Here Comes Trouble (34 page)

Nothing made sense. At the moment he couldn’t made heads or tails of his own thoughts. He didn’t know which way was up or down. He only knew he wanted to be with Lacy.

He only knew that he loved her.

“Chase we’re not getting married,” she answered with a shake of her head.

“Why not?”

She tossed her hands up in the air. “Because we don’t love each other,” she said with exasperation.

He closed the distance between them. “How do you know I don’t love you?” Damn, the woman had zero self-esteem.

Her blond hair flew around her shoulders when she whipped back toward him. “Do you?”

He set the photo down on the table next to them and wrapped his hands around her shoulders. “Maybe I do.”

“Maybe is not an answer.” Her small hands gave him a hard enough shove for her to take a step back from her. “I don’t want you to marry me because you feel obligated or because you
maybe
love me.” She snatched the picture off the coffee table and shoved it with trembling fingers back in the envelope.

“Lacy…”

She side-stepped just out of his reach. “I wanted to do my part by telling you. I didn’t think it would be fair to keep you in the dark about this.”

“I appreciate that but –”

She stopped in front of the door and turned to face him. “I don’t want a last minute marriage proposal tossed out because of a baby. I want someone to marry me because they can’t live without me. I want someone to respect and cherish me the way I deserve.”

“You can’t just show up here, tell me you’re pregnant and expect me to know exactly what to say.” His feet ate up the ground between them. “You’ve had a week to get used to the information. I’ve had about five minutes.”

“Which is exactly my point. You’re not thinking clearly.” She yanked the door open and early afternoon sunshine spilled in. “Think about what you want out of this. Until then, I don’t think it’s a good idea for use to see each other.”

Her sexy, curvy hips swayed under her thin cotton pants when she practically ran back to her car. Damn it, she wouldn’t even give him a chance to explain himself. He didn’t need time to think. He needed to tell her he loved her. Why hadn’t he just said so instead of stumbling over his words like an incompetent moron?

And why did she always have to leave like that?

****

“I really appreciate your help with this,” Lacy told Brody again.

“I’m glad I could help. It’s taken you long enough to make a decision about this.” Brody sat next to her at her kitchen table, making a list of local churches and charities. “But here’s your one problem.” He kept his attention on the list in front of him. “This is a large amount of money so the bank is going to put a hold on the check for up to a month.”

Lacy paused with a spoonful of chocolate mousse halfway up to her mouth. “A month?”

“Banks are finicky people who tend to want to cover their bases. Chances are they’ll let you have access to about a hundred dollars. But the rest of it, they’ll let you have in small chunks over the course of several weeks.”

She wrapped her lips around the chocolate dessert, then swallowed. “But it’s my money.”

Brody set the pen down and drilled her with his gray eyes. “I know that. But they don’t. They need to verify the income before they’ll let you take it out. You can’t deposit the check and then turn right around and withdraw the entire ten million. For all they know the check could be a forgery and you just screwed them out of a large chunk of money.”

Her shoulders slumped over, mousse forgotten. “So I can only have a hundred dollars?”

“For now.” He turned his attention back to his list. “After the funds have been verified, they’ll only let you take out a few thousand dollars every five or six days.”

Her spoon scraped along the bottom of the container until she’d consumed the last of the chocolate. “It’ll take me a year to withdraw the money at that rate.”

“Probably.”

Well, wasn’t that just the greatest thing? She finally made a decision about what to do with this money and she wouldn’t even be able to
do
anything with it. After her less-than-successful encounter with Chase, she’d returned home and thrown herself a little pity party. Her one guest, Boris, had faithfully stuck by her side when she’d resorted to her predictable pacing. Jittery nerves had her feeling restless, almost as though she’d hung on the precipice of an anxiety attack. In order to feel like she had some semblance of control over her life, Lacy and made an executive decision about her inheritance. She made a hasty phone call to Brody and asked him to help her come up with possible organizations to donate the money to. As tempting as ten million dollars was, Lacy couldn’t morally bring herself to keep the total sum for just her. She’d come up with a figure that would allow her to renovate the house, buy a new car, and set money aside for the baby. The rest of the dough would be better served in the hands of the community.

There were undoubtedly a lot of people out there who could use the help namely kids. The thought of anyone wanting for anything the way she had, made her heart twist. Lacy would do everything she could to make sure others in need had the best life possible. With this money, she now had a way of doing that, and wasn’t about to waste one penny of it.

After coming to a satisfying decision, Lacy had shoved her conversation with Chase, along with his impromptu, completely unromantic marriage proposal to the back of her over worked mind. Sleep had taken over a short time later, allowing her to block the events of that day.

She stood from the table and disposed of her trash. “So after I deposit the check, I automatically get a hundred dollars?”

“If you want it.” The rickety dining chair scraped along the wood floors when Brody stood. “You could probably set up some sort of automatic deposit with the bank and have them transfer the maximum amount of funds as soon as they become available.” He set the list down on the counter for her to look at. “Here are all the local organizations that could use the extra money.”

 
Half a dozen churches, the masonry club, a senior center, the youth club and the local schools were what Brody had come up with. Lacy had a soft spot for youth centers, considering she knew what it was like to crave a connection with other humans that gave a person a sense of purpose. The youth center had been around as long as she’d lived in Trouble. Her father had never bothered to enroll Lacy in any of the activities, such as the drama program or summer camps. Being able to give something to children who didn’t have that opportunity created a warm, tingly feeling around her heart.

“You did well with this.”

“You could also just endorse the check over to whoever you want to have it,” Brody said, ignoring her comment.

She leaned against the counter as he opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water. “But I don’t want to give all the money to just one place. I want to spread it out.”

He chugged several gulps, then lowered the bottle. “Then you’ll have no choice but to wait until the funds become available.”

Why couldn’t banks be more customer friendly? Okay, she understood the need to make sure she wasn’t trying to defraud them. But only being able to withdraw a few thousand dollars at a time?

She inhaled a deep breath. “All right. If I have to wait, then I have to wait.”

He flashed her a crooked grin and ruffled the hair on the top of her head. “Good girl.”

The chocolate mousse she’d inhaled hadn’t made a dent in her never-ending hunger. She stepped around Brody and rooted in the fridge for something to curb her appetite. Thankfully, her days of tossing cookies seemed to be over, leaving her free to consume everything in sight without repercussions later on. Except gaining tons of weight, which she’d begrudgingly accepted.

“By the way, how was Kelly’s wedding?” she asked, after grabbing a container of cottage cheese and a spoon.

“It was all right. I watched them exchange their vows, kissed her on the cheek then left.”

Her brows lifted up her forehead. “You didn’t stay for the reception?”

Brody shrugged his shoulders. “I stayed long enough for dinner. Then Tyler and I went to a movie.”

She dug her spoon into the cottage cheese. “How does Tyler seem to be taking his mother re-marrying?”

“He’s good. He really likes what’s-his-name.”

She tried not to laugh at Brody’s refusal to accept Kelly’s new husband. No matter how much he denied it, he still had feelings for the woman. “You mean Collin?”

“Whatever.”

“You don’t sound the least bit jealous,” she said after swallowing a huge mouthful then digging the spoon back in.

Brody’s dark eyebrows pulled together. “Slow down, Lace. You’ll get sick eating that fast.”

“I think I’m going to give the bulk of the money to the youth center, then split the rest of it up among the churches and schools.” She ignored Brody’s comment. The last thing she needed was him becoming suspicious of her condition. After all, it was only a matter of time before her belly grew round enough for everyone to notice. Heck, some of her pants were already too tight. This morning she’d opted for cotton because her denim shorts wouldn’t stretch around her thickened waist. She’d had to change out of the button-down shirt she’d put on, because the buttons wouldn’t snap over her enlarged breasts. The things were so sore, she’d barely been able to wash them in the shower.

On the other hand, guilt tore at her insides for not being honest with her friend. Brody was one of the few people in her life who knew all her fears, anxieties and goals. Having an affair with his older brother, ultimately leading to an unexpected pregnancy, was something she couldn’t share with him yet. Something told her he wouldn’t take the news well.

“Are you sure you’re leaving enough for yourself?” The question pulled her out of her guilt-induced thoughts.

“I think a million dollars is enough.”

“You know, if it were me,” he glanced at their surroundings. “I’d sell this place and buy something new.”

“But this was Ray’s house.”

He tilted his head. “It’s not like Ray’s still here.”

No, but the memory of him is here and that’s the only happy thing I have to hang on to.

“Lace,” he said in a softer tone. “I know you don’t want to let it go, but I think you’d be better off starting fresh.”

But I want to raise my child here
, was what she almost told him. Instead she replied with, “I don’t expect you to understand, Brody. I was raised here. I’d rather fix it into something that would have made Ray proud.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ray’s proud of you no matter what you do.”

Proud that she got herself pregnant? She doubted it.

Brody pushed away from the counter. “At the end of the day it’s your decision. Just make sure you leave yourself enough to live comfortably.”

“I promise I’ll be okay.”
At least I think I will.
She set the empty cottage cheese container aside. Had she really eaten all that? “You’re such a good friend to me, Brody.” Her arm went around his thick torso. “Thank you,” she whispered. The familiar sting of tears gathered behind her closed eyes. Maybe all the crying bouts that had plagued her recently were a result of those pesky pregnancy hormones.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, after stepping away from her. His thumb swiped a tear that trickled down her cheek. “You’re not a crier.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Technically not true. Man, she couldn’t stand lying to him.

“We’re all allowed to have a few vulnerable moments. Trust me, I’ve had my share over the past few years.” He did her a favor and grabbed the empty cottage cheese container and tossed it in the garbage can next to the fridge. “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t allow yourself to –”

The last of her tears got soaked up in the paper towel she’d grabbed when Brody paused and stood frozen by the side of the fridge. His gray eyes remained fixed on something pinned to the side of the appliance that faced the back door. Then it hit her and Lacy’s eyes dropped closed. Last night after coming home, she’d absentmindedly stuck the sonogram picture underneath a magnet. The garbage can which Brody had meandered over to just happened to be on that particular side. Why, oh why did she not think of that? This was not how she wanted her friend to find out about this.

If you’d been honest with him from the beginning, you wouldn’t be in this pickle
.

Damn it, she hadn’t been ready. She’d barely had enough time to get used to the idea herself before telling Chase. He, above anyone else, needed to know first. The emotional rollercoaster she’d been on hadn’t settled down enough for her to start having that discussion with people. The “who’s the father” questions she’d no doubt be hounded with wasn’t something she wanted to deal with. All she’d wanted was a little time before having to explain herself.

She stood rooted in her spot, like the coward she was, while Brody took the photo off the fridge and examined it more closely.

“Something you want to tell me, Lace?” he finally asked.

She pulled a deep breath into her lungs and prayed for strength. “I was going to tell you.”