The Friends We Keep

“Candace isn’t going to take this well. Even if she doesn’t blame me, she’s going to freak.” Gabby thought about the other people who would have to know. “I want to wait to tell my parents. And the twins. They don’t need to know yet.”


Andrew sighed. “I know it’s wrong and selfish, but I keep thinking how this is going to affect us. What people are going to say. That we’re to blame.”

“We are the parents. Makayla lives with us.”

“Think we can get a sign that says Don’t blame us. She didn’t do it in our house?”

“Technically, we can, but I don’t think it’s very helpful.” Besides, Andrew would have it easy. He would head off to work and she would be the one taking Makayla to the doctor’s appointments and...

“Crap. She needs to see a doctor.” Gabby put down her drink and pulled her cell phone out of her jeans pocket. “I’ll send myself a note so we can get in as quickly as possible. We don’t even know how pregnant she is.”

“She didn’t say?”

“Not really. She says two or three months, but I’m not sure I believe her. She’s young and skinny. She could be four months along. You know there are all those news stories about teenagers hiding their pregnancy with baggy shirts.”

She typed the note and emailed it to herself. “You’re right. Everyone is going to judge us.” Her mostly. She was the mother figure and therefore the one to blame.

He slid his glass onto the coffee table, then leaned forward and gathered her into his arms. “I couldn’t do this without you, Gabby. You know that, don’t you? You’re my everything.”

She hung on to him. “You’re mine. We’ll figure it out. Step by step.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen when you told me about them kissing. I still can’t believe it. She’s a kid.”

While it was too late to change anything, hearing the apology was kind of nice. She let herself relax against him. Tomorrow was plenty of time to panic. Right now they had the beginnings of a plan and each other. Until morning, that was enough.





Chapter Twelve

“The location is perfect,” Lindsey Woods, an attractive fifty-something blonde, said as she walked through the living room.

“We’re going to be painting,” Hayley told her, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt. “In the kitchen I thought we could replace the hardware.”

“Inexpensive bang for the buck.”

Lindsey moved into that room and looked out the back window. “Nice layout. It hasn’t been renovated, but I think there are buyers who would rather do that themselves. To be honest, you’re better off letting the price reflect the lack of updating than to do a cheap job on the sly. Most buyers today aren’t fooled.”

Hayley smiled and nodded, anxious about how long the appointment was taking. She only had an hour before she had to be back at work. But Lindsey had promised to be quick as she viewed the house. Once she assessed the property, she would get some comps from other homes in the area, then write up a full report. It would include a marketing plan, a suggested price, along with easy, inexpensive fixes to get the house ready to be listed.

Armed with that information, Hayley would then have the job of convincing Rob this was the right thing to do.

Lindsey checked out the bedrooms, then did a quick tour of the backyard. When she walked back into the kitchen, she nodded.

“It’s lovely, just as you said. The age of the house isn’t really an issue. Buyers want character, which your home has. The market is booming right now. Mischief Bay is a sought-after location and the school district is excellent. I think with very little TLC, you’ll find yourself fielding multiple offers.”

Hayley leaned against the door frame. “That would be great.” A bidding war would be better. They needed to get at least a hundred thousand dollars from the sale but more would be better. More would mean having money to put down on another house.

They probably wouldn’t be able to purchase in Mischief Bay at that point, but maybe somewhere close so Rob didn’t have to commute. She didn’t love the idea of moving into an apartment, but that couldn’t be helped. She’d thought and thought, and short of winning the lottery, there was simply no other way to raise that kind of money for her treatment in Switzerland.

“It will take me a couple of days to get everything together,” Lindsey told her. “Let’s say by end of business Wednesday? I’ll email the material to you.”

“Thank you.”

As Hayley started toward the front door, she heard a car pull into the driveway. She pressed a hand to her chest. No! Why was Rob home now? He was supposed to be at work. She’d deliberately scheduled the appointment with Lindsey in the middle of the day.

The front door opened and Rob walked in. “Hayley? I saw your car. Are you okay?”

Lindsey walked toward him, her hand outstretched. “This is nice. I didn’t think we were going to get the chance for introductions today. I’m Lindsey Woods, Rob. Nice to meet you.”

Rob shook her hand, then pushed up his glasses. “Hayley, what’s going on?”