Chapter Twelve
Britney had gone from radio silence to calling or texting Win every few hours or so. Friday night they’d played telephone ping-pong the whole time he’d been at Josh and Hannah’s. And he was getting sick of it.
First, she’d asked if he could loan her enough money to take care of her power bill and the next thing he knew, she was asking for him to pay off her credit-card balance. He was willing to help any way he could, but her requests were growing ever bolder and he was starting to feel used. Or extorted. She’d keep him in the loop on the baby as long as he gave her cash. He wondered if he needed to get himself a lawyer, though he didn’t know what that would do.
She had a right to take as long as she needed to make a decision, and if he was chump enough to foot the bill while she deliberated, so be it. But he had his limits, one of which was assuming the loan on her BMW Roadster. A) It wasn’t practical for toting around a baby. B) She could get herself an economy vehicle, like everyone else.
For a card dealer, she lived mighty high on the hog.
Win parked his Jeep in one of the visitor spots. He was barely out of the cab when she texted him again.
Where are you?
Not bothering to respond, he opened the back and filled his arms with three bags of groceries and let himself into Britney’s condo.
“Is that you?” she called.
“I come bearing food.” He popped his head into the bedroom. Eleven thirty in the morning and she was still in bed. “Why don’t you shower, dress, and I’ll make you breakfast?”
“It’s Saturday. Why don’t you bring it to me in bed?”
“You feeling sick?”
“No.” She stretched her long legs until her toes hit the footboard. Bright pink nails with sequins. He used to find them sexy.
“Then meet me in the kitchen.” He walked out.
He put away the food he’d bought. Good thing, because as he suspected, there was nothing in her refrigerator except for a case of diet soda. In her pantry, he counted fourteen bottles of wine, six assorted bottles of liquor, four bottles of club soda, and little else.
In the other room, he heard the water go on. He cracked a few of the eggs he’d brought into a bowl. Not a gourmet cook, he managed to get by in the kitchen. Except for the occasional pastry—a Garner family tradition—he tried to eat healthy. He got the sense that Britney was a habitual dieter or ate out a lot. She drank like a fish, that’s for sure. But with a baby coming, she’d have to lay off the booze. Which reminded him, as he filled the coffeepot with water, no caffeine. He put away the Starbucks beans he’d brought and hunted for a blender to make one of his green smoothies.
“What’s that?” Britney came into the kitchen in her robe, her hair wrapped in a towel.
He looked where she was pointing. “Kale, cucumber, celery, apple, protein powder.”
“I can see that,” she said, her voice short. He chalked it up to hormones. “What’s it for?”
“A smoothie.”
She made gagging noises. “Not for me.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “It’s for me. But it wouldn’t kill you to try it. It’s good for you.”
“Coffee.” She made her way to the fancy brew and grinder on the counter. “I need coffee.”
Win didn’t want to tell her what to do. “You think that’s a good idea?” His eyes went to her stomach.
“I think it would be a bad idea for everyone involved if I didn’t get some. Soon!” She pushed him out of the way and scooped a bunch of beans from a canister into the grinder and flicked the switch.
They didn’t talk over the whir. He started to fry up a package of turkey bacon while she stuck her head in the fridge, presumably to see what he’d brought. When the noise stopped, she said, “Did you get my note about the cable bill?”
“Britney, we’re going to have to talk about that, but we’ll do it after we eat.”
She scowled, and then it was as if a switch went on in her head and her expression suddenly turned remorseful. “Am I asking too much? I don’t mean to. It’s just that I’m feeling overwhelmed and scared about the baby and about money. . . . Forget I even asked. It’s humiliating.”
Win knew she was intentionally guilt-tripping him, but it was working because he was a sap. He told himself it was for the kid she was carrying. “I’ll do as much as I can, Britney. But I’m not wealthy and I’ve got my own expenses.”
“I thought you owned a successful company.” She sat on one of the barstools and watched him prepare her omelet.
“I own it with my family, five other people. And it’s not Microsoft; it’s a small adventure and extreme sports tour company.” He’d told her that a million times before, but Britney only heard what she wanted to.
“Oh,” was all she said and glanced at the kitchen clock. “You working today?”
“I have a cave tour tonight.” Three families up for the weekend wanted to see the stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstones by lantern light.
Normally, retired park rangers did the tours for GA, but Win had offered to fill in. Mostly he conducted extreme sport expeditions with experienced athletes. Every now and then, though, he liked to see the look on the kids’ faces when they got their initial glimpse of a cave or experienced the rush of a roaring rapid or learned how to paddleboard. He and his brothers had lived for that stuff when they were little and it was fun to be part of another tyke’s first big adventure.
“I have friends coming over in two hours,” she said and paused. “It’s a girl thing . . .”
“You want me to leave?” He didn’t know why he couldn’t meet her girlfriends. Then again, if they were anything like Cami, he didn’t want to. No sweat to leave. It wasn’t like he wanted to hang out with her all day; he only came to be accommodating. And for the baby. “No problem. I’ve got things to do in Glory Junction.”
He finished making her omelet, plated the bacon, and blended his smoothie. She ate half of what he’d fixed her and played with the rest until he took her plate away and rinsed it. The coffee she mainlined, making him shake his head. When he got home he was going to research the effects of caffeine on a fetus.
He cleaned up the rest of the kitchen while she got dressed. You would think she was going to a ball for how long it took her. When she finally came out she had on a micro dress, stiletto heels, curled hair, and a face full of makeup. It seemed a bit much for a group of female friends, but what did he know about stuff like that?
“I’m taking off,” he said, a little relieved that he’d have the rest of the day to himself. It wasn’t like he and Britney had that much in common. Sex was about it. And they weren’t having too much of it these days.
“All right. And if you wouldn’t mind leaving me that check . . .”
“I’d rather pay your bills directly,” he said. “Why don’t you give it to me and I’ll take care of it?” Everything but the car. No amount of guilt would change his mind on that front. BMW, his ass.
“That’s silly.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and started rubbing on him. “I can just do it. Why make extra work for yourself?”
He extricated himself from her embrace and gave her a long, assessing look. “Don’t push your luck, Britney. You want me to pay the bills, give them to me.”
She let out a huff and went off to gather them up. The woman was a real piece of work. She came back a few minutes later with a stack of envelopes and stuck them in a bag.
“Here.” She shoved it at him as if she were doing him a big favor.
“This is the thing, Britney: I’m not going to pay them next month unless you have an answer about the baby. I don’t mean to rush you, but I don’t want to drag this out either.” He knew when he was being played, even by a pro. And he wasn’t her goddamned sugar daddy.
She pouted, which he used to find alluring and now just irritating. “The outcome of my decision is lifelong, Win. Maybe not for you, but it will be for me. And for your information, I’ve made my decision.”
He waited, angry that she’d saved this information until now. “Care to share this epiphany?” Though now that it was staring him in the face, he wasn’t ready for the answer.
“I’m having it.”
He gripped the counter to steady himself, not quite sure whether it was relief or terror he was feeling. Slowly, he made his way to where she was standing and planted a small kiss on her cheek. “We’ll get married, then.” He didn’t wait for her response—his mind was made up—and walked out.
On his way home, he stopped at TJ’s house, but his brother wasn’t home. He really could’ve used someone to talk to. Colt was doing the speed-ride tour today, so that ruled him out. And Josh was helping Hannah at the store. Probably for the best. He still didn’t know if he wanted to tell his family.
He had to go through downtown to get home and decided to stop off at GA for a while. It was better than hanging out in his empty apartment. There was no street parking due to the throngs of folks up for the weekend. He pulled around back to the rarely used lot designated only for GA employees. It was where they kept the minivans they used to shuttle clients. He slipped into a spot and used his key to go in the back door. There were lights on in the lobby and he walked up front to see who was there. Darcy.
She didn’t hear him on account of the headphones she had over her ears. He didn’t want to scare her, so he made a lot of noise until she stared directly at him and turned off her music.
“Why you working on the weekend, Darce?”
This time, she didn’t turn her usual shade of deep red. “TJ asked me the same thing.”
She was one of the few GA employees who weren’t required to work Saturdays and Sundays.
“Is he here?” Win hadn’t seen TJ’s Range Rover parked outside.
“Earlier. He went skiing.”
Win looked at his watch. “You’ve been here all day?”
“I was here in the morning, left, and came back.”
Win grabbed a chair and sat next to her. “Why?”
“I’m trying to figure out a better way to schedule trips in the future. When we have to cancel because of weather, it screws everything up.”
“What’s up with the outfit?” She was all dressed up. Skirt, stockings, high heels. She looked nice. Even pretty.
“My grandmother and I had a tea this morning with her lady friends.”
He pointed at the calendar he’d given her on Friday with his chicken-scratch notes. “No one is confirming the new dates?”
She blew out a breath, and he noticed she’d done her hair, too. Most of the time she wore it up or in a messy ponytail. “Yes, a lot of conflicts, so I’m trying to reschedule your reschedules.” She laughed, the first one he’d ever heard from her. Usually, she sat quietly at her desk. Half the time they didn’t even know she was here.
“Sorry.” He eyed the calendar once more. “You want me to give it another shot?”
“That’s okay. TJ said I should try to come up with a better system, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“For a promotion?” God, he hoped she didn’t start choking again.
“Mm-hmm.” Her eyes dropped to the desk and she started twirling her hair with her finger. “Why have you been sad lately?”
He cocked his head to one side. “Sad? What makes you think I’m sad?”
She sat up and actually maintained eye contact with him. “You just seem down in the dumps, extremely unfocused.”
Wow, had it been that noticeable? He didn’t know why he did it—they weren’t even friends—but he told her the whole story.
“What are you planning to do?” she asked, no longer seeming all that bashful.
He got up and paced. It felt good to tell someone, though ten minutes ago, Darcy would’ve seemed like the most unlikely confidant. Not that he didn’t like her, but they hardly knew each other.
“Be there every step of the way.” It would mean being involved with Britney for the rest of his life, which he wasn’t thrilled about. The more he got to know her, the more he didn’t like her.
“Do you have a plan for how it would work?” She got up and dragged him to the big sectional on the other side of the room. “You’re driving me crazy with all that pacing.” She pushed him down, which was funny because she was half his size. And suddenly no longer afraid of her own shadow.
“You mean like whether to marry Britney? It makes the most sense, don’t you think?”
“Only if you love her. It’s the modern era, Win; men are no longer honor bound to marry a woman because of an unplanned pregnancy. Plus, you shouldn’t bring a child into a loveless marriage. I was the product of one of those and I can tell you it sucked.”
“You were?” She nodded. His parents still made out in the kitchen, they loved each other like crazy. “Between you and me, Britney’s . . . difficult.”
“How did you wind up with her in the first place?”
“Uh, the usual reasons.” No way in hell was he telling Darcy the things Britney could do with her mouth. “It was casual, you know? We definitely weren’t a thing. Now, though, I feel like I should be there and help take care of her.” Prove to everyone that he was more reliable than everyone thought. Lately, that had become important to him.
She put her hand on his leg. “You’re a good person.”
Funny, no one had ever told him that before. The words most commonly associated with him were womanizer, charmer, reckless, and fuckup. Irresponsible got thrown around a lot, too. “I don’t know about that. But it’s important to me to do the right thing and be there for my child.”
“You will be,” she said with utter confidence. “And your family will help you. You guys are close and totally there for one another.” Damned right, and the fact that she knew that put a smile on his face.
“Thanks for listening, Darce. But if you could keep it between us for now, I’d really appreciate it.”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
He believed her. In fact, in all the seven months she’d worked there, she’d never talked as much as she had today. Maybe she was finally coming out of her shell.
“You should go home, Darcy. Salvage the rest of your weekend.”
“I will. Just a few more minutes.” She went back to her desk and began sorting through the calendars again.
The office phone rang.
Before Win could tell her to let it go to voice mail, she picked up. “Garner Adventure. This is Darcy, may I help you?”
There was a pause, then she said, “Oh no!” and started scribbling something on a pad of paper.
Win joined her, staring down at the pad, but couldn’t make out what she’d written. He mouthed, what? but she shook her head, continuing to take notes.
She hung up and turned to him, her face now ashen. “The speed-riding tour . . . Colt . . . He’s in the hospital.”
“Which hospital?” It was like the time when they’d received the news about Josh and the explosion. Josh had been flown to a military hospital in Germany while the rest of them waited stateside for updates. The hours of not knowing, of praying, had been the worst of Win’s life.
Win found it hard to catch his breath. All he could think of was getting to Colt.
“Sierra General. I wrote down the info—”
“Call TJ, Josh, and my parents!” he said and sprinted for his truck.