Secrets (5 page)

Angie spied on Kelly the entire hour she was in the shop visiting Sarah. It was adorable the way Angie lurked around staring in awe at Kelly. She again was modeling her wedding dress, and all the while, Angie stood there with her jaw open. She seemed to remember herself and got busy pretending she was working, until she suddenly bent over unnaturally.

Sarah rushed over. “Angie, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I have a stitch.”

“Where?”

“My stomach. There, it’s receding.”

Angie straightened back up with a small smile of embarrassment. Sarah eyed her. “Angie, how far along are you?”

“I don’t know. I guess, like, six months or something.”

“Oh.” Six months? Angie was six months along before anyone noticed? How could that be? “What do you mean you don’t know exactly? What does your doctor say?”

“He doesn’t. I don’t have one.”

“You haven’t seen a doctor yet? Even now that your mother knows?”

Angie shook her head. The mop of pale hair fell back over her eyes.

“Oh, sweetie. You need a doctor. You need prenatal care.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Well, I know how. Can I help you, Angie? Can I take you to the doctor?”

Big eyes gazed at her through blonde hair. “You mean it? You’d do that?”

“Yes, of course, I’ll do that.”

“I would like that.”

Sarah nodded. Angie went back to work while Sarah fumed inside. At Vanessa Peters. At Scott Delano. At this sixteen-year-old, pregnant girl, not being taken to the doctor.

By the time Scott Delano came into her store, Sarah had lost all pretense of staying out of it or being respectful. She was seething inside for Angie’s sake. When she noticed him opening the door, she stalked toward him. “You do realize that little girl in there is carrying a baby that her body isn’t ready to be carrying, don’t you? My God, you guys have known for over two weeks she’s pregnant, and you haven’t taken her to the doctor yet?”

Scott stopped dead as the door shut behind him with a click. He glanced at her, his mouth set in a grim line. “Something on your mind, Sarah?”

“You’re damn well right there is. Angie had a weird twinge in here today. Does she have a clue if that’s normal or not? No. She hasn’t spoken with a doctor or been told anything about being pregnant. She knows nothing, Mr. Delano. Nothing at all. And she’s an at-risk teenage pregnancy. What the hell is the matter with you? Take her to the doctor.”

Scott stepped forward immediately. “Is Angie all right?”

Sarah put her hands on her hips. “I guess so. How would I know? I’m not a doctor. I’ve never been pregnant.”

He watched her. She stilled under his stare.

“Why is it you’re acting like we did something to you?”

Sarah took in a deep breath. “Why the hell didn’t her mother take her in for prenatal care? I don’t care how mad you two get, I offered to take her and she accepted. She was evidently relieved that at least someone cared about her well-being and not just their own reaction over her bad news. So, Mr. Delano, this is just an FYI, she has appointment with John Tyler, at the Seaclusion Medical Clinic tomorrow at three o’clock. If you care to come, do. I will be there because I promised her.”

Sarah turned before Scott could answer. Scott followed her into her office. He closed the door. She was alone with him. She swallowed. Shit. Maybe she’d gone a tad too far out there.

“Slow down, would you?”

“What didn’t you get?”

“I see it now, okay? I screwed up. I was reeling from this, I didn’t think doctor. I guess it doesn’t seem real.”

“She thinks she’s about six months along. It’s real, three months from being here, real.”

He shut his eyes. “She seems like she’s perpetually about twelve. It’s hard accepting she’s having a baby. I haven’t had an easy time processing this. You’re right. I should have taken care of this sooner. It should have been right off.”

Sarah let out a breath as her temper cooled.

“Not you, her mother should have, Mr. Delano.”

“Scott. My name is Scott as if you keep forgetting it. God, we’re the same age, quit talking as if I’m your fucking elder.”

Sarah bristled, shocked by his sudden spurt of anger. “Don’t yell at me, I didn’t do anything.”

“You’re acting like I personally affronted you. She’s my niece, for God’s sake. You’ve only known her a couple of weeks.”

Sarah paused, and then looked away, breaking their heated staring contest. Why did Scott get to her so? She hardly knew him, barely even had a clue what he was like, and yet she was arguing with him as if she’d known him for years. She never argued with anyone like this, yet she did it now, with this virtual stranger.

Sarah let out a breath. “I know. You’re right, I haven’t known her that long, but I really like her and she’s in obvious trouble.”

“We’re agreed on that. And we’re agreed I’ve handled this wrong so far. We’re agreed the doctor tomorrow at three. I’ll tell Vanessa.”

“That’s it?”

“What? Do you need to yell at me some more?”

“No. I...I just thought you’d yell at me because I yelled at you.”

Scott’s mouth twisted in a half grin. “Interesting way of dealing with things, Ms. Langston.”

“Well, you don’t always make it easy, Mr. Delano.”

“We’re agreed we want the best for my niece.”

“Yes, we do.”

He turned to leave. When he opened the door Angie nearly fell into the room. She’d been listening again.

Sarah sighed. “I’m sorry, Angie. I shouldn’t have made such a scene. Especially about your mom. I was wrong—”

“No, no it’s okay, Ms. Langston. I...I’ve never warranted a scene over me before.”

Sarah’s heart twisted over Angie’s longing for attention, even this dysfunctional display over her, warranted her hunger to be noticed.

“I’ll leave this to you two.”

“No. Please come tomorrow, Ms. Langston. Please.”

Sarah glanced at Scott waiting for him to nix the idea. Why wouldn’t he? He had every right. She had acted like a crazy, deranged nag.

“If you’d come, we’d be grateful.”

Sarah nodded, relieved. “Yes, of course, I promised you, Angie. And I always do what I promise.”

Scott glanced over at his niece after they got into his truck. Her long hair nearly cut off her face from view. They had things to talk about, big things, like who the father of her baby was, or what they were going to do with the baby once it was born. And as Sarah Langston had so graciously pointed out, how were they going to get the baby born? But knowing all this didn’t make starting these conversations any easier. He couldn’t believe, couldn’t fathom, that his little Angie was pregnant. That was a grown-up, woman thing, not his little niece type of thing. Christ, she’d only quit playing with dolls and started hanging out with her girlfriends within the last couple of years. Now she was having a baby?

Sarah was right about everything. He should have done all this weeks sooner. He should have gotten over his own horror and disappointment at the turn in his young niece’s life, and put Angie’s needs first. She was the child in the situation, not he. Nor her mother.

Vanessa was giving Angie the silent treatment. It was a nightmare between the two women. Each of them expected him to take their side. There was no easy answer for this entire situation.

But God, calling the doctor?
An idiot could figure out that was the first logical step. And yet, it was a near stranger who had gotten everything right.

Scott glanced over at Angie. She stared out the window. “Sarah said you had a twinge today. Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” Teenager response of nothing. He sighed in defeat. He wasn’t Angie’s mother, how was he going to make her talk?

“You know, soon we’ll have to discuss how we’re going to handle your pregnancy.”

“I guess.”

“No. We are. Maybe after the doctor appointment tomorrow?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

He sighed, gripping the steering wheel. A groan of frustration caught in the back of his throat. “And we must tell the father.”

“No,” Angie said, showing her first real passion about the subject.

“You said that first night he was your age and nothing happened that you didn’t want to happen. Are you sure about that? You can tell me the truth about anything. I mean it.”

Angie glanced over at him. “I know, Uncle Scott. Honest, I wasn’t like raped or anything. And it wasn’t some older guy or anyone taking advantage of me, though I swear Mom would feel better if that were the case. Then she wouldn’t blame me.”

“No, Angie. No one would ever wish you harm in any way,” Scott said immediately. But Angie was right. She knew her mother, and though Scott tried to tone down some of Vanessa’s faults, it was damn tough at times.

“Can I just have a little more time? I’m not ready to talk just yet. Okay?”

Scott hesitated.
Was
that okay? Should he press Angie for the father’s name? He didn’t know what the right strategy was. A few years ago, they had been so in tune with each other, he could glance at her and know what to say or do. Now, he questioned everything he did with her. Did he press Angie to talk too much, or too little? Did he ask the right things? God, teenage girls had been some kind of morphed alien form when he’d been a teenager, and now, trying to help care for one was harder than anything he’d ever imagined.

“I should have called the doctor, not Ms. Langston. I’m sorry about that. I’m totally out of my element here. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I know. But at least you don’t get mad at me. And you haven’t acted weird around me like you’re afraid to look at me or something.”

Angie didn’t have to add,
like my mom
. Scott already knew. That’s why he tried so hard to be what Angie needed. Though he wasn’t her mother or father, so it was never enough.

“Anyway, it was good of Ms. Langston to do that, right?”

“Yeah, it was,” Scott conceded.

“She’s amazing, isn’t she? I mean did you see her outfit? Who looks that good? I could never, even if I had a nice body, look how she does.”

“She owns a clothing shop, sweetie. I’m sure that makes it a lot easier to dress so good, like her own two thousand square foot closet.”

“Oh, but it’s so much more than that. She just has this knack of putting the right things together. I would look like a fool, and she looks awesome.”

Always did
. He didn’t share this with his pregnant, now overweight, and totally unstylish as of now, niece.

“And she’s so cool, Uncle Scott. I mean you wouldn’t believe it.”

Yes, he would
. He’d been listening to the wonderful attributes of Sarah Langston for weeks now. He knew things about her he never need know. She lived above the shop she ran, wasn’t that so chic? She was best friends with super model Kelly Reeves. Kelly came into the shop and talked to Angie, and Angie had floated through her day as if the President had come in. Sarah spent a considerable amount of time with Angie’s endless questions, and Sarah was opening up a whole world of fashion and clothes that Angie was flourishing in. Working at the shop was not the punishment that he had envisioned for her.

And Sarah so wasn’t who he’d have picked for his niece developing a huge case of hero-worship over. But that quick, Angie had. Whatever Sarah said or did was the platinum standard. Sarah helped Angie buy a few new shirts to wear over her now expanding waistline. And weren’t they the best shirts she’d ever worn? Didn’t Sarah just have the perfect eye for what looked good?

Sarah still galled the hell out of him. Starting with the fact she hadn’t recognized his name or face. Their school hadn’t been that big, and he certainly hadn’t been a wall flower. He’d been reasonably well known and well liked. No Sarah Langston in popularity, but still, not the town nerd or dork by any stretch. And yet, Sarah had no clue who he was, or that they’d once walked in front of the school together arm and arm. Who doesn’t remember that?

What had he expected? He’d known her, or of her, since middle school. She had always been unbelievably popular, and shallow. She was the “it” girl from the top of her shiny brown hair to the bottom of her always trendy shoes. And so many years later, Sarah didn’t seem past any of it.

Over the years he heard snippets about her, when she left town for college, when she came back, and when she opened her shop. He had even passed her in town over the years. She wasn’t known to him, but she wasn’t invisible either.

And yet, he was less than nothing to her. Angie was right, she didn’t fit this town. She had been born and raised here, but she had an inherent style that was unnatural for this town. Here lived fishermen and small factory workers. Here lived small business owners and housewives. Few people moved to Seaclusion. More people left town for good, than came to stay. Why had Sarah Langston ever come back to town?

She carried herself like she was in downtown New York. She was too good looking for any of them. She had thick, glossy, brown hair, cut and styled past her shoulders, which emphasized her big, blue eyes and a sharp, beautiful face. She wore her clothes as if she were the model her best friend was. Sarah Langston was beautiful, in a cool, professional, elegant kind of way. She was all that was stylish and beautiful in this town.

She was tall, nearly waif-like in thinness, her hip bones showed, and her wrists and ankles were as small and delicate as a bird’s leg. She didn’t always look so waif-like. He preferred her old look before her current drop toward anorexic.

But then again he was the guy she didn’t even notice. What the hell did he know about what looked good? He certainly didn’t date women like her, who cared so much about clothes that they centered their entire life on them.

But for whatever reason, his niece, who to date had shown little interest in such things, now revered them. She idolized Sarah who had opened up this world of fashion and beauty and girl-things. He was glad something had finally sparked his apathetic teenage niece’s interest. But need it be Sarah and her world of fashion?

How was he going to get Angie through this pregnancy? The last thing he wanted to do was figure it out in front of perfect Sarah. For what twenty-six-year-old guy knew anything about handling a pregnant, sixteen-year-old niece, who relied on him for all their financial and emotional support?