“You don’t think she could be pregnant, do you?”
I almost laughed, the idea was so far-fetched. “I doubt it. She and Nolan were only together once and that was back in June. And she’s lost some weight, not gained.”
“Maybe, but can’t morning sickness cause weight loss before weight gain?”
I frowned deeper this time. That was possible. I was pretty sure I’d even lost a pound or two early in my pregnancy. And I hadn’t begun to show for months.
“I really wish you hadn’t just planted that idea in my head,” I groaned.
“Sorry Sis, but I couldn’t help but wonder. It would make sense, don’t you think? You told me she won’t say a word about why Nora left and why she allowed her to come back with your dad, and after the way Nora reacted to your pregnancy…”
“I think I’ll stop over there tonight,” I said softly, already dreading what I could possibly find when I did.
Chapter 8
Once the party started to die down Mason and I got into his car and drove over to Bella Vista. I didn’t bother letting Adam know where I was going. He was still so busy talking to Brad and Clay and other guests I figured he might not even notice. I didn’t plan on being gone for long anyway.
For whatever reason, I hadn’t been expecting the possibility of running into my dad there. I knew he hadn’t accepted the Montgomery’s invitation to attend the party but I hadn’t really expected him to be home, either. But there he was, standing right outside the front door, staring off into the distance as if he’d been waiting for us.
He seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see him. His eyes widened slightly, followed by a small, hesitant smile. “Lainey,” he said, and that was all he needed to say.
“Hey, Dad,” I said softly. Mason smiled at both of us before taking Harper from my arms and going into the house. I cleared my throat. “Did you have a good trip?”
“That would depend on how you define good,” he said with a chuckle. “Come here.” He held out his arms and I had no choice but to step into his embrace. As angry and divided in my feelings as I was towards my dad, I couldn’t deny that it still felt nice to hug him.
“So I guess that was my granddaughter Mason just ran off with,” he commented as we stepped away from each other. I nodded.
“Yeah, Harper,” I replied, in case he didn’t know her name.
“I like that,” he said with a smile. “A nice literary name. I saw her once, right after she was born. I wasn’t sure if you knew about that or not.”
“I knew you were there, but I didn’t think you’d had a chance to see her.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t around all summer, but I hope you know I plan on being around now. I know I haven’t always been the best dad, but I’m hoping I can make up for that a little by being a good grandfather. If that’s okay with you.”
I nodded and smiled, feeling my eyes fill with tears I didn’t want to cry. As much as I truly wanted to believe that, I couldn’t seem to accept it. I wanted him to be there for Harper more than he was ever there for me but I also realized there was a good chance these were just more empty words. My dad was known for his empty words.
“What are you doing outside anyway?” I asked, letting out a small laugh and hoping to change the subject, divert attention away from the tears that were still gathering.
“Oh,” he chuckled. “I was out here waiting for Erin Foster to stop by. Apparently she and her husband had a little cookout to celebrate and they had more food than people so she was bringing me some leftovers.” He sighed. “I guess now that I’m practically a divorcee for the third time around, I’m not above accepting donations in the form of food by sympathetic friends.”
“I’m sorry about you and Nora, Dad,” I said and meant it. Regardless of how I might feel about Nora, I was sorry that their marriage seemed to have met its end. Maybe they weren’t right for each and never had been, but Nora could have been good for my dad. Either way, breaks up were hard whether at fifteen or forty.
“Yeah, well…” his voice trailed off and I decided that was the end of our conversation, at least for now. I gave him another quick hug and hurried into the house. Mason poked his head out from the office.
“We’re in here if you need us,” he said. “I’m going to lay her down and see if she wants to start rolling for me.”
I laughed. “Okay. Whatever you say, Uncle Mason,” I smiled gratefully at him. Both of my parents were only children, and I’d never gotten to experience having an aunt or uncle before. I was happy Mason was proving to be a really great one.
I made my way up the steps, and it felt both familiar and a little surreal all at once. I’d visited Bella Vista pretty often over the summer but hadn’t ventured upstairs very often, if ever. Normally I didn’t mind feeling nostalgic and thinking back to the places I used to live and the things I used to love, but I’d been emotional enough as it was. I didn’t want to risk it.
Hannah’s door was closed so I knocked once before opening it and stepping in. She turned around, an annoyed look on her face, her mouth already opened as if to relay an angry message. All changed as soon as she noticed it was me.
“Lainey,” she said, surprised. “What are you doing here? I thought Adam’s family was throwing a barbeque.”
“They are, but I left early to come see you. I was surprised you didn’t want to come.”
She shrugged. “I’m just not in the mood for parties, I guess. I’ve been going through some of my old clothes instead, thinking of which ones to get rid of.”
Getting rid of old clothes sounded nothing like the Hannah I knew. But then again, I knew better than anyone that even after you give birth, your body never really goes back to the way it was before. Could that be it? I tried to force the thought from my mind, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Mason said you’ve been hiding out in your room all week, after school,” I said slowly, hoping to get the truth out of her as painlessly as possible. Hannah rolled her eyes.
“I haven’t been hiding anywhere. There’s just nothing else to do around here but stay in here and I haven’t really been in the mood to hang out much lately.”
“I know,” I said. “But you know you can tell me anything, right? No matter what it is, or how bad it seems, I’ll never judge you or anything. You realize that, don’t you?” I tried to speak those words as gently and soothingly as possible, something I’d learned in the nearly three months I’d been a mother. It usually worked for Harper, even in the midst of one of her tantrums, but Hannah was just looking at me as if I’d grown a third head.
“Yes,” she said slowly. “I know I can tell you anything. What are you getting at?”
“I’m just letting you know that whatever you’re going through, you don’t have to go through it alone. That’s all.”
“Whatever I’m going through? I’m not going through anything, Lainey. What is wrong with you?” I could tell she was starting to get defensive, a clear sign she was, in fact hiding something.
“If you don’t want to tell me, will you at least tell me if I guess right?” I asked. She nodded, but was still giving me that ‘you’ve turned crazy’ look.
“I guess so.”
“Okay. Um,” I cleared my throat. “Hannah, are you pregnant?” It came out quickly with the words sliding together and when she was silent immediately afterwards, I worried she hadn’t heard me or hadn’t understood what I’d tried to say.
“Am I
what
?” She asked finally.
“Pregnant,” I repeated. “It’s perfectly okay if you are, Hannah. Just tell me and we’ll figure this out together. You were there for me and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I’m there for you.”
Hannah burst into laughter, grabbing her stomach and falling over onto the bed. I watched her, stunned. I didn’t think my reaction to finding out I was pregnant had been normal by any means, but hers just seemed a little over the top.
She laughed for what felt like five minutes straight and finally calmed herself down enough to sit up. She shook her head, grinning at me.
“No Lainey, I’m not pregnant. Where did you even get a crazy idea like that? Who would the baby daddy be, even?”
I blushed, feeling ridiculous. I wondered if this was how it was going to be for the rest of my life, assuming people were pregnant just because they acted a little differently. I hoped not.
I sat down on the bed with her and shook my head slowly. “I guess I assumed it would have been Nolan,” I admitted. “But we hadn’t talked all summer, so…”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “I can assure you that Nolan Reeves most definitely did not impregnate me Lainey, and I definitely wasn’t going to get any one night stands in with my mom watching me like a hawk all summer long.”
“Okay,” I said, and felt relief wash over me. I took a deep breath, finally feeling myself begin to calm down a little bit. Hannah wasn’t pregnant. Harper wasn’t going to be getting a playmate close in age anytime soon.
Hannah was still grinning at me and I was glad she was more amused than insulted. I decided not to let her know that I hadn’t been alone in coming to this conclusion.
“Why would you think that anyway?” She asked, and I blushed more.
“I guess because you wouldn’t tell me why Nora was gone, and why she let you come here with my dad, and I just started to think…”
“That she was going to do the same thing to me that she did to you,” she finished for me, looking sympathetic. “Don’t worry; it’s not that at all. I didn’t do anything wrong. This time it’s all her.”
“What happened?” I asked, hoping that maybe this would be the time she finally decided to answer. Hannah seemed to consider it and then she nodded slowly.
“I don’t know why my mom went to Raleigh. Whatever happened between her and Michael has pretty much stayed between them, so all I can tell you is why I’m here instead of with her and why she actually let me,” she said after a few minutes of silence.
“Okay,” I said, waiting for her to continue. She took a deep breath.
“Earlier this month I was awake after they’d both fallen asleep, so I snuck over to her purse to use her cell phone and call you. It was like three am or something so I figured you’d be up with Harper already anyway, with the three hour difference and all.”
I continued to nod, wondering where this was going to go. She still looked hesitant about telling me, but I could understand that to an extent. If this were really Nora’s fault like she said, whatever came next probably wasn’t going to paint her mother in a good light. And despite the fact that they’d never been close I knew as well as anyone that you still love your parents, no matter what. I realized Hannah must have been hiding out because she was dealing with something she might not be sure anyone would understand.
“What happened?” I asked when it seemed she needed a little extra urging to continue.
“There were text messages, unopened, from this guy. His name was David, so I kind of assumed that maybe she was having an affair. I mean, I know that’s crazy because my mom would never really do anything like that, but she and Michael were arguing so much I figured anything was possible. So I opened them.”
I raised my eyebrows. The fact that Hannah snooped through her mother’s stuff wasn’t all that surprising, but the fact that she’d read texts messages in her phone kind of was.
“Was she having an affair?” I asked. Hannah shook her head, diverting her eyes away from me.
“Nope. It’s so much worse than that.”
“How?” I tried to imagine what could be worse than finding out your parent was having an affair, at least in this situation. Nothing came to mind. I fought back memories of finding my dad and Teagan locked in an embrace. I wondered, against my better judgment, what had ever become of her.
“The texts were asking why the check hadn’t been cashed, so I messaged back pretending to be her and said I hadn’t gotten them. He responded and asked why I was using a difference excuse than all the other times.”
I frowned. Who would be sending Nora checks?
“I asked what he was talking about and I guess he kind of figured out that I wasn’t really my mom and he stopped answering. The next night, I went back to her phone again and there were more messages, saying he was going to take her to court if she didn’t start answering his questions and letting him in. I asked what for, and…” her voice trailed off, and I could see she was getting choked up.
“What is it, Hannah? What’s wrong?”
“It was my dad, Lainey,” she said, her voice so soft I could barely hear her. “It was my dad texting her. The check he sent? Apparently it was for child support. He’s been sending them all along and she’s been refusing to cash them.”