AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Now that I have you together,” I said, “ I have to tell you something. I’m nervous so just let me finish, okay?”
They sat down, Noah on the couch by me, pulling my feet into his lap, and the other two on chairs nearby.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan said.
“Nothing’s wrong. The doctor just told me something today that I didn’t expect. And I wasn’t sure how to say it.”
“We’re with you, baby. No matter what. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it,” Leo said. “I bet Ethan designed a building for some great specialists or something and we can use those contacts to get whatever help we need.”
I gave a watery smile. I didn’t realize I was crying already. Noah took my hand. “We’ve got you, baby girl,” he said.
“Or boy,” I said with a silly grin. “I’m pregnant.” I looked from one to the other, their astonished faces. All at once, the joy dawned on each one. Leo was on me first, kissing me, picking me up off the couch and spinning me around.
“We’re having a baby!” he said, “I’ll be damned!”
He set me on my feet at Noah’s admonition to be careful with me since I’d been in an accident. I turned into Noah’s arms. He kissed me soundly, whispered that he loved me, they all did, that they were so happy. Ethan grabbed my hand, pulled me into his lap and kissed me.
“You are the most amazing woman,” he said, “I can’t wait to have a baby with you.”
“You’re not… worried about whose it is?” I said, bashful.
“It’s our baby, Madison. All four of us together made this miracle. I’ve never felt so honored in my life. Thank you.”
“We never thought that far ahead,” Leo said, “but I wanted to be a dad. What I want to know is how you feel about it, Mad.”
“I’m good now that I know you three are happy about it. I was so happy when he told me that I giggled. I bet that was a first for him, telling somebody they’re pregnant and they giggle.”
“If it weren’t for the car accident, and the fact that we were all scared to death of losing you, this would go down as the best day of my life.”
“So far,” I told him. “The best day of your life so far.”
27
NOAH
Ihired an attorney late in the game. He assured me that I didn’t need legal representation in the stalking case, just to give a deposition.
“I didn’t hire you because I’m afraid of the cops,” I told him, “I hired you to keep my pregnant girlfriend out of the courtroom. She was injured in the car accident caused by my ex. I won’t have her facing her attacker and having to discuss the whole situation in front of a judge. You’ll be there to make sure she can either videotape her testimony or be spared entirely. I’m great with numbers, but I need an expert to be pushy with the legal system.”
“Then you’ve got the right guy. I’ll do the song and dance about how she’s suffered enough and wants to get on with her life and become a mother, to protect the pregnancy. She won’t have to step foot in a courtroom or see the perp again. I looked over the preliminary hearing docs this morning. She’s going to jail for a long time.”
“Good,” I said. Part of me wished I could say something generous about how I hoped she’d get the help she needed, but the fact was, I didn’t care anymore. Not after she cut Madison’s brakes and put her life in danger. Put our baby’s life in danger. My fists clenched at the very thought.
“Free advice, not so free I guess—try not to look like you’re ready to murder everyone in the room during questioning. You’ve heard of resting bitch face? You’ve got resting homicide face right now. Tone that down before we go to the station,” he said.
I rolled my shoulder, making an effort to look calm and neutral instead of looking like I could burn the place down after they didn’t arrest Olivia for taking a job at the shop under a fake name. If they’d acted on the violation of the order of protection the way they should have, there never would have been a car accident, I thought angrily.
I gave my detailed statement. The DA’s office was eager to have her appear in person to give a statement at the preliminary hearing. My lawyer shut that down. By the time we left, they’d agreed to accept a phone interview and a sworn statement from Madison, and if Olivia didn’t take a plea bargain—which she’d be stupid not to do—then a videotaped victim impact statement would be sufficient. They had testimony from the first responders on the scene, from the officer who had handled the order of protection. There was plenty of credible proof she was guilty, and I’d succeeded at least in keeping Madison from having to relive that ordeal in court.
On my way out of the station, I got a call from work. Then I had my secretary reserve a table for four at a Michelin-starred restaurant to celebrate.
When we were seated at a private table in the small jewel box of a restaurant, I ordered the tasting menu for us all and proposed a toast with sparkling cider.
“To all the luck that brought us here today as a family,” I said.
“To the newest partner at the best financial firm on Wall Street,” Ethan added. I ducked my head in acknowledgment.
“To Madison who is a hell of a tough cookie for a pretty girl,” Leo said, “Tough cookie. See what I did there?” and Madison groaned at the pun.
