Читать книгу Christmas Gifts - Trish Morey - Страница 12

EVERYONE froze, staring at her.

Brady looked at his mother. “What did she say?”

Realizing her young son shouldn’t hear this conversation, Elizabeth hunkered down to his level. “Sweetheart, would you go check on your sister for me? And then you can play in your room till Mommy comes up.”

A good boy, Brady did as he was asked.

Tom wasted no time. As soon as Brady turned away he asked Kim, “When were you last with my son?”

“About six weeks ago.”

“Have you been to a doctor?”

“No! I mean, I didn’t see the reason to—No, I haven’t been to the doctor.”

“You aren’t pregnant,” Jack said in disgust.

“I could be!”

“Come on, I’ll take you to the doctor,” Jack said gruffly.

“No! I’ll go to my doctor at home.”

Before anyone could waver, Jack held their ground. “I don’t think we should let her go until we get her checked out by Doc.”

Kim remained adamant. “I don’t want to go to a strange doctor.”

Elizabeth could understand that. She led Kim to a chair at the table. “I think we all need to sit down and discuss this quietly.”

She remembered Reggie’s reaction to her pregnancy with Jenny. He’d blown up at her, accusing her of lying, of tricking him. He’d vowed not to be trapped again, as he said he’d been with Brady. His callous reaction had hurt her immeasurably and she’d never forget how she cried.

Still, she knew one thing for sure: Reggie would never risk pregnancy again.

And she didn’t think he had this time.

“Look, Kim, Jack is just trying to help. I’m sure he didn’t mean to sound so gruff.”

Jack glared at Elizabeth. She ignored him and kept her gaze on Kim. “I know you must be uncomfortable talking about this, but we need to know. Did you have unprotected sex?”

“Not usually. Reggie was careful, but…but he forgot sometimes.”

“And you forgot, too?”

“Yes. I wanted to—I mean, I’m sure it was an accident, but—”

“I think we can settle this with a simple home pregnancy test.” She looked up at Jack. “Jack, could you go buy one?”

“Yeah,” he muttered.

He stalked out of the house, leaving everyone silent.

Elizabeth asked Carol to put on some water for hot tea.

Kim protested. “I’ll just have coffee.”

“You really shouldn’t have coffee if you’re pregnant.” Elizabeth smiled. “I know. I hated giving up my coffee.”

“And you did? Did your doctor insist? For the entire pregnancy?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“I didn’t know that.” Kim sat quietly for a moment, then she looked up at Elizabeth with frightened eyes. “I don’t think I want to be pregnant.”

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Elizabeth said as she patted the woman’s hand.

Jack felt like a fish out of water.

He stood in the middle aisle of the town pharmacy scratching his head as he gazed out on an array of choices. There had to be fifteen different home pregnancy kits.

He knew about cattle, about horses, tack and grain. But what did a cowboy know about pregnancy tests?

“Can I help you, Jack?”

Mrs. Johnson’s voice echoed through his thoughts.

Just what he needed. Old Mrs. Johnson had been working in the pharmacy since Jack came to town ten years ago. She’d helped him through flu and colds, broken fingers and sore shoulders.

How was he going to ask her for this?

“Hello, Mrs. Johnson. I—I was looking for some more liniment.”

“You’re sure, Jack? You’re standing in front of pregnancy kits.” She paused to give him time to answer. Then, with a once-over that burned him through his clothes, she put on her half-glasses and perused the shelf.

She chose a box and handed it to him.

“This one’s the best, I’m told. Just in case you need it.”

Jack prayed for an early death.

Elizabeth took the sack from him as soon as Jack came into the kitchen. “If you’ll come with me, Kim, we’ll have an answer.”

She led the blonde upstairs to a more private bathroom, went over the instructions and left her to do her thing.

Leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway, Elizabeth kept looking at her watch as her mind raced. As kind as she could be, she had to admit she didn’t want the woman to be pregnant. Not because of the money, but because her children would forever be tied to Kim. They’d have a half sibling who lived with her. And Kim Hall was not the kind of woman she wanted her children associating with.

She checked her watch again. The box said it took only two minutes. What was taking so long?

Just then the bathroom door opened and Kim stood there, her face void of emotion.

Elizabeth could hardly speak. “Well?” she managed.

“I’m not pregnant.”

Keeping her relief in check, she wrapped an arm around Kim’s shoulders. “We should tell the others.”

Elizabeth offered to make the announcement when they reentered the kitchen, but Kim shook her head. Almost magically her personality changed back to the nasty witch from earlier. She stood with arms akimbo and shrugged.

“I’m not pregnant. Satisfied?”

“Yeah, I’m satisfied,” Jack said. “It was worth going to the drugstore and ruining my reputation!”

Elizabeth stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Never mind.”

“Well, there’s no reason for me to stay,” Kim said, already heading for the door. She turned, as if remembering something. Shooting a deadly glare at Jack, she asked, “Does my car work now?”

“Yeah.”

Kim was on her way after that response.

After the click of the door lock, silence descended upon the kitchen.

Elizabeth felt relieved, and she suspected Tom was, too. But no one wanted to be the first to express the emotion.

As she looked up at her father-in-law, Jenny’s cry broke the stalemate.

“That’s Jenny. She’s probably hungry.” She noticed that Carol seemed anxious. “Do you want to go get her, Carol? Just change her diaper and bring her down. I’ll get her bottle ready.”

“Bring her down, Carol.” Tom looked happy at the thought of holding his granddaughter.

After Carol left the room, Jack looked at Elizabeth. “Why did you let her go get Jenny?”

“I thought she deserved to get her. She’d taken care of Brady and Tom and helped entertain Kim. It only seemed fair that she get to take care of Jenny.”

“That was nice of you, Elizabeth,” Tom said.

“Carol is a nice lady.”

“Yes, she is,” Tom agreed.

They all heard Carol coming down the stairs, followed by Brady.

Elizabeth hugged her son. “Hi, sweetie. Thank you for being such a good boy.”

“He was patting his little sister on the back,” Carol said. Her smile said she was proud of Brady, too.

“Carol said I was helping,” Brady told his mother.

“Yes, you were, honey.”

She handed the bottle, properly warmed, to Carol. “Do you mind feeding her while I finish preparing lunch?”

“No, I’d love to.” Carol took the bottle. “I was hoping you’d be gone when she woke up. Now I get the best of both worlds.”

“You deserve it, Carol,” Elizabeth said.

“What about me?” Tom said. “I had to act nice when that lady talked about being pregnant.”

“We’ve all had a difficult day,” Jack said with a sigh.

“Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. Anyone want a cup of coffee?”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Jack said. Tom nodded, too.

Elizabeth poured coffee for the two men. She poured some juice for Brady. Then she began fixing some vegetables to go with the casserole.

When Carol finished feeding Jenny, Tom moved over to visit with Carol and the baby. She put Jenny in his arms, and he cooed at her, patting her smooth cheek and letting her grab his pinky as he did so. “I’m your grandpa, Jenny. Grandpa Tom.”

The baby’s eyes were wide as she listened to her grandfather.

“She seems mesmerized,” Elizabeth said. “I guess maybe because she doesn’t hear a man’s voice very often. It’s just been me and Brady around her since she was born.”

“We’ll have to change that, right, Jack?” Tom asked without taking his eyes off his granddaughter.

“Yeah, we will. She needs to get used to both of us.”

Elizabeth didn’t say anything.

Jack had served himself and started eating, but he noticed that Elizabeth didn’t come down after taking Jenny back upstairs. After a few moments he excused himself and went to get her. He found her in Jenny’s room, slowly rocking the sleeping baby.

Instead of saying anything to Elizabeth, he sat down on the small bed and waited a minute. Then he called her softly. “Elizabeth?”

Her eyes opened and she cleared her throat before finally responding. “Yes, Jack?”

“I wondered when you were coming down for lunch. It’s getting cold.”

“I was just rocking Jenny.”

“She seems sound asleep. I’ll put her in her bed.”

Elizabeth wanted to protest, but he was being helpful.

After he’d put the baby down, he pulled her up from the rocker and led her out of the baby’s room. “Were you planning on skipping lunch?”

“No, but it’s so peaceful, holding a sleeping baby. Today had a lot of disturbing situations.”

“Yeah. I’m glad you thought of the pregnancy test.”

“I’m sorry it caused you some embarrassment.”

“It irritated me most of all.”

“I’m glad we now know.”

“Yeah, she didn’t seem the mothering type.”

“People change. She might have turned into a good mother.”

“Yeah, right.” He took her hand and led her down the stairs.

“Did you think I couldn’t find the table without your assistance?”

“You seem all too ready to skip meals. I think you need to eat a good lunch.”

When they entered the kitchen, Carol made her a plate and Tom pulled out a chair for her.

“What is everyone going to do this afternoon?” she asked as she sat.

“I’m going to be sure you eat your lunch.”

“Jack, you don’t need to help me.”

He just looked at her but he didn’t budge from the chair opposite her.

Carol offered her plan. “I’m going to actually do some work. I didn’t get anything done besides making the beds.”

“There’s too much else needed, Carol. I think you should relax and entertain Tom. Brady is going to take his nap, and Tom won’t have anyone to talk to.”

“Aw, Mommy, I don’t need a nap,” Brady said as he tried to hide a big yawn.

Everyone chuckled.

“I’ll come up and cover you up, sweetie.”

Jack spoke up. “Not until you finish your lunch. I’ll go tuck him in.”

When she started to protest, Brady expressed enthusiasm about Jack helping him. So she remained seated as the two males went upstairs together.

“That was nice of Jack,” Carol said.

Elizabeth said nothing.

“Do you have some laundry ready to be washed?” Carol asked her. “I could do some laundry for you.”

“Yes, I do. You always have laundry when you have children.”

“I’ve heard that,” Carol said, a wistful look in her eyes.

Poor Carol had never had children after losing two babies. Elizabeth’s heart went out to her. She felt even more grateful for her children.

“Do you need to get home early tonight, Carol, or will you stay for dinner?”

Carol turned bright red. “You don’t have to include me for dinner.”

“You always stay for dinner, Carol,” Tom said. “Though I appreciate you asking her, Elizabeth.”

“I’d love to stay, Elizabeth. Thank you.”

“Okay, I’ll get started on cleaning the kitchen, if you’ll gather the laundry. Be sure to look under Brady’s bed.”

“Just like the other two men!” Carol chuckled.

“Hey, we try,” Tom assured both women.

“We know,” Elizabeth said.

Jack knocked quietly on Tom’s door.

“Tom, are you asleep?”

“No. Come in.”

Jack opened the door and found him in the wing chair. “I was thinking about Christmas. Brady was telling me about not having had a Christmas tree yet. He said his mommy promised that one day they’d have one.”

“He’s never had a Christmas tree?” Tom asked, incredulous.

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I told him maybe we could have a tree this year. I was thinking tonight after dinner would be a good time to go shopping for one.”

“Good thinking. Shall we keep it a secret? We could decorate it tonight, too.”

“I think that would be good. We can show Elizabeth what we have and maybe she could buy what else we need.”

Tom smiled. “I’m so glad they’ve come. It will be fun to have a real Christmas again.”

“You will, Tom. You’ll have a Christmas and so will Elizabeth and the kids. I’ll make sure of it.”

“A Christmas tree!”

Brady could hardly contain his excitement when Jack mentioned the possibility of going for a tree that night after dinner.

“Where do we go to get one?” Brady asked him.

“At the Christmas tree lot in town. Do you want to go?” Jack asked casually.

“Can I, Mommy? Please?”

“I don’t know, Brady. Maybe they want to pick out their tree without us—”

“It will be our Christmas tree, Elizabeth,” Tom said.

“And I think Brady would give good advice about the tree,” Jack said. “In fact, as cold as it is, I’m not sure Tom wants to wander around looking at all the trees.”

“Won’t it be too cold for Brady?” Elizabeth asked anxiously.

“No. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Jack waited for her response.

After a quick look at Brady, Elizabeth agreed that her son could go. “Go get your coat and hat and gloves, Brady, and bring them to me.”

“Any requests?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” Tom said. “I think you should invite Elizabeth to go. I’ll help Carol clean the kitchen and we’ll babysit Jenny.”

“Oh, no!” Elizabeth protested. “I wanted Carol to stay so she could enjoy a nice meal, not to babysit.”

“I think you should go,” Jack said. “We might need help choosing the right tree.”

Brady came running down the stairs, holding his coat, gloves and hat out to his mother.

“I think she’s going with us, Brady, so we can get the best tree possible.”

“You’re going, too, Mommy?” Brady asked, his eyes lighting up even brighter.

“Well?” Jack added.

“Yes, I’ll come if Carol doesn’t mind. But you can leave the dishes for me to do. Jenny will be up soon.”

“We’ll see.”

Brady would’ve taken the first tree they looked at. Jack cautioned him to look at a few more before he made his decision.

Amidst the delicate snow flurries floating in the cold night, Elizabeth wandered the tree-filled stands, her eyes as bright as Brady’s. When Jack saw her pause by a stately Frasier fir and circle it, checking it from every angle, he leaned down and suggested Brady go look at the tree his mother had found.

“Mommy, do you like this one?”

“I love it, Brady, but I think it might be too big.”

“I think it’ll be perfect,” Jack said, coming up behind her. He signaled the man running the tree farm. “We’ll take this one, Jonas.”

“Good choice, Jack. That’s the best tree I have this year.”

Brady beamed up at Jack. “We picked a good one, didn’t we?”

Jack patted the boy on his back. “We definitely did.”

“What do we do now?” Brady asked Jack.

“We pay for the tree, and Jonas here will trim the bottom off so it will soak up the water. Then we’ll put it in our truck and drive it home.”

Elizabeth stepped up and Brady put his arms around his mother, as far as his little arms could go. “Mommy, we’ve got our first Christmas tree!”

She bent down and hugged Brady. “Yes, we do, Brady, thanks to your grandfather…and Jack.”

Standing there with the snowflakes falling around them, mother and son looked so content, so beautiful that Jack couldn’t take his eyes off them.

They looked like an advertisement for the holiday season.

The perfect family.

Only one thing was missing. A dad.