When Least Expected (13 page)

“Inside it's a real nice place. I would suggest a few updates, like paint, hardware on the cabinets in the kitchen, and have the floors sanded. Those are little things you can do that really bump up the appeal on the entire house.”

That made sense. “I can do that,” Ian said.

“Rich and I are going to go back to my office to work this up. Then I'll give you a call with a figure we can start with.”

“Okay. Thanks for coming,” Ian said. He stood on the small porch as they drove off.

Something felt wrong when he walked back into the house.

What was he doing?

He pulled out the photo albums and looked through them. Seeing all the faces of his family in this place made him feel like he was selling his soul to the devil.

How could he sell out his family's memories just to get rid of his own?

There were the photos of him and Lexi, tucked in the front of one of the books. He pulled them out and his heart seized. They were so happy once.

He put the pictures back and slammed the book shut.

No more. He needed to act. He was putting the wheels in motion, damn it!

 

Jeremy couldn't make it that night, or the next. He finally showed up a little after eight on Friday.

He looked suspicious as soon as he kissed her. She tried to kiss him back but couldn't really get into it.

“Uh-oh. What is it?” he asked.

“Sit down. We need to talk.”

“Shit. Really? Talk? Already?” he said with a frown.

“It's not what you think,” she said.

“Alexis, when a girl says ‘sit down, we need to talk,' it means one of two things. She's either breaking up with you or she's pregnant.”

“Okay. Then it
is
what you think.”

“Is it because of my job?” he guessed. “This damn job is going to be the death of me. It won't always be like this. I'm meeting with someone about a possible opening at a private surgical center.”

“No. It's not because of your job, and actually, it doesn't have anything to do with you.”

“Is it because you're still in love with your ex-husband?”

Her mouth fell open in surprise. Was it that obvious?

“It's complicated.” She swallowed.

“Complicated? I see. I thought people only used that line on television and Facebook.” He laughed sadly.

“I might still be in love with my ex-husband, but I don't think he feels the same way. So it's not like I'm leaving you to go be with him.”

“Trust me, he does feel the same way. But thank you for letting me down before I really fell head over heels for you. It was only a matter of time, Alexis.”

“I'm sorry, it's just that . . . Well, when you said there were
two
reasons why a girl said ‘we need to talk,' you were right—about both of them. I'm pregnant.”

“When you got sick . . . ?”

“Yes. You were right about that. I had no idea. I'm eight weeks. Obviously, it's not yours.”

“Obviously. I haven't known you for eight weeks and we've never had sex,” he pointed out.

“Right.”

“So it's Ian's?” He gestured down toward her stomach with a confused look on his face.

“Yes. That's where the complicated part comes in. It was a . . . moment.” How was she supposed to explain something so unexplainable?

“I'd say.” He shook his head. “I wish you both the best. Honestly, I do.” She didn't doubt he meant it. He was such a nice guy. She would have been happy with him if she could ever have gotten over Ian. He leaned over and kissed her cheek and then stood up. “Yeah, it was only a matter of time before I fell for you, Alexis.”

“I'm sorry,” she offered lamely. Stupid tears came to her eyes. She was so emotional.

“Hey, don't be sorry for getting what you wanted.” He brushed his hand down her cheek.

“Thank you. You're amazing.”

“Thank you for the ravioli.” He smiled and she walked him out. When he was gone, she let a few tears fall for the feelings that never got the chance to become love. She could have been happy with Jeremy. They had fun together. He was attractive and everything she looked for in a man. He just hadn't been the right man for her.

He wasn't Ian.

She felt better the next morning. Ready to move on to the next hurdle. She spent most of the day moving her things back into her own room. She called the plumber to come fix the faucet, which turned out to be nothing major.

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked Roslyn.

“Actually, I was going to call you. Riley asked me if we could get together with you. She says she needs to talk to you about something important. And I have something I need to tell you, too.”

“Okay. I need to talk to you guys, too. Big news.”

“Ooh. Do I get a hint?”

“No. No hints.”

“Then we'll see you at Ralphy's tonight—how about eight?”

“Eight. See you then.” She got off the phone with Roslyn and called Kelly.

“How is my favorite sister-in-law?” Kelly asked when she answered the phone.

“Oh, no. What does that mean?” Something was definitely wrong if Kelly was kissing up. Maybe she needed a last-minute babysitter.

“I have news,” Kelly said.

“What's wrong?” It was bad. She didn't need to say that; Lexi could tell from her tone.

“Remember how I was so happy that my brother dumped that little girl?”

“Yes.” Kelly had made it sound more dramatic than it probably was. Ian had simply said they'd broken up.

“He's with someone else,” Kelly said with a sigh.

“What?” Lexi gasped. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

“I saw them at the diner. I asked him about it, and he told me to mind my own business. Actually, he threw another word in there that I can't say because my kid is right here.”

“Wow.” She covered her mouth, in shock. Ian generally used hostility to deflect guilt.

“She looked kind of stuffy,” Kelly went on. “She had her hand on his arm, but they didn't kiss good-bye or anything.”

“Maybe because you were looking at them?”

“Maybe.”

“She's pretty?” Lex wondered.

“She's not as pretty as you.”

“She's young?”

“Too young.” Kelly snorted.

“I don't think there's such a thing as too young when it comes to women.”

“I thought maybe once he left Meeghan he would find his way back to the woman who really made him happy. I so wanted him to be with you,” Kelly said, sounding angry.

“I know, Kel. I might have wanted that, too,” she said as she rubbed her palm over her stomach.

“You have the surgeon.”

“Yeah,” Lexi lied. She couldn't bring herself to tell Kelly they weren't together anymore. Kelly would most likely assume Jeremy had broken up with her and pour on the pity. She couldn't handle pity at the moment.

“Are things getting serious yet?” Kelly asked.

“He still works a lot, but he has some feelers out.”

“This was supposed to work out differently. Why does my brother have to be so goddamned stupid?”

“I don't know, Kel. I think because he's a guy.” Lexi tried to laugh, but there was nothing funny about this situation.

“You're right. I love you. I'll find a flaw with this new girl and I'll always make fun of her behind her back, and I won't ever invite her to Christmas dinner.”

“Thanks.” Lexi laughed. “Very mature.”

Lexi was pretty bummed as she got dressed to go meet her friends. She decided she wasn't going to tell them yet. She had some big decisions to make first. She was going to have to tell Ian at some point. Should she tell him right away, in the hope he would break up with this new woman and come home to her? Did she want that?

No. She didn't want him to be with her just because she was pregnant. Maybe if she waited, he and this girl would break up.

She pulled into Ralphy's parking lot next to Riley's car. When she walked up, Riley and Roslyn were having a tense conversation.

“What did Evan do now?” Lexi asked, seeing the look on Riley's face. Lexi was ready to take her side, no matter what.

“Not Evan, sweetie,” Roslyn said as she looked at Lexi sadly.

“We have some bad news. About Ian.”

“What is it?” Lexi didn't think she could take anymore.

“Last week, Cooper ran into Ian at the park near his office.” She swallowed before going on. “He was with a woman. Some young, blond doctor who works in the professional building next to his. Cooper said they were laughing.”

“A doctor? Really?” Lexi choked out a laugh. “What is this? I get a doctor so he has to get one, too?”

“That's not the worst of it. Tell her,” Roz prompted her younger sister.

Riley looked like she'd rather eat snails.

“Tell me what?” Lexi asked.

Riley took a deep breath and nodded. “Ian came into the jewelry store where I work.”

“You know Ian?” Lexi was pretty sure they had never met.

“I recognized his name when I filled out the paperwork. He bought a big engagement ring, Lexi. I'm so sorry.”

Lexi's hand went to her chest, as if it could keep her heart from ripping out of her chest and falling to the floor.

“Ian?”

“Yes. I even brought a copy of the receipt.” Riley held it out, and it only took a second to see the address and phone number was Ian's. She recognized his signature at the bottom of the form and tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. She pulled herself together and nodded.

“It's okay. I was prepared for this to happen eventually, right? I mean, someday I might get married, too. That's what happens when you get divorced. You move on. You find someone else who can make you happy, and you live the rest of your life with them.” She was babbling to keep the pain from erupting. She shouldn't have been surprised. Ian hated being alone. Of course he would get married as soon as possible.

What she told them was true, except she was going to be a single mother who was going to have to let her child go off with Ian and his new doctor wife on weekends.

“No.” She said it out loud by accident.

“I'm sorry, sweetie. We thought you should know, so it wouldn't be such a shock if he told you. Better you break down with us so you can be indifferent and smug in front of him,” Riley said.

“Besides, you have the hot doctor to take care of you,” Roslyn added.

“Um. Actually, we broke up.” She couldn't lie to them when they were watching her.

“What?” Roslyn said, smacking Riley in the shoulder. “I told you she had big news. We should have let her go first.”

“I'm sorry, Lexi.” Riley looked stricken.

“It's okay. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go. I need to be by myself right now.”

“No! Don't go,” Roz protested. “Let's get you shit-faced. You'll feel so much better. Not physically, but you won't care.”

“No thanks.” Getting shit-faced wasn't an option for her. “I'll call you tomorrow. I'm not going to be much fun tonight. I'm sorry.” She gave them each a hug and then hurried out of the bar before the tears started to fall.

She went home and curled into a ball on the bed in the spare room.

“I'm sorry, baby,” she said to her stomach. “You've really picked a bad time. Things would have been perfect for all of us if you'd just gotten here a little sooner. Now everything's going to hell. Don't worry, though. I'm going to take care of you. I didn't have a daddy, and I'm fine. It's going to be okay.”

At some point during her affirmations she fell asleep.

The old saying was,
things always look better in the morning.

It just wasn't true.

I
an found himself whistling while he painted the kitchen ceiling at the cabin.

He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd whistled.

He finally had a plan.

When his phone rang, he put the roller down and frowned before answering.

“What?” he said, panting.

“Ew. Are you in the
middle
of something?” Kelly asked.

“You actually think I would stop to take a phone call from you if I was in the
middle
of something?” he said sarcastically.

Over the last few weeks, his sister had been exceptionally irritating. Being a big sister meant she thought she had access to every facet of his life, that it was her duty to tell him how badly he was messing it up.

She didn't know anything.

He had always hated to be alone, but as he worked on the cabin with only the birds to keep him company, he'd started to relax. Therapy was working wonders. He was finally starting to feel comfortable with himself. He didn't need anyone in his life because he didn't want to be alone. The only reason to have someone in his life now was because he wanted them there.

He smiled at that revelation. Not to mention the fact that he didn't plan on being alone anyway.

“I just wanted to make sure you were coming to Aidan's party this Saturday.”

“Sure. I'll be there.”

“Okay. Good. I guess you can bring someone if you want.”

That was odd. She certainly wouldn't want him to bring anyone to a family function in front of Lexi. Unless . . .

“Is Lex bringing the peckerhead?” She would know who he meant. That was how he always referred to Lexi's boyfriend.

“No. I guess they're going away for the weekend. You know, he's not a bad guy,” she said.

He knew that. Why did she think he called the guy peckerhead? Jeez. “So they're still together?” he asked.

“Yeah. They're apparently waiting for him to get a job with better hours before they get serious. He treats her good, and she seems really happy. She looks amazing.”

“That's good.” He tried really hard not to sound bitter. It was going to be fine. Things would work out for everyone.

“So, I guess I'll see you Saturday, then,” he said to get off the phone.

“See you Saturday. Willa's flying in.”

“Great.” He would have both sisters nagging at him.

The party was full of kids running around shooting one another with foam bullets out of some very intimidating-looking weaponry.

Ian just about died when his nephew asked him where Aunt Lexi was. “She had to go away on a trip, but I'm sure she'll stop by when she gets back.” Aiden seemed pleased with that answer, and before too long he was back to playing war with his friends. Ian joined in for a couple of battles, but he couldn't keep up so he went inside for a drink.

“Ian?” His mother beckoned him. Great. If his sisters weren't bad enough, his mother was going to hassle him, too.

“Yeah, Ma?”

“Don't act all innocent with me,” she said, her eyes narrowing on him.

He put up his hands to stop her. “Before you start, I just want to say that I'm finally getting my shit together, so please, can I get a reprieve for a few more weeks?”

She looked him over sternly and then nodded. “Your sister said you have some kind of plan. I better like the girl.”

“Did you hear Willa was dating her boss?” Willa glared at him from the doorway as their mother turned to her.
Sorry
, he mouthed to his little sister. He hated throwing her under the bus, but he wasn't ready to talk about the details of his plan quite yet.

Ian ate two pieces of cake because he thought it might make him feel better about Lexi being off with peckerhead for a romantic weekend, looking amazing, and being happy.

He decided not to let it get him down. After all, he had his own plans.

 

Lexi wasn't surprised to see Roslyn at her door the day after she got back.

“How was your trip?” she asked.

“Great. I found a place, and there's a school in need of a counselor. I just think it's time for a change, you know?”

“Uh-huh. So when are you due?”

“Excuse me?” Lexi choked as Roslyn sat down on the sofa.

“Come on! You were dizzy, you went to the doctor's, and you've been glowing ever since. Not to mention you haven't been drinking. Now you went away for the weekend alone to see about moving. Are you pregnant or what?”

Lexi gave a second's thought about lying but knew she couldn't pull it off. Not with Roslyn.

“You don't understand. How am I supposed to let some other woman be responsible for my child even for a weekend? Even if she is a doctor, she's a complete stranger. I don't know what else to do.”

Roslyn grinned widely. “You're pregnant!” she said.

“You knew that already.”

“I
suspected
.”

“I am.” Lexi calmed slightly and smiled. It was an amazing thing to be able to say. “I'm pregnant.”

“Congratulations, Lexi. This is great. I know it's not how you expected it, but it will work out.”

“I hear about Riley and her ex sharing custody and it terrifies me, Roz.”

“So your plan is to move away and never tell Ian he has a kid?”

“I was thinking about it, but I can't do that to him. He deserves a chance to know his child. I just thought it might be better if we lived farther apart so my baby isn't swapped out on a weekly basis.”

“The problem with that plan is that he might get custody for the entire summer to make up for it.”

“Shit.” Lexi should have thought of that. “What am I going to do?”

“Did you ever stop to consider the idea that maybe when you tell him, he'll ditch the other girl and want to be with you?”

“No. He bought her a ring. He must love her. For all I know, they're already engaged. I can't just crash his new life.”

“I'll stand by you no matter what.”

“Thanks, Roz.”

“Not a problem.”

“I'll figure it out.” She would. She would find a way to be a happy single mother. She and Ian could be civil with one another. They'd make it work. So it wasn't the way she'd planned. Her child would be loved by both parents. She'd make sure of it. Even if it was long distance.

 

She sat in the doctor's office, wiggling her leg nervously.

At her last checkup, two weeks earlier, she'd planned to have told Ian and bring him along now, but she still hadn't told him about the baby. She'd chickened out. Again.

After she got back from her weekend of house hunting alone in Northern Maryland, she hadn't been ready.

She'd come to the conclusion that she obviously needed to tell Ian he was going to be a father. She knew she would need to be close enough for visits, but she didn't want to be
too
close. She still couldn't stand the thought of being close enough to see Ian and his new wife every weekend when she dropped their child off at their new house, which would most likely look like Ian and Lexi's old house.

This new girl would probably be as fertile as a rain forest, and Lexi's child would have so many half siblings they'd have to move into a shoe.

She wondered if pregnancy made people delusional.

Northern Maryland was looking better and better. She was getting her ducks in a row, and then she would tell Ian about the baby. And before it got weird, she would apply for the other job, sell her house, and buy a new one. One swift move. Like a bandage, ripped right off.

“Ms. Montgomery?” The nurse called her back.

Lexi had been up three pounds from her ten-week checkup.

When the doctor came in, she smiled at Lexi while rubbing her hands together in excitement.

“You're twelve weeks along. It's possible we might see the sex of the baby on the ultrasound today.”

Lexi wasn't sure if Ian would want to know the sex. They'd never really got a chance to talk about that kind of stuff. She definitely needed to tell him in time for the next appointment.

To her relief, they weren't able to see the sex of the baby today. Everything was fine, though, and Lexi couldn't be happier.

She met Kelly for lunch. Her sister-in-law eyed her suspiciously as she ate every morsel of her huge sandwich and had dessert.

“So Ian didn't bring anyone to Aidan's party even though I told him he could.”

“What does that mean?” Lexi asked.

“I'm not sure. He told me to—”

“Mind your own business?” she interrupted Kelly with a laugh.

“Yes. He's such an ass.”

“Maybe you should stop asking. He might open up on his own.”

“You think?” Kelly asked.

“I do know him pretty well,” she said.

“He seemed pissed at me.”

“He's always pissed at you.”

“Whose side are you on?” Kelly asked.

“No one's. I'm not on a side.”

“Well, I have a bone to pick with you, too. How could you not be at the party? Aidan asked Ian where you were.”

“I know. I'm sorry.” Lexi's heart hurt, knowing she'd disappointed her nephew. Kelly and the rest of the Montgomery clan were the biggest factor on the con side of moving to Maryland. She wanted the baby to grow up in a loving family, with aunts and uncles and cousins.

“Did you have a nice time?” Kelly said, in a tone that inferred Lexi had had sex all weekend instead of planning an escape.

“Yes. It was great.” She'd let Kelly think she was still with Jeremy so she wouldn't make a big fuss. And maybe so she wouldn't tell Ian that Lexi was alone while he was planning a wedding and a future.

“Have you heard anything about Ian proposing to this new girl?” Lexi asked. That suggestion threw Kelly into a fifteen-minute tirade. In the end, Lexi was able to determine that if he was engaged, he hadn't mentioned it to his sister.

The next day Lexi pulled out her phone and stared at it for twenty minutes before she finally made the call.

“Hello?” Ian answered.

“Hi. It's Lex.”

“I know. How have you been? I was meaning to check on you after your doctor's appointment, but I . . .” He didn't seem to know what to say. Maybe he could have said, “I forgot all about you while I was out buying another woman a huge diamond ring.” That would have worked nicely.

“I'm good. Really good. Great even.” Lexi was laying it on a bit thick, but in reality she was great. She was going to have a baby, and despite the chaos it might bring, she was happy.

“Good. You haven't had any more dizzy spells?”

“No.”

“Good,” he said again. It seemed like it was the only thing either of them could say. They were both so damn good it was disgusting.

“I was wondering if we could get together. I need to talk to you about something. In person, if that's okay,” she said nervously.

“Yeah! Uh, actually, I need to talk to you about something, too. I'm up at the cabin right now, doing some repairs.”

He was going to sell the cabin? She frowned at the thought. She wanted her child to be able to ice-skate on the lake and go hiking in the mountains.

“Could I stop by?” In the back of her mind she knew it wasn't a good idea to meet him at the cabin, but she did want to see it one last time.

“Sure. When?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Uh . . . yeah. How about five?”

“Five would be good. I'll see you then.”

The next day, she put on a tank top that flowed out at the bottom; with her tighter shirts, the slight bump was visible on her normally flat stomach, though only someone who knew her body as well as Ian would really notice.

She left earlier than necessary so she could get there in time to go for a walk out to the lake before her actual meeting with Ian. If it was her last chance, she didn't want to miss out.

 

Lexi was coming.

He'd been putting off this conversation for weeks because he was scared, but now he had to do it. He was ready.

What would she say? How would she respond?

God, he felt like he was going to throw up.

To get his mind off his anxiety, he worked on scraping the wallpaper in the spare bedroom. Lexi had always called it the rose room because of the rose-covered wallpaper. He was planning on replacing it with more modern roses so it would always be called the rose room.

Every two minutes he checked his phone for the time. Two hours until Lexi would be there. One hour.

Then he heard a car on the gravel and looked out the upstairs window to see Lexi's car.

She's here,
he said to himself. He swallowed nervously. She was early and he still wasn't ready, but his heart pounded at the sight of her getting out of the car and looking up at the cabin.

Kelly was right, she did look great. Happy, and . . . something else.

Content, maybe?

He wondered what she needed to tell him, as he worried about the things he needed to tell her.

“Time to face my fears,” he said and went downstairs to meet her.

 

The thing about the mountains was how quickly a storm could move in. It had been bright and sunny down in the valley, but as Lexi drove up into the mountains, the dark clouds threatened her idea of a walk to the lake.

She pulled in next to Ian's SUV at a little after four. She hoped it wouldn't be a problem she was early.