Forever After (22 page)

Brad looked as if he was going to refuse, as if he wanted to turn tail and run.  Run away from what he'd tried to do, run away from responsibility.  But he didn't.  He squared his shoulders, loped toward Jenna, and fell on one knee in front of her.  "I'm sorry if I scared you, sweetie.  I don't want you ever to be scared of me.  I guess I forgot how grown up you've become.  You're not a baby.  You have a mind of your own."

Her chin quivered as she asked solemnly, "You won't try to take me away from Mommy?"

He tenderly pushed her hair behind her ear and tried to reassure her.  "No.  I won't try and take you away from your mom.  That was a stupid idea I didn't think through.  She and I are going to have to do some talking to try and make all of us happy."

Jenna gnawed on her lower lip thoughtfully.  "Will you and Chuck be friends?"

Brad's answer was honest.  "I don't know if we can be friends, not right now.  I still feel a lot of things for your mother.  But she doesn't love me, she loves Chuck.  So being friends would be very hard.  Do you understand?"

With the optimism of youth Jenna answered, "I think so.  But you can try, can't you?"

Brad nodded.  "I can try."

Darcy took Jenna to the kitchen for a snack and left Brad alone to call Marsha.  After he did, he paced her living room until he heard a car pull in next door.  Darcy had suggested he leave Jenna with her while the adults thrashed out the situation.  He was out the door and across the lawn in a few moments.

Darcy gave up the idea of cleaning the car rims.  She was involved in teaching Jenna how to draw a pony when her phone rang an hour later.  She picked it up on the second ring.

"Darcy, it's Marsha.  You can send Jenna home now."

"How'd it go?"

Marsha's voice was tired and strained.  "All right.  When Brad told me what he almost did, I was petrified he'd try it again."

"Do you still think that?"

"No.  He promised he won't and I think it's one promise he'll keep.  He not only wants Jenna to love him, but to like him.  He realizes if she's scared of him or afraid of what he'll do, she won't even want to visit him.  We've worked out a new schedule.  She's going to spend a weekday evening with him.  He wants to help with her homework and keep track of what's going on at school.  It's going to be difficult for all of us, but I think it'll work.  He's her father and I can't cut him out of her life.  Unconsciously, I guess that's what I've been trying to do.  It's not fair to him.  It's not fair to Jenna.

"I'll talk to you about this later.  Brad and Chuck are attempting to have a civil conversation.  I better get back into the living room.  And Darcy, thanks.  If you hadn't talked Brad out of taking Jenna..."

"Hey, it's okay.  Don't think about it.  It's over.  I'll talk to you later."

After Darcy saw to it that Jenna was safely in her house, she felt at loose ends.  She could still finish the car, but she didn't feel like it.  She had no idea what time Seth would be back.  Her stomach somersaulted.  She didn't want to think about that.  Suddenly she remembered the piece of birthday cake she'd frozen.  She'd go visit Peg and maybe get a glimpse of her new baby girl.

When Darcy entered the hospital, she stopped at the desk to get Peg's room number.  Finding the room without any trouble, Darcy tentatively rapped on the door.

Vic's voice called, "Come in."

Peg looked like everything a new mother should look like--radiant, glowing.  And Vic?  He was bursting with pride.

"You two certainly look happy.  I can't imagine why."

Peg's smile became wider.  "I'm happy because my husband insisted I get a private room this time with no rooming in.  He was right.  I'm actually getting some sleep."

Vic sat next to the bed, both of Peg's hands sandwiched between his.  "She needs her rest now.  Once she gets home, it will be bottles and diapers and taking turns for night feedings while the other two pull at her.  Thank God, we've been through this before and know what to expect.  It's the first-time parents I pity."

A wave of longing spread over Darcy so strong she caught her breath.  She yearned to be a first-time parent no matter what the problems were.  To hide feelings which were entirely too close to the surface, she reached into the bag she carried and pulled out Peg's piece of cake.  "Is it legal for you to eat this for dessert tonight?"

Peg unfolded the tinfoil and grinned when she saw the contents.  "Absolutely.  Vic was going to bring me a milkshake but this will be even better.  I can't wait to dig into that icing!"

"She acts like she's been fasting the past nine months," Vic kidded.

Peg made a face at him.  "I'm sick of wholesome."

Darcy kept her visit short, knowing Peg would have more company later.  Vic guided her to the nursery window and proudly pointed out his daughter.  Darcy stared.  The thought that two human beings could create such a precious bundle brought tears to her eyes.  She thought about the child she'd never held, the child she'd lost before she could even think about names.

What would a baby created by her and Seth look like?  Would he or she have Seth's piercing grey eyes, his dark brows, his aristocratic nose?  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Darcy drove home attempting to keep her hopes and dreams in check.  Despite their opposing backgrounds, her soul reached out to his and his reached out to hers.  But he wouldn't acknowledge that what he felt was love.  It was too much to hope that two days of thinking about their relationship would change anything for him.

After she let herself into her house, she studied her living room with a critical eye.  She'd clean.  It would give her something to do to keep her thoughts from skidding into potholes.  She and Seth had to talk seriously tonight.  She loved him so much she ached.  But especially after seeing Vic with Peg, and the beautiful little miracle they had created, she knew she needed marriage.  Maybe some other women didn't, but she did.  She needed the irrevocable bond, the vows, the promise of a lifetime with one special person.  If Seth couldn't understand that, then they didn't belong together.

She wanted to hold onto Seth for dear life, grab every moment they could spend together.  But she knew she'd only be hurting herself.  How long would that last?  Until Seth moved back to Philadelphia?  Until he decided she wouldn't fit into his life style?  Until he tired of what she could give him?  She understood now why he was mistrustful, sometimes cynical.  His background colored his view on life.  She wanted to replace his sadness with happiness.  But she couldn't if he wouldn't let her.

Darcy plucked a dust cloth from her shelf and dragged her canister vacuum cleaner for the closet under the stairs.  With unswerving concentration, she cleaned the room piece by piece.  She'd finished vacuuming the loveseat and was plumping the cushions into place, when Seth walked in the door.

She raised her head and licked her lips nervously.  "Hi!"

The casualness of her greeting belied the twisting in her stomach as she stooped to pick up the throw pillows on the floor.  After she threw them on the loveseat, she picked up the sweeper attachment leaning against the recliner.  Grabbing the hose with her other hand, she tugged the machine to the closet, and kicked it inside with her foot.

Seth's eyebrows arched and she knew why.  He knew she didn't clean on Sundays if she could find something else to do.  "Has Jenna gone home?"

"A while ago.  I called Marsha and she and Chuck came home.  Brad tried to take Jenna without Marsha's permission."

Seth parked on the loveseat and crossed his left ankle over his right knee.  "Take her where?"

Darcy felt tingles up and down her spine.  All Seth had to do was look at her and she could feel his lips on hers, relive the caress of his hands.  She crossed to the coffee table and picked up the dust rag.  She had to stay away from him until they talked.

Before they could do that, she should tell him about Brad.  "I don't think he knew where he was going.  Marsha told him yesterday she was marrying Chuck.  He was afraid he'd lose access to Jenna."

Seth sat straight up.  "He tried to kidnap her?"

Seth looked almost as stricken as she'd felt when she saw Brad holding Jenna.  "Sort of."

"Damn!  It's my fault.  I should have pushed him into mediation."

Seth was genuinely upset.  Darcy sat down next to him.  "You couldn't do that.  Marsha wasn't much more open to it than he was."

"I knew how desperate he was.  I should have warned Marsha and you.  I've seen how desperate the non-custodial parent can get."

She put her hand on his knee.  "You could have warned us.  Marsha would have become more protective.  But there would still be problems.  Maybe this had to happen.  It brought both of them to realize they have to communicate for Jenna's sake.  Don't blame yourself for something that didn't happen."

Seth stared at her until he seemed to absorb the truth in her words.  Then he pulled her against him and kissed her forehead.  "One of the favorite things I like about you is that you make sense."

Tucked into Seth's chest, sense was the last thing on her mind.  She couldn't breathe in enough of him.  Postponing the inevitable, she asked, "Did you know Vic and Peg had a little girl?"

"Vic called me before I left Saturday.  He's going to spoil her beyond redemption before she can say 'Daddy.'"

Darcy felt she had to keep talking.  She rushed on, "They named her--"

Seth's index finger silenced her lips.  "Elizabeth Marie.  I know." 

Darcy was transfixed as Seth dragged his nail over he bottom lip, down to the point of her chin, along the column of her throat.  His thumb rested on the hollow.  Uncrossing his leg, he leaned toward her and kissed her.

Darcy's boat-neck slipped to one side.  Each finger of his hand scorched an imprint as she soaked in the sensation of his touch and quivered from it.  She responded reflexively, grasping his upper arms, feeling his muscles begin to tense as he tasted her.  His kiss was familiar now, but no less exciting.  The probing spears, the thrust asking for her parry, the swirling to the roof of her mouth, the sensuously slow stroking of her bottom lip before he withdrew.  His kisses promised a voyage to a place only the two of them could share.

When his fingers feathered up her neck, she wanted to purr.  How she needed him.  But she needed more than his passion.  She needed all of him.  Did she want his body if she couldn't know his soul?

As if he could sense her question, he pulled back to look at her.  "What's wrong, Darcy?"

Folding her hands in her lap, she fought the urge to keep touching him.  She jackknifed one leg under her.  Adrenaline pumped and the fluttering in her stomach was as vigorously active as a hummingbird's wings.  "Seth, have you thought about what I said Friday night?"

Profound silence fell between them so thick and heavy a bulldozer couldn't budge it.  Seth grimaced.  "You mean our 'affair'?  What do you want?  Do you want us to live together?"

She shook her head sadly.  "Living together is for children who want to play house and then put the responsibilities away with the toys at the end of the day.  Life isn't like that."

The knees of Seth's jeans strained as he leaned forward and stared straight ahead.  "I don't like being crowded and I hate feeling trapped.  I never led you to expect anything long range."

She felt the color leave her face.  The question had been postponed long enough.  "Are you taking the Gilbert case?"

Seth rubbed his hand over his jaw and gave her a considering look.  "Yes."

"Why?" spurted out before she could stop it.

"Because it's another case that can go into the books as a precedent.  More men are being awarded custody of older children.  But Frank Gilbert wants custody of a two-year-old daughter.  He has grounds.  He and his ex-wife both have careers.  He can be at home as much as she can.  His parents are pressing him to take custody and he wants to put up a helluva fight to prove he loves his daughter."

"And going to court is going to prove that?  What makes you think you can win?  Nothing you've said is out of the ordinary."

"There's an entanglement in his wife's past that could help us.  When she was seventeen, she had a baby and gave it up for adoption."

Darcy was horrified.  "And you're going to use that to take this child away from her too?  That's not fair!"

His grey irises glinted harshly.  "I don't get paid to be fair.  I get paid to win."

After the scene with Brad, Darcy could understand the anguish of the non-custodial parent.  "Seth, these are people's lives being destroyed.  Don't you take that into consideration?"

"My job isn't to judge who will make the better parent.  Frank Gilbert believes he could be the better parent.  He thinks his ex-wife wants custody so he'll keep up his share of the mortgage payments and pay enough child support for her to live in style."

Darcy flicked her hair over her shoulder with impatience.  "What about the child?  Why do you have to make the rift between the parents even wider?  Seth, you don't have to win to be a success.  You just said you should have pushed Brad into mediation."

"That's different."

"It's not.  If you could lessen the bitterness, if you could make concessions for the child's benefit, isn't that winning?"