Chapter Seventeen

Tamara’s presence added a whole new dynamic and a new round of gossip in the Indigo Bay world. Now Miss Lucille had me in a bitter custody battle with my ex-husband, and Declan was a charlatan for trying to tear us apart.

I promised Greyson I would watch out for Tamara. It wasn’t my first choice, but what could I do? She was staying and her doctor was giving her a year to live. I wasn’t heartless.

It caused some tension though. Momma wasn’t happy. Daddy was livid. Declan worried that this was Greyson’s way of interfering with our relationship and trying to work his way back into my life. I wasn’t too worried about that. I knew I wasn’t Greyson’s true or even first love. And he was fighting for his position at the bank tooth and nail from what Tamara said. Work was his mistress long before Anya came into the picture. She was probably regretting that now. Greyson was making sure she was prosecuted to the full letter of the law.

And real life seemed to kick in, making the days and weeks a blur of meetings, proposals, doctor’s appointments, and birthing classes. I actually enjoyed those because it meant I got to see Declan. He was doing a lot of traveling around the state during the week doing trainings, but he always made sure he was in town Wednesday night for my class.

“You’re going to be here for the birth, right?” I got that out in between practicing my breathing techniques.

“I made sure next week is the last week of trainings. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Just don’t go into labor early.” He grinned.

I looked down at my thirty-six-week belly. “He’s going to have to vacate soon. I’m huge.”

Declan, who I was leaning against, reached around and ran his hands over my abdomen. “You’re beautiful. And he needs to cook a little longer.”

“I’ve missed you. You’ve been a little distant the last few weeks.”

He paused, making my heart hiccup.

“Are you rethinking us?”

“Never. I just wanted to give you some space with Tamara in town. And I’ve been working on some stuff.”

I turned my head. “What stuff?”

He kissed my lips. “Important stuff.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “But not tonight.” His crooked smile made an appearance.

I turned back around and focused back on my breathing. “I didn’t want to know anyway.”

He laughed in my ear. “Sure you do. And when I’m done, you’ll be the first person to know.” He kissed my cheek. “I love you.”

“I suppose I love you too.”

“I love it when you say that, but I need a little more enthusiasm to go with it.”

“I’m as big as a house in the middle of the summer. This is about as enthusiastic as I get.”

He wrapped his arms around me. “I don’t have to leave until tomorrow morning, so what do you say to the pool and a massage?”

“I think I can muster up some enthusiasm to thank you.”

He groaned against my ear. “Do you want to leave now?”

I leaned my head against him. “Thank you for being so good to me. What can I do for you?”

“You’re doing it already. Just keep taking care of yourself and this baby. I hate being away from you right now.”

“I can do that.”

Our time apart was giving me the opportunity to spend more time with my family and friends, Tamara included. Though that was difficult because Momma was not in a very forgiving mood when it came to Greyson’s mom. I had to beg her to invite Tamara to the baby shower next weekend. It’s not like Tamara and I were the best of friends again, but she was trying her best to make amends and she was running out of time.

Greyson had hired a private nurse to watch over her while she was here. Dallas offered long-term rentals at his resort so she was staying in the same yellow cottage. I spent some of my free evenings with her playing cards and taking walks on the beach if she felt up to it. It was tenuous and sometimes quiet, but it was getting less awkward. She liked to tell me stories about being a new mother. I did my best to ignore that her baby was my ex-husband. I even laughed when she recounted tales of Greyson being able to strip down to nothing in a second flat and run down the aisles of the grocery store. Or how she had to call the police because she thought he was missing, but he was quietly hiding under a decorative table covered by a tablecloth. She obviously enjoyed motherhood and missed the days of years gone by.

Momma and her best friend, Karen, were throwing the baby shower of the century on my behalf, and to my chagrin it was getting out of control. I had to put my foot down when Momma suggested live entertainment. I didn’t need to be serenaded by the cute local pop band.

What I needed was to have this baby. My back was killing me and there were days when I couldn’t wear shoes because of my swollen feet. And I was exhausted. This baby was sucking the life right out of me. Dr. Dreamy said I was anemic, so that explained it, but the iron supplements didn’t seem to be helping. But more than anything, I just wanted to meet this little guy. Even if I didn’t know what I should name him. Daddy was still angling for me to name him after him, and that was a possibility. I also liked the name Austin. Austin Dixon sounded nice, but what if I got married? It was probably too soon to think about that, and Declan hadn’t mentioned the “M” word, even though he talked like we were a forever sort of thing. I mean, he was going to be in the delivery room with me. If that didn’t say commitment I don’t know what did.

I woke up the day of the baby shower, thirty-seven weeks along. I didn’t feel all that good. I hadn’t slept well. My back had ached so bad I soaked in the tub for an hour during the middle of the night. I needed Declan’s magic hands. I hadn’t seen him all week. He sent me a quick text to let me know he was home and safe late last night. I wasn’t sure when I was going to see him. He said he was going to be busy this weekend working on “things.” It had me feeling uneasy. Call it pregnancy hormones or insecurity, I kept wondering if maybe I was “too much,” like Greyson accused me of being. Now Declan felt the same way, he just didn’t want to say anything in my condition.

With my body and mind not in the best place, I had to face the baby shower.

Momma was going so overboard she bought me an outfit specifically for the occasion. It matched the decorations. How precious was this thing going to get? I was so tired of maternity clothes, I was planning on burning them when this was all said and done. But the mint summer dress was cute, even if I did feel like a whale in everything I wore.

I told Tamara I would pick her up and we would drive over to Karen’s together. She lived down the road on the same stretch of coast as us. She and Momma could have been twins. They both had red hair and perky attitudes. At least Momma’s was mostly perky. She wasn’t thrilled that Tamara was coming. I begged her to be nice.

I felt so off that I didn’t eat much at breakfast.

“You all right, baby girl?” Daddy cocked his head. Momma had already left for Karen’s.

I rubbed my lower back. “Just tired. Do you think you could set the crib up in my room today?”

“Sure, darlin’. I’ll ask Declan to help when he drops by later.”

My head popped up. “Why is Declan coming over?” And why didn’t he tell me?

“Said he had some business to discuss.” Daddy grinned. “He wants us to use him exclusively.”

“Oh.”

“Baby girl, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I choked back the tears.

Daddy set down his tablet. “Honey, something’s off. What’s going on?”

That opened up the flood gates. “I’m as big as a cow, everything is swollen, I’m tired, and I think Declan wants to break up with me.”

Daddy had that deer in the headlights look that most men get when a woman gets emotional. He recovered though. He stood up and pulled me up and into a hug. He rubbed my back. “Darlin’, you’re talking nonsense.”

“No, I’m not. Look at me. And Declan’s been avoiding me.”

“You’re beautiful. And honey, it’s the nature of his job, not you.”

“That’s what I thought about Greyson.”

Daddy tensed. “He’s no Greyson.”

“How do we know? Maybe it’s me.”

He took my puffy face in his hands. “Melanie Jane Dixon, I don’t want to hear you talk like that. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

“You have to say that.”

He kissed my forehead. “I’ve been chasing away boys and men from you for longer than I care to remember. No one has as good of a heart as you. And I’ve never met a smarter, more capable woman. And you’re as pretty as a sunset.”

“You’re so biased.” I clung to him.

“I know of what I speak. You’re tired. You need to slow down.”

“I need to get the second quarter reports done.”

He laughed. “You need to put a smile on that face and show up at your momma’s shower.” Daddy knew who it was really for.

“I’ll try.”

He kissed my head once more. “And don’t worry about Declan.”

That was going to be easier said than done.