Tiny blessings, p.23
Tiny Blessings, page 23
By the time she got around to using the facility she was so worked up she was ready to leave the barbecue and walk home. It was the three specks of blood on her underwear that stopped her. She reminded herself that it could be normal, that one out of ten women spotted in their third trimester, according to all the literature she’d read. But just to be safe, she would call Dr. Orville in the morning.
“Hey, you okay in there?” Jace knocked on the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” Charlie pulled herself together and came out of the bathroom to find Jace leaning against the wall.
“Everything all right?”
“Jeez, can’t a woman go to the bathroom in peace?”
His lips curved up in his signature cocky smile. The one she’d fallen completely, hopelessly in love with. “I thought you might’ve fallen in and needed rescuing.”
She shook her head and headed back to the party, calling over her shoulder, “You’re an idiot.”
Later that evening Aubrey took her aside. “I heard Mary Ann showed up at the store.”
Charlie did a double take. “Jace told you?”
“Yeah, what’s the big deal?” Aubrey waved her hand in the air dismissively. “What’s important is that the woman had a lot of nerve putting you in the middle like that.”
“In the middle? That makes it sound like I’m a third party to all this. Is that how you see me? As a third party? As someone who isn’t an essential part of this family?” Charlie clutched her stomach as another cramp seized her.
“What’s wrong?” Aubrey grabbed Charlie’s arm and pulled her over to one of the patio chairs. “Are you cramping?”
“Just a little one. It’s probably Braxton-Hicks. Nothing to worry about.”
“Does Jace know? I’ll get him.” He was over at the grill with Cash, Sawyer, and Tuff.
“Don’t! Aubrey, please, don’t.”
Aubrey, not one to be cowed or mince words, pinned Charlie with a look. “What’s going on with you? First you bite my head off and then you don’t want me to get Jace. You’re right, the cramping is probably nothing, but Jace should know about it in case you’re going into early labor.”
“I’m sorry. I think it’s a combination of raging hormones and stress. That’s all.” Charlie couldn’t bring herself to tell Aubrey about her suspicions of Jace’s feelings for Mary Ann. It was too raw and too personal, even though Aubrey had seen Charlie through her worst times with Corbin. Plus, Aubrey would only tell her that she was being ludicrous. And while Charlie wanted to hear those words she didn’t believe it was the truth.
“Are you sure? Because it seems like there is more going on here.” Aubrey took the chair next to Charlie. “Stress over Mary Ann?”
“Over Mary Ann, over the boys, over the baby. What’s there not to be stressed about?” She smiled to show Aubrey that it was nothing, just normal baby jitters.
“Are you still cramping?” Aubrey dropped her gaze to where Charlie’s hand still rested on her stomach.
“No, I’m good now.” It had only been one sharp pain and then nothing. It was all fine, Charlie told herself. She was getting closer to her due date and her body was reacting, that was all.
“Let me get you a drink.” Aubrey went over to the bar and returned with a glass of sarsaparilla.
Charlie took a few sips even though she wasn’t thirsty.
“I want to make something very clear,” Aubrey said. “I have never, ever thought of you as a second party. I . . . all of us . . . think of you as Travis and Grady’s mother. Not stepmother, do you hear me? You have done more for those boys than their biological mother ever did. All I meant is that Mary Ann is putting you in the middle because she’s relying on the fact that as a mother”—she emphasized the word “mother”—“you’ll side with her. That you’ll persuade Jace to convince the boys to see her. She’s sneaky that way. And conniving.”
Charlie had not gotten the impression that Mary Ann was sneaky or conniving. Her only take away from her was that she was sad and sorry for the things she’d done. For the things she’d lost.
“Do you think there’s a chance that Jace still loves her?” Charlie blurted out, then immediately wished she could take it back.
“Oh my God, you’re seriously hormonal. My mood swings were so intense during my third trimester that Cash is lucky I didn’t kill him. Listen to me carefully: You are the love of Jace’s life. Mary Ann is the bane of his existence. How do I know this? Because I was there. I was there through the whole sordid thing. No, let me correct that. I was there long before Mary Ann came along. I mean, Jace and I go back to splashing each other in a baby pool while his parents were still alive. This is all to say that I know the man as well as I know my own brother. Mary Ann is nothing to him. Nothing.”
It was exactly what Charlie expected Aubrey to say. But it didn’t mean it was true. Because while Aubrey was one of Jace’s oldest friends, there were some things that only a wife knew.
Chapter Ten
It was one in the morning and Jace was sitting in an exam room holding Charlie’s hand. Soon after they’d gotten home from the barbecue Charlie started experiencing extreme cramping. They didn’t know if she’d gone into false labor or was losing the baby.
Charlie wanted to wait for Dr. Orville, but Jace wasn’t taking any chances. He’d loaded her in the truck and rocketed to the emergency room. And here they were, waiting for the results of tests to see what was going on.
“It’ll be okay,” Jace said, even though he wasn’t at all sure whether he was giving her—or him—false hope. She’d told him about the blood, which in his mind wasn’t a good sign. The fact was he was terrified.
“I can’t do this again.” She turned on her side and stared at the wall.
“Don’t say that. Whatever happens we’ll get through it.”
Dr. Orville came in the room, surprising Jace. Earlier it had been an ER doc. Charlie turned at the sound of the door and it was the first time Jace had seen her smile all night. The relief at seeing their regular obstetrician was short-lived, though. The fact that they’d called in the big guns told him it probably wasn’t good news.
He didn’t think that realization had caught up to Charlie yet and squeezed her hand tighter.
“Did they get you out of bed for us?” she asked the doc.
“Not quite. I was at a graduation party at my in-laws’.” She pretended to stick a finger down her throat. “So thank you for getting me out of there.”
“What’s going on, Doc?” Jace wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
“It appears you’ve gone into early labor.”
“Oh, no,” Charlie said, her face going sheet white. “It’s too soon.”
Dr. Orville nodded. “We would prefer that you were at least thirty-seven weeks. So we’re not too far off, but far enough that I’d like to slow this baby down, give her lungs time to mature a little more. I’m going to give you nifedipine. It’s a to-colytic medication that suppresses labor. And hopefully that’ll give us a few more days.”
“A few more days?” Jace said. “Don’t we need more than that?” Charlie was only thirty-four weeks along.
“Ideally yes. But this baby wants to come. So, let’s see how much time the nifedipine buys us. I’m also going to put you on bed rest, Charlie. No more working, okay?”
“Do I have to stay in the hospital?”
“No, but given your history I want you to call me and be ready to come to the hospital at the first sign of labor.”
Jace knew the doctor was substituting the word “labor” for “trouble.” As calm as Orville was, Jace understood they were on shaky ground. And he could see by the haunted look in Charlie’s eyes that she understood it too. The stress of knowing that she could lose the baby at any time only added to the risk factor. Jace realized that too.
A nurse came in and gave Charlie the nifedipine and a little paper cup of water and they waited to see if the cramps subsided.
By sunlight they were on their way home to the ranch. For now the emergency was averted. Charlie slept in the truck, but even in sleep Jace could see tension. Her hands were fisted in her lap and her mouth was pulled taut.
The boys were waiting for them on the front porch when they pulled into the driveway. Jace planned to carry Charlie inside, but she jarred awake as soon as he cut the engine.
“We’re home, baby. Let’s get you to bed.” He came around to her side of the cab, but she’d already gotten out of the truck.
Grady trotted down the steps and gave Charlie a giant bear hug.
“Jeez, Grady, let her breathe.” Travis was more ginger with her, but he too hugged her.
As the boys fussed over her, Jace saw the last seven hours of anguish melt away from her face. She looked like the old Charlie again.
“Are you hungry?” Grady asked. “We can make you eggs.”
“That sounds perfect,” Charlie said.
Travis and Grady ran up the stairs to get breakfast started. They wanted to feel useful and Charlie understood that. Jace beamed. His wife was one in a million.
“You want to get in bed and I can have the boys bring you breakfast on a tray.”
“I can eat in the kitchen. There will be plenty of time for bed later.”
They sat at the breakfast table where the boys continued to dote on Charlie.
“Hey, Grady, you need to get ready for school, buddy.”
“I figured I’d stay home today with Mom.”
Both he and Charlie laughed.
“Yeah, I don’t think so. But good try.” Jace playfully patted his head. “Get a move on before the bus comes.”
“I’ll do his chores for him,” Travis said.
Both boys started to leave when Charlie called them back. She got up and wrapped her arms around both of them and pulled them into a huddle. “Do you know how much I love you guys? To the moon and back, that’s how much.”
Jace watched his two tough hombres get a little teary-eyed.
He got up and cleared the dishes while Charlie lingered over the herbal tea she liked.
“I’ll take a personal day and we can hang out in bed.” He waggled his brows.
“I don’t want you to do that. Save your personal days for when the baby comes.” There was an edge to her voice. But Jace chalked it up to stress and exhaustion.
“You sure?” He wanted to stay. “I like the idea of spending the day with you.”
“I plan to spend it sleeping, so what’s the point?” She brought her mug to the sink and cupped his face in her hands. “Maybe tomorrow, okay?”
“Whatever you want. I’m at your service. In the meantime I’ll come home at lunch to check on you.”
She gave him an imperceptible nod, like she was somewhere else entirely.
* * *
Jace wasn’t in his office fifteen minutes when Travis called. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s not Charlie. Don’t worry. Mom called again. I thought you told her to leave me alone.”
“On the landline?” Damn it, he didn’t want the phone disturbing Charlie.
“No, she somehow got my cell phone number. I hung up on her.”
“Ah, jeez.” Jace scrubbed his hand through his hair. Why couldn’t the woman go away? “I’ll take care of it, Travis. Okay?”
“Okay. But maybe I should just talk to her.” There was a hesitancy in his voice and Jace couldn’t tell whether Travis was trying to be helpful or if a part of him really wanted to talk to his mother.
“If you don’t want to talk to her, I’ll take care of it, Travis. But it’s up to you.”
“Maybe we should just ignore her.”
“We could try that, sure.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
But as soon as Jace got off the phone, he grabbed his hat and headed to the parking lot. “I’m on cell if anyone needs me, Annabeth.”
He got as far as his truck when Mitch of all people waylaid him. “Unless you’re here to report a crime, I don’t have time for you now.”
“I heard about Charlotte,” Mitch said.
Jace wasn’t surprised that word had traveled about their midnight run to the emergency room. That was how it was in a small town.
“I wanted to see if there was anything Cheryl or I could do. If it’s all right with you, Cheryl was planning to run over later with a casserole. Between you and me, she’s not the greatest cook, but she’s crazy about your wife and would like to help anyway we can.”
“I’ve got no beef with Cheryl. According to Charlie, she’s great, which makes me wonder what she sees in you.” Jace popped the lock on his truck. “And Mitch, don’t steal any of my cattle while you’re over there.” It was a long story, but a few years back Mitch had been popped for cattle rustling. To this day he hadn’t been charged, which still stuck in Jace’s craw.
As he drove away, Mitch gave him a middle finger salute, which had Jace smiling all the way to Mary Ann’s house.
Like the last time, Mary Ann seemed to be expecting him and invited him inside.
“This won’t take long,” he said and didn’t even bother to take off his hat or sit down. “Leave my wife and kids alone!”
“They happen to be my kids too.”
“Only if you count DNA. I’m serious, Mary Ann. Leave them alone.”
“You can’t stop me from talking to my children, Jace. Travis is an adult; it’s up to him. And you may have custody of Grady, but that doesn’t preclude me from having visitation rights. I’ll go to court if I have to.”
“Then go to court. Until then, back off.”
“You’re not being fair, Jace.”
“That’s the thing about life, Mary Ann. It ain’t fair.” He caught her gaze and held it, punctuating his point. Life certainly hadn’t been fair to Travis and Grady.
“I’m going to keep trying with Travis until there’s no breath left in me and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. As far as Grady, we both know I have rights. And I plan to exercise them to the fullest.”
Jace contained his anger. “Why? If you love them the way you say you do, why would you come here and disrupt their lives like this? Why?”
“Because they need their mother. Even a once-bad mother is better than no mother at all.”
“That’s the thing, Mary Ann. They already have a good mother.” With that, he turned around and walked out.
Chapter Eleven
There were people in and out all day, so much so that Charlie couldn’t get any rest. First Aubrey came with a pile of home magazines to keep Charlie busy. Then Gina came with enough food and fresh berries from the restaurant’s garden to feed half of California. Soon after Angie arrived with a bag full of romance novels.
It was like Christmas in June.
Jace came home for lunch all smiles, but Charlie could tell something was wrong. When she tried to press him on it all he would say was that it was a work thing, which she could see through a mile away.
It was Mary Ann.
She could sense it like a deer in the woods sensed danger. By the time he left to go back to work, she was sure something had transpired between the two of them. Something that made her already queasy stomach sink.
Later that day she was surprised to find Cheryl at the door. Mitch waved from his truck, which was idling in the driveway.
“Does he want to come in?” Charlie asked.
“No, that’s okay. He’ll wait for me there. I just came to bring you this.” In her arms was one of those insulated casserole dish holders. “It’s my mother’s recipe. Mitch loves it.”
“Come in.” Charlie opened the door wide. “This is so nice of you. Thank you.”
“Oh gosh, it’s the least I can do. After all you’ve done for us.”
Charlie really hadn’t done much. Just gave them a couple of pictures and a contact number for a vintage party rental company.
“How are you feeling?” Cheryl said.
“Much better now. The doctor gave me some drugs to stop the prelabor contractions and for now they seem to be working.”
“That’s good, right? I mean . . . is it too soon?”
“If I can make it another two weeks, that would be ideal. Well, not ideal, but safer for the baby,” Charlie said.
“Is there anything I can do?” Cheryl peeked through the foyer into the great room. “Everything looks so nice, but I could tidy up if you’d like, or run errands, or just anything.”
“That is so kind of you, Cheryl. But between Jace, the kids, and the rest of the Daltons, I’m set. Come into the kitchen so you can set that down. I’m being so rude.” Charlie wasn’t even dressed, unless you counted a pair of old sweats.
“No, you’re not.” She followed Charlie into the kitchen. “This is beautiful.”
“Thank you. It was Jace’s grandparents’ house. Would you like a cup of coffee or tea? Juice or a soft drink?”
“I’m fine.” Cheryl slipped the casserole out of its holder and tucked it in the refrigerator. “I should let you get some rest. But I’m going to leave my phone number just in case. Don’t hesitate to call. I’m pretty much living at Mitch’s full time now and can be over here in less than fifteen minutes.”
“You’re so sweet.” Charlie gave her a hug. How bad could Mitch be if this delightful woman loved him? And she clearly did.
She walked Cheryl to the door and waved goodbye to Mitch, who was still patiently waiting behind the wheel.
“Who was that?” Travis came in the door after taking the dogs to the creek just as Mitch was backing out of the driveway.
“Mitch and his fiancée, Cheryl.”
“Mitch? I thought Dad hated him.”
“I don’t think your father hates Mitch as much as everyone thinks. In fact I think he might even miss him.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she wondered if she was talking about Mitch or Mary Ann.
* * *
Grady was upset when he came home from school. Charlie sensed it the moment he walked in the door with his shoulders slumped, frowning. He further confirmed her suspicions when he turned down some of Gina’s homemade oatmeal cookies.
