Catch 'n' Kiss (Are You Game?) (23 page)

The gray-haired woman chuckled. “My dear, nothing other than a coming baby can empty a woman’s stomach quite like that.” She patted Jody’s arm. “Now take these and a deep breath. I’m sure it’ll pass in a few moments.”

Jody took the bundle of wet paper and pressed it against her neck. Dumbfounded, she stood there as the kind old woman turned to leave. At the last second, she remembered her manners and muttered, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, dear. And congratulations. It’s an exciting time when you’re expecting.” With a wave, she disappeared through the outer door, leaving Jody alone in the cold marble room with her decidedly unexcited emotions.

She still held the stick in her hand and she brought it up to look at it one more time before tossing it in the bin when she discovered the plus sign hadn’t changed. Remembering her bag, Jody turned around and retrieved it from the hook on the back of the toilet door. The test kit sat on the floor where she’d dropped it when she’d thrown up and she picked it up and shoved it back in the brown paper bag in her purse. There were another two test sticks in the box. She’d wait until later, at home, to do the test a second time. Possibly a third. If the results were the same, she’d make an appointment with her doctor as soon as she could get in.

“Ms. Walsh?” Blonde twenty-something stuck her head in the bathroom door. “The girls are finished and the judge is going to make his decision in the next few minutes.”

Jody breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, Leigh and Amy were out. They’d been in with the judge for over an hour, and the longer it went on the more she’d worried. Not about what either of them might say, but about how they’d cope being peppered with questions about a man they barely knew.

“I’ll be right there.” She dumped the wad of towel in the bin and checked her appearance before deciding she was none the worse for wear after her latest vomiting episode. She’d been doing it so regularly this morning that haggard was her permanent look, and she figured she’d get away with it because of the nature of today’s proceedings.

Exiting the bathroom, she found both her lawyers, her parents, her brother and the girls waiting for her. It was the person between the girls that surprised her. Dan smiled, and even with the emotions currently swirling around inside, she smiled back and felt a heavy weight lift off her, like he’d taken heavy grocery bags from her hands. She took her time, nerves about the decision, about how the girls went and about the man who’d turned her life on its head, collided together to make her cautious even when it was just approaching those who were here to support her and the girls.

Mackenzie stepped forward. “Leigh and Amy did brilliantly. You should be very proud of both of them.”

“Thank you. But I don’t need them to answer questions in front of a judge to make me proud.” Jody held out her arms and both girls rushed into them. She buried her nose in Amy’s hair and breathed in the scent of her familiar shampoo. The three of them held on for longer than normal, but today was anything but normal.

“We’ll know for sure in the next few minutes, but I’m confident the judge is going to grant the order,” Mackenzie added.

Jody looked up and met Mackenzie’s gaze. “Thank you. For everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

The girls started talking at once as they pulled away and Jody had to hold up her hand to stop the excited flow. “One at a time, please.”

“Gran and Gramps want to take us to the movies. Can we go?” Leigh asked.

Jody glanced at her mother and father. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. We’ll bring them home after dinner.” He father pulled her into a big hug and she leaned into him, soaking up his warmth and comfort.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You hang in there, kiddo. Everything is going to be fine.” He gave her a final squeeze before letting go. “We’ll see you later. Me and my favourite girls have a date.”

“Hey, I thought I was your favourite girl.”

Her dad tweaked her nose. “Always. But if I don’t share it around the others will get upset.” He winked, making her laugh.

Her mother gave her a quick hug before grabbing the girls’ hands and leading them away.

“Bye. Behave, girls,” she called out. They were already halfway down the corridor, their mother and this morning’s ordeal completely forgotten. Which delivered equal pangs of relief and sadness.

“You okay?” Dan’s warm hand spread across her spine. “Still feeling a little queasy?”

“Yes, how can you tell?” She turned to look at him. He couldn’t tell anything else could he?

“You’re still a little pale and your eyes have that glazed look you get when you’ve been tossing your cookies.” He rubbed his hand in circles and Jody couldn’t help but lean into the support he offered.

“You can stop worrying now. In a few minutes, the judge will hand down his decision and everything will go back to normal,” Dan said.

Jody covered a snort of laughter with her hand and a fake cough. If only he knew. Nothing was ever going to be normal again.

Dan hadn’t meant to snoop. But when he’d dropped Jody’s handbag on the counter and everything had tumbled out…the brown paper bag had snagged his attention first. Then the box with words
Early Test Kit
half hanging out had grabbed him by the gut. He wasn’t proud of himself for pulling it out the rest of the way, but nothing could compete with the roller coaster of emotions that followed.

He wasn’t sure what to think. Okay, he knew exactly what he was thinking, but what to do about it was the question. Jody hadn’t said a word, and he couldn’t decide if he should wait to see if she did, or bring up the topic himself. She’d obviously taken the test. The box was open and one of the three test sticks was missing. A burst of excitement exploded inside him quickly followed by anger.

Had she lied to him about being on the pill? Reason quickly asserted itself. Why would she? It didn’t make sense or fit with the woman Dan had come to know. He shoved everything back in her bag and put it down on the breakfast counter. She’d raced off to the bathroom the minute she’d opened her front door and he had a pretty good idea why. So far he’d counted four dashes to the toilet today, and he’d only been with her for as many hours. He’d honestly thought she was sick due to the stress of going to court, but if he was reading the signs right—and a box of home pregnancy test kits was a pretty big sign—it wasn’t the threat her ex represented that had her throwing up her lunch.

“Sorry. Can I get you a coffee?”

She breezed into the room, her face flushed, her eyes glassy, and he couldn’t think of a thing to say that didn’t start and end with, “Are you pregnant?” He figured blurting it out was the wrong way to deal with it, so he held his tongue and nodded.

He slid onto a barstool and watched her move around. She wasn’t as animated as usual, but after the last few weeks and today that was to be expected. And if she was pregnant—his gaze dropped to her belly, but he couldn’t see any evidence of a baby bump—then he was surprised she was functioning at all. Other than the dark circles beneath her eyes and the tired, pale look, Dan couldn’t see any physical difference. He’d heard the female body went through numerous changes before it became obvious there was a baby on the way, but other than the obvious swollen belly he didn’t know what they were.

A thought occurred to him and he pulled his phone from his pocket and opened his calendar app. He counted back to their weekend job. Seventeen days. She wasn’t even three weeks. Things were barely getting started inside her.

“Dan!”

He jerked his gaze up to meet Jody’s. “Huh?”

“Do you have milk?”

Oh, his coffee. “Yes, please.”

“Where were you? You spaced out on me. I don’t think you heard anything I said in the last five minutes.” She filled two mugs with boiling water and the aroma of coffee filled the air.

He waved his phone. “Just checking email.”

“Oh.” She leaned across the counter and put his coffee in front of him.

Dan had to admit he could get used to watching her make him coffee every day. And if she was pregnant, he’d get to do exactly that. He wondered if she’d want a big wedding or if they’d have something small and intimate. He’d never thought about how he’d get married or even if he would. But now that he was thinking about it, Dan had to acknowledge a small wedding would be more his style. Of course, he was putting the cart before the horse. She hadn’t even mentioned the possibility of a pregnancy.

He decided to lead her in the direction of a confession. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I’m sure it’ll pass now that the drama is over.”

“Are you happy the judge granted your order?” Dan had to wonder how much she cared for her ex when she very rarely badmouthed him. Although he was more inclined to think she pitied the man she was once married to.

“Yes. There won’t be any real difference day to day, except the girls and I are protected from another incident like the other night.” Jody took a sip of her drink before continuing. “Colin’s not in the girls lives anyway. Since he moved out five years ago, he’s seen them a total of twelve times. He does the obligatory Christmas and birthday visits and that’s it—although he’s missed both of their last birthdays and Christmas. Other than the child-support money that drops into my account once a month, I don’t even think about him most of the time.”

“I don’t understand how anyone can walk away from their children like that.” He wanted his position on any children he might father clear before Jody brought up her possible pregnancy. “I’d never abandon a child of mine even if I was no longer involved with their mother.”

He thought she stiffened for a second, but then she turned around and, opening the dishwasher, began emptying it. “Not all fathers feel the same way obviously.”

Dan bit his tongue. He wanted to confront her. Wanted to know for sure so they could make plans, except something told him she wasn’t ready to face this yet. He’d been chasing after her from the start, and he suddenly had the sinking feeling that he’d always be trying to catch her. In this, he had to let her come to him. And if she didn’t by the end of the week, he’d say something.

He got up and walked around the breakfast bar and helped her put away the clean dishes. He was beginning to know where most things were in her kitchen. And while he liked that they’d become close in that way, he wanted to get closer. What he’d really like was for her to move in with him. His place was bigger and the girls could still attend the same school, keep in touch with their existing friends and not disrupt their lives at all.

When she told him about the baby, he’d suggest they combine their households before the wedding, although he wanted a ring on her finger—and his—as soon as possible, he understood she might want to wait. Either way, in the next few months they’d build the foundations of their future together.

Jody woke with a start. Her nose was pressed into the hard wall of Dan’s chest while one of his arms was wrapped around her back holding her close. They were on the sofa in her living room, the television turned down low and the darkness of dusk shrouding the room in shadows.

“What time is it?” She stretched her arms over her head as she sat up.

“Not quite six. You slept for about two hours.”

“Oh God. Why didn’t you wake me?” She went to stand up but Dan stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Because you needed it and there was nothing urgent that you had to do. The girls are with your parents and won’t be home for a while yet. For once, just sit and relax, Jody.”

He pulled her back against him and she gave in. The warmth of his body, the scent of his skin, the sound of him breathing, it all calmed her in a way she’d never experienced before. It was as though just having him close would make all her problems go away—or at least make them easier to deal with—and Jody couldn’t decide if she liked the sensation or not. For now, she’d let him hold her while it was just the two of them. The outside world would intrude soon enough.

She watched the sitcom Dan had on. She wasn’t a fan of much on TV, but she had to admit this particular show always made her laugh and tonight was no different. She’d seen the episode before and even that didn’t dull the impact of the humour. He’d wrapped his arm back around her and Jody soon found herself dozing off again. When she did it for the third time, she decided she’d better get up or getting to sleep tonight would be impossible.

“I think I need to get up and do something.”

“Why?”

“Because I keep nodding off.”

“And?” He pulled her up and over his legs until she was draped across his lap. “You’ve had a big few days. Take the time and rest while you can.”

She knew he was right. It was beyond rare for her to have a few moments to herself, never mind hours. Usually when the girls were with her parents it was because she had to work. Settling into Dan’s arms, Jody allowed herself this indulgence while she could. Things would be different once he knew about the possible baby. Her decision to keep it from him until she’d had it confirmed by her doctor weighed on her mind.

He deserved to know. And if she were honest, she’d concede the need to have his support. She had no doubt he’d stand up and take responsibility once he knew, and the longer she mulled over it the more she realised waiting until she saw her doctor was her way of putting the inevitable off. And that wasn’t fair to either of them.