Divine Charity (27 page)

“Yes, baby. Come on in.”

“I guess I should’ve gotten here earlier,” he replied with a chuckle.

She smiled as one of the men she loved more than anything else in the world slipped into her room with a largish silver-patterned box in his hands. “I might’ve been indecent earlier, baby, but it wasn’t a sexy moment for me, trust me. The nurse just helped me shower and get a fresh hospital gown on.”

Ethan leaned down to kiss her, concern in his eyes. “How’s the pain?”

“I’m doing my best. I really don’t want the pain meds so I’m trying to move carefully.”

“That brace looks uncomfortable,” he said, stroking her shoulder, which was held back and straight in the brace they’d fitted her with to allow her collarbone to heal properly.

“Actually, it’s not so bad,” she said as she stroked her tummy and the precious baby that slept within. Thank God he was safe. “It takes some of the strain off of my back but getting in and out of bed is challenging. Emma said it’ll get easier. What do you have there,” she asked, pointing at the easily recognizable box in his hands. Just then the door opened.

“Mr. Grant,” Tracey, the nurse on duty that morning, said as she hurried into the room, all no-nonsense-like. “You know you can’t bring that in here. Grace isn’t allowed anything besides the diet Dr. Rivers prescribed for her while we’re monitoring her.”

“Oh, these?” Ethan asked with his trademark devilish smile as he gave Tracey his full attention. “I brought these for
you
and the other ladies, to thank you for taking such good care of Grace.”

Ethan opened the box so she could see the lushly decorated cupcakes inside, and in the blink of an eye Tracey transformed from drill sergeant to starstruck fangirl. “You brought these for us?”

The scent of buttercream filled the air and nurses suddenly came out of the woodwork. They “oohed” and “ahhed” over the pretty cupcakes, rhapsodizing as each one took a look in the box.

“Mr. Grant, these are wonderful!”

“Where did you get them?”

“You’re so sweet!”

“Grace is so lucky!”

Her heart overflowing with merriment and love, Grace tried to hold still and not giggle because it made her shoulder hurt. The pain was worth it as she watched Ethan charm them with cupcakes, gradually slipping the box into Tracey’s hands as she shooed the others back out of the room and said, “Enjoy your visit. Call me if you need me, Grace.”

As the door closed, he turned and smoothly slipped another smaller box from inside his jacket and held it out to her balanced on his palm. “For you, Gracie. And don’t worry, I’ve already cleared the cupcake with Emma. I’ve also brought you art from a fairy princess,” he added, carefully slipping a piece of paper from his coat pocket. “Rose Marie sends hugs and kisses.”

She opened the colorful crayon drawing and smiled when she saw the picture Rose Marie had drawn for her. Ethan pointed at the figures on the page and said, “That’s her in the yellow tutu and that’s you in the pink tutu with the crown, since you’re the queen.”

“Ah, I see.”

From his other pocket he produced a single red rose. “A rose for my queen.”

Her cheeks warmed as she held the lush rose to her nose and looked up at him. “You are the sweetest man.”

“Well, one of them anyway,” he murmured as he kissed her forehead. “How are you this morning, really?”

She held the small silver and white damask print box with the Divine Drip logo on it and caressed her tummy. “Grateful. I can handle the aches and pains because I know he’s okay.” Heat filled her cheeks and the darned tears flooded her vision and her nose started to run again.

Ethan made a consoling sound as he reached for the box of Puffs and sat on the edge of the bed. He handed her a tissue as he placed his hand on her abdomen and stroked her gently. The baby shifted at his touch and squirmed around for a few seconds before quieting. He didn’t say anything. His eyes let her know he felt the same gratitude. There was nothing that needed to be said.

She leaned forward to kiss him and winced as a shaft of pain shot through her right shoulder.

“Let me help,” Ethan said as he adjusted the head of the bed and helped her get situated more comfortably. He opened the little box for her and her mouth watered as the scent of buttercream frosting wafted up to her nose.

“It’s so pretty,” she murmured as she kissed him when he leaned into her and then she held the red rose to her nose to sniff again. “You’re wonderful.”

He squeezed her thigh and said, “The accident reminded me how much I need you in my life and…how grateful I am, too,” he murmured roughly, his voice sounding a little hoarse.

She took his hand in hers and said, “I wanted to tell you something.”

“Sure. Anything.”

“You know I kept a calendar when we were trying to conceive this one, right?”

“Yeah, so you’d know when you were ovulating.”

“I’ve always said that it didn’t matter to me who the biological father was of any of my children. They’ll all belong to you, Jack, and Adam, no matter what, despite the fact they bear the Warner name. Emma and I worked out a probable window when this baby was conceived so she could calculate the due date. Curiosity got the best of me and I went back and looked at that calendar. I…I kept track of when we made love.”

Ethan’s eyebrows rose slightly. “And?”

“You and I had the house to ourselves on the conception date. It looks like we made this baby.”

“Mine?” he said, a soft, vulnerable smile growing on his handsome face that made her heart ache with love. “He’s mine? Ours?”

“Yeah. I hope nobody minds that I went back and checked. It really didn’t matter to me, as long as the baby was okay, but I got curious.”

“It’ll be our secret. How about that?”

“For now, anyway. I’m hoping he’ll look just like his handsome father.”

She lifted the pretty cupcake from the box. The mouthwatering scent of the frosting Cassie Resendez made always reminded her of her wedding day. She peeled the paper back and nibbled the edge of the cupcake and then held it so he could take a bite, too. Then he kissed her again. “Congratulations, Daddy.”

He looked down as he smiled and smoothed the blanket over her thigh and said, “Know what we ought to do?”

“What?”

“I remember you saying that you hoped that you had a baby from each of us at some point.”

“Yes. I’d love to have at least one from each of you if at all possible.”

Ethan gazed into her eyes and said, “When you’re ready to try next time, let’s skew it to Jack’s advantage. Adam wouldn’t object and I know I wouldn’t either. The two of us could use condoms to make sure, if you’d like. Since he’s the one who brought the four of us together, it seems right.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. Not to change the subject, but has there been any word about Patterson’s condition? Any improvement?” Her heart ached at the thought of such a vibrant and strong man’s life being cut short, and for the pain the people closest to him were suffering.

Ethan shook his head, his blue eyes reflecting her sadness.

A soft knock sounded at the door but she didn’t hear the door click open. Ethan went to the door and opened it. With limited mobility in the bed, she couldn’t see around the corner but heard a soft female voice and then Ethan said, “Hi, Presley Ann, how are you?”

“I’m fine. Is this a bad time?” she asked quietly as though she was afraid of waking Grace.

Ethan backed up and motioned her in. “This is a fine time. Come in.”

Presley Ann peeked around the corner and smiled. “Hi.”

Grace smiled back and beckoned her into the room. With shyness Grace still thought of as uncharacteristic, Presley Ann entered the room clutching a little gift bag. She couldn’t help but notice there were dark circles under her eyes as though she hadn’t slept. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your visit.”

Grace shook her head and Ethan grabbed the chair from the corner and moved it closer and ushered Presley Ann into it. “Not at all, Presley Ann. I’ll leave you ladies to your conversation. Gracie, enjoy your cupcake and I’ll see you at lunchtime.”

He kissed her and then made his exit as she turned to her visitor. Presley Ann said, “I heard about the accident. I’m so glad you and Charity and Justine are all right.”

“Thank you,” Grace replied. She told Presley Ann what she was able to about the accident and Charity and Justine’s conditions, and after they’d moved on to pleasantries and the weather conditions the room went quiet. It wasn’t an awkward silence but Grace had the impression that Presley Ann had something she wanted to say but she couldn’t quite work up to it.

Presley Ann looked down at the bag in her hands as though just realizing it was there. “Oh, I brought you something.”

The first decent conversation she’d ever had with Presley Ann had been the day before in the dress department at Stigall’s. While she could say that was certainly enough to begin a genuine friendship with her, she wasn’t sure how to begin with her. Presley Ann seemed to need a friend.

She accepted the gift graciously but kept quiet, thinking it wasn’t necessary for Presley Ann to bring a gift for them to be friends. Maybe her other friends had been like that. Having learned a little about human nature, Grace waited for Presley Ann to either become comfortable enough to open up or uncomfortable enough to confess if she had a motive. It was up to her. At least it would be out there.

Presley Ann squirmed for a few more moments and finally gestured to the gift. “You can open it.”

Grace lifted the tissue from the bag and found the small box and opened it.

“I didn’t know if you were having a boy or a girl. All I’d heard was that you and the baby were okay, so I thought that was a safe bet.”

Grace smiled as she fingered the little silver baby bootie charm. “It’s perfect. I have a charm bracelet I can have it added to. Thank you. I love it.” She reached out and took Presley Ann’s cool, slim hand and squeezed it encouragingly. “Normally, I’d hug you for such a thoughtful gift but—” She pointed at the brace they’d strapped her into that morning after her shower. “This makes that kind of hard.”

She waited again as she lifted the charm from the box and admired it.

Her patience paid off finally, when Presley Ann cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, and then finally said, “I have a lot to make up for. To a lot of people.” She ran her fingers through her straight blonde hair. “I’ve been a miserable human being for…a long time. I know you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this, and right now I’m frankly wondering the same thing. You must think I’m nuts and slightly inappropriate for bringing you a baby gift when you and I don’t really know each other that well.”

Keeping quiet, Grace smiled, and nodded, not in agreement but in encouragement for her to continue.

“You have always been very sweet to me, even back when I was being an idiot.” She shook her head and her pale cheeks were momentarily suffused with redness. “I’ve offended several of your friends in the past few years and…I’m sorry.”

“Have you told them that?”

“Not yet. I just…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come,” she said, suddenly rising from her chair.

Grace held out a hand and Presley Ann halted from moving to the door and Grace gently asked, “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on with you?”

Presley Ann bit her lip and looked Grace in the eye then shifted her gaze to the mirror across the room before returning to the seat. Being a people watcher, Grace noticed it when she moved the chair closer, presumably so she could no longer see her reflection in the mirror.

“I heard from several people that you’re a really thoughtful, caring person. That you have a good heart. I could see that for myself. Like I said before, I have a lot to make up for.”

“What do you mean when you say that?”

“Well, this baby is coming sometime in November. My life is in shambles and I have no one else to blame but myself. I’m living with my sister but I know that can’t continue. I need to get ready for the baby, but I have no idea how to do that. There are people I’ve hurt that I feel I need to make it up to. And I feel like all the sowing I’ve been doing for years is now bringing in a harvest and I don’t know where to turn.”

The tears were flowing down Presley Ann’s cheeks and Grace understood what she needed. One safe harbor where she wouldn’t be judged. She wished like crazy that she could hug Presley Ann because the young woman obviously needed it right then.

She took Presley Ann’s hand. “Have you told Leah that you’re pregnant?”

“I was going to tell her last night at supper, at the store. We live together but I never see her because she practically lives and breathes that store. I was going to tell her that I was moving out and getting a place of my own, if I can find one that I can afford. Thank you, by the way, for what you did yesterday. My commissions from those sales will go a long way toward saving a security deposit for an apartment.”

“You’re very welcome. I’ll be sending others in to shop with you as well.”

More tears slipped down her cheeks. “You can’t imagine how much I appreciate that, Grace. I hope they do but I know it’s a long shot since for so long I wasn’t very good at making people feel welcome in the store. I know that. I thought only of my own convenience and comfort, and didn’t think about what I was doing. But I’ve turned over a new leaf, even Leah said she noticed the other day. It’s not about me anymore.” She looked down at her still perfectly flat abdomen and crossed her forearms over herself in a decidedly protective gesture.