A Promise for the Baby. Jennifer Lohmann
room. “I will continue to take care of myself, and it will be easier without wondering if you’ll show up on my doorstep.”
Her words stopped his attempt to be courteous and find something else to listen to. However occasionally constricted Karl felt at having his entire family live in the same city, he couldn’t imagine fearing their appearance on his stoop. Or worse, believing them to be more of a hindrance than help if he got in trouble.
“Dad, that was a fun time, but I’m too old to be looking for the next adventure.”
The desperation in her voice echoed the strain on her face from the night she’d shown up in his lobby. It had been that strain that had convinced him she was pregnant and that she believed it was his baby. Both of their lives would be a lot easier if he’d never bought her that drink.
Realizing he wasn’t going to learn any more about his wife, Karl walked to the kitchen, setting the newspapers and the bag of bagels on the counter. He was putting out plates when she came out of her room.
“Oh.” She stopped short at the sight of him, blinking. “I didn’t hear the front door.”
He turned his back to her and poured two cups of coffee. “I know.” When he turned back to face her, she hadn’t moved. “Sit down. Have some breakfast.”
She clasped her hands together, twisting them. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough to know you don’t know where your father is and that you’ve not told him you lost your job. Or that you’re pregnant. Why?”
A quick, frightened glance at the bedroom door gave away her thoughts.
“Is there a reason the fact of your father’s ignorance might induce me to kick you out of the apartment?”
“No.” Her hands fell to her sides and she inched to the breakfast bar. She gave him one more cautious look before sitting down. “I have good reasons for not telling my father about losing my job.”
He pushed a cup of coffee to her. “And for not telling him that you’re pregnant.”
“That, too.” She wrapped her hands around the mug, but didn’t drink any coffee. Karl waited. “I’m not going to tell you what those reasons are right now, no matter how silent you are.”
His laughter surprised them both. “The tactic loses some of its effectiveness when you put it so baldly.” That he was continuing to help her didn’t disturb him—she was pregnant and he didn’t believe in punishing a child for the sins of the mother, whatever the sins she was hiding might be—but how little he cared about her secret scared the hell out of him. Her attractiveness wasn’t enough to justify his feelings. He liked her, simple as that. “At least tell me that you’re not keeping a secret from me because you did something illegal.”
“I didn’t do anything illegal.” The matter-of-factness with which she said those words left a myriad of other secretive possibilities undenied.
“Does the secret have to do with why you were fired?”
“I don’t want my dad to know I’m pregnant because I don’t want him to have extra incentive to come looking for me.” Topic of conversation seemingly changed with the vague answer, she reached for a bagel, but Karl wasn’t satisfied.
“Because?”
Vivian put the bagel on the plate with a sigh. “Because he’s trouble, and I’m too old to go on thinking it’s fun.”
“Shouldn’t it be a parent’s prerogative to know if they’re going to be a grandparent?”
“Have you told your parents about me yet?” she asked.
“Parent. My dad died when I was sixteen.”
“I knew that. I’m sorry.”
“The people responsible for his death are the ones who should be sorry. You didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“But I’m not the only one keeping secrets from one of the baby’s grandparents.” She looked out the window before reaching for the tub of cream cheese. “My dad is better off not knowing.” Scrutinizing her bagel as she smeared it with cream cheese, she continued, “He wouldn’t care that much anyway.”
Interesting. She had the same tells when she was lying to herself as she did when lying to other people.
He took his time choosing his bagel and spreading it with cream cheese, enjoying her wary looks as she tore small bites off hers and chewed them slowly. If she didn’t want to continue worrying about what would happen if he knew her secrets, she should spill them and get the pain over with.
His coffee was barely hot as he washed his breakfast down before changing the subject. “Speaking of a parent’s prerogative and whether or not she knows about you, my mom planned a family dinner for tomorrow.”
* * *
VIVIAN COUGHED, BUT managed to choke down her mouthful. Couldn’t he have waited until after I’d swallowed before laying that on me?
“Am I invited?” Did she want to be invited? She didn’t want to be a dirty secret locked up in a basement somewhere, but meeting Karl’s family had seemed less scary when it was an abstract idea. Or when bumping into his brother-in-law at the library without the chance to escape or the opportunity to worry about it beforehand.
“We’re married and you’re carrying my child. I think that makes you family. Or do you plan to hide from my family like you’re hiding from yours?”
How nicely Karl evaded the fact that he’d been hiding her, as well. “Hiding from my family is an exaggeration. My father could probably find me if he tried.”
His shoulders fell, but he didn’t sigh in exasperation at her. Since she was exasperated herself, this was a bit of a surprise. “There are aspects of your life you don’t want to tell me right now,” he said. “That’s fine. Not great, but we’re strangers in a rough situation and I’m trying to be understanding. But don’t outright lie to me.”
“Fine.” She put down her bagel and looked him straight in the eye. “It’s not an exaggeration, and I’m hoping he doesn’t try, but not for the same reasons you’re keeping me from your family, I’m sure.” What she had to say next would be harder to admit to, but she wanted him to understand, even if she couldn’t tell him everything. “My dad’s fun, but he’s not responsible. I need responsible.”
“Did he do something illegal?” His voice expressed simple curiosity, but there had to be more behind the question. Vivian didn’t believe Karl ever asked anything out of simple curiosity.
“What’s your time frame?” She pushed her half-eaten bagel away, no longer hungry.
“It’s not a trick question, Vivian. He either did or he didn’t.”
“Maybe it’s easy for you, but you’re a lawyer and you spend your time looking for evildoers. This is my father we’re talking about. He’s lazy and looking to make a quick buck involving the least amount of work. Combine that with Las Vegas...” She shrugged. “There are a million things he could have done that are wrong without being illegal.”
And that was just Las Vegas. If she assumed that every time they had moved in the middle of the night it had been because her father was escaping the law...
Of course, on a few occasions he might have been escaping his partners in crime, not the authorities.
“You should tell your father the truth.”
“No.” The word came out more forcefully than she had meant it to, causing Xìnyùn to whistle from the next room. “When I’m settled, I’ll tell him. Until then...” An offensive tactic seemed to be a better idea right now. “What are you going to tell your family about me?”
He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. It was cold, which was probably why she hadn’t