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HER EYES FLEW OPEN and she immediately registered the shock and betrayal in his expression. Oh, hell. She hadn’t wanted him to know like this. She sat up, dislodging his hand, which fell limply to the ground between them.
“Ah. Yeah. I was going to wait to tell you but at my last doctor visit, I found out. I’m having twins.” Despite having rehearsed different ways to tell him, she stammered over the words.
She didn't think she’d ever seen Beck move so fast. He was crouched, then standing, in two moves.
“I’m going to go blow up Hailey’s tube.”
“Beck.” She couldn't get up as fast as he did. She was no longer relaxed, but that hadn’t translated to coordination. She rolled onto her knees, then pushed herself to her feet to follow him to his truck. “Beck. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I told you, I’m getting the compressor while I’m thinking about it.”
“You’re upset with me.”
“I’m not. I’m just, wow, I can’t wrap my head around what you just told me, and I’m wondering how important I am to you. First you didn't tell me yourself that you were pregnant. You let me find out with the rest of the town which is—” He lifted his hand toward the sky, then let it drop. “Fine. We didn't know each other that well. But now, geez. It’s been two weeks. How come you didn't tell me you were having twins?” He yanked open the driver’s side door, keeping it between them.
She could see the tension in his face, in lines of his mouth that she hadn’t noticed before. He kept track of when her appointments were? Why?
“I only told Dad and Poppy. They’re the only ones who know. Now you. I was—I was working things out, about how I was going to deal with it. One baby on my own is one thing, but two babies....” She let her gaze drift away.
He slammed the door closed and glared at her. “And what did you decide?”
She put a hand on her belly, taken aback by his vehemence. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you had to work out what you were going to do, you said. What did you work out?”
She shook her head, confused. “I—my dad and I are still working through the logistics.”
“So you’re keeping them.”
She was staggered by the words, the tone. “I’m—that’s my plan. It’s going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but...that’s the plan.”
“I had—Jesus, Lacey, I had something to talk to you about. A plan, I guess. But Jesus. You couldn't tell me?”
“I haven't exactly seen you a lot lately,” she pointed out, refusing to get defensive. Why was he so invested in her life? But if she was honest with herself, she knew he would be upset that she didn't confide in him right away. That made her hesitate in telling him, which delayed it longer. “You’ve been working, I’ve been working.”
“You could have made time. You could have told me you had something to tell me and we could have met up somewhere.”
“I thought you were avoiding me, that was why I hadn’t seen you.” The babies were moving now, agitated by her mood, apparently. She pressed her hand to her side, as if she could reassure them with her touch.
“Geez, Lacey, are you okay?” His expression shifted to one of concern instantly. He didn't touch her, but bent toward her, ready to support her.
“Babies are moving. Weird that just a couple of weeks ago I could barely feel them and now I feel them from both the inside and outside.” She took his hands and put them on her stomach.
He went still like he needed to concentrate to feel them, and then a smile spread across his face as one of the babies bumped against his hand.
“Jesus, Lace.” His gaze went to hers. “There’s two in there?”
“Two.”
“Does Jesse know?”
She drew in a breath, her first instinct to break contact. “He made it clear he doesn't want to have anything to do with us.”
“Yeah, but you’d think he’d want to know this. He’d want to know he’s the father of two kids.”
“Beck, you were there. You saw what happened.”
“I think you should try to tell him.”
She knew he was right, but wondered at his insistence. What did it matter to him if she told Jesse or not? She could already tell Beck what his answer would be.
“Not. My. Problem.”
And the idea that he’d see twins as a problem instead of, well, babies, told her everything she needed to know about the father of her children. He wasn’t going to come running back to her for two babies, when he’d cut her loose for one.
“Twins. Geez. I didn't expect that.”
Something in the way he said those words, that kind of hopelessness, had her breaking contact. “No, neither did I. They don't run in my family. But my dad and I have it covered.” She stepped backward over the parking block. “Look, I don't want to ruin today arguing. I’ve been looking forward to it for too long. So you blow up that inner tube. I’m going back in the water.”
Beck watched her walk away, and knew he couldn't tell her what was on his mind, not now.
Twins. Wow. He thought he’d thought of everything, but not that.
He wanted to tell her he was looking at building a house on his mom’s property. He knew she didn't like that property, because of what had happened on the bus, but he had weighed his options, and it was the best one for him, when he worked out the cost of property, putting in septic and water and electricity. No way could he get it all done by the time the babies were born, no matter how much he paid the guys from San Angelo to come and do it.
He wanted to tell her, but he wanted to make sure she was well and clear of Jesse first.
He tore open the box with Hailey’s inner tube, plugged his compressor into the lighter and got to work.
But what he really wanted to do was follow Lacey into the water.
*****
PROBABLY HE SHOULD have listened when Sofia told him to apply sunscreen, because he winced a little as he pulled his dry t-shirt over his head. The drive back to town wasn't going to be all that fun.
He wished he could get Lacey in his truck for the ride back. Maybe it was foolish to try to talk to her with all their friends around, but she had avoided him since he’d reacted badly to the news about the twins. And yeah, he could admit he’d reacted badly.
He was just going to have to wait.
They had decided to get dinner in Brackettville before heading home. The small town didn't have a ton of options, but they found a place that offered a little bit of everything.
Beck made a point of sitting next to Lacey. He’d been upset with her earlier. Well, no, not upset. Hurt. He’d thought he was a bigger part of her life. He was going to make sure she understood that he wanted to be.
“What are you getting?” he asked, perusing the menu. “I’m starving.”
“Something I can't get at home,” she murmured. “Fried catfish, I think.”
“That sounds good.”
They ordered wings as an appetizer, and everyone but Beck and Lacey ordered beer.
“You can drive my car,” Poppy said to Lacey. “If I have too much?”
“Of course,” Lacey said. “I’ll be a designated driver for a year or so.”
Well, that blew Beck’s plan of getting her into his truck for the ride home. He sighed and reached for a straw for his water.
Then winced.
“Sunburned?” Lacey asked.
“I think a little.”
“I thought you put on sunscreen.”
“I did, before I went in the first time. I should have reapplied.” And he had probably missed some spots, though he’d considered asking Lacey to apply it for him. He just hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask her. It seemed a little too intimate, and he thought his outburst earlier had alarmed her.
“My skin’s feeling a little tight too,” she admitted, patting her cheeks. “I think I was a little too cavalier about being in the shade.”
“Yeah, it’s the reflection of the sun on the water that gets you.”
“It’s okay. I have aloe vera at home. I can get you some when we get to town.”
“Yeah, that would be great, thanks.”
“Hey, did y’all hear Austin Driscoll is due to come back to town this week?” Sofia asked.
“That’s Dr. Austin Driscoll,” Con said. “At least he’d better be a doctor after the town paid for his med school.”
“I’m sure he wouldn't come back otherwise,” Lacey said quietly.
“Are you going to start going to him instead of driving into San Angelo?” Poppy asked.
Lacey grimaced. “That would be so weird, going to him for that. I’m going to stick with Dr. Fredrick, until it gets closer to the time. I don't mind having an excuse to go into San Angelo once a month.”
“Poppy and I have been working on making the space above the office into an apartment,” Sofia said. “I mean, it had the kitchenette and bathroom already, but we cleaned it up and got some hand-me-down furniture and are trying to make it as welcoming as possible.”
“He’ll live above the office? That will suck” Beck said. “Never getting away from your job. How long does he have to serve here to fulfill the commitment?”
“I think it was ten years, but I’m not sure,” Lacey said. “I’ll ask my dad. I’m surprised he didn't say anything about Austin coming home.”
“So we need to do something nice to welcome him home, since you know he doesn't really want to be here,” Poppy said.
“Like what?”
“Maybe a picnic in the park, or a party at The Wheel House.”
“Do they have showers for doctors who are just starting out? You know? To get them the supplies they need?” Hailey asked.
“I don't know, but that’s a great idea,” Poppy said, pulling out her phone. “No internet connection.”
“How would we even know what he needs?” Lacey asked reasonably. “And whatever he needs, we probably couldn't afford, anyway.”
“Unless we all pitch in, take up a collection, maybe?”
“I don't know if the town will want to pitch in after they paid for med school, but I think we should definitely invite everyone to the party. He’s not going to be happy about coming back here.”
“Why not?” Hailey asked. “He’s too Big City now?”
“Honestly, I don't know, but he didn't leave under the best of circumstances,” Lacey said. “I don't know if you ever heard the story about the bus accident?”
“The one you all were in?” Hailey circled her finger to include all of them.
“Well.” Lacey glanced at Beck, then at Con, uneasy. “Yeah. Austin’s mom was the bus driver, and the town blamed her for the accident. It was really terrible, because she died in the accident, and then Austin had to deal with his grief and with all the things the people in town said about her.”
“Why did he agree to come back, then?”
“I think it was too late for him to back out, or something. There was a contract, from the minute they paid for his first semester.”
“But wow, to get out of college with no debt, just to have to serve ten years?”
“I know, it’s a big deal, but it’s not going to be easy for him to come back. We’re going to have to make sure we make him feel welcome.”
The girls got to work planning the party for next Saturday. Even though they were excited he was returning, Lacey was right. He couldn't be too excited about it. He had not left under the best circumstances and he had to carry some resentment.
Add to that, no one in town appeared to have kept up with him. That couldn't make the transition easier.
Beck wondered, though, if Austin’s welcome home party might be the best time to talk to Lacey about his plans.