Chapter 5
Lorna had become a little concerned when the first insemination didn’t take, but the clinic assured her it wasn’t abnormal. Some fertility clinics did things a bit differently, harvesting eggs and doing inseminations outside the body, regardless of her biological ovulation, but the nature of the child she was to carry prevented that for reasons she didn’t fully understand. The end result was that she would have to wait until her next ovulation cycle to try again, a whole month. Worst case scenario was that this wouldn’t pan out. She would keep the initial fees she had been paid and walk away, but ten thousand really wasn’t that much money in the world today, especially not in L.A.
“Don’t worry about it. You weren’t on fertility boosters for hardly any time before the first attempt. It rarely ever takes a third time with shifter conceptions, but no one is going to call off your contract just because it doesn’t happen right away. There are a lot of biological markers that have to be met in order to even be compatible, so they are going to give you the time your body needs to conceive.”
“Thanks,” Lorna had told her, still a bit concerned, but rather than trying to pick back up with her dying acting career or get a job, she decided to just enjoy the next month. She decided to be bold, for a change. Turning in her thirty-day-notice, which was really a forty-five-day-notice, as she was already halfway into the current month, she put everything in storage and booked a few short flights to her favorite locations in between fertility treatments.
A month later, everything looked completely different, as she went to the clinic for a follow up checkup after her second insemination to find she was pregnant. Squirreling her next advance away in her bank account, she returned to the extended stay hotel she had rented just a few days earlier and packed. No time would be wasted now that she was pregnant. Per the terms of the agreement, she would be moved to Buck’s place a couple hours outside L.A. in Big Bear.
Rather than tell anyone lies about her pregnancy, she had chosen to just let Sharon know that she was going away for a while to “find herself” and that she was going to steer clear of social media and contact while away. Of course, Sharon was concerned for her, but she assured her she would be just fine and not to worry, arranging to just send her a text from time to time to let her know she was well. She would miss her friend, but what she was doing felt important, more so now than it had before.
Not only was she helping Buck with his desire for another child, but she was getting herself in a better position to enjoy life. She could find nothing about this situation that wasn’t positive, outside her fear of ruining her figure or ending up with unsightly stretch marks, but she knew that was just vanity. It was something she had to consider in her line of work, but she also had to consider that her career might not be salvageable at this point. This was the better option, at this time.
The following morning, a driver arrived to pick her up for the trip to Big Bear. The driver loaded up her bags onto a cart and took them out to where he had parked by the curb while she checked out of her room. She joined him a few minutes later, settling into the cool leather back seat of the dark SUV he had brought to retrieve her. They drove away, leaving L.A. behind her for a while as she watched the road stretch out on either side of them, the city streets becoming highways and the bright lights becoming empty space.
With traffic, the two hour drive was closer to three, but they finally arrived, pulling up to a large lake house situated on the edge of a gorgeous water scape. There were no other houses in sight, though they had passed a few along the way. This one was surrounded by trees that separated it from the others that could be seen at other points around the big lake on which they all sat. It wasn’t quite the place she would have expected from such a rich man. It was large for the kind of house you’d expect to see out in the middle of nowhere, but not the usual thing that came to mind when you thought of the rich.
Still, it was a beautiful house, very modern, with glass and metal panels rather than the urban woodsy exterior you’d usually find. One side of it jutted out above the water and opened up onto a massive deck that hovered above the lake itself. She stood outside looking up at it as the driver began unpacking her things.
“Miss Dunne?” a woman said from nearby, jostling her from her trance.
“Yes. Lorna, please.”
“Very well. Lorna. My name is Holly and I’m the caretaker here. Mr. Wilson was called away unexpectedly and asked that I express his regrets at not being here for your arrival. I’ll get you settled in and he will be in a little later in the evening.”
“Oh. Okay. Yeah. That’s great. Thank you so much,” Lorna replied, stumbling through her words.
She followed the thin, stern looking woman as she continued to speak to her with a distinct Jamaican accent.
“We’ve prepared the guest room that overlooks the water for you. Mr. Wilson thought you might enjoy that more than staring at the trees all the time, but there is one available on that side if you prefer. They tend to be cooler, but don’t get as much light.”
“The water will be great,” Lorna told her nervously.
She was really here. This was really happening. It was going to be strange being pregnant, even stranger to be living with the father, whom she had no relationship with other than an agreement on paper. He seemed like a nice enough guy in the meetings, but how was she to know whether he was a good guy outside the watchful eyes of the agency?
“Have you worked for Mr. Wilson for a while?”
“Yes. Quite a long time,” the woman offered, but nothing more.
“I guess that means you like it here then,” she added, fishing.
“If you are asking if he’s a nice man, then yes. He is a very good person and you are safe here. You’ll be taken very good care of while you are in this house.”
“Good to know,” Lorna said with a smile that wasn’t returned.
The woman was polite, but not overly friendly. Perhaps she had her reasons or maybe it was just how she was, but it was just a tad unnerving. Hopefully, it was just her being more formal to a new guest and she would loosen up after she was here for a bit.
“The driver is bringing up your things. I will give you the afternoon to settle in. Dinner is promptly at six, so you are on your own until then. Feel free to explore the grounds and the house. Mr. Wilson wants you to feel at home here.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and a nurse will be by after dinner to talk to you.”
“A nurse? For what?”
“I don’t know. Nurse things. She will tell you,” Holly replied dismissively before excusing herself back to the lobby.
Holly left and the driver brought her bags in, sitting them on one side of the room and leaving quietly. Once he was gone, Lorna closed the bedroom door. She considered unpacking, but felt tired, so she took a nap instead. When she awoke, it was nearly four o’clock. Climbing from the bed, she made her way to the guest bath in her room to splash some water on her face and freshen up. When she was done, she put her shoes on and made her way out of the room to look around the house.
It was quiet, with the exception of the kitchen. Wandering in, she found a young man, who introduced himself as Thander, preparing food for the evening meal. He was quite animated in his chatter but sent her on her way after a brief discussion of what she did and didn’t like so he could finish dinner.
“Honey, I’ve got to get this into the oven if we’re going to eat on time. Holly will flog us all if we don’t stay on schedule,” he said, his commentary accompanied by a laugh and an eyeroll.
Lorna laughed too, though she wasn’t so sure he wasn’t serious. She had gathered from Holly that she might very well be the type that would do just that if anyone stepped out of line. She vacated the kitchen and wandered out to the lake, where she stood looking out over the water, enjoying the fresh air. It was nothing like being in L.A. In fact, it was good. It was very good.