“She discovered that she was pregnant soon after she went to prison, by a guy who’d already walked out on her. She gave birth while she was incarcerated, and one of her brothers took care of the baby so it didn’t have to go into foster care.”
Jake hadn’t been aware of Meagan’s plight. “Have you been keeping tabs on her all this time?”
“No. I haven’t paid her any mind while she’s been locked up. I didn’t even know that she’d had a kid until Mom told me, just recently. She just found out, too, when she took an interest in Meagan’s parole.”
“Damn. Your mother is really vested in this thing.” Jake considered the circumstances. “I can’t imagine someone having a baby in prison.” The thought twisted his stomach, especially now that Carol was carrying his child.
Garrett squinted in the sun. “You know what else Mom discovered from poking around into Meagan’s life? That she and Meagan’s mother used to belong to the same Native American women’s group. It was a long time ago, and their paths only crossed for a short period, but there’s still a connection. Of course Mom thinks it’s a sign, even if she barely knew the other woman.”
“What happened to Meagan’s mom?”
“She died before any of this went down.”
“So she never saw her daughter get locked up? That’s good, I guess. But it’s sad, too, that she’s dead.” Jake knew what losing family was like. “Your resort would be a good place for Meagan to work, especially with the day care you built for your employees.”
“Are you suggesting I should hire her because of that? Her child isn’t my responsibility.”
No, but from the tone in Garret’s voice, Jake could tell that he was concerned about the kid. “With everything Meagan has been through, she may have been reformed.”
“And maybe she hasn’t changed a bit. She could be the same greedy little thief who ripped us off.”
“You won’t know unless you give her a chance. Besides, you don’t really know what prompted her to take the money.”
“Is there a good reason to steal?”
“No, but sometimes it’s not about being greedy. I started stealing to try to fill the hole where my heart used to be. Then later, I did it to impress the girls I was with. You remember how messed up I was then.”
“Yes, I remember. We were all a mess in those days.” Garrett blew out a breath. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do. But at least I have some time to think about it.”
“I’ve got a lot to think about, too.” Jake shifted his attention back to the family on the beach, where the toddler had been handed over to his dad, so his mom could pour apple juice in his tippy cup or sippy cup or whatever it was called.
Jake was definitely going to ask Carol to stay with him for a while and try to figure things out. But whether or not she accepted the invitation was a whole other matter.
* * *
On Sunday, Carol met with Jake at a park in her neighborhood. When he’d called to ask her to join him for a picnic, he’d told her that he wanted to discuss another aspect of the baby arrangement. She wasn’t sure what that meant exactly. But she understood that there was still plenty to talk about. So here she was, waiting to see what he had to say.
They shared a blanket beneath a big, shady tree, with a cooler of food that Jake’s chef had prepared.
“So what’s on your mind?” she asked.
He filled his plate. “Maybe we can relax a bit before we get into the specifics?”
“All right.” She allowed him the luxury he’d requested, even if she was impatient to know what had triggered this meeting. “It’s a nice park. I’ve never been here before.”
“Me, neither.” He glanced around. “It’s busy today.”
Carol nodded. There was even a group who’d gathered for a family reunion, with homemade signs leading to their get-together. “Lots of people are barbecuing.”
“My family used to grill in our backyard. The whole suburban weekend thing.”
“Did your dad do the cooking?”
“Yes. But Mom always got everything ready ahead of time, and then he would get credit for how good it was.”
Carol turned nostalgic. “It was like that at our house, too.” It was also the type of lifestyle she’d always envisioned having. But this wasn’t the time to think about that, not while she was pregnant with Jake’s baby.
He said, “I don’t like doing things my family used to do. It just makes me miss them more.”
She sighed. “It helps me to remember mine.”
“You and I are different in that way.”
“We’re different in lots of ways.” They’d known it from the day they’d met, and now they were bringing a child into the world.
He ate a handful of grapes. “How often are you supposed to see the doctor?”
She spread a dollop of Brie cheese on a sliced pear. “Once a month, until I’m further along. Then it’ll be every two weeks. After that, it’ll be every week until the baby comes.”
“I wonder if you’ll have any food cravings.”
She savored the pear. “If I do, I hope it’s for stuff like this. But knowing me, it’ll be a weird combination.”
“Like matzo balls dipped in chocolate or something?”
Carol summoned a smile. She even laughed a little. “Gosh, I hope not.”
He laughed, too. “I should warn my chef, just in case.”
She turned serious. “Why would your chef be making the food I crave?”
Jake went somber. “Because I was thinking that you could move in with me for a while. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. There’s plenty of room. You can have one of the guest wings all to yourself.”
Moving into his mansion was the last thing she’d expected him to suggest. “How long is a while?”
“I don’t know. Maybe five or six months. That’ll give us time to shop for a house where you and the baby can live later on, and it’ll give me the opportunity to be part of the pregnancy while you’re staying at my place.”
“But won’t that cramp your style, with me waddling around your big, glitzy bachelor pad in maternity dresses?”
“You make it sound like I live at the Playboy Mansion.” He made a tight face. “Or something equivalent to it.”
“It’s pretty darn close.”
“It is not. And even if it was, I’m going to have to clean up my act when the kid is around.”
“I know, but the baby isn’t even born yet.”
“You’re twisting this all up, Carol.”
Because she was afraid of moving in with him, of letting herself get that close. “I don’t see why I can’t stay at my apartment.”
“I already told you why. I want to be part of the pregnancy. I want to get comfortable with it. And quite frankly, it bothers me to think of you being alone in the apartment. What if something happens?”
“Everything will be fine.”
“But what if it isn’t? We both know that bad things can happen. At least if you’re staying with me, I can keep an eye on you. In fact, maybe you should just live at my house until the baby is born.