If the Stick Turns Pink... (10 page)

“I don't whine,” she protested with a laugh.

His smile fell away. “You're right.” He turned his attention back to his driving. “You aren't a whiner.” He paused a moment, then continued. “My mother can be a whiner, and Stephanie…she was the queen of the whiners.” Melanie said nothing, unsure how to
respond. She'd always felt that Stephanie was a taboo topic with him.

“She woke up in the mornings whining that my bed was too soft and the room was too warm. Then it was the toast was too done, the coffee was weak and things would be different if we moved to the city and I'd become a real doctor.”

She reached out her hand and placed it on his arm. “I'm sorry, Bailey.”

He quirked an eyebrow as if in surprise. “Why should you be sorry?”

“Because you're my friend, and things didn't work out and you loved her.” Funny, a twinge of something remarkably like jealousy crackled through her. She shoved the odd feeling away as Bailey continued talking.

“You know what they say—marry in haste, repent in leisure. I don't think I was ever really in love with Stephanie. I had a bad case of lust, and before I knew it we were married.”

“Well, if it's any consolation, I don't think the bed is too soft at all,” she replied in an attempt to lighten the suddenly solemn tone of the conversation.

Bailey laughed and gazed at her affectionately. “Every person on earth should have a good friend like you, Mellie.”

She knew he meant the words as the best kind of compliment, but for some crazy reason they left her feeling rather empty inside.

As the fairgrounds came into view, she focused on
nothing else except the magic of her hometown's special celebration of the national holiday.

Melanie and Bailey had shared the fun of the carnival since they had been thirteen years old and their parents had finally allowed them to go on their own.

They bee-lined for the carousel. The colorful, lively looking mechanical horses always provided their first ride of the day. From there they went to several of the other rides, pausing in the fun only long enough to eat a funnel cake.

It was a day of fun, shared with friends, family and neighbors. Laughter was the rule of the day, and more than once the sound of Bailey's unbridled deep laughter caused a shiver of pleasure to race through Melanie.

They met Marybeth and Red Watters for lunch, dining on dripping spicy ribs and greasy fries. Within minutes Bailey's parents also joined them.

When five o'clock arrived and it was time for the contest, the bleachers in front of the stage area filled to see the beauty and talent of the young Foxrun women.

Melanie sat on the first row of the bleachers, grinning at Bailey who was seated on a chair of honor on stage. He looked as ill at ease as she'd ever seen him.

As she watched the pageant, she found herself thinking of the past several weeks of their marriage. There was a new intimacy between them that was both exhilarating and slightly frightening.

They touched often, in the intimate fashion of real
married couples. He'd taken to cuddling with her on the sofa at night as they watched movies. She would sometimes lie with her head in his lap and he'd toy with her hair or absently rub her shoulder and she'd know a contentment she'd never felt before in her life.

Their passionate lovemaking hadn't ebbed in the past month. Their physical unions remained breathtakingly beautiful for her, and afterward they often remained in each other's arms, talking softly in the darkness of their room. She pulled her thoughts away from her marriage as SueEllen Trexlor took the stage for her talent competition. She watched in amusement as SueEllen tap-danced, threatening to blacken both her eyes with her jiggling breasts each time she shuffled off to Buffalo.

SueEllen had called her several times over the past week, trying to set up a lunch date with her. It was only when Melanie told her that despite being married to the judge, she had no influence over him, that SueEllen stopped calling.

The surprise of the pageant was a pretty young woman named Susan Sanforth. Melanie knew Susan as a rather shy, young woman who worked in the local feedstore. But onstage she delivered a song in the voice of an angel, and during the interview portion showed an intelligence and wit that ultimately earned her the title of Miss Dairy Cow.

It was just after dusk when she and Bailey retrieved a blanket from the back of their truck, then hiked away from the fairgrounds. They were headed to the
isolated, tree-laden area from which they had always watched the fireworks.

“Remind me if SueEllen drops off a casserole anytime soon not to take a bite of it. It will probably be laced with arsenic,” Bailey said as they walked.

Melanie laughed. “With the look she gave you when you made your announcement, I don't think you have to worry about her ever speaking or cooking for you again.”

“Good. She's been a major player in my nightmares lately.”

She laughed again and looped her arm through his, enjoying the scent of his familiar cologne mingling with sunshine and the outdoors.

When they reached their destination, a copse of trees on a small rise some distance from the fairgrounds, Bailey spread out the blanket and they stretched out side by side, facing each other.

For a long moment neither of them spoke. Around them night began to fall, lengthening the shadows beneath the trees as the sun completely disappeared from sight.

“You should wear dresses like that more often,” he said, breaking the companionable silence.

She frowned. “Dresses like what?”

“Ones that, you know, show off what a nice shape you have.”

A warm breeze of pleasure swept through her at his words. “You think I have a nice shape?”

“Stop fishing for compliments,” he replied with a
grin. “If you stopped wearing those baggy dresses, you'd get so many compliments, I'd probably have to fight the men off you.”

She laughed, the warmth turning into a thrill. “I guess old habits die hard. When I was young and everyone in school would call me skinny, minny Melanie, I always wore my clothes too big because I thought it would make me look fatter.”

“Trust me, Mellie, nobody would mistake you for skinny, minny Mellie anymore.”

The look in his eyes assured her for the first time in her life that she'd truly outgrown the skinny, freckle-faced redhead that people had often made fun of.

“Lunch was fun,” she said, changing the subject.

Bailey's forehead furrowed. “It was fun until my folks started their usual bickering. How can two adults actually manage to cause such a stir over whether ribs should be parboiled or not?”

Melanie smiled. “Bailey, you take your parents bickering far too seriously. It's obvious they adore each other and their bickering is simply a form of affection.”

“So you say,” he replied dryly. “Personally, I think their constant bickering is the result of their unhappiness. But I don't want to talk about that now.” He leaned forward and captured a curl of her hair. “What I want to do is relax and dwell in the aftermath of an almost perfect day.”

“An almost perfect day?” She raised an eyebrow. “What could possibly make it any more perfect?”

“We've got about half an hour or so before the fireworks display begins.” He trailed a finger down her face and across her lips, the light in his eyes a wicked blaze.

Melanie's mouth grew dry and her pulse quickened. “Why, Mr. Jenkins, what could you possibly have in mind?”

“Nothing more than a little tumble in the grass with Mrs. Jenkins.”

It was at that moment when his mouth found hers that two horrible, heartbreaking realizations leaped into her mind. She was in love with Bailey Jenkins, and her period was a little more than a week late.

F
or the rest of her life, Melanie would remember making love to Bailey while the pyrotechnics display lit up the sky overhead and her love for him illuminated every corner of her heart.

Be careful what you wish for…it just might come true. The old adage whirled through her head as, with trembling fingers, she removed the pregnancy test from the drugstore sack.

Bailey was out in the barn, and she knew he had several appointments and probably wouldn't be returning to the house for at least an hour. It was a perfect time for her to take the pregnancy test. She'd already put it off long enough.

It had been a week since the Fourth of July celebration, and her period was now over two weeks late.
She'd put off taking the test, but knew it was unfair to wait any longer.

She took the test instrument out of the factory packaging, wishing she could go back and change all the rules. She wished they hadn't agreed that once she got pregnant they would divorce.

But nothing Bailey had said or done in the almost eight weeks of their marriage had indicated that he wanted to change this particular part of their agreement. He wanted joint custody of the baby she might be carrying, but he also wanted a divorce.

She took the test, then leaned against the sink and waited for the results. The package had said that within three minutes she would have an answer.

As she waited, her mind drifted back over the past week. In the last seven days she'd spent every moment loving Bailey and memorizing everything about him that she'd always taken for granted.

His beautiful smile with his dashing dimple was now emblazoned in her brain, along with the silver-blue flash of his eyes as he made love to her.

How had everything gotten so messed up? She wasn't supposed to have fallen in love with him. Why had he made it so impossible for her not to love him?

She had somehow thought she would be safe from falling in love with Bailey because of the strong, caring friendship they shared. But apparently that friendship had become the basis for something deeper, something more profound, and something utterly shattering.

It was time to check the test. If she was pregnant the test stick would turn pink. If she wasn't pregnant it would turn blue.

Drawing a deep breath, she peeked at the test stick. There, a bright-pink square stared at her.

Instantly her hands shot to her stomach as a wave of joy fluttered through her. Pregnant. She was pregnant with Bailey's baby.

The unbridled joy that soared through her ebbed, tainted by the realization that their deal was done. The pageant was over and she was pregnant. It was time for her to leave Bailey's house, leave their marriage.

Maybe she should take another test in a week or so. She'd heard these tests could sometimes give false positive reads. But even as the thought flittered through her mind she realized she wouldn't wait another week and wouldn't take another test.

If she did wait a week, she would only be putting off the inevitable. The inevitable would be painful whether it was accomplished today or a week from today.

It isn't the end of the world, she told herself as she began to pack her personal items in boxes. It wasn't as if she wouldn't ever see Bailey again. Surely they could go back to the special relationship they'd had before the marriage took place.

She had almost all of her things packed and by the door when Bailey came in late that afternoon. He stepped inside and gazed first at the boxes and suitcases, then at her. “What's all this?”

“All my stuff,” she said, forcing a lightness in tone into her voice. “The deal is done, and if you'll help me get this stuff to my car, then I'll be out of your hair and you can go back to your bachelor ways.”

“Whoa…slow down,” he exclaimed. He swiped a hand through his hair and sank down on the sofa, his gaze not leaving hers. “You said the deal is done…does that mean…are you…”

“Pregnant,” she finished. “I'm pregnant.” Saying the words aloud for the very first time sent a euphoric joy winging through her. “I took a home pregnancy test this morning and it came back positive.”

“Mellie,” he said softly, then he jumped up off the sofa and wrapped her in his arms. “My God, I can't believe it. We're actually pregnant.”

Tears stung her eyes, and for a moment she buried her face in the front of his shirt, the familiar scent of him aching inside her.

He was so obviously pleased about the baby. A tiny ray of hope sprang up in her chest. Maybe now he would tell her to unpack, that she wasn't going anywhere because he loved her more than anything and wanted to be her husband for the rest of his life.

He released her, his gaze gentle and caring. “Mellie, you don't have to move out today. We can take the next couple of days and get you settled back into your place.”

She took a step away from him, needing to escape his nearness as her hope died a painful death in her heart. This would have been the perfect time for him
to rescind the terms of their agreement, to ask her to remain a part of his life as his wife.

Tears once again pressed hot and heavy behind her eyelids, but she drew a deep breath to maintain control. It wasn't fair of her to be upset, because she'd gotten exactly what she'd bargained for.

“I'd sort of been looking forward to getting back to my own life,” she said. “I'd just as soon get this stuff loaded and sleep in my own bed tonight.”

“Uh, okay…if that's what you want.” His facial expression was inscrutable. “We'll load this stuff up, then I'll follow you to your apartment in my truck and help you unload it there.”

“That's not necessary,” she replied hurriedly. She suddenly felt the desperate need to escape him, before she mortified herself by breaking down.

“Of course it's necessary,” he countered evenly. “I don't want you lifting anything heavy for the next nine months. Have you made a doctor's appointment yet?”

“Jeez, Bailey. I just took the test a couple of hours ago. I'll make a doctor's appointment later in the week.”

“Let me know when it is and I'll go with you.”

She nodded. “Will you take good care of Squirt?” Her gaze became blurry with tears as she thought of the little guy who had captured her heart from the moment she'd spied him in the back of the cattle truck.

Squirt barked from the kitchen at the sound of his
name. “Of course I'll take care of him,” Bailey replied gently, obviously knowing how hard it was for her to leave him here. “But it's not like you're never going to see him again. We'll be seeing each other almost every day, and then there's our Friday movie nights.”

She nodded. “I'm going to start to look around for a new place to live…someplace with a yard that allows pets.” She picked up the lightest of the boxes, just wanting to get the move over with.

It took them nearly an hour to load up everything that Melanie had packed, then drive to her apartment.

“Whew, it's hot in here,” Bailey said as he carried the first of the boxes into her place. “Why don't you open some windows while I get the rest of the things inside?”

As he returned to her car for more boxes, she turned on the air conditioner and went around opening windows to allow the escape of the stifling air.

It was amazing to her, that the place she had called home for the past seven years could feel so unhomelike. She didn't feel any relief or any joy in returning here. All she felt was the heavy weight of an aching heart.

She was intensely grateful when Bailey brought in the last of her things and she knew he would be leaving within moments, for she wasn't sure she could contain her tears any longer.

“Well, I guess it's all done, then,” he said as he
stood at her front door, his hands jammed into his pockets.

“All's well that ends well. We both got what we wanted,” she replied, willing him out the door. “I got pregnant…”

He smiled. “And I got saved from the wiles of deranged pageant contestants.” His smile faltered and he pulled his hands from his pocket.

He raised a hand, and for a moment she thought he might reach out and capture one of her curls, or gently stroke down the side of her face. She stiffened, not wanting the touch, afraid it would be the undoing of her.

To her relief he dropped his arm to his side. “You'll call me tomorrow?”

“Of course,” she replied. After all, it was important that they go back to doing what they did best—being best friends.

“Then I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow.” He hesitated another moment on her front stoop, as if reluctant to leave her alone.

But she desperately needed to be alone. Her emotions were all over the charts, the overwhelming joy of knowing she was finally pregnant coupled with the devastating despair of her enormous love for Bailey.

“I'll talk to you tomorrow,” she repeated, then with a forced bright smile she closed the door, severing their awkward parting.

She managed to stanch the tears that begged to be released by working for the next couple of hours. The
items she'd packed and taken to Bailey's to enhance his house were returned to their rightful places in her apartment.

She hoped nobody had seen them moving her back in here. She wasn't ready for the questions she knew family and friends would have, at least not today. Tomorrow she'd talk to Bailey and they'd figure out exactly what they wanted to tell everyone.

She finished unpacking near dusk, then made herself some soup and sat at her kitchen table to eat. The silence of her apartment pressed around her with suffocating closeness.

The meals at Bailey's had always been accompanied by laughter and discussion and barking exclamations from Squirt. Tomato soup eaten alone and in utter silence couldn't compete.

She'd only eaten about half of the soup when the tears began. She'd gotten exactly what she'd wished for, but somehow in the space of the two months with Bailey, her wishes had changed.

She didn't just want Bailey's baby…she wanted Bailey. She wanted to see his beautiful face first thing in the mornings, fall asleep in his strong arms. She wanted to make love to him and raise babies with him and grow old with him. She wanted…

She shoved her bowl aside, a sob rising in her throat. The tears she'd held inside since that morning fell in a torrent. She stumbled from the table and into her bedroom, where she fell across the bed and buried her face in her pillow.

“Stop it,” she said between sobs in an attempt to get control of herself. It wasn't as if she would never see Bailey again. He would forever be a part of her life as the father of her child. He would forever be a part of her life as her friend.

This thought only made her sob harder, for she knew the truth of things in her heart. She loved Bailey, but she'd made the horrifying mistake of falling in love with him. And she knew in her heart, knew in her soul, she could never go back to loving him just as a friend.

She'd not only lost the man that she loved, she'd lost her best friend.

 

Bailey awakened the next morning with Mellie's pillow wrapped tightly in his arms, the lingering scent of her perfume filling his head.

He threw the pillow aside and sat up, irritation winging through him. He needed to change the sheets. Mellie had become a habit in his life, and surely that's why it seemed so strange to awaken without her in his arms.

He rolled over on his back and stared up at the ceiling where the morning sun was sending fingers of light across the surface. He'd barely had time to assess all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

Mellie's pronouncement that she was pregnant and going back to her own place had stunned him, and things had moved far too quickly after that. After
moving her things, he'd barely returned home when he'd received a phone call from Tanner Rothman with a foaling mare that was having difficulty.

It had been after midnight when he'd finally returned from the Rothman ranch, and he'd been vaguely surprised at his disappointment that Mellie wasn't there. He'd been revved up by the birth of the new foal, had wanted to share the excitement and joy with Mellie.

You can still do that, he told himself. She would call and he'd tell her all about it. Maybe he'd ask her if she wanted to meet him at the café for a burger this evening.

With this thought in mind, he bounded out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans and padded into the kitchen to make coffee.

Although Squirt greeted him enthusiastically, the kitchen itself offered no warmth.

Without Mellie's pretty yellow place mats, towels and knickknacks, the kitchen looked sterile and impersonal.

“Just the way I like it,” he muttered firmly. His house was his own again—a bachelor pad with no frilly, feminine items to distract him.

Still, minutes later as he ate his breakfast, he turned on the radio to fill the silence he'd never noticed in the house while Mellie was present.

“Just you and me, Squirt,” he said, and forced a grin as Squirt's entire backside wiggled with pleasure.
“A man and his dog, that's exactly the way I was intended to live.”

A habit. Throughout the afternoon Bailey told himself again that Mellie had just become a habit in his daily life, and that it sometimes took a little time to adjust when the habit was gone.

He worked with his animals and had appointments until noon, then went inside for lunch and checked his answering machine. No message from her.

He was halfway through his sandwich when Sam Johnson, a neighbor and friend, brought in his hunting dog. The dog had been hit by a car and needed immediate surgery to save his life.

Twilight was falling when Bailey finally made his way from the barn to the house. The dog, Neptune, had come through surgery fine and would be okay.

Bailey was exhausted, but it was the best kind of exhaustion, the kind that came with saving an animal's life. It was what Stephanie had never understood, and what Mellie had always understood.