Authors: Brenda Harlen
Of course, Ellen was a very astute woman and she had no trouble reading between the lines.
“I can understand why you’d have concerns about marrying a man with Justin’s reputation,” she admitted. “He hasn’t always been discriminating or discreet when it comes to his personal life, but he is unfailingly honest. He doesn’t cheat and he doesn’t lie and he has little tolerance for anyone who would.”
“He has many wonderful qualities,” Avery agreed, because she was talking to his mother and what else was she supposed to say?
“Have you met Nora Reardon?” Ellen asked. “Justin’s half sister who works in PT at the hospital.”
She nodded.
“Then you must have heard—or figured out—that John had an affair. It was more than twenty-five years ago and a tremendous betrayal of our vows and our family. It took me a long time to forgive him, to realize that I could.”
Ellen unfolded her napkin and laid it across her lap, taking a moment to gather her composure. “When he told me about the affair, he didn’t tell me—because he didn’t know—that his mistress was pregnant. It was only last year that he found out he had a daughter, and though he immediately shared the news with me, the boys didn’t learn about Nora until she showed up at our house on Father’s Day.”
“That must have been awkward,” Avery said.
Ellen managed a smile. “Incredibly awkward and uncomfortable,” she agreed. “And although Nora didn’t stay long—and stayed out of touch for a long time afterward—it shook the whole family. But I think it affected Justin even more than either of his brothers.
“Because despite his faults and flaws—and I know he has them,” his mother assured her, “he also has a very strong moral compass. And it took him a long time to forgive his father for breaking his vows and hurting me.”
Ellen lifted her water glass to her lips and sipped. “My purpose in telling you this is to help you understand that Justin wouldn’t have asked you to marry him if he wasn’t prepared to commit himself to you, heart and soul. He would never make a promise he didn’t believe he could keep.”
“Maybe finding out about his half sister has something to do with his desire to marry me,” Avery suggested. “To ensure that he doesn’t miss out on his child’s life the way John missed out on Nora’s.”
“If that was all he was concerned about, he would have hired himself a lawyer,” Ellen said matter-of-factly. “Any decent attorney could protect his parental rights. If Justin asked you to marry him, it’s because he
wants
to marry you.
“And, of course, you already know that I’d love for there to be a wedding before the baby is born, but for more reasons than the child you’re carrying.”
“What other reasons are there?”
Ellen smiled again. “That’s something you need to figure out for yourself,” she said gently. “But regardless of what happens between you and Justin, I want you to know that John and I are thrilled about becoming grandparents again, and we hope you’ll let us help out in any way that we can. Whether that’s watching the baby for a few hours so you can sleep after a long shift at the hospital or helping out with a few meals or just throwing in a couple of loads of laundry—whatever you need.”
Her words were sincere and heartfelt, and Avery’s eyes filled with tears.
Ellen rummaged in her pocketbook for a packet of tissues, which she passed across the table. “Justin’s not going to be happy if he finds out that I made you cry.”
Avery dabbed at her eyes. “It’s not your fault—I think pregnancy hormones are running amok through my system, and you and John have both been so accepting and supportive. I guess I’m just feeling lucky and grateful and a little overwhelmed.”
“Why would we be anything but accepting and supportive?” Ellen asked her.
Avery could only shake her head. “I haven’t begun to figure out my feelings for Justin,” she confided. “But I can tell you that I’ve fallen in love with his family.”
Now it was Ellen’s turn to tear up. “That’s a Garrett baby you’re carrying,” she said, “which means that we’re your family now, too.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I
’m thinking of getting a name tag that says, Don’t Hate Me—I’m His Sister,” Nora said, wrapping her hands around her mug of coffee.
Justin finished the text message to a colleague and set aside his phone to give her his full attention, because clearly he’d missed something. “What are you talking about?”
She shook her head. “Do you really not see it?”
“See what?”
“The looks I get every time we come in here together.”
He glanced around the atrium but didn’t notice anything or anyone out of the ordinary. “What kind of looks?”
“Let’s just say, if looks could kill, I would have been on my way to the morgue on my first day.”
Nora had been working in the PT department for six weeks now and he tried—if their schedules allowed—to meet her for coffee at least every couple of weeks. The first time he’d invited her because he felt a strange sort of obligation, but the more time he spent with her, the more he found that he actually enjoyed his sister’s company. “You have quite a flair for drama, don’t you?”
“And you have blinders on,” she countered. “The women here
all
want to be with you. Of course, if the rumors are to be believed, more than half of them already have been.”
“The rumors are
not
to be believed,” he told her firmly. “And you shouldn’t pay attention to hospital gossip.”
“So is there anything to the rumors about you and Dr. Wallace—or ‘Wall-ice’ as she’s otherwise known?”
He winced at the unflattering nickname. “Don’t call her that.”
“I’m not the one who does,” Nora told him.
Justin took a bite of his chocolate-glazed doughnut.
“And you sidestepped.”
He chewed, swallowed. “What?”
“You sidestepped the rumors about you and Dr. Wallace,” she explained. “If they were unfounded, you would have said so. The fact that you said nothing suggests otherwise.”
“Did you ever think about becoming a lawyer instead of a physiotherapist?”
She shook her head. “My brother Connor is a lawyer—one in a family is enough. And you’re sidestepping again.”
“The rumors are unfounded,” he told her. “I’m not having a torrid affair with Dr. Wallace. We are, however, going to have a baby together.”
She gaped at him. “Seriously?”
He nodded.
“Why would you tell me that?” she demanded. “Don’t you realize how quickly I could elevate my standing in the hospital community by sharing such a juicy tidbit of information?”
“I do,” he confirmed. “But I know you won’t.”
She frowned. “You’re right—but how do you know I won’t?”
“Because you’re my sister,” he said simply. “And regardless of whatever differences we may have, family looks out for family.”
“Not all families,” she told him.
“Maybe not. But ours does.”
“Ours, huh?” She smiled, just a little, as if pleased to be included but still uncertain.
“When you barged into our Father’s Day family barbecue last year, you made a statement. Like it or not, you’re one of us now.”
“You guys take some getting used to,” she said. “But I think I like being one of you.”
“In that case, I’ll tell you another secret. I’m not just the father of Avery’s baby—I’m hoping to marry her.”
Nora didn’t seem nearly as surprised or impressed by that revelation. “Because she’s pregnant?” she challenged. “Because Dr. Wallace doesn’t strike me as the type of woman who would worry about having a baby without a ring on her finger.”
“The baby’s only part of the reason,” he said. “The biggest reason is that I love her.”
“The halls will be littered with broken hearts when that gets out,” she warned him.
“Then it’s a good thing I don’t have to worry about it getting out, isn’t it?”
* * *
After her lunch with Ellen, Avery was on her way home when she saw her brother’s truck parked outside of the office of Renovations by Ryder. She pulled into the parking lot beside his vehicle and made her way into the building.
“Do you actually still work here?” she asked from the doorway of his office.
Ryder looked up from his computer and offered a quick smile. “Less and less all the time,” he admitted.
She ventured into the room and gestured to a pile of envelopes on his desk. “What’s all of that?”
“The network has decided to shift the show’s focus next season. They’re offering home renovations to three lucky viewers who write in to explain why they need
Ryder to the Rescue
.”
“I heard something about that,” she admitted. “How many entries have you got?”
“Over three hundred legitimate ones, so far.”
She lifted a brow. “Are you getting illegitimate offers?”
He pulled an envelope from a smaller pile and passed it to her. “Check it out.”
Curious, she opened the flap and pulled out a neatly clipped document. The front page was an official contest entry form, with the applicant requesting a makeover of the master bath. The next three pages were photos of the current bathroom—with the homeowner in each one. Naked. Lounging in the soaker tub; standing in the shower; sprawled on the granite counter.
“That’s a gorgeous bathroom,” she remarked. “I particularly love the glass-tiled shower enclosure with the body jets.”
He nodded. “Absolutely no renovation required.”
“So you just tossed the contest entry aside? Because I’m pretty sure that’s a phone number beneath the lipstick kiss on the page.”
“Not interested,” he said bluntly.
“It must be tough being you,” she teased. “A decently good-looking and moderately famous guy with women throwing themselves at you at every turn.”
“It’s tougher than you think,” he acknowledged.
His obvious discomfort made her think about Justin and the way women were always throwing themselves at him. Because he handled the situation with such apparent ease, she hadn’t considered that he might not want all the attention. Or maybe she was only considering the possibility now because she wanted to believe he was the man she needed him to be.
“Have you narrowed down your choices?” she asked Ryder.
“Not really. I’ve discarded some of the obviously unsuitable ones, but more and more are coming in each day. Thankfully, the contest closing date is Friday.”
“I bet you put them all in a bag and draw out three at random.”
He grinned. “You know me so well.” Then his smile faded. “Except that the producers really want to push the local angle, so at least one of the chosen properties has to be in or near Charisma.”
“So one bag for the local entries and another bag for the rest,” she suggested.
“There’s an idea.” He turned away from his computer now to give her his full attention. “Tell me what’s going on with you.”
“Nothing too interesting. I saw the folks when I was in Atlanta.”
“Did you tell them about the baby?”
She nodded. “Mom warned me that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Dad was equally surprised—but surprisingly supportive. He actually sounded as if he was looking forward to becoming a grandfather.”
“How are
you
feeling?” Ryder asked her.
“Actually, I feel great.”
“How are things with the dad?”
She thought about the weekend she’d spent with Justin in Atlanta. She couldn’t deny that her feelings for him were growing, but she was still afraid to risk her heart—and even more afraid to risk their baby’s future. “Fine.”
“You want to expand on that at all?”
“Nope.”
“You might want to give him a break,” her brother suggested. “He’s not really a bad guy.”
Her gaze narrowed. “How do you know he’s not a bad guy?”
“I went to see him last week.”
She shook her head. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you who the father was, because I knew...” Her words trailed off and her gaze narrowed. “Wait a minute—I
didn’t
tell you who the father was.”
“No, you didn’t,” he confirmed.
“So how did you find out?” she demanded.
“Amy.”
She frowned at that. “Where and when did you see Amy? And how did you get her to give up his name?”
“I ran into her in the paint department at the hardware store. She wanted to do the trim in her bedroom but she didn’t know what kind of brush to use with the paint she’d picked, so I helped her out and we chatted for a bit.” He shrugged. “In between our discussion about natural versus polyester bristles, I casually mentioned that you had some concerns about your baby’s father sticking around and she immediately assured me that ‘Justin’ would never walk away from his child. In fact, ‘the whole Garrett family’ would support you and the baby.”
“You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?”
“I
am
clever,” he reminded her. “And Amy left the hardware store with everything she needed.”
“And you left there and decided to track down Justin.” She shook her head again. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me.”
“It wasn’t a big deal—we just had a couple of beers and pizza.”
“You had beer and pizza with Justin?”
“And as we talked, I realized that Amy was right,” Ryder told her. “There’s no way that man is going to bail on you or your kid.”
“Oh, well, what am I worried about, then?” she asked, her voice fairly dripping with sarcasm.
He slid an arm across her shoulders. “I know it’s not easy for you to trust—especially after Wyatt and especially with this guy being a doctor, too. I’m just suggesting that you give him a chance—I think you’ll be surprised.”
“I don’t want to be surprised,” she insisted stubbornly. “I want him to be the irresponsible and unreliable Casanova I expected him to be.”
Ryder kissed the top of her head. “I love you, sis, but you’ve got some serious issues to work out.”
* * *
If Avery could face her father and tell him about the baby after what she’d been through with her mother, Justin knew that he had to talk to his brother. He made arrangements to meet him at the Bar Down, their favorite hangout, when they were both finished work.
“I haven’t been here in a long time,” Braden noted, sliding into the booth.