New Beginnings (23 page)

Sierra was trying to temper her excitement with a harsh dose of reality. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell everyone just yet. My pregnancy is considered high-risk because of my condition. What if-”

“I don’t want to hear any negativity. You are going to be fine; my brother is going to be ecstatic and my niece or nephew is going to be born healthy. Is that understood?”

Sierra laughed and dried her tears. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you soon then. Thanks, Marisa; you’re the best.”

Trey was just stepping outside when a taxi pulled up his circular drive. He cursed the guard at the gatehouse for letting the car through until he saw the figure in the backseat. He tried to slow his racing heart. He tried to convince himself he didn’t want to see her, but as soon as she stepped out of the car, he knew he was only kidding himself. Not only did he want to see her, he needed to see her.

She stood by the car, looking up at him, waiting for him to invite her in or tell her to go to hell.

He walked down the stairs to meet her. “What are you doing here, Sierra?”

She looked back at the driver, who was waiting expectantly. “I wasn’t sure if I should ask the driver to stay and wait for me?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large bill to cover the fare. “Keep the change,” he said, handing it to the driver through the open window,

“Wow, thanks,” the man said, looking at the bill. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Trey. “Hey, you’re that country singer, Trey Turner, right?”

Trey nodded, wondering what he would have to do to get rid of this guy. Sierra looked like she was beginning to regret her decision, and he couldn’t take the risk that she would bolt before they had a chance to talk.

“That’s right,” he said, hoping to sign an autograph and be done with it.

“Hey, my niece loves you, man. She says you’re the sexiest man alive.” The guy snorted. “Course she’s only fifteen, so what does she know?” The cabbie grinned. “Bet you’re used to women throwing themselves at you, huh?”

Trey glanced at Sierra and chose to ignore the comment. The last thing he wanted was to remind Sierra of all the reasons she’d left him in the first place.

“Course with a hot little honey like this to come home to at night, why would you want any other woman, right?”

Trey never ceased to be amazed by the audacity of strangers who thought they knew him just because they saw him on TV or heard him sing on the radio.

“My niece will be crushed when I tell her you’re off the market, man.”

Sierra laughed and winked at Trey, her uneasiness seeming to vanish. “Not as crushed as she would be if you told her you met Trey Turner and didn’t get his autograph for her.”

“Geez, you’re right.” He pulled the pen off his sun visor and handed Trey the pen and a piece of paper. “Would you mind, man?”

Trey thought about telling the guy to get lost, but it would probably take less time to sign the autograph. He rested the paper and pen on the roof of the car. “What’s your niece’s name?”

“Trena.” He looked at Sierra. “So, you guys married or what?”

Trey handed him the piece of paper. “Or what. Have a nice day and say hello to your niece for me.”

“Will do.” He waved at Sierra. “Just call the office and ask for Bill if you need a ride back to the airport, honey.”

Trey clenched his jaw. “Don’t count on it, Bill. Don’t let us keep you; I’m sure you have other fares to pick up.”

He chuckled and smiled at Sierra. “I’m in no hurry.”

Trey hit the top of the car a few times for good measure. “You’re wasting your time here, buddy.”

“Huh, so you two are...”

“Yes,” he said quickly. He glanced at Sierra, who looked surprised by his admission. “We are.”

“Can’t blame a guy for tryin’, man.”

“Wanna bet?” Trey knew he was being ridiculous. There was no way Sierra was going to be interested in an obnoxious cabbie, but his jealousy seemed to kick into overdrive whenever he saw another man making a play for her.

The guy put his hands up. “Say no more.” He looked up at Trey and laughed. “You’re a big dude, man. I don’t wanna mess with you.”

Trey smirked and Sierra laughed as he pulled away, waving at them in his rear view mirror.

Once the car was out of sight, Sierra turned toward Trey, looking uncertain. “Are you upset that I came? I would have tried to call first, but I knew you wouldn’t answer my calls.”

He kicked himself for being an idiot. He’d received all of her messages and fought with himself over whether to respond. He should have called. In spite of everything, he still missed her.

“Why don’t we talk inside?” He led her up the steps.

“It looked like you were on your way out. I wouldn’t want to keep you.”

“It can wait.” He unlocked the door and gestured for her to enter. “So, what’s this about?” He knew he sounded cold, but he couldn’t help it. He was still hurt, angry, confused. But more than anything, he was terrified. His gut told him it was over, for good this time, but his heart wasn’t ready to let her go.

She stood in the foyer, looking around as though she wasn’t sure where to go.

He inclined his head toward the great room. It was a comfortable room, high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, and a limestone fireplace dominating one wall. It was the room where they had spent most of their time, talking, watching TV, listening to music, enjoying a bottle of wine. There were a lot of good memories for them in this room.

She slid her hand over a gilded wood side table with mother of pearl inlay. “You haven’t changed a thing. It looks exactly the same,” she whispered.

“I didn’t want anything to change, Sierra. I was happy with the way things were.”

She sat perched on the edge of an oversized chair that had once been her favorite reading chair. “I said I’m sorry, Trey. I was wrong. I know that now.” She pulled her jacket tighter around her midsection. “I don’t expect you to understand or forgive me...”

“Is that what you want, for me to forgive you? You came here today because you want closure so you can move on with your life?” She was crazy if she thought he was going to make this easy for her. She may choose to walk out on him again, but he intended to make sure it was the hardest thing she’d ever done.

She frowned, looking confused. “No, I came here because I wanted to apologize again and...”

He crossed the room toward the mini-bar. His hand shook as he picked up the coffee carafe and poured two cups of strong, black coffee. He handed her one of the cups.

“No, thanks. I don’t drink coffee anymore. It’s not good for the—it’s not good for me.”

He set the second cup on the low table between them. “Since when did you give up caffeine? I remember a time when you couldn’t haul your butt out of bed until you had your first cup of coffee.”

They looked at each other and smiled at the memory.

“I didn’t say I didn’t miss it.”

“Guess we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good, don’t we?” He would rather be having this conversation with a stiff drink in his hand, but coffee would have to do.

“Where’s Val?” she asked, looking out into the hall.

“She’s running a few errands.”

“Have you started interviewing other housekeepers?”

“Let’s cut to the chase, Sierra. Tell me why you’re really here.”

She got up and crossed the room. She stood in front of him, close enough to reach out and touch him, but she didn’t. “Were you disappointed when you found out Megan wasn’t pregnant?”

Of all the things he’d expected her to say, he hadn’t expected that. “Why?”

“I guess I want to know how you feel about the possibility of being a father again.”

His heart started beating faster. He had thought about little else over the past several days and he realized how much he wanted the chance to be a father, but he couldn’t imagine sharing a baby with any other woman. Whenever he thought about it, Sierra was holding the baby, rocking her and singing a lullaby as she fell asleep.

If he admitted as much to Sierra, she would always question whether he was satisfied with a child who wasn’t biologically his. He knew it wouldn’t matter as long as they were a family, but he didn’t know how to make her believe that. “I’m not going to lie to you; I do want a family, Sierra. But there are a lot of ways to make that happen.”

The tears fell unchecked down her cheeks and she tentatively raised her hands, flattening them on his chest. “How would you feel about having a baby with me, Trey?”

He closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like to share a beautiful, happy, healthy baby with the love of his life. “It would make me the happiest man alive.”

“You still feel that way, even after I left because of-”

“Sssh.” He touched his fingertips against her lips. “That’s forgiven and forgotten, sweetheart. Lord knows I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. You’ve made a few too. I guess that makes us human, doesn’t it?”

She smiled through her tears. “I do forgive you, but I may need a little help forgiving myself,” she whispered.

He touched his lips against hers and smiled. “I can help you with that. Wait right here, I have something for you.” He set his mug down and walked toward the writing desk. He withdrew a small velvet box from a locked drawer. “I bought this before I left for Oklahoma. I wanted to give it to you then, but I made the mistake of getting caught up in the past instead of concentrating on the future.”

She put her hand over her mouth, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, Sierra. What matters is that we won’t make the same mistakes again. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work, honey. I love you. I had no idea how much until I’d lost you. I can’t stand the thought of losing you again.” He opened the box to reveal a flawless three-carat, marquis-cut diamond on a narrow, white gold band. “Please, say you’ll marry me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t, not yet.”

He felt the tension coiling in his gut. This was his worst nightmare; she was turning him down. “Are you saying you don’t love me or you’re not ready to marry me?”

She grabbed his hand. “Trey, I do love you. I want to marry you, but first, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I’m pregnant.”

The words echoed in his head. Logically, he understood what they meant, but he couldn’t allow himself to believe them. “How is that possible? I thought you said...”

She shook her head. “That’s what the doctors thought, Trey. I was so sure it wasn’t possible that I thought it was safe to make love without birth control. I’m sorry; I know this must come as a shock to you.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “You’re sorry? Are you serious? You’re carrying my baby and you’re sorry?”

She still looked scared, uncertain. “I didn’t want you to think that I’d tricked you or that I’d gotten pregnant on purpose. The odds of me getting pregnant were slim to none, or so I thought.”

He smiled, cupping her face in his hands. “Then I guess we got our miracle, didn’t we?”

She looked into his eyes, smiling. “I think so too.” Her smile faded. “But I’m not out of the woods yet. I haven’t passed the three month mark and the doctor said bed rest may be required at some point.”

“Then I’ll just have to wait on you day and night until our beautiful baby is born.” He kissed her lips gently.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that, Trey.”

He kissed her again. “You didn’t ask. I offered.”

“What about the album, the tour?”

“Maybe it’s time I thought about taking a hiatus.”

She looked at him, wide-eyed. “What are you talking about? Why?”

“Because I’ve realized some things are more important than my career. Namely, you and this sweet baby you’re carrying.” He placed his palm over her stomach. “Nothin’ means more to me than that, sweetheart.”

She stood on her tippy-toes to wrap her arms around his neck. She kissed him repeatedly, giggling between kisses. “I love you so much.”

He laughed and held up the ring box. “Does that mean you’ll agree to be my wife again?”

She laughed and held her left hand out. “Yes, yes, yes!”

He noticed the slight tremor in her hand as he slid it on. “It’s a perfect fit. That’s the ring you deserved the first time around.”

“Sssh. I don’t want to think about the past anymore. I want to think about today and tomorrow, and every day after that.” She grabbed his left hand. “In fact, I think it’s time we took this off.”

She looked at him as she slipped the diamond-encrusted wedding band off his finger.

His first impulse was to stop her. He hadn’t taken that ring off since the day she put it on.

“Why do you want me to take it off?”

“It represents our past, Trey. I want to give you a ring that represents our future.” She held up her own left hand. “Just like this ring does.”

He smiled. “Whatever you want, baby. As long as I get to make you my wife, I’ll tattoo a wedding ring on my finger if that’s what makes you happy.”

She grinned, tugging on the front of his shirt. “I like the sound of that.”

He seized her hand, leading her back through the foyer down a long hallway toward the master suite. She paused at the double door entry to the room. He knew what she was thinking, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to make love to another woman in their home, much less their bed. “I haven’t been with another woman in this bed, Sierra.”

She looked up at him, surprised. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

He chuckled. “I know you better than anyone, sweetheart.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “I’m not going to pretend I’ve been a saint, but some things are sacred to me. Like our home and our bed.”

She looked around the room. “I’m glad you didn’t erase all of our memories. I’ve always loved this house.”

He tipped her chin with his finger. “So do I, now that you’re back. The last few years it’s seemed like more of a mausoleum than a home.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let’s start making new memories here.” She kissed him deeply, thoroughly, until he kicked the door closed with his boot and backed her up against it. She shed her coat and let it fall to the floor at their feet as he tangled his hands in her hair.