Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) (17 page)

"We were both
drunk and it just kind of happened. It was stupid."

There it was
again. Stupid. Was having sex what she'd meant that night about doing something
stupid? Beth had assumed she'd meant drinking too much. One stupid thing had
obviously
lead
to another. "Who's the
father?"

"Larry."

Swallowing, Beth
knew that Parker would want to fire the intern again. If Larry
was
lucky, that's all Parker would do. Who knew what his
paternal instincts would push him to do?

Beth sighed.
"Are you going to tell him?" He had a right to know, but part of her
felt that he shouldn't have a say in Hannah's decision. He'd taken advantage of
a naïve teenager. He'd ruined her beautiful future. Would Hannah ever make it
to college? Would she ever have the chance to put herself first? Would she work
a job she hated just to provide for her child? All of these questions had
motivated Beth to place Hannah for adoption all of those years ago. "What
about adoption? Have you thought about that?"

"I might. I don't
know for sure." Hannah's crying had subsided.

Beth's heartbeat
slowed a little. At least with adoption, Hannah could try to continue along her
trajectory toward a top-notch school and ultimately a satisfying career. Even
then, Beth knew there'd always be a scar inside her soul. You didn't place a
child for adoption and forget about him or her. It would create a void inside
of her that could never be filled.

Then it hit her. A
stroke of brilliance! She stood and started pacing. "Hannah, I have an idea.
I'll adopt your baby!" It would be the perfect solution. "You could
go to college, but you'd be able to stay involved as much as you'd like."

"Beth, slow
down."

"No, it would
be great. He or she would be with family instead of strangers. And I'd love him
or her just as much as you would." Catching a glimpse of Parker, she saw
him draw together his bushy eyebrows as if she was crazy. She looked away.

Hannah cleared her
throat. "Beth, I appreciate the
offer.
. . but if
I do place the baby for adoption, I'd want to pick the family. What I mean is,
I'd want the baby to go to a two-parent household. You can understand that,
can't you? That's what you wanted for me, wasn't it?
To have
as close to a normal home life as possible?
If I wanted my baby to be
raised by a single mother, I'd keep him or her and do it myself."

The phone started
to loosen in Beth's grip and she almost dropped it. A pain shot through her
forehead. "Of course." She uttered the words but didn't like them.
Her feet stopped moving. "Are you
gonna
be all
right? Do you want me to talk to Connie for you?" Not that she wanted to
do that, but she needed to make sure Hannah was fine before she hung up.

"I feel a
little better now." Hannah breathed loud enough for Beth to hear. "I
hope I didn't hurt your feelings."

"No, I get
it. You have to do what you think is best for you and your baby." Beth
chewed on her lower lip. "Please call if you want to talk more. I'm here
for you."

"Thanks."
Several more deep
breaths
. "Bye."

Rubbing her
forehead, Beth put down the phone and sat back on the couch. "Wow."

Parker cocked his
head at her. "She's pregnant?"

"Yep. The
cycle repeats itself." Her voice sounded flat. She'd hoped her daughter
wouldn't make the same mistakes she had.

"What's she
going to do?"

"She's considering
adoption."

"Is the
baby's father supportive?"

Beth toyed with
her earring. "He doesn't know." She hoped Parker wouldn't ask any
more paternity questions. "I'm betting he'll sign off, though." If
only Hannah would let Beth take the baby.

A minute later,
excitement zinged through her. She had another great idea. She faced Parker and
took his hands in hers. "Let's get married!"
  

He flinched.
"What?"

"Let's get
married and adopt Hannah's baby.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Beth squeezed
Parker’s palms. “Wouldn't that be something?"

"Something
crazy."

She dropped his
hands. "Come on.
I love you
,
you
love me
. I know you do." Even though he never said it. She knew he
was protecting himself. Supposedly protecting her. "It's like we have a
do-over."

"There are no
do-overs in life."

"But Hannah
said she wouldn't place the baby with me because I'm single. If we got married,
we'd be the ideal choice."

He rose and
crossed the room. "You act as if we're going to live happily ever after.
We're not. At least I'm not." Pacing, he moved his hands for emphasis as
he spoke. "Beth, you need to realize that I’m never going to marry
you."

Sadness constricted
her throat. Her breaths jerked in and out as a precursor to crying. Oh, how she
hated to cry in front of people! "Parker, I know about your condition and
I keep telling you, I don't mind. I want to be with you anyway."

"You're
settling because you don't think you'll find someone else. You don't think
you'll ever get married and have your own baby. It's not too late. If you'd
just forget about
me.
. . ." He turned away and
crossed his arms.

"I don't want
someone else."

"I've got to
go." Pulling away, he marched toward the door. "Oh, so who is the
father of Hannah's baby?"

"Promise me
you won't do anything rash."

His square jaw
moved as if he were grinding his teeth. "Who is it?"

"The intern.
Larry."

# #
#

Storming out of
Beth's apartment, Parker slammed the door behind him. Humidity in the air made
him instantly feel sticky.

He drove home
thinking about ways to kill Larry. He'd screwed Parker's innocent little girl.
Was that statutory rape? Hannah was only a junior in high school, but he was
pretty sure sixteen was past the age of consent. But Larry was in college. That
was like a whole different level of sexual maturity. Well, maturity wasn't the
right word. He knew guys in college were busy sowing their wild oats, trying to
bang as many pretty girls as they could before they graduated. And poor Hannah
had been one of those numbers.
Just another notch on Larry's
belt.

Behind him, a
police siren whirred. His gaze landed on his speedometer and he realized he was
going sixty in a thirty-five zone. Uh-oh. He eased his foot off the gas and
pulled over to the side of the road.

His knuckles had
turned white from squeezing the wheel so hard. He lowered the SUV's window and
forced himself to be cordial to the man standing there. "Hello,
Officer."

"Do you know
how fast you were going?"

"I didn't
realize until you turned on your siren. Sorry. I'm having a shitty day."

"License and
registration." The twenty-something officer was clean-cut and all
business. He probably wasn't much older than Larry. Clearly, a high school girl
should be off-limits.

Parker leaned over
to the glove compartment and rifled through receipts for oil changes until he
found the registration. He handed it to the young man. "I just found out
my teenaged daughter is pregnant."

The officer's face
lost its tight expression. "That's a new one." He studied the
driver's license.

"What?"

"I've heard
all sorts of excuses. I'm on my way to the hospital, I got caught up in a fast
song on the radio, I can't get a ticket or my wife will kill me.
But a pregnant teenaged daughter?
Wow."

"It's not an
excuse. I'll pay the ticket because I was speeding."

The officer's eyes
narrowed at him. "You admit you were breaking the law?"

Parker nodded.
"Just give me the ticket so I can be on my way."

He put up his
index finger. "I’m going to check that you don't have any outstanding
warrants or anything." The officer stepped back to his vehicle and called
in on the radio.

While he watched
through his rearview mirror, Parker took some cleansing breaths. He needed to
relax. This day had been a wild one. His precious daughter was pregnant. His
"girlfriend" wanted to get married and the man he'd hoped could
fulfill her dreams of a
family,
might be on the run
from the law. He shook his head and was still shaking it when the officer
returned.

"Your
record's clean." The man with the crew cut handed Parker his license.
"If you hadn't been going so far over the limit, I'd let you off with a
warning." He scribbled something on a ticket and passed it to Parker.
"Sorry to hear about your daughter. Please drive carefully."

Parker didn't
speak. He'd thought he might get out of the ticket and even though he'd been
willing to pay, the additional rise and fall of emotion was too much. Checking
for traffic, he slowly pulled into the road. He stopped at the South Bend
Chocolate
company
on the way to his place. As soon as
he got home, he washed his driver's license,
then
put
the chocolates in the box for Bethany.

# #
#

When someone rang
her doorbell, Beth set down her cup of hot cocoa and crossed her fingers that
it was Parker coming to apologize. The Sci-fi channel played in the background,
but she hadn't been able to focus on it. Without checking the
peep hole
, she pulled open the door to a surprise.

A silver-haired
woman, in a yellow sundress and cardigan, reached out to hug her.

“Mom!” Even though
Beth embraced her, disappointment tugged at her insides. In the five months
they’d been together, she and Parker had never fought, so she’d expected a
quick resolution. “What are you doing here?”

She stepped into
the apartment. “You sounded upset in your message, so I thought I’d see if
you’re OK.”

Something about
her mother’s concern caused her tough exterior to crack. Sadness tightened in
her throat. “I’m not OK.”

“What’s wrong?”
Her mom touched her shoulder.

Sighing, Beth
gestured toward the couch. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“No. Just sit and
tell me what’s got you down.”

Beth did as she
suggested. “Well, the reason I called is that I’m concerned about
Kaylee
. I found this website that has pictures that kind of
look like her and it claims she’s missing.” Her mom gasped before she went on.
“I’m wondering if maybe her dad took her away from her mom to protect her.
Maybe he’s not her real dad. Maybe this website is a hoax. I really don’t know.
Could you use some of your contacts to try and figure out what happened to
Kaylee
in the past?”

“Is that why you
look like you want to cry? Because you’re worried about
Kaylee
?”

Shaking her head,
Beth tucked her foot underneath her butt. “Parker and I had a fight.” She took
a deep breath trying to figure out where to begin. “I asked him to marry me and
he said that’s never
gonna
happen.”

Sympathy etched
her mother’s face. “I’m sorry. But don’t you want to marry somebody you can
grow old with?”

Anger reared
inside of her. “I want to grow old with Parker. It’s not fair that he has this
stupid disease! Wouldn’t you stay with Dad if he got sick?”

“That’s different.
We’re married.”

“But what if you
knew he had a bad gene when you first met? Would you have walked away from him
then?”

Her mom pushed her
silver bob behind her ears. “It’s hard to say.”

“Exactly. Oh, Mom.
I love Parker. I want to be there for him until he takes his last breath. But
he keeps pushing me away.” She blinked back tears.

“All I want is for
you to be happy. You’re thirty-five years old. Are you willing to give up on
having a family in order to be with Parker?”

Beth turned toward
her mom. “That’s just it. I thought we could get married and adopt Hannah’s
baby.”

“Hannah’s baby?
Hannah—you mean
your
Hannah?”

Nodding, Beth
watched her mom’s face fall. “I just found out and I wanted to swoop in and
save the day by offering to raise the baby. Neither Hannah nor Parker thought
it was a good idea.”

Her mom rubbed her
forehead, but didn’t speak. She was probably getting a headache.

“I hate that she
has to go through the same thing I did.” Beth’s shoulder muscles pulled tight.
Even though it had happened years ago, she was still uncomfortable discussing
Hannah’s adoption with her mom because she’d done it in secret.

“This is even
worse than you. She’s still in high school.”

“Don’t you think
it makes sense for me to raise the baby? I make a decent living and nobody
could care more about this child. Nobody.”

Her mom patted
Beth’s knee. “You’d make an excellent mother.”

Beth bit her lip
to stop herself from crying.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

 
A loud boom came from the microwave as
Parker entered the break room.

Laughing, Larry
opened the microwave door. "Oops. I guess two minutes was too long to heat
up scrambled eggs." He pulled out a Styrofoam McDonald's plate with fluffy
yellow eggs and a round slab of sausage. He walked over to the table with a
cocky look in his eye and sat with Elaine and Michael.

Parker's hands
fisted at his sides. He wanted to wring Larry's neck, but HR probably would
have some kind of a problem with that. The thought caused the edge of his lip
to pull up.

Larry sat down and
started eating with his plastic fork. "I'm glad you came to your senses,
Parker, and gave us our internships back."

The muscles in
Parker's neck tensed. "That's Mr.
DuBois
to
you."

Shrugging, Larry
took another bite of his eggs. The other interns looked from Larry to Parker as
if they were waiting for a bomb to explode. Larry held the match and Parker was
the fuse.

Parker handed
Elaine a folder filled with papers. "These are the applications for the
scholarship we give away to high school seniors majoring in business. Would you
please read these and tell me your top five candidates?"

She nodded.
"When do you need them?"

"Next week
should be fine. Michael, I'd like you to do the same." Parker's gaze
landed on Larry. Trying to keep his voice steady, he took a deep breath.
"Larry, I want you to clean the break room from top to bottom." He
walked over to the microwave and opened it to reveal bits of yellow egg splattered
all over the inside. "Starting with the microwave."

Larry dropped his
fork. "But you can't make me do that."

"You're an
intern. I can make you do absolutely anything I deem necessary. And since
you're the one who created the mess, it only makes sense you clean it up."
Opening the full-sized refrigerator revealed stacks of Tupperware and
carry-out
packages filled with forgotten food. "Then
you can work on this." He pointed toward the cabinet beneath the sink.
"Cleaning supplies are in there. The broom and mop are down the hall in
the janitor's closet."

Larry rose.
"I won't do it."

"Good. Then
you're fired."

The
intern's eye twitched as his mouth struggled to form words.
 

Parker didn't
wait. He walked out the door. Once he got to the sanctity of his office, he
washed his hands.

# #
#

Parker refused to
strip down when he went to the doctor's office any more. He didn't sit on the
exam table, either, but in a comfy chair. He flipped through a Newsweek until
the balding man, wearing khakis and a blue-striped dress shirt, walked in.
“Hello, Dr.
Gartin
.”

They shook and
Parker felt the bones in the doctor’s hands. It didn’t seem right that this
frail man would live longer than Parker. He stomped down the useless thought.

“How are you
feeling?”

“Pretty good.” He
didn’t like to wallow in the negative.

“So what brings
you in today? Any new symptoms?”

Watching Dr.
Gartin
washing his hands made Parker want to go next. “It’s
strange, but lately I feel the need to wash things. I not only want to wash my
hands all the time, but I’ve washed everything in my wallet. People at work are
starting to think I’m crazy.”

The doctor sat in
a chair and rolled closer. “You’re not crazy. Between twenty to fifty percent
of people with Huntington’s develop obsessions or compulsions.”

Parker looked down
at his chapped hands and told himself they were already clean. “It’s another
sign that the disease is progressing.”

“Yes.” The doctor
put the stethoscope in his ears and listened to Parker’s heart. “Haloperidol,
also known as Haldol, has been shown to help reduce OCD symptoms. I could write
you a prescription.”

Taking a deep
breath, Parker considered whether he wanted to start taking medication for his
symptoms. He knew once he started, the drugs would only increase in number
until he couldn’t get through a day without a cocktail of chemicals. “What are
the side effects?”

“Rapid heartbeat,
blurry vision, drowsiness, dizziness, restlessness, dry mouth--”

“Hold it right
now. I could live with all of those except I draw the line at dry mouth.” They
both laughed. “Seriously. I’m not sure the side effects are any better than the
disease.”

“It’s up to you.”
He shined a
pen light
into Parker’s eyes, one at a
time. “Any other new symptoms?”

“Just the shaking
in my hands and trouble remembering things.” He didn’t mention the anger. He
didn’t want that on his record—especially now that he was trying to get
into the Peace Corps. Hopefully they’d never see any of Dr.
Gartin’s
records, but just in case. “How long will the Haldol stay in my system?”

“It has a half
life of 14 to 24 hours.” When he saw Parker giving him a quizzical look, he
added, “That means within three days, it will completely clear your system.
Why?”

Parker silently
berated himself. He should’ve been able to figure that out. “Just wondering.”
Maybe he could try the meds to see if they helped, then he could go off of them
before his medical exam for the Corps.

“How’s the Mall
Land
empire
?”

“Fine. We’re
looking to expand into Minnesota and Idaho.”

He nodded.
“Whenever I babysit my grandkids, they beg me to take them to Mall Land. Even
if we don’t need anything, my wife always manages to find something to buy.
You’ve tapped into the psyche of women everywhere. I bet young mothers are even
better for business than grandmothers.”

Parker chuckled.
“Yes. It seems to be just what American families need and want.” He was proud
of his business, but he knew he’d be even prouder if he helped some poor
families in Africa learn how to provide for their own families. Why hadn’t he
heard anything from the recruiter? He made a mental note to call. Why did he
keep forgetting to do that?

“Are you all
right?” Dr.
Gartin’s
gray eyebrows tilted downward.
“You just groaned.”

“Did I?” Parker
felt his face flush. “I didn’t realize. I’m frustrated at how my memory seems
to be going.”

“Have you told
anyone at the office yet? It might help them to cut you some slack.”

“No and I don’t
intend to. I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. I plan on walking away
before the Huntington’s takes over.”

“Have you told
your family or friends?” As Parker shook his head, the doctor continued. “Your
girlfriend knows, though, right?”

“I don’t have a
girlfriend.” Parker made sure his tone expressed that the topic was off-limits.

“Sorry to hear
that. You’ll need to start telling the people close to you at some point.
You’ll need to make arrangements for people to help you.”

“I’m well aware of
the disease’s progression.” Even worse than the people at work finding out,
would be informing his mother. She’d taken care of his father as the disease
snaked its way through the man’s brain. She still felt guilty for finally
having to put her husband in a home because she didn’t have the strength to
lift him in and out of the tub. It would rip her heart in two to watch her son
go through the same slow demise. He would be doing her a favor by leaving the
country.

The doctor typed
some notes on the office computer. “So, do you want a prescription for the Haldol?”

Parker promised
himself he’d hit the sink and lather up as soon as the doctor left the room. Perhaps
that would provide him some stress-relief. “Yes, I believe I do.”

# #
#

The ringing phone
woke Beth from the nap that had snuck up on her. She and
Kaylee
had taken turns twirling and jumping a long rope with Maria all afternoon and
while
Kaylee
had boundless energy, Beth had reached
her limit. Her body was still adjusting to starting her day two hours early and
today she’d crashed after
Kaylee
went home.

Lifting her head
from the arm of the couch, Beth answered the incessant noise. Her voice barely
worked. “Hello?”

“This is Connie Taylor.
I want to know what the hell happened when Hannah came to visit you.”

Beth bolted
upright. Had Hannah confessed about the pregnancy? Just in case Hannah hadn’t, Beth
didn’t want to reveal too much. “Uh, what do you mean?”

“I mean ever since
she came home, she’s been acting weird. She’s been sneaking out of her bedroom
window at night and now she’s quit the swim team.”

It made sense. Her
pregnancy would be hard to hide in a Speedo. “Connie, I don’t want to get in
the middle of things with you two. When Hannah was here, I encouraged her to
talk to you.”

“Talk to me about
what?”

Beth rubbed the
side of her face that had been smashed against the couch. “Birth control.”

“You’re the one
who put that into her head?” Her pitch rose. “She is way too young to have
sex!”

“I agree. Like I
said, I don’t want to come between you two.” Beth looked out her window at two
young kids swinging on the apartment’s swing set. The streetlights popped on
and the children’s mom signaled for them to stop playing and head home.

“So what exactly
did you two discuss?”

Taking a deep
breath, Beth considered her answer. “She told me about her boyfriend, Ryan, and
that she was thinking about taking things to the next level.” Guilt wove its
way inside of her. Surely none of this mattered now. “I told her not to rush
into anything and to discuss birth control with you.”

“My daughter’s sex
life is none of your business.”

“Believe me, I
kept steering her back to you.” But you went crazy when she finally did reach
out. And the worst scenario has come true. It didn’t sound like Connie knew,
though. “May I speak to Hannah?”

“Why?”

“
I.
. .I don’t want to break any of her confidences.”

“I’m her mother!
Not you! What the hell did she confide in you that she won’t tell me? I can
tell something’s wrong.”

Terribly
wrong.
“Please, may I speak to Hannah? Just for a minute?”

There were some
shuffling sounds and footsteps that came over the line. “Bethany?” came
Hannah’s meek voice.

“It’s me. Have you
told your mom yet?”

“
Uh.
. . no. She’s standing right here.”

Beth rubbed the
crusty sleep out of her eye. “You need to tell her. She loves you and will help
you figure out what to do.”

“I can’t. She’ll
hate me.”

“Not a chance.
She’ll be disappointed, I’m sure.” God knew Beth was. “Have you thought any
more about adoption? My offer still stands.”

Hannah didn’t say
anything and Beth suspected she needed to quit pressuring the girl.

Since it was getting
dark, Beth stood and closed the blinds. “I’m sorry. This isn’t about me. This
is 100% about you and what’s best for the baby.”

Sobs filled the
silence. “I can’t tell her. Will you do it?”

“You want me to
tell your mom about the pregnancy?” Her pulse increased tenfold.

More crying. In
the background, Connie said, “Tell me what? Hannah Marie Taylor, tell me what’s
going on right this minute!” A moment later the phone sounded as if it had
traveled from one person’s hands to the next.

“Hello?” Beth
asked. Had they forgotten about her?

“It’s Connie. Tell
me what the hell’s going on.”

This didn’t seem
right. Beth hated to bring bad news to anyone. She hadn’t even spilled about
her own pregnancy to her parents until years later, but now she had to tell
Hannah’s mom the sad news?

Well, Hannah had
asked her to do it. And she had to take Hannah’s lead on what their relationship
would be. Beth cleared her throat. “Connie, I’m sorry to tell you this, but
Hannah
is.
. . pregnant.”

“What?” She
shrieked into the phone. “Hannah Marie, is this true?”

Beth could hear
her daughter crying, then saying, “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“It’s that jerk
Ryan, isn’t it?” Connie said in the background. “I knew he was trouble. That’s
why I told you not to see him anymore. He’s
gonna
pay
for this.”

“Mom, it’s not
him.”

“Who then?”

“I’m not saying. It
doesn’t matter.”

A moment later,
Connie’s voice softened. “Do you want to keep the baby?”

“Part of me does,
but part of me wants to go off to college next year. Does that make me
selfish?”

Beth imagined
Connie sitting next to Hannah on her purple bedspread and pulling her in for a
hug. Then she heard Connie say, “
Shhh
.
Don’t
cry. We’ll figure this out together.” Then the line
disconnected.

Still tense from the
phone call and vicariously reliving her past, Beth rubbed the back of her neck.
At least Connie seemed more understanding than Beth’s mom would’ve been. Sure,
an unplanned pregnancy still wasn’t welcomed, but at least she wouldn’t be
worried about how it would look to the whole congregation, like Beth’s parents
would’ve been. All Connie had to do was deal with judgmental looks from the
neighbors.

Would Connie
encourage Hannah to choose adoption? How much had adoption changed in the last
sixteen years? She flipped open her laptop and typed in “Dallas adoption
agencies.”

Selecting the
first one, she read the welcome message that offered adoption support groups,
open adoption, closed adoption and everything in-between. “Adoption is a loving
choice and takes many forms. Let us help you create the relationship that works
best for you and your child.”

She chose the link
that said “Adoptive Families,” and professional photos of young, smiling
couples formed a column down the page. Next to each picture were their names:
Timothy and Alyssa Baker, Peter and Diane Fearless, Steven and Sally
Hendrickson, etc. There were tons of couples. She clicked on the Bakers and saw
even more photos of the happy couple. On their wedding day, walking in the
woods holding hands, playing with their black Lab. She started reading their
profile.