Desiring the Enemy (12 page)

     Wade saw Gretchen approaching the stables and put down the bundle of hay.

     “What is it Gretch?”

     “There’s a man at the house. He said he needs to talk to you.”

     “What’s his name?” Wade wasn’t expecting anyone and wondered if this might be this Doctor Foster Uncle Stanley had talked about. If it was he would have Gretchen politely send him away.

     “He said his name is Mack Harris.”

     At the mention of his name Wade dropped the hay and ran to the house, with Gretchen futilely trying to keep pace with him.

     “Do you have any information?” he asked as soon as he walked in the door.

     “Hello Mr. Wilkinson.  Yes, I do have some new information. It seems like I was duped. Everywhere I searched I was told that there was no Jenna Delaney,
but I knew that she couldn’t have just vanished. I continued searching and finally got a hit,” the man said proudly.

     Wade was becoming exasperated. He didn’t need to hear about how good he was, he just wanted to know where Jenna was.

     “Where is she?” he roared.

    The man quickly pulled out a folder and handed it to Wade.

     “She’s in a beach community called Sunset Cove. It’s about three hours from here.”

     Three hours! In just three hours he could see her again. Wade looked over the papers Mr
.
Harris had handed him and found the address.

     He ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time.

     “Send me the bill,” he called down to the man.

     Wade couldn’t contain his elation. He’d found her. He packed an overnight bag and set out immediately.
  

***

     Jenna decided to walk over to Carol’s bungalow. She had been cooped up in the house for too long waiting for her little angel to decide to make his or her grand entrance. She rang the doorbell and waited for Carol to come to the door figuring she must be home from work by now.

     “Who is it?” Carol called out.

     “It’s me,” Jenna answered.

     “What are you doing out here? You should be resting,” Carol admonished when she opened the door.

     “I’m tired of sitting around, I needed to get out. Are you busy?”

     “No, of course not. Come on in.”

     Jenna walked in and plopped herself on the sofa.

     “I can’t wait for this little one to come out already. All along I thought I would be early. Boy, was I wrong.”

     “I’ve heard that the first one is usually late, so I guess it’s par for the course,” Carol said, smiling at her friend.  

     Jenna grimaced and Carol was immediately by her side.

     “What’s wrong, hon?” she asked worriedly.

     “Oh, it’s just another Braxton Hicks contraction. I’ve been having them for the past month, I’m used to them.”

     “How do you know it’s not the real thing?”

     “If it was they would start coming closer. No, this is the same old thing.”

     “I hope you’re right. I’d hate to have the baby born on my couch,” Carol laughed.

     “Not to worry. This little one is hanging on for a while longer.” 

     “I’ll take your word for it,” Carol said as she sat beside Jenna. “Hey, I’m in the mood for a tear jerker, do you want to watch with me?”

     “Why not?” Jenna said, as she made herself comfortable.

***

     Wade arrived in Sunset Cove in two hours. He had been flying, but thankfully he hadn’t gotten the attention of any cops. 

     He parked his pick-up in a supermarket parking lot, deciding that he didn’t want to scare Jenna off if she saw his vehicle. He started walking to the address on the piece of paper the investigator had given him. His GPS had pinpointed the exact location and he began making his way toward it. As he turned the corner he immediately saw the red curls blowing in the wind and couldn’t help the intake of air. There she was! This was not the address on the sheet of paper. It looked as if she was saying goodbye to a young woman and her back was to him but he knew that that was his Jenna. How could he ever forget the curves of her body? They haunted his dreams every night. She slowly turned and he caught a glimpse of her profile. Mouth agape he stared in disbelief as he took in the sight of her bulging belly. Could it be? Yes it was. She was pregnant!

     Wade couldn’t control his elation. Jenna was carrying his child. No wonder she hadn’t gone back to work with Uncle Stanley. He was sure she wouldn’t have wanted him to know about the baby, not after the way he had treated her. The thought of how he’d hurt her made him groan in shame. He had to go to her, but not here, not in the street. He’d wait until she got home before making his presence known. He hid in the shadows until he saw her leave, then carefully followed her home.

***

     Jenna walked into her cozy apartment and started to go into her bedroom when the doorbell rang. She figured Carol had come after her for some reason and opened the door without asking who it was.

      She covered her mouth as she gasped. It was Wade! What was he doing there?

     “Hello Jenna,” he said, as if being at her door was the most natural thing in the world.

     “What are you doing here?!” The last thing Jenna needed at this point was Wade belittling her again.

     “I’ve been looking for you. You left without a trace.” He slowly walked in and closed the door behind him.

     Jenna couldn’t believe the gall but allowed him in.

     “Can you blame me? You made your opinion of me crystal clear that night.” The pain he had caused her was still fresh in her mind and the anger rose in her. “Now please leave.”

     “How could you ask me to leave? You’re pregnant with my child, I’m not going anywhere.”

     She thought about what he had just said. Now that he knew he might try to take the baby away, he certainly had the means to succeed. She wouldn’t allow that! Her mind scrambled for a response.

     “This isn’t your child,” she blurted out, hoping he couldn’t hear the tremor in her voice as she lied.

     “I know that’s my baby, Jenna. Now, I know you’re angry with me, but I need you to please hear me out.”

     “I don’t have to hear anything out, and this is not your baby. I left your house eight months ago, yet I’m only seven months pregnant, you do the math.” She saw the look of devastation on his face but chose to ignore it. This man had no place in her or her baby’s life.

     “You’re pregnant by another man?” he asked in little more than a whisper, shock and pain mingling with his words.

     “According to you I’m just a whore who’ll sleep with anybody, I guess you were right all along. Now, I need you to leave. The baby’s father will be here soon and I’d rather he not find you here. Besides, the sight of you makes me want to vomit,” she said, as she opened the door. 

     He stood motionless as her words slowly registered. She was having another man’s baby, there was no longer any room for him in her world. Wade slumped his shoulders as he walked out the door.    

     “Goodbye Jenna. I sincerely wish you the best,” he said as he walked out of her home and out of her life.

     Jenna closed the door and walked into her bedroom. She lay on her bed and sobbed. Seeing him again brought back all those feelings she had tucked away in her subconscious, hoping to never let them see the light of day again. Feelings of love and loss, of want and betrayal. He had used her, then humiliated her by throwing it in her face. He didn’t deserve her time, yet when she saw him she had an overwhelming desire to jump in his arms and pretend that the past had never been. For the sake of her baby she had to forget that he had ever come here. He was repulsed by her, but he might want his child, and that was something she would never allow.

    The doorbell rang again. If it was Wade she would not open the door, she said to herself. When she asked who it was she heard Corbin’s voice and sighed with relief. She opened the door and let him in.

     “Hey, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?” he saw her swollen eyes and guessed that she had been crying.

    “No, no. I’m okay. It’s just that Wade was just here,” she said as she blew her nose.

     She had told Carol and Corbin all about her relationship with Wade and Corbin’s protective nature took over.

     “Did he hurt you?” he asked, growing angry at the thought of someone hurting Jenna. He looked ready to pounce.

     “No, he didn’t. But he did guess that this was his baby. I lied and told him that I was only seven months pregnant and that he couldn’t be the father.”

     “Did he believe it?”

     “I think he did. But I need to ask you for a huge favor.”

     “Anything. You know I’d do anything for you.”

      “I told him that the baby’s father was in the picture. If he comes back around, will you pretend to be the father? It’s only until he leaves,” Jenna asked expectantly.

     Corbin didn’t even have to think about it. “Of course I will. I wouldn’t mind playing house with you,” he joked, but Jenna could detect the longing in his voice.

     “Thank you Corbin. You’re a true friend.”

***

     Wade had been elated when he’d finally found Jenna. Now the anguish that he had felt all along was back with a vengeance. He blew it. He’d found the one woman who could make him happy, and he had thrown her away. Now it was too late, she had found someone to love her and that man would be raising the child that should have been theirs.

    He gave one more backward look and saw a man approach Jenna’s door. He was her new love. Wade watched as he entered Jenna’s apartment and felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart.

***

     Wade stayed at the local motel overnight, figuring on setting out early the next morning.  As he lay in bed it began to rain and soon lightning began illuminating the darkened room. At the sound of thunder he envisioned Jenna, eyes wide open as she clutched the blanket to her chest. He felt an overwhelming desire to go to her little home, take her in his arms and kiss the fear away. Then it hit him like one of the bolts of lightning descending outside his room, there was someone else holding her in his arms, comforting her. 

     His dreams that night were more like nightmares. He saw Jenna running toward him, smiling and happy, only to watch her pass him and jump into the arms of another man. Someone handed her a baby and they walked away as a family. He tried to call out to her, but she didn’t hear him and soon she vanished into the clouds.

     He woke up in a sweat, his mouth dry and his head pounding. He decided to check out early and went to the local diner for a cup of coffee to help clear his head and to hopefully get rid of the pounding ache. The waitress approached him just as he was rubbing his temples for relief.

     “Hey bud, are you feeling okay?” she asked.

     Her name tag read Carol, and she seemed truly concerned.

     “Yeah, just have a killer headache. I’m sure a cup of coffee will take care of it.”

      
“I’ll bring it right over.”

     He watched as she walked away then put his head back in his hands, thinking of the mess he had created. Knowing that Jenna would never be his tore his heart apart and he couldn’t control the errant tear that ran down his cheek.

     Carol came back with his coffee and put her hand on his shoulder.

     “I know you don’t know me from Adam, but I can tell you that whatever is troubling you will pass. Time heals all wounds,” she said warmly.

     He gave her a slight smile and began sipping his coffee. Carol looked him over, trying to figure him out. He was gorgeous, that was for sure, but he looked defeated, and she couldn’t help pitying him.

     “Would you like something to eat?”

     “The coffee will be fine, thanks.” He looked down at his cup and she knew she had been dismissed.

     “Well, you let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

     “Sure.”

     Carol went back to work and he finished his coffee. As he walked out he decided that he would visit Jenna one last time. He had been in such shock the day before that he had never explained what had driven him to his actions. He felt that she should know that he knew the truth, and that in his eyes she was the most virtuous woman he’d ever met.

***

     He approached her door, hoping her lover was away. He needed to talk to her, and he would rather it be alone. He rang the doorbell and heard her voice call out.

      “Who is it?”

     “Jenna, it’s Wade. I’d like to talk to you.”

     The last thing Jenna needed right now was to talk to Wade. Her contractions were coming quicker and she had just been getting ready to go to the hospital.

     “Wade, please go away.”

     “I’m not leaving until I talk to you.” Wade said firmly. He knew it was selfish but he needed to unburden himself.