Second Chance Pass (11 page)

“Time,”
he said. “Just one time.”

“Then you know exactly how pregnant she is and an ultrasound will either verify or dispute the gestation. But if there was another partner involved at approximately the same time, it will require a paternity test. Blood types, DNA, etcetera.”

“I don’t want to upset her. Offend her.”

Mel smiled patiently. “Let’s see—the two of you didn’t have a conversation for six months and when you did, it escalated to intimacy rather quickly—do I have that right? Paul, if she’s offended by your desire to be sure you’re the father of this baby before you commit yourself personally and financially, you’re not going to have an easy time with this. It’s a very reasonable request. If she’s absolutely certain, I’m sure she’ll cooperate with you.”

“And if she doesn’t?” he asked.

“Tell her you’ll hire a lawyer to assert your paternal rights. She can be prevented from aborting or having the baby adopted, and you will be obligated to support your child, which I assume you’re prepared to do anyway.”

“If she’s having my baby, I’ll take care of her. Of course.”

Mel smiled. “Of course you will.”

“And Vanni?” Paul asked.

“Oh,” Mel said. “She’s not taking it well?”

“She doesn’t know. I tried to tell her last night and I got as far as telling her I dated a woman in Grants Pass when she came unhinged because I hadn’t told her sooner.”

Mel made a face. “Take care of that, Paul. If you have feelings for Vanessa, it isn’t fair to leave her confused and wondering. She deserves the truth.”

“She’s going to shoot me in the head,” he said miserably.

“I doubt that. She might need time to consider the facts, however.” Then she smiled patiently. “Paul, you’ve played around with this long enough. If you care about her, assert yourself. Explain. You didn’t betray her—you didn’t break the law. You have to behave responsibly toward both women—that’s all there is to it.”

“Yeah,” he said.

“This will work out. Babies are miracles of life—no matter the extenuating circumstances. Don’t lose sight of that.”

“Yeah,” he said again. He leaned toward her, kissed her brow as she sat on her husband’s lap. “Thanks, Mel.”

“Sure,” she said. “Best of luck.”

He shook Jack’s hand, ruffled David’s floppy golden hair and headed for his truck. Once he’d turned around and was headed off the Sheridan property, Mel looked at Jack to find him grinning hugely. “Melinda,” he said. “Did you just get involved in someone’s
relationship?
”

She lifted a brow. “Do you really want to mess with a woman who’s about seventeen months pregnant?”

“I’m just saying…”

“Try shutting up,” she advised. “I believe I was
asked.
”

“You did,” he laughed. “You got right in there, got your hands dirty in someone’s relationship. Just admit it—it’s irresistible. You’re just as nosy as I am.”

She glared at him. “Jack, no one is as nosy as you are.”

Right after Paul left, the phone rang at Jack’s house. He knew who it was; it was a regular Sunday morning call. He lifted Mel off his lap and dashed for the phone, grinning from ear to ear.

There had been a boy in Virgin River who was like a son to Jack. Ricky. He’d taken him under his wing when he was only thirteen because it was just Rick and his grandmother. Jack taught him to hunt and fish, did what he could to teach him the ways of the world. He’d pridefully watched as he grew tall and strong, a young man of impeccable character who could take the toughest stuff life could serve up and hold his head up, stand straight and do a man’s job. The boy had gotten close to Preacher, to Mel, to the Marines from Jack’s old squad who still gathered there.

At eighteen Ricky had signed up. What was the young protégé of a bunch of tough old Marines going to do but sign up? And Semper Fi suited him. Ricky had excelled. He’d gone from Basic to Airborne to Sniper training to Reconnaissance training to SERE—Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape training. In every program he’d been the best. He was nineteen years old and at least six feet of proud, muscled, skilled Marine. He just phoned to say he had ten days of leave coming up in a couple of months.

And then he had orders for Iraq.

“No sniveling, Jack,” Rick said. “I want you to remember when you were going—you didn’t want your parents and your sisters acting like you were walking into a grave, right? So—we’ll have a drink. Maybe smoke one
of those nasty cigars you and Preach like so much. Tell some dirty jokes. I might even let you cheat me out of some money at poker…”

“You got it, kid. It’ll be great. I’ll even call some of the boys…”

“Aw, they don’t have to come. They’re your boys, not mine. And there’s no hunting now anyway.”

“We’ll see. Virgin River’s going to want to celebrate you a little bit. We only send our best.”

“Thanks. I can’t wait to see you.”

Jack straightened his spine, took a deep breath and told himself they were going to have to make his leave in Virgin River memorable and positive—there’d be no whining and worrying. After all, Jack had gone into war five times and the only really bad injury he’d sustained was a pretty miserable shot in the ass. Not everyone who went to war came out crippled. Or dead. Rick was sharp. And this was what Rick wanted.

Ricky had grown up too fast. He lost his parents in an accident when he was so young, he didn’t even remember them. At sixteen he’d fallen ass over teakettle in love with a girl two years younger than him and they’d had a baby together, a baby that hadn’t lived.

Mel came into the kitchen to find Jack leaning on the counter, looking down. He lifted his gaze. “Ricky’s coming home in a couple of months,” he said. “He’s got ten days.”

“Oh-oh,” she said, knowing something was bad about this.

“Then he’s going to Iraq.”

She was quiet for a moment. Her eyes misted over. She pursed her lips and then said, “
Damn
it!”

P
aul stopped off for dinner on his way into Grants Pass, took a run by his office to check messages and any paperwork that might be left on his desk. There were a couple messages from Terri asking him to call. When he finally got home, it was after seven and he found a few messages from Terri on his home phone, left over the weekend, asking him to call her. Then the last one—all upset, full of tears and little gasping breaths, saying she couldn’t stand feeling so ignored, so alone. She mumbled something about maybe it just wasn’t worth it. The time of the last call on the caller ID showed the call came in only an hour ago. He dialed her number and there was no answer, so he flew out the door and drove to her apartment. Aw, Jesus, don’t do this, he was thinking all the way there. Don’t go crazy on me.

She opened the door to his knock; her eyes and nose were red, her cheeks chapped, like maybe she’d been crying all day. She took one look at him and turned, walking back into her apartment, leaving the door open with him standing there. He followed her and stood in her small living room as she whirled around, flopped on the couch, drew her feet up and cried into a tissue.

“Terri, what’s going on? Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I turned it off,” she said.

“Why would you leave me a message like that and then turn off your phone?”

“Because,” she said, blowing her nose. “I left a lot of messages—and you ignored them all. I just couldn’t take it anymore, waiting for the phone to ring. It was agony. What’s the point in giving me all your phone numbers if you weren’t going to take my calls?”

He sat down beside her on the couch, but he didn’t get too close. “We had lunch last week,” he said. “Everything was okay. Are you having problems with the pregnancy?”

“Yeah, I’m having problems! As in, I have no one to talk to and it gets damn lonely!”

“I was out of town,” he said. “I didn’t call in for messages.”

“And your cell phone was turned off?” she asked hotly.

“There’s no signal where I went—I didn’t even carry it with me. I left it in the truck all weekend. I was in Virgin River, in the mountains. I’m sorry—I didn’t know you’d need me. And I still don’t know why you thought you needed me.”

“I was upset! Didn’t you say you were in this with me? I needed someone who was on my side to talk to. What if something worse was wrong? How long would it take you to notice? Maybe I should just get rid of it—it would be less trouble for you.”

He reached over and touched her knee. He gave it a squeeze. “Don’t do that,” he said.

“You want me to have it?” she asked him. “Because you don’t exactly act like it.”

Paul felt an angry heat rise up his neck to his face. “If you had wanted an abortion, you would have done that
already. I’d never have known. Don’t threaten it now to keep me in line.”

“God, I just felt so
abandoned…
” Her face melted into a pathetic, contorted mess of wrinkles. She buried her face in her tissue and let it go for a minute. Resigned, he scooted closer and pulled her against him, holding her while she cried on his chest. “So—what’s in Virgin River that keeps you from even thinking about us up here?”

“Get a grip now,” he said, not answering the question. “I’m not letting you go through this alone. I didn’t know you needed anything.”

“And what if I do?”

“I’ll do my best. But we’d better establish some boundaries. I’m not going to let you do this to me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I’m in this with you—I’ll coparent and pay support. I’m grateful you’re willing to have the baby, but I’m not going to be manipulated.”

“What if I give it away?”

“If you give it away, you’ll be giving it to me.”

“To take to
her?
”

“Who?” he asked, startled.

“There has to be a woman. Otherwise you’d give us a chance.”

He sighed. It couldn’t really be that simple, could it? “Listen to me,” he said. He grabbed her chin and turned her face so he could look into those swollen, wet eyes. “This has to do with me and you—and the fact that even though we’re not a couple, we’re having a child together. We have to figure out how to make that work.”

“So there is,” she said.

“There is,” he admitted. “But even if there weren’t…”

“But there is,” she said.

He took a breath. “There might not be, after she hears about this. But that won’t change anything between us. Terri, I’m sorry—I’m fond of you, I care about you, I swear I’ll do my best by you, but I don’t love you. There are three people involved here—you, me, a baby. It wouldn’t be good for any of us to try to make a marriage where there isn’t real bone deep, passionate love. I wouldn’t give us a year—and that would be worse than what we have.” He ran a knuckle down her cheek. “Believe me.”

She was quiet a moment. “You said there was no one,” she whispered. “When we met, when we… You said there was no one in your life…”

“It’s real complicated,” he said.

“But you cheated on her. When she finds out you cheated, she’s going to—”

“Terri, I didn’t cheat on her, all right? I told you the truth. I wasn’t with anyone.”

“I don’t understand. Did you just meet her? After we—?”

“Okay, listen to me. We weren’t together. I knew I had real strong feelings for her, but we weren’t together when I met you and I had no reason to hope we ever would be. She had no idea how I felt. I told you the truth—I wasn’t with a woman and I didn’t want a serious relationship. You said the same thing—you were unattached and liked it that way.”

She was quiet for a long moment. “And now?”

He glanced away. “Things changed. Lots of things changed.”

“Oh God,” she said, falling into a fresh round of tears. “Oh God, your friend’s wife! The one who just died!”

Oh,
he thought,
this is going to be so much worse than I ever imagined. I swear to God, I’m never having sex
again.
“Don’t come unglued on me like this,” he said softly. “Listen, there will be times I can’t be there for you—times we’re not in touch. There has to be someone you can talk to when you’re upset and you can’t find me. What about your mother? Is she someone you can talk to about this?”

“Not really,” she said with a sniff. “She thinks I’m crazy to go through with this. She doesn’t believe for one second you’ll be a part of it.”

He took a breath. “I’ll go with you to meet her, help explain what I’m able to do to help. That might put her mind at ease a little bit.”

She lifted her head and looked up at him. “Would you?”

“Sure. After we’ve seen the doctor together.”

“Why do we have to do that?” she asked.

“I have some questions for the doctor. I want to make sure everything is going well. You know?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll ask a few questions about your health, the baby’s health, insurance, that sort of thing. Once you get through the early months, we’ll see your mother and I’ll reassure her that I’m going to support you. Who’s your doctor?”

“Why?”

“We should make sure you have the best.” He shrugged. “Who?”

“Charlene Weir.”

“When’s your next appointment?”

“Not for a while. I just went. Just before I told you.”

“So, when?”

“A couple of weeks,” she said. “Three, I think.”

“Okay. You be sure to give me the date of the next appointment, okay?”

“Why don’t you just tell me your questions and I’ll get the answers?”

“No,” he said, brushing her hair back from her face. “I want to go. I want to be a part of this.”

“Okay,” she said, a sentimental look in her eyes. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

“I can’t, Terri. It’s about those boundaries.”

“Well, it’s not as if I’m going to get pregnant!”

“Terri—you want me in this with you or not? I told you, I’ll be an involved father and I’ll support you the best I can. I hope we can cooperate, work together, be friends. I’d like us to do a good job with this—but we’re not a couple, and we’re not going to be intimate anymore.”

“Jesus,” she whispered, leaning against him to cry some more. “I have myself so upset I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. It’s like you feel completely different about me because I got pregnant, and it’s not my fault!”

“Shh. Since we were both taking precautions, it’s not really anyone’s fault, but it’s still a responsibility we both have. You’re going to have to settle down and be more rational. This isn’t good for you or the baby. Try to calm down a little, okay?”

“It’s just so hard,” she said. “We might not have been together that much, but when we were, it was wonderful. We got along, we liked each other. I thought when you knew we’d made a baby, you’d at least give us a try. But man—you won’t even
think
about it.”

“Yeah, honey…We liked each other fine, got along great, had fun—four whole times in a year. I think it takes a lot more than that to make a successful marriage. Besides, if there was potential for it to be any more serious than it is, we’d have known a long time ago. But you know what I’d like?”

“What?” she said, turning her face up to look at him.

“We’re going to be parents together. Not under the same roof, but still—we have to do this as a team. I’d like it if we could do that as friends. Two people who might
not have what it takes to be a couple, but have everything we need to be good parents. That’s going to take some practice, I think.”

“You think?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he said with a weary sigh. “Lots.”

“That woman,” she said with a sniff. “Did you know you loved her right away?” she asked.

“Right away,” he said, his arm around her.

Terri was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “I guess you probably know exactly how I feel.”

He thought it made as much sense for Terri to think herself in love with him after a couple of one-night stands as it did for him to be in love with Vanni the second he laid eyes on her. And Vanni had been as unavailable to him as he was to Terri.

“Come on,” he said to Terri. “Let’s lay down on the bed, see if you can calm down enough to rest. I can’t stay the night, though. You understand?”

“I think so, yes,” she said. “I don’t like it, but I get it. I’m not usually this crazy.”

“It’s okay. Let’s quiet you and the baby down, then I’m going to leave and go home. You feeling a little better yet?”

“There’s just no way for us, is there, Paul?”

“There’s a way for us to have this baby and be good parents, Terri. In my mind, that’s a lot.”

First thing Monday morning the phone rang at the Booth household, and Vanessa lunged for it. It was Cameron and she let out a disappointed sigh that she hoped he wouldn’t interpret. The man she’d been thinking about was Paul. She’d been worrying about him. Frantically, in fact. He hadn’t called as promised and by ten o’clock the night before she’d left messages for him at his home and office, getting no response. She’d hardly slept, afraid he’d
been hurt or killed on the drive home. It didn’t feel good to have something between them yet to be resolved.

She collected herself. “Well, hello, Cameron.”

“Vanni, how are you?”

“Very well, thanks. And you?” She chewed her lip a little bit. Why couldn’t this just be Paul?

“I’m good. Listen, I know Virgin River is perfection, but I was wondering if you’d like to get out of town for a weekend.”

“A weekend?” she asked, completely unprepared for such a question.

“There’s a great seaside hotel in Mendocino, on the ocean. Lots to do around there. Very relaxing and entertaining.”

“Cameron, I have a baby.”

He chuckled. “I thought maybe I could bring along a pediatrician.”

“But, Cameron, I’m really not ready for—”

“Easy, Vanni. We’ll get two rooms. Think of it as a chance to get to know each other better, that’s all. And no, I have not mentioned my plans to Carol.”

“Oh. Listen—I appreciate the invitation, but I’m not sure I’m ready for something like a weekend date. That’s moving a little fast for me…”

“I’ll be a Boy Scout,” he laughed. “Two rooms, good views, great food, a little relaxation, conversation, no pressure…”

“I appreciate the thought, really. It’s very nice of you, but…”

“All right,” he said. “It was worth a try. Well, then, can I wrangle another run down to Virgin River? I have Jack’s phone number. I could make a reservation at that little cabin…”

“You’re welcome anytime,” she said.

“Maybe this weekend, since I scheduled it off?”

“Sure,” she said without enthusiasm. “Let me know if you decide to come down.”

It was another tense hour before the phone rang and this time it was Paul. She nearly bit his head off. “Where have you been?”

“Vanni, I’m sorry. I didn’t get your message until this morning.”

“Forget the message—I didn’t
ask
you to call! You said you were going to! I was afraid something terrible might have happened. I worried half the night!”

“Something unexpected came up. I had to, ah, just help out a friend with something. I was home too late to call you. I didn’t even check the messages until this morning.”

She sighed heavily. It wasn’t like her to panic, but she’d had far too many losses over the past few years, and Paul felt like one more. “If you hadn’t said…”

“Vanni, I’m sorry. That will never happen again.”

Taking care of the widow again, she thought. He got home, got sidetracked by the woman in Grants Pass and she was the last thing on his mind. How could he be any more clear? Still, she heard herself ask, “What was the problem that sidetracked you until so late?”

“Ah, it wasn’t anything. Not as serious as it sounded at first. I’ll tell you all about it, Vanni, but I’d rather do it in person. I’m so sorry I didn’t call.”

“I’m not your keeper,” she said. “You have a private life, as you tried to explain…”

“Vanni, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here…”

“I doubt I have the wrong idea,” she said. “Don’t worry about it, Paul. I’m glad everything is okay. We’ll catch up later.”

“I’ll talk to you this week,” he said. “I’ll see you on the weekend.”