They found her in the guest parlor, sitting in front of the fireplace.
"Probably thinking about how comfortable she'd be living here as Mrs. Drew Elliott," Kayla muttered. "If it were up to me, I'd run her out of here in a second."
Miranda put a finger to her lips in a gesture of silence as they approached Susie. She couldn't help but steal a quick glance toward the hall, where Drew was hiding. It was dangerous. If Susie caught even one glimpse of him, she was sure to go off on a tirade and refuse to listen to them, but he insisted. He said he wanted to hear Susie’s claims for himself, but Miranda knew he was really worried about her. They had no idea what Susie might be capable of.
"What do you want?" Susie said. "I thought you would have been long gone by now."
Miranda sat on the sofa beside her. She fought the urge to cringe when her hand accidentally brushed against Susie's. She was angry right now, but she tried to remind herself the girl was just acting out of fear and desperation.
"What do you mean, Susie? Why do you think I would have left?" She did her best to keep an even tone, but the smug look on Susie's face made it very difficult.
"Haven't you heard?" Susie sniffed. "Drew and I are having a baby."
"Oh, yes. I did hear that you were having a baby." Miranda smiled, sickeningly sweet. "That's what I came to talk to you about."
"I can't imagine anything you have to say that would interest me."
Miranda had to turn her head to hide her involuntary eye roll. Susie's pouty, childlike, demeanor was almost enough to mask her fear, but not quite. "The thing is, I came here to talk to you as an adult," Miranda said. "You're going to be a mother now, so you should be able to carry on an adult conversation without any yelling or physical violence. Isn't that right?"
"Hmm." Susie was noncommittal, but at least she didn't seem to be in attack mode. "What's your point?"
"Well, for starters, I thought you should know that Drew and I are going to be married." Miranda almost ruined everything by laughing out loud at the look of shock on Susie's face. Instead, she drew blood by biting into her bottom lip.
"What do you mean? He can't marry you. I told you—we’re going to have a baby."
"No. As I already said, you're going to have a baby. If Drew is indeed the father, and the jury's still out on that one, then we will help you take care of it."
"I don't want you anywhere near my baby."
"The thing is," Miranda gritted her teeth against the angry words battling for dominance with the sensible words on her tongue, "if Drew is indeed your baby's father, then you have to understand, you're getting a package deal. I would be your baby's step-mother, and a large part of his life."
"Just like I would be a large part of Tommy's life." She smirked, indignant, thinking she had just scored a point or two.
"No." Miranda fought hard to keep her voice from trembling, somehow managing to keep it calm and cool. "You would not be anything to Tommy. Your baby would be a welcome part of our family. You would not. Please don't misunderstand me, Susie—you would be treated with respect as the mother of Drew's child, but you would never be accepted as part of this family. You would never, ever, take my place." Miranda paused a moment for her words to sink in. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Susie?”
"Sure. You're trying to scare me off, but it's not going to work." She swiped at a tear before turning back to glare at Miranda. "You're just scared because you know Drew loves me, and you know you're going to lose him."
"No, Susie, I'm not. And that's really what I wanted you to know. Even though we’ve had a few run-ins, I don't believe you're an evil person. You're young and inexperienced, and you have completely idealistic views on love. You're just infatuated with Drew right now. You've had some fun together this summer, but Drew and I have known each other almost our entire lives. We have a history. A friendship. Our love goes way beyond anything physical." Miranda paused to grab a tissue from a nearby coffee table for Susie, who had quiet tears streaming down her face. "The fact is, Susie, you could be having ten of Drew's babies, and you still wouldn't be able to get rid of me. And, even if you could, why would you want to settle for a man who would never truly love you? Don't you think you deserve better than that?"
"That's easy for you to say." Susie's tears had morphed into a full-blown sob now. She blew her nose into the tissue. "You have everything—a great family, your own business, and pretty soon a husband, too."
Miranda was taken aback. She'd expected an argument from Susie. Maybe even violence. But, she hadn't been prepared for tears—genuine tears, at that. Moreover, she hadn't expected to start to feel sorry for the girl.
"Listen, Susie," she said, "it might seem like I have it all, but do you think it's always been this way for me? I've had to work hard for everything I have. And, as far as family, the Elliotts are wonderful, but I'd give anything to have my own parents back.” Miranda grabbed another tissue, but for herself this time. "Don't even get me started on Drew," she added. "If you think things have always been rosy with him, you've definitely got another thing coming."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. Drew can be a real jerk, when he wants to be." She glanced toward the hallway to make sure Drew was still there, stifling a laugh at the loud clatter from his direction. "Listen, Susie, some frank talk here, okay?"
Susie nodded.
"The thing is, only you and Drew know for sure what's happened between you. You can stick with the story of Drew being your baby's father. If you do, the Elliotts are going to take care of you. They really are good people. If they think there's even the slightest possibility you're carrying a little Elliott in there, they're going to make sure you have everything you need. But, the baby will be born eventually, and you can be sure we'll request a blood test."
Miranda couldn't help but feel vindicated when Susie cringed. She either hadn't thought that part through, or it was disturbing enough to cause a visceral reaction.
"And when—I mean, if—it’s proven that the baby wasn’t Drew's, then not only would you be forced to pay them back every cent they gave you, but I’m sure you would also be ostracized in the community. The Elliotts are good people, Susie. Why would you want to put them through that? Why would you want to put yourself through that, let alone your unborn child? Your baby should not be born amidst a web of lies. It should be born into love, don't you think?"
Miranda got up to leave. She had said her piece. It was all up to Susie now. "Tell the truth, Susie," Miranda said in parting. "In the long run, you'll be glad you did."
She waited, hoping Susie would say something. Anything that might at least give her a clue as to what she might be thinking. But she never said a word—just kept staring into space and occasionally dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. There wasn't any point in waiting anymore, so Miranda beckoned to Kayla, and walked into the hall to find Drew.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Drew scooped Miranda up in his arms, wrapping her in a passionate embrace.
"I do know that," she joked. "But it's still nice to hear it sometimes."
"Seriously, though," he said. "You were great with her."
"Not so great." She frowned. "I tried, but she still hasn't recanted her story."
"You know what, honey, it doesn't matter."
"How can you say that, Drew?" How could it possibly not matter when their whole lives were flipped upside down?
"I can say that because the only thing that matters to me in this world is that you have agreed to marry me and the three of us are finally going to build a life together. It's like we're in this bubble that nothing else can penetrate. As long as we have each other, we can withstand anything. Nothing can break us."
"Since when did you get to be the voice of wisdom?"
"Hey, you didn't expect me to hang around you for most of my life without some of it rubbing off on me, did you?"
Miranda smiled as Drew walked into the kitchen to give his parents an update. Life certainly had taken a strange turn of events. If someone had told her even a year ago that she would be happy and in love again, she would have thought they were crazy. If they had told her it would be with Drew, she would have thought they were certifiably insane. But, she was happy. Happier than she'd ever been in her life. She walked into the kitchen knowing she didn't have to stand on the sidelines anymore. She had finally found where she belonged.