Begin Again (Crimson Romance) Read online

  He laughed. “I have a feeling we are not talking about the same person.”

  She shook her head. “Your new assistant — the pretty girl who asked me if I had an appointment.”

  His eyes widened. “When did you come by? Never mind, that’s not important. I let Tiffany go. She wasn’t a good fit for my clinic.”

  Maisie laughed. “So your new assistant is a guy?”

  “Yes. He goes to the university and is studying to be a veterinarian. He’ll work for me for the next six months until he graduates.” He took her hand. “Now that that is settled, can we get back to us?”

  She looked down. “I’m not sure I’m ready for a relationship.”

  He gently squeezed her hand. “So we’ll give it a trial run.”

  How could she tell this man no? “Okay. As long as we take it slow.”

  “Slower than a turtle crossing the street. Got it.” He smiled. “By the way, I was never told about you coming to see me at the clinic.”

  Surprise, surprise. “Oh, it doesn’t matter now.”

  Ryan grinned. “Maisie Scott, I do believe you’re sweet on me.”

  She took his hand. “Mr. Tucker, I think you may be right.”

  • • •

  Could things get any better? Ryan danced around his living room to ’90s music on the radio. What a perfect end to the most perfect day.

  He glanced over at Rex pushing his ball around in the cage. “Maisie is my girlfriend!”

  The rat looked up from his toy and sniffed the air. Full of energy, Ryan danced into the kitchen to get orange juice. He emptied the carton into his glass and tossed it into the trashcan basketball style. After he chugged the juice, he went to his room to get ready for bed. Feeling like he’d drunk a love potion, he lay down. How would he get any sleep?

  • • •

  Lola’s eyes were almost as big as the saucer holding her mug of cocoa. “Good for you, girl!”

  Maisie wiped the counter as the familiar clang of dishes sounded in her ears. “I still don’t believe I’m ready for an actual relationship, but you should have seen his puppy dog eyes when he said we’d do a trial run. I couldn’t say no.”

  Lola unwrapped a stick of green gum. “Well I think there’s more to it than his puppy dog eyes. Just face the fact that you like him and want to be his girlfriend.”

  Maisie’s stomach knotted up. “It’s not about what I want. It’s about how I feel, and as hard as I’ve tried, I can’t control that.”

  CHAPTER 9

  Just as he was about to get dressed, Ryan heard someone at the front door. Who was ringing his doorbell this early on a Saturday? “Just a minute,” he called down the hall as he slipped on his jeans and a lime green polo. He rubbed his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair. Hoping it was Maisie, he opened the door with a smile plastered on his face.

  His ex-fiancée stood in front of him holding a newborn baby in her arms. “Beth? What are you doing here?” He looked from her blue eyes to the tiny sleeping bundle.

  She smiled and adjusted her hold on the baby. “Hi, Ry! Aren’t you going to let us in?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Again, what are you doing here?”

  She frowned and looked down at the infant. “Don’t wake him. Can we talk inside?”

  Irritated, he held open the door. “How did you even find me?”

  She walked into his house as if she lived there. “You weren’t that hard to find, Ry. Not many vets named Ryan Tucker.” After placing the baby on his couch, she turned to him. “I’m sorry about the way I left. I guess I got cold feet.”

  He took in her slinky red dress and pouty face and felt nothing. How had he ever loved this woman? Maybe he really hadn’t. “Well, not only did it hurt me, it was rude, Beth.” He glanced over at the newborn when he heard fussing. “Whose baby is that?”

  She grabbed a hold of his arms. “That’s why I’m here. He’s yours.”

  Ryan’s mouth dropped open, and he tried to find his voice. “Excuse me?”

  Beth’s hands slid down his arms to his hands. “I didn’t know I was pregnant when I took off. Honest.”

  Anger and shock took over his body. When he finally found his voice, he pried her fingers off his hands. “But you knew when he grew inside you and still you said nothing? You gave birth to him, and still you said nothing?” Ryan shook his head and looked over at the tiny baby with curly blond hair. “How can this be? We slipped up one time in the hot tub … ”

  “One time’s all it takes.” She paused to look around his house. “This place is depressing. I’ll go shopping tomorrow and liven it up.”

  Ryan scratched his head. “You don’t live here. You are not a part of my life now. You made that decision for both of us seven months ago.”

  Beth tossed her hair over her shoulder. “We have nowhere else to go. You’d have your fiancée and son live on the street?”

  The baby started crying, causing Ryan to look over and want to pick him up. The baby he’d always wanted and the wife he’d always wanted were right in front of him. The only problem was, it wasn’t Beth he wanted anymore. It was Maisie.

  Beth rushed over to the baby and held him, whispering that everything would be okay.

  “If he’s mine, he will always have a place to stay. But you are not my fiancée, and you can’t stay here.”

  Beth started crying and patting the baby’s bottom. “What do you mean ‘if he’s yours?’ How can you say that in front of him?”

  Ryan let out a deep sigh. “You can stay here until tomorrow. I’ll leave.” Ignoring the cries of the tiny bundle that could be his son and the tears of the woman he had once promised his life to, he stomped back to the bedroom to pack a suitcase. He needed to think.

  • • •

  Ryan sat on the edge of the bed. Why was this happening? How could he tell Maisie? He stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the hotel’s parking lot. How would he break the news to his family? They didn’t even know he’d been engaged to Beth.

  Guilt wrapped around him like a boa constrictor. He hadn’t even touched or held his son before walking out. His son. He swallowed the hard lump in his throat and tried to blink away the tears that stung his eyes.

  Only one person would know what to do. He picked up his cell phone and called Jacob.

  He took a deep breath to keep the pain out of his voice. “I’m coming to visit.”

  “That’s a great surprise, man,” Jacob said. “When?”

  Ryan grabbed his duffle bag off the bed. “Now.”

  • • •

  The sun was shining, and the cloudless sky was bluer than she’d seen it in weeks. Dressed in a spaghetti-strap cotton dress with a big, pink, silk flower clipped in her hair, Maisie took the fresh apple pie that’d she’d baked for Ryan this morning off the counter. She planned on surprising him with it. He was her boyfriend. Gosh, it’d been a long time since she’d had one of those.

  As she walked outside carrying the pie wrapped in foil, she looked up. I’m sorry, Luke, but I have to try to move on. A ladybug landed on her hand. She smiled as it flew off. Ladybugs were the only bugs she didn’t mind. In fact, Luke had once called her ladybug when they’d first met. Maybe it was a sign. She placed the warm pie carefully in the passenger side seat and then hopped into the driver’s seat.

  Warm from the heat of the inside of the car, she cracked all four windows to let the air circulate. She could picture eating pie on Ryan’s deck and laughing and kissing. She sighed happily just thinking about his sweet lips on hers.

  Maisie checked her reflection in the visor mirror. She pulled the flower out of her windblown hair and re-clipped it after she smoothed her red locks back into place. Pie in hand, she almost skipped up to Ryan’s front door. With her free hand, she pressed the doorbell, grinn
ing. The curtain moved slightly, then she heard footsteps.

  Confusion hit her like a train when a tall woman wearing a red dress and holding a newborn opened Ryan’s front door.

  “Yes?” The woman asked, kissing the top of the baby’s blond head.

  Maisie instinctively stood taller and peeked into the house. “Where’s Ryan?”

  The woman tossed her pale blond hair back and kissed the baby again. “He’s in the shower. We had a late night.” She winked.

  Maisie clutched onto the pie as she felt it slipping from her hands. “Can you tell him Maisie’s here,” she said, trying to keep her voice from squeaking.

  The woman looked behind her. “It’ll be a while. We’re getting ready to go shopping for a crib. She held out her free hand with long, fake nails, “I’m Beth, Ryan’s fiancée.”

  As if someone had just ripped out her heart, Maisie felt immense pain and panic. She took Beth’s hand and gave it a quick shake. She opened her mouth to shout at the woman who had just killed her happiness, but instead she closed her mouth and turned to leave.

  Beth called after her, “Wait, who are you?”

  Maisie wiped the tears from her face. “Nobody. I’m nobody.” She heard the door shut behind her. She wanted to take the pie and throw it at the door. Better yet, she wanted to storm inside Ryan’s house and pull his sorry butt out of the shower to explain himself. How could he do this to her?

  Sobbing, she slammed her car door and drove away.

  • • •

  Jacob handed Ryan a cold soda. “You know that baby might not be yours, right?”

  Ryan rubbed his unshaven face. “Yeah, it’s crossed my mind a couple of times. But what if he is?”

  Jacob shrugged. “Then you’ll be a great dad.”

  “Why did this have to happen now? Just when my relationship with Maisie is turning into something?”

  “Things have a way of happening at the worst times.” Jacob paused to take a big gulp of his drink. “The question is, what are you going to do about Beth?”

  Ryan looked up at the ceiling fan going around and around. “I don’t know. She can’t stay with me. I don’t love her.” He rubbed his face. “What if I’m wrong about Maisie the way I was about Beth?”

  “Time will tell, man.”

  He sighed. “Why am I questioning everything now?”

  Jacob shrugged. “We have some luck with women, don’t we?”

  “Yeah. Should I call an attorney?”

  “I would if she doesn’t agree to a DNA test.”

  Ryan unclenched his fists and wiped his hands on his jeans. “I just can’t believe she would’ve kept something like that from me knowing how much I wanted a family.”

  Jacob crushed his empty can. “She had no right to keep the pregnancy or your son from you.”

  “I better head back. I forgot I’ll have to feed Rex tonight.”

  Jacob patted him on the back. “Drive safe. Don’t make the same mistake I did and put yourself out of commission.”

  He nodded. “I won’t. I’m glad for the long drive. It’ll give me some time to think.”

  • • •

  Under a tree at the nearest park, Maisie sat eating the whole pie without a fork. Her shoulders shook as she cried. She kicked off her shoes to feel the earth beneath her feet. This is the reason I didn’t want to get attached again. How many times can a broken heart be shattered into smaller pieces? Her mind rushed back to the tiny pink face. The tiny fingers. She shoved more of the sweet dessert into her mouth, trying to get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth. Was Ryan a dad? He had seemed so sincere. Wiping her eyes, she stood up to rinse her sticky hands in the creek about a yard away. Never had she eaten a whole pie by herself, especially with her bare hands. Desperate times.

  “Why?” she whined to the universe and sat down on the ground next to the shallow stream of water, trying to find the strength to get up and drive back home.

  • • •

  The sky was turning pink as Ryan pulled back into his driveway. He took a deep breath before getting out of the SUV. He’d had plenty of time to think while driving back from Illinois. He would demand that Beth show him proof that the baby was his. If she didn’t, he’d have it court ordered if he had to. He had to know the truth.

  He opened the door and was relieved the house was quiet. Maybe they were asleep. He whispered a hello to Rex and put food in his bowl. He rubbed the rat’s head.

  Beth came out of his bedroom in his robe. “You’re back.”

  He put Rex’s food container back under the table. “I came to feed Rex.”

  “Look, Ry, you don’t have to be a part of our lives. Say the word and I’ll leave town so you’ll never have to see us again.”

  His eyes widened. “Is that what you think? That I wouldn’t want to be a daddy?”

  She shrugged. “You did leave without even meeting your son.”

  He shook his head in anger. “I want a DNA test done Monday. I’ll pay for you to stay at a hotel down the street, but I’d like you to leave the baby here with me.”

  Her voice was as cold as ice, “Why would I leave him with you? I’m his mother.”

  “I can’t take a chance of you leaving again and taking my son with you.”

  She frowned. “Then I’ll stay here, too.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes. “No. I’m involved with someone. It wouldn’t be right.”

  “You mean the redhead?”

  His heart dropped. “You saw her? She was here?”

  “Yeah, pretty little thing. But really, Ry, she isn’t your type.”

  Anger rose inside him. She was not going to ruin what he had with Maisie. He wouldn’t let that happen. “You have no idea what my type is.” The baby cried from the back room. Beth started to go, but he held up his hand. “I’ll get him.”

  She stood back and let him pass. He could hear his heart pound in his ears as he walked into his bedroom and saw tiny fists waving in the air. He could do this. He carefully picked up the powder-scented baby and held him close to his chest. The baby continued to cry, natural instinct kicked in, and he gently bounced the boy up and down. Beth stood in the doorway with a diaper bag.

  “Here are his bottles and diapers. I’ll leave and come back tomorrow.”

  Dark-blue, glassy eyes cracked open to look at him with wonder, and Ryan’s heart melted. “What’s his name?”

  Beth smiled. “Jay, after your daddy.” Figures. She shortens everyone’s name.

  Ryan reached into his back pocket with his free hand and pulled a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet. “Come back here in the morning.” He handed Beth the money. “We’ll go to County Hospital for the test.”

  • • •

  The steam filled the bathroom. How would she get past another loss? Until Ryan had been ripped out from under her, she hadn’t realized how deep of a connection she’d already formed with him. The water ran down the drain as she sat on the floor, unable to take off her clothes and get into the tub. She needed to get away. Nothing made sense anymore. Her sister’s hugs after she’d told her what happened didn’t help. Even playing with Boots and Lucky didn’t help. She reached over to shut the water off. As the fog in the bathroom slowly cleared, so did her head. She still had the unused passport. Maybe it was time to get that first stamp.

  • • •

  Maisie wasn’t answering her cell phone. She had to let him explain. Ryan pulled into her driveway feeling a sense of dread. If only he could wait to talk to her until after the DNA test results came back. He sighed and rang the doorbell.

  Cady opened the door with a frown.

  Her disappointed eyes made him feel even worse. “Is Maisie home? I really need to speak with her.”

  Cady shook her head and crossed her arms.
r />   Ryan tried to look past her to see if Maisie was hiding out. “It’s not what you think. I’m not sure what Beth said to her, but trust me, it’s not what you think.”

  Cady held her hand up as he took a step toward her. “She’s gone, Ryan.”

  Panic took hold of him. “Gone? Where?”

  She shook her head. “I thought you were good for my sister; I was wrong.”

  Ryan rubbed his face in frustration. “I am good for her. I need to explain.”

  She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “Are you engaged?”

  “No.”

  She crossed her arms. “Do you have a baby?”

  Ryan let out a sigh. Tears stung his eyes. “I … I don’t know.”

  Cady nodded. “My sister needed to get away. I can’t help you.” She made a move to close the door on him.

  “Wait!” He looked her in the eyes. “I have to see her. Please, I’m begging you.”

  “She left for Rwanda.”

  Ryan’s mouth fell open. “No. When?”

  Cady raised her hands up in the air. “About an hour ago.”

  “Thank you.” Ryan turned and ran to his SUV. Maybe he could catch her in time. He fastened his seatbelt and stepped on the gas. Pick up, pick up. The phone rang over and over again in his ears until he heard Maisie’s voice mail.

  “Maisie, if you get this, please don’t leave. I need to explain.” He ended the call. His heart pounded as he sped to the airport.

  • • •

  Maisie watched the plane that she was supposed to be on lift off into the air. When it had come down to it, she couldn’t leave. After everything she’d been through, one thing she’d never done was run away. At least her tears had finally dried up. Now she just felt numb. A familiar feeling, like an old friend.

  The bustle of people around her and some teenagers laughing a few seats away were reminders that life went on. No matter what happened, people around you continued, oblivious that your life was falling apart. She stood up and rolled her suitcase into the crowd. With one foot in front of the other, she blended in. She lifted her suitcase onto the escalator. Her eyes, dry as sand, blinked to try to restore some moisture. Still unfeeling, she stepped on the moving metal stair as it flattened under her feet. When she stepped outside into a light rain, she welcomed the cold wetness on her skin. About to get a taxi, she stopped and blinked. Ryan stood in front of her, out of breath.