Mistaken Identity (10 page)

“No, this is the first
time.”

“Good.” Dr. Singer
nodded. “Once we get you up to snuff with your fluids we can let you get out of
here.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You
take care of yourself, Ms. Collins.”

“Oh she will, believe
me.” His voice was gruff, and his gaze burned a hole in the side of her head.
She focused her attention on the blanket beneath her. Numbness filled her.
Baby?
How? They’d been so careful! Every time she
heard abstinence was the only true form of birth control she’d snickered, but
the shit was true.
She swallowed. Her tongue felt glued to the roof her
mouth, and shame filled her. This could ruin him!

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Hey it’s okay, take a
deep breath. Don’t panic. It can’t be good for you,
er
,
either of you.”

She peered over at him
tears in her eyes. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Of course you didn’t.”
He shook his head. “Is that what you’re worried about? I’ll think this is some
kind of trap? You just got promoted to your dream position at work. Why would
you throw all of that down the shitter?”

“This could kill your
career, Jett. I won’t let that happen!”

“You don’t need to worry
about that. All you have to do is lay back, relax, and let these IVs do their
thing.”

“How are you so
calm!
”

“Because I’m not that
upset about it. Sure, it’s not how I wanted it to be, but we’ll get hitched
right away, and no one will be the wiser, or at least they won’t say it out
loud.” He grinned, happy with his solution.

“Who said I want to get
married!”

“You don’t want to marry
me?” His face crumpled like a house of cards in the wind.

“No! Yes!
Aaah
!”
She tossed her hands up in the air, and hissed when the IV jerked. “I never
thought I’d get married. A baby shouldn’t be the catalyst that changes that.
Trust
me,
I know firsthand a child does not hold a
family together.”

“My baby in your belly
changes everything. If you think I’m about to let my kid run around being
labeled a bastard while we shuffle him back and forth because you have a hang
up you’re
 
out of your mind.”

“Now you wait just—”

“No, you wait! This
isn’t two people who can’t stand each other or won’t make the long haul
together winding up pregnant. This is us. You know what we have is once in a
lifetime. I knew I wanted to be with you forever almost the day after we met!
I’ve been waiting on you to realize it and get on board.”

“You over-handed
jackass.”

“Call me whatever you
want, but plan on a wedding date because it’s going to happen. I’m not letting
you go, Kansas. I never was.”

“You can’t force me.”

“I won’t have to,
darling. When you work it all out in the fabulous brain of yours you’ll come to
the same conclusion. I love you, Kansas. I want forever with you.”

“You don’t even know
me.”

“Only because
you won’t let me.”

The thought of her child
growing up in a broken home like she had made her sick to her stomach. “What if
we don’t last?”

“I don’t think that’ll
happen, but for the sake of argument, then we’ll at least have tried. What-ifs
are no way to exist.”

“I don’t know if I can
be the wife you deserve, Jett. I’m damaged goods.”

“Aren’t we all in some
way? Hell, I bundled you up and toted you off to the E.R. thinking you had
anorexia, not a normal response to someone fainting. Come on,
Sas
, be damaged with me.”

His flippancy made her
snicker. “Damn you, Jett.”

He grabbed her hand and
squeezed gently. “At least give me the two weeks to make up your mind one way
or the other.” The offer took the immediate pressure off. She was going to do
everything in her power to “how-to-lose-a-guy-in-ten-days” him.

“Done.”

“Cant’ say I like the
wicked glint in your eyes, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Nope.”
 
She popped the P in the word with puckered
lips as she dreamed up all the ways she’d send him running for the hills. By
the time she was done he’d be happy to hightail it out of town. A stab of guilt
sliced through her.
It’s what’s best.
He’s too kind hearted to see what’s best for him, so I’ll do it for us both. I
can’t be the killer of someone’s dreams.
The resentment he’d harbor over it
would poison them both from the inside out, and she’d become the one person she
despised most, her mother.

Chapter Five

His head reeled as he
rested in the waiting room for her to be dismissed.
 
A dad?
 
The concept was still foreign. Talk about
be careful what you wish were. A month ago he was praying he’d be a husband and
a father, and today it was within his grasp.
If
I can convince Kansas
we’ll work
. Her mother had done a real number on her, and without knowing
the full story he had no clue how to proceed. His parents always gave good
advice when it came to relationships, but he didn’t dare bring this to their
step until it was neatly packaged and wrapped in a bow. You didn’t have babies
out of wedlock where they came from, and it’d be worse for her as a woman.

You put me into this predicament, God. I’m
counting on you to help me find the words to smooth out the kinks.
There were a
million different questions. Where would they live? How would it affect his
career? What would their families say? He didn’t know too much about her father,
Reginald. He owned a successful dentist practice in town. From a wealthy,
founding family, he’d carved out his own standing and identity by going to into
dentistry. He wondered how someone that strong willed could be snowed and
manipulated by the same woman over and over.

“Hey.” The soft spoken
word brought his head up.

Kansas looked nervous
and unsure dressed in the black maxi dress he’d found in the closet and put on
hastily. This subdued version of the woman with the large personality didn’t
fit. Like an image distorted in fun house image, she was off.

“Hey.” He stood. “You
ready to go?”

“Yes.” She glanced down
at the floor.
 
Do I touch her, or give her space?
The
forlorn expression she wore decided for him. He wrapped an arm around her
waist, bringing her to his side. Her body stiffened, and he held his breath.
Will she pull away?
An awkwardness
that’d never existed between them materialized. The hush was louder than any
noise as they shuffled out of the hospital like zombies.
 
He led her to the navy colored rental car,
opened the door, and helped her inside. Entering on the driver’s door he took a
seat behind the wheel, buckled up and started the engine.

“I need to go to the
pharmacy.”

“For prenatal
vitamins?”

“Yes, but we need to go
to the one a few towns over.”

“Smart
thinking.
Loose lips sink ships. Do you want to direct me, or should
I use the GPS on my phone?”

“I’m not an invalid!”

“I didn’t say you were,
Kansas.”
 
Mood swing.
 
He’d seen his older sister
pregnant enough times to know how pregnancy wrought havoc on a woman’s body.
Besides, he was trying to win her over, not push her away. The tick in her jaw
told him to tread cautiously.

“Just turn left out of
the parking lot. I’ll tell you when to turn again.”
 
 

This is going to be a tense car ride.

Thirty minutes later
they were back at the house. Kansas took her first prenatal vitamin and crawled
in to bed. The light snore told him she was down for the count so he took off
his mask.
 
His throat tightened, and his
eyes welled with tears. A tiny life grew in her belly. With his adrenaline rush
from earlier gone he was crashing, hard.
What
am I going to do if she doesn’t come around?
The cell phone in his pocket
seemed to burn a hole in his pocket.
 
I need to talk to someone.
 
Scott couldn’t hold water, and his big sister
Sky would skin him alive for ending up in this predicament. Unable to sleep, he
left the bedroom. He paced the length of the living room, turned and repeated
like a washer stuck on spin cycle.
Aiden!
I’ve never appreciated my best friend and honorary brother, so much in my life.

Digging into his pants
pocket he pulled the phone free, walked through the house, out the back door,
and placed the call.
 

“Hey man, what’s going
on?”

“Thank God you picked
up. I’m freaking the fuck out!”

“Whoa. What happened! I
thought
Lis
got out of the hospital?”

“Yeah, she did. This isn’t
about her. It’s Kansas.”

“What happened?”

“I knocked her up.”

Rich laughter filled his
ears. “Oh, t-that’s a good one Jett.”
 
Aiden gasped for air.
 

Jett’s upper lip curled
up as he huffed. “I’m not kidding, dude.”

“W-What!
You didn’t
use a condom?”

“Yeah.
They’re not
one-hundred percent.”

“I know, but … wow.”

“You’re telling me.”

“I hate to play devil’s
advocate.” Aiden hesitated. “But … are you sure?”

“I’m damn sure. And that
better be the last time you ask. You understand?”
 
Jett gritted his teeth.
He’s just trying to look out for you. Don’t rip his head off for it.

“Crystal clear … what
are you going to do?”

“If it was up to me we’d
be headed down to the courthouse tomorrow.”
 
He shook his head.

“She doesn’t want to?”
Aiden asked shocked.

“Nope.”

“Umm, that’s a first.”

“Right?
Leave it to
my girl to be different. Her nut job mother mind-fucked her from an early age,
and now she’s wary. I’m surprised I breached her walls long enough for us to
get where we are.”

“Actually, dude, I think
breaching walls is what got you in this mess in the first place.”

“What?” The words
registered, and Jett snickered. “Screw you, dude.”

“Uh no thanks,
apparently you’re Mr. Super Sperm.”

“How in the hell am I
going to be someone’s father? I still make sixth grader jokes.”

“It’s part of your charm.
Seriously, you’re great with kids. Your niece and nephew love you.”

“And I love them, but
I’m also not worried about scarring them for life.”

“You won’t. Your family
is amazing, so it’s in your genes.”
 

The surety in Aiden’s
words calmed him. “Thank you. I got two weeks to get her to marry me.”

“Good luck with that
one.”

“Hey! I’m a
fricking
catch!”

“Oh yeah, a
real peach.
All kidding aside, if there’s anything I can do to help,
you know I will.”

“Not unless you can tell
me how to Obi
Wan
her.”

“Fresh out of
the Force, but from what you told me it’s all about stability. I think once she
see’s you’re in it for the long run things will start to change.”

“How do I do
that?”

“By
being there.
Trust takes time. I mean, you guys weathered treatment with
Lis
, and there were all kinds of rumors, pictures,
and accusations. That speaks a lot to her character.”

“I hate this
waiting crap.”

“I know you
do, Jett. Hang in there.”

“I’ll do my
best, and thanks for talking me down.”

“Of
course.”

“I should get
back inside. I don’t want her to wake up and find me gone.”

“All right,
keep me posted.”

“Definitely.
Later.”

“Later.”

The
conversation left him feeling a million times better than he had previously. He
could do this.

****

Kansas woke,
horny and revved up. She rubbed her thighs together and gasped at the swirl of
sensation that wound its way through her pussy.
 
She trailed her hand down her neck, skimmed the perky nipples of her
breast and moaned. They were sensitive to the touch and enlarged. Exploring the
changes taking place in her body, she gave an experimental squeeze of her
breast.