Tides of Trust (Coastal Dreams #4)

Prologue

DALLAS—THREE YEARS AGO …

Kylie Masters was beginning to think that marrying Brady had been a mistake.

No. Not beginning to think. She finally was brave enough to acknowledge that her marriage was over—and had been for longer than she cared to admit.

She placed her hands atop her enormous baby bump and rubbed her belly protectively.

Immediately, she felt a nudge back from Amy Marie.

It caused her to smile, and she gently poked her belly with her index finger.

Her daughter responded with a kick. For a moment, Kylie’s worries fled as she played with her unborn child, her finger nudges answered by Amy Marie’s kicks.

Her phone rang, and she answered it, saying she would come join her team in the conference room right away.

She worked for an insurance firm in downtown Dallas, serving as its head of advertising.

She had landed a job with the company straight out of college when she and Brady had moved to Dallas for him to attend SMU Law School.

She had met her husband in a Western Civilization class.

The TA had seated everyone in alphabetical order in the lecture hall.

Brady was Masters and she was Mayfield, and so they had sat next to one another that semester, getting to know one another over the months of the course.

Brady was smart and as hot as a man came, and Kylie had felt herself being sucked into his orbit.

They had dated for two years and then eloped to Las Vegas after their college graduation, disappointing both sets of their parents.

Her mom had wanted to help plan her only daughter’s wedding, even though it would have been a simple affair, due to money always being tight in the Mayfield household, while Mrs. Masters seemed to believe that eloping had been Kylie’s idea, when Brady had driven that decision.

Mrs. Masters had blamed her daughter-in-law ever since, being cold and distant any time they were in each other’s company.

No matter what Kylie did, Gwendolyn Masters seemed destined to never forgive Kylie for robbing her of a moment to shine as the mother of the groom.

Maybe the baby would soften the older woman’s stance. Then again, she hadn’t even bothered to attend the baby shower Kylie’s colleagues at work had given in her honor, despite the fact that the Masters lived in a Dallas suburb.

Kylie left her office and started down the hall when an odd wave swept through her. She stopped, feeling something trickle down her leg. Though her due date was five days away and this was to be her final day at work, she knew babies came on their own time schedule.

The trickle grew stronger, and within seconds, a puddle of water rested between her feet.

She went to the nearest desk and said, “Would you please call for a janitor to clean that up?” Kylie pointed to the wet spot on the carpet.

The admin glanced to the floor and back to Kylie, her eyes wide. “Are you in labor?”

She couldn’t help but grin. “Apparently so. My water just broke. No labor pains yet, but I know they’ll be coming.”

Kylie went to the conference room and quietly told her boss what had happened, saying, “I’ll be leaving work immediately.”

“Keep us posted,” he said genially.

Returning to her office, she quickly texted Brady, telling him that her water had broken and he needed to pick her up so they could leave for the hospital.

She had read numerous books about pregnancy and knew that once a woman’s water broke, the chances of infection grew significantly.

She wanted to get to a sterile environment so she could protect her baby.

Already, that mama bear instinct was kicking in.

Next, she called her doctor’s office and spoke to the receptionist, who told her to head to the hospital.

“Usually, we have you wait at home until your labor pains are closer together,” the receptionist said.

“I’ll let Dr. Blankenship know that your water has broken, though.

Once you’ve checked into the hospital and been evaluated, they’ll send a status report to us.

Dr. B will arrive in plenty of time for the birth of your baby.

Congratulations, Mrs. Masters. You’re going to enjoy parenthood so much. ”

Kylie thanked the woman and hung up, antsy that Brady hadn’t texted her back. He didn’t like her to call him at work, but this qualified as an emergency. She called his cell, and it went straight to voicemail, so she dialed his office number next.

“Law Office,” the firm’s receptionist said. “How may I direct your call?”

“Would you please connect me with Brady Masters?” she asked. “This is his wife.”

“One moment, Mrs. Masters,” the receptionist said cheerfully.

The phone began to ring just as Kylie felt the first twinge. Excited, she looked at her watch, noting the time of the first, very mild contraction.

“Mr. Master’s office,” his assistant said.

“It’s Kylie, Janice. I’m trying to reach Brady.”

“He’s … out of the office, Kylie. I can have him call you when he returns. Would you like to leave a message?”

She couldn’t help but feel perturbed. Brady hadn’t mentioned any meetings away from the office this morning.

He was working on a settlement regarding a workman’s comp claim and had told her he would be working on depositions on that case all day.

Maybe the injured party wasn’t physically able to meet at the office, and Brady had to go to the client instead.

“I’m heading to the hospital because my water broke,” she informed the assistant. “Please tell him to meet me there as soon as possible.”

“I … I’ll do that right away, Kylie, but this was a pretty important meeting. I’m sure he’ll get there as soon as he can.”

Swallowing her disappointment, Kylie said thank you and hung up. She sat a moment, collecting her thoughts.

Was there really an important meeting?

Lately, she had the suspicion that Brady might be cheating on her.

She had even voiced her concerns to him, but he had told her it was hormonal paranoia, brushing the idea aside.

It bothered her that he had never denied her accusation, but by the time she realized that, it seemed too awkward to bring it up again.

He had been gone large chunks of the day when he was in law school, either in class or in study groups.

Kylie had known how demanding law school was, and she had dived into work to occupy her time, as well as joining a book club and doing volunteer work at an animal shelter.

She hadn’t minded paying to put him through law school, knowing once he got a job at a law firm that they would be able to buy a house and start a family.

Brady now worked for a prestigious firm in North Dallas, and she had hoped they would see more of one another and rekindle the sparks which seemed to have gone out of their marriage.

Unfortunately, her husband’s first year at the firm saw him putting in ninety hours a week.

He told her that wasn’t out of the ordinary when she’d questioned him.

Kylie even googled it and found out that was common for first-year associates.

Brady was finishing his second year at the firm, though, and his hours hadn’t changed.

It seemed she rarely spoke to her husband, much less saw him in person.

She felt as if she’d gone through this entire pregnancy by herself.

The only appointment Brady had gone to with her was at twenty weeks, when they found out the baby’s gender.

When the tech told them that the sonogram revealed the baby to be a girl, Kylie’s heart sang.

She immediately envisioned the fairy tales she would read to their daughter, helping her dress up in Disney Princess gowns.

She could see her little girl cheering on the sidelines at football games, just as Kylie herself had done.

Brady’s reaction was the total opposite.

He had mumbled something to the tech and left the examination room.

Kylie had cleaned the gel from her belly and dressed, finding him in the corridor, pacing.

He had been blunt, telling her that he had wanted a boy and that he was disappointed with this news.

It had caused all her joy to deflate faster than a balloon.

From that moment on, Brady hadn’t cared about the baby.

Or her.

Kylie had been the one to purchase the crib and put it together. She had decorated the entire nursery without any help from Brady. Any time she brought up the baby, he quickly changed the subject.

Then he started coming home even later than usual, and her suspicions had grown. How could she be so happy about giving birth to this baby and yet be so despondent over the state of her marriage?

Her gut told her that Brady wouldn’t be coming to pick her up at work.

They still only owned one car, and he took it to work every day, leaving her to ride DART downtown to her job.

She pulled up her rideshare app, melancholy filling her at the thought that a stranger would be taking her to the hospital.

Sandy appeared in her doorway. “I hear your water broke,” her friend said excitedly. “Why are you still here?”

“I can’t reach Brady. He’s in some meeting offsite and can’t be reached.” She deliberately kept her voice neutral, not wanting to air any grievances regarding her marriage.

Understanding dawned on Sandy’s face. “Then I’ll take you to the hospital. Grab your stuff. Let’s go!”

She opened her bottom desk drawer and pulled out her purse, leaving her office. Sandy stopped by her assistant’s desk and told her where she would be, and the two women went downstairs to the parking garage.

Once they were in the car, Kylie said, “Thank you for taking me to the hospital.” She grimaced slightly. “There’s another contraction.”