An After-Hours Affair

Twelve

Jenny was going to be a single mother.

She couldn’t believe it. She could barely bring herself to acknowledge it, never mind say it out loud. She’d checked the test wand four times this morning. Twice in the bathroom, again halfway down the stairs, then she’d pulled it out of the trash once, just to be sure.

The line was blue.

She was pregnant.

Thank goodness Mitch was out of town. She’d landed right smack-dab in her mother’s predicament. Difference was, she wasn’t going to repeat her mother’s mistake.

She absolutely would not let a man marry her because she was pregnant and then start hating her. Still, in her weaker moments, she’d caught herself thinking about telling Mitch, imagined him breaking into a wide smile, telling her he was happy, assuring her they were going to make it work. But then she’d exit Wonderland and pull herself together.

Reality was hitting her fast and hard. Since arriving at the office, she’d twice had to dash to the bathroom to vomit. And she was facing the stark fact that she was going to have a baby all by herself.

Just like her mother, she’d have to hold down a job, juggle day care and PTA meetings, make budgetary ends meet and try to comfort a lonely little boy or girl who desperately wanted siblings.

Working her way compulsively around the office, she shoved the sparkling clean coffeepot back into the freshly polished machine that sat on a compact, shiny countertop in the corner of the office. Then she centered the wicker basket of assorted teas that she’d lined up alphabetically by variety: blueberry, chamomile, Earl Grey, ginger, Irish breakfast, jasmine green, lemon, mint. They had only one peppermint left, and all the other packets were in even numbers. She briefly considered brewing and drinking it, but her stomach had rebelled.

Again, she said a silent thanks that Mitch was in D.C. If he’d been in the office, today would have been an even bigger disaster.

She rewiped the shelf that held the sugar packets, checked the coffee can to make sure it was at least half-full, centered the stainless steel faucet above the sink and refolded the dishcloth.

The desk phone rang, but she ignored it.

The last three numbers on the readout had been Emily’s. Jenny had purposely escaped from the house this morning before Emily and Cole saw her. She knew if she didn’t answer the office phone, Emily would show up at lunchtime. But she’d face that in an hour.

She glanced at the clock on the wall, noting it read 11:02. She automatically checked her watch, making sure the times synced up. Then she crossed to her desk and sat down, folding her hands on the pristine wooden top, trying to figure out what on earth to do next.

The red message light was flashing on the face of the phone. She didn’t want to listen to Emily’s voice and feel the guilt that came with ignoring her best friend. But there was an off chance it was a TCC member who needed something. And she couldn’t ignore what might be an important matter. There were three weddings coming up this month.

Her throat closed up, and she was forced to swallow the lump. Three radiant, blissful brides would say their vows under the Leadership, Justice and Peace plaque, something that would never happen for Jenny. True love was obviously not in the cards for her. Fate had single motherhood in mind instead.

Blinking the moisture from her eyes, she determinedly lifted the telephone handset, pressing the button for voice mail. She entered the password and heard the computer-generated voice inform her there were two new messages.

The first one was from Emily, short and to the point, obviously worried and telling her to call back just as soon as possible. The second was from a member. Thankfully, it was for general information, and it could wait a few hours. Then she punched in Mitch’s number and his pass-code, learning there was another message on his account.

She tapped her pen on the pad of message paper as a hearty male voice spoke. “It was great to get your message yesterday,” it said. “I know you didn’t ask me to call, but I didn’t want to waste any time in offering my thanks and my congratulations. The entire D.C. office is looking forward to working with you, Mitch. As I said in the interview, we’re flexible on timing. But I will courier over the employment documents in the next few days. As I’m sure you can appreciate, working this close to the White House staff, there’s a fairly rigorous security procedure, and we should get that started. Call me when you get back to Royal. If I’m not in the office, Melanie will give you my private line. It was really great to meet you. We’ll talk soon.”

There was a click, and the line went silent. Jenny sat frozen, the phone still at her ear while the computerized voice listed the voice mail options.

“End of new messages,” the computer voice said.

Jenny couldn’t believe it. Mitch had gone to a job interview? He’d rushed out of town yesterday to find himself a new job?

She gave a slightly hysterical laugh. So much for going steady. He was obviously leaving Royal. And he was definitely leaving her.

Any small, lingering hope that she might have had for their future evaporated in the blink of an eye.

“Press star to disconnect,” instructed the computerized voice.

Jenny’s stomach rolled. Her gaze flew back to the clock on the wall. Mitch was probably on his way home right now. If he didn’t make it to the office this afternoon, he’d definitely be here tomorrow morning.

What was she going to do? How was she going to face him? How could she possibly even hope to pretend everything was normal?

What if she had morning sickness tomorrow? Worse, what if she was sick every morning for the rest of the week, or the rest of the month? She’d never keep the pregnancy a secret.

She came shakily to her feet just as Emily burst through the door.

“Why aren’t you answering?” Emily demanded, swinging the door shut and barreling forward. Then she halted midstride.

“Oh, no.” Her hands reached out, and she came forward again, rounding the desk and pulling Jenny firmly into her arms. “You are, aren’t you?”

Jenny nodded, twin tears leaking out. “The test this morning was positive.”

“Oh, honey.” Emily smoothed her hands down Jenny’s back. “Why did you leave without me? Never mind. It doesn’t matter. It’s going to be okay. I promise you, it’s going to be okay.”

But it wasn’t going to be okay. It was going to be very, very far from okay for a very long time.

“I have to get out of here,” said Jenny, her voice shaking.

“Of course you do.” Emily drew back to look at her. “We’ll go to Cole’s house. Or are you hungry? Should we go to the diner?”

Jenny’s stomach lurched at the thought of greasy fries and heavy milkshakes.

“Uh-oh,” Emily repeated. “Is it bad?”

“Pretty bad. But, oh.” Jenny closed her eyes and waited for the nausea to pass. “I really have to get out of here. Not just out of the office. Out of Royal altogether. I have to leave before Mitch gets back.”

Emily nodded. “You’re worried about how to tell him. I understand.”

“I’m not telling him at all.”

“Well, no,” Emily said gently. “It doesn’t even have to be today.”

Jenny grasped her friend’s upper arms. “Emily. Listen to me. Mitch told me a thousand different ways that he wasn’t in this for the long haul. He’s nowhere near ready to commit. He went to D.C. for a job interview. And he accepted a position. He’s leaving Royal. He’s leaving me.”

“But-”

“But, nothing. He doesn’t want me. He sure doesn’t want a baby. And I am not-I am not going to have my child raised by an unwilling father.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “You can’t keep it a secret. He has friends in Royal. Cole will-”

“Not forever,” Jenny conceded, knowing she’d have to eventually tell Mitch he was a father. “But I can keep it a secret for now.” At least, she could if she wasn’t around him. If she could figure out how to get away, a plausible excuse to get out of Royal until Mitch left permanently for D.C.

She braced her hand on the edge of the desk. “I need a plan. A good excuse to leave. Then he’ll come back, resign from TCC, leave for his new job in D.C., and then I’ll decide what to do and when to do it.”

Emily bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know, Jenny.”

“It’s the only way.” Her throat closed over again, and her voice broke. “I can’t trap him. I won’t trap him, Em.”

Emily wrapped a firm arm around Jenny’s shoulders. “Then I’ll help you. Of course I’ll help you. You can go up to the cottage at Lake Angel, for a week, or two, or three. As long as you need. Tell Mitch it was an emergency. Leave him a message.”

Jenny was nodding. “I could do that. I could tell him someone is sick.” Her hand went to her stomach. “I’m definitely sick. And I can say I’m at a friend’s house. I’ll be at yours. It’s not even a lie.”

Emily gave a sad smile. “It’s not even a lie.”

Jenny sniffed, sitting down. “Are you sure your folks won’t mind?”

“Not a bit. They won’t be at the lake for months. The cottage is the perfect place for you to regroup.”

Jenny turned her chair and started to type. She could barely make her fingers form the words that would take her away from Mitch forever. She was suddenly bone tired. She wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a month. She didn’t want to face Mitch or anyone else.

As Mitch powered his Corvette away from the small airport on the outskirts of Royal, his hand strayed from the gearshift to pat the small square package tucked away in his suit jacket pocket, while his mind settled comfortably into thoughts of Jenny. If someone had told him forty-eight hours ago that he’d be buying an engagement ring, he’d have told them they were out of their mind.

But things changed, people learned. They learned things about themselves, and they figured out things about others that had been staring them in the face for months. What Mitch had learned was that he wanted Jenny, now and forever. He loved her. And he wasn’t about to let one more day go by without telling her so.

He swung off the interstate and took the three corners to River Road. He’d driven this route a thousand times, knew every curve, every bump, every blind spot. But he’d never driven it faster, never wished it were shorter. And by the time he pulled into the TCC parking lot, he was having a very stern talk with himself to calm down and curb his enthusiasm.

He couldn’t tell Jenny he loved her next to the coffeemaker. And he sure couldn’t propose to her at the office. He pushed the shifter into First, set the park brake and turned off the key.

He had to take her out on a date tonight, somewhere exotic and wildly romantic. Maybe they’d go to the beach again. There had to be dozens of fine restaurants overlooking Galveston Bay. He wanted something with candlelight and white linen, a private little alcove where he could say all the things he needed to say.

He took the TCC stairs two at a time, striding through the front foyer, heading directly to the second floor, down the short hallway and into the outer office.

“Jenny?” he breathed, before he realized she wasn’t there.

He quickly moved to his own office, entering through the open door, expecting to see her inside, straightening his papers, watering his plants, putting his mail into those neat little piles, like she did every day.

He drew another blank and frowned.

Maybe she was in the conference room, or the ladies’ room. He told himself to wait it out, but his feet took him back across the outer office, down the hallway and into the conference room.

It was empty, and he couldn’t very well check the ladies’ room. So he headed back to the office, cooling his heels, gazing unseeingly at the familiar surroundings.

It was quiet, somehow too quiet. It felt like a weekend, and it took him a moment to realize it was because her computer was shut off. Her chair was neatly pushed into the desk. There wasn’t a single paper on her desktop, and the morning’s mail was piled haphazardly in her in-basket.

Was Jenny away?

Could she have missed a day’s work?

He ventured closer to her desk, spying a crisp white envelope in the center of the desk. His name was scrawled across it in Jenny’s handwriting.

Mitch picked it up, staring, getting an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. She’d left him a note? Why didn’t she email, or text, or give him a call if she had to miss work?

He tore off the end of the envelope and slid out a single piece of paper.

Dear Mitch, it opened.

He read further through the letter, becoming more confused by the second. Jenny was gone?

He flipped over the sheet of paper, but there was no additional information on the back, no destination, no return date, no explanation of who was sick. Nothing.

He didn’t know whether to be mad or worried.

He retrieved his cell phone and dialed her number.

It rang through to voice mail.

“Jenny,” he said to the machine, struggling to keep his tone neutral. “It’s me. I’m confused. Call me as soon as you can, okay?”

He hung up, waiting a long moment, took a deep breath, then pressed the speed dial for Cole.

Cole answered right away. “Maddison here.”

“It’s Mitch.”

“Oh, hey, Mitch.” There was definitely something off in Cole’s tone. He knew something.

“I’m looking for Jenny,” said Mitch, giving his friend one chance to be straight with him.

“Really?” Cole asked. “She’s not at work?”

Mitch ran out of patience. “What the hell is going on?” he barked.

There was a long pause that only served to reinforce Mitch’s suspicions.

“What do you mean?” asked Cole, his tone still carefully neutral.

Mitch’s voice went to steel. “Where’s Jenny?”

“I don’t know.”

“Bull. Emily has to know.”

“She might,” Cole replied. “But she didn’t tell me.”

Okay, this just got weirder by the second. “Where’s Emily?”

“She’s at work.”

“So she’s not the one who’s sick? And she didn’t go to some friend’s place with Jenny?”

“No.” Cole didn’t elaborate.

“What did I miss?” Mitch demanded

“As far as I know, nothing.”

“As far as you know? What kind of an answer is that?”

Cole’s tone went back to normal. “They didn’t tell me so I wouldn’t have to lie to you. Something’s obviously up, but I haven’t a clue what it might be. Did you and Jenny fight? Did you do anything?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, see a girl in D.C.? Maybe somebody saw you and-”

“I did not see a girl in D.C.” Unless you counted the mental images of Jenny that followed him 24-7.

“Well, she took off for some reason,” said Cole.

Mitch paced across the office. “Find out what it is. Talk to Emily.”

Cole barked out a cold laugh. “You want me to compromise my relationship with my fiancée to help you?”

“Absolutely.”

“You really don’t know how these things work, do you?”

Mitch paused for a long second. “I’m learning,” he admitted.

Cole went silent. “Elaborate.”

Spill his guts? Own up to his feelings to Cole before he even told Jenny? “I don’t think so.”

“You want my help?”

Mitch punched the heel of his hand against the office wall. “Fine. There’s a lecture from Jeffrey on squandering chances echoing inside my head, an engagement ring sitting in my jacket pocket and I’m ready to tear this state apart looking for Jenny.”

“You bought an engagement ring?”

“Yes,” Mitch hissed.

“You want to marry Jenny?”

“Who else?”

“Well, I don’t know what the hell you did in D.C.”

“I accepted a job and bought a ring.”

Cole’s tone turned to surprise. “You took the job?”

“Where is she, Cole? Help me find her.”

The line was silent for long seconds. “Can I tell Emily you’re proposing?”

“No! It’s bad enough that you know before Jenny. You’re not telling her best friend.”

“I don’t know how else I’m going to-”

“Lie, cheat, steal. I don’t care.”

“You’re not asking much, are you?”

“I’d do it for you.”

Cole hesitated a beat. “Fine. I’ll talk to her tonight.”

“Now.”

“Tonight. Summon up a little patience. It’s not my fault it took you this long to make up your mind.”

“I didn’t-” Fine. Mitch would own that mistake. He should have realized he was in love days and days ago. If he had, if he hadn’t been such a stubborn idiot, he’d already be engaged to Jenny.

Assuming she’d have said yes.

Of course she’d have said yes.

He was sure of it.

Almost.

Jenny knew deep down inside that coming to Lake Angel had been the right decision. She was still nauseous in the morning, and it took her a good hour to get her stomach calmed down. People were bound to have noticed, especially Mitch.

He would have arrived back from D.C. yesterday. She’d kept her cell phone deliberately turned off. In her more optimistic moments, she was afraid he might try to call. But then pessimism would take over, and she was afraid he wouldn’t bother.

She told herself it was better not to know. And, if he did call, she’d probably break down and cry, confess everything, humiliate herself and back him into a corner where, heaven save them both, he might decide to try and do something noble.

She couldn’t live with that.

So the cell phone was staying off.

It was nearly ten in the morning. She’d managed a slice of toast and some orange juice earlier, taking great care to eat slowly. Coffee was definitely out of the question. Just the thought of it made her stomach roil.

Now, she wandered through the compact two-bedroom lakefront cottage, opening up each of the windows and letting the breeze flow through. Emily’s family truly did have the most beautiful, picturesque spot on the lake. The cottage was nestled into a small cove, backed by a lush green forest. A dock stretched out from the crescent strip of sandy beach that ended in big piles of jagged boulders on either side.

Other cottages were visible in the distance across the crystal-clear blue lake. When the sun went down, their lights twinkled on the airwaves. The neighbors on either side of the property seemed friendly, but not at all cloying. Mrs. Burroughs kept busy in her massive gardens, while the Claytons said they commuted most days to jobs in the nearby town of Rex Falls.

Jenny eased into the big cushioned wicker chair in the corner of the airy living room. She’d managed to keep down a prenatal vitamin this morning, and now she planned to sip her way through a glass of milk, taking up where she left off reading in a mystery novel. She forced herself to read her way through the words on the page, banishing her speculation on where Mitch was and what he was doing right now, and fighting the memories of their amazing days and nights together.

She could do this.

She focused.