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The phone clicked in her ear. Darcy flipped the cell phone closed and tossed it aside. Then grabbed the doll she’d set on the bedside table and flung it to the floor. Glaring at its twisted appearance, she laid gentle hands on her stomach. “Mama loves you,” she whispered, hugging her baby. A knot formed in her throat, too big to wish away.
Using her toe, she rolled the doll over so she could see its face, remembering when she thought her mother had given her the doll to show her how much she loved her. What a joke. Her mother didn’t feel anything for her. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you and take care of you, hold you when you’re scared and always help you because that’s what mommies are supposed to do. Don’t be scared, because we’re going to be all right. I’m not her. I’m nother.”
GARRET AVOIDED his brother’s suspicious expression after Darcy left the room. He’d seen a lot of pregnant women come and go at the hospital, but Darcy was surprisingly graceful, and his gaze had lingered on her a lot longer than it should’ve. If not for the mound of her stomach, she wouldn’t even look pregnant. And if she wasn’t? Would that make anything easier?
“The baby yours?”
His attention snapped to Nick. “No.”
“You sure?” Nick lowered his voice. “Because the way you’re looking at her makes it seem like a possibility.”
Garret clenched his jaw. It was one thing to have doubts about Joss and their relationship, but tossing Darcy—and her unborn child—into the mix was just insane. “I feel bad for her. She’s going through a hard time right now, and needs a friend.”
“That may be, but you weren’t looking at her like she’s a friend.”
Garret shifted in his chair. “You’re seeing things. She’s pregnant, or didn’t you notice?”
“She’s still a pretty woman. Not to mention smart and funny.” Nick smirked. “And there are ways around a pregnant belly.”
The comment sent images through his head and his body reacted in an instant. He realized then and there the baby wasn’t a problem for him. What kind of man held an innocent baby at fault for his or her conception? Darcy would’ve stuck by the baby’s dad if he’d been man enough to take on the responsibility.
“What are we talking about now?” Gram asked as she returned from the kitchen, coffeepot in hand. “Where’s Darcy?”
“She got a call on her cell. She thought it might be her mother,” Nick informed her.
“Oh, I hope so. The poor dear. She’s tried all week to act like she wasn’t worried, but I could tell she was. It’s obvious she doesn’t have the family support the two of you grew up with.” She shook her head. “The ones who have it always seem to take it for granted.”
Nick scowled at the gentle reprimand and stared at the table, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
Garret grabbed a cookie from the plate and stood, his body well under control thanks to Gram’s appearance. “I’m going to go spend some time with Matt, then check on Darcy.”
In the living room Matt had zoned out in front of the television watching a movie.Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Nick and Gram weren’t behind him, he gave Matt the cookie, then continued on down the hall toward the bedrooms. The door across from Gram’s was open, a three-inch crack allowing him to hear Darcy’s choked sobs.
His heart thudded in his chest as he approached. “Darcy?”
She snapped to attention and wiped her face with trembling hands. He crossed the room, stepping over an expensive-looking doll dressed in Victorian-era garb and sporting a head full of curls similar to Darcy’s. He shoved the cell phone aside to sit on the bed beside her, pulling her against his chest and ignoring her stiff posture.
“Shh.” He pressed a kiss to her hair, rubbed his hands up and down her back. “Whatever it is, it’ll be fine. Remember what Dr. Clyde said. You don’t want to upset Spike, right?”
A muffled noise escaped her—a laugh?—before she buried her face deeper. The scent of her hair reminded him of orange groves and flowers, the feel of it soft in his hands. “What happened? Tell me, sweetheart.” Her voice emerged muffled against his chest and he couldn’t make out her words. “What?”
“She got married. To husband numberf-four.She was in Vegas and that’s why she d-didn’t call me back.” Her fingers gripped his shirt, the ragged sound of her voice tearing at his insides. “Shepromisedme. She said she’d help with the baby and let me stay with her while I got on my feet. She promised.”
He cursed the woman who’d treat her daughter this way. Darcy was on her own? Completely? What kind of person did that? What kind of mother?
“He doesn’t even know we exist. She didn’t tell him because she doesn’t want us. Doesn’t want me. She never did.”
Biting back a curse, he pressed a kiss to her temple and cradled her closer, Gram’s comment about family support repeating in his head. “Darcy—”
“It was stupid of me.”
“What was, sweetheart?”
“Believing in her. I knew better. Iknowbetter. All my life she’s tossed me aside any time a man came around. Why did I think she’d put us first now? Why did I think I could depend on her?”
Because she saw the good in people, not the bad. That insight into Darcy’s personality came easily. She’d had a rough childhood from the sound of it, but Darcy still believed in the good. He gently wiped away the tears. “You’ll be okay. You’re not alone, Darcy.” Her gaze shifted to the doll lying on the floor and he wondered at the connection. He bent and picked it up. “Who’s this?”
Darcy glared at the doll but made no move to take her from him. “Miss Potts. My mom gave her to me when I was little.”
