Maybe Baby Lite (45 page)

“
He was pretty wasted that
night, Gina. He had an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s when I
found him. I think he was blacked out. Is that
possible?”

“
Hell, Ian claims some of
the best sex he gets from me is when I’m passed out, so who knows?
I think anything’s possible with Jack! But hey, aren’t you going to
tell him?”

“
I don’t think so, Gina.
You have to promise to keep this our secret, okay?”

“
Yeah, sure, but who does
he think the father is?”

“
Mark.”

“
Holy shit! If you leave
like you’re planning how do you think he’s going to treat Mark? I
mean, I know Trey's a jealous maniac, but come on, if he thinks
Mark's not standing by you in your time of need, don’t you think
Trey's going to make him pretty miserable?”

“
I haven’t figured that
part out yet. It may not even be a problem. With Trey’s parents
back from Europe, I've a feeling that he’s going back to Atlanta
for good. He may not be back until next summer. I’m told that's
pretty much his routine. Besides, Mark planned on moving on after
the fall competition.”

We let the discussion drop
for now as Gina went to the kitchen to make lunch for us. While she
fixed grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup I looked over my
finances. Over lunch, we discussed my plans. She wanted me to come
back to Atlanta with her to stay.

“
Gina, that’s not possible
but you're so kind to offer.”

“
How will we ever see each
other?” she wailed.

“
We'll make it a priority
to see each other. After all, you're going to be a
Godmother.”

“
Really, Ty?”

I could tell that she was
delighted at the prospect. “I’m going to need your help with this,
Gina.”

“
Name it,” she
said.

“
Over the next few days
while you’re here, I need you to kind of nose around. I need to
know when Trey returns to Atlanta. For all I know, he may have
already returned.”

“
Okay, what
then?”

“
When we know he’s not up
at the manor, I need you to take my car keys and get my car out of
the fourth garage up at the manor. I’ll give you the
code.”

“
Whoa, hold up there
sister -why me?”

“
Because I've never met
Trey’s parents. If they see me up around there, they’ll think I’m
stealing it. They know you.”

“
Yeah, but just because
they know me how would I explain taking a car that's not mine out
of their garage?”

“
You can tell them it’s
mine; that you’re a friend of mine, and Trey was letting me park
the car there temporarily. Tell them I’m letting you borrow it
while you're in town. Once you have the car, come pick me up and we
will take it to a dealership.”

“
For what?”

“
I’m going to trade it in
for something more practical.”

“
Oh fuck, Trey will kill
you.”

“
Hey, it’s my car. It was
his gift to do with what I please.”

“
You know you’re going to
lose your ass on it if you don’t sell it outright, don’t
you?”

“
I don’t have that kind of
time, Gina.”

“
Whatever. Don’t worry;
I’ll take care of it.”

The following day was
Friday. Gina went down to the office to chat with Aunt Becky. She
promised to see what she could find out. I made her take my keys
just in case. I had my cell phone plugged into the charger when
Gina called.

“
Yeah, what you
got?”

“
Oh dear God, Ty, who are
we? Cagney and Lacey?”

“
Who?” I asked.

“
Never mind. Hey, Trey's
back in Atlanta and I have your car out here next to the stables.
Come on down.”

I grabbed my purse and the
title to my Mercedes and met Gina down past the stables. Gina was
in the driver’s seat with the engine running. I got in quickly and
fastened my seat belt.

“
Where to?” she
asked.

“
To the dealership on
Volunteer Parkway.”

An hour and a half later,
I was driving my new Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Edition down the
highway toward the manor. Gina sat in the passenger seat, “tsking”
away at me.

“
You realize that the deal
you just made cost you $19,000 don’t you?”

“
It didn’t cost me a
dime,” I answered her. “I’ve got this nice new SUV with all the
trimming, and a check for $10,000 made out to me. I’m happy with
the deal.”

“
You traded that nearly
brand new car in for $19,000 less than its current book value. You
do realize that, don’t you?”

“
Gina, it wasn’t
practical. I need a car suitable for the baby and me. I need
something that I can cart my stuff back up to Radcliff in that
won’t cost me a fortune to insure and maintain.”

“
I just don’t know what
the hurry is,” she replied. “You could have sold the car in a
couple of days by asking maybe just $5,000 under book value and had
another $14,000 to the good.”

“
I can’t focus on that
right now. We still have lots to do.”

“
Like what?” she asked,
eyeing me suspiciously.

I filled her in. By the
end of the day, my change of address was put through, my bank
accounts were emptied by means of a cashier’s check, I had my new
car insured through a local agency in Louisville, and the utilities
at the house in Radcliff were in my name. I contacted the
Washington County prosecutor’s office to let them know I was
leaving the area and provided my new address.

We vegged out the rest of
the weekend, packing up things here and there. Gina did a great job
of keeping visitors away. Mark had stopped by a couple of times and
Gina had lied, telling him I was asleep. I didn’t want to talk to
anyone. I just wanted to leave and start my new life without
reminders of my old one.

My pregnancy hormones
must’ve kicked in heavy duty. Little things made me cry at the drop
of a hat, yet other things, like trading in Trey’s gift for
something practical hadn’t bothered me at all. Gina said it had
something to do with the nesting instinct she'd read about with
being pregnant.

By Monday morning,
everything I owned was packed up and ready to go. I was leaving
earlier than Gina, but I needed to be on my way. If I stayed much
longer, I was afraid people would start connecting the
dots.

We programmed my
destination in to the GPS in my new car and set up my cell phone to
Bluetooth. I planned to drop Gina at Becky’s house on my way out of
town and she was going to give Becky the key to my cottage and my
new address to mail my W-2s.

As we pulled out of the
long, winding driveway and onto the two-lane highway, we'd only
gone a few hundred feet when we passed Trey in his Lamborghini. He
was alone. I was glad. He of course didn’t recognize me in this
dark forest green SUV. When I saw his face for maybe the last time,
my eyes filled with tears.

“
Gina,” I sobbed, “Take
the wheel for a minute.”

She undid her seat belt,
leaning over and taking the steering wheel while I fought my
emotions. She steered the vehicle safely in the drive at her aunt’s
house. Once we stopped the car, Gina cut the engine.

“
For the love of God,
Tylar, are you sure you don’t want to tell Trey the truth about all
of this?”

“
Gina,” I sobbed, “I'd
love nothing more than to tell Trey about this if I didn’t already
know how he feels about ‘happily ever after’ and commitments, which
he equated to a ‘hangman’s noose’! Trey believes that people are
dynamic and the best that they can expect is what's in the
present.”

“
That’s rubbish and you
know it. Spoken like a guy who’s had his heart broken. We’ve all
been there, Tylar. How cynical do you plan on getting with your own
heartbreak? I respect your decision to not tell Trey, but don’t
sell him short. I still believe that in his own fucked-up way he
loves you. Think about it, please?”

I nodded, reaching over
and hugging her. A fresh batch of tears started rolling down my
cheeks. It was now time to say goodbye to my very best
friend.

“
Stop it,” Gina ordered,
“You and me, we’re fine girlfriend. You call me once you get to
your motel tonight. And do not worry, I'll find a way to get up
there to see you before too long. After all, I want the honor of
decorating my godchild’s nursery.”

“
That would be
great.”

“
So, you okay to drive
now?” I nodded.

“
Alright, I'll expect a
call from you this evening.”

“
Yep, I’ll be calling,” I
promised.

She hugged me again, and
got out of the car. “Drive safely,” she called as I backed out of
her driveway. I was on my way.

The next day I left the
motel very early, eager to get to my home. I knew that I had a lot
to do in just one day to get it to the point where I could sleep
there. With my work cut out for me, I set to the task. It took me
all day, but by 10 p.m. I had moved in gently used furniture from
the second-hand store, made up a bed in my old room with sheets,
and stocked food in the fridge. I'd cleaned the place
top-to-bottom, even making an appointment with an OB for the
following week.

I was exhausted but
content. I nuked a Healthy Choice entrée, made a salad, and poured
myself a tall glass of iced tea. I'd brought the mail in earlier
and sat down on the couch to go through it while I ate my dinner.
Most of the mail was for my mom who hadn’t bothered initiating a
change of address.

I took a bite of my salad,
sorting through the stack I'd brought in today. I tossed several
envelopes for “Occupant” in the trash. Then I saw the envelope
addressed to me from the law offices of Pierce, Harmon, Richardson
& Sinclair. It was Trey’s perfect script once again. My
heartbeat quickened. I dropped my fork and opened the envelope,
pulling a single sheet of paper out. I unfolded it and saw that it
was on Trey’s stationary:

Tylar,

You can imagine my
surprise when Ray contacted me to let me know that you had left
Bristol to return to your home in Radcliff. I was disappointed that
you felt no need to let me know that you were leaving.

I was more surprised when
Ray told me that Mark Montgomery is still in Bristol, working with
a horse that has no rider? What is going on, Tylar?

Please contact me at your
earliest convenience. There are matters to discuss.

Very truly
yours,

Trey M. Sinclair,
Esq.

My heart did another
pitter-pat as I folded the letter and brushed it across my cheek
wanting to feel something of Trey in the linen paper. He was right.
I fled like a thief in the night. As an employee alone, I owed the
Sinclairs more than that. As someone who still loved Trey with all
of my heart, I owed him more than that. I was puzzled as to why he
wrote a formal letter instead of simply calling my cell and
demanding answers, Trey-style.

I grabbed my cell phone
and called him. He answered on the third ring.

“
Tylar?”

“
Yes, it’s me. Trey, I got
your letter today. I’m sorry that I left the way that I did. I owed
you an explanation; I just wasn’t sure that I had one.”

“
I don’t understand. Did
you and Mark split?”

Oh no, how would I explain
this without lying or making Trey think badly of Mark? I had to
play this carefully. “Mark and I were never together, Trey. We were
just friends. I didn’t even say goodbye to him.”

“
I’m confused, you never
told Mark about your pregnancy?”

“
That’s right, Trey. I
didn’t want to complicate things.”

All true statements and
answers so far.

“
Don’t you think might've
felt differently about his plans if he knew?”

“
He might have, but still,
I wouldn’t want someone to be with me out of some sense of honor or
obligation. People should be together because they love each other,
right?”

“
I suppose so,” he
said.

“
Well, I don’t love Mark;
Mark doesn’t love me. It’s as simple as that.”

“
I don’t think it's as
simple as that, Tylar. What about the child?”

“
The child will have
plenty of love, trust me.”

“
I can’t keep Mark on you
know.”

“
Is that your decision to
make, Trey? Aren’t your parents back? Isn’t your father running the
stables and estates again?”

“
Well, yes,” he answered,
“but...”

“
Trey,” I interrupted,
“Mark planned on leaving before winter anyway, so why don’t you
just let it play out? If you fire him, he’ll know it’s because of
me, of what I did. Please don’t make me feel any worse than I
already do.”

I knew that I was getting
to him.

“
I guess there is no harm.
I won’t say anything to my father specifically, but I can’t
guarantee he won’t figure things out anyway.”