Alexander (20 page)

“
We’ll have to wait and see, buddy. There are tests we’d have to have run to make sure. But it could be. Heather, are you all right?” Alex thought she looked pale, but she only shook her head. “Please speak to me.”

“
Jack, could you please sit quietly for me? Mr. James needs to be stitched up. I don’t think it will take much longer.” Jack did as his mother said. Neither of them looked all that happy about this.

Well, Alex thought, he wasn’t really happy about it either. He wanted to make a life with this woman and her son and he didn’t like resorting to blackmail to get her to listen to him. He nodded at the doctor when he cleared his throat again. His mom sat next to Jack and held his hand. Heather stared at the wall and not at him.

The Novocain numbed the area and he could feel the thread going in and out of his skin. The longer she stood there holding his hand and ignoring him, the madder he got. By the time the doctor said he was finished, Alex was royally pissed.

“
Mom, could you take Jack to the lobby for a minute? I think Heather and I have something to say to each other.” Alex sat up and watched as his mom stood. Jack walked to his mother and held her hand.

“
Go ahead, son. I’ll be out soon. I’ll be all right here.” Heather kissed her son and he left the room.

“
He probably thinks I’m going to beat you.” Alex nearly said that she deserved it too, but didn’t. “Are you going to speak to me?”

“
Would it matter what I say? You seemed to have it all worked out. Why don’t you tell me your plans for your child?” She sat down hard and he almost felt sorry for the chair. “Well, tell me what the great and powerful Alexander James has up his sleeve.”

“
You don’t need to be snarky about it. I was going to tell you about the condom yesterday, but you left for work. How the hell was I supposed to know you’d been released to go back?” He stood up and put on the clean shirt his mom had brought him. “I won’t have you raising my child in a shelter.”

He knew the moment he’d said it that it had come out all wrong. He turned back to her to see the tears on her cheeks and nearly went to her when she held up her hand to stop him. He wondered if he’d ever get it right with her.

“
I had no intentions of living in a shelter for the rest of my life. I have plans as well. And none of them include having another child. Ever. I can’t have a baby. I don’t have the resources to do this right now.” She stood and started pacing. “I suppose you’ll want to keep tabs on me. I can live with that. I won’t do anything to hurt your baby. I don’t know how you feel about the clinic, but that’s all I can afford righ—”

“
You’re going to marry me, Heather. As soon as it can be arranged. I want my child to have my name and marrying me will make sure of that.” She stopped pacing and stared at him before she threw back her head and laughed. “What the hell is so funny?”

“
You want me to marry you because I might be pregnant? No, I don’t think so. If I am pregnant then I will sign whatever you want that gives you the baby, but I won’t marry you.”

“
We’ll just see about that.”

~Chapter
20~

Heather looked down at her borrowed dress and started to cry again. She was getting married in ten minutes and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it. She walked over to the window in the bedroom she’d been assigned when she’d been brought to the James’ house the day before yesterday.

Alex had played her badly…or well, she supposed. He’d used Jack as a way to get around her. He’d all but promised to give him all his worldly possessions for her to marry him. And now Jack was going to get to go to the best college and not have to worry about working to do it. He’d have money to spend and a car to drive when he was ready. He’d have it all. And all his mom had to do was to sell herself on a permanent basis to his provider.

She looked up when her grandda entered the room. “They’re ready for you, honey. Are you ready?”

He looked so good in his suit and tie she couldn’t help but to fuss over it. She smiled at him through her tears, hoping he’d think they were happy tears and not sad ones. He grinned down at her.

“
Your old man can clean up with the best of them, can’t he? You should see Jack in his finery.” He frowned then. “Have you figured out what is wrong with him?”

Jack had been quiet since they’d arrived here on Thanksgiving morning. He’d not eaten much, nor had he said much to anyone. At nine o’clock, he’d gone to bed, even turning down a chance to play in the garage with some power tools that Alex’s dad had offered to let him use.

“
No. You think he is unhappy with Mr. James about something?” He winced when she called Alex by the “mister” part again.

“
He ain’t gonna be none too happy with you if you don’t start calling him Alex like he said. A wife doesn’t call her husband Mr.”

A wife didn’t have to be coerced into marriage either, but she let it go. “I’ll talk to him after the…the ceremony.”

He grabbed her arms when she made to step away. “Are you going to be happy with him, Heather? I won’t have you sad on your wedding day. If you don’t think this will work out, then I’ll make sure you and that baby are well taken care of.”

She felt tears again. “I’m fine, Grandda. Really, this is the best solution for everyone. And Jack will be able to get all the chances I would never have been able to give him.”

She’d told him everything, including the contract she’d signed with Alex. She would be his wife in all ways—the only way he’d let her, and Jack would get a great education and a father figure. She would be well provided for as well, she just didn’t know what that would be.

They were married in the large family room. Heather thought they could just go to the Justice of the Peace, but Mrs. James had vetoed that idea immediately. Wills had leant her the dress she had on and even the shoes. Heather didn’t care so long as it was over soon.

The room had been decorated with flowers; most of them had been brought in just this morning. Heather had watched the men bring them in by the armloads. She watched people start arriving as soon as the vans left and Heather wondered what they were thinking of a wedding being planned and executed in such a short amount of time. But for the most part, she’d stayed out of the way and left the details up to those that had the money.

When the minister had told them they could kiss, she hoped that Alex would simply kiss her on the cheek and be done with it. She turned her head to offer it to him when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She knew the moment he brushed his mouth over hers that he was going to kiss her, really kiss her. It took her several seconds after he finally let her up for air to realize that everyone was clapping. She didn’t say anything when people started slapping him on the back and hugging her to them.

As soon as they were seated to eat the light dinner, Alex pulled her close. “You should really try to enjoy yourself. Mom went to a great deal of trouble to make this day special for you.”

“
Special for you, don’t you mean? I’m doing the best I can. I don’t know any of these people, including your parents. Now you got what you wanted, leave me alone.”

He pulled her to him for a hard kiss. He had meant to punish her, she was sure, but all she could do was feel the heat of the kiss and his body close to hers. When she pulled away, it was all she could do not to whimper and beg him to do it again.

“
You could be happy if you let yourself. I only want what is best for you. I’m in love with you and I want us to be happy.”

She turned away from him before he saw the hurt. She wasn’t even sure anymore what she was hurt about, but her heart did ache. She saw her son then and he smiled at her. She didn’t think he was any happier than she was.

~~~

Candace watched the couple leave for their honeymoon. It really wasn’t going to be much more than a night in the bridal suite at one of their hotels. She could almost feel sorry for Heather if she wasn’t sure the girl loved Alexander. She started up for bed when she noticed the light on in the kitchen. She went in there to tell her husband to put the cake away and go to bed when she saw Jack sitting there.

She noticed that he was using one of Alex’s laptops and wondered if she should get him one for Christmas. He was her grandson now and she couldn’t wait to spoil him. But she was worried about him being so sad.

“
I was just coming in to have a bowl of ice cream. Would you like to join me?” She noticed that he closed the lid on the computer before she could see what he was doing. “I have chocolate and strawberry. Which do you prefer?”

“
I’m not supposed to have sweets. Mom said that dental work is expensive and sweets can make you fat.” He eyed the dessert longingly. “Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever had any kind but vanilla.”

“
Well I don’t think one bowl will hurt you too much. We’ll make sure you brush your teeth extra hard to be sure to get them clean.” She got down two bowls. “Are you allergic to chocolate or strawberry, Jack? I should have asked your mom before she left.”

“
No, ma’am. I just don’t care for strawberries and my mom is allergic to chocolate. She can touch it but not eat it, makes her throw up.” He looked at the dark, rich ice cream she had spooned into her bowl. “But I’m not. If I brush really well then I don’t think she’ll mind too much.”

They ate their dessert in silence for a few minutes. Jack seemed to eat his in a pattern and when she watched him, she could see that he was dividing it up into portions before he took a bite. She remembered Alex telling them that he was a compulsive person and now she could see it.

“
What are you doing on the computer?” He looked up at her, alarmed. “You’re not on one of those adult sites, are you, Jack? Your mother would kill me if you were.”

“
No,” he nearly shouted at her. “No, ma’am. I was looking…I was just wondering about something. About schools and stuff.”

She could tell that he was hiding something and she liked to pride herself on knowing what her children were about before they knew she did. She nodded to him, trying to think of a way to get it out of him. “What sort of schools? I know you’ll be applying to colleges in a few years. I’m pretty sure that as smart as you are, you’ll be able to get into any one you want. Is that what you’re looking into?”

“
No, ma’am.” He started playing with his ice cream before he answered. “I was looking at the kind of school people send their kids off to when they have a baby coming in the house.”

She was stunned. He thought…she wasn’t sure what he thought, but if he was thinking Alex would send him…Then it hit her.

“
You think because if your mom is pregnant that Alex will want to keep his own child close and send you away.” The tears in his eyes said it all. “Oh honey, that’s not going to happen. Alex loves you. He’s not going to want to send you away. And I’m pretty sure your mother will hurt him if he tried.”

“
But I’m a bastard. Nobody wants a bastard around. I’m not his kid and he’ll love the new baby so much he’ll not want me around. It happened to some of my friends at school. Every time their moms got married, they’d have to change schools.”

“
First of all, who told you that you were a bastard? You are no such a thing. You’re a bright, loving little boy who is much too smart to believe that because your mom didn’t marry your father that makes you something you’re not.”

“
But Vickie said—” he started.

“
Vickie is full of shit.” He grinned at her. “I see you agree. Well listen here, kid, you’re my grandson now and I’m the one who will be kicking some serious ass if she tries to tell you that again. Now here’s something else you should know. Your mother isn’t happy.”

“
She looked so sad when she left with Mr. Alex. Did she not want to marry him or something?”

“
I don’t think your mom believes anyone could love her but you and your grandpa Tom. She thinks that Alex is only marrying her because she might be pregnant.”

Jack looked down at his bowl again. “Isn’t he? Mom told me that she didn’t even know she was pregnant yet but she was providing for me anyway. I’m not sure what she means, but she seemed really sad about it.”

“
I think she loves Alex, but is afraid to tell even herself. She thinks what her mother said is true. That Alex only wants her for one thing.”

“
Sex.” Candace was a little surprised, but didn’t comment. He was a smart kid. “He kisses her all the time and she seems to like it when he does. I don’t get it, seems kind of messy and nasty to me.”

Candace laughed. “I’m sure it does when you’re nine. But you’ll change your tune soon enough. I hope I’m around when you do.”

They finished their treat and were cleaning up the kitchen when Edgar came in. He fussed at them for not having him in for ice cream and sat down at the table to pout. Jack opened the laptop again.

“
Mr. James, do you know what this is doing here?” Jack turned the computer to show him. Candace looked over their shoulder.

“
I don’t know what I’m looking at, son. And you can call me Grandda if you want, or Edgar. I wouldn’t mind the first, but I’ll take the second.”

Candace grinned at her husband. “Please, Jack, call us Grandma and Grandpa. We’ve been waiting forever for someone to call us that.”

Jack flushed and nodded then pointed to the icon on the computer. “This is a spywear program. It’s used so that someone can look into someone else’s computer.” He pointed at another one. “This one is to guard this computer. See, it’s sort of like a two-way mirror. This computer can see in, but nobody can see back.”