Off the Grid (4 page)

“I don’t know, has hell frozen over?”

“I’m here.” He spread his hands hoping for conciliatory. “I want to help.”

“The question is why?” Marnie shot an accusing glare in Sophie’s direction.

“I get you don’t trust me and why should you? But give me a chance. I could be more help than you realize.” With whatever this was.

“Marnie, relax.” Kellie sounded worn out, and no wonder, he was exhausted and all he was doing was standing there. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“Well, golly gee, let’s all pull up chairs and spill our guts to the new guy. I’ll start. Hello, my name’s Marnie and my private life is none of your business.”

“Marnie.” It was a warning and came from Sophie.

Caleb spread out his hands. “Just offering a little goodwill.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t look like the goodwill type to me.”

“I don’t think we want to go down the who-looks-like-what road.”

“What? Not pretty enough for you?” Marnie blew him a kiss before grasping Kellie’s hand.

“You want me to think you’re pretty?” Caleb countered.

Marnie sneered. “A liberal elitist like you? I don’t think so.”

“Enough. This isn’t about either of you.” Sophie gestured at Marnie before nodding at Caleb. “I hope you’re ready for this Caleb because it’s going to be a rough one.”

Sophie bent and whispered in Kellie’s ear. Her face twisted in pain. Ready or not, he wasn’t leaving. He offered up a silent prayer, planted his feet, and stripped his face of expression. “Where do you want me?”

Sophie pointed. “Stay where you are. An examination table makes for a narrow bed. We need help keeping her on it. To keep things stable.”

He braced for the worst.

An anguished cry left the woman on the bed. She grabbed Marnie’s hand. He knew by her grimace how much pressure Kellie was exerting. Marnie’s eyes started to water. He wanted to grin, but he was too damned freaked out.

“Caleb.” He forced his attention back to Sophie. “Make sure she doesn’t get too far over to that side.”

Right. Falling off the bed would be bad. His hands shook as he tried to figure out where to place them. They hovered in the air like he was practicing some kind of exorcism. He still hadn’t decided where to position them when Sophie rounded the table and put them in place for him.

“It hurts.” Kellie tried to curl up against the pain. There was nothing Caleb could do about his flinch. Kellie gasped before her worried expression sought out Sophie. “Is it supposed to hurt this much? What if something’s wrong?”

“Everything’s fine,” answered Sophie. He didn’t know where she put all the passion and heat she brought to her fundraising. Here, under pressure, calm surrounded her and confidence seeped out of every pour. “As long as the baby keeps moving down a little further each time you’re doing fine.”

Forty minutes later Sophie sent him to the supply cabinet with a list as long as his arm. Marnie looked ready to volunteer to go instead so he beat tracks for the door and a little fresh air. Thanks to the symbiotic ingenuity of sweat, fear, and pain the room was stifling hot. He took his time. Not putting any thought into why she might need a suture kit. Nope, he wasn’t going there. When he walked back into the room it didn’t appear much had changed.

“Not long now.” Sophie looked over at him. He figured her reassurance was more for Kellie’s benefit than his. It didn’t stop him from praying she was right. And he wasn’t having kids. Ever. No way was he putting anybody he loved through this kind of torture.

“What can I do?” He needed to keep his mind busy. He stacked his packages on the little desk space there was left. Once again he was left wondering what to do with his hands, or the sick feeling in his stomach.

“Keep doing what you’re doing. Kellie, don’t forget to breathe. I’m going to get you to push on the count of three. Ready?”

Kellie nodded. Like an idiot, so did he.

“One. Two. Three. Push.”

Caleb figured the ideal position for him was by Kellie’s head and as far from the birthing canal as it was possible to get. He didn’t know where Kellie found the strength to do it, but she did. She pushed. And she kept on the relentless pattern of pushing and taking a short break for another godforsaken hour. It was clear Sophie was in her element. She kept them focused. Comforted Kellie. Issued orders. He couldn’t help but respond to her confidence, her command of the situation. It was loud, messy, and tense, but she never lost her cool. If he weren’t so preoccupied with avoiding the sight of things he’d rather never witness, he might have found it a total turn on.

“Okay, one more push should do it.” And she was right. Thank you, God.

A baby emerged into Sophie’s waiting hands covered in gunk. Also red-faced and screaming. Then it was time to cut the cord. She wasn’t going to use—his knees wobbled and the world went blurry. He heard his name over the flush of sweat.

“Marnie, shove a chair under him. Quick.”

Something solid hit him in the back of the knees. “Put your big girl panties on, for fuck sake.”

He sat.

And remained seated by sheer force of will, his hands fused to the sides of the chair. Thankfully the darkness started to fade. A little light appeared around the edges, then color. Shapes. Reality. Marnie glaring at him, hands on hips. She yanked out her pack of cigs, remembered and shoved the crumpled pack back. She wasn’t happy. As in give-me-a-minute-to-go-get-my-gun unhappy.

Caleb ignored her and concentrated on Sophie, who was busy with the baby. Bad idea. But she was quick about it, and he supposed all the slime needed to come off somehow. He caught a glimpse of male parts. She handed the baby boy over to his mother. The three women congratulated each other. Transformed from soldiers to gooey chocolate centers in the blink of an eye. He didn’t know how they did it. He needed a bottle of scotch and a therapist’s couch. Stat.

His presence wasn’t required for…whatever came next. He escaped the room to sag against a wall in the hallway. The slide down to the floor was a relief. His watch registered 10:30 pm. It felt like an eternity had passed. His head fell back against the wall and he shut his eyes. Jeezus God, they’d delivered a baby. Sophie, even Marnie, more than him, but still he’d witnessed a birth. No causalities, except maybe him. He’d had his doubts a couple of times, but they’d done it. Well, Kellie had done all the work.

Was he a Drummond baby? An heir to the heir of a real estate dynasty? She had to be lying. Jason wasn’t the type to cheat on his wife. He was devoted to her. Loving her aside, his reputation meant everything to him. He was angling for the top job at city hall. He wouldn’t jeopardize his chance of being the youngest mayor in the history of any Canadian city for a young girl barely out of high school.

Why claim a connection when all it took was a DNA test to prove otherwise? His eyes stayed shut when the door opened and closed. Someone joined him on the floor. He resisted the urge to cover his balls in case it was Marnie. It wasn’t. No amount of antiseptic and sweat could drown out the underlying scent of Sophie.

He opened his eyes. “How are mother and baby?”

“Doing fine.”

“You were brilliant in there.” He smiled, looked at her, lost a little piece of his heart. “I want you to know, if I’m ever stuck in another freak snowstorm with a woman giving birth I want you by my side.”

“Well, kudos to you as well. You didn’t do too bad yourself. Until the end. But Kellie did the hard work. All the credit goes to her.”

“Understood. In my own defense, it did get kind of disgusting there at the finish.”

“Duly noted.”

“Why do women do it?”

She rolled her lovely green eyes. “You know the whole stork thing is a myth right?”

“Too bad.” And he meant it.

“Yeah, well, she’s got some pretty big obstacles to overcome yet.” Her words carried the dull weight of concern. “She’s very young. Her only support being Marnie, which is scary as hell. And now she’s responsible for another human being.”

“Did you find out anything else about her? How old is she?”

She sighed. “I didn’t get much, but I do know she’s eighteen.”

“Shit.” He stared at the cluttered wall and sea of paper faces across from him. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”

“About Jason Drummond being the father?” She frowned. “Easy enough to prove or disprove. And Marnie might be a lot of things. Delusional. Paranoid. Even a liar when it serves her purpose, but…I don’t know. I’m getting a bad feeling.”

“I know Jason.”
Sort of
. “Have for years. And the things they’re saying? I’m having a very hard time believing.”

Wasn’t he?

Sophie shrugged. “All it takes is a DNA test.”

“Or the threat of having to provide it.” The final outcome didn’t matter. The hint of scandal alone was enough to ruin Jason’s plans. “He’s planning on running for mayor. If you wanted to strike out at him, or get something from him, the timing’s perfect.”

“Then they went to a lot of trouble to arrange a pregnancy. And she’s doesn’t appear to have been living in the lap of luxury.”

“Exactly. Motive.”

“Are you thinking like a lawyer or a friend?”

“Maybe a bit of both.”

“Do me a favor? Wait until you hear the whole story.” She braced her hands on her knees. “I should get back in there. Check on them. Who knows when the ambulance will get here. I contacted them again, let them know it wasn’t an emergency. They’ll be here as soon as they can. Probably another couple of hours.”

Before he had a chance to respond the treatment room door opened and Marnie looked out. “Kellie wants to talk to the lawyer.”

He ignored the contempt in her voice and pushed to his feet. This was one of those moments. The defining kind. He knew it down to the soles of his feet. There was a public relations mess on the other side of the door. Not only for Jason Drummond. If Kellie was telling the truth about paternity, the people involved in exposing it were going to get hit with the same shit storm. It was going to come hard. And fast. The Drummonds’ weren’t known for their clemency.

It couldn’t matter. “Lead the way.”

Sophie put a hand on his arm. “Be careful with her. She’s tired and she’s exhausted.”

“Cut me some slack, okay?” He traced a finger down the side of her cheek. Her look of confusion reassured him. Good to know she didn’t have all the answers. “Or did you miss the part where I said I was good at my job?”

Her eyes shifted away from his. “Then let’s get this done.”

With a finger to her chin he drew her look back to him. “But you have to know that child in there is my first priority. Along with the truth. If I find out she’s lying, or in any way incapable…”

“I know.” Her deep breath matched his own.

But he’d keep an open mind, reserve judgment until he heard her story. He didn’t shy away from hard decisions. Neither did he make them lightly. No matter the cost. Not when a child’s welfare was at stake.

****

Kellie sniffed into a tissue. Caleb was no stranger to tears. His mother shed her share, both honest and calculating. Clients shed them in his office. He’d shed a few when the Canucks had lost the Stanley Cup. He didn’t let her tears influence him.

But some admiration crept in when she set her narrow shoulders back. At her awkward attempts with her baby. When she found her groove and smiled down at the squirming bundle in her arms.

Damn it, he didn’t want to like her.

“You wanted to talk to me?” He pulled over the only chair in the room and motioned to Sophie. “You’re exhausted. Sit.”

Sophie proved he was right by sitting down without argument. But she shifted the chair closer to Kellie. When she looked up at him her eyes were full of warning.

“I’ll stand, thanks for asking.” Marnie crossed her arms over her skinny chest obscuring the big red Nike swoosh.

“I wasn’t, but good to know.” He caught the tail end of Sophie’s eye roll. He stifled a smirk and turned to Kellie. “Are you sure you’re up for this? We can always do this in a couple of days, when you’re rested, had a chance to organize your thoughts.”

“I’ve done nothing but think for two months.” She shifted on the bed. “No, I’ll feel better once I tell you.”

“Don’t worry. We’re not here to pass judgment.” Sophie reached over and smoothed a hand over the baby’s head. “Take all the time you need.”

“I need…legal advice.” Her words faded in and out. Caleb shifted closer to catch them. “You don’t have to help me if you don’t want to, but…ah…I wanted you to hear my side of the story so you could decide.”

Caleb didn’t need to hear it to know Kellie Andrews was in over her head. The Drummonds were generous when inspired by tax breaks. If it garnered the right kind of press. They wouldn’t gift the steam off their piss to a homeless teenage mother from the Downtown Eastside. It wasn’t a secret. They’d rode the hard love, up by your boot straps angle all the way to the top of the Fortune 500 pile.

“Anything you need.” Sophie rubbed a hand up and down Kellie’s arm.

Not so fast. “How about we strike a deal? You be honest with us, we’ll be honest with you.”

Sophie shot him a look fuelled by exasperation. Too bad.

“Thank you,” whispered Kellie. She laid a cheek against her baby’s head. Whether the move was choreographed or not, it pulled at him.

Marnie cleared her throat. Without turning her head Kellie’s eyes sought her out, her look questioning. Marnie nodded once.

Caleb didn’t like it. Something was off. Instinct warned him to take care. To proceed with caution. As young and innocent as Kellie seemed, she wasn’t in this alone. She checked in with Marnie every few seconds. She waited for her signals. No doubt about it. Marnie was in charge of this show. But what did she have to gain?

Kellie glanced at Caleb, caught him studying her. Her head dipped and she froze. Marnie rescued her. “She doesn’t have any money to pay for a lawyer.”

“I do pro bono work for an organization called Legal Tree. They have an office a few blocks from here.” His time amounted to a few hours every couple of weeks. It wasn’t something he broadcasted to the public. He focused all his attention on Kellie even though Sophie turned to stare at him. He pulled out a smile guaranteed to charm. “If we proceed, I don’t see why this can’t fall under the work I do for them.”