Unexpected Gifts

“Okay, so a gorgeous, interesting, unattached man who gets along with your father called to ask you out and you say no why?”

“I say no every time he asks.”

“He’s asked more than once?” This was the first Eli had heard about this Tyler Martinez, and she couldn’t help but wonder if there were other men who’d asked Tucker out that she hadn’t mentioned.

“He’s asked me out a few times,” Tucker admitted.

“What am I missing?”

“Some brain cells if you can’t figure it out. I mean, I’m pretty sure his suits are designer—not that I know designer clothes. I mean, there’s Jacqueline Smith stuff at Kmart, but otherwise?” She shrugged. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure that’s what his stuff is, and he’s certainly got money to burn.”

Eli shook her head, genuinely confused. “Still not getting it.”

“Look at me, do I look like the type of woman a man like that would be interested in?”

Eli did look. Tucker was wearing a holey pair of jeans, some steel-toed work boots and a T-shirt that proudly proclaimed It’s NASCAR or Nothin’. The T-shirt was worn thin from too many washings, and hugged Tucker’s body in such a way that no man could miss that despite the work clothes, Tucker was all woman. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t be interested, Tuck. I mean, if I were a man, I’d try to date you.”

Her outrageous comment had the desired effect. Tucker laughed. “If you were a man I’d probably say yes. But he’s different. Too different.”

“Tucker, this Tyler, or any man, would be all kind of lucky to have a woman like you.”

Tucker pulled back, not physically, but emotionally. Eli could talk herself blue in the face, but Tucker would never believe that she was beautiful. It had nothing to do with designer clothes, and everything to do with the kind of woman Tucker was.

And part of what made Tucker Tucker was her complete and annoying stubbornness, which reared its head now. “Let’s change the subject back to you. What are you going to do now?”

“I made plans for dinner with my parents tomorrow night. I expect it’s going to go about as well, or even worse, than how it went telling Arthur.” She loved her parents, saw them at least once a week when they were in town, and talked to them frequently when they wintered in Florida each year. The fact that she would be an unwed mother was not going to impress them. She was forty-four, but obviously the desire to please a parent didn’t go away with age. It might even have gotten stronger.

“I think you’re wrong. They might not be happy, but they’ll stand by you. I have no doubt of that.”

“You’re right. It still won’t be pretty.”

“Maybe you’re wrong.”

“Yeah, maybe. And maybe the earth is going to start rotating backward, and all the bad guys will suddenly become good guys forever and ever.”

She snorted. “And maybe prigs will fly.”

Maybe.

But Eli wasn’t betting on any of it.

CHAPTER THREE

“Time. It can feel as if you don’t have nearly enough time to get everything done. Remember, despite all you need to do, take time to have some fun.”

—Pregnancy, Childbirth and Parenting for Teens, by Mary Jeanne Lorei

ELI NORMALLY LOVED SATURDAYS. She loved knowing she didn’t have to get up and do anything. She loved the idea of leisurely walks, and reading the paper—front to back—over a second cup of coffee. Then possibly doing the crossword puzzle in ink over a third cup.

Today, there was no sense of happiness at the thought as she glanced at the clock. 8:00 a.m.

She didn’t have time for the paper before her meeting with Zac, and even if she did, there’d be no coffee. No caffeine for her for the rest of the pregnancy. And probably not while she was breast-feeding, either. If she breast-fed. Would she breast-feed?

Another decision.

One she simply couldn’t face.

She had to get together with Zac Keller and Ariel Mayor, then she had to hurry home and clean the house before her parents’ visit.

Not that her house was a mess. And she didn’t generally clean before her parents came over. But since she was about to break the fact she was pregnant with no father in the picture, she figured the least she could do was tell them in a spotless house.

After all, that wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

And why on earth did she let Zac talk her into meeting at Tim Horton’s? To smell that wonderful coffee and not be able to have a cup was going to be sheer torture. Okay, she could probably order a decaf, but seriously, if she couldn’t drink the real thing, why bother?

She hurried out to the car, pulling her winter coat tighter.

Winter hadn’t even officially arrived—heck, autumn was only halfway gone—but she was ready for spring.

The thought stopped her in her tracks. By late spring, she’d have her baby. Right at the end of the school year. She’d be a mother. Her whole life would change.

Sometimes, she’d forget she was pregnant. Then, she’d have one of those moments of awareness.

She was pregnant.

She was going to be a mother.

She kept repeating the words as she drove to the coffee shop.

There was no denying it. The life she’d planned was gone thanks to this baby. A small spurt of anger surprised her. She didn’t blame the baby, but she was mad at the circumstances. Arthur could throw up his hands and walk away. She was stuck. Her body wasn’t ever going to be the same. Her life was never going to be the same. It wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t count the number of times girls said those words to her. Her response? Life’s not fair. Deal with it.

She realized she’d been parked in front of the coffee shop for…she wasn’t sure how long.

Yeah, life’s not fair. Deal with it.

Right now she had to deal with Zac Keller.

She hurried inside and scanned the place. She spotted Zac in line and approached him.

A slow smile spread on his face. “You made it.”

“We’d agreed, so of course I made it.”

“What would you like?” He nodded at the menu.

“A house decaf.” She wanted her caffeine. Wanted it desperately. Already, the baby was impacting her life. Her decisions.