The Baby Jackpot

Chapter Seventeen



When she’d missed Una’s first ultrasound, Stacy had never imagined they’d be back for a repeat so soon. She only wished the circumstances were better.

Zora was setting up the ultrasound equipment when Harper ushered Stacy into the examining room. On the table, Una lay biting her lip, while James held her hand. Dr. Franco, who’d thrown a white coat over her jeans and T-shirt, observed from beside the counter.

Stacy paused near the entrance. “What happened?”

“You’re here!” Una reached toward her, and James tactfully stepped aside. But why was this woman reaching for Stacy instead of her husband?

“Harper called.” Stacy drew closer, and felt Una’s hand close over hers.

“I can’t believe I was so careless!” Una flinched as Zora applied gel to her bare stomach, which was visibly enlarged already, at nine weeks. “I was in the backyard when the phone rang inside. I slipped on the back steps and my tummy hit the concrete.”

Stacy could see a purpling bruise near Una’s exposed hip. “Did you suffer any internal bleeding?”

“No,” Una said. “But...Stacy, promise me something.” Her grip tightened.

Although tempted to agree regardless of what the favor might be, Stacy merely asked, “What can I do?”

“Promise that if I lose the twins, you’ll let me adopt the triplets,” she begged. “You’re giving them up anyway, right?”

It was a reasonable request. Her friend’s previous demand would have left the Barkers raising five babies and a toddler, which wasn’t fair to the children. But if the twins were gone...

“You aren’t going to miscarry,” Stacy said. “If the mother isn’t seriously injured in a fall, it’s rare for it to harm the baby.”

“And we’re about to find out,” Dr. Franco interjected. “Look.”

On screen, moving shadows formed into two distinct shapes. The hearts were beating and the little creatures wiggling.

“Oh, thank God!” Una breathed. “I can see a tiny leg. Are those toes?”

“I doubt you can make them out yet, but they are formed,” Dr. Franco told her.

Zora kept her head down, concentrating on her work. Even at an angle, it was obvious the technician had red-rimmed eyes. She must have partied too hard last night. Stacy pictured Andrew tossing back beers at a party, one arm encircling Zora’s waist, teeth gleaming as he laughed.

Something was missing from her mental movie. It took a moment for her to figure out what.

No pain.

Stacy didn’t care that he’d been with Zora and not her. Whatever grip Andrew had retained on her emotions had vanished, like an old injury that had unexpectedly healed.

“You’re right—they’re fine.” Una beamed at the doctor. “Can we tell the sex yet?”

“It’s a bit early,” Zora replied. “Are you in a hurry?”

Una and James shook their heads at almost the same instant. “We’re just glad they’re okay,” he said, reclaiming his wife’s hand.

No one commented on the fact that Stacy hadn’t agreed to let them adopt the triplets. As things had turned out, it didn’t matter. But why hadn’t she said yes?

With a congratulatory farewell, Stacy retreated. Harper and the obstetrician remained, but after negotiating her cart through the cramped space, Zora exited behind her. Politely, Stacy held the door.

At close range, Zora didn’t look hungover. She’d been crying.

“Are you okay?” For nearly three years, Stacy had harbored resentment toward this woman. Today, she felt only concern.

Zora pushed the cart jerkily along the hall. “I could tell how much you love the triplets.”

The comment startled Stacy, but she had no time to reflect on it. “Is this about babies?”

“In a sense.” She took a deep breath. “You were right. Andrew lied to me. About you not wanting kids and about a lot of things. He isn’t the man I thought he was.”

“You knew he was cheating on me when you took up with him,” Stacy pointed out.

“I told myself he’d been mine all along.” Zora opened the door to a storage room. “In high school, when he dumped me, I couldn’t believe it was over. So when I ran into him again and he said I’d always been his true love, I fell for it.”

He said I was the love of his life. Stacy braced instinctively for the familiar twist of pain, but it was gone. She felt only regret for wasted years and broken trust. “Now what will you do?”

“I left him.” Zora angled the sonogram equipment into a space. “After finding out he lied, I started snooping through his email and discovered he’s been fooling around when he travels. He tried to deny it, but after a while he shrugged and said that’s the way guys are. That I shouldn’t make a big deal of it.”

A memory surfaced. Stacy had caught a whiff of unfamiliar perfume on Andrew’s clothes when he’d returned from a business trip. Afraid of overreacting, she’d called her mother, who’d advised her to trust him. Nothing drove a man away faster than suspicion and nagging, Ellen had said. Stacy had followed her advice, but he’d dropped her, anyway. Most likely he’d been cheating all along.

“You’re lucky to have a straight shooter like Dr. Rattigan,” Zora added.

“I don’t have—” Stacy broke off when she saw people leaving the examining room. Just as well. Because she didn’t care to finish that sentence.

She no longer knew whether she had him or not. Or what any of this meant, except that some of her biggest assumptions had been wrong.

* * *

“I APPRECIATE THE HELP,” Adrienne Cavill said on Sunday as Cole, dressed in his oldest jeans and a worn shirt, turned a shovelful of soil in a corner of her garden. “I got so inspired working at Harper’s house, I went overboard.”

Feeling confined in his rooms, and tired of searching for rentals on the internet, Cole had called the obstetrician. He’d only meant to accept her offer of showing him her garden, but when he learned she was embarked on a major vegetable-planting project, he’d volunteered to help.

The two-story Craftsman-style house in the northern part of Safe Harbor had a large rear yard. There was space for a garden, lawn, covered patio and several pathways with hard surfaces for Reggie’s tricycle. The little boy alternately zoomed around and raced across the lawn to climb on the play equipment.

“Does he ever run out of energy?” Cole asked.

A grin creased Adrienne’s dirt-smeared face. “He operates at full speed until he collapses.” She resumed spreading compost. “He and Mia worked hard yesterday.”

“The kids enjoy gardening?” Cole stretched his back.

Adrienne pointed to another area. “We planted seeds over there. Of course, I spent almost as much time cleaning them up afterward.”

“You hosed them down?” That must have been a cute scene.

“I rinsed off the worst of it,” she said. “Then we went inside. You wouldn’t believe the dirt rings I scrubbed out of the tub.”

“I like dirt.” Cole studied the rich loam. He was enjoying this more than he’d expected. “So this section is for tomatoes?” A half-dozen nursery plants on the patio table awaited planting.

“My favorite varieties. Mostly heirlooms.” Adrienne swiped at her cheek with a sleeve, banishing a gnat and leaving a dark streak. “When I was growing up, we used to make spaghetti sauce from scratch. I don’t have time anymore, so I’ve collected plenty of quickie pasta recipes. Just chop the tomatoes and stick them in the microwave.”

“I’d like a garden someday.” Cole had never imagined such a thing until recently. “Along with a couple of kids to hose off. How about you?”

“Reggie’s it for me,” Adrienne said. “Medical reasons.” Without elaborating, she went to fetch more compost.

On the walkway, the little boy whizzed by. “I’m flying!” He held up his hands for an instant before grabbing the handlebars, narrowly averting a spill.

Yearning squeezed Cole so hard he could barely hang on to the shovel. Yearning for a garden like this. For children. Above all, for the right woman to share them with.

He believed he’d found her, but Stacy had sent him away. Still, his need for a home and family kept growing stronger.

Cole didn’t see how he could move on when he loved her so much. But maybe he had to.

* * *

ANDREW WAS A CHEATER and a liar. He hadn’t simply been overcome by love for another woman. Instead, he’d cheated on Zora, too.

Sitting on the carpet in her living room, Stacy spent Sunday afternoon doing something utterly childish. She’d brought some of her favorite toys out from her storage unit, planning to give them to Una. Now she set up a marble run, a series of curved plastic pieces with towers and spirals. Then she released her beloved old glass marbles one by one at the top, watching in weird fascination as they swooped around and over and down, landing with a clink in a receptacle.

A plastic piece shifted slightly and one of the marbles got stuck. Chunk! A second marble ran into the blockage. Chunk! Soon there were half a dozen marbles lodged in a row, waiting for Stacy to free them.

The blockage resembled her life these past few years. She’d been stuck behind the roadblock of her marriage, unable to move past the question of how such a deep and abiding love could vanish. Was it her schedule combined with Andrew’s travel? Was there some flaw in her?

All the while, Stacy could see, she’d been jiggling the wrong part of the marble run. The problem hadn’t been her, or their schedules. It had been Andrew. Beautiful, self-assured, narcissistic Andrew.

How could she have been so blind? The fact that he’d fooled Zora as well did nothing to assuage the embarrassment at her own gullibility.

Reaching down, Stacy straightened the piece, and the marbles resumed their roller-coaster journey through the plastic channels. But she wasn’t fixed. Not yet.

Leaning against the foot of the couch, Stacy mentally retraced her actions and reactions nearly three years ago, when Andrew had dumped her.

Naturally, she’d turned to her friends. Harper, having just lost her husband, had sympathized, but couldn’t provide much insight. Vicki, who periodically went off her medications, had been careening through the hyperactive phase of her bipolar disorder and was in no condition to advise anyone. Although Adrienne had moved in with her sister to help out, Stacy hadn’t known her very well. Besides, Adrienne had never been married.

So she’d called her mother. Ellen had come through with loving support, and so had Dad, in his low-key way. Devastated and clinging to their love, Stacy had never asked the questions that troubled her now.

Why did you tell me not to trust my instincts about Andrew’s cheating? Did you truly believe that burying my head in the sand would save my marriage?

Scooping up the marbles, she dropped them again into the top tray. Unobstructed, they sped downward, scooting along bridges and accelerating as the angle grew steeper. But despite having a clearer view of marriage, Stacy still felt blocked.

Why couldn’t I see Andrew for who he really was? Was I instinctively playing peacemaker, the way I’d always done with my parents? Was this partly my fault, after all?

Stacy was suffering, not over Andrew but over her father’s rejection. She’d expected him to take her side in whatever choice she made about the triplets. As someone had said, love shouldn’t be conditional.

Cole. Cole had said that.

He’d get a kick out of this marble run, she thought, wishing he was here. But she wasn’t ready to talk to him. Not until she figured out how she’d gotten so mixed up in the first place.

Sunday afternoon was a good time to solicit her mother’s input. Stacy just hoped her father wouldn’t hit the roof again.

She called her mom’s cell phone. “It’s me,” she said when Ellen answered.

“Good timing. Your dad’s out playing golf.”

Her mother had instantly assumed they should keep the conversation secret from her father. Grateful as Stacy was to have her on her side, the reaction made her uneasy. “I was hoping he’d changed his mind.”

“Are you all right?” her mom responded. “I’ve been worried.”

“Andrew’s wife is leaving him,” Stacy burst out with the news. “He cheated on her, too.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Because he did it once?”

“Because that’s the kind of man he was,” Ellen said simply.

“Mom, if you knew he was like that, why didn’t you say anything?” Stacy demanded. “When I asked you about the perfume on his clothes, you advised me not to hassle him.”

“Men are like that.” Ellen sounded resigned. “If you pick a fight, you drive them away.”

Surely she didn’t mean... “You aren’t talking about Dad!”

The silence lengthened. Over the phone, Stacy heard a sigh of confirmation.

Around her, the earth seemed to be shifting and the landscape transforming. Suddenly, everything looked different. “That’s why you used to act moody sometimes?”

“I’m sorry I made excuses,” her mother answered. “I was trying to protect you. It was easier to take the blame myself.”

“And let me serve as go-between to patch things up.” No wonder Stacy had become the peacemaker in the family. Without realizing what was wrong, she’d had a child’s sense of being responsible for grownups’ behavior.

“You fell into that role,” Ellen admitted.

“And Dad let me fix his mistakes.” Grimly, she amended that. “Not mistakes. He didn’t stumble and fall into bed with other women.”

“Don’t be crude, Stacy.”

“You’re criticizing me?”

“No.” Her mom seemed to struggle for words. “Your dad does love us, you know.”

“Does he?” It wasn’t only her marriage that Stacy had failed to see clearly. She’d believed she came from an ideal, loving family, while all along they’d been wildly dysfunctional. “What else am I missing? Come on, Mom. There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Four years ago, we told you we were moving to Salt Lake to be near Ellie,” her mother said slowly.

“But?”

“That wasn’t the only reason.”

Stacy stopped pacing and sat on the couch. “Go on.”

“He’d had a few affairs in the past, but nothing that threatened our marriage,” her mother said. “Then I discovered he’d been involved for over a year with a fellow pharmacist. He was keeping some of his clothes at her apartment, and she wanted him to leave me.”

“And he has the nerve to pass judgment on my behavior?” Stacy reined in her outrage, determined to hear the whole miserable story. “How did you find out?”

“The woman called to tell me about the affair.” From Ellen’s shaky tone, Stacy could picture her mom’s drawn face. “She assumed I’d throw him out. Instead, I gave him an ultimatum.”

“Move to Utah or you’d leave him,” Stacy guessed.

Ellen gave a small sniff. “He agreed. He swore he couldn’t live without me, that I was the center of his life.”

“I must have heard part of that, or maybe you told me about it.” Stacy no longer recalled the details, just her reaction. “I thought it was romantic.”

“I let you down,” Ellen said sadly. “When you married a man a lot like your father, I should have spoken up sooner. I should have protected you, but you were madly in love and I assumed he’d get his act together. First you fell for Andrew, and now you’re pregnant by some jerk—”

“No, I’m not,” Stacy interrupted. “I mean, he isn’t a jerk.” Beyond that, she had no desire to discuss Cole. He was so honest and kind and straightforward, he didn’t belong in this conversation.

“I shouldn’t have mentioned any of this,” Ellen said abruptly. “I got carried away because I’m worried about you. Talking about these personal things...it’s disloyal to your father.”

“My father is disloyal to us,” Stacy answered indignantly.

“I hear his car in the driveway,” her mom said. “Honey, if you need me, I can come and stay with you for a while.”

A kind offer. But Stacy didn’t want mothering. “No, thanks.”

“We’ll talk again soon.” Quickly, her mother added, “Don’t mention any of this to your sister, all right?”

“Not unless she asks. But you should tell her.”

“She married a different sort of guy,” Ellen answered. “Luckily. But I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“Good.” After a quick farewell, Stacy hung up.

On the coffee table, the African violet Cole had given her was bursting with tiny blooms against fuzzy, deep green leaves. She’d stuck it there, with the wrong sort of light and without any special food, and yet it was blossoming. She didn’t deserve to have such a thriving plant, Stacy thought.

She’d dreamed of a love that transcended the ordinary, of storybook romance and passion. Like Andrew had provided—as a cover for his deceptions.

This had been a weekend for revelations. When the world stopped jolting on its axis, where would it end?

The phone rang. Harper. “Hi,” Stacy said.

“I’ve been trying to get through to you for ten minutes,” her friend exclaimed. “You’re missing... Oh, wait. It’s a video. You can start at the beginning. Is your computer on?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, there’s something you’d better see.”