Chapter Sixteen #2
Once we pulled up in front of his house, he got out, went around, and opened the door for me, but I hesitated when I saw Julia's car.
Why does she have to be here?
"What?" he asked. "My parents aren’t going to be mad at you."
"Julia is here?"
He turned around and saw her car.
"Oh. No," he said. "Ry took Julia, Brenna, and Evan to get something to eat. Only my parents are home now. We were all here earlier, but as soon as I found out about you, I took off."
"Okay," I whispered and climbed out.
He shut the door and leaned me up against the car, placing his hands on my shoulders.
"When they came to visit me," he said, "Julia and I went to dinner, just the two of us, because Brenna and Ryan had tickets for a show in the city."
"Alex, please." I shook my head. Why was he so determined to tell me something I didn't want to hear?
"No, I want to tell you."
"Fine." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, frightened beyond reason he'd admit to having feelings for Julia. But even if he did, I'd have no one to blame but myself.
"We had dinner and talked for a long time," he said. "About the past and possibly getting together when I got home."
I opened my eyes and stared at him. He wanted to get back together with her.
How am I supposed to feel about that?
"I was in a bad place," he said. "I didn’t know what happened between us, and Julia was comfortable for me. I know you had your reasons, but I thought you’d moved on."
"So, you slept with Julia?"
"I took her back to her hotel."
"I don’t want the details, if you don’t mind." My mouth grew so dry I could barely swallow, and my stomach twisted and rolled.
"Jocelyn, listen to me." He moved his hand to stroke my cheek. "I didn’t sleep with Julia or anyone else while I was away. I didn’t want to. She invited me in, but I told her I had an early morning. I did kiss her goodnight and told her we’d talk when I got back."
"Have you?"
"Talked? No, I didn’t get a chance. They told me they saw you in the mall, and then I came to see you," he said. "The first chance I get, I’ll tell her how I really feel."
"Do you know how you really feel?" I didn’t mean to speak my thoughts, and the minute I said the words, I wanted to take them back. We had enough to deal with.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing," I said. "I’m getting cold. Can we go inside?"
"Of course." He took my hand and led me into the house.
"My parents are in my father’s study. They always seem to be in the study when I have to tell them something important.
" He stopped once we reached the door. Seeing him look so nervous was like me having to tell Max all over again.
I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. I wanted him to know I was there for him.
"You can do this, Alex." I kissed his cheek.
He smiled at me, and I remembered how much I liked having him close to me.
Despite what was going on between us right now, I’d missed him, and I was just relieved to finally be able to see him again.
He rapped quickly on the door, but opened it before anyone could respond. He glanced inside, then stepped into the room. I peeked through, between his shoulder and the doorframe.
Jack sat behind his large, cherry wood desk, staring at his laptop, and Sarah lay curled up on the loveseat, reading a book. They both looked at Alex and smiled. Sarah was no doubt absolutely thrilled to have her son home, and her joy showed on her face.
"Alex," she said. "Where were you?"
I was still outside the door; they hadn’t seen me yet.
"I went to see Jocelyn, and I brought her back with me." He reached for my hand, gently encouraging me to follow him in. I suddenly felt as nervous as Alex looked.
"Really?" Sarah got to her feet, placing her book face down on the sofa. "What a nice surprise."
Oh, you’ll be surprised, all right.
I slowly walked into the study, sticking very close to Alex. My knees were buckling, and my body shook. I wanted to turn around, go home, crawl into my bed, and hide for the next several months.
"Jocelyn, how are you?" Sarah moved closer, but as soon as she got a good look at me, she stopped. "Oh, my."
"Jocelyn is going to have a baby," Alex said.
Thank you, Captain Obvious!
"So we see." Jack got up from the desk and walked over to us. "Hello, Jocelyn."
"Hi." I smiled. "I didn’t want to tell Alex while he was away."
"Oh, Jocelyn." Sarah sighed. "You must have been so afraid." Her eyes filled as she reached past Alex and pulled me into a hug.
"I wanted to tell you," I whispered.
"I know, but you were in a hard position, weren’t you?" she asked.
I nodded, trying to hold back tears.
"It’s going to be okay, sweetie," she whispered into my hair. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a mother. I sobbed against her shoulder.
She gently rubbed my back for a few minutes, then released me and turned to Alex. She pulled him into her arms. "We’ll figure this out, my baby." She kissed his cheek. "But right now, Jocelyn is freezing, so put her in front of the fireplace, and get her warmed up."
He took my hand and sat me down on the couch in front of the fire. He settled in beside me and wrapped his arms around my body, trying to keep me warm. I closed my eyes and reveled in having him so close to me again. Lord, I'd missed his touch.
"I told you to wear a coat," he said as I rested my head against his shoulder, trying to absorb some of his body heat.
"You let her out in November without one?" Sarah asked.
"She gets overheated." He sounded defensive.
"Alex," she said. "It’s freezing outside."
"It’s not Alex’s fault, Sarah. I don’t have one that’ll zip."
"Why didn’t you tell me that?" he asked.
I shrugged. I was too ashamed to tell him the truth, that I couldn’t afford one. I’d been saving all my paychecks to pay for things the baby would need.
"It’s not a problem," Sarah said. "We’ll get you a coat and whatever else you need." She looked at Alex. "Tonight, make sure she wears one of your jackets home."
He nodded.
"Jocelyn?" Jack took a seat in the chair across from us. "Is everything okay with you?"
"I’m healthy, Jack, and so is the baby." I smiled. "I’m six months along, and I’m due in February."
"I see," he said. "This is why I saw you at the clinic a few months ago."
"The clinic?" Alex asked.
"Um, yeah, I didn’t want to see a doctor from around here." She couldn't stop the little defensive tone that crept into her voice. It made sense at the time.
"Is there something we can do about that, Dad?" Alex asked. "Can you refer her to someone closer to home?"
He nodded.
"That’s not necessary." I intervened before they could go further. "My doctor is very nice."
"I’m sure she is," Jack said. "But you won’t be able to deliver at my hospital; you’ll have to go to County. You might feel more comfortable closer to home."
"Plus, if you deliver with a practice affiliated with the hospital, my dad can be there," Alex said.
"In the delivery room?" I asked.
"No, not if you don’t want me to be." Jack smiled. "I can just be around if you need me."
"You don’t have to decide this tonight," Sarah said. "We’ll let you think about switching doctors, and if you want, I can go with you to meet potential candidates."
I nodded, but I was feeling uncomfortable about having to change physicians when I was this far along.
"I’d like to call your father," Sarah said. "I’m sure he’s a bit taken aback by all of this."
"Sure," I said. "He’s getting used to it now, but he’s stressed."
"Have you spoken to him, Alex?" Jack asked.
"No, not yet," he said. "I would like to, though."
I was still shivering, so Alex pulled me closer to his side and pressed his lips to my hair. I cuddled deeper into him, relaxing against him when I felt the baby move. It was as if our little one was responding to his daddy's voice.
His parents were doing a good job of reassuring me that everything was going to be fine, and we’d all work together to make sure the baby came first. They were upset and disappointed and were dancing around the idea of me and Alex as a couple.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if we were a couple or not, since we hadn’t really discussed that yet.
At some point in the conversation, my work schedule came up and how I was still pulling eight-hour shifts.
"You’re on your feet all day?" Alex asked.
"Yes." I smiled; did he think a pregnant woman couldn’t work? "I usually crash after a shift like that though."
"It’s too many hours," he said. "You have to get them cut back."
"I’m fine."
"Dad?" He pleaded for assistance.
"If Jocelyn is healthy, and her doctor doesn’t see the harm in her standing all day, then it’s fine. I do agree, though, Jocelyn, the farther along you get, the more strain it will put on your body. So, if you start feeling like it’s too much, listen to your body."
"I will." I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
"You need a new car, "Alex blurted out.
What the hell?
"What?" I asked, when I'd recovered enough from my shock to speak. "Mine is okay; it gets me where I need to go."
"Just barely," he said. "I hated the thought of you driving around in that deathtrap before you were pregnant, but now I can’t let you take that kind of a risk.
Where would you put a car seat in that? I don’t think there are any seatbelts in the back."
"I haven’t thought that far ahead, but I wouldn’t put the baby in the car," I said, going on the defensive. "I guess Max will have to drive us where we need to go until I can get something else."
"I’ll take you for a new car tomorrow," he said.
"No!" I sat up. "You’re not buying me a car."
This conversation was beginning to make me feel like I’d done nothing right in the past few months.
"Jocelyn," he said. "Please don’t argue with me. This is a safety issue."
"Alex," Jack said. "Why don’t we give Jocelyn some time to adjust? She’s been dealing with this pregnancy by herself, and now we’re throwing all of these decisions at her. The car can wait."
"Dad, I want her and the baby to be safe." He looked at me. "Joce?"