Karen Rose - Their Baby Bond

“I think I remember everything you told me on prom night.”

Then, as if she’d revealed a secret, she pinkened again and changed the subject. “How long do you think this will take? Barbara’s baby is due at the end of September.”

“If my estimate meets with your approval, I’ll work as fast as I can. The job will probably take four or five days.”

“That’s great. I’ll have about three weeks to get everything ready.”

She started across the room and then stopped. “I forgot to show you the breaks in the fence out back.”

“I saw them. I’ll put the numbers on paper tonight. I can drop it in the mail or give you a call.”

“You can just call me.”

“You might want to see everything itemized.”

“I trust your estimate will be honest.”

Her words took him by surprise. “Why is that?”

“Because I doubt if you’ve changed from the young man who took me to the prom. You could have taken advantage of me that night, and you didn’t.”

That night he’d seen the stars in her eyes and known she’d thought of him as one of those rescuing knights that had been painted on the paper taped to the walls of the banquet hall. Yes, he could have taken advantage of her.

“You think because I was a gentleman on prom night I won’t overcharge you?” His tone was amused.

She laughed. “I’ll be able to tell from your estimate. And, Jake…I’m not as naive anymore.”

He wondered if that was some kind of warning. “I’ll remember that.”

Leaving the bedroom, he crossed to her front door and opened it.

Tori came up behind him like an angel who moved with no effort at all. “If you talk to Nina or see her, please give her my regards. Maybe she and I can have lunch together sometime.”

“I’m sure she’d like that. I’ll tell her.”

With a last look at the woman Tori Phillips had become, he left her house, hoping taking this job wasn’t a mistake.

When the phone rang the following evening at about eight, Tori wondered if Jake had forgotten something. He’d called earlier with his estimate and she’d given him the go-ahead. Now, she recognized the voice on the other end of the line immediately.

“Tori? It’s Nina.”

“Nina! How are you? Jake told me about your husband. I’m so sorry.”

There was a momentary pause. “It was a shock. But we’re managing now. Shortly after it happened, Jake was…at loose ends. It’s one of the reasons he came back to Santa Fe, and I’m grateful. The boys need him around.”

“I’m glad he could be here for you. How long were you married?”

“Eight years. We…we didn’t have the best marriage.”

Silence fell over the line, and Tori didn’t know what to say to that. Nina had always been very open, and she could tell they’d fallen into the old camaraderie they’d shared as soon as she’d picked up the phone. “Jake tells me you have twins.”

“And you’re going to adopt a baby! I’d love to catch up with you.”

“We could go to lunch someday this week.”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t you come to dinner tomorrow night? You can meet my boys.”

“I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”

“It’s no trouble. Mama does some of the cooking. The guy I’m dating will be here, and so will Jake.”

“Jake?”

“Yeah, he likes a good meal a couple of times a week. Did you two talk about old times?”

“There weren’t that many. He only took me to my prom.”

“You two used to talk when he came into the store.”

“That was rare.”

“I guess he’d just finished at the academy then. He rose through the ranks fast. I just wish…”

Tori wondered why Nina stopped. “You wish what?”

“Did he tell you what happened? Why he came back to Santa Fe?”

“No. But then, he wasn’t here for a social visit, Nina. He came to look at the work I need to have done. Why did he come back to Santa Fe?”

“I’d better let him tell you about all that. He doesn’t like it when I talk about his life.”

“Are you sure he won’t mind me coming to dinner? I mean, he might not want to mix his professional life with his personal life.”

“You’re my guest. And as far as Jake’s concerned, it wouldn’t hurt if his personal life and his professional life got a little mixed up. He has no sense of purpose right now. That was one thing my brother always had.”

This baby was going to give Tori’s life the purpose and meaning she needed. She loved her work at the gallery—promoting artists, finding new ones and giving them a start. But she didn’t feel she was put on this earth to simply work and to make a comfortable life for herself. She wanted to be a mother so badly that tears came to her eyes whenever she thought about it. The car accident she and Dave had been involved in had destroyed her chances to conceive a child naturally. But she had no doubt that she could love the baby she’d seen on that sonogram with all her heart.

“Purpose is important,” she agreed now. “You can give me the real scoop about motherhood, and everything I’ll need to buy that I haven’t even thought about.”

“It will be so good to see you again, Tori.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Just give me the time and directions to your home.”

The sun streamed brightly over San Felipe Avenue the following evening as Tori found Nina’s house and turned into the driveway. A blue-and-tan truck was parked there already, and Tori recognized it as Jake’s.

Picking up the box on the seat beside her—she’d stopped at her favorite chocolatier this afternoon, hoping the assortment of candies would be something everyone would enjoy—she took a deep breath and readied herself to see Jake again.

However, as she rang the bell and waited on the pink concrete porch, she was unprepared for the astonishment on Jake’s face when he saw her.

Spying the box of candy in her hand, appraising her claret pants and top, he put two and two together. “Nina invited you to dinner?” His tone was neutral.

“Yes. I assumed she’d tell you. I—”

Shoving her brother aside none too gently, Nina appeared in jeans and a purple-checked blouse, spotted Tori and managed to tug her inside, hugging her at the same time. “It’s so good to see you.”

Nina was a petite version of her brother, feminine in every way he was masculine. Her black hair was still long and straight. Except for a facial line here and there, she didn’t look much different than she had at eighteen.

Pulling Tori into the small living room that seemed overcrowded with people, she reintroduced Tori to her mother, Rita Galeno, who had aged considerably. In her mid-fifties now, her hair had gone completely gray and she still wore it in an oblong bun pinned at the back of her head.

She smiled at Tori. “I remember you. You were the one who convinced Nina her eyes were too pretty to wear all that mascara and eyeshadow on them.”

A sandy-haired man with twinkling blue eyes who had moved closer to Nina after she’d hugged Tori, now circled Nina’s waist with his arm. “You used to wear all that goop?”

Nina laughed. “I was young, defiant and knew all I needed to know. Until Tori came along. Tori, this is my…friend, Charlie Nexley.”

“He’s not her friend,” a child of about five piped up. “He’s her boyfriend.”

“Ricky,” Nina warned the child, who was obviously the identical twin of the boy standing not far from his elbow.

“We saw them smooching,” his brother said with a solemn nod.

When Nina’s face flushed, Jake stepped in. Crouching down, he wrapped an arm around each boy’s shoulder. “Ricky, Ryan, this pretty lady is Ms. Phillips. Your mom and I knew her a long time ago.”