Heart of Ice (15 page)

“I don’t want you to overwork yourself my
dear. It’s already midmorning. Lay there and relax and let me do
some work.”

“Yes daddy,” she giggled, following his
instructions.

“Anytime dear,” he mumbled, as she laid down
to get some rest. Christina closed her eyes and drifted off. She
needed to make an appointment with her doctor. Her dreams consisted
of a little Matt hiding in a dark corner and baby wails. She jerked
awake.

“Charles, how long have I’ve been asleep,”
she asked sitting up.

“Not very long dear, maybe an hour. I’ve
brought back lunch for you. It’s in the fridge.”

“You’re spoiling me. I’m going to get
fat.”

“Good, it’s my job to spoil you. Especially
when you are such an excellent worker. You know you can give me a
call. You see, I’ve never had a daughter of my own, and I would
like to think of you as such.” Christina heart pounded in her
chest, would she finally get the very thing that she’s been after
all these years?

“Of course, Charles,” she said blushing
wildly. Ducking her head.

“Very good. I can’t wait for Martha to meet
you. Maybe when you’re free on the weekend we can have tea.”

“That would be lovely, Charles.” They
exchanged telephone numbers. Thankfully the rest of the evening
remained uneventful. She finished up her work and said bye to
Charles. She wondered what the night would bring.

Chapter 19

Christina had settled into her life in New
York. Work was going great and there hadn’t been any crazy
incidents with Matt. He was very loving and doted on her endlessly.
She was spoiled. This particular morning Matt had surprised her
with a diamond tear drop necklace. She couldn’t believe he gotten
it for her. He placed the piece of jewelry around her neck and told
her that he wanted to see her wear it for him. It was a Sunday
morning and she had told him about going over to Charles’ house to
have breakfast and tea. She was excited to meet Martha.

The possible pregnancy gnawed at the back of
her mind. If she calculated the time with her missed period she
would be about eight weeks along. Geez. She couldn’t wait to get to
the doctor. She had a doctor’s appointment on Monday before she
went into the office. She needed to tell Charles about it before
she left.

“I’ll be back later after tea. Tell Collum I
said hi, and make sure you stay out of trouble.” She said giving
Matt a kiss before she left.

“But that’s impossible. You know trouble
follows Collum around.”

“Indeed,” she said exasperated. She got
quickly into her car glad to be spending time with Charles.

***

Collum hated what he had to do, but he
couldn’t get a hold of any more information concerning Christina.
He had tried for the past week and nothing. He needed someone with
much more clout and unfortunately that someone was Matt. He entered
the condo only to find his friend staring out the window at the New
York City skyline. It was a stunning view.

“Just coming to see how the other half
lives,” he said jokingly as he gave Matt a hug.

“Don’t sell yourself so short, you’re no
pauper.” Matt said clasping Collum on the back.

“Tell me, how’s that little angel you’ve
found doing?”

“Great, she’s been an asset to the financial
department. All the revenue is in order and even projected outcomes
are in place for the next year or so. I suppose it helps her being
a genius and all. I’m certainly benefiting from it.”

“Maybe I could have her take a look at some
of the technology my security company is using,” he mused.

“If it’s fine with her. Sure.”

“Do you love her?” Collum was nervous. This
was the first time since Natalia Matt had been serious about a
woman. For a moment there he thought his friend was celibate during
his time before Christina. He tried talking himself out of digging
in her past many times before, but with Matt falling so hard for
her, he wanted to protect him. He wouldn’t let anyone else hurt him
like that. They’d been through too much. He watched as Matt mulled
the question over, with a sinking heart he knew he was getting
ready to shatter his world. He would do it again and again if it
met protecting him.

“Honestly, I’m scared. I’m so afraid that
she’s going to leave me that it sickens me. How cowardly. I’ve even
made some poor choices concerning her, but were moving forward. I
haven’t told her about Natalia yet.”

“What did you tell her?” Collum was
surprised; even with Natalia Matt had never talked about his
past.

“I told her about my childhood. Why things
are strained with the family.”

“How did this conversation even come
up?”

“I don’t know. We were talking about kids in
general. Where is this conversation going?” he asked Collum
confused. He was starting to sound like a chick if he was going to
discuss every little detail with his best friend.

“Matt I care about you. Love you like you’re
my flesh and blood, like my brother.”

“Of course I know that Collum, and I feel
the same.” Matt could feel his heart starting to race in his chest.
Things never went well when Collum became sentimental. It made him
nervous.

“Dammit Collum! Just spit it out.”

“I did some digging.”

“Wait a minute, I thought you were
done.”

“You know I like to be thorough.”

“What else could there be?”

“She was involved in a double homicide,
involving her own father. There was so much red tape that even I
didn’t have the clearance to dig any deeper. That’s where you come
in.”

Matt hadn’t heard him. He was focused on the
word homicide. There had to be some explanation. He hadn’t spilled
all his secrets. He hadn’t told her about Natalia yet. What could
she be planning? Did she want him to fall in love with her, marry
her and then plan to murder him in cold blood? They’d been getting
along so well. Why would she hide something of this caliber?

“Matt?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Are you alright?” Collum asked worriedly.
His friend looked like he lost a shade of color.

“Of course I am. Let’s go. It’s time to get
to work.”

***

Christina pulled up to a nice home on the
outskirts of New York City. It was a nice Victorian styled home.
She could definitely picture Charles living there. There was great
architecture everywhere that suited his personality. When she rang
the doorbell, a nice older woman greeted her. She was stunning. She
was tall and had nice kind amber colored eyes. They were unusual
almost red in color.

“Hello dear, Charles has told me so much
about you.” She said pulling Christina in for a hug. Christina
sighed and sunk into the hug. She never experienced an embrace
quite like this one. It almost brought tears to her eyes, maybe she
was just emotional from the possible pregnancy; which was something
else she didn’t want to think about.

“Oh, come along dear. Let’s get some tea and
scones into you.”

“Is she finally here Martha?” Charles asked
as he set his morning paper aside and peered at his wife through
his spectacles.

“Of course dear and she’s every bit of a
young lady.”

“Charles!” she giggled, while launching
herself into his arms.

“How are you this morning?” he asked as
Martha served them their tea and scones before taking a seat.

“I’m great. I’m quite sure you’re pleased
about the progress the finance department has made.”

“All the credit goes to you, my dear.”

“Such advance formulas, I’m proud. If I
didn’t know any better, I would think you are a mathematical
genius.”

Christina gulped; she’s been omitting the
truth so much that she was starting to feel guilty.

“What’s wrong dear?” Martha asked with
concerned in her face.

“Nothing.” She whispered looking down at her
tea and avoiding eye contact. The older couple grew concern.
Charles didn’t know what he could have said to cause such a
reaction from her. If anything he loved the young lady as if she
were his own. He always wanted a daughter.

“Christina, you don’t have to say anything
more. I didn’t mean to upset you dear.” He said worriedly.
Christina burst into tears. Damn these hormones. She wasn’t
pregnant until the doctor said she was. Plus, how was she ever
going to tell Matt?

“It’s not that,” she said sobbing into the
tissue that Martha handed her, while rubbing smoothing circles on
her back.

“Alright dear, you don’t have to say
anything more.”

“No, but I want to. I am a genius.” She
sniffled. She heard Charles laughter filled the air, soon she found
herself giggling along with them.

“It’s what I’ve been telling you all along
dear.”

“But Charles,” Christina whined.

“Yes,”

“I really am a genius. I’m only twenty-one.”
Christina didn’t know what made her do it, but she just spilled one
of her most guarded secrets to Charles and his wife Martha.

“Are you really?”

“Well yes, the first time you mentioned it,
I figured I was working too fast, so I tried to slow down. I was
associate professor at Vanderbilt University before coming here.
Teaching was easier. You stick to a curriculum, and the students
don’t demand a lot of your attention.

“What made you come to New York?” Charles
asked.

“A change of scenery.”

“The only thing that would get a woman to
relocate would be a beau, or in better terms a man,” she
giggled.

“Martha!” she gasped as the older woman gave
her a smile with a twinkle in her eye.

“Is he nice?”

“Sometimes.”

“He should be nice to you all the time young
lady. If you ever need us, you give Charles and I a call and well
come running.” She said giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Christina smiled, she wished her eyes would
stop leaking.

“What’s wrong?” Charles asked.

“Nothing, I just finally feel like I have a
family.” She said sniffing. Those words swelled inside of Charles
heart as he looked at his wife and Christina. After all these
years, they’ve finally gotten what they desired the most… a
daughter.

***

Entering the penthouse, Christina looked for
Matt. She couldn’t find him. He could still be out with Collum.
Those two were trouble when they got together. She ordered takeout
and decided to give Sarah a call.

“Hi stranger!”

“Hi Chris.”

“Are you okay?” Sarah sounded odd.

“I’m fine, woman quit harassing me,” she
giggled into the phone.

“So how’s the love life?” Sarah asked
Christina.

“Everything is going great! You totally have
to meet the sweetest couple ever. I love them to pieces. I know you
would love them too.”

“Cool, how about tomorrow after you get
off.”

“Deal.”

Christina finished her conversation with
Sarah, and ate her dinner. She soaked in the tub and was ready for
bed. It was ten at night and Matt still hadn’t made it home. She
didn’t know whether or not she should be worry. Then again, if he
was out with Collum then they were probably drinking. Falling into
a deep sleep, Christina hadn’t a clue about the trouble that would
ensue.

Chapter 20

Christina’s night was fretful. It was almost
as if her instincts were trying to tell her something, trying to
warn her of impending doom. She jerked awake, stretching her hand
across the mattress she hoped to encounter Matt’s warm and soft
body. Sitting up, she realized that he hadn’t been home. What was
he and Collum up to? She wondered if he decided to go to work from
Collum’s place. She couldn’t worry about that. Today was the big
day. She was finally going to the doctor’s office to have all of
this mess put behind her.

She sat in a waiting room, her patience was
waning quickly. It was obvious by the way her leg jiggled nervously
and the how her eyes darted around the room. There were various
moms’ there in their different stages of pregnancy. Her eyes grew
large looking at the swollen bellies.

“Christina Moore,” a woman in bright pattern
scrubs called. Christina stood up and follow the woman. She was
directed towards a restroom. They wanted a urinary sample from her.
Great. She looked in the mirror. She looked tired more than
anything. She had no idea how she was going to break the news to
Matt. Hearing her name called once again she came out of the
restroom.

Escorted to a room she laid on the bed as
the nurse practitioner told her. They talked about her last day of
her cycle.

“I have your results. You are pregnant.
Congratulations!” Christina felt like her vision tunneled. She was
going to be a mother. She was twenty-one. What could she teach the
child? Would her child be a genius like her? If so, she vowed that
she would never use her child for monetary gain like her parents
used her. It was the sole reason she was in hiding anyway. She
barely managed to escape with her life.

“Dear are you alright?”

“Yes,” I’m excited. I’m going to be a
mother,” she recited like a drone.

“Okay, lay down, we are going to do the
ultrasound and see what’s going on in there.” Christina did as she
was told. She shivered as they rubbed the cool like gel substance
onto her belly. This was something she was supposed to be doing
with Matt. They created this child together; she was going to have
to tell him everything about her past. He couldn’t go into this
blind. A gasp from the nurse tore her from her thoughts.