Between a Jock and a Hard Place: A Romance Novella (11 page)

“What do you mean?” He looked genuinely
concerned.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell
anyone about our little love nest. But some day I’m going to make you pay for
this. I don’t know how or when, but trust me, you’ll pay.”

He looked at her as though she’d grown
horns. And maybe she had. She gave him one last look then turned and walked
away. It wasn’t until she got closer to home that she started to shake. How
could she have gone from loving him to hating him in the space of seconds? It
had been surprisingly easy, and she had the feeling that she’d need every ounce
of anger she could dredge up to help her though the next few weeks.

Chapter Two

“You told him you’re going to make him
pay?” Her friend Carla made a face. “What kind of stupid threat is that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Carla. I was just so
disgusted by his admission that he’d had sex with her.” Bella had changed her
mind about going home and was sitting with her best friend in Carla’s back
yard.

“What did you expect? He’s a guy. A
woman offers, they take.”

“What about you and Ethan? You wouldn’t
say that about him.”

“That’s different.” Carla paused. “We’re
different. I mean, who’d ever think an Italian American and an Irish American
could get along for this long without any major battles?”

“It’s been known to happen. Besides, we
live in a small town in the south. Things are supposed to be different here.
Family values and all that.”

“Speaking of which, Ethan wants to go to
New York.” Carla picked up her lemonade and studied the condensation rolling
down the sides of the glass.

Bella was glad of the change of subject.
“Whatever for?” She’d never considered leaving Georgia.

“Two reasons.” Carla put down the glass
and looked steadily at her friend. “First one is that he’s got the acting bug
and he knows he has to go to New York if he’s going to pursue it seriously. The
second is that he doesn’t have confidence in the future of the mill.”

“Really?” Bella frowned as she
considered her friend’s words. “What makes him think that?”

“He works in shipping, remember? He sees
how much raw material comes in and how much finished product is being shipped.”
She paused, watching her friend carefully. “He says they’re only producing
about half what they were when he started three years ago.” She took a sip of
her drink. “He doesn’t think the mill has more than a few years left. This town
is going to be hit hard when it finally closes.”

Bella spoke her thoughts. “My Dad’s
always said that having only one major industry in a town is a dangerous
thing.” She glanced at her friend. “It’s like that study we did in Economics
this year, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. This town of a perfect example
of what can happen when you have all your eggs in one basket.  Our family
bakery will be affected, but it will survive; people still need to buy bread.
It’s families like yours that will really suffer. Your dad works for the
Lamberts and your mom’s business depends on people with money.” Carla took a
large swallow of lemonade. “Speaking of your mom, does she know about this?”
She gestured to Bella’s stomach.

“No, and I don’t know how I’m going to
tell her.”

“Ha!” Carla gave a short, disbelieving
laugh. “She knows.”

“No she doesn’t.”

“Bella Thompson. Listen to yourself.
Your Mom may have had only one child, but she knows what it means when she hears
you puking your guts out every morning. Trust me, she knows.”

Bella placed a hand protectively over
her stomach. “Do you think so?”

“Oh, yeah,”

“I wonder why she hasn’t said anything?”
Bella looked at her friend thoughtfully. “Assuming you’re right, it will make
it easier to tell her.”

“Look, kiddo. I know you’ve only had a
couple of hours to get your head around this, but do you know what you’re going
to do?”

Bella had thought about little else.
“First of all, I’m going to go to Doc Farnham and get it confirmed.”

“No, no, no.” Carla shook her head
emphatically. “Definitely the wrong move.”

“What do you mean?”

Carla scooted forward on her seat.
“Listen to me, Bella. We live in a small town in the south. It may be the
nineteen nineties, but this is a conservative town where people gossip for a
living. Your Dad works for the mill and your Mom takes in sewing.” She sat back
and waited for her words to sink in. “I agree that you have to go to a doctor
for a check-up, but not here. Not in this town.”

Bella looked at her friend. “How do you
know all this?”

Carla shrugged. “My cousin Maria.”

“Oh.” Bella vaguely remembered the
abrupt departure of her friend’s cousin.

Carla put a gentle hand on her arm. “Go
home now, Bella. Tell your mom before your dad gets home. It’ll make you feel a
lot better.”

Bella gave her friend a lopsided smile.
“When did you get so wise?”

Carla shook her head. “I just wish I
could be of more help.” She squeezed Bella’s arm, then let it go. “Call me if
you need me, okay?”

* * *

“Bella, could you come in here please?”
Her mother called her as soon as she stepped through the back door.

“Hi, Mom.” Bella stood in the open
French doors that separated her mother’s workspace from the rest of the
downstairs. “How was your day?”

Her mother ignored the question and
waved a hand impatiently. “Sit down, dear.” She pushed her chair back from the
sewing machine. “Are you pregnant?” Her gaze moved to Bella’s stomach. “I want
you to tell me the truth.”

“Yes, I am. How did you know?” It was a
stupid thing to say, but she hadn’t expected such a frontal assault and needed
time to think.

“I’ve heard you in the mornings.” Her
mother looked away, out the window. “Have you confirmed it?”

“I did a pregnancy test today.”

Her mother looked startled. “Where did
you buy the test? Not at our CVS, I hope.”

Carla had been right; it was starting
already. “No, Mom. I bought it last weekend when I went to the mall near
Atlanta with Carla.”

“Does she know?”

“Yes...she’s my best friend. I told her
I was going to go to Doc Farnham and she warned me against it.”

“Yes, she would,” her mother said
vaguely. “After that business with her cousin Maria.”

“You knew about that?”

“Bella, this is a small town.” Her
mother paused, took a deep breath. “A very small town. People talk.” She looked
up. “It’s Jeffrey, I suppose.”

Bella nodded. It was evident her mother
had been thinking about this.

“Have you told him?” Her mother’s eyes
narrowed.

“No.” It was Bella’s turn to look away.
She spoke dispassionately. “I went to meet him after I took the test. I’d
planned to tell him, but he had some news of his own.”

Her mother waited.

“He’s going to marry Angela.”

“Angela Sterling?” Her mother had made
several items for Angela’s mother, wife of the town’s leading attorney. “I got
the impression from Mrs. Sterling that they broke that off a while ago.”

Bella continued, dry-eyed. “They did,
but according to Jeffrey, they had some sort of an encounter last month and now
she’s pregnant.”

“What a mess.” Her mother pressed the
fingers of one hand into her forehead. “Don’t these young people have any
restraint?”

“Was it so different in your day?” Bella
surprised herself, but held her ground.

Anger flared in her mother’s eyes, but
soon subsided. “No, I suppose not.”

They sat in silence for a few moments,
each lost in her thoughts. Finally her mother spoke. “There’s a church in
Atlanta that has a home for unwed mothers. I think you should go there.”

Bella studied her mother. She couldn’t
blame her, really. Willow Bend was a small town, and a pregnant daughter
reflected badly on any mother. “Is that what you want?”

“It’s what I would prefer, yes.” Her
mother spoke with conviction, but couldn’t meet her eyes.

“What happens when I get there?” Bella
was fairly sure she wouldn’t like the answer.

“You’ll go there before you start to
show, and live there. You’ll get medical care, and have your child in the
hospital adjoining the facility.” Her mother twisted a piece of fabric
nervously. “And after the child is born, it will be given up for adoption.”

Bella nodded. “And then I come back
here, like nothing happened?”

Her mother looked up, startled. She
obviously hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“No.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I said no. I’m not giving my child up
for adoption.” Her voice started to rise, but she made no effort to lower it.
“How could you suggest such a thing?”

“Lower your voice.” Her mother looked
nervously out the front window. “People will hear you.”

“That’s what this is all about, isn’t
it?” Bella leaned toward her mother, her voice low and steely. “It’s about
making sure people don’t find out. What about me?”

Her mother lifted her head. “You lost
your rights when you had sex with that boy.” She stood up and walked toward a
side window. “Your father and I have talked it over and he’s left all the
decisions up to me.” She turned back to Bella. “You either agree to this, or
you’re on your own.”

“Just like that?” Somewhere in the back
of her mind, Bella admired her mother’s determination.

“Yes, Bella. Just like that.” Her mother
braced herself against the back of the chair, and Bella noticed that her hand
trembled slightly. “There isn’t any other way.”

“All right.”

Her mother took a step forward. “You’ll
go to the home?”

“No, I’ll go out on my own.” Bella’s
stomach was bunched in knots, but she managed to speak calmly. “But I won’t
wait. I’ll go within a couple of weeks.” She held her mother’s gaze. “And no, I
won’t change my mind.”

Her mother looked away first, and a
moment later, tires crunched on the gravel at the side of the house. “Your
father’s home. I’d like to talk to him alone, if you don’t mind. Dinner will be
on the table in half an hour.”

* * *

Carla sat on her bed, legs crossed in
the lotus position. “So where are you going to go?” Ethan was in rehearsal for
a new play, and Bella had gone to Carla’s place after dinner.

She traced the pattern on the quilt with
one finger. “I’m not sure yet, but Mom suggested Florida. She seems to think
that I’ll need fewer clothes if I go somewhere warm, which is true when you
think about it. But I think the real reason she wants me to go to Florida is so
that she can be close by when her grandchild is born.”

“Those are good reasons.”

Bella shrugged. “I suppose so.” She was
quiet for a few moments. “I’ve never lived on my own before, but for some
reason I’m not afraid. I figure if I leave soon, I can get a job for a few
months. You know, get settled.”

“What are you going to do for money?”
Carla had a good head for money; she’d been paying the bills and doing the
banking for the bakery for the past year.

“Mom’s going to pay my bus fare and give
me two thousand dollars.” She looked at her friend. “Is that very much?”

Carla raised both eyebrows. “Not really.
You’ll have to pay a month’s rent in advance, and some places want another
month as a security deposit. You’ll have to find a job right away.”

Bella nodded. Instead of frightening
her, the discussion was strengthening her resolve. “I’ll find something. I’m
not worried about that. I’ve even been thinking about getting two jobs, so I
can put some aside for when I have the baby.”

Her friend’s eyes were suspiciously
bright. “You’ll let me know if you need help, won’t you?”

It was a struggle, but Bella didn’t give
in to the burning tears that threatened to spill over. “You know I will.” She
checked her watch. “I’d better get going. Ethan will be here any moment to pick
you up.”

Carla walked her to the door. “Remember,
I’m driving you to the bus station in Atlanta.”

Bella gave her friend a quick hug. “I
remember. Thanks for everything.”

Chapter Three

“I can’t believe you’re actually
leaving.” Carla looked around the bus terminal. “Look at all these people!” She
brought her attention back to her friend. “I want to remember you here, Bella,
so I’m not going to walk you out to the bus.”

Bella tried not to show her relief. “I
was hoping you’d say that. Let’s say goodbye and get it over with.” She had a
tight hold on her ticket, but her stoicism was starting to slip away. “I’ll
contact you as soon as I’m settled, I promise. And as for you, I want to know
right away if you and Ethan go to New York. Okay?”