The Pregnancy Surprise

Chapter Ten

Sara had known all along Reece would be leaving, but when he actually started packing, she found it hard not to cry.

They had spent last night together, and again she had lost count of how many times they’d made love. Now that they were getting used to each other, their lovemaking had become much more adventurous. Reece might be conservative and set in his ways in the rest of his life, but in the bedroom he was passionate and inventive.

He’d spoiled her. She couldn’t imagine anyone else would ever compare.

Cooper was driving Reece to the airport for an evening flight into JFK. Reece had asked Sara if she wanted to ride along, but she claimed she was too busy. The truth was, she didn’t want to prolong saying goodbye. She didn’t want to embarrass either one of them by weeping in front of his cousin, and she doubted Reece would kiss her goodbye when Cooper was there.

“I think I’ve got everything,” he said when she met him in the hall. He had two large rolling suitcases and a small carry-on. She offered to carry the small bag down for him, not that he couldn’t easily do it himself, but she wanted to make herself useful, give her a reason for being there.

He let her.

“I think I heard Cooper’s car drive up,” he said just as the doorbell rang.

“Evidently.”

“Sure you won’t come to the airport?” he said as he trotted down the stairs, easily carrying the two heavy-looking cases.

“No, um, I’ve got a cake in the oven.” Lame excuse.

He paused at the front door and, before opening it, slid his hand under Sara’s hair to the back of her neck and pulled her close for a kiss.

A rather perfunctory kiss.

He opened the door. “Hey, Cooper,” she said.

Cooper grabbed one of the suitcases. “We better move or we’ll get held up at the ferry. It’s crowded this time of day.”

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Then he turned to Sara. “I almost forgot.” He reached into his pocket and handed her his car keys. “With all the wedding preparations, you might need a car. You can use mine while I’m gone.”

She took the keys. “Thanks. That’s generous.”

He further surprised her by taking the carry-on bag from her, setting it down, then sweeping her into his arms for a proper kiss. Or an improper one, depending on your point of view.

“I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded, unable to speak. Yes, he would be back. But then what?

Nothing, she answered herself. She’d been an idiot to form an attachment with a man whose view of life was so different from her own.

As he carried his bags down the front porch steps, she saw Cooper watching, obviously surprised by what he’d seen.

Rather than stand on the porch like a lovesick puppy, watching as the taillights of Cooper’s BMW disappeared down the street, she slipped inside.

Maybe she would see about that cake-for real. Other than cleaning Reece’s room and readying it for the next guests, she didn’t have much to do.

Valerie had brought Miss Greer home that afternoon and gotten herself and her grandmother settled into their respective rooms. She would handle all aspects of the older woman’s care, from therapy to medications to meals.

Sara discovered the part about meals as she entered the kitchen and found Valerie preparing some chicken breasts for the oven-and looking right at home.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Valerie said, “but Grandma was hungry. I’m making enough for all of us.”

“Oh. Thanks. Please feel free to make yourself at home. Anything you need, just ask.”

Valerie smiled. “Thanks.”

Petty as it was, Sara wanted to dislike the woman. But Valerie was friendly, respectful of Sara’s role-and very efficient. Sara would still be required to fix breakfast and handle the housekeeping, but all else was under control.

She tried to tell herself this was a good thing. She had a wedding to cater. But she had a hard time focusing on her friend’s wedded bliss when she’d never felt so alone in her life.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” Cooper asked the moment they were in the car with the doors closed.

“What?” Reece asked innocently.

“That kiss!”

“Oh. Sara and I…” What? Spent a couple of nights together having the most incredible sex of his life? “I thought this would be old news by now. We went to that party together.”

“Allie said she thought something was going on with you two, but I honestly didn’t believe her.”

Reece sat up straighter. “Why not? You think I’m not good enough for her?”

Cooper looked over at him as if he’d just ordered squid at a restaurant. “Why would you even think that? Of course I don’t believe that. I just can’t see the two of you together.”

“Why not?”

“Do I have to spell it out? She’s such a free spirit. I mean, her lifestyle is…”

“There’s nothing wrong with her lifestyle. She lives life on her terms, and I like that about her.”

“I wasn’t criticizing. I just didn’t think she would appeal to you. Yeah, she’s not bad-looking-”

“Are you kidding? She’s the most gorgeous woman I ever saw. Have you even looked at her?”

Cooper laughed. “Easy, buckaroo. I’ve been too busy looking at my own woman to pay much attention to yours. Is she? Your woman, I mean.”

Reece sighed. “I wish. I really like her. I like being with her. But, damn it, you’re right. There’s no way we could work this thing out.”

“Unless you resign from Remington Industries and relocate down here.”

“Exactly. It’s impossible.”

“I was making a practical suggestion. Resign. Max and I resigned because we were so overshadowed by our older brothers, and I know your situation is similar. Unless you like playing second banana to Bret?”

“I like my job,” he said through gritted teeth, though his stomach twinged again.

“You’re a bean counter. You could do that anywhere.”

“I could never match the salary I’m making at another company, and you know it. It’s taken me years to get where I am. Not to mention, the company needs me.”

“First off, you don’t need that much money. You don’t spend half of what you make. Second, if you put yourself out there, you could probably get a job as a CFO at a decent-size company where you’d make decent money and get a little respect. You’re not just a bean counter, you’re an incredibly good one. Let Max put your résumé together.”

Reece rubbed his stomach. “Can we not talk about this?”

Cooper shrugged. “Fine. But speaking as one who recently found a woman to spend the rest of my life with, and having overcome some pretty steep odds to make it work, I just want to say that it’s worth it. If you’ve fallen in love with Sara-and I hear it in your voice that you have-don’t give her up for a stupid job.”

Love? Who said anything about love?

“I’m not in love with Sara,” Reece said fiercely. “Anyway, we’re too different. Everybody can see that. You and Allie have the same values-you love sailing and fishing. You both loved and respected Uncle Johnny. Sara and I see eye to eye on almost nothing.”

“Okay, fine.”

They hardly spoke the rest of the way to the airport. But Reece continued to think about Sara as the miles between them grew, and he anticipated with dread what awaited him back at his office.

The thoughts he entertained were not those of a man who loves his job.

ARCHIBALD REMINGTON III, chief financial officer of Remington Industries, entered the conference room and assumed his seat at the head of the table like a king ascending the throne. He eyed each person at the table in turn, his gaze finally resting on Reece.

Reece had been back for a week, but Archie hadn’t offered any welcome home or asked how things were in Port Clara. But that was normal for Reece’s father. He was a no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase kind of guy.

Reece used to aspire to be just like him. His father was one of the most respected businessmen in the country. He had shepherded the company’s finances toward ever-increasing profits even when the economy turned down.

Today, however, Reece looked at his father with new eyes and realized he didn’t want to be like him after all. The man had his good qualities, but compassion, empathy and any ability to have fun weren’t among them.

Reece’s father called the meeting to order. The purpose of the meeting was so Bret could present a financial overview of a company Remington Industries was interested in acquiring. Reece had actually done most of the work-long-distance from Port Clara-but Bret was far better at public speaking than Reece, so he normally was in charge of presenting their findings to the board of directors.

Reece had to admit, the PowerPoint presentation was slick. But when board members started asking questions, Bret often floundered and Reece had to step in and clarify.

When it was over, Archie congratulated Bret on a job well done. He said nothing to his younger son, which irked Reece more today than it usually did, especially because he knew his father would be retiring in a few months and the board would have to name his replacement. Archie made no secret that he wanted Bret to step into his shoes, and he was doing his best to present his eldest son in the most favorable light.

“We’ll reconvene next Monday, one week from today, at 10:00 a.m.,” Archie said as everyone stood and gathered their things.

“I won’t be here next Monday,” Reece said.

Archie went still, looking at him with razor-sharp eyes. “Excuse me?”

“Cooper’s wedding is next weekend. Afterward I’m driving my car up from Texas. I won’t be back till Thursday next week.”

“After a month of vacation, you’re leaving again? Hire someone to drive your car. You’re needed here.”

Reece knew that was the more practical decision.

Bret and Reece walked down the hallway together toward their offices. “Thanks for saving my bacon,” Bret said in a low voice. “If Dad knew how much you covered for me, he wouldn’t even think of promoting me higher.”

“I don’t cover for you,” Reece said, sort of meaning it. “We each have our strengths. You can do the CFO job so long as you recognize where you need help, and surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps.”

“You’ll be right there with me, you know. You’ve pushed me most of the way up the corporate ladder-I’m not going to the top without you. The first thing I’ll do if I get the job is give you a better title and a whopping big raise.”

They had reached Reece’s office, which was half the size of Bret’s down the hall and in bad need of a paint job.

“And a better office,” Bret said, looking around.

Reece just shook his head. “I’m happy where I am.” Or maybe he’d gotten complacent with his mediocre position. “Hey, are you going to Cooper’s wedding?”

“I wanted to. But Dad scheduled a golf game for Saturday with some bigwig hotel owner. Command performance. He’s trotting me around introducing me to everyone like a damn show dog.”

Reece couldn’t blame Bret for choosing the golf game over the wedding. He had a lot more at stake than Reece did.

Reece looked grimly at the stack of paper waiting for him in his in-box. “Guess I better get to work.”

SARA THREW herself into the last-minute wedding plans, grateful that Reece had left his car, because it turned out she really needed one. She was going to have to do something about her transportation problem soon.

“I can’t believe Reece left his car for you to drive,” Allie commented as they drove back to the B and B, the Mercedes’s trunk filled with all the ingredients Sara needed to make the lavish Mexican buffet planned for her friend’s wedding. “I think the boy is smitten. Men typically don’t let women drive their expensive sports cars after they wreck them.”

“The wreck wasn’t my fault. And Reece isn’t smitten. If he were, he would still be here.”

“Oh, Sara. He can’t just abandon his job. That would be irresponsible, and we both know Reece is anything but irresponsible.”

“But shouldn’t love be more important?”

Allie made a frustrated noise. “It’s not that simple. Let’s turn it around. Say you’d been the one on vacation, and you’d met Reece in New York. Would you have just stayed there, abandoning Miss Greer without a second thought?”

Sara took a few moments to think about her answer. “No, I guess I wouldn’t. But Reece hasn’t asked me to come to New York, so it’s a moot point.”

“What if he wanted you to go there, and stay there?”

“I’ve done stupider things for a guy. Yeah, I think I would do it.”

“I thought you only liked big cities to visit.”

She shrugged. “I could be persuaded to change my mind. But I would make sure Miss Greer was taken care of. I’d find someone good to take my place.”

“So maybe Reece has to take care of things back home. Give him time to miss you. If it was meant to be, you’ll find a way.”

They arrived back at the Sunsetter, and Sara immediately got to work mixing the masa harina for homemade corn tortillas.

“So what should I do when I see him?” Sara asked. She hadn’t felt this insecure about a guy since…well, she never had. Even when she was a teenager she hadn’t angsted about guys.

“Make your feelings known. Do you love him?”

“Yes, I think so,” Sara said miserably. “I think about him all the time. I fantasize about being with him. I picture what our children would look like.”

Allie smiled. “Sounds like love to me. Could you commit to him? As in, the rest of your life?”

Sara couldn’t answer that question quite so easily. “The rest of my life is a very long time.”

“So you’re asking Reece to give up everything he knows, everything that’s familiar-including his family and a six-figure income-to hang out with you for as long as it lasts? Think about it.”

Sara didn’t have to think about it long. Reece was a man uncomfortable with uncertainty. If he made a major life change, he wouldn’t do so unless he was able to map out the next fifty years. Sara, on the other hand, had never been able to commit to anything-not a job, not a man, not even a hairstyle. Once, when she was a little girl, her mother had made her cut her hair for a swim class at the Y. She had cried for a week because she’d been forced to wear her hair the same way every single day until it grew out.

She’d been expecting Reece to live life the way she did. If she saw something she wanted, she went for it and worried later about all the consequences. He could never conduct his life that way and maintain his identity.

“Are you thinking?” Allie asked. “Or have you tuned me out?”

“I’m thinking.” And she was trying not to cry. She’d been doing that a lot lately. Who knew falling in love could be so painful?

REECE LANDED at the Corpus Christi airport at eleven o’clock Saturday morning on Cooper’s wedding day, two hours before the actual ceremony.

“You’re cutting it close,” Max said as Reece climbed into his cousin’s red Corvette outside the baggage claim.

“I know. I had a meeting Friday afternoon that lasted for hours and I missed my original flight. This was the best I could do on short notice. You have the tux?”

“I have the tux.”

“How did the rehearsal go?”

“We didn’t really have a rehearsal. We just had a big party on the private deck at Old Salt’s Bar and Grill.”

“Was Sara there?”

Max snorted. “Of course. She’s Allie’s maid of honor.”

“Did she have a date?”

“No…” Max flashed a sly smile. “Oh, yeah. I heard about you and the flower child. Bit out of your league, wouldn’t you say?”

At least Max didn’t mince words the way Cooper had. Cooper, being older, had been protective toward Reece when they were growing up, an attitude that lingered into adulthood. Max, who was younger, had been the one to tease, though in a good-natured way. He still did.

“She’s so completely out of my league,” Reece said glumly.

“Aw, now, don’t be like that. I just meant she’s different from the type of girl you usually date. When you date.”

“I know.” Which was why he should cut it off clean. Cooper, who would soon be on his honeymoon piloting the Dragonfly down to Mexico, had offered to let Reece stay at his house, and he’d accepted. Because he knew that if he stayed at the Sunsetter, he and Sara would most likely end up in bed, and leaving Sunday would be twice as hard as the last time he’d left, because he knew he wasn’t returning.

The next couple of hours were filled with frenzied activity at Cooper’s house as they all got ready for the wedding. However, Cooper, Max and Reece did find time for a private toast with a very good Scotch Cooper had been saving for whenever the first one of them got married.

“Well, this is it, guys,” Cooper said. “The end of the Three Musketeers. I’ll be married, and Reece will be half a country away.”

“We’ll still see each other,” Reece argued. He was happy for Cooper, happy that his two cousins had made the leap away from Remington Industries, where their older brothers would forever have prevented them from reaching the peak of their professions.

But he hated thinking about being the sole survivor at the family company, without the other musketeers for support.

When it came right down to it, he didn’t like change.

“Yeah,” Max said, “but it won’t be the same. Once or twice a year at Christmas or Thanksgiving…”

“Hey, let’s not get maudlin,” Cooper said. “I’m getting married. Wish me well.”

They drank a toast to the groom, and to the bride, and it was only after Reece had drained his glass did he remember that he wasn’t supposed to drink with his seasick medicine, which he hadn’t yet taken.