in son?”

Oh
boy. This really was like high school when he’d gotten the lecture of the
decade from his father.

“Sure
come in.”

Connor
got up and swung his legs around the side of the bed, planting his feet on the
carpet.

His
dad walked slowly into the room and grimaced as he sat on the chair. “Damn, sutures.
I’ll be glad when these babies come out.”

He
had to mention the word
babies.

“So
what’s ailing you?”

“Nothing.”

His
father glanced at the velvet box.

“
You planning
on popping the question?”

“Already
did and got turned down cold.”

“Jennifer
Nealon?” asked his father.

“Yep, the one and only.”

“Runs
in the family, you know?”

“What
does?”

“Proposing
to a Nealon and getting turned down.”

“Yeah,
right, thanks for making me feel better.”

“It’s
true. Your granddaddy proposed to Edna Nealon, but she loved another man. Yeah,
you’re not the first Nolan-Delaney to fall for a Nealon. They have a way of
getting to us in their own sweet way.”

“
Bet
I’m the first to get one pregnant.”

“Pregnant,
so Katy wasn’t joking?”

Connor
shook his head.

“I’m
going to have a grandbaby?”

“Yes
you are.”

“Well,
thank those recalled rubbers.”

They
both burst out laughing.

His
father leaned across and slapped him on the knee. “She’ll come around. Probably
needs to get used to the being pregnant bit first. Hormones do funny things to
females. Hell, I even know that with the horses and cattle. Give her time and
space and then propose again.”

****

Jennifer
put the last of the boxes in the U-Haul. Her parents had already headed to
Texas and she was going to join them in a few days. They hadn’t liked the idea
of a pregnant woman driving from Montana to Austin by herself, but she’d told
them she’d be just fine. She closed up the townhouse door and willed herself
not to look back. She’d miss Montana and Grantsville, but this would be a clean
start for her and the baby. She’d live with her parents until she found a place
of her own. They’d offered her support and love, and that’s all she really
needed.

She
got in the car and pulled out carefully, hoping she’d secured everything
properly and that it wouldn’t rattle around on the journey. Jennifer headed out
of the main gates of the complex when she hit the brakes. A cowboy was riding a
horse. Not just any cowboy but Connor.

It
was clear he wasn’t going to let her pass so she turned off the ignition. She
lowered the window as he rode around to the side of the car.

“What
the hell are you doing?” she asked him.

“Stopping you from leaving town.
In fact, I’m
ordering it.”

“You’re
what?”

“I
love you, Jennifer Nealon. Lower boy, lower,” he told the horse.

The
horse gradually got down until she could see Connor more clearly. He had the
velvet box in his hands.

“Jennifer
Nealon, will you marry me.”

“You’re
not going to give up are you?”

“No.”

“You’ll
regret it.”

“The
only thing I’m going to regret is letting you go.
 
I wasn’t going to tell you this, but I
arranged for no one to bid on you and then for them to up the bidding so you’d
see how much I wanted you. The thought of another guy having so much as dinner
with you made me mad. Yes, it might have taken me a year, maybe longer to do
this had you not been pregnant, but with my hand on my heart I’m telling you
you’re the one for me. I will love and honor you to my dying day.”

The
horse snooted as if he was agreeing and asking her to have his hand too.

A
tear ran down her cheek. She bit her lip. This was as cute as cute could be.

“I’ve
handed in my notice with my townhouse and with Big Sky County Magazine,” she
said.

“I
have a house and I can go ask the editor if you can have your job back.”

“You
have an answer for everything don’t you, Connor Nolan-Delaney?”

“I
try.”

“You
wouldn’t be trying to get my vote would you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Then
I guess you’ve convinced me. It’s a yes.”

“Yahoo,”
said Connor, throwing his hat in the air.