What it Takes
Kathryn Ascher
What It Takes
© 2014 Kathryn Ascher. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying, or recording, except for the inclusion in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Published in the United States by BQB Publishing
(Boutique of Quality Books Publishing Company)
www.bqbpublishing.com
Printed in the United States of America
978-1-939371-25-6 (p)
978-1-939371-26-3 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013958122
Book design by Robin Krauss,
www.bookformatters.com
Cover design by David Grauel
S
o many people have helped me make this book possible. I’d like to thank Stephannie for always enthusiastically reading and listening to me talk about any changes I wanted to make, and offering her support and encouragement. Thanks to Kristy and Malavanh for offering suggestions and helping me through the editing process. Thank you Terri for speaking at Hollins and introducing me to a new way of publishing, I’d almost given up. Thank you Sharon, Heidi, and Katy, my BQB team, for helping me to polish my story and working with me to make it ready for publishing.
And thank you, reader, for buying this book. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Dedication
F
or my mom, who has always read romances and introduced them to me (I get it now). Thanks for always supporting me.
For Matt, the love of my life and my first critic and editor. Thanks for never letting me give up. I’m not sure I could have done this without you.
Contents
K
elsey Morgan was pregnant.
She stared at the two blue lines of the test in her hand and looked at herself in the mirror. She gazed into her own green eyes, brushed a stray lock of brown hair off her full cheek, tucked it behind her ear, and inhaled deeply. Her mother would not be happy.
Kelsey tossed the stick into the trash with the three other used tests, all positive, and turned to leave the bathroom. The smell of the apple pie baking made her smile. She was in the middle of fixing Tim’s dinner, a tradition they’d adopted just after they’d started dating. She and Tim were seniors in college; they’d been dating for almost three years. At the end of every break, the weekend before their classes resumed, Kelsey always welcomed him back with his favorite meal, just as her mother always did for her father when he returned from his conferences.
She’d returned to her apartment two days early to prepare for this dinner. She walked into the kitchen, peaked at the pie to make sure it wasn’t overcooking, then started washing potatoes. Once they were all clean, she carried them to the counter so she could slice them before putting them into a pot of water. As she picked up the knife, she glanced at the pictures taped to the cabinet. They were all of Tim and her. She grinned as she thought about the early stages of their relationship.
They’d met in a literature class during the fall semester of their freshman year. He started sitting behind her after the second class and by the end of the second week he was walking her to her Intro to Theater class before rushing across campus for his Biology class. His witty humor reminded her of her brother and how much she missed him. Tim’s unruly blond hair and clean cut look were different from any of the boys she’d known growing up, who believed jeans, t-shirts, and ball-caps were the highest fashion. He always knew the right thing to say to make people feel good about themselves, especially Kelsey.
He complimented her often, on her clothes, her hairstyle, even on something as small as her earrings. He was so charming; all the girls loved him and flirted with him constantly. He may have flirted a little with them, but he flirted hardest with Kelsey. She’d playfully scold him for his shameless behavior, but was secretly thrilled that he paid attention to her instead of, in Kelsey’s opinion, the prettier girls. By the end of the spring semester, they’d begun dating.
It hadn’t taken long for them to discover their mutual love for the outdoors and found themselves outside as much as possible. Whether they were rollerblading, biking, or simply studying, they preferred to be doing it outside if the weather was cooperative. They also loved going to the football games and post-game parties on Saturdays. Tim was her biggest supporter when it came to her performances in the school’s plays, as well. Whether it was a small role or one of the leads, it didn’t matter; he was always in the front row on opening night with a dozen red roses to give her after the performance.
For their first anniversary, he’d surprised Kelsey by taking her to a sushi restaurant. She’d been begging him to try it, but he’d always found a reason to say “no,” and she knew it was because he hadn’t wanted to eat raw fish. Her mother had always said that the best way to keep a man happy was to let him have his way, so Kelsey had never pressed the issue. She’d been ecstatic when he’d pulled into the parking lot and told her he’d try it for her. He had ordered something cooked from the kitchen but had also tried one piece of the California roll. They’d made love for the first time that night.
As they’d settled into their relationship, Kelsey felt as if they got along the way her parents did, or the way her sister, Janelle, and her husband did. Things were never hard for them, they almost never argued. Kelsey knew for sure that, like her parents and her sister, she’d found her mate. Tim was “the one” for her.
Kelsey shook her head back to the present and began slicing potatoes. Tim probably wouldn’t be happy about the pregnancy. But they’d been planning their future together and had even talked about marriage. She was majoring in communications with a minor in theater. She really wanted to go into acting in movies and television, and her choice of studies had been a battle with her parents. Her mother had insisted that she wouldn’t pay for Kelsey’s education if she majored in something useless like theater, while her father, a lawyer who had taught his children the value of a well thought out argument at a young age, had let her plead her case and agreed to allow her to minor in it.
Tim was a hospitality and tourism major and thought they should manage a ski resort together and put both of their degrees to good use. He’d told her she could always get into local theater when they settled down, if she had time. Eventually, they’d start a family.
It appeared that would be happening sooner than expected.
She put the pot with the potatoes on the stove to boil and began to fix the fried chicken. Forty-five minutes later, the meal was ready and Kelsey’s stomach was in knots. Since she’d decided to wait until dessert to break the news of the pregnancy to Tim, she hoped for the best. When she greeted him at the door Tim pulled her against his hard, broad chest and gave her a passionately warming kiss.
“I’ve been looking forward to this meal all day.” He grinned and abruptly kissed her again. “You make the best apple pie. Did you remember the vanilla ice cream?”
“Of course,” she said with a laugh.
His hazel eyes danced with mirth as he tweaked her nose and released her. “You always take such good care of me.”
“I try.” She knew how much he loved her cooking, but hearing him say it always made her feel special. She followed his tall, slightly muscled form into the dining room. “If you want to grab a seat, we can eat.”
“Great, I’m starving.”
Tim sat down and she brought the food in and set it on the table. They’d been through the routine a hundred times and there was something comforting in the familiarity of it. As soon as Kelsey sat down, he started telling her about his month off.
His parents lived near a ski resort and Tim had grown up on the slopes. He talked during the entire meal, describing the Blue Square and Black Diamond trails he’d skied, the new mogul courses that had been added, and the cross-country skiing he and his friends had done. Because it meant so much to him, she had tried skiing once, but hadn’t really enjoyed it. She’d never done it again and only had a vague idea of the lingo, mostly from listening to Tim talk about skiing so much. Channeling her mother, she patiently listened, nodded, and asked the right questions at the right times.
Finally, when dessert was served, he looked into her eyes and beamed brightly. Her heart skipped a beat and she almost felt giddy.
“So how was your break?” he asked.
She tried to smile around the lump in her throat and folded her hands on the table in front of her. “I’m pregnant.” Her eyes rounded slightly in surprise. She hadn’t meant to simply blurt it out like that.
He laughed out loud and shook his head. “Okay, okay,” he said, still smiling. “You’ve made your point. I did monopolize the conversation during dinner and I’m sorry.” He took her hand and kissed the knuckle. “You’ve got my attention. How was your vacation?”
Her already weak sense of happiness waned some more. “Tim, I’m pregnant.”
He laughed again, then actually looked at the expression on her face. “You’re serious?” he asked, still sounding amused. She nodded and his laughter stopped. His eyes narrowed slightly as he pursed his lips. “You can take care of that, can’t you?”