Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
TWO MONTHS LATER…
L arissa tiredly let herself into the apartment they were still sharing. The time was rapidly approaching where she was going to have decide about staying in Treepoint or moving back to Bowling Green. How many times had she regretted letting her sister convince her to come to Treepoint? Too many to count.
Her heart did a downward turn at finding Lana and Priss still awake.
“I thought you would both be in bed.” She hung her jacket on the coatrack and passed them sitting on the couch, going over paperwork spread out on the coffee table.
Opening the refrigerator, she took out a pitcher of water to pour herself a glass.
Lana stretched her neck from side to side, straightening from leaning over. “I thought I would help Priss figure out who this new client is.”
Larissa walked into the living room to curl up on the recliner. “I never go in your desk without asking, so why did you feel the need to go in mine?” She was going to tell them once she had made her decision of staying or going.
“My pulse oximeter wasn’t working, so I borrowed yours. The file was right underneath it. I didn’t remember the client making a appointment.”
“You could have waited to ask me when I got home instead of bringing the file home for Lana to look at.”
“You know why. I recognized the name on the chart. It’s the same name you said you were going to name your baby when we were growing up.”
There was no sense arguing with the truth, so Larissa set the glass of water down on the table and said, “I was going to tell you both when I decided if I was going to stay in Treepoint or move back to Bowling Green.”
Lana started putting the paperwork back in the folder. “What have you decided?”
“As much I want to go back to Bowling Green, I’m going to stay here, at least until I talk to Moon.”
Priss and Lana looked at each other before turning their gazes back to her.
“Are you going to tell him you’re pregnant with his baby?” Lana asked.
“He deserves to know.” Larissa looked down at her shaky hands.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Priss asked intuitively.
“Terrified,” she admitted.
Priss came to sit on the arm of the recliner. “How are you going to be able to tell him? Moon lives somewhere in Ohio now, doesn’t he?”
“I was going to ask Crazy Bitch for help getting his number when I went by her house tonight, but I got distracted. Her husband is friendly with The Last Riders.”
“How did you get distracted?” Lana asked.
“She was giving the kids baths, and I was dragged into being her assistant.”
“How’s she adjusting to having a full house?”
Larissa had to force herself to concentrate on answering Lana’s question. She was so tired she felt it in every bone in her body. The stress of telling Moon they had sex and that he was going to be a father weighed heavily on her conscience. The longer she put it off, the more weight it added, until she felt as if she could break at any second.
She’d always prided herself for being the most logical one in the family. How her life had gotten so out of control frightened her. What if she was a terrible mom? Her mother had set the board high, and failing miserably so early in her pregnancy didn’t bode well for the months and years ahead.
“Crazy Bitch is freaking amazing. She’s aged me twenty years just watching her. I have never seen a woman so in love with being a mother. Everything is organic in her refrigerator. Calder brought home a pizza after work, and she threw it away and made him eat the salmon dinner she cooked.”
“Ouch, I bet that hurt.” Lana smiled laughingly.
Larissa shook her head. “That man is in seventh heaven. Crazy Bitch bathed the children, I dressed them for bed, and Calder was reading to them before bed. Then they put them in bed together. They’re so happy.”
“How’s the older one adjusting?”
The happy glow of witnessing the happy family dimmed. “She isn’t. Crazy Bitch is trying to form a relationship with her but isn’t making any headway. The more she tries to include Lennon, the more she retreats to her room or goes outside to sit until it’s dark.
“Eryn said Lennon always preferred being outside. I wonder if it’s because she prefers the outdoors or if the outside became her safe space from what was going on inside the home,” Larissa reflected out loud.
“That’s going to be a hard habit to break,” Priss said, standing to stretch. “Tell Crazy Bitch if I can do anything, just let me know. I better get to bed. I have an early appointment.”
“Good night,” Larissa told her.
“I better go, too. Do you need anything?”
“No, thanks. I think I’m just going to take a shower and get some sleep.”
Lana stood and moved to where she was sitting, bending over to give her a tight hug. “Congratulations. I always wanted to be an aunt.”
Larissa blinked away the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. “Thank you. You’re going to make a wonderful aunt.”
“I’m giving you fair warning; I’m going to spoil her like crazy.”
“Could be a boy.” She laughed.
Lana clicked her tongue at her. “Bite your tongue. No boys are allowed in our girl club.” She gave her another comforting squeeze before she left to go into the bedroom.
Sitting quietly for several minutes, Larissa gained enough momentum to shower and change into pajamas.
She brushed her hair as she went into the living room, then came to a stop. Either Lana or Priscilla had gotten the bedding out the closet, opened the pull-out couch, and made the bed for her.
Placing a loving hand on her barely swollen belly, she smiled. Being pregnant was going to have its perks.
L arissa locked the car before she started walking toward her office building, then went inside as the elevator opened.
Recognizing Winter as she came out, Larissa wanted to rush past her as if she didn’t recognize her. Winter didn’t give her the option.
“Morning, Larissa. How are you doing?”
“Doing great. How are you?”
“Today’s Diamond’s first day back at work, so I wanted to stop by and drop off some doughnuts before I went to school.”
“That was nice of you. I haven’t met her yet. I’ll have to stop by and introduce myself.”
Winter looked troubled. “You might wait a couple of days. I think she’s only going to do a half-day.”
“I’ll wait, then.” She nodded. “I’ll look forward to meeting her. It’s good seeing you.” Hoping to bring the conversation to an end without mentioning the night they had last seen each other, Larissa started edging toward the front of her office.
“Larissa …” When Winter glanced around then embarrassedly cleared her throat, Larissa’s heart plummeted. “I …” Winter cleared her throat again. “Do you remember the night you came to the clubhouse?”
Larissa prayed she could keep her face expressionless. “I do. Did you get in trouble for the chairs being broken?”
“No, but …” Winter grimaced. “I hate to bring this up but … did you accidentally leave the bathroom and accidentally go into one of the men’s bedrooms?”
God, she wanted to lie so badly … but couldn’t.
“Perhaps we should talk in my office.”
Winter nodded and followed her inside the office. Priss had come in earlier, and the exam room was closed.
After she opened her private office door, they went inside, where she motioned for Winter to have a seat. Larissa sat down in the chair next to her.
“I have never been so embarrassed in my life,” she admitted shakily. “I don’t know what got into me that night. I used the restroom, and I was going back downstairs when I heard a noise from a bedroom and looked … I saw a couple having sex. I was so embarrassed that all I wanted to do was hurry back downstairs, but before I could move, I heard another sound. I didn’t want to be caught watching the couple, nor did I want them to see me, so I thought I would hide in the room behind me and then come out when the hall was empty.” Larissa was so nervous she could hear her voice quivering. “The room was dark. I didn’t think anyone was there.”
“There was, though, wasn’t there?”
“Yes … Moon. I didn’t realize it was him until I went back downstairs. I thought he was still at the bar. He heard me come into the room and thought I was a girl named Echo, or Ember. I don’t remember which. One of those two. I pretended that I was her because I was too foolish to admit why I didn’t want to be caught out in the hall.” Larissa twisted her car keys in her hands nervously. “From there, everything just snowballed, and I … we had sex,” she finally finished in a rush of words.
“He knows.” Winter’s expression didn’t reveal her thoughts.
Larissa felt the color seeping out of her face. “He does?”
“Oh, not that it was you exactly,” Winter relieved her fear. “But that he had sex with a woman whom he hadn’t been intimate with before.”
“I want to tell him. I’m just not sure how. I mean, I’ve only talked to him a few times, and neither of those times were the best opportunity to introduce myself as being the woman he had a one-night stand with, which he didn’t know he was having.”
Winter burst into laughter. “Moon’s pride would be wounded if you considered it a one-night stand.”
Larissa bit her lip. “He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”
Winter tilted her head to the side. “Why would you believe that?”
“From the few interactions I’ve had with him in town, we didn’t exactly hit it off. I think it’s safe to say neither of us like each other.”
“Yet you had no difficultly the night you had sex with him?”
“He didn’t talk much.”
Winter laughed so hard she reached for a tissue from a box on the desk. “Moon is nicer the less he talks.” Wiping the corner of her eyes, she finally managed to stop laughing.
“I’m going to tell him. I was going to ask Crazy Bitch to get his number from Calder.”
“I can save you the hassle.” Winter asked for her phone number then texted Moon’s to her. “I don’t envy you that phone call.”
“I’ve been working up my courage,” she admitted frankly. “I’ll do it this weekend.”
“Look on the bright side. Maybe his reaction won’t be bad. He might want a repeat.”
“There won’t be a repeat.” Larissa made an exasperated face. “I’ve asked myself this question a million times: why did it happened in the first place?”
“You come up with any answers?” Winter asked as she rose from the chair.
“Other than insanity? No.”
“You wouldn’t be the first woman who had that same thought where The Last Rider men are concerned, myself included.”
Larissa rose also. “I’ll keep you posted on how it goes after I talk to him.”
“I hated to ask, but Moon figured out it was someone in the group I had there that night. So far, he still thinks it was only club members, and I know who went upstairs. A heads-up would be nice so I could get my ducks in a row.”
“Will you get in trouble?”
Winter grinned. “Don’t worry; it won’t be the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”