The Deception (33 page)

Alex's birthday was in early December. He decided to celebrate by spending another weekend at the Double-Diamond Resort. This time they had a suite with a Jacuzzi, but without an adjoining room, and both spent an afternoon being revitalized in the spa.

He bought her a diamond engagement ring shortly after they returned. He planned on giving it to her for Christmas, but then he decided to wait. Reggie had followed through and filed the
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otion for
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udgment. A hearing was scheduled for the first week of February. Alex wanted to celebrate the official end of her case by taking her to the finest restaurant in town and presenting the ring to her over dessert. However, as the hearing date drew near, he became more and more concerned. Carrie wasn't well and her symptoms appeared to be getting worse. The Saturday before the hearing she woke up sick again.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she returned to bed. "I really thought I'd be feeling better by now, but this stomach bug must be worse than I thought. It doesn't seem to matter what I take, it just won't clear up."

"This has been going on for about two weeks now, Carrie-Anne. I think we need to get you to a doctor. You're starting to look pale and you seem to tire easily."

"I know. First I thought it was the stomach flu. Then I thought it was a bad case of nerves over my hearing. Now I'm wondering with everything I've been through if it's an ulcer, because I'm starting to feel lousy all over. The hearing's on Tuesday. If I'm not feeling a whole lot better on Wednesday, then I'll know for sure that's what it is."

Alex let out a sigh. He already had his suspicions about what was wrong.

"Carrie-Anne, I'm thinking it could be something else entirely."

"Like what?"

"When was the last time you had your period? I've noticed it's been awhile."

"Don't even go there. I'm not pregnant. No way, no how."

"Well, actually, there is a way and a how, and we've sort of been doing a lot of it."

"Look, Alex, I would know if I was pregnant."

"Really? You're absolutely certain."

She let out a sigh. "I've been using the rings for years, but I ran out last fall and I'll admit I've been really busy since I moved into my new studio, so I haven't had a chance to get them refilled. I've been using my diaphragm. It's my backup birth control."

"And you've been using it for the past few months?"

"Religiously. I'm not pregnant, Alex. I've just been a little irregular since I ran out of rings and started using my diaphragm."

"Of course," he replied, "and denial's not a river in Egypt. They're not one hundred percent reliable, so humor me. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Either way, you need medical attention. It's just a matter of knowing which doctor we need to send you to."

He reached into his nightstand and handed her the home pregnancy test he'd stashed in the back of the drawer. He'd even wrapped a white ribbon around it.

"Aw jeez." She rolled her eyes as she snatched it away from him. "Nice touch with the ribbon, but since I'm not pregnant, I guess I'll just have to prove it to you. In fact, I'm so sure I'm not pregnant I'll even make a wager with you."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"Loser has to buy winner dinner tonight at Hernando's."

"Deal," said Alex as they shook on their bet. "Just be prepared to pay up."

"Fine."

She climbed out of bed and headed back to the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later. Her hand covered the result.

"Well?"

"I didn't look. I want you to you tell me."

"Okay, hand it over."

She looked away as she passed him the test strip. She waited for him to tell her the results. Several seconds passed, but Alex remained silent.

"Alex?"

He didn't respond. She turned back around. Alex sat staring at the test strip. His face was pale and he appeared to be in a mild state of shock.

"Alex, come on. You're scaring me."

He slowly looked up. He glanced back and forth a few times at her and at the test strip. The expression on his face was deadly serious.

"It's positive, Carrie-Anne." His voice sounded almost mechanical.

"No way. Here, let me see it."

Alex handed the test strip to her. It bore a plus sign.

"Holy crap." She slowly eased herself down on the bed and started doing some mental calculations. "Well, all right then. My best guess would be that I'm about nine weeks along. This would have happened while we were away celebrating your birthday. There was one morning, when I forgot to put the diaphragm back in. I didn't realize it until after the fact, but I didn't think I was in the part of my cycle when I'd conceive. I'm so sorry, Alex. I guess I got sloppy. This is all my fault. If you don't want this baby, I'll understand."

"Come here," he said softly. After she laid down next to him, he pulled her in close.

"This isn't all your fault, Carrie-Anne. I seem to recall being there at the time."

"So, what do we do now?"

"For starters, you can buy me dinner tonight at Hernando's, and don't look at me like that. It was your idea to make a bet. I won and you lost."

"Fine."

"But before that, we need to decide which room to make into a nursery."

Carrie's face lit up. "You mean you want this baby?"

"Well, of course I want this baby." He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "We're in this together and this little person is a part of you and me. I admit I wasn't expecting this to happen quite so soon, but come on. We're both in our thirties. If we're going to do the baby thing, which it looks like we're going to be doing, then we need to do it now. You're clock is ticking, and I don't want to be one of those guys who ends up changing diapers in his fifties."

"But what about your family, Alex? They've made it quite clear that they'll never accept me. What happens if they won't accept this baby?"

"Honestly, Carrie-Anne, I'm not going to worry about them right now. This baby is far more important to me than whatever my parents may think. If they don't want anything to do with their grandchild, then it's their problem, not mine." He reached down and began rubbing her stomach. "Hey, little guy, it's your dad." He looked at Carrie with a startled expression on his face. "Wait a second... this means I'm a dad, doesn't it?"

"Yes, Alex, it does. You're a dad now."

He began kissing her passionately. As he ran his hand across her breast, he suddenly stopped. "Carrie-Anne, is it okay to be doing this?"

"Yes. I think we can do this until late in the pregnancy. Look at it this way... the damage is already done."

After they finished, Carrie got up to take a shower while Alex reached for his phone. He quickly punched in his brother's number.

"Mark?"

"Hey, Alex, what's up?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Yeah," said Mark. "What's wrong, Alex? More trouble with Mom and Dad?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Guess what? You're going to be an uncle."

"What?"

"You heard me, Mark. You're going to be an uncle."

"When?"

"We're not exactly sure yet," said Alex. "We think in about seven months."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm not joking. Carrie really is pregnant."

"Well then, congratulations. How long have you known this?"

"Honestly? Only for about the past hour or so. We just did one of those home tests. It came out positive."

"Good lord, Alex, you're still in shock. Wait a few hours, and then it will really hit you. You may even cry."

"I will not. Why? Did you cry?"

"I'm pleading the Fifth. Do Mom and Dad know?"

"Nope, and until Dad gets off his high horse, I don't plan on telling them a thing. Who knows if they'd try to use this as ammo to hurt Carrie, and she doesn't need the stress right now. We have a hearing on her court case coming up Tuesday afternoon. She's nervous enough already, and I'm suddenly finding myself feeling even more protective of her than I was before."

"Understood," said Mark. "Olivia and I send her our love, and congratulations again, Big Brother. There's nothing quite like being a dad. It can be the most trying, yet most rewarding thing you'll ever experience in your lifetime."

Alex heard the sound of a baby crying in the background.

"And speaking of which--"

"Dad!" Alex could hear Jacob's voice as he came running into the room. "Daddy! Austin just dropped a bomb!"

"Dropped a bomb?"

"It's a metaphor, Alex."

"Oh, right."

"Meantime, Mom's at the store and someone needs to have his diaper changed. Enjoy the next seven months while you can, Alex, because after that you'll life will never be the same. Be prepared for dirty diapers, round the clock feedings, teething and colic, but don't worry, they outgrow it--eventually. Brother, I love you, I'm proud of you, and Olivia and I will be there for you guys. Congratulations again. Gotta run, I'm being paged."

Mark quickly ended the call and Alex began to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.

Carrie made good on her bet that night and took Alex to dinner at Hernando's. They invited Steve and Allison to join them, and as soon as they were seated, Alex ordered a bottle of champagne and three glasses, while Carrie asked for a glass of mineral water.

"Still not feeling well?" asked Allison.

"Not really."

"What's up?" asked Steve.

"You'll find out soon enough," said Alex. A few minutes later the champagne was poured and he raised his glass.

"Steve, Allie, we'd like to thank you two for coming. Tonight we wanted to include our two closest friends as we celebrate our family, and welcome the newest Montoya."

"Here, here," said Steve as he and Allison raised their glasses. "So have you two set a date yet?"

"We're not exactly sure when the due date is," explained Alex. "We think in about seven months. We'll know for sure once Carrie sees a doctor."

"Come again? I'm a little confused here."

"Oh my God!" Allison nearly dropped her glass. "You two aren't talking about getting engaged. You're having a baby, aren't you?"

"That's right, Allie," said Carrie. "I'm pregnant."

There was a brief moment of stunned silence before Allison spoke up.

"I don't know what to say, other than congratulations." She reached across the table to give Carrie's hand a squeeze. "I just can't believe this. How long have you known?"

"Only since this morning. You know I haven't been feeling well lately. I thought it was nerves, or maybe even an ulcer, but Alex thought I might be pregnant, so we decided to try a home pregnancy test. It came out positive."

"Tell them the rest of the story, Carrie-Anne," said Alex. "You were so sure it was an ulcer that you made a bet and you lost. And because she lost the bet, dinner tonight is on my best friend."

"What?" exclaimed Steve. "Oh now that's just wrong in so many ways. You don't go and make the mother of your child buy dinner for your friends, Dude, even if she did lose a bet. Allie and I will treat you tonight."

"Thank you, Steve," said Carrie with a smile. "Looks like you got me off on a technicality. You know you're now one of my best friends too."

Steve and Allison were happy, yet sad, to hear the news of Carrie's pregnancy. They too were hoping for a baby, but so far it hadn't happened.

"These things really do happen when you're not trying," said Carrie. "Do what we did. Take a weekend off. Go someplace romantic, like the Double-Diamond Resort. It seemed to do the trick for us."

Alex raised his glass. "I'd like to propose another toast. Here's to Caroline Lee Daniels, my very best friend, my lifelong companion, and the mother of my children."

T
he past few months had been the most difficult time of Scott's life. He was still in Payson, free on bond while awaiting trial. His trial, however, would not start for at least another six months, perhaps longer. In the meantime, he lost his job in Kansas City and he'd nearly lost Nancy as well. His bail bondsman would not allow him to travel to Kansas City to visit, and Nancy's visits to Arizona were rare.

Scott was in limbo. He was living in a motel room and working in the electronics department at a big-box retailer. The position was hardly worthy of an experienced software engineer, but until his name was cleared it was the best he could do. His meager salary, however, barely covered his living expenses and child support payments and his savings and brokerage accounts were nearly depleted. Those funds had been used to pay his attorney's retainer and Frederick Carlton Lancaster's services did not come cheap. However if destitution, followed by years of living in debt was the cost of his freedom, then it was a price he was willing to pay. He now understood how Carrie Daniels must have felt when she did the photo shoot for Louise Dickenson. For the first time, he felt a genuine remorse over Carrie. He'd intentionally mislead her and had taken advantage of her, and his moment of lust had turned her world upside down along with his own. The hearing on the motion for
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udgment would be on Tuesday. He hoped his sworn testimony in his deposition--that he was in Phoenix, purchasing his luggage at the time the files were uploaded, would be enough to convince the judge he'd done nothing wrong.