Close to Her Heart Read online

  “They’re both fine. She’s still living with her sister. Or is it cousin? Apparently Nick has only seen the baby once.”

  “Well. That says everything, I guess.”

  “It was sweet of you to try to help them.”

  “Obviously I should stick to the law from now on.”

  Paige just laughed. She knew him too well.

  Eliot went for another swim after that. He thought he knew why the Greenway case got to him so much. Every time he thought of Lizbeth, he couldn’t help being reminded of Dani. She was being so brave about this whole pregnancy and single motherhood thing. But sometimes she had to be scared. He sure as hell would be.

  Eliot dove into the water, then flipped over to float on his back. The buoyant ocean water soothed his over-heated skin and he stayed out for at least twenty minutes enjoying the moment, the blue of the sky above, his body moving with the gentle waves. When he flipped over to swim to shore, he noticed Dani on the deck, pulling her oversized T-shirt over her head.

  Underneath she was wearing a tiny bikini that showed off her long-legged, pregnant body to perfection. As she started toward the water, he couldn’t help noticing that the triangle patches of her top barely covered a third of her generous breasts. And her belly—the size of a basketball, he’d guess—sat nicely above the small swath of her bikini bottoms.

  He stood up in water that hit him at the waist, thinking it would be good to keep the lower half of his body cool.

  He’d never expected to get turned on by the sight of a pregnant woman in a bathing suit. But Dani—she looked fabulous.

  “It got too hot, even on the porch,” she explained as she began to wade into the water. “Oh, man, this feels good.”

  “That it does.” He waited for her to reach him, then suggested they swim out to the buoy marking the far end of the cove, keeping boaters from venturing too near the rocky shore. It wasn’t far, just about thirty yards. Last summer, he and Dani had swum the distance many times.

  “Sure,” she agreed, striking out with her crawl and leaving him to follow.

  After the swim, they headed into shore together.

  “That was just what I needed.” Dani paused to shake water out of her ear. “My body feels so weightless in the ocean. I love it.”

  She was within arm’s reach and Eliot had to make an effort not to reach out and touch her. Better yet, kiss her. Water glistened on the ends of her eyelashes, her cheeks, her lips. He wanted to taste—knew she’d be cool and sweet—

  But instead, he turned and focused on the shore.

  He’d lost one friend this trip already. He wouldn’t be a fool and lose the one who really mattered.

  *

  Dani was having such a nice time that she agreed when Eliot suggested extending their holiday a few days. The weather had remained hot and she had no urge to do anything but read on the porch, float in the ocean, and enjoy the cooler evenings out on the deck with Eliot.

  But the morning of their fifteenth day, she woke with a dull pain in her lower back that worried her. She went on line to confirm that this could be a sign that she was going into labor, two weeks early.

  She waited until Eliot had finished his morning swim and breakfast before admitting what was happening “Would you mind driving me back to the city?”

  “Of course, not. But are you sure you’ll be okay for the drive? Maybe I should call an ambulance?”

  “Oh, no. I’ll be fine. To be on the safe side though, I’d like to see my doctor.”

  “I’m on it.” Eliot couldn’t have been more concerned if he was the father of the baby. Quickly he threw his things together, then helped her pack, too.

  Looking around, she felt guilty about the mess they were leaving behind. “Shouldn’t we put away the umbrella and the outdoor cushions, at least?”

  “It’s just not that important. You can call the property management company for me once we’re on the road. They’ll take care of everything.”

  When Eliot said things like that, Dani became aware of the gulf between the worlds they’d been born to. His father was a successful businessman, with family money, well-placed socially. While Dani’s mother had been considered high society in Marietta, Montana, Dani didn’t think too many people from Seattle would be impressed with the Bramble name or legacy. As for her father, Hawksley Carrigan was a simple, hard-working ranching man. He didn’t hire people to solve his problems. He fixed them himself.

  But Dani had to admit she was relieved Eliot rushed her back to the city so quickly. The drive didn’t help her back pains and by the time he dropped her off at the front door of the clinic, she was positive that even though her due date was two weeks away, the baby was coming that night.

  It didn’t though.

  After a though exam, Gwen sent her home with instructions to take things easy, eat frequent, healthy snacks rather than large meals, and get lots of sleep. Eliot had stayed with her throughout the two-hours at the clinic and insisted on carrying her suitcase and book bag, not only to her condo door, but right into her bedroom. He even checked her fridge and after pronouncing it pathetic, left and then returned an hour later with three bags of healthy groceries.

  “You going to be okay, now?”

  “I’ll be great. Thanks so much. For everything.”

  “Sure.” He lingered at the door. “Turned out okay in the end, didn’t it?”

  She nodded slowly. More than okay. In fact, it felt odd to say goodbye to him when they’d spent so much time together over the past while. When Eliot leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, she had a strong urge to put her arms around him and pull him close.

  Ridiculous. Thank God Eliot couldn’t read her mind.

  When he was gone, Dani checked her plants, relieved to see that they hadn’t suffered any setbacks while she was away. She dropped over to thank Mr. Boswell, giving him a package of maple walnut fudge she’d purchased at the Farmer’s Market.

  A few phone messages had accumulated during the twelve days she’d been away. One from Mattie, the other from Sage. Dutifully Dani returned them both, secretly relieved when she had to leave messages for both of them.

  Soon the fall session would start at the University and Portia would be back in Seattle. Dani wondered if her niece had been able to keep her secret. Perhaps she hadn’t—and that was why Mattie had tried to call her?

  But no. An hour later, after Dani had eaten a bowl of the lentil soup Eliot had bought for her, Mattie called back. She was full of news about Bishop Stables and the termination of her marriage to Wes. On the plus side, she’d enjoyed having the twins home from college for the summer, and there was a vague mention of a new man in her life. She didn’t grill Dani at all. So Portia must have kept her word.

  For her part Dani shared news of her vacation, but felt guiltily aware of all that was going unsaid on her part. She hoped her sisters would understand once they found out about the baby. Surely they’d be too happy to hold any grudges. Everything would be fine—as long as her baby was okay.

  Sage called next. Dani might have found it harder to keep her secret from the sister she felt closest to, only Sage was full of details about her upcoming wedding. “I’m nervous about Dawson’s mother coming.” Patricia Dawson had been married either six or eight times—Dani couldn’t remember which—and had dragged poor Dawson all over the country when he was growing up.

  “Hopefully, she won’t stay long. When is the wedding, again?”

  “Second Saturday in October. Right after Homecoming. You don’t have your ticket booked yet?”

  Her baby would be about a month by then. Would they be ready to travel? They’d have to be, Dani realized. “I’ll book today.”

  *

  Dani decided she needed a good night’s sleep before talking to Miriam. But early the next morning her conscience insisted that she head over to her friend’s place right after breakfast. Though she knocked several times, Miriam never answered.

  She tried calling next, then texting,
and finally sent a message via Facebook.

  Finally, around noon, she received a terse response from Miriam.

  “In Vancouver visiting my parents. Not sure when I’ll be back. May put condo up for sale. Good luck with baby.”

  Wow.

  Was that it? Did Miriam intend to end their two-year friendship with a terse three sentences on Facebook?

  “Want to talk?” she messaged back.

  Miriam’s “No,” hit the screen less than five seconds later.

  Dani knew she couldn’t leave things there. But she’d give Miriam a few more days to cool down before trying to contact her again. It was now time to deal with Adrian.

  She hadn’t thought of him as much on her holiday as she’d expected to. But now as she contemplated seeing him again her stomach felt fizzy with nerves and anticipation.

  She warned herself not to get her hopes up. And she wouldn’t let him control the situation, either. If he wanted to see her, this time it would be on her terms.

  Just before dinner seemed like the safest time to pay him a visit. She couldn’t do much about her clothes—she only had the two sundresses that fit her now—but she did take the time to wash and style her hair, and put on eye-liner, mascara and lip-gloss.

  While she’d been to his house before, she took the precaution of checking Google maps before driving to his address. The house was charming, English Tudor with ivy growing attractively around the solid wood front door. She dried her damp-with-sweat left hand on the side of her dress before pressing the doorbell.

  Expecting Adrian—or possibly his daughter—she was taken aback when a beautiful blonde woman with startling blue eyes opened the door.

  “Yes?” The hint of a Swedish accent in the woman’s voice helped Dani fill in the blanks.

  “You’re Olga? The nanny?”

  She was tall—the same height as Dani. Slender and long-limbed. And young. Mid-twenties would be a stretch.

  “I was the nanny, as you say. And you?”

  “I—” Before she got any further, Adrian appeared in the doorway. His expression of slight annoyance quickly morphed into shock.

  “Dani? What the—” He checked himself, then turned to Olga, placing a hand on her arm. “This is work, honey. Would you mind going back to the kitchen with Ava? I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Dani demanded, when instead of inviting her inside, Adrian joined her on the front stoop and closed the door.

  “Come.” Adrian took hold of her elbow and forcibly led her back to her car. At the driver’s side door, he spoke again. “Inside.”

  “You can’t make me.” She searched his eyes for some sign of caring or warmth. But from his expression she would have guessed he was dealing firmly with a recalcitrant student.

  “Please don’t make a scene here on the street.” He took her keys, which she was still holding in her right hand, hit “unlock,” then walked around the car and got into the passenger seat.

  The best option seemed to be to join him. So she got behind the wheel, making awkward adjustments for the girth of her belly. She sensed Adrian’s impatience as he waited for her to get settled.

  “You were never supposed to come to my house.”

  She’d had time to think. To process the pretty blonde’s appearance at the door and her “I was” when Dani had presumed she was the nanny.

  “You mean your Swedish girlfriend doesn’t know about me? Or the fact that I’m pregnant with your child?” She felt her body shaking. She should have guessed Adrian’s circumspection had little to do with his child. Almost from the beginning she’d felt like the other woman in his life. And that was exactly what she’d been.

  “I’m going to tell her. Obviously.”

  He didn’t have much choice. Not since she’d shown up at his door. But if she hadn’t, Dani guessed the news might not have been forthcoming. “So how long has this been going on? You and Olga?”

  “I hired her to replace the other nanny in April. We fell in love very quickly. I’m sorry I didn’t end things with you right away. But then you told me you were pregnant. And I—well, obviously I didn’t handle the situation very well.”

  Finally he was accepting at least a little bit of responsibility. “So the text messages you sent me—what were they about?”

  “I wanted to see you. To tell you about Olga. We’re engaged now you see. And I also have something for you from my lawyer. You should get a second opinion, of course. But I think you’ll find the payment schedule I’m proposing is on-side with Washington family law requirements.”

  Dani felt like a buoy out on the ocean during a big storm. The waves kept coming, pounding into her. But she stayed afloat. Riding them out.

  The thing was, none of this felt like a surprise. It was as if, on some level, she’d always known Adrian was holding his heart apart from her.

  Maybe it was even what had drawn her to him.

  Despite her education, and the fact that she should have known better, she’d given her heart to a real asshole.

  Just like dear old dad. Now, there was an insight she’d have to ponder later.

  Her instinct was to demand Adrian get out of her car and keep his dirty money, too.

  But he did have an obligation to their baby. And she couldn’t be blind to the possibility that this child might have financial needs in excess of what she could comfortably provide.

  “Fine. My attorney is Eliot Gilmore. You can instruct your lawyer to send the documentation to him.”

  Adrian was quiet for a long while. “That’s it? All you have to say?”

  She nodded.

  “Look. You have every right to be angry with me. I’m sorry things worked out this way. It’s not like I planned to fall in love with Olga.”

  She sighed, suddenly terribly weary. “I don’t care about you and Olga. Just please give me your word that what happened between us won’t affect our professional relationship at the University.”

  “It won’t.”

  She wondered if that was true. But it was too late now for her to do anything about it. Hopefully, her work with Jenna would provide all the real job security she needed. “Great. Then I think we’re done.”

  Oddly enough Adrian’s eyes softened then. For the first time, he let his gaze drop to her belly. He looked like he was going to say something. Maybe enquire how she was feeling. But then he seemed to think better of the impulse and instead dropped a kiss on her cheek.

  Dani held herself still, not reacting in any way. And then, he left.

  Chapter Six

  September

  When the fall term started at the University, Dani felt disconnected from it all. Not just because she was on leave. She was drawing into herself, preparing in a very primal way for the big change that was about to happen. Like a caterpillar in the process of metamorphosis her body was changing, giving her subtle signs that it would soon be time for the baby to come.

  Already, she was a week past her due date. But at her last check-up with Gwen she’d been told that the baby had dropped and it would be happening soon.

  Dani could feel it. Knew it was true.

  Portia was back at school and Dani felt guilty about not picking her up at the airport this time, or inviting her for dinner. But she didn’t feel up to either of these things, and she hoped Portia would understand. At least it was her niece’s second year. She knew her way around. And she had friends. Austin Bradshaw, Mattie informed her, was still very much in the picture. Over the summer he’d spent as much time at Bishop Stables as he could spare away from the rodeo circuit.

  Funny how Portia had fallen for a rodeo cowboy—just like her dad.

  Patterns. It was so easy to fall into them. Just the way she had fallen for Adrian.

  Dani felt sad for herself—that she’d been so naïve. And sad for her baby, who would grow up without a dad. But she didn’t feel heartbroken. Somehow her feelings for Adrian had lost their vibrancy, become shadows of love rather th
an the real thing. She suspected Eliot had something to do with that. But she couldn’t examine that possibility too closely right now. Their friendship had deepened since Miriam’s departure and their two weeks at the cottage. But it didn’t seem right to consider where the changes were headed.

  Her baby was all that concerned her now.

  On the morning of September fifteenth, Dani woke with an urge to go for a long walk. She was out for an hour. The city was beautiful this time of year. Still green and lush, but the days were getting shorter. Winter was inevitable. Before too long gray days and rain would replace all this beautiful sunshine.

  By the time she returned to the condo, she knew the bands of muscles tightening around her abdomen were telling her something. No longer just uncomfortable, they were becoming painful. And closer together.

  She had a suitcase by her door. All she had to do was call the taxi.

  Eliot had told her to phone him when the time came. Didn’t matter if he was at work, or in court, in a meeting or at lunch, he’d come and take her to the hospital. He understood she didn’t want him with her during the birth. But he wanted to be close at hand.

  Dani appreciated his offer. A lot. But deep inside she felt that this was a journey for her to take on her own. So she watered her plants, then went down to the lobby to wait for her taxi.

  Before long she was at the clinic, being examined by a nurse who asked her why she had waited so long. No sooner was the question asked, than Dani’s water broke.

  And it all happened quickly after that.

  Her doctor was her lifeline, arriving just when the pain was at its worst. “How are you doing, Dani? Your nurses tell me you’re progressing quickly.”

  “If that means it hurts like hell, they’re right.” Dani ground out the words, taking hold of the hand Gwen offered and squeezing it tightly.

  “Unusual for the labor to progress this quickly for a first baby. But it’s going to be okay. Is there anyone you want me to call?”

  “No.” Inside Dani was cursing every decision she’d made leading up to this day. Having unprotected sex with Adrian the night of the Christmas party. Keeping the baby. Not going for the amniocentesis. Not reaching out to one of her sister. If she hadn’t been so stubborn Sage, or Mattie or even Callan would be with her right now. And it would have helped, to have someone who loved her.