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Michele surveyed the mess, smiled, and then lowered her voice speaking matter-of-factly. “I’m pregnant, Patrick.”
As she sat in the busy parking lot full of retail stores and onlookers, Addie contemplated for a moment that maybe she really was losing her mind. She gave her statement to the officer as quickly as she could. Her children were already understandably frightened, and she just wanted to get out of there.
According to the police officer and her security team, she’d handled everything wrong. For starters, her security team hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary except for the fact that Addison had pulled over to the side of the road. After she taken off abruptly, they’d tried to make contact with her car phone, and when she hadn’t picked up, they sensed something was wrong. Unfortunately, no one had gotten a decent glance at Scott Hammons with the exception of Connor. But the officer assured her seven-year-olds aren’t exactly considered expert witnesses. He took her statement and assured her that since an electronic tracking device was monitoring Hammons they would quickly know whether or not it was him. “Sometimes kids make mistakes,” he’d told her. The problem was Addie was fairly certain that Connor had not been mistaken. After what she’d gone through at the hands of Scott Hammons, she wouldn’t put anything past him. She knew all too well the special kind of evil he was capable of.
After discussing the situation with William’s security team and after they’d called in for back up, Addie attempted to keep everything as normal as possible for the boys, and so she did as they’d discussed and took them by the new place to check it out. Who was she kidding, though? Nothing about any of this was normal.
She shouldn’t have been surprised though that once William caught word of the incident he’d take it upon himself just to show up at her new place, which had no doubt caused a huge fight between the two of them. What was he thinking just showing up like that as though he were fucking Superman? Addie wondered as she pulled him out into the garage. “What in the hell are you doing here, William? Not only are we not supposed to be seen together but my children are here.”
William threw up his hands. “What do you mean what am I doing here? Is this all some sort of joke to you, Addison? It’s past time for a meeting. You, me, and the security team. We need to get a few things straight. First of all, I need to know what you were thinking this afternoon, not calling Carl and not letting the guys know what was going on. They were right there, and you called the police? This is getting serious, and one thing is blatantly clear. No matter what did or didn’t happen this afternoon, no one was well prepared.”
Addie leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “Does it look like I’m joking? I . . . I appreciate what it is you’re trying to do here, but now is not the time.”
William stepped forward and took Addison in his arms. “Look. I’m trying here. And I apologize for not calling first, but I needed to make sure you were okay, that you’re safe.”
Addie melted into him. “I know. But you can’t do this, William. I have children to think about. There’s already so much going on. I really don’t need you adding to it.”
William let go and stepped back. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean? You know, Addison, I don’t fucking get you. You say you want to try, but you won’t let me in. So long as EVERYTHING is on your terms, it’s all fine. I’m just not sure; well . . . I’m not sure I’m compatible with that. You need to make a decision. We’re either going to give this a shot or we’re not. You’re either going to let me in or you’re not, because, quite frankly, I’m about fucking done.” William fumed.
“You need to go, William.”
William pushed the garage door button and watched as the door slowly rose. Addie watched him walk towards the waiting SUV. He nodded something to an oversized man as he the man opened the door for him. William turned back towards Addie and saluted her, his face impassive as he quickly ducked in. And just as quickly as William Hartman had come, he was gone.
“What do you mean you’re pregnant? I thought you were on the pill?” Patrick grilled.
Michele glared at him. “I was.”
Patrick squeezed at his temples. “Well, what are we going to do about it?”
“So we’re a ‘we’ now, huh?”
Patrick walked to M
ichele and put his arms around her. “Come on. Don’t be like that. We have always been a ‘we.’ You know we make a great team.”
Michele glanced up at him. “Don’t patronize me, Patrick.”
This was pretty much the way the conversation went the rest of the evening: back and forth exchanges on how they’d gotten into this mess with no real clear-cut answers. Well, Patrick knew how they’d gotten themselves here; he just hadn’t a clue how to get himself out of it. What he did know was that right now wasn’t the time to ask Michele to get an abortion. She was in no mood for it. Maybe it was the hormones, but she sure did seem on edge. He hadn’t remembered Addie being this way.
They spent much of the rest of the weekend either in bed or working. Both of them seemed determined to avoid the topic altogether, tiptoeing around it, careful not to set the other one off.
On their last day at the cabin, after making love, Patrick carefully broached the subject. “I think we need to talk about this, Michele. How far along would you say you are?”
Michele smiled and rolled over, placing her hand on his chest. “I know exactly how far I am.”
“All right, well, what are you thinking?’ Patrick asked softly.
“I’m thinking I’m going to have a baby.”
“You can’t be serious. You know we’ll both lose our jobs over this, don’t you?”
“I’m dead serious, Patrick. I never wanted kids, but, now, I don’t know. It’s as though I’ve been given this opportunity, an opportunity I didn’t even know I wanted, and, well, I sort of feel like it’s my last shot at it. I’m not exactly young anymore. And neither are you, for that matter.”
Patrick sat up and adjusted the covers. “But I don’t want any more children, Michele. Don’t I get a say in any of this?”
Michele stood up quickly and sank back down. “Whoa. I’m dizzy. You . . . You don’t have to take part in any of this. I’m fine to do it on my own. Of course, I’d hoped it wouldn’t be that way, but if it is, then so be it.”
“What about my job, Michele? We’re both going to be out of a job after all this gets out.”
