At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel) (29 page)

“Maybe you could have changed their minds by not screwing up,” Joe suggested.

“That thought was far too logical for me,” she said with a grin. “Now, you, as the oldest and the only son, were probably spoiled rotten. Your parents no doubt adored you. Your sisters looked up to you. I’m betting it was pretty fun to be you.”

He laughed. “I had it all right.”

“I hope I’ll meet your parents sometime. Do you think they’ll ever come to Angel’s Bay?”

“They might, if I ever invite them.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“They’re disappointed in my decision to divorce. They’re very religious.”

As much as Charlotte wanted to know more about his divorce, she was reluctant to go there. She certainly wasn’t an objective observer, because on the few occasions when she’d had contact with Rachel, she hadn’t been all that impressed. Whether that was because Rachel wasn’t all that nice or because she wanted Joe for herself was debatable.

“Anyway,” Joe said, “they’ll get over it.”

“Do you think you will?” she asked.

He gazed down at her for a moment. “Yeah, I think I will.”

“You’re very popular, Tory,” Isabella commented as she opened the door to the Java Hut. Nick’s sister had been stopped several times on their way into town from the beach.

“Small-town life,” Tory answered with a smile. She gave her order to the cashier, then told Isabella, “This one’s on me.”

“Thanks,” she said as they sat down at a small table to wait. “You seemed a little upset earlier. Everything all right?”

“Yes. Watching Nick and Megan just reminded me of the fact that I don’t have the family I’ve always wanted. Not that I begrudge Nick. He and Megan should have always been together. I was angry with him for a long time for not trying harder to make that happen, and I’m so glad she’s here now. I just want those silly, small family moments with a child of my own.”

“I hope you get them.”

“Me, too.” Tory got up to retrieve their coffees. “I’m also worried about Steve. Hiring a lawyer makes no sense to me, and while I want to believe him, I’m having trouble doing that.” She took a breath and looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. “I think Steve might have cheated on me with Annie.”

Isabella chose her words carefully. “It’s one thing to think it and another to know it for a fact.”

“Which is why I think Steve doesn’t want to give his DNA. Because until he does, it’s speculation.”

“Or he’s just concerned about his privacy,” Isabella said, playing devil’s advocate.

“It would be unimaginably difficult to find out that Steve cheated on me. But even worse would be knowing that he turned his back on his baby. The biological father should be stepping up. Why has he left his son with Charlotte? Not that she’s not capable and wonderful, but this man has a responsibility to his child.”

“I agree. Is it possible that Annie lied? I don’t know her, so I could be off base, but it seems strange that so much time has passed since she disappeared, and no one has come forward to claim the baby.”

“I guess it’s possible, but . . .” Tory’s voice drifted away.

Isabella looked over her shoulder to see what had caught Tory’s attention, and was surprised to see Joe and Charlotte through the café window. Charlotte was pushing a baby stroller, and Joe had his hand on the small of her back. He was smiling at Charlotte, and Isabella hadn’t seen that kind of tender look on her brother’s face in a very long time.

As they stepped into the café, Charlotte offered a big, warm smile.

“Isabella, Tory, hello,” she said.

Tory paled as Charlotte pushed the stroller next to the table.

The baby was adorable, Isabella thought. He was fast asleep, with his little hands at his side, his fingers so tiny, his expression so sweet.

“His first public appearance,” Charlotte said. “We both needed to get out of the house.”

“I’ll get your coffee, Charlotte,” Joe said, “Soy latte with hazelnut sprinkle, right? You don’t want decaf, do you?”

“God, no,” Charlotte said with a laugh. “I need something to keep me awake.”

“He’s perfect,” Tory said, staring in fascination at the baby. “Just beautiful.” Her voice caught. “How could anyone not want him?”

Charlotte’s gaze softened, and she put a hand on Tory’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t think when I brought him out that—”

“Don’t be silly. Of course you should be out. You should do whatever you want to do. I have to go.” Tory jumped to her feet and ran toward the door, almost knocking over a woman in her haste to escape.

“What’s going on?” Joe asked, returning to the table.

“Tory just saw the baby she thought she was going to get,” Charlotte said quietly. “I didn’t think. I was worried about running into Annie’s father, but I forgot about the adoptive parents.”

“I’ll go after her.” Isabella got to her feet. “It’s not your fault, Charlotte. She had to see the baby sometime.”

“Tell her I’m sorry,” Charlotte said.

“I will.”

Isabella caught up with Tory at the corner, just as she was about to step into traffic. She grabbed Tory’s arm as a driver laid on his horn. “Hold on there. We need a green light.”

“The baby—he was going to be mine,” Tory said, her eyes dazed. “I really thought I was going to be a mother. I was going to push him in the stroller around town, and people would stop and say how cute he was. And some people wouldn’t know that he was adopted, and they’d say, ‘He looks just like you.’” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Let me take you home.” Isabella led Tory to Joe’s truck, parked a couple of blocks away. Tory didn’t say anything along the way, and her silence was even more unnerving. It was as if she wasn’t even aware of reality. When they arrived at Tory’s house, Isabella followed her inside.

Tory disappeared down the hall. Isabella hesitated, not wanting to be intrusive, but she couldn’t imagine leaving Tory alone in the state she was in.

She moved through the house, stopping at an open door. The room was sparsely furnished with a rocking chair and a twin bed. The walls were light blue, and there was a wallpaper strip of colorful alphabet blocks running along the top.

Tory sat in the rocking chair, her arms wrapped around a stuffed white teddy bear. “A friend of mine gave me this bear the first time I got pregnant. She didn’t know it was a good idea to wait three months before sending any presents. Neither did I.”

“Do you want me to call your mom or Nick?”

Tory shook her head. “No.” Her mouth trembled, more tears slipping out of her eyes. She brushed them away as she rocked in the chair. “When we bought the house six years ago, Steve said this would make a perfect baby’s room. We could plant a garden and put in one of those rock waterfalls in the yard. Then we would sit in here and look out the window and rock our baby to sleep. It was the most beautiful image, and I’ve carried it around in my head all these years. We got this chair the second time I got pregnant. When I made it one week past three months, we thought we were out of the woods. But we weren’t.” She took a breath. “It’s never going to happen for me. I won’t be a mother. I have to find a way to accept it.”

Isabella had no idea what to say in the face of such raw pain, but she had to try. “Even though this adoption didn’t work out, you’ll have another chance. You’re young, Tory. There’s still time to have a family.”

“Is there? I don’t even know if I still have a husband. The past few years, I became obsessed with having a child. After the first two miscarriages, nothing happened for almost three years. So we tried in-vitro. I gave myself injections, spent a lot of money, and it didn’t work. When Steve brought up Annie’s baby and her situation, it was the first time I’d ever considered giving up on having my own child and adopting.” She took a minute and then continued.

“After we talked to Annie, I became really hopeful. She’s a sweet girl, and we hit it off. When I put my hand on her stomach and I felt the baby move, I thought it was the best decision I could make. I knew there were other couples who wanted the baby, too, and that the father was unknown, but once I felt that little kick, I was hooked. He was going to be my baby. How stupid was that?”

Isabella felt helpless. The woman was breaking apart in front of her; she needed to get someone to help.

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

Tory didn’t reply, just kept rocking back and forth, her gaze on the window, probably focused on that beautiful image she had in her head.

Isabella rifled through Tory’s purse, found her cell phone, and punched in Nick’s number. Glancing down at her watch, she wondered if he was still on the beach. The phone rang so many times she was about to give up hope, when Nick answered in a breathless voice.

“Tory?” he asked.

“No, it’s Isabella. I’m at her house, and she’s really upset, Nick. I know you’re busy at the beach, but we ran into Charlotte with the baby, and I think Tory is having some kind of breakdown.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said immediately.

Nick never paused when someone was in trouble, she thought as she set Tory’s phone down. He just acted. It made her wonder why she was so hesitant to get involved with her own visions. Maybe she needed some of his courage.

Returning to the bedroom, she found Tory still rocking, still clutching the teddy bear to her breasts as if it were the baby she wanted so badly.

“Can I get you something?” she asked.

Tory shook her head.

At least she’d responded to the question; that was something. Isabella left the room and went outside to wait for Nick. He pulled up in front of the house five minutes later. As he stepped out of the car, a flurry of sand flew off him. He must have just left the beach.

He ran up the driveway toward her, his expression concerned. “Where is she?”

“Sitting in the baby’s room, rocking and crying and staring out the window.”

Nick moved into the house and down the hall. “Tory?” He entered the room and went down on one knee in front of her. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “It’s really over, Nick. The dream—it’s done. You were right. Love is nothing but pain. I hurt all over.” Her voice broke. “I’m not going to be a mother. I’m just not.” Her face crumpled, and her shoulders shook, and she collapsed against Nick in a torrent of sobs.

Isabella left them alone and went into the kitchen. She filled the teapot with water and turned on the stove. Digging through Tory’s cupboards, she chose a soothing chamomile tea. The pot had just begun to steam when Nick walked into the room, looking as if he’d been through the wringer.

He sighed and sat on a stool by the counter. “I got her into her bed. She fell asleep in about one minute.”

“She wore herself out,” Isabella said. “She needed that cry.”

“I hate seeing her suffer.”

“Do you want some tea?”

“I’m not much of a tea drinker. Is there anything in the fridge?”

She opened the door. “Orange juice, milk, and fruit punch.”

“I’ll take some orange juice. The glasses are in the cupboard on the left.”

She poured him some juice and set the glass on the counter. “I’m sorry I had to interrupt the sand-castle building. I know you wanted to spend time with Megan.”

“You didn’t interrupt; we were done. We came in second.” He shook his head in disgust. “The mayor’s cousin won—talk about rigged. Our castle was far superior.”

“Where’s Megan now?”

“She bailed on me as soon as they handed out the trophies. She went off with two girls, but I’m not convinced that’s who she’ll stay with. She was very vague about her plans.”

“Megan is fifteen. She’s going to like boys.”

“Don’t remind me.” He drank the rest of his juice. “So tell me what happened with my sister. Tory saw Annie’s baby and flipped out?”

“Pretty much. We were getting coffee, and Charlotte and Joe came in with the baby. Tory couldn’t take her eyes off that little boy. It was as if she was seeing the life she was supposed to have flash in front of her eyes. I could see that she was shaken, so I drove her here. I think she finally faced the fact that she wasn’t going to get that child. Somewhere in her head, she still had hope.”

Nick’s mouth drew into a grim line. “Tory deserves to be a mother. It’s all she ever wanted to be. When we were kids, it was always her and her dolls, making up pretend families, acting out the parts. That was her dream. She likes working at the theater, but I’ve always thought it was just what she did while she was waiting to be a mother.”

“She could still have kids. There are children who need homes and babies who have yet to be born.” Isabella paused. “But Tory also seems to be confused about her husband.”

“I heard he hired a lawyer, which is ridiculous. If it’s his kid, he should just say so and do the right thing. I didn’t plan on getting Kendra pregnant, but I never thought about walking away. Hell, I married her, and I was a teenager. Steve is a grown man. He’s got a dental practice and money in the bank.”

“But to acknowledge the baby, he would have to admit he cheated. And he obviously doesn’t want to do that.”

“He’s not going to be able to run away from his DNA.”

Isabella rested her arms on the counter. “What’s ironic is that if Steve
is
the father, then there’s a chance he and Tory will end up with the baby if Annie doesn’t come back. But I don’t think that connection has sunk into Tory’s head.”

Nick stared back at her. “You’re right. I don’t know if Tory could take Steve back if he cheated on her and lied about it for all these months.”

“If he comes with that baby, I don’t know how she’ll turn him away.”

“Good point.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Love sucks.”

“Sometimes,” she agreed, meeting his gaze. He gave her a long look, then slid his hand across the counter and covered her fingers. She drew in a quick breath at the heat of his touch.

“It doesn’t go away,” he murmured in bemusement. “The first time you took my hand that night on the cliff, I felt as if I’d been branded. The heat was incredible, like something electric flowing between us.” His fingers tightened around hers. “But it’s not just the way you touch me.”