Be My Baby (2 page)

CHAPTER 1

I was pacing back and forth in the visitor's
lounge with my Blackberry up to my ear. I was trying like hell to
reach Trey. I wanted to let him know what was going on with
Gina.

The door opened suddenly and Tristan came
in. His face was pale. He was scared. I hadn't pulled any punches
when I had finally gotten in touch with him earlier. I had lit into
him pretty good. I felt bad afterwards when he told me the reason
he hadn't heard his phone before then was because he was busy
sanding and staining the cradle he had made for the baby. He had
been working on the nursery furniture in his spare time in the
basement at the club. It was to be a surprise for Gina.

"How is she?"

"I don't know anything more, Tristan. They
took her for an emergency C-Section. It seems like it's taking too
long. I'm scared."

Tristan came over and pulled me to him. We
both loved Gina.

"How are you feeling, Tylar?"

"I'm holding up okay. This pregnancy is
certainly different than with Preston's. I'm just so tired all of
the time. When my doctor increased my vitamins then I was nauseated
all of the time. I'll get through it."

"Where's Trey? Have you called him?"

"I've tried several times. Tonya said that
he and the new junior partner are in depositions and can't be
interrupted."

"Oh. Amber, huh?"

"Who else?"

Just then the nurse came out to the lounge
and asked who was here for Gina Hatton. Both Tristan and I answered
at once.

"Well only one of you can come back. She's
in recovery now."

I turned to Tristan.

"Call my cell and let me know as soon as you
talk to her doctor or her?"

"I promise," he said, squeezing my hand. He
headed out the door, right behind the nurse.

I sat back down on one of the stuffed
chairs. I was glad that Gina and Tristan had worked things out. I
never doubted that they would. Surprisingly, it was Trey that had
talked some sense into Tristan about the situation. That had
shocked the hell out of me.

Trey had been furious with me the night all
of this had gone down. Ian had presented some lab report to Tristan
at the club showing him that he had a normal sperm count of all
things. Tristan immediately jumped to the conclusion that Gina had
been trying to pull one over on him by not telling Tristan that she
and Ian had hooked up one last time right before Gina and Tristan
became involved.

It had been a real mess for about a week.
Trey had calmed down sooner than Tristan. Gina had simply told
Tristan that he could believe what he wanted to believe. She didn't
give a shit. She would raise the child with or without him. They
eventually worked it out but Gina was better at forgiving than
forgetting. She told Tristan she was having the DNA testing done as
soon as the baby was born. She also told him once she had the
results she was going to personally shove them up his ass.

I giggled as I remembered standing there at
the club and watching her as she had lit into him. She had jabbed
her finger into his chest to drive the point home. Tristan had
simply watched her calmly. When she had finished her tirade, he had
pulled her against him and held her tightly. He had told her that
it was fine; that he deserved it, and that he loved her.

He had treated Gina well during the rest of
her pregnancy. They had moved her furniture into Trey's old
apartment once we had moved out. It was their home now. Gina had
re-done Preston's nursery preparing for a boy. She had wanted to
know the sex of the baby. Both she and Tristan were going to be
great parents. I just wished that he would call me. I needed to
know they were okay.

My Blackberry chimed just then; it was
Tristan.

"Hey," I said.

"She's fine; the baby is fine."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

(Thank God.)

"Apparently there was a separation of the
placenta and tearing of something else. I don't know all of the
technical terminology involved but her doctor said she will be
fine. She needs to stay in the hospital for a few days. Our son
weighs six and a half pounds and he is beautiful, Tylar."

"Oh Tristan, I am so happy for you both.
Congratulations, Daddy. When can I see them?"

"She can have visitors tomorrow. She's
pretty groggy right now. Hey - do you need me to drive you home or
anything?"

"No. I'm good. I've got my car here, so no
worries. Tell Gina that I love her?"

"I'll do it, Tylar. See you tomorrow."

_________________________________________________

Jean had Preston fed and in her pajamas by
the time I made it home. I had still not heard from Trey. I filled
Jean in on Gina's status. She assured me that those things, while
not all that rare, are not all that common, either. I knew that
Jean was worried about my pregnancy. She knew how sick and tired I
had been. I don't know how I would have managed had it not been for
her.

I walked out to the barn to check on
Derringer. Marcus was still out in the paddock area when I got
there. Derringer had strained a ligament earlier in the week and I
wanted to make sure that Marcus was still putting the liniment on
it and wrapping it. I hadn't gotten out to the barn yesterday. It
had not been one of my good days.

"Hey there, Tylar," he greeted me with a
smile. "Are you feeling any better today?"

"A little; thanks. Just wanted to check on
Derringer, Marcus."

"Don't trust me to take care of that spoiled
horse of yours, huh?"

"You know me," I replied with a wink. I
checked on Derringer; he had a fresh wrap on.

"See?"

"Okay, okay. Yes, I am a worrywart about
some things. I appreciate your tolerance of that, Marcus."

The truth was, I don’t know what I would
have done without Marcus looking after the horses and keeping up
with ordering supplies and scheduling stud services. My father had
sent two gorgeous Arabians to us shortly after we had moved to the
ranch. The stud fees we collected from those were a small fortune
alone.

"I'm sorry I haven’t done more around here
to help, Marcus."

"Hey now," he said, leading 'Majestic
Maverick' out of his stall, "I know you haven't felt well, Tylar.
Don't you worry a thing about it, okay? The important thing is to
take care of yourself and that baby. We'll manage out here for the
time being."

He clicked his tongue and walked the horse
out into the arena area for exercise. I liked Marcus regardless of
Trey's feelings about him. Trey always seemed to think that any
male working with me or around me had some ulterior motives for
trying to get into my 'knickers' as he put it. I had hired Marcus
several months after we had moved out here. The stud service and
boarding had grown significantly. Trey had told me that I needed to
financially justify hiring a full-time hand which I easily did. I
think even Trey was surprised at how lucrative our facility had
become. Still, he had made the occasional comment about how much
time I spent with Marcus. He hadn't made those comments in awhile.
Probably since my pregnancy had become so obvious.

I could have raised a stink about how much
time he spent with Amber these days. Ever since they brought her
into the firm as a junior partner several months back, Trey had
been tasked with mentoring her. Not that he complained of course.
She had been out to the house several times working with Trey on
various cases. I didn't like her. I knew she knew that as well.

I walked across the pasture back up into the
house. I saw the headlights of Trey's car as he came up the
driveway; another car was right behind him. Shit! That was Amber's
little two-seater BMW. Of course, I would totally look like shit at
the moment. Trey might have shown me the common courtesy of advance
notice, but no, he never did where she was concerned.

He had told me I should appreciate the fact
that when he has to work late, he does so at home. That part I was
used to; I just didn't appreciate him having Amber right next to
him working in our home. She wanted him. That was very obvious to
me.

I pulled my muddy boots off and dropped them
to the floor of the back porch. Hopefully, if I went in through the
back I could avoid the prissy bitch. No such luck. She and Trey
were in the kitchen getting coffee made.

"Well Tylar, hello," Amber greeted, taking
off her coat and putting it on the back of a kitchen chair. "Trey
tells me that you've not been feeling well."

"Hi Amber. You know, just the pregnancy
stuff I guess."

"Well actually, I wouldn't know about that
yet. I've not been blessed but I fully intend to have children some
day. Just as many as my man wants."

Amber was perfectly made up and coiffed. Her
make-up and nails were always impeccable. I couldn't remember the
last time I had indulged in a manicure or pedicure. She had
chestnut brown hair that was but just above the shoulders. Her eyes
were a dark, chocolate brown. They were very intense.

Trey handed her a mug of coffee and she sat
down at the table.

"Trey - do you have a minute?" I asked.

"Sure baby."

I rolled my eyes at him
indicating it was of a private nature.
(Duh!)

"Oh - excuse me for a moment Amber; you can
go ahead and get started marking up the depositions if you
want."

"Sure Trey," she gushed, flashing him her
signature, flirty-ass smile.

"See you later, Tylar."

"Uh huh," I replied leaving the room.

Trey followed me out of the kitchen and down
the hall to the living room where we were out of earshot.

"Trey, I have been trying to reach you all
day. I must've left three messages with Tonya."

"I'm sorry, Tylar. We were taking
depositions all day at the offices of opposing counsel. I haven't
even been back to the office."

"What? You don't check your Blackberry,
either?"

"I'm sorry, babe. It's been a crazy day.
What can I say? I'm here now. What is it?"

"Gina had the baby today. Emergency
C-Section. She nearly bled to death."

(I threw the last part in to make him feel
really bad.)

"Oh God, Tylar! Is she okay? What about the
baby?"

"Yes - they are both fine. I couldn't reach
Tristan for the longest time so he didn’t get there until she was
out of surgery. I couldn't get in touch with you at all which I
find unacceptable being that I am significantly pregnant right now.
What if I can't get in touch with you when it's time?"

"Honey, honey. I think you are going a bit
overboard here. You're not even due for a couple of months. Don’t
worry. This case should be winding down by then."

"Well don't rush it on my account, Trey," I
snapped at him turning away.

He reached for me pulling me back to
him.

"Hey, why don't you go up and take a nice,
relaxing bath? We should be finished down here in an hour, tops.
I'll come up and give you a back rub, okay? Does that sound
nice?"

I melted against him just like I always did.
The truth was, it sounded like heaven.

"Mmmm," I sighed, "Yes, it does."

"That's my girl. I'll see you in an hour,
baby."

"It's a date."

He gave me a quick kiss and headed back to
the kitchen. Back to Amber with the full, pouty lips.

CHAPTER 2

I checked on Preston who was sleeping
peacefully in her crib when I went upstairs. Jean had retired to
her apartment for the night. I gave my baby girl a soft kiss on her
check and pulled her blanket up around her. She was getting so big;
growing up so fast. She was excited about the prospect of having a
new baby brother or sister. Jean and I made sure we kept explaining
about why Mommy's tummy was getting big. She liked to put her hand
on my stomach and feel the baby kick.

I had stopped breast feeding Preston right
before she turned a year old. Trey had insisted. He didn't think it
looked right for a pregnant woman to be breast-feeding another
child. He said it looked 'hill-jack' whatever that meant.

I ran a warm bath and got clean pajamas out.
My long soak in the tub felt wonderful. I washed my hair and shaved
my legs. Trey was right. I worried too much. I knew that he would
be there when the time came. My hormones were making me overly
emotional again.

I slipped under the clean, warm sheets of
our bed. I looked at the clock. It had been an hour and twenty
minutes. I was so looking forward to my back rub. The baby was
relatively quiet now. The past few days he (or she) had been doing
gymnastics within the confines of my uterus - at least it felt that
way. Tonight it was very calm. I would probably sleep much
better.

I drifted off to sleep. I wasn’t sure how
much later it was when I felt Trey beside me in bed. He smelled
fresh from the shower. I could feel his damp hair as he lowered his
face to mine, capturing my lips with his own. He kissed me softly,
the passion building.

(What about my back rub?)

"Mmm-Trey," I started, "What about?"

"Hush baby," he whispered, "I need to be
inside of you; it's been so long, Tylar."

I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or
not; but it seemed like Trey was always horny after a late work
night with Amber. It was difficult to tell though because we hadn’t
been having sex on a regular basis for quite a while. I just never
felt good. I knew that Trey was getting tired of my excuses. There
was no way I was going to make an excuse tonight. As much as I
wanted to simply forego the back rub in favor of him allowing me to
roll back over and go to sleep without having sex, I knew it would
not bode well. It wasn't his fault I was never in the mood.