“I know. I’ll take care of the baby.” Laney patted her stomach with a protective hand. If she were pregnant, she couldn’t fault the new life growing inside her. The child was innocent and would receive all the love she had to give. “I’m coming to terms with that. I’ll love this child. Believe me. I’ve always wanted children.”
“Oh, I know you will. There was never any doubt about that, but what about the father?”
“I really can’t stand thinking about him. He most likely caused my father’s heart attack. He’s about as heartless as they come. I’ll deal with him later when the situation forces me to come to a decision.”
Julia nodded in agreement. Thankfully, she had her best friend’s support in that.
“Right now, no one knows but you and me. I’d like to keep it that way.”
Julia’s lips lifted as she reached for her hand. “Laney, that’s what we always do. Keep each other’s secrets. But when the time comes, I get to throw you the biggest baby shower. Promise?”
“Promise.” Laney leaned back in her Queen of the Island chair, closing her eyes and thanking heaven for best friends.
Later that week, Laney rubbed her tension-filled forehead just as Preston Malloy walked into her office. “Preston, please close the door.”
She waited until he sat before sharing the news. “I just received word that there’s been a flood at The Royal Phoenix.”
“How bad is it?” he asked with a calm that Laney wished she could absorb into her own chaotic life. Preston had a good head for business and had become her life preserver in the face of very choppy waters. Over their business dinner the other night, he reassured her that the San Diego computer glitch wouldn’t happen again. He’d taken additional, but costly measures to see that they had a backup reservation system for all the hotels. Laney had approved the requisition immediately.
“It’s bad. The entire first floor just had renovations. All the new carpeting and furniture was involved. I need you to check to see if we’re covered by insurance. You might have a fight on your hands. The insurance company hasn’t been too happy with all the claims we’ve filed this year. The Phoenix manager says a faulty pipe burst during the night. That’s all I know right now.”
“Okay, I’ll check into it.”
“We’ll have to scramble now to get the lobby and reservation desk operating again somehow. You know how proud my father was of that main lobby. He’d commissioned sculptures and artwork personally to suit that location. I’m praying none of that art was destroyed.”
Preston rose instantly. “Don’t worry, Elena. I’ll take care of it. Will you be around this afternoon?”
Laney sighed. “No, I have an appointment with…well, it’s something I can’t neglect. Trust me, I wouldn’t leave you with this mess if it wasn’t very important.”
Preston smiled. “I’ll handle it. You can count on me.”
“I do,” she said in earnest. “But call me if you find out anything more about Phoenix, okay? You can reach me at home tonight.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” he said as he turned to leave. Then he swung back around to add, “I had a nice time at dinner the other night, Elena.”
“Me, too.”
“And just for the record, you’re doing an excellent job here at Royal.”
“Thank you,” Laney said, grateful for Preston’s constant support. She wished she could feel the same way, but in fact, Laney felt as though the entire hotel chain were crumbling around her feet.
Three hours later, Laney’s mood had gone from bad to worse. She’d visited her ob-gyn and he had confirmed her suspicions: the recent pregnancy tests she’d taken at home weren’t false positives. She was six weeks pregnant. That meant Evan Tyler was the father of her baby.
She drove down the 405 Interstate in a state of shock. She thought she had a handle on this and fully expected that her suspicions had been correct, but when the doctor announced, “You’re pregnant,” the full impact of her situation struck her with stunning force. The baby was due next spring. Her baby. The reality that in less than eight months, she’d be holding her own little helpless child in her arms, struck her anew.
She was really pregnant.
A life for a life, her father would say.
It was strange how true that was in her case. Just weeks before her father died, Laney had conceived a child. And even stranger yet was that Nolan Royal would never know his grandchild because Evan Tyler, the baby’s father, might very well also be responsible for his death.
Tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them quickly to clear her vision, but she couldn’t wipe away the searing pain of losing her father. “I miss you, Daddy,” she whispered quietly, her hands rigid on the steering wheel. He may not have been a perfect father. He’d expected so much from her, but he’d also loved her very much. It was as if when her mother died, he’d thrust all of the love he’d had for her mother onto Laney. And he’d looked to Laney for that same kind of devotion.
Both her mother and father were gone now and the dawning knowledge that she was alone in the world but for some distant relatives, brought agonizing sadness.
When her queasy stomach grumbled with hunger she was reminded that she wasn’t really alone. A baby grew inside her. She smiled at the thought. Regardless of all else, she would love this child. The two of them would be a family.
Laney got off the freeway at Sunset Blvd. and drove home, ready to soak in a hot tub and then try to eat something. The doctor had warned her about staying healthy in body and mind. She needed nourishment. He’d offered her a prescription for her nausea, but Laney hated taking medication so she hadn’t swallowed one pill yet. She wanted to try to conquer the queasiness on her own.
She hit the remote to her garage and pulled her car inside, just as another car pulled up in her driveway. She got out of her car, closing the door, curious about the shining silver sports car that had appeared out of nowhere.
She walked to the edge of the garage, squinting in the afternoon sun as a man stepped out of the car wearing faded jeans and a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
For a second her heart raced—memories of casual walks on a Hawaiian beach with a handsome stranger kicked in. Laney glanced at his pant legs when he strode up the driveway. Staring curiously, her throat tight and dry, she barely managed, “Boots?”
“Born in Texas.”
Laney nodded, as if that made all the sense in the world, but it had shown her just how little she’d really known about the man she’d once called Ty.
“Did you follow me?” she asked, puzzled. She’d put nothing past him.
“No. Just good timing.”
“That’s debatable. We have nothing to say to each other, Mr. Tyler.” She wouldn’t ask how he’d found out her private home address. A man like Evan Tyler had ways to get the information he needed. Hadn’t she learned that brutal lesson, firsthand?
He twisted his mouth. “Mr. Tyler again?”
She’d ticked him off and took childish satisfaction in that. “I’m not going to allow you to buy Royal out, so please, get off my property.”
“You need to listen to reason, Laney. Take a drive with me. We’ll go somewhere peaceful and talk.”
Laney wanted to put a protective hand to her trembling stomach, but she didn’t dare. And she couldn’t quite block out the doctor’s routine inquiries today about the baby’s father—health history questions she couldn’t answer. Laney would have to get those answers soon.
Once again,