The Consequence of Secrets - Part Two: A Priest Romance (7 page)

“Sweetheart! You’re looking beautiful tonight. I swear that every day that goes by you look more and more like your mother,” my father says in greeting as we arrive at his Ocean Drive cottage. When we were growing up, we all lived in large house that was built right on Newport Beach. But once Jules and I went to college, our father claimed it was too hard to live with all the memories of our family home on his own, and sold it for a small fortune to move into this smaller but equally beautiful property that juts out over the water and has an absolutely spectacular view at sunset.

“Thank you, daddy,” I say, giving him a quick hug before he turns to Gabe and claps him on the shoulder.

“And how are you, son? I hear the sonic testing is going really well,” he says, doing what he and Gabe do best – talk about work.

I switch off my mind as they laugh into technical jargon that means nothing to me and follow them into the kitchen where my father’s housekeeper, Rosetta is busy preparing the meal.

“Jules should be here soon,” Dad booms, moving over to his stone bar as he begins to make dry martinis which have always been his favorite pre-dinner drink.

When he lines up three glasses, Gabe waves his hand. “Not for Emma,” he says, causing my father to frown slightly – he feels that not accepting a drink when offered is like telling a host you don’t like their food – it’s bad manners.

“I had a migraine earlier,” I lie. “Gabe’s just worried about me mixing alcohol with the pills I took for it.” Honestly, I’ve never had a migraine in my life, but they’re what we’ve always used to explain away the times I’m unavailable when things between Gabe and me have gone too far.

“You should have said you weren’t well, we could have postponed,” my father says, pouring the alcohol in only two glasses.

“It’s fine,” I assure him, taking a seat when he gestures for us to. “I’ll just take water tonight instead.”

“Of course,” he says, pouring me a glass of
10 Thousand BC
mineral water and bringing it over to me where I sit. That’s when the door sounds.

“That must be your sister,” he says, heading to the door with a little more spring in his step than normal. Honestly, I’m worried what this dinner is going to be about. I haven’t spoken to Jules since she told me about the pregnancy and Victor’s proposal, but I have a horrible feeling that tonight may be the night she announces both, and I really don’t know how Gabe is going to react to the news, or what it’s going to mean for me. I sip my water nervously.

As we hear laughter in the front of the house, a distinct male voice can be heard and Gabe gives me a quizzical look. “She brought a guy?” he asks quietly, and I shrug, acting as though I know nothing about it.

“Hi,” she smiles when she comes into view, and I stand to hug her, and Gabe does the same. “This is Victor,” she says, her voice all breathy as she introduces the tall Italian looking man beside her. His dark hair is thick and wavy and he has one of those square jaws that always seems to have a manly smattering of stubble, even though he’s obviously shaved. When he smiles, he produces perfectly white teeth, and the smile on his lips touches his lovely brown eyes and causes them to sparkle.

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Victor says, his voice slightly accented as he shakes Gabe’s hand and kisses mine.

I fix a smile on my face and try so hard to participate in the conversation that follows, but I can’t stop my eyes from wandering to the giant diamond that sits tilted by its own weight on my sister’s left hand. She sees me staring and gestures for me to visit the ladies with her.

“Are you all right?” she asks in concern once we’re in the hall leading to the bathroom.

“I’m fine, I just saw your ring and I’m surprised, that’s all.”

She presses her lips together, worried. “You are happy for though, aren’t you? I mean, marriage isn’t that horrible is it?” There’s an edge to her voice and I find myself reaching out and drawing her into my arms.

“Of course I’m happy for you, little sister, and I’m sure that Victor will make a wonderful husband. I can already tell that he’s gentle and kind. I’m sure you’ll be happy together.”

“I hope so, Emma, because I’m freaking out here, kids and marriage was never part of the plan. I wanted to party until I was too old to have fun then I was going to settle down, raise cats and employ extremely attractive pool boys.”

I smile spreads across my face as I listen to her. “You’ll be a wonderful mother, Jules,” I whisper. “And Victor will be a wonderful husband.”

“You’re not helping,” she says, reaching up to blot the corner of her eyes with her fingertips as she tears up. “You’re supposed to tell me I’m making a mistake, and that marriage is for chumps – just like I did to you.”

“You wouldn’t listen to me anyway, just like I didn’t listen to you,” I respond, causing her to laugh.

“You’re right, I’d tell you to get fucked.”

Laughing, I watch as she touches up her makeup in the bathroom mirror. “You’re going to be just fine,” I tell her again, smoothing my hand over her back to sooth her.

“No I’m not. I’m getting married, Emma. That means no more parties, no more men, no more flirting with Father Braden!” she gives me a nudge when my eyes drop and my cheeks heat from the memory of what I did with him earlier today.

“See? Even you blush at the thought of him.” She dabs a Kleenex at her cheeks before running some gloss over her lips. “This is it, Emma. Take a good long look at this face and remember who I used to be.”

“Marriage is hardly a death sentence, Jules,” I say, forcing myself to smile through my horrid lie.

She turns to me and meets my eyes. “It was for you. Getting married changed everything about you.”

Then she moves to leave the bathroom. “Are you coming? Dad wants to do a big happy family engagement and pregnancy announcement.”

“Of course he does,” I smile, taking a deep breath as I fight the urge to keep my panic at bay. “I’m sure he’s very excited.”

“He is, especially because it’s a boy. I swear, he almost kissed Victor when he came to ask for my hand.”

“He asked for your hand?” I ask, feeling the panic clawing its way up my throat as my heart starts to pound against my chest. Gabe is going to lose it.

“Yeah, it was kind of romantic actually. He wants to do right by me and the baby, so…” she shrugs and gives me a small smile.

My vision begins to spot as I reply, “He sounds really nice.”

The world begins to blur.

“Emma?” she asks, her voice full of concern as the sound starts to leave the room, and the only thing I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears. “Emma!” she yells, but it sounds like she’s yelling at me through water as I feel the world shift from under my feet. I’m falling.

When the wealthiest benefactor of the church calls up and asks for a priest to come and pray for the health of his pregnant daughter, we go and we pray. In my case, I panic inwardly, and try to calmly insist that I be the one to attend to the family – even though this would normally be something the Deacon of Father Matthew would do.

I see the look that is exchanged between the two men, but they concede and let me go, and despite hating to drive ever since the accident that killed my brother and father, I get into the truck the church owns that Deacon Salisbury uses for his community work, and I drive out to Ocean Drive.

My heart is in my throat as I knock on the door and a concerned looking Brent Williams answers the door and ushers me inside. “Thank you for coming, Father Braden. You know how devout she is, seeing you will bring her great comfort.”

He leads me to a guest bedroom where she’s lying on a bed with her husband pacing back and forth while a doctor checks her over. The moment I see Gabe, my fists curl, and I need to suppress my urge to growl and lash out at him for the damage I’ve seen on Emma’s body, and I wonder what he’s done to her this time. But, when I look to her and her eyes flash bright with both pain and relief when she sees me, all I care about is going to her, and I have to force myself to hang back while the doctor finishes.

“Her blood pressure is a little elevated, but otherwise she seems to be in good health,” he says with authority, removing his stethoscope from his ears and dropping it into his bag. “I’ll get this blood sample sent off in the morning and we can check her hormone levels, but get her booked into the obstetrician as soon as you can to monitor her progress. For now, she just needs plenty of water and rest.”

“Father Daniels,” she says, her voice small as she reaches out to me. The family shifts and I’m given access to her as the doctor shakes hands with her husband and father before he sees himself out.

“You’re unwell,” I state, taking her hand in mine as I kneel beside the bed, wanting so desperately to just scoop her small body into my arms and carry her out of here to stay with me.

“I fainted,” she explains. “I think everyone is having a bit of a panic.”

“We’re just worried about you,” says her father, giving her a kind smile. “You gave us quite a scare. But we’ll leave you to your prayers. You’re welcome to take refreshments with us before you leave, Father, we’ll be in the dining room.”

“Of course,” I say, turning to watch the family as they file out of the room.

Although the husband lingers. My gaze shifts to his, and I feel a coldness touch my heart when my eyes meet his. “Shouldn’t you put that purple thing around your neck?” he asks, moving his hand to indicate that he thinks I should be wearing my stole.

“I’ll come and fetch you when we’re done,” I say, dismissing him. I can see the side of his jaw tick. He doesn’t want to let her out of his sight, but I keep my eyes on him while keeping a hold of Emma’s hand. “You can go.”

His eye ticks slightly then he withdraws from the room, leaving us blissfully alone, although the door is still open.

“What happened?” I ask, clasping both of my hands around hers as I keep my voice a whisper so only she can hear me.

“I think I had a panic attack.”

“A panic attack?”

She nods, tears welling in her eyes. “Yes. Because all of this is hopeless, Braden. It’s over.”

“Shhh, don’t talk like that, my love,” I whisper, risking a quick press of my lips to her hand, knowing that my body would block the movement from view.

“I have to accept it, Braden. I’m out of time. Jules’s pregnancy is further along than we thought. They were about to announce that they’re getting married…and they’re having a boy…it’s over.”

“Come with me, Emma. I’ll take you to the police and we’ll tell them everything he’s ever done.”

“And what happens when he gets out on bail? What if he hurts Jules again and makes her lose the baby.” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t live with myself, Braden.”

I stare into her worried eyes, seeing the fear and the helplessness she’s feeling in this situation. But she’s right, at most, we could buy ourselves a few days by going to the police. But,maybe that would be enough.

“There are…there are some people from my past, people I still have contact with who can help you disappear. They can…they can even make him disappear,” I tell her, feeling a sense of dread pit in my stomach but knowing that if I have to, I would put my soul on the line for the chance of loving this woman.

“Braden,” she whispers, shaking her head from side to side, a tear sliding out of her eye.

“Just give me a couple of days to see what can be done. I’ll do anything for you, Emma – anything, you need to trust in that.”

“I do. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” I whisper, once again pressing my lips to her hand, wishing it was her lips instead.

“What do I do about the blood test? It’s going to come back negative.”

“Stall,” I tell her, reaching my hand out to brush her hair lightly away from her forehead. “Stall, and wait for me to call you. Can you do that?”

She nods, and I stand, still holding her hand. “I want to kiss you so much right now,” I whisper, my whole body calling for her.

“Thank you,” she whispers, then I press one last kiss to her hand then turn to leave the room, nodding when I see Jules waiting just outside.

“Is she OK?” she asks, as she looks up at me curiously.

“She will be,” I say with a smile before slipping out the front door. I can’t bring myself to be in the same room with Gabe right now, not with the type of phone call I’m about to make.