About Last Night...

It seemed like forever, instead of the five minutes it actually took her to reach the parking space at her apartment. She walked up the two flights of stairs to her third-floor apartment. The May day was perfect—sunny, no humidity, in the low seventies. But Lindy couldn’t appreciate anything, not with this cloud of impending doom hanging over her head.

She dropped the bag of foil-wrapped chocolates on the kitchen counter and headed into the bathroom. After reading the directions, she took the test.

Her cell phone shrilled and Lindy left the bathroom to get it. Her shoulders slumped as she read the caller ID. Shane. She certainly didn’t need him showing up on her doorstep again. Not today. She answered the call. “Hello.”

“Hi. I wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

“I did,” Lindy said. She walked back into the bathroom. The pregnancy test was exactly where she’d left it, lying on the countertop, white plastic on beige Formica.

Shane’s warm baritone rumbled in her ear. “So how are you feeling? Any better? You’ve crawled into bed, haven’t you?”

“Uh, yes,” Lindy stammered, her attention diverted by the lines forming in each of the test windows. The pink line in the larger window confirmed the test was complete. The pink line in the other window meant—

Lindy let her legs collapse out from under her as she slid down the bathroom door. Her rear hit the cool tile and she leaned back against the doorframe.

“Lindy? Are you feeling better? Do you need anything? I can be there in twenty minutes. I’m worried about you. You are feeling better, right?”

No. Lindy closed her eyes. She wouldn’t be feeling like herself again for nine months. And she never would be free of Shane Jacobsen. Not when she was having his baby.

“I’m fine, Shane,” she lied. “I’m just fine.”

Chapter Three

“Oh, my God! No wonder you were so sick yesterday! You’re pregnant!”

Uh-oh. Lindy winced before glancing over to watch Tina storm out of the bathroom, positive pregnancy test in hand. “Put down that pancake syrup and tell me the truth, Melinda Jean Brinks! This is yours, isn’t it, which means that you are pregnant!”

“Yes,” Lindy said. All night she’d been patting her flat stomach, imagining the changes she couldn’t yet feel—changes she knew would be evident in just a few months. Lindy spoke again, as if by telling her best friend she made it even more real. “Yes, I’m pregnant.”

To avoid Tina’s speculative gaze, Lindy let the syrup run over the pancakes. The trash bag rustled, indicating that Tina had disposed of the test.

Pancakes ready, Lindy used breakfast as an excuse to step out of Tina’s orbit. Once married herself, Tina was a take-charge, no-nonsense woman whom Lindy often envied. Tina wouldn’t waffle; she’d just keep going straight ahead the way she had when her husband had started cheating on her. Lindy sat at the tiny kitchen table, the small bite of pancake tasting papery against her tongue.

“I don’t know if I want to know,” Tina said, breaking the short silence, “but you know I must. On a hopeful note, Craig’s?”

“You know I don’t feel anything for him,” Lindy said, her focus still on her plate. “I feel guilty enough that he likes me, but I can’t get into him. I haven’t seen him for two months and never once did I do more than kiss him good-night.”

“So that means it’s…”

“Shane’s,” Lindy confirmed. She glanced up in time to see the look of disapproval that crossed Tina’s face when she heard Shane’s name. Lindy quickly continued, “But he doesn’t know.”

“He doesn’t know.” Tina’s tone changed abruptly as the implications of that revelation set in. “If he doesn’t know, then what are you planning on doing? Surely, no—”

“No. I’m having this baby,” Lindy said hurriedly. “I will not have an abortion, nor will I have the baby and give it away.”

The former had been something Tina had done when she was twenty, and regretted to this very day. When Lindy had lain awake all night, contemplating, she’d known that, without a doubt, she’d never terminate a pregnancy. She’d manage—somehow.

Tina’s voice cut through the sudden silence. “I’m glad. But, since you’re planning on having this baby, you are planning on telling Shane, aren’t you?”

The words were out before Lindy could think to stop them. “He doesn’t even know that we had sex.”

Tina thumped onto the chair opposite Lindy. She pushed back a wayward strand of her brunette hair. “I really think you need to tell me about this.”

Lindy stabbed at a piece of pancake, although she didn’t lift it to her lips. “There’s really nothing to tell. He threw that party for his birthday, and fool that I am, after he called me, I went. He’d been mixing alcohol and painkillers, and I got way too drunk. End of story. I, like most stupid women, succumbed to the Shane Jacobsen playboy charm.”

“And…”

Lindy dropped the fork and pushed her barely touched breakfast plate away. “Best sex of my life and he doesn’t remember a thing.”

“Oh, honey!” Tina reached over and enveloped Lindy in a huge bear hug. “I’m so sorry. But haven’t I been warning you about him?”

“Yes, and I admit it, I knew better.” Tears brimmed in Lindy’s eyes but she sniffed them back. No more tears. She’d cried enough over Shane Jacobsen. “You’re right, I know better! But I couldn’t help it. It was like someone took over my body and set me free to indulge in my greatest fantasy. And indulge I did. And I know I have no excuse for my behavior.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Tina acknowledged.

“But I love him. Or is it just obsession? Whatever it is, he’s my Willoughby. You know, like in Sense and Sensibility? I know he’s wrong for me, but I can’t help myself from caring. Why can’t I be sensible?”

“Lindy, it’s okay to admit you love him, and it’s okay to hurt.” Tina pulled Lindy closer. “I know you love him, and believe me, he doesn’t deserve you. I wish that somehow you’d find that Colonel Brandon who will love you. I know he’s out there, and you know I’ll be here for you, like always, whatever you decide.”

“I know. Thank you.” Lindy let herself rest in her best friend’s arms, the way she’d been doing ever since high school.

“Nothing has an easy answer anymore,” Lindy finally said. “My pregnancy will be obvious in a short while. It’s not like I can hide it!”

“Shh,” Tina said gently. She drew back slightly. “You’ve got a little time to figure things out. And this apartment is big enough for a baby. At least for now. And you have that new job to consider. The pay will be a big help. So eat your breakfast.”

“I just hope it stays down,” Lindy said as Tina pushed the plate of pancakes back in front of her.

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