Chapter Eight

Luke shouldn’t have come in to work today. He should’ve stayed with Emma and convinced her they deserved a chance. Instead he just sat at his desk, accomplishing nothing productive. Thankfully no work was due anytime soon. He had to return a few calls, and needed to finish an offer for another restaurant in Cincinnati Dad was interested in, yet Dan hadn’t researched the place fully yet. He had time before he needed to talk to the board about that acquisition. The phone calls could wait a few days.

Thank God, because he was worthless today.

And it was all Emma’s fault. Like one night would be enough for him. Like he was his brother, and he wouldn’t want to see her again.

Why did she think she had the right to decide for both of them anyway? Why did she think he wouldn’t want to talk about the situation she was in with his brother? Between them they could have found a solution, one where they could be together.

“Damn her.”

He slammed his hand into the desk before jerking from his seat and racing to the window. Cars lined the parking lot this early in the morning, light rain falling around them. He glanced at his dark BMW. His brother’s older model SUV slipped into the space beside it. The engine ran in the cold, damp air for a few minutes, then he slammed the door open and hurtled out of it, shutting the door with a livid blast of energy. The sound echoed all the way to Luke’s third floor office. Hopefully Mark wouldn’t show up at his door. The last thing Luke wanted to do now was take care of another one of his brother’s problems.

Unless… He stood straight. “Has Rebecca found out about Emma?”

A ringing interrupted his wish-filled thought and he stepped slowly toward his desk. He picked up the phone and said his standard greeting. When the man greeted him back, he wished he’d stayed at the window. “Good to hear from you, Judge Brown.”

“You might not think that way after we talk,” he said, in a non-threatening way. “I talked to my sister Sunday, Emma’s mother.”

“Everything is fine, Judge.”

Judge Brown muttered something Luke couldn’t understand. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know anyway.

“Bet you didn’t know,” the judge said, in a controlled way, “that both her mother and sister went to her house at different times, on Sunday. Both times your car was sitting in her driveway.”

“Shit.”

“Yes,” he said, tone a bit more normal. “Personally, I’m glad she found a new man. Yet why does it have to be you? You know better, Luke. This could be very bad for Emma and her unborn child.”

“I know,” he said, standing and moving toward the window. His brother was nowhere in sight. “I wasn’t thinking.”

The man actually laughed at his comment. “You Benjamin men are fast workers.”

He groaned. “I’m usually the careful, logical one. But with Emma…”

“She’s special,” he said, squealing his chair as he moved in it. “Frank didn’t deserve her. He really hurt her with his accusation.” He stopped talking, and then asked, “Did she tell you about her marriage and divorce? The reason for it?”

“About them trying to have a baby, yes,” he said, fighting the unbelieving indignation the memory caused him. “That he made her believe it was her fault. When she saw him with his new, pregnant wife, she believed it too.”

“You two talked?”

The disbelief in his voice eased his anxiety a bit. “Well, we talked too.”

“Good.” The old man laughed again. “You left her happy this morning?”

He wished he could lie and say yes, yet he couldn’t lie to this man. Somehow he would know it wasn’t the truth. “No, I didn’t.”

“Then that explains Mark’s frantic voice message to me around seven.”

He pulled the phone from his ear. Putting the phone back to his ear, he said, “Mark called you. Why would he do that? He’s supposed to talk to me and then I relay the message to you.”

“He did call you, Luke,” the judge said. “He said he called your home and then your cell, but you didn’t answer. Then he called me.”

“I went home, but only long enough to get a shower, shave, and brush my teeth,” he said, stepping to his chair again but not sitting down. “And I left my cell phone at Emma’s.”

“Oh, that explains it,” the judge said.

Luke settled in his chair and pulled it tight to the desk. “So what did he say?”

“Not much. What he did say didn’t make much sense to me.”

“Tell me what he said.”

“Let me check my cell,” he said, turning on the speaker. “Can you still hear me?”

The judge’s voice came in muddled, but Luke could hear him well enough. “Yes.”

“Good.”

A light beeping sound crackled from the speaker. “Hold on now, son.”

“I’m holding.”

A second later the phone went off speaker and he said, “I was going to let you hear it, but it’ll be easier for me to just repeat it.” He stopped speaking for a minute, then he said, “First he says my name, and he says that you aren’t answering your phone or cell.” He listened to the rest of the message. “Here’s the good part. ‘She threatened to tell Rebecca if I didn’t.’ ”

“Who?”

“He didn’t say,” he said quickly, still listening to the message. “He also mentioned something about an agreement. That the woman calling would tear it up if he did the right thing.”

“Emma?”

“That’s what I was thinking, son.”

Shit, what has she done? “She disregarded the agreement, not my brother.”

The judge only let out a loud breath.

“I just saw him arrive to work. I’ll talk to him.” He rose from his seat once again and wandered into the outer office. Dan, his legal assistant, glanced up at him, a questioning look in his eyes. He waved and pointed at the phone. “I’m on my way to his office now.”

Dan’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ll let you know what happens,” he said. “Give me an hour or so.”

“Good,” the judge said. “I’ll talk to Emma. Talk to you soon.”

“Fine.” He ended the call and told Dan. “I’m going to my brother’s office.”

“Do you need any help?”

“No,” he said, forcing in calmness he didn’t feel. “It’s personal.”

He nodded. “You’re expecting a few calls. Should I forward them to Mark’s number?”

“No.” He handed Dan his phone. “Could you replace this for me?”

Dan nodded. “Sure.”

“I’ll be back in an hour or so.” He moved through the door before his assistant could respond, toward the line of elevators at the other end of the hallway. “We’re going to settle this once and for all, big brother.”

****

“Mom, I think we should make pizza rolls and fruit skewers for the kids,” Steph said, sitting in the stool beside Emma. “We need to make something healthy for the kids too. They’ll have all those apples they pick in the orchard, but most parents won’t allow them to eat them.”

“You’re right, Steph.” Her mother moved from the main stove to the sink. “People are planning on making pies and other things with them.” She dried her hands and moved toward Emma and her sister, settling on the remaining stool. “I just hope the weather gets better. Otherwise, it’s going to be a bad time to pick those apples on Saturday.”

Emma should make an attempt at speaking, if only her mind would focus on the conversation longer than a second or two. All she could hear was that phone call to Mark. Why had she done it anyway? No doubt she’d messed up everything. She may not have been happy about the stipulations placed on her, but that trust fund would go a long way paying for the child’s college. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the thought of Mark paying out that six figure amount.

“Not to mention, taking the open wagon tour to check out the changing leaves,” Steph added, frowning in her direction. “Or the display and food booths for the charity drive half the council members still insist should be set up along Main Street.”

“All of them will be inside the conference hall this year,” her mother said. “That was voted on by the committee last night. They’ll be set along the front and side walls, leaving the back wall for the catering base and the dessert tables. The center of the room will have the decorated tables same as last year. It might be a bit crowded but at least everything will stay dry.”

“I would have voted the same way if my youngest hadn’t gotten sick,” Steph said. “That’s the important thing.”

“You did,” their mother added. “I voted for both of us.”

“Good.” She grinned and then faced her. “What do you think, Emma?”

“What?” Emma forced her mind off the call to Mark for the twentieth or so time since coming into the kitchen. “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to concentrate.”

“You’ve been this way all day, Emma,” she said, bafflement rising slightly in her sister’s voice. “What’s bothering you anyway?”

“I said I was sorry,” she said, again. “You were talking about the finger foods you two are planning on making for the kids.”

“Yes, five minutes ago.” Steph leaped from her stool and leaned close. “Maybe you should tell us what you did.”

Guilt roared through her. She swallowed it down and tore her look from her concerned sister to her quiet mom. “If you didn’t leave the diner Saturday night, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“Don’t blame Mom and me.” Steph placed her hands on her hips. “And I doubt your sleeping with Luke has you all twisted up inside, worried about something bad happening. That’s not you at all.”

“Your sister is right, honey.”

No, what others thought of her never bothered her much. Some people had to talk about others. Emma was watchful in her personal life, however. Cautious and wary on whom she brought into her business decisions and her sex life. Mark had been a mistake, yes, but Luke was right. The more she thought on it, the more she sensed this truth.

And that was why she’d been so out-of-it today. The way she’d left things this morning with him didn’t feel right. His face had been so emotionless when he’d walked out the front door. It hurt remembering.

Then she had to go and call Mark.

That was a thorough blunder.

“There she goes again.” Her sister’s teasing voice pulled her off the phone call.. “I’m not letting this go until you tell us what you did.” She waved a hand at her. “We know you had sex with Luke, so that’s not it. What else happened this weekend?”

A single tear flowed, running unchecked down her cheek to her chin. She wiped it away, but another one took its place. Soon wetness flooded out as the last few days rose up to hurt her.

“Oh, shit, Em.” All teasing faded from her sister’s voice. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“You didn’t,” she whispered. “I chased him away. I told Luke I didn’t want to see him any more.”

“You what?” Her mother stood from her stool and wrapped her arms around her. “Why would you do that, honey?”

“I had to,” she said, choking out the words. “The agreement I signed with Mark says I can’t be near him or him me. We can’t have any contact with each other.”

“I don’t understand,” her mother said. “You didn’t have any contact with the baby’s father. You’ve been with Luke.”

“Luke is his brother.” She settled her face against her mother’s neck. “His mother knows Luke was with someone this weekend, someone named Emma.”

“How?”

“She called his cell.” Emma forced down another wave of tears and focused on the overlaying guilt. Her mother released her then. “He was in the kitchen, making coffee, talking to his mother. I said something and she heard my voice.”

“So?” Steph sat back in her seat. “He’s a hot, good-looking, rich, available male. I’m sure his mother isn’t surprised he was spending the night with a woman.”

“That’s not it.”

“And most of the Benjamins don’t know you’re carrying Mark’s child,” Steph said, lightly. “Except for your guy and his father. Mrs. Benjamin will just see you as her son’s new lady, that’s all.”

“That’s not all.” Emma couldn’t believe these two women. Couldn’t they see how bad this was? How she’d messed up everything because she couldn’t keep her hands off Luke. And then she doubled up by calling Mark. “You don’t understand.”

Neither her sister nor mother said a word until the silence turned uncomfortable. Then her mother settled back onto her stool, and whispered, “If only the baby’s father was a better man. He would tell his fiancée the truth. Everything would be out in the open then.”

“Yes, but he won’t do that.”

The dinging of the shop front door bell rang at the same time Emma’s phone sang out an old tune. “It’s Uncle George.” She accepted the call. “Hi, Uncle George.”

“Hey, sweetheart, we need to talk.” The voice came from both the phone and the entrance doorway. She ended the call and faced the frowning man. “You found out about the call, didn’t you?”

All he did was nod as he wandered through the kitchen to the back area. He pulled out a stool from the wall and sat. “What were you thinking?”

“I wish I could tell you.” Rather than thinking, Emma had been reacting to the way Luke left. “I made a mistake.”

“Yes, you did.” Her uncle said. “But it can be fixed.”

“What call?” Her sister and mother asked at the same time. Then her sister added, “Is this the reason you’ve been so out of it today?”

“Yes,” she said, wiping at her wet cheeks. “I called Mark and gave him a choice, either he tells Rebecca, or I do. If he told her about me and the baby, I would tear up the trust fund and medical records agreement.”

“Honey, what were you thinking?”

The judge laughed, lightening the atmosphere in the room. “Surely you haven’t forgotten what it was like to be young, little sister.”

“No, I haven’t forgotten,” her mother said, warm remembrance laughing in her voice. “But Emma is over thirty. She’s not young any more.”

“Well, compared to you and me,” George said, lightly. “She is.”

Her mother stared at her brother for a long, quiet second before nodding. “Well, I’ll give you that.”

“And it may not be that bad.”

Was her uncle’s age getting to him? How could her action not be bad? She messed up big-time. For the hundredth time since seeing that positive result on the first stick, she wished she’d never gone out to dinner with her friend that night. If she’d stayed home with a bottle of wine, she wouldn’t have seen her ex-husband’s pregnant wife.

“So what can we do to minimize the problem?” Hope sprang soft in her mother’s voice.

“There’s nothing, Mom.” Emma stood from the stool and stepped to the nearest sink. Maybe Mark was right. Maybe taking care of the problem was the only way out of their dilemma. “If there is no baby, then—”

A resounding No! rang out from the three in the room. Steph added, “Killing the baby isn’t a solution, Emma.”

“You’re not thinking straight again, honey.” Her mother spoke at the same time, disbelief and anxiety deepening her voice. “You’re talking about my first granddaughter here.”

“You don’t know it’s a girl,” Emma said, a new type of pain radiating down her body. “And I wouldn’t do anything so…wrong anyway. I could never murder my child, just to make the sperm donor’s life easier.”

“No one believed you would, Emma. We know it’s just frustration making you say things like that.” Her uncle waved his hand toward her empty stool. She sighed and settled on the seat, wrapping her arms around her middle. “You and Luke were together, right?”

Shock roared in her. “How did you know that?”

“He told me,” her uncle said with a patient smile. “Mark called a little after seven and left a message, and I called Luke around eight.”

“Mark called you?”

“When he couldn’t get his brother, he left a frantic message, something about a woman threatening to tell his fiancée about his indiscretion.”

“Maybe someone should,” her sister said, fury in her voice. “Mom and I met that doctor a few days ago. She’s a nice lady, deserves better than someone like Mark.”

Yes, Emma remembered the few hours Rebecca was with them. She’d hidden in her office like a coward until she left the building. Even after Steph called and told her the doctor wanted to talk with Luke’s new lady, she refused to leave the room. She’d never acted that unprofessional before, and she didn’t plan on doing it again. Hiding wasn’t the answer any more than having an abortion would be.

“Luke promised to talk to his brother,” her uncle said. “He’ll call me back when he’s done. If anyone can get that man to do the right thing, it’ll be Luke. I think the elder Mr. Benjamin may get involved too.”

A secretive, knowing look passed from her uncle to her mother, and then they both grinned. “What have you done, Uncle George?”

“Nothing bad. Let’s just say I…introduced myself to the elder Benjamin.”

Emma jumped from her seat.

“Sit down, niece.” Her uncle patted the stool. “Mr. Benjamin won’t get involved unless Luke can’t talk his brother into doing the right thing.”

“It won’t make any difference. I’m sure the elder Benjamin will protect Mark like Luke does,” Emma said, letting go of the tentative hope. “Rebecca may be his oldest friend, yet he’ll still respect his brother’s selfish action and do nothing to protect her.”

“We’ll see, honey.” Her mother slid from her seat and beckoned to Steph. “Now I think it’s time we make our final decision on what snacks to make for everyone at the festival.”

Uncle George grinned. “Can I help test them?”

“And me,” Emma added. “I know I have stuff to take care of but I don’t think I can manage it now.”

“Sure, honey.”

“As long as you don’t think you’re going to help cook anything,” her sister added, with a loud snort. “We just got the place aired out from your last attempt.”

Emma would put up with her sister’s mocking if it kept her from thinking about her problems.