Steven (10 page)

She bought a simple pregnancy test.  The test said it could be taken any time of day, and the results would clearly state “pregnant” or “not pregnant”.  She didn’t think she could handle
anything more complicated than that right now.

As soon as she got home, she flew up the stairs and went into the bathroom adjoining her bedroom.  As she sat down, she prayed, “Please God.  Don’t let me be pregnant.  I know what I did was wrong, but I love him so much.  Don’t let
our lives
be ruined this way.”

She waited the requisite three minutes the test took, pacing back and forth in her bedroom.  Finally, after what seemed like hours, she checked the results.  Her face fell.  “Pregnant.”

Rubbing her face with her hands, she sat down on her bed for a few minutes thinking about what she needed to do.  Steven and Faith had become so close in the last few months, but she knew they’d have been even closer if Steven had been a part of her life from the beginning.  She couldn’t do what her sister had done and keep the knowledge of his child from him.  She just couldn’t.

She was in a slight daze as she walked down the steps.  She went straight to Steven’s office and raised her hand to knock on the door. 
The door was slightly open and opened more at her knock, so she simply
walked in.  She went to his desk to sit and wait for him to come back. He was working from home, she knew, and would be back any minute. 

As she sat, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the words “Paternity Test Results”.  She hadn’t meant to see the words, but once she did, she picked up the paper and read it.  Her face turned white.  Steven wasn’t Faith’s father.  He was paying her to take care of a child who wasn’t even his.  And he knew it!  Why hadn’t he said anything?  He could have kicked them both out at any time.

She was staring at the paper in shock when he walked into the room.  “Did you need something?” he asked curtly, taking the paper from her hand and laying it on his desk.
  He had never meant for her to see that paper. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”  She was sitting in his office to tell him she was pregnant, and her sister had lied about him being the father of her baby.  How could she tell him now?
  The look on her face showed her shock.

He shrugged.  “I knew from the first she wasn’t mine.  I never slept with your sister.”  He said the words as if they meant nothing.
  “We only went out a couple of times
before
I found out she was sleeping with someone else.”

“But….why?  Why did you
want
us
to
move in here then?  Why have you been paying me to take care of my own niece?”  She shook her head as if nothing made sense in her world anymore.
  She was devastated, and found herself angrier with her sister than she’d been in a long time.

He sighed.  He hadn’t wanted it to come to this.  “You came to my door with nowhere to go.  You had a baby in your arms who wasn’t even yours.  I have the room, and I have the money.  How could I turn you away?”   He paused.  “I was so attracted to you from the first, all I could think about was I had to find a way to make you stay.”  He turned his hands up and held them out in front of her as if he was looking for her to say something.  Anything.

“I see.”  She stood, her eyes blinded with tears.  “I’m sorry we messed up your life so much.  It was never my intention.”  She ran from
his office
rushing blindly to her room.
 

A few minutes later, once she’d collected herself, she went down the stairs to the kitchen to get Faith and take her back upstairs.  “Thank you for watching her.  I really appreciate it.”  She smiled at Connie, hoping she wouldn’t mention the tears that had ravaged her face.

Connie smiled at her, putting her hand on her arm.  “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
  Her warm expression told Bailey she’d do anything in her power to sort out whatever was wrong with the younger woman.

Bailey shook her head, burying her face in the baby’s neck.  “I’ll be fine.  Thanks.”  She took the baby upstairs and put her on a blanket on the floor with a few toys.  Faith was just starting to scoot around, and loved to have toys to stick in her mouth.

She sat on her bed and thought about what to do.  She had to leave.  She couldn’t keep asking Steven to take care of a baby who wasn’t his.  But where could she go?  She pulled out her cell phone and called Amber.  “Hey, Amber.  It’s Bailey.”
  She tried to keep her voice peppy and happy as she spoke to her friend.

“Hi Bailey!  Are we on for Saturday?”  Her friend’s happy voice had her grinning despite her emotions. 

“Umm…I have a favor to ask.”  She knew she sounded like she’d been crying, and she also knew her friend would be more than willing to do anything to help her.
  It was so hard to be in a position where she had to ask for help again.  She hated it.

“What’s that?”

She took a deep breath.  “You’ve said you have a big house.  Would you mind if Faith and I came to li
v
e with you for a while?”  When her friend didn’t answer immediately, she said, “I’ll pay rent.  I have money saved up.  And I’ll get a job.  I promise.  I just need somewhere to go for a little while.”
  She closed her eyes as she waited for Amber’s response.

“Of course, you can come here!  You know that.  Do you know how to get to
Corral City
?”
 
Corral City
was a small rural community not far from Southlake, where she lived with Steven.

“No, give me your address.  I have a GPS in the SUV.”  She wished she didn’t have to take the
SUV
, but Steven had her car towed, and she had no other way to get anywhere.  She scribbled down her friend’s address while Faith gnawed on a plastic block, looking up at her with her big blue eyes.

Bailey hung up and flew into action.  She quickly packed up all of the clothes she’d brought with her and all of Faith’s things.  She hated taking them, but she’d need them, and Steven wouldn’t.  She’d find a way to get his Cadillac back to him.

She went down the stairs to make sure his office door was closed, and started carrying things out to her car.  When she was finished, she put Faith in her car seat and carried her out to the car.  A note was left on the dresser in her bedroom, so Steven wouldn’t worry about them.

“Steven--  I’m so sorry I believed Angela’s lies.  I should have known better.  Faith and I won’t continue to be a burden on you.  I’m safe, and have some money in savings thanks to your generosity.  I’ll get your Cadillac back to you as soon as I can arrange it.  Thanks for everything you’ve done.  My memories of our time together will always be pleasant. 
Bailey.”

The tears poured down her cheeks as she drove out of his driveway and toward
Corral City
, Texas where Amber had a small horse ranch.  The thirty minute drive helped to clear her mind.  She knew she was making the right decision for herself and her baby.

Amber was waiting inside the house and flew out as soon as Bailey pulled up.  “What happened?”
  She opened the door of the vehicle and pulled her friend out and into a quick hug.

She shook her head sadly, not ready to talk about it.  “I promise, I’ll tell you, but I can’t right now.  Tomorrow.”  Hopefully by tomorrow she’d be able to speak without tears pouring down her face.

Her friend helped her carry in everyt
hing she’d brought.  Bailey carried Faith into the house in her car seat and set her on the floor.  “I have n
o idea where she’s going to sleep.
”  She hadn’t brought the playpen from Steven’s house.

Amber grinned.  “This is the house I grew up in.  My mother kept everything
my brother and I used when we were babies.
We’ll get the crib out of the attic and she’ll have her own room in no time.”

Bailey smiled.  “Thank you for being such a good friend.”
  She knew Bailey’s brother was going to college, and wouldn’t be home for a while.

“Am I allowed to tell Cody you’re here?  He’s supposed to be coming for his riding lesson tomorrow, so if you don’t want Steven to know you’re here, then you’d better tell me now, and I’ll head him off at the pass.”

“No, it’s fine.  Steven won’t care where we’ve gone as long as we’re out of his hair.”  She said the words sadly, knowing they were true.  Steven would be thrilled not to have a baby who wasn’t his and her aunt who he no longer felt any passion for living under his roof.

Amber hugged her tightly.  “I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you and Steven.  When we were on the island, you two seemed like you were such a good couple.  I can’t believe it’s all gone so wrong for you.”

Bailey spent the following day on the internet job hunting.  She needed to find something fast, because she knew it would be much harder after she started showing.  She also needed to have medical insurance immediately to pay for her prenatal care
and for Faith’s doctor’s visits
.  She wasn’t feeling sick yet, but Angela had spent almost her entire pregnancy in bed.  Of course, Angela had always milked any illness for all it was worth.

By early afternoon, she’d set up two job interviews for the following day.  She only prayed she could get one of them.  They were both in Northern Fort Worth, so the drive wouldn’t be long for as long as she was staying with Amber. 
And then s
he could go ahead and get her own place soon. 

Steven had paid her a very healthy salary, and she’d saved almost every penny of it, because her room and board had been included.
 
She felt guilty for taking money from him, but what else could she do at this point?
  Eventually, she’d save up enough money to pay him back, even if it took her the rest of her life.

When Cody came for his riding lesson, he stopped in to say hi to Bailey.  He had always loved little Faith and played with her while they talked.  He didn’t ask any questions about what had happened between her and his friend, but he didn’t have to.  Seeing the deep circles under her eyes and the evidence of her tears was all Cody needed.

After he left, he drove straight to Steven’s house.  He didn’t knock, but instead went inside and stormed into the office.  “What did you do to her?”

Steven gave his friend a cold look.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
  The shock of finding Bailey and Faith gone this morning was almost more than he could take.  He’d come to his office and buried himself in work, avoiding Connie as much as possible.  She’d made it clear to him at breakfast time she thought it was his fault their houseguests had gone.

“The hell you don’t!  Bailey has moved in with Amber, and she’s obviously been crying her eyes out.  What did you do?”
  Cody’s hands were fisted at his sides as if he was going to start hitting something any moment.

Steven leaned back in his chair, scrubbing his face with his hand.  “Is that where
they
went?  I’m glad
they’re
safe.”  He was shocked by the anger on his friend’s face.  They’d always believed each other first, and no woman had ever come between them.  “I didn’t kick her out if that’s what you think.  She found out yesterday Faith isn’t mine.  I guess she decided she didn’t have a right to be here after that.”
  He knew there was more to it than that, but he wasn’t going to tell Cody.  There were limits to what he’d tell even his closest friends.

Cody gave his friend a confused look.  “You always knew she wasn’t yours.  Didn’t you tell her?”

“I told her I wanted a paternity test.  And we had it done.  I never meant for her to see the results.  I only did it in case something came along later.  I shouldn’t have.  I should have just let her think Faith was mine.”  He was still kicking himself for leaving the results out on his desk like that.  Of course, Bailey had been avoiding his office, so how was he supposed to know she’d walk in there while he was getting lunch?

“You need to go after her, you know.  She loves you.”

Steven shook his head.  “She told me on the way home from the island our physical relationship was over.  She said it was best for Faith.  I was planning on buying her an engagement ring.”  His voice sounded sadder than Cody had ever heard it. 
“I don’t even know what I did wrong to make her feel that way.”

“Are you insane?  She’s living with Amber, and crying all the time.  Go and tell her how you feel.  You’re making a huge mistake.”

Steven looked at his friend, feeling hope for the first time since she’d left.  “Do you think she’d even see me?”
  It had to be worth a shot.  He was sitting her
e
miserable without her.  If she threw the ring back in his face, at least he’d always know he’d done everything he could to make the relationship work.

“Get the ring and go to her.  Trust me.  All she wants is to come home to you.”  He turned and started to leave the office.  “And, yes, I will be your best man.”

Steven shook his head at his friend.  Suddenly, he felt galvanized into action.  He grabbed his car keys and his wallet, and headed for the nearest jewelry store.  He picked a pink diamond, thinking it would suit her more than a traditional
stone
, and left the store at a dead run.  He had to get her back and he had to do it tonight.