Unexpected Father

Lilly stopped, wrinkled up her forehead. And closed down. She was no doubt embarrassed that she’d revealed her fear of not being able to walk. It was a totally human, normal response, but Jason figured she would view it as a weakness.

“Of course, there’s a bright side to this,” she continued. It was her CEO presentation voice. Light, confident, airy. “I figure I’ve lost a lot of weight. I doubt I’ve been this thin since high school.” Lilly fanned her trembling fingers through the air to indicate an imaginary marquee. “Coma—the ultimate diet.”

“You’ll be back to normal in no time,” Jason promised her. Though he didn’t know why. That certainly wasn’t a promise he could deliver.

She stared at him a moment. “Oh, I get it now.” Lilly’s mouth relaxed and she made a clumsy swipe to push her rumpled hair off her forehead. “This is an official visit from Detective Jason Lawrence, San Antonio PD. You want to question me about the car accident that put me here in this hospital bed.”

He wished that was the reason he’d come.

“I work Special Investigations now,” Jason informed her. “Your accident doesn’t come under the jurisdiction of my department.”

Something, some raw emotion, rifled through her eyes. “So, you’re here to talk about Greg.” Lilly huffed and coupled it with a disapproving groan. “I figured you’d give me at least a day or two to catch up on current events, physical therapy, visits from friends, trips to Krispy Kreme, et cetera, before you started badgering me again about the night Greg died.”

Greg. His brother. His dead brother. And the subject of the majority of Lilly’s and his last conversations, and bitter arguments.

Always arguments.

It didn’t matter that she was trying to diffuse this tension with her Krispy Kreme style of humor. The emotion and the pain were still there, crouching just below the surface of her words.

Jason moved closer and stopped a few inches from the foot of her bed. “I’m not here about Greg, either.” Besides, no amount of questioning and arguments would bring his brother back. He knew that. Now. But Lilly was right—nineteen months ago, it’d been a topic he’d broached often with her.

And yes, there had been plenty of badgering involved.

“All right, then.” She took a sip of water from a plastic cup clutched in her right hand. “You’ve piqued my interest. If you’re not here to talk about Greg or my car accident, then this’ll be a very short visit. Because I think we both know there’s nothing else for us to discuss.”

Jason couldn’t fault her defensive attitude. He deserved it. After all, this was the woman he’d accused of contributing to the death of his brother. Despite the fact he’d known Lilly for more than six years before his brother’s death, it was hard to stay friendly after an accusation like that. However, she was wrong about them having nothing else to discuss.

There was plenty.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Dr. Staten announced, and he stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Jason glanced over his shoulder to confirm the man’s timely exit. Staten was definitely gone. The room suddenly seemed too small, and it was getting smaller by the second with Lilly’s stare drilling into him. Where had the air gone?

“Do you remember anything that happened while you were in a coma?” Jason asked.

Lilly blinked, as if surprised by the question. “No.” She paused. “In fact, not only is the coma a blank, so are the last few hours before I got into the car.” She stopped, angled her head, studied him. “Is there something about the accident that the police are investigating?”

Jason chose his words very carefully.

“The case is still active. I’m sure the lead detective will want to question you when you’re feeling up to it.”

And he left it at that.

She made a soft hmm of agreement. And concern. “Then something must really be wrong for you to be here.”

It was, and since there was no good introduction for what he had to tell her, Jason just started with the basics. “The night Greg was killed, you had sex with him.”

Not a blink of surprise this time. More like a flash of anger over his bluntness. “I don’t want to discuss this—”

“I know it happened because he called and told me. In fact, he told me just minutes before he died.”

Since this was only a recap and since he hadn’t wanted to start an argument with her, Jason left out one important detail: Greg had thought the sexual encounter might lead to a permanent relationship with Lilly rather than her shutting him out of her life.

But she had shut him out.

And because of that, Greg was dead.

There it was. The flood of old memories. The still-fresh pain. Always the pain. Jason knew for a fact he wouldn’t forget that grief any time soon. Nor would he forget, or forgive, what Lilly had done.

“Is this actually leading somewhere?” Lilly prompted in that crisp voice that he’d learned to hate. “Because I’m not in the mood for a trip down memory lane, especially when you’re the one doing the navigating.”

“It’s leading somewhere.” Since he needed it, Jason took another deep breath. “You got pregnant that night. With Greg’s baby.”

That got her attention. Man, did it ever. She did a double take and her breathing stilled. “Excuse me?”

“You got pregnant,” Jason repeated. Because Lilly looked as if she badly needed it, and because he needed it, as well, he waited a couple of moments to give her some time to try to absorb that.

The plastic water cup started to collapse under the pressure of her grip. “I didn’t know.”

Jason had been afraid of that. So that meant Lilly was in for a double shock.

He’d have to save the third part of these revelations for another day since that news would probably stall her recovery and send her into a panic.

A hoarse sob clawed its way past her throat. “Oh, God. Oh. God. Pregnant. I got pregnant.” Her gaze slashed to his, and she groaned. “The accident caused me to miscarry, didn’t it?”

Her reaction surprised him, and that was putting it mildly. Jason had been expecting her to be upset at the news of an unplanned pregnancy.

Or maybe that’s how he’d hoped she would react.

Upset.

But this was a couple of steps past that particular emotion. He’d never thought of the workaholic, success-driven Lilly as overly eager to start a family, but she looked genuinely distressed over not just the pregnancy but the possibility of losing a child.

“No.” Jason let her know. Not easily. But he finally got out the denial. “You didn’t miscarry.”

With her eyes suddenly dark and wide with concern, Lilly opened her mouth. Closed it. Frantically shook her head. “What do you mean no?” The question was all breath. Not a hint of sound. Yet Jason heard it clearly.

“Your injuries were mainly caused by a piece of metal railing that came through the windshield,” Jason explained. “It hit you on the head, caused some major trauma. The airbag stopped any impact damage in your midsection and probably prevented you from miscarrying.”

She didn’t have much color in her face, but what was there, drained completely. Her bottom lip began to tremble. “I don’t understand.”

Jason waited a moment, until he stood a chance of his voice being steady. It wasn’t a hundred percent, but under the circumstances, it was the best he could do. “You carried the baby full term, and then the doctors delivered it via C-section.”

“Are you saying…” But she didn’t finish. Mumbling something indistinguishable, she dropped back onto the pillows and her eyelids fluttered down.

Since Jason needed to end this conversation right here, right now, he just tossed it out there. Quickly. Before he could change his mind, turn and leave. “You had a baby, Lilly. Nearly a year ago.”

She lay there. Not moving. Except for her lips. She continued to mumble something. A prayer, maybe. Then she opened her eyes. Slowly. As if she dreaded what she might see on his face.