The Heart of Christmas (6 page)

“Are you looking forward to going out for your birthday tonight?” he asked, changing the subject.

A trip to San Francisco didn’t sound as enjoyable as it had before last night. Although she’d get to see Baxter, who used to be part of their group but moved to the city two years ago, she’d had about as much of turning thirty-five as she could take. Still, she lied to protect his feelings. There was nothing to be gained from making her friends feel sorry for her. “I am.”

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic.” He stopped her as she opened the parlor doors. “Are you planning to tell me what’s going on?”

He knew her even better than the rest of their friends did, since they’d once been lovers. But that was exactly the reason she no longer felt comfortable confiding in him. “No. Thanks, anyway.”

“Regardless of what you might be feeling right now, Sophia and I care about you,” he said. “We all care about you.”

He was referring to their entire circle. “I appreciate you saying so.”

“Hmm...a polite dodge.” He retained his hold on her arm. “You’re really not going to tell me?”

“No. But answer me this. If you were going to leave Whiskey Creek, where would you go?”

He dropped his hand. “You’re thinking of moving away?”

“Probably not forever.”

“
Probably?
God, Eve, I hope this has nothing to do with me. I thought we’d gotten past last year, but...you seem angry again.”

She wasn’t angry so much as frustrated with her loneliness. And the Christmas season only made it worse. “This isn’t about you. It’s just time I figured out what to do with the rest of my life.”

“Has that been in question? I always thought you’d spend it here, with us.” He gestured at the B and B. “I can’t imagine anyone else running this place. You do such a good job.”

Cheyenne approached before Eve could respond, a look of wonder on her face. “The baby’s really active!” she said, and pressed their hands up against her belly.

Eve could feel the child’s foot. Or maybe that was an elbow jutting out. “Oh, wow,” she breathed. “That’s exciting, isn’t it?”

“I can’t wait to...” Ted’s words drifted off as she glanced up at him, but that sudden catch told her what he’d been about to say. He couldn’t wait to have a child with Sophia.

“This kid is strong.” Cheyenne filled the awkward silence. “Just like his daddy.”

She meant his daddy’s
brother,
who was also her sister’s fiancé, but she would
never
admit how she’d gotten pregnant. She didn’t want Dylan to face the fact that he couldn’t give her a child, which was why she’d performed the artificial insemination without his knowledge. Other than Eve, only Presley and Aaron knew how she’d gotten pregnant, because they’d helped facilitate it.

“You’ve been talking like it’s a boy the whole pregnancy,” Ted said, “but Dylan wants a girl. Do you know something you haven’t shared with us?”

“No,” Cheyenne said. “It’s just easier to refer to him as one or the other, and flip-flopping feels weird.”

Eve could have stood there indefinitely, marveling at the baby’s movements. Creating life was such a miracle, a miracle she longed to experience herself.

She wanted a baby—but she didn’t want to have one on her own. Suddenly she sucked in her breath.

“What is it?” Cheyenne asked.

Eve pulled her hand away, but she couldn’t answer immediately. Something was going through her mind, something that hadn’t struck her before and filled her with concern.

“Eve?” Ted said.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, but she wasn’t so sure. This morning Brent Taylor had pointed out the condom wrapper on the floor when he told her they’d used protection. But there’d only been one, and she was positive they’d made love more than once. She definitely remembered that much. And yet...when she’d thrown away that wrapper, she hadn’t noticed any others.

6

E
ve’s heart was pounding in her throat when she knocked, rather timidly, at Brent Taylor’s door. She didn’t want to bother him again. He’d apologized for his rudeness this morning, and she preferred to leave it at that.

But if there was a possibility that she might be pregnant, she needed some way to notify him.

She was actually hoping he could tell her there’d been other condoms he’d somehow disposed of himself, by flushing them down the toilet or whatever. But that didn’t seem very likely. How many men carried more than one or two condoms in their wallets?

The door cracked open, and he peered out at her.

“It’s me.” Bracing herself for whatever reaction she was going to get, she drew a deep breath. “I need to speak with you for a minute.”

He said nothing, just swung the door wide enough to let her in, and stepped back.

She walked in and closed it behind her. Lord knew she didn’t want anyone else overhearing what she planned to discuss.

“What is it?” he asked, immediately defensive. “I can’t stay tonight? You want me to move out right now? What?”

“No.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “You’re fine here until...tomorrow. Or...whenever.”

His face cleared as he sat on the bed. “You seem nervous.”

“I am, a little,” she admitted.

He studied her closely. “If you’re here because...because you want more of what we shared last night, you don’t have to be nervous. The answer’s yes—as long as there are no strings attached. I have certain...limitations.”

Was he
serious?
From what Eve could tell, he was. But how could he believe she might come back for more after the way he’d tried to distance himself? And what made him think she’d settle for an offer like
that?

The shock must’ve shown on her face, because a smile slanted his lips. “I guess your expression answers that question.”

“I’m not...coming on to you,” she explained. “I’m not a ‘no strings attached’ kind of girl.”

“You’re here for some reason.”

“Yes.” She wandered over to the window so she could break eye contact with him. “I’m here because...because I was wondering...”

The bed creaked as he got up. “About...”

She made herself turn to face him. “You know that condom wrapper?”

“We’re back to that?”

“Do you carry quite a few of those?”

“I can always get more,” he said, eyebrows raised.

She rubbed her hands on her thighs. “I’m wondering how many you had to begin with?”

It wasn’t difficult to discern the exact moment he clued in to what she was trying to establish. A distinct wariness entered his eyes.
“Why?”

“Why do you think?” she asked. “I don’t know what you remember about last night, but I remember making love three different times.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes! Did you have that many condoms?”

When he didn’t respond, she added, “And if you did, did we use them? I mean...maybe you sleep around enough that you carry a whole box. But it wasn’t as if you had your vehicle, so...that means you had only what you were carrying on your person.”

He bowed his head as he leaned against the wall. “Shit.”

She winced. “That’s a
no,
right?”

“I had just the one. And it was pretty old. But are you certain—”

“I’m positive. There was—” she lowered her voice “—the first time when we didn’t quite make it to the bedroom, remember? And then the second time, we did find the bed. After that, I’m pretty sure there was one more, when we woke up a couple of hours later.”

“That was when I had to move you down so you didn’t hit the headboard.”

She felt her face flush. “Yeah. So at least three.”

He nodded solemnly. “That’s when I used the condom.”

Her stomach knotted. “But you didn’t use anything before?”

“I couldn’t have.”

“And you didn’t know that?”

He threw up a hand. “Maybe I was mentally avoiding the possibility of...consequences by assuming they were all one time.”

She bit her lip. “Oh, boy.”

“So I take it you’re not on birth control or anything—” He cut himself off. “Never mind. I don’t even have to ask. If you haven’t been sleeping with anyone, you wouldn’t need to.”

He rubbed his forehead. “So where are you at with your...you know...your cycle? Is there any chance you might have been fertile?”

She’d already counted the days. She’d wanted to be prepared before she spoke with him. “I’m afraid we couldn’t have planned it any better if we’d been
trying
to conceive.”

At that, he went pale. “I see.”

“That doesn’t mean I
am
pregnant,” she said. “Chances are just as good that I’m not. We’ll hope for the best. But if I am...I won’t have an abortion or put the baby up for adoption.”

“Okay,” he said, as if that news was as unwelcome as the possibility of a pregnancy.

“I’m sorry that disappoints you.”

“I’m not sure it does. I just...I don’t know what to say to all this.”

“You don’t have to say anything until we find out. If I’m pregnant, I’ll have and raise the baby alone. But...since you’re in a situation where you’ll be leaving soon, I’d like to know exactly who I’m dealing with.”

He began to pace, head down. “I showed my ID when I checked in,” he muttered, but that was hardly convincing.

“So you’re Brent Taylor? Or are you Taylor Jackson?”

He stopped to look at her, his jaw hard. “You’ve been snooping through my things?”

“Not like you think. But someone had to clean your room, and I noticed the luggage tag.”

“I borrowed a suitcase from a friend.”

“Brent Taylor is your real name, then.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Can I get some contact information, too? Just in case.”

He rubbed his forehead again, as if he needed a moment to regroup, or didn’t like the thought of giving her what she’d asked. That was more than slightly off-putting.

“I promise I won’t contact you unless absolutely necessary,” she added, her voice showing her irritation.

“You don’t understand,” he started, but then he stopped. “Never mind. I don’t have any good contact information right now. I’m in a...transitional period. I’ll have to check back with you. But I’ll do my part. Don’t worry about that.”

Did he expect her to rely on his integrity when she didn’t even know if he had any? She opened her mouth to tell him that was asking a bit much, but he didn’t let her get that far.

“I realize that requires a great deal of trust,” he said. “But I’m hoping you can manage it if...if I’m also trusting you.”

Feeling a chill, although it wasn’t that cold in the room, she rubbed her arms. “In what way?”

He seemed to be thinking fast, trying to come up with an arrangement that would be fair. “Do you have medical insurance?”

“I do. I provide it for all my employees, too,” she said. That was partly what made it so difficult to stay afloat.

“The birth would be covered, then?”

“Yes.”

“There’s that, at least. But still...there’ll be plenty of other expenses. What if I leave you with some money? If you’re pregnant, you can keep it for the baby. And I’ll send more, of course. Like I said, I’m not trying to dodge my responsibilities.”

Eve hated that she’d screwed up so badly that her life, in a matter of twenty-four hours, had been reduced to this kind of negotiation. “Does that mean you wouldn’t want contact with the...um, child?”

He closed his eyes. “I can’t even think about, I mean that right now—what
I
want. I just need to take care of what you want. We’ll worry about the rest later, if there is a baby.”

“Then how much are you planning to leave?”

“Enough that you’ll feel confident, or optimistic if not quite confident, that I’ll follow up. You name the amount.”

She had no idea how much to request, but there was something very odd going on with Brent Taylor. This proved it, and made her raise the figure that came into her head by several grand. “Five thousand?”

To her surprise, he didn’t argue. He just got the money—stacks of hundred-dollar bills separated by paper clips—out of his duffel bag. After handing her two of those piles, he counted out the final thousand. “Here you go.”

“I can’t believe you happened to have this on hand!” She couldn’t begin to guess how he was going to explain that, but she stopped him before he could even try. “Never mind. I don’t want you to lie to me.” He had to be a drug dealer or something, not exactly the type of person she’d want as the father of her baby, so maybe it was a good thing he’d be leaving. She could only hope he
wouldn’t
want contact.

After she slipped out of his room, she hid the money under her waistband so no one would see it and hauled in a deep breath. She might be looking at an entirely different future than the one she’d been contemplating when she was thinking about traipsing off to Europe. But worrying about what might or might not be wasn’t going to change anything. She might as well go by the bank and deposit what he’d given her for safekeeping, then get ready for the trip to San Francisco. Because of her birthday celebration, she had the night manager coming in early. Once the evening got under way, maybe she’d be able to enjoy dinner and dancing and, at least for a few hours, forget Brent Taylor and the changes that might be taking place inside her own body.

If she was pregnant, she’d deal with it. She could be a single mother. She’d longed to move on to the next stage of life for some time now; she’d just never dreamed she might do it without a husband.

* * *

That night Rex was more restless than usual. He attempted to do some work on his computer. He’d made all the arrangements for Scarlet to join him tomorrow—rented them each a room at that house he’d seen advertised at Black Gold Coffee. Their new landlady, an elderly widow, was willing to let them move in right away. But, as the minutes ticked slowly by, tomorrow and his impending move across town seemed like a long way off. His mind kept straying back to Eve.

Could she be pregnant with his child? And what would he do if she was?

He’d send money, of course. Like he’d promised. But he couldn’t imagine having a son or daughter, especially when he wouldn’t be able to know that child—not without putting him or her in jeopardy.

Thirty minutes before Just Like Mom’s closed, he went over to grab a bite to eat. The gal who served him had a nametag on her shirt that read Tilly. She blushed every time he looked at her, but she was young. Too young for him. He guessed she was about...twenty-one.

“Where are you staying?” she asked, showing him her dimples when she brought his check.

“Little Mary’s.”

“Oh, Eve’s place. That’s a great B and B.”

He toyed with the salt and pepper shakers as he asked, “How well do you know Eve?”

“I didn’t go to school with her or anything. She’s ten years older than I am, but I often see her around town. She’s a supernice person.”

“Is she?”

“Definitely! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like her. Have you met her?”

“I have.” He suddenly realized that Eve reminded him of Laurel, even though their coloring was opposite. And God knew how much he’d loved Virgil’s sister. That had to be the reason he’d been so attracted to Eve last night. “She seems like a good person.”

“She is.”

“Why do you think she hasn’t married?”

She twisted her mouth as she searched for an answer. Most people would consider this an odd question—too intrusive coming from a stranger—but she was trying too hard to be helpful to consider it critically. “I’m not sure.
I
think she’s the prettiest in that group.”

“Group?”

“She’s part of a tight-knit bunch of friends who grew up here. Most of them are married now so...I have no idea why she hasn’t found someone.”

“She could be difficult to get along with,” he suggested, just to see what kind of response he’d get.

Tilly shook her head firmly. “No way. If anything, I’m guessing it’s because she’s still stuck on Ted.”

“Ted’s an old boyfriend?”

“They dated last year, briefly. But he wasn’t over Sophia, a girlfriend he had years before. So after Eve got Sophia a job working for Ted—she was just trying to help—Ted decided he wanted Sophia instead.”

Rex had never met Sophia or Ted, but he couldn’t imagine anyone passing over Eve. He took a long drink of his Coke so his next question would seem as casual as he wanted it to. “Was she torn up about it?”

“She pretended she wasn’t, but everyone pretty much understood that he’d broken her heart.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Ted would’ve been quite a catch,” she said. “He’s a famous suspense writer, you know.”

“He is?”

“Has ten books out. Or maybe more. I’m losing track.” She noticed that he’d finished his Coke and picked up the glass. “Can I get you a refill?”

“No, thanks. I’m ready to go.”

She hesitated, shifted on her feet, then cleared her throat. “You new in town?”

“Just passing through.”

“I see. Well, if you’re looking for something to do tonight, I’m partying at the local bar with some girlfriends after I get off. You should join us.”

He wished she appealed to him half as much as Eve, but she didn’t. He had enough problems, anyway.

Smiling with a hint of regret so he could let her down easy, he said, “That sounds like fun, but I’m afraid I have to be up early.”

“Okay. No problem. If you change your mind, anyone can tell you how to get to Sexy Sadie’s. And if I don’t see you, I hope you enjoy your stay in Whiskey Creek. Come back soon.”

“Thanks.” He tossed a twenty on the table to cover his meal and her tip and walked out.

When he climbed into his Land Rover, Rex intended to head back to the B and B and get some sleep. But that wasn’t what he did. He drove past the turnoff and kept on driving, out into the country where he’d been that morning.