“And why didn’t you tell me?” She said she thought she was about three months ago, which meant she must have known for a while. He should have realized it sooner as well. Not a day had gone by that they hadn’t made love at least once.
She averted her eyes. “I was waiting for the right moment. I was going to tell you so many times, but things kept getting in the way.”
Things. What could possibly get in the way of something as important as that? His mind flew back to the previous week, when Kathleen had prepared a surprise candlelight dinner for him. That was the night the pipe under the sink burst, and ruined her plans.
And the week before that, when she’d asked him to hurry along the nightly close-up because she wanted to talk to him about something important. Danny had been deep in his cups (an old-fashioned way of saying he was falling down drunk), and Jack had ended up driving him home. By the time he got back to the Pub, Kathleen was asleep and he’d forgotten all about it.
A few more instances of similar circumstances came to mind when something had unexpectedly arisen, ruining what might have been ‘the right moment’. Hell. How many times had she tried to tell him?
Jack ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Kathleen.”
“It’s okay.”
No, it wasn’t. Kathleen was the most important thing in his life, any time, any place, and he needed to do a better job of showing her. Starting now.
“Let’s go back to bed,” he suggested. “Call Erin. I’m pampering you today.”
“I appreciate the thought, but I’m fine.”
He grinned, wrapping his hands around her belly as he leaned down and kissed her neck. “And pregnant with our baby. I think that deserves a day of private celebration, don’t you?”
She laughed. “Definitely, but it will have to wait till the weekend.”
“I don’t want to wait.”
“I know, but second quarter estimated taxes are due on the fifteenth, and I’ve got a slew of receipts to wade through.”
“The second quarter doesn’t end till the thirtieth.”
“I know, but for the second and third quarters, estimated taxes are due before the end of the period.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Taxes don’t have to make sense. They just have to be paid.”
“Okay, what about after that? I’ll get Brian to watch the bar. We can do something fun, just the two of us.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m working the lunch to dinner shift at the diner.” Kathleen kissed his chest and slipped beneath his arm.
Something wasn’t right; he could feel it in his bones. Jack followed her to the bathroom, where she began to dot some kind of light stuff under her eyes, making the dark circle all but disappear. The fact that she wouldn’t meet his gaze in the mirror only reinforced his suspicion.
“Kathleen, what else are you not telling me?”
She rummaged through her little make-up bag. “Telling you I’m pregnant isn’t enough?”
Avoiding the question with a question of her own. Not a good sign.
Jack placed his index finger beneath her chin and gently drew her gaze to his. “Talk to me, Kathleen. What the hell is going on? Why are you picking up shifts at the diner?”
Her shoulders slumped and she exhaled heavily. “Fine. The bills came in from the electrician and the plumber, and we can’t afford to pay them.”
Kathleen couldn’t have surprised him more if she turned around and cracked him with her hairbrush. “What!?”
She shrugged. “Renovation is expensive.”
“We’re doing a good business.”
“Yeah, we are, but it’s not enough, not yet. And we’re losing even more because Danny’s been sneaking bottles out from behind the bar and sharing with his friends.”
Son of a bitch. “How deep in the hole are we?”
“Not too bad for just the two of us. But with a baby coming...”
Jack sat down on the rim of the tub and dragged his hands through his hair. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted to avoid this. You’ve been putting everything you have into this place, Jack. I thought if I picked up a few more jobs, we’d be okay.”
“Jesus, Kathleen.” It was like a solid punch to the gut, knocking the air out of him. His wife, his pregnant wife, was working extra jobs, because they needed the money. And he, in his cluelessness, hadn’t known a goddamned thing about either one.
The joy at finding out he was going to be a father was overshadowed by a wave of guilt and anger. The pub had been his idea. It was supposed to be a way for him to provide for her and their eventual family, not put them in debt and require her to work multiple fucking jobs.
He stood up and punched the wall, sending pieces of plaster flying.
“Don’t be angry, Jack.”