An Unplanned Life (Unplanned Series) (13 page)

“I know
. I just hope that’s enough.” I needed Dailan here with me now. This was too much for me to take on my own. As sure as I was ten years ago about making sure I gave birth to Ryan, I was equally as sure that they would never get their hands on him now. I didn’t care what it took. I would protect him now the same way I had before he was born.

Chapter 29

Dailan

I had told myself that I would be just an hour longer, whether I had finished or not. Even though I would never admit it to Nicole, she was right. I shouldn’t have been leaving her with the all of the responsibility of keeping my mother entertained. I felt like I hadn’t spent any time with Nicole, Ryan, and Ella in ages. Nicole and I hadn’t even had sex in over a week, which was a record for us. Ella was just starting to try and take her first steps and I hadn’t made one game of Ryan’s baseball tournament. I didn’t want to be one of those dads that missed out on everything because they were too busy with work, but this couldn’t be helped. If Nicole only knew the real reason that I had been working day and night on this case, then maybe she would be a little more understanding.

"Knock, knock." I looked up to find Rachel standing in my doorway
, with two cups in her hand.

 
"Rachel, why are you here on a Saturday?"

“
I was out for my morning coffee run and saw your car, and I figured you could use some coffee.” 

"Thanks."

 "Well, my plans for the rest of the day were cancelled, so is there anything I can help you with?" 

"Oh
, no. Nothing that can't wait until Monday."

"Well, what are you working on?"

 "Just researching some things."

 
"Well, I can help. I'm really good at researching."

 
I stopped to think about it for a second. Nicole would freak out if she were to walk in and see me alone in the office with Rachel, but if it would get me out of here quicker, what the hell.

Two hours later
, and we had only made a small dent in the pile of statements and only found one of the transactions. I looked at my watch, knowing that Nicole was probably going crazy by now, being left alone with my mother. "Well, that's enough for today. I'm sure you've got better things to be doing with your weekend than this."

 
"Actually, I don't. My boyfriend and I just broke up, so this is actually a nice distraction." I put my head down and adjusted the piles of statements. I could care less about her personal life. "His wife didn't want to share him."

 
"What?" I finally lifted my head and looked up at her.

 
"My boyfriend. He told me that he was going to leave his wife for me. Boy, was that a lie."

 
What the fuck? Do I look like a shrink?
"Oh, well, that sucks - I guess.”

 
She lifted up the picture of Nicole, Ryan, and Ella on my desk and stared at it. "She's really lucky to have a great guy like you. I hope she realizes it." 

"No, I'm really lucky to have her."
 

She shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyebrows. "Well, she always did get all the good guys
, even in high school." 

Al
l right, I was done with this conversation with her.
I grabbed my keys and a stack of statements that I was hoping to have time to go through at home. She reluctantly got up and walked out with me. "Thanks for your help," I said, once we reached our cars.

 
"Well, sorry I couldn't be of much more of it. Oh, what the hell!” she shouted as she looked down at her tire. “It’s completely flat and I don’t have a spare.”

She pulled out her cell phone and immediately started texting someone
. “Well, did you need a ride home?”

“That would be great.
I just texted my brother to see if he could get me a tire and put it on for me.”

I unlocked
the doors and she got it in. I was just about to get in myself when my phone began to vibrate.
Nicole, shit.
She would be freaking out right now if she knew I was giving Rachel a ride home. “Hey, Nicole, I’m just leaving now. Can I talk to you when I get home?” I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was upset by something. My mother, no doubt.

“You didn’t have to hang up on my account,” Rachel said as I hung up the phone.

“Oh, don’t worry, I didn’t.”

She looked at me like I had taken her off guard with my statement
. She gave me directions and I was glad when I finally pulled up to her house.

"Thank you so much. Did you want to come in for a beer?"

 "No. I have to get home. Nicole's waiting for me."

 
I could see the anger in her eyes at the mention of Nicole's name. "Oh, yeah, of course. Well, thanks again," she said as she got out the car and walked up to her front door.

I headed home, deciding that giving Rachel a ride home was another thing that Nicole didn’t need to know.
 

Chapter
30

Nicole

I actually had an enjoyable day with Kitty. She and Ella and I had spent the day shopping. She had gotten Ella more clothes than she would ever be able to wear, all in pink and lavender. She even talked me into going to a company dinner with Dalian that I hadn’t planned on attending, which required me to buy a new dress, of course. I was quite impressed with her keen sense of fashion. She forced me into trying on a dress that I would never in a million years have picked out on my own. Much to my surprise, I loved it!

I put Ella down for a nap when we got home and called Dailan
. I was so happy to hear that he was on his way home. I went down to the kitchen. Kitty was sitting at the kitchen table, examining all of her purchases that she had made for Ella.

“Do you want some tea?” I asked.

“That would be lovely.” I looked out the kitchen window as I filled the teakettle with water.

“It must have been hard on you?” Kitty blurted out of nowhere.

I placed the teakettle on the stove and turned around. “What’s that?” I asked.

“Giving up Ryan.”

I felt a huge lump in my throat. “It was. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”

“Well, thank you.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For giving both of my sons such happiness.
Gerry loved Ryan with all his heart. He wanted a son more than anything in this world.” I could see her eyes filling up with tears. “He and Connie tried for a while and she just couldn’t get pregnant and then Ryan came along. He was a gift from Heaven.”

I found it so ironic that my pregnancy
, which made everyone in my life so miserable, actually gave such happiness to others. “Well, that makes me happy.”

“
I admire your strength, Nicole. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I knew from the moment I met you that there was something different about you; besides the fact that you totally had Dailan eating out your hand, which is not an easy feat.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far
.” I laughed.

“I would. I know him better than anyone and he is crazy about you.
He could be a real pain in the arse and I never thought I’d see the day that he committed himself to one woman. I never thought that I would get a grandchild from him. I thought Ryan was going to be my one and only. So, thank you for giving me
two
beautiful grandchildren.”

“You’re welcome
,” I whispered, taken a little by surprise at Kitty’s kind words.

“What was she like?”

“Who?” Kitty asked.

“Connie.”

“She was a lot like you in some ways. She was carefree and genuine. But in other ways, not so much.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“She wasn’t as strong as you. She was afraid to stand up to Gerry and let him know how she felt. Not like you. You don’t take any nonsense from Dailan and I think that’s wonderful. But I will say this; she was an excellent mother, despite the problems that she and Gerry may have had in their marriage. Ryan was the light of her life. You couldn’t have asked for a better mother to your little boy.”

I smiled, realizing just how much Ryan was loved. My smile became even wider when I heard Dailan coming through the front door. He walked into
the kitchen and raised his eyebrows, seeing all of the bags scattered about.

“Oh relax
, Dailan! I went on a little shopping spree for my granddaughter.”

“
A
little
shopping spree?”

“Wait until you see your wife in the beautiful dress that she bought for your work party.”

He turned around and looked at me as if he were surprised. “I thought you weren’t going?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I talked her into it. I will be here, so I can watch the kids. The two of you need to take the opportunities to get out and do things together when you can,” Kitty said. “Well, this time I really am going to take a nap,” she said, taking one last sip of her tea and heading off to the bedroom.

“Did you not want me to go now
?” I asked Dailan.

“No, why would you think that?
”

“I don’t know
. You just looked surprised when your mother said that I was going.”

“Yeah, because you said that -
. Never mind, I’m not going to turn this into a fight. I am very happy that you’re going, Nicole.”

“Here this is the reason that I called you.” I handed him the letter that
came in the mail today.

He carefully read it over and placed it down on the counter. “Can you get me a bottle of water from the fridge?”

“Is that all you have to say about that letter, Dailan? He’s going to sue for visitation and possible custody!”

“So let him waste his money. He’s not going to get anything.”

“Dailan, how can you be so sure of that? You don’t know how a judge would rule.”

“Nicole, just stop.
I have this all under control.”

I was getting annoyed.
Really annoyed.
Was he really that much into this case that he was actually going to dismiss this as nothing? “Really, Dailan? I just wish that you would get your priorities straight.”

“I’m not going to get into
it with you, Nicole. You can try and provoke a fight with me all you want, but I’m not biting. I told you that I have everything handled. If that’s not good enough for you, then go sulk somewhere else, because I can’t deal with your mood swings today.”

Oh
, the things that I wanted to say to him! But I stopped myself just in time, knowing that his mother was right in the next room. “I’m not sulking, Dailan. I’m concerned about Ryan. I’m sorry if he doesn’t take priority over your precious case that you’re working on, but he and Ella are
my
first priority!”

He rolled his eyes at me. “You just don’t
ever stop, do you? I love Ryan and Ella just as much as you do and I told you I’m taking care of this. What fuckin’ more do you want from me, Nicole?”

“I don’t know
, Dailan. Maybe you could figure that out while you’re spending all that time at work.”

That
was it; I was done
. We would just now play the silent game that the two of us had become so accustomed to lately. He got up and walked into the living room. I decided to make up more bottles for Ella and realized that I didn’t have any more formula left. She had one bottle left and I knew I had to get to the store to get more or this would give Kitty the perfect excuse to give her milk. I grabbed my purse and keys. When I opened up the front door, I realized that Dailan’s car was behind mine.
Shit, now I’m going to have to be the first one to speak!

I poked my head into the living room. “Could you move your car? I need to run to the store to get Ella more formula.”

He took his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to me. “Just take my car,” he said, like it was killing him even to talk to me.

I
headed out the door, feeling a little like a prisoner being let out on parole. I was ashamed to admit it, but I was actually excited to be going out to buy formula all by myself. Not that my time spent with Kitty was bad today, but I just needed some alone time, even if was only for ten minutes. I got into his car and immediately turned down the blasting radio. I rolled down the windows until the air conditioner kicked in. As I adjusted the seat, I took a deep breath, breathing in that scent; the scent that brought back so many horrible memories - Rachel Wiser's favorite perfume. I quickly texted Donna and told her to meet me outside. I rolled the windows back up to preserve the smell on the way to Donna’s house. She came walking over to the car and I made her get in. "Take a deep breath," I said.

 
She inhaled deeply. "Perfume?"

 
"Yeah, but do you remember who wears that perfume?" She shook her head and looked at me strangely. "Rachel!"

 
"Wo, wo, why does Dailan's car smell like Rachel Wiser's perfume?"

 
"Don't know; he was supposedly working this morning. Oh my God, I am so pissed at him right now."

 
"Nicole, don't go jumping to conclusions. Ask him before you accuse him of anything."

 
"Well, just for that, I'm going to take my time going to get Ella's formula."

 
"Come inside and hang out with me. Anna’s sleeping and Michael's working and I need to catch up with my best friend." 

I sat down and had a cup of coffee with Donna. I told her about the complaint that I received today and how Dailan still wasn't the least bit worried over the whole thing.
 "Well, if he's not worried, then I'm sure that everything will be fine," Donna said. 

"Yeah well, he's got his brain so involved in this case and possibly other things -"

 "Nicole, stop. Dailan is completely in love with you. Don't you dare let that little bitch make you doubt him."

 
"Yeah, I just feel so stressed out right now."

 
"How's your mother-in-law?" She giggled.

 
"Actually, I had a very nice day with her today. I really don't think she means anything with her little digs. That’s just how she is. She’s the same way with Dailan, so I’m not taking it personally anymore.”

I finished up my coffee and couldn’t stall any longer. I needed to get to the store to get Ella’s formula or Kitty would have no choice but to give her milk.

I pulled into the driveway and took a deep breat
h. I walked in the house, telling myself that I was going to confront Dailan in a calm manner. I bit my lip and held back everything that I wanted to say when I looked into the living room and saw him holding Ella on his lap while playing a video game with Ryan. They both looked so happy to be with him and I didn’t want to ruin it for them by getting into it with him now. So I would put on my best forced smile for their sake and bottle it up until we could be alone. “Hey, Ryan, when did you get home?”

“I picked him up while you were gone for two hours
, picking up formula,” Dailan answered rather sarcastically.

Oh, God forbid I leave the house and take a few hours to myself.
I raised my eyebrow and stared at him intently. “Oh, I’m sorry; I stopped off at Donna’s. I didn’t know that I needed your permission first.” Ryan looked at me and then at Dailan. I knew that he was sensing the tension between the two of us.
Stop, Nicole. You’re not going to do this in front of Ryan.

I took a deep breath and went into the kitchen, where
Dailan’s mother was making her best attempt at cooking. “Kitty, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Well, it’s been a long time since I tried my hand at cooking, so I figured I’d try my mother’s famous chicken recipe for dinner.”

I grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured us each a glass. Kitty cooking was bad enough
, but Kitty cooking under the influence of alcohol was just a stomachache waiting to happen. We were on our third glass of wine when Dailan walked in with Ella. “Are you planning on feeding her dinner or are you too busy drinking wine?”

“Stop getting fresh with your wife,” Kitty said, smacking him with the dishtowel in her hand.

I literally bit my tongue to stop myself from responding the way I really wanted to. “I think I’ll continue to drink wine. I trust that you can feed her dinner just as well as I can.”

I knew he didn’t appreciate my sarcastic comment
back, just by the way he glared at me. I stared right back, letting him know that I wasn’t too pleased with him either right now.

I got through the rest of the night avoid
ing any more confrontations with Dailan. I was in bed, reading, when he finally came upstairs. He got into
bed and I put my book down.
Round 1,
I thought to myself. “So, why was Rachel Wiser in your car today?” I asked.

“What?” I could tell that I took him totally off guard.

“Your car reeked of her nasty perfume.”

“She had a flat tire and I gave her a ride home.”

“Did she ever hear of Triple A?” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “So did everyone else work today or just you two?”

“Why the fuck do you always want to start th
ese conversations right before bed, when I’m exhausted?”

“Oh, I don’t know
. Maybe because that’s the only time I ever see you anymore.”

“Nicole, I’m sorry if right now my job is taking priority and I’m not around like I should be. But don’t start accusing me of shit, just because you have some axe to grind with this girl over something that happened ten year
s ago.”

“Oh, sorry if I get a little pissed because my husband is spending
more time with some bitch that he knows I hate than he is with his wife and family.”