Flight to Paradise (Flight Trilogy, Book 1) (33 page)

As Rex stammered off toward the downstairs bedroom, Keri turned to Ryan. “Your room is up the stairs and to the right.”

He smiled, “Shouldn’t be that hard, but first I need to run out to the car and grab my bag.”

“Okay.” After a short pause, she said, “We can talk tomorrow.”

He met her gaze. “I think that would be good. As you can probably imagine, I have a few questions.”

“Yes, and rightfully so.” Keri stood only a foot in front of him. He looked at her face and into her big brown eyes.

She stepped in close and hugged him. Her soft body pressed against his chest. The fragrance of her perfume, fresh and recently applied, filled his senses. She lingered for a brief moment as her hand rubbed slowly across his back.

He wondered what she must be thinking. He felt comforted, confused, frustrated, and mad, all at the same time.

After releasing him, she paused briefly, gazing up into his eyes. “Tomorrow we can talk,” she said. “I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.” Anxiety flickered in her expression, as if she was remembering something painful.

What
should
I
do
?
We’re
alone
.
Should
I
suggest
we
talk
now
?
Should
I
hug
her
again
?

“It’s okay.” He stepped back and smiled. “Tomorrow.” He knew with certainty he still loved her, even though they could never be together.

After retrieving his bag and finding his room, he brushed his teeth, slipped into a pair of boxers, and hurried to bed, thinking sleep would free his mind from his many unanswered questions. He set the digital clock on the nightstand for seven.

But how could he sleep, knowing she was downstairs. He wrestled with forbidden fantasies instead of counting sheep like he knew he should. What would he do if she left her drunken husband and offered to slip into his bed?

Go
to
sleep
!

Her warm body next to his?

Ryan
,
GO
TO
SLEEP
!

The harder he tried, the more awake he felt.

Then, he heard a sound outside his door. He lifted his head, stretched his eyes wide, and stared through the darkened room, straining in the direction of the partially opened door. Nothing. He laid back and closed his eyes.

Next, the thought of being alone with her in the morning spun his mind in a new direction. Rex would be out the door by five—three and a half hours before Keri would need to leave for the airport. Three and a half hours. That’s a long time. Just the two of them, alone.

Come
on
!
For
God’s
sake
Ryan
,
go
to
sleep
!

With his eyes closed, he begged the sleep fairies to rescue him from his mind and whisk him into Neverland. Finally, he began to drift in and out of sleep. The night raced on.

At one point, he opened his eyes. The green glow of the digital clock on the nightstand stared back—2:12.

He mumbled, “I’ve got to get some sleep.”

Then, unsure if he were awake or asleep, he thought he heard a sound. Not the creaking of steps or the squeak of a door hinge, but an unexpected sound, more like the muffled whimper of a baby. He listened harder, but nothing.

Silence once again filled every corner of the darkened room and finally, his mind released him into a deep sleep.

CHAPTER 61

A blast of annoying beeps jolted Ryan from a deep sleep. He quickly reached for the awful noise. Once the alarm clock was silenced, he rolled over on his back, took a deep cleansing breath, and exhaled.

Where
am
I
?

When the debilitating grogginess cleared, he remembered.

“Keri!”

Her name released a rush of adrenaline through his veins. He glanced at the clock—7:01.

He sprang out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He wondered if she was awake.

He cranked up the shower and slipped out of his boxers. Once the water temperature tested right, he stepped in. The heat and pressure of the water stimulated the nerves in his skin encouraging blood flow, while sending rejuvenating impulses deep into the core of his body.

The clean fresh aroma of the soap entered his limbic system—the part of the brain responsible for moods, emotions and memory. Though sleep deprived, he felt invigorated.

After showering, he shaved, brushed his teeth, and then gargled with spearmint mouthwash.

While dressing, he heard activity downstairs and caught a whiff of bacon cooking. The nerves in his stomach tightened.

At the bottom of the stairs, he heard a voice coming from the kitchen…then another. Through the cutout, he saw Keri standing beside another woman…and Rex.

Rex walked out of the kitchen and into the den. “Hey, buddy, you hungry?”

Surprise in his voice, he said, “I thought you had to work.”

“I got up last night to go to the bathroom, actually early this morning…about two. I knew I’d never make it to work, so I called in sick.”

“Yeah, I must admit, you looked pretty bad last night.”

“Totally slammed, dude.”

“Do you still need me to take Keri to the airport?”

“If you don’t mind, that would be great.”

“No problem. I’m going that way anyway.”

Keri entered the den from the kitchen. “Good morning, Ryan.” She beamed a smile his way. With her hair pinned on top of her head, she wore a light pink robe. “Did you rest well?”

“Great,” he lied.

The strange woman eased out of the kitchen and stood next to Keri. “Ryan, this is Sara.”

His eyes zeroed in, not on the attractive young woman, but on the baby she held in her arms.

No
!
Don’t
tell
me
…

Ryan glanced at Rex, then back at the baby.

“And this is David.” Keri reached and took the tiny three-month-old baby from Sara. His little legs stiffened inside the blue jumper as a big smile spread across his face.

David
who
?

And then she said it, “Our little David. Isn’t he adorable?”

“Yes, but—”

“Dude,” Rex interrupted, “we just couldn’t tell you last night.”

“All I can say is, wow!” Then, it hit him: Keri must have married Rex because she was pregnant.

That’s
it
!
She
never
would
have
married
him
,
otherwise
.

It made perfect sense.

“Can I get you some coffee?” Rex asked.

“That’d be great.”

Rex called out from the kitchen. “How do you take it?”

Keri answered for him, “One sweetener and a little milk, not cream but milk.” She looked at Ryan and smiled. “Right?”

He nodded. “You got it. Amazing that you remembered.”

“I guess some things never change.”

“Yeah, some things—”

“You want to hold him?”

“Ah…” he hesitated.

“Sure you do.” Keri stepped over and placed the little baby in Ryan’s arms.

He looked down as little David smiled big, giggled, and stretched his legs. “He is so cute.” Ryan extended his pinky finger. David latched on to it. “He’s strong, too.”

What
a
coincidence
that
she
named
him
David
.
David
is
my
middle
name
.

Keri stood close and gently brushed the baby’s light brown silky hair, admiring her son. His bright blue eyes stared up at Ryan, curiously searching his face, then over at Keri. A big smile broke across his face followed by a laugh. “I think he likes you.”

“Here, I better give him back to you before I break him.” He handed little David back to Keri.

“Ryan, why don’t you grab something to eat while I finish getting ready. I made grits, bacon, and eggs. Help yourself. Give me about twenty minutes and I’ll be ready.” Keri carefully passed the baby to Sara.

“Take your time.”

He watched her walk away. From the look of her, he never would have guessed she had delivered a baby only a few months ago.

Rex returned from the kitchen and handed him a mug of steaming coffee. “Dude, it’s been great seeing you again. Sorry about all the surprises.”

“Yeah…It’s gonna take a little time to soak in.” He took the coffee from Rex.

“It’s cool. We’re all family. Listen, I’m stoked about you getting out here. It’s gonna be like old times.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait.” Ryan faked a smile while looking at Rex.

You’re
married
to
Keri
,
my
Keri
.
She
had
your
baby
,
and
you
think
it’s
going
to
be
like
old
times
?
What
planet
are
you
living
on
?

Rex continued, “And when you get out here, I’m going to hook you up with some hot babes. Man, I envy you. Your life is going to be sweet.”

He motioned Ryan over to the breakfast table. “Help yourself.” Rex stepped back into the kitchen.

“Thanks,” Ryan said, taking a seat. “So, tell me, how is it being a daddy? Hard seeing the Rexter married, much less with a child.”

Rex returned with a plate and joined him at the table. He leaned in and said in low voice, “Just between me and you…it’s not exactly what I had planned.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan took a bite of toast.

“Dude, the last thing I wanted was a kid.”

“But Rex, your son is fantastic. How could you not be happy?”

“Easy for you to say, but you have no idea what a kid does to your sex life.”

Ryan swelled with jealousy thinking about Rex’s situation: married to Keri and a beautiful son. It should have been his life. He knew he had no right to be thinking such a thing, but he couldn’t help it.

Rex continued, “Since the kid was born, she’s always too tired. And now that she has started working again…well, frap, she’s always noodled. When we do have sex, she just lays there. I might as well be humping a corpse.”

Ryan took a sip of coffee and then said, “If having a child was such a big deal, you should have been more careful. Didn’t you guys use protection?”

Rex scooted his chair over toward Ryan a bit, checked the adjacent room again, and then leaned in. In a low voice, he said, “I even got snipped.”

Ryan recoiled with surprise. “A vasectomy? When?”

“Shhhh…not so loud.” Rex looked over his shoulder. “That’s the problem. I should have done it earlier. I waited until the week before the wedding. The doc said it might take several weeks before I was ‘good to go’.”

“Does Keri know?”

“Dude…be real. And I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell her.”

“So, you had a vasectomy the week before your wedding without telling your soon-to-be wife? On top of that, after the doctor’s warning, you still had sex without either of you using anything?”

“There might have been a couple of times…I think…I’m not exactly sure. I might have been a little loaded.”

“What about Keri?”

“If you mean, was she drunk, too? You must be kidding. She hardly drinks at all, and if she does, it’s only an occasional glass of wine. I don’t think she’s ever been the least bit tipsy.”

“She must have known you weren’t using protection.”

“Keri wanted kids, and…well, the thing is…I had sorta told her before we married, that I did too. She could have thought I was doing it on purpose…or, who knows, she could have reminded me, and I was too drunk to understand.”

Ryan stopped eating. “Let me get this straight. You had a vasectomy without telling Keri, knowing that she wanted children. Then, at some point in the future, after Keri was unable to become pregnant, you would conveniently learn that you had a low sperm count, or, better yet, to your surprise, you were sterile.”

Rex pushed his chair back, raised his eyebrows, and smiled. “Genius plan, don’t you think?”

“Are you kidding? You deceived your wife. You lied to her,” Ryan said, with a stern look.

“Totally, but, dude, what’s the big deal? She got her baby in the end.”

Ryan shook his head as he stood and took his plate to the kitchen.”

Something Keri had said earlier, hit him. As she had taken the little baby from Sara, he recalled her words, “And this is David…
our
little David…”

Is
it
possible
?

“Okay, I’m ready,” Keri said. Dressed in her company uniform, she crossed the room to where the men were standing. The dark navy skirt and white blouse fit close to her body complimenting her figure. The air filled with the familiar fragrance of her perfume.

Ryan watched, disgusted, as Rex gave her a quick hug and a peck on the lips, more aware now of his insincerity.

They walked to the front door. Sara and the baby followed behind. Keri said her good-byes to Sara and the baby, kissing little David on the forehead and tickling his tummy. “Mommy’s going to miss you.”

Rex gave Keri another peck on the lips. “Have a good trip, Babe,” he said. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

Ryan reached to shake hands with Rex, and, to his surprise, instead of the expected hug, Rex extended his hand. “Hurry-up and get your ass out here.”

“Can’t wait,” Ryan replied, still feeling the unresolved tension. “Here let me get those.” Ryan took Keri’s bags.

Ryan turned as he walked to the car, glancing over his shoulder. Rex stood in the doorway, Sara beside him holding little David in her arms.

After the door closed, he couldn’t help but think, knowing what he knew now, how Rex could ever be trusted. He had always known it, but now it had become personal.

CHAPTER 62

Ryan tossed the bags into the trunk of the small rental and moved with Keri to the passenger side. He held the door while she slipped in. Once seated, she looked up at him and smiled.

As he walked around to the driver’s side, he glanced in through the front windshield and met her gaze. This would be the first time they had been alone since their unexpected rendezvous in New York, a year ago.