Maybe Baby Lite (53 page)

Thatcher opened the front
door, greeting the guests. There was an older couple and a younger
gentleman who tagged in behind them. I looked up at Trey hoping for
some clue as to who the younger man was. His face darkened
perceptibly. Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair walked across the marble foyer,
greeting their guests warmly as Thatcher took their
wraps.

“
Claudia,” Susan greeted,
hugging her friend, “how well you look. How was St.
Thomas?”

“
Glorious,” the woman
answered, returning the hug. “Tess and Zach were along and we had
an absolutely festive time! Oh, Nigel and Caroline were with us as
well. They send their love.”

There was that name, Tess.
I felt Trey stiffen beside me. I continued to observe. The older
gentleman with Claudia greeted Susan, both of them hugging Clive as
well. His name was Nelson. The younger man, very handsome, also
greeted Trey’s parents.

Finally, Susan turned to
Trey and me, still holding Claudia’s hand as she led her over. Trey
stepped forward immediately, taking Claudia’s hand and raising it
to his mouth, brushing his lips against her knuckles.

“
Claudia,” he said, in his
smooth and silky voice, “it’s so nice to see you again after all
this time. May I introduce you to a close friend of mine? This is
Tylar Preston. Tylar, this is Claudia Andrews.”

I was numb as I held my
hand out to this woman. Trey continued with the introduction of her
husband and evidently Tess’s father, Nelson Andrews. I was still in
a hazy fog. Finally the younger man approached. He was evidently
their son, Tess’s brother, and he was introduced to me as Landon
Andrews. He raised my hand to his lips, softly brushing them across
my knuckles. Trey’s expression darkened once again.

“
What a pleasure it is to
meet you, Ms. Preston,” he smiled and charmingly gave me a wink as
he turned to greet Trey’s parents. Trey grabbed my hand, pulling me
with him as we made our way to the formal dining room.

I'd quickly put two and
two together. How'd Trey possibly think that we were going to get
through Thanksgiving dinner with me not figuring out that his
parents’ long-time friends were in fact Tess’s parents? Did he
think I was an idiot? Trey was extremely fidgety. He didn’t leave
my side as we headed toward the bar that had been set up. He
ordered himself a Maker’s Mark and soda and a straight sparkling
water for me.

As we mingled within the
formal dining room, the staff was putting fresh appetizers out on
the sideboard. Trey continued to hold my hand as if he feared I'd
sprint off. Landon approached us as we mingled; I felt Trey
stiffen.

“
So Trey,” he said,
“wherever did you meet such a perfect specimen of beauty?” Landon
eyes flickered over me, his bold gaze rested on my generous
cleavage. This infuriated Trey all the more. His hold on my hand
tightened.

“
Fuck you, Landon,” he
snapped quietly. I was totally taken aback by Trey’s conduct,
particularly in his parents’ home on Thanksgiving. The shock must
have shown on my face. Landon smiled and patted my arm that was
locked in Trey’s hold.

“
You’ll have to forgive
us, dear Tylar,” he said, soothingly. “It appears that Trey is
still not comfortable being around his ex-fiancée’s brother. My
parents may have forgiven his callous and self-serving behavior;
however, Trey knows that I've not.”

Trey was enraged and I did
not want to be caught in the crossfire. “If you'll excuse us
Landon,” I said sweetly, “I’m famished. Trey, could you please help
me find some of those crab cake appetizers?”

As soon as we were out of
earshot, I pulled my arm away from his. My sudden change in
demeanor startled him.

“
What was that all about?”
I whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me that the old friends coming
for Thanksgiving dinner just happened to be your ex-fiancée’s
parents?” I was pissed, and this wasn’t a small detail he'd
forgotten. I moved to the appetizer buffet, grabbing a small plate
and filling it quickly with various delicacies. I spotted Landon
observing us from the corner of the room.

Trey was at my side,
trying to appear as if everything was normal. Nothing in this
situation was normal. I wouldn’t give Landon the benefit of
thinking that he'd created a rift between us, even though he had.
One thing I knew for sure, before the night was over; I'd have
plenty more information about the whole Tess situation.

Just then the servants
entered the formal dining room with platters of turkey and roast
beef to set out on the sideboards. The side dishes were soon to
follow. Trey and I took our seats with the rest of the group. I was
famished and ate until I was uncomfortable.

Everyone stood up to
mingle before the dessert course. I was feeling full and tired and
in desperate need of a walk. I retrieved my coat from the guest
closet. Just as I was ready to open the front door, Trey spied me
and hurried to my side.

“
Where do you think you’re
going?” he asked, his eyes blazing.

“
Trey, I need some
exercise and some air.”

“
You’re not going out
alone. It’s dark out.” He pulled his jacket from the closet and
took my arm, leading me out into the crisp, starry evening. I
instantly felt lighter in the fresh night air.

“
Can we visit Derringer?”
I asked.

“
Sure,” he said, smiling
now. “Tylar, about Landon…”

“
Trey, not now,” I said,
too weary from the day to start a long and complex discussion.
“Please, let’s just go and visit Derringer, okay?”

We entered the stable and
I rushed to Derringer’s stall. He was beautiful and congenial as I
rubbed his neck and smoothed his mane. He was fit and healthy. I
wondered who'd been taking care of him. As if reading my mind, Trey
spoke up.

“
Mark's still here,” he
said, “he continues to work with Derringer and in fact is training
another rider.”

My heart sank even though
I knew that it had no right to. Derringer was born for dressage; I
should be grateful that Mark continued to work with him and train a
new rider so that this horse could meet his full potential. Trey
guessed that I was feeling downcast about the situation.

“
I’m sorry,” he said
gently, “it was insensitive of me not to realize how that would
affect you. It seems like I’m always saying the wrong thing,
Tylar.” He pulled me into a hug.

“
It’s okay,” I replied,
“what a waste it would be not to utilize Derringer’s talents. It’s
always been the horse, Trey. A rider's only as good as the horse he
or she rides. I’ve known that since I took my first riding
lesson.”

“
You’re amazing, Tylar,”
he said, “you intrigue me daily, it seems.” He pulled me closer,
tightening his strong arms around me. I could feel his heartbeat
against my chest. His fingers lifted my chin, tilting my face up to
his. He leaned forward, kissing my lips sensually, lingering on
them as if he didn’t want us to part. Finally, he drew back, his
eyes searched mine.

“
I know I haven’t told you
this, and I should’ve long ago. Tylar, I never thought that I
wanted children. I'm a selfish, controlling bastard at times and I
felt I had no business being a father. But please know this, from
the moment I knew that you were having our baby, my world's become
magical and promising. I know in my heart that whatever I lack as a
father, you'll make up for as a mother. I’ll depend on you to show
me the way. Will you do that?”

At that moment I'd never
loved Trey more. He'd recognized and admitted his shortcomings, but
the important thing was that he wanted to be a great father. There
was nothing more he could've said that would've have made me any
happier. I lunged into his arms once again, hugging him tightly.
Our lips met and we kissed long and passionately. A noise
interrupted us. Footsteps in the stable, then someone cleared his
throat. Trey and I broke apart, turning as Landon approached
us.

“
Forgive me,” he said, a
slight smile crossing his lips, “I didn’t mean to intrude. Trey,
your parents asked that I find you and Tylar. Dessert's being
served and apparently they want to make a toast.” Landon turned on
his heel and exited the stable. Trey and I exchanged glances,
unsure of how much he'd heard. Trey took my hand and we returned to
the manor, finding our places at the long dining room
table.

Champagne flutes had been
set at everyone’s dessert plate. A servant was circling the table
filling each glass. When he reached mine, Trey whispered to him. He
left and returned with a bottle of sparkling water, filling my
champagne flute. I looked across the table and met Landon’s amused
glance. No one else seemed to have noticed.

Clive Sinclair tapped a
silver fork against the crystal water goblet once as he stood to
offer a toast. “To Thanksgiving,” he said, looking around the table
at his guests, “and to the friends and family who we're blessed to
share this holiday in celebration. Cheers!” He raised his flute,
and then turned to his wife as they tapped their flutes together.
Trey and I tapped our glasses and drank. From across the dining
room table, I heard another tapping of silver to crystal, followed
by Landon’s voice.

“
If I may,” he said,
standing up.

Oh God, Oh God, Oh
God!

I felt Trey stiffen next
to me.

“
I’d like to offer a toast
as well. To Trey and Tylar,” he said, raising his flute, “and to
the safe arrival of their baby. May their child be spared the
unfortunate fate that befell my sister’s baby.”

Suddenly I heard a gasp
around the table. Trey was on his feet in an instant, blue eyes
blazing with rage.

“
Landon,” he hissed,
“Let’s take this outside now.”

Susan and Claudia were
immediately at their sons’ sides; Clive and Nelson followed. It was
if everything was unfolding in slow motion; voices, images were all
swirling together in a giant collage of color and sound. The room
was hot and my body felt clammy. I heard someone shout for Trey to
grab me before I sank into dark oblivion.

When I came to, my eyes
met Trey’s worried gaze, his hand holding mine. I was in his room,
lying on his bed, and I silently thanked God that I wasn't in yet
another hospital room. He leaned over to adjust the cold compress
on my forehead. I foggily remembered the family argument during
dessert.

“
What happened?” I
asked.

“
You fainted,” he replied,
concern in his voice. “How do you feel now?”

“
Just a little shaky,” I
said. “I just remember that everything started swirling and it got
really hot and loud in the room.”

“
You can thank Landon, for
that,” he snapped. “My parents think you need to go to the
hospital, Tylar.”

“
No,” I said abruptly, “no
hospital. I’m fine now.”

“
I don’t want to take any
chances with you or the baby,” he said.

I reached up, touching the
stubble around his chin dimple with my finger. He closed his hand
around mine, raising it slightly to his lips, kissing it gently.
His eyes warmly locked with mine.

“
I love you, Tylar,” he
sighed, a frown creasing his lovely forehead.

“
I know, Trey,” I
answered, studying his frown. “That’s supposed to be a good thing,
isn’t it?”

He continued to stare at
me pensively. “It just never has been for me,” he replied. He stood
up, kicking off his shoes, and climbed onto the bed next to me
fully dressed. He pulled me into the crook of his arm, placing his
other hand on my belly. Within a minute, I once again felt the
fluttering of butterfly wings beneath his hand. Trey felt it too,
looking at me in amazement. I felt so relaxed in his arms, so
protected and safe. We lay there, resting, his hand on my belly.
The butterfly fluttered.

“
Are you sure that I can’t
get you anything to drink?”

“
Honestly, Trey, I feel
much better now. I’ve fainted before. I’ll call my doctor tomorrow
and let her know what happened. If she feels I need to be seen,
I’ll see a doctor here. Satisfied?”

“
I suppose,” he
acquiesced. He smoothed my hair back and lifted the cold compress
off of my forehead. I felt totally better. I just wanted to stay
here in his room with him.

“
Have the Andrews left?” I
asked.

“
Yes,” he chuckled, “this
is a Thanksgiving they soon won’t forget.”

“
Did you end up punching
Landon out?” I couldn’t hide the mischievous tone in my voice,
secretly hoping that he had. He grinned, but shook his
head.

“
I was too busy seeing to
you.” He held my hand now, our fingers interlocked.

“
Do you want to tell me
about it, Trey?”

He sighed again. “Tess and
I knew each other before college,” he began. “She was a year behind
me in school. Our parents had been friends for as long as I can
remember. She was in college over here while I was at Oxford.
Tess’s passion, like yours, was horses. She was studying to be a
trainer. I'd finished undergrad at Oxford and was to start law
school at Harvard in the fall. Tess was getting ready for her
senior year at Virginia Intermont, your school,” he noted. “I
bought Derringer in the U.K. as an early graduation gift for her.
His bloodline traces back to Conversano, a black Neapolitan
stallion foaled in 1767. She was thrilled when he arrived. The
Andrews don’t stable horses, so he was kept here. Tess’s plan was
to train and compete over the summer and into the early fall, and
then start classes in the fall. I proposed in June after I returned
from Oxford. I'd already sent Derringer on ahead, and my father had
hired a guy by the name of Zach Flannery to show Derringer in
dressage, they did incredibly well. Zach and Tess worked all summer
together. I barely saw her apart from the competitions. Zach lived
on site here as well.” Trey paused momentarily collecting his
thoughts. His voice was pained when he continued with the
story.