Stepping Up: Book Six in the Who's Your Daddy series (3 page)

Chapter Five

Careful
not to tread on the creaky third stair, Summer slowly made her way inside her darkened home. A quick look at the glowing digital clock near the door read five-thirty. Good. No one should be awake to ask her where she’d been. She needed time to process what just happened.

Once safely ensconced in her bedroom, she breathed a sigh of relief as the door clicked close. Safe. On shaky legs, Summer walked to her bed and collapsed. Not that she had a lot of experience making love, but she was sure what she and Vance shared was extraordinary. Amazing, in fact. A smile spread across her face as she recalled every position they tried. Like Diana Ross once sang, the boy turned her upside down and inside out!

But faster than a speeding bullet, her smile faded as she realized it may be the last time they’d be together. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes which she tried to blink away, then swallowed hard to rid herself of an annoying lump in her throat. She promised herself she would not get emotional. And she wouldn’t. Time to pull on the big girl panties and move on with her life. Without Vance.

She could kick herself for waiting so long to express her feelings for him. The what-ifs flooded her mind; what-if they became lovers earlier, what-if he decided to stay here and not accept the transfer. She shook her head to knock all the negative thoughts away. This was a new day and her new reality. Vance would not be coming back.

Summer stripped off her clothes and grabbed her robe. She needed to take a quick shower before lying down for a quick couple hours of sleep. Just as she started for the bathroom, her bedroom door opened.

“Where were you last night?” her little sister Spring asked, a mischievous smile on her face. “And don’t lie.”

For a split second, Summer considered doing just that, or telling Spring it was none of her business where she’d been, but she knew anything other than the truth would be a futile measure. Spring could weasel the truth out of a stone, she was just that good of an interrogator. The girl ought to be an attorney. “I was out.”

“I know that, missy. Where and with whom?”

Trying to keep a neutral expression on her face, Summer admitted, “I was at Vance’s home.”

Spring’s eyes widened to the size of two small saucers and her mouth dropped open. “Your Vance?”

“He’s not my Vance.”

“Um, if you and he did the nasty last night, then he’s your Vance.” Spring grabbed Summer’s hands and pulled her over to the bed. “Tell me everything and don’t even think about leaving any of the juicy parts out.”

Summer took a deep breath and allowed the sweet memories of her time with Vance to come forward. She began with their kisses in the parking lot at the diner and ended with their passionate embrace at his front door.

“So, when are you going to bring him home, here, for us to meet?” Spring asked eagerly.

The tears she’d successfully held back before suddenly to Summer’s consternation decided to make an appearance at that moment. “Um, never.”

“What do you mean, never? Sounds like you are crazy about each other.”

Summer silently agreed with her sister but shook her head. “He’s leaving today.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He accepted a transfer for his job and he’s heading for LA today.”

“So, why does that mean you two can’t have a relationship, long-distance even?”

“We discussed that last night and decided against it. It would be too hard to maintain, so we thought it best to just end things.” Before one of us gets a broken heart.

“That’s bull, and you know it. There has to be another reason. So tell me, who was the one to suggest that you don’t try to continue what you two started last night?”

“Vance. He said it would be too hard and that his new position would be taking up all his time so he wouldn’t be able to fly back here.”

“Sounds fishy to me. Is he married?”

“No!” Summer yelled, then slapped her hand over her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was awaken their father. He had a hard enough time getting enough rest with all his aches and pains.

“Are you certain?” Spring inquired while staring at her sister.

Summer opened her mouth to respond but quickly snapped it closed. His house was all packed up, so there was no way she could tell if there were any female belongings there. But she just knew, deep down, that he didn’t have any other women in his life. Spring’s question of why he didn’t want to continue their relationship still nagged her, though. “I’m certain.”

“Well, it’s over now, so you don’t have to worry about it now, right?”

Summer nodded her head, knowing that if she opened her mouth right now she’d burst into tears. Suddenly, Spring wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. That did it. Summer’s tears gushed forth and soon both sisters were sobbing.

“Hey!” Walter Hughes stuck his head into the room, a concerned look on his face. “What’s going on here? Who died?”

The sisters quickly sprang apart and began wiping away their tears. “No one died, Pop,” Summer replied in a shaky voice.

“Then what’s with the tears?” He looked at each of his daughters as he leaned against the door frame.

“Pop, come on in here and have a seat,” Spring chided. “You shouldn’t be on your feet.”

“And why not?” he asked as he slowly walked over to the bed aided by his cane. “I’m not in the grave yet.”

“And you won’t be for quite a while,” Summer said as she made room for him to sit. “Pretty soon you’ll be back on the golf course, tearing it up.”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” he said wistfully. “Man, would I love to be out there on the links. I could give some of those pros a run for their money.”

“Sure you could, Pop,” Spring said trying to keep a straight face. Soon, all three of them were laughing and falling back onto the bed.

After they straightened themselves up and wiped their eyes, Walter looked at both of them and gave them one of his patented winks. “Now, the truth ladies. What’s going on?”

Summer hunched her shoulders and prayed that Spring would go along with her explanation. The last thing she wanted to do was burden their father with her man troubles. “We were just talking about things and somehow Mama’s name came up and we started crying.”

Her father simply nodded his head and blew out a loud breath. “Well, I can understand that. Even after all these years of her being gone, I swear I can sometimes feel her in the room, ready to pounce on me for something or other. Lord I miss that woman.”

“We all do, Pop,” Spring added. “But we still have the diner, her dream.”

Summer cut her eyes at her sister, and shook her head. Next to talking about her love life, the next subject she didn’t want to broach with their father was the diner and its precarious financial position. “Let’s not talk about the diner, okay?” She yawned and raised her arms straight over her head. “I need to get some sleep, guys.”

“I bet you do since you didn’t come in until about half an hour ago.”

Summer and Spring looked at each other and bust out laughing again. “And how would you know, mister. You should have been asleep.”

“Well, a father doesn’t stop being a father just because he’s sick. But if you don’t want to tell me why you were out so late, that’s alright. You’re grown now.”

Summer leaned over and gave her father a big smooch on his cheek. “I never could hide anything from you, old man.”

“And please don’t feel you have to because of my illness. My body may be in terrible shape, but my mind is still strong.” Walter reached a hand into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a closed fist.

“What do you have, Pop?” Spring asked.

His hand trembling, he opened his hand and showed his girls their mother’s wedding rings. “I want you to take these to the pawn shop and get what you can for them.”

Summer inhaled sharply and bounded off of the bed. “No! We can’t do that. They’re Mama’s.”

“Summer, Spring, let’s face facts. The diner is in deep money trouble. I know that, you know that. I have a feeling things are going to turn around soon, but in the meantime, bills have to be paid.” He held his hand out and motioned for Summer to take the rings from his palm. “Like you said, the diner is your mother’s dream come true. This is her contribution to keep it up and running.”

Summer slowly picked the rings up and cradled them in her hand, softly crying. “I’ll get them back for you, Pop.”

“Don’t worry about that, Summer. I’ll forever have memories of your mother. I don’t need the rings.” With that, all three of them began to hug and cry.

One month later:

Summer dropped back in her chair and began to rub her eyes. The infusion of cash from the pawning of her mother’s wedding rings had been like a teaspoon of water dumped into the Youghiogheny river. The diner was going under. If things did not change within a year, they’d have to close the business.

But then again, in a year they may not have a choice if the bank foreclosed on the mortgage. She solemnly looked over at the pile of correspondence from the bank, asking, no demanding that they be paid. Now. She wished she could wave a magic wand and make all her problems disappear.

“How’s it going in there?” Ginny asked as she stepped through the back door. “Sorry for being late. I’ll make up the time.”

“You know you don’t have to do that. You work so much overtime, we probably owe you a ton of money.” Thank goodness Ginny was not a stickler regarding her pay. They really did owe her a great deal of money, but Ginny realized the financial condition of the place and overlooked it.

“There’s a game tonight, so hopefully folks will stop by before and afterwards.”

Summer gave her a warm smile and nodded her head. “I hope so. We could use the business.”

“Let me get in that kitchen and start prepping. Need anything?”

“Nope, I’m good.” A wave of nausea overtook Summer and she had to swallow hard to keep from throwing up.

“You don’t look good,” Ginny stated, walking further into the office. “Upset stomach?”

If she only knew, Summer thought to herself. “Kind of, but I’m fine.”

Giving her boss a look that said she wasn’t buying her explanation, Ginny headed into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Summer rushed to the bathroom and threw up. That was close.

“Eighteen forty, eighteen forty-two, now where was it?” Summer drove slowly down Wylie Avenue, looking for Vance’s townhouse. “It had to be here somewhere. Too bad I wasn’t paying more attention that night.” Soon a familiar home appeared and she parked the car.

“This is where Vance lives, no lived,” she corrected herself. Summer had to find him and without his last name this was the only way she could think of doing so. Tentatively, she walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Nothing.

She swiveled her head right and left to make sure no one was around and carefully made her way over to the living room window. A quick peek inside let her know that the place was empty. Vance had cleared out over a month ago and no one had moved in.

Maybe a neighbor could help. Screwing her courage, she marched over across the small tidy yard and rang the bell of the home next door. A young woman with a screaming toddler in her arms answered.

“Excuse me for bothering you,” Summer began.

“Oh you’re not bothering me,” the woman shouted over her child. “The little one is having his afternoon tantrum, that’s all.”

“Well, I was wondering if you can tell me the name of your neighbor on your left. His first name is Vance.”

“Honey, you know more than I do. He kept to himself, and I only saw him early in the morning going to work or maybe when he dragged himself in for the night.”

“Okay, thanks,” Summer muttered as the woman closed the door and she began to walk to her car. What was she going to do? This was not the time to add another burden to her family.

Chapter Six

Five months later:

His
heart beating twenty miles a minute, Vance sat outside the diner, gathering the courage to go inside. Devinne was the same as before, but with a thick layer of ice coating everything. A wicked wind sent plowed snowbanks back onto the road, making more work for the few city employees.

Vance shivered even though he was wearing a thick parka and a knit hat pulled low over his ears. Big change from LA. When he boarded the plane this morning, the temperature was nudging into the seventies. A quick look at his dashboard let him know that it was five whole degrees. And that was the high for the day!

How was Summer going to react to him stepping through the door? Would she be happy to see him, or pissed that he hadn’t contacted her in almost six months? They had agreed to go their separate ways after their last time together, right? He shook his head. That was the stupidest decision he ever made and he planned on making things right.

Bracing himself for the cold, Vance opened the car door and stepped out, his boots making a crunching sound as he crossed the parking lot. Looked like little had been done to clear the area. Someone could fall and hurt themselves on the numerous ice patches. He made a mental note to take care of the matter himself before he left.

As he stepped into the diner, he smiled as the little bell above the door rang. Still there. But that smile faded away as his gaze landed on an empty dining room. Not one patron was at the counter eating a late lunch nor was there anyone in one of the cozy booths. This did not bode well for the health of the diner.

The sound of a plate crashing to the floor diverted his attention to the kitchen area. He looked up to find Summer at the window staring out at him. His smile returned and he took a step in her direction. “Hi Summer.”

“What, when,” she stammered, her eyes widened.

“I just got back today.” He walked closer to the counter and took a seat on one of the stools. “This was my first stop. I needed to, um, have a piece of Ginny’s delicious pie.”

Upon hearing her name, the cook poked her head out the kitchen door and greeted him in a huge grin. “Look who’s back.” Curiously, her smile disappeared as she glanced over at a somber Summer. “You okay, honey?”

“I’m fine,” Summer said tersely. Turning to him, she stared at him with a glare as cold as the whipping wind outside.  “We don’t have any pie today. Sorry.”

“Well, I really didn’t need it anyway,” he replied. “How about coming out here and having a seat. We need to catch up.”

“No we don’t,” she shot back. “I’m busy.”

He looked around the empty restaurant and then back to her. “Busy doing what? The place is empty.”

“Why’d you come back? Are you here for a visit?”

“I didn’t like the west coast and missed, um, missed the cold weather. “It’s not so bad,” he countered. “You just have to dress for it, that’s all.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Summer said with a hint of a smile. “This cold is the pits.” She paused and the smile slid off her face. “You didn’t answer me. Are you here for good?”

“Yes, I’m back to stay. I’m still with my old company but I’m a manager now.” He reached out his hand, waiting for her to take it. “Come on, Summer. Talk to me.”

“You might as well get it over with, Summer,” Ginny prodded, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Get what over with?” Vance asked, as he stepped closer to the counter.

With an audible sigh, Summer bowed her head and walked over to the swinging door dividing the kitchen from the dining room. As if she had weights tied to her ankles, she rounded the counter and stood before him. She was pregnant!

Spots appeared before Vance’s eyes and he almost fell off of his stool. He took a couple deep breaths and willed his pulse to slow down. “You’re pregnant!”

“Wow, you noticed.” She walked over to one of the booths and sat down. “I guess you win the prize. He or she will be here in another three months.”

He followed her and took a seat on the opposite side of the booth. “Why didn’t you contact me?”

“How was I supposed to do that, Sherlock? I don’t even know your last name, let alone any other information about you.”

The realization that he hadn’t disclosed any personal information to her smacked him in the middle of his forehead. But he couldn’t have, considering his position with the bank.  If he had, she’d surely have kicked him to the curb and not permitted him inside the diner. “I’m so sorry—”

“For what? Getting me pregnant and then disappearing? Or for coming back to Devinne?” With that, Summer stood and ran into the kitchen.

Vance simply stared at her retreating figure and slumped down into his seat. What just happened here?

Moving faster than she really should in her condition, Summer raced into her office and slammed the door shut. How dare he stroll in here and act as if everything could go back to normal? She absently rubbed her belly as she lowered herself into a chair.  Just when she was beginning to accept the fact that she’d be a single mother, Vance shows up. What was she going to do now?

She had to be in shock. That’s the explanation for her reaction out there. Shock plus the surging hormones in her body because of the pregnancy. She just needed to sit here for a while and process the situation. She’ll go back out and speak with him in a few minutes. Or hours. Or days.

Summer leaned back in the chair and began to perform the deep breathing exercises Spring insisted she learn. “You don’t want to upset the baby” Spring repeated when Summer would start to fall apart. Deep breath in. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Before she could take her second breath though, the door to the office creaked open. Vance.

Was it only a few months ago that seeing his face made her heart feel as though it were trying to escape her chest? Now, his appearance simply angered her. How dare he waltz back into her life as though he’d had every right to do so. Didn’t he insist on no contact when he left? Why couldn’t that still be the case? She didn’t need any more complications in her life.

“Can I come in?” he asked as he eased his way inside and softly closed the door.

“Looks like you already have,” she replied snidely.

“Come on, Summer. Give me a break. How was I to know you were pregnant? Do you think I would have left if I knew?”

“You were long gone before I discovered I was having a baby.” She turned the chair around so she could hide the tears building in the corners of her eyes.

“But I’m here now, sweetheart.”

Her breath hitched at his utterance of the term of endearment. Sweetheart. He called her that the night they made love. The night they created the child growing inside of her. “I need some time.”

“Time for what?” he asked, getting up from his seat and rounding the desk. “By the look of things,” he said while pointing at her belly, “we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Like I said before, I’ve got another three months.”

“Which is plenty of time for us to get this figured out.”

“What do you mean, figured out? It’s quite simple, Vance. I’m going to have a baby and I’m going to raise him or her alone.”

“Like hell you will!” he roared. “That’s my child and I will be part of his or her life.”

“How do you know it’s yours?” she asked in a tiny voice.

Sidling up to her and getting way into her personal space, he responded in a whisper. “I may not be an expert in making love, but I can tell when a woman hasn’t had sex in a while. And Summer, admit it. You hadn’t had sex in a while.”

A shiver shimmied down her spine and the baby did a somersault to boot. Damn, this man was dangerous. “Alright. I’ll admit it. The baby is yours.”

A Cheshire grin spread over Vance’s face as he backed up and returned to his seat. “May I have a pen and paper?”

“Huh?”

“Paper. Pen. I want to give you my contact information.”

Still in a trance from his close contact, Summer reached inside the desk and produced the items he requested. She stared at his hands as he efficiently wrote his full name, address and telephone number, then slid the paper across the desk. “Ryan?”

“Yes. I’m Vance Ryan.” He held his breath and waited for recognition to hit her. Although his full name never appeared on any of the bank correspondence, his last name did.

“Nice name,” she finally said, and he let out the breath he’d been holding.

“So, may I have your home information?”

“Why?”

“So that I can visit you there? I mean, the diner is nice and all, but I think we need to get to know each other away from this place.”

“How about I think about that.” She stood and headed for the door. “If you don’t mind, I have a business to run.”

Taking the hint, Vance headed for the front of the diner and watched as Summer closed the office door in his face. As he walked through the kitchen, Ginny pressed a piece of paper into his hand and motioned for him to hide it, which he did. She gave him a wink and went back to work.

After exiting the diner, he looked at the paper she’d slipped him. Summer’s home address. Game on.