“No,” she said quickly. “That’s not it. But you’re a musician. You’ll be travelling all over the world. When would you find time to spend with a baby?”
“I don’t know. Trey seems to manage just fine.”
“Trey’s ten years older than you are. He’s been doing this music thing a long time and he had to lose Sierra before he finally found some balance in his life.”
“I guess I know where I stand with you, then.”
“Ty, please, don’t be like that. I think you’re a great guy. You’re sweet and kind—”
The dog barked, demanding to be let in. She surprised him when she went to the door. She opened it, bending to greet the dog. “Hey there,” she whispered. “I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
The dog wagged his tail, greedy for her attention. Ty knew how the poor old boy felt.
She finally stood with her back to him. “I’m going to see my doctor first thing tomorrow morning. I should be able to get the morning after pill.”
He felt like she’d dropkicked him in the gut. “To terminate the pregnancy.”
“No! It’s not like that. It’s not an...”
He held his hand up. “I don’t want to hear it. Do what you need to do. Let me get dressed. I’ll take you home.”
Ty got out of the shower the next morning to find his younger brother, J.T., feasting on blueberry muffins and banana bread at his kitchen table.
“What’re you doing here?” Ty asked, heading toward the coffee pot. He poured himself a tall mug of the strong brew before settling into the chair across from his brother.
J.T. was five years his junior and according to J.T. himself, the sexiest of the McCall brothers. When he wasn’t helping his parents run the ranch, he was, according to their mother, trying to get himself killed on the professional bull-riding circuit.
J.T. popped a muffin top in his mouth and chewed. “Ma did some baking last night. She told me to bring this down to her favorite son.”
Ty rolled his eyes. It had been a long-standing joke in the family that he was their mama’s favorite, though they all knew she would lay down her life for any of her children. “I’m not hungry.”
J.T. grinned. “Good thing since I plan on eatin’ it all myself.”
“Shouldn’t you be mendin’ fences or something?”
Ike, who sat at the table waiting for scraps, rested his chin on J.T.’s knee, looking forlorn. Ty knew exactly how he felt. He checked his watch: 7:30. Avery would be getting ready for her doctor’s appointment. He couldn’t believe he could have been so careless with her last night. He had never forgotten to use protection before.
“Been out there since five, but I gotta get back at it soon. You look like hell this mornin’,” J.T. said, getting up to pour himself a cup of coffee. “What’s up?”
Ty rubbed his eyes, knowing the photographer would be less than thrilled when he showed up for his photo shoot sporting red-rimmed eyes and dark circles. “What else? A woman,” Ty said, shaking his head in disgust.
J.T. laughed. “Isn’t it always? Though I can’t say I’ve seen you bent out shape about a chick since that one you met on New Year’s Eve a few years back.”
Ty sighed. “Yeah, well she’s one in the same.”
J.T. grinned, revealing white teeth amidst the dark stubble marring his chiseled face. “No shit? How’d you hook up with her again?”
“She was at Luc’s party the other night. Would you believe she works for him? She’s my publicist.”
J.T. leaned up against the counter, sipping the steaming cup of coffee. “Hey, that should make it easy for you two to pick up where you left off, right?”
Ty had been so distraught after Avery left his house that night that he’d broken down and told his brother the whole sordid story. “Not exactly. She knows about Abby and Mel.”
J.T. shook his head. “Tell me you didn’t tell her, dumbass.”
Ty got up to refill his coffee cup, elbowing his brother out of the way. “It’s not like I had a choice. She was gonna find out sooner or later. I thought it’d be better coming from me.”
“So, how’d she react to that little bombshell, genius?”
Ty rolled his eyes. His brother’s policy of don’t ask, don’t tell with women was wearing thin. Eventually he would have to grow up and learn that relationships required hard work, honesty, and compromise. Not that Ty was an expert on the subject, but he knew enough to make Avery happy, if she wasn’t so hell bent on making herself miserable.
“She was pissed at first. But once I explained the situation, I think she understood.”
J.T. grinned. “So, have you banged her yet or what?”
For a split second, Ty thought about throwing the hot pot of coffee at him, but he knew that would result in one of their infamous brawls, and given the way he was feeling this morning, his kid brother would probably wipe the floor with his sorry ass. “We slept together last night.”
J.T. chuckled. “So that’s why you look like shit this morning. Nice.” He bowed dramatically. “I bow to the reigning king.”
“Shut up, asshole.”
“You sure don’t sound like a guy who got laid last night. What happened? Not as good as you remembered?”
He recalled the sight of Avery throwing her head back and moaning as she rode him hard and fast. “Believe me, that wasn’t the problem.”
“What happened?” J.T. laughed. “She didn’t bail on you again, did she? ‘Cause if she did, you must be doin’ something wrong, bro.”
Ty clenched his jaw, knowing that taking a swing at his brother would do little to ease his tension. “Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but I forgot to wear a rubber, alright.”
J.T. set his mug down on the counter and stared at him. “Okay, but she’s on the pill, right?”
Ty shook his head.
“Shit, how could you be so stupid? You finally got this sweet record deal and you fuck everything up by getting some chick knocked up?”
“Maybe I wanted to get her pregnant,” Ty said, sinking into a kitchen chair.
“Come again. Why the hell would you wanna do that?”
Ty sighed. “You know how much I love Mel, how much I wished she were mine.”
“Yeah, I know, but this doesn’t seem like the ideal time to be startin’ a family, man.”
“That’s what Avery said.”
“What’re you gonna do if she is pregnant?”
Ty rubbed his eyes, wishing he could go back to bed and sleep for a week. “That’s not gonna be a problem.”
“How do you know because she told you? Look man, I don’t mean to sound cynical, but how do you know she’s not trying to trap you like Abby did? You’ve got this record deal now...”
“Avery’s nothing like Abby. Trust me on that one, J.T. She doesn’t want a kid right now, at least not with me.”
J.T. scowled and folded his arms across his chest. “Why the hell not? Has she ever seen you with Mel? You’re great with her.”
Ty smiled, appreciating his brother’s indignation on his behalf. “She doesn’t think I’m ready to be a father. Besides, she has her career to think about.”
“Yeah, well she may not have a choice, right?”
Ty walked over to the kitchen cabinet and reached for a bottle of pain reliever. He popped two of the little pills in his mouth and swallowed without benefit of water. “Oh, she has a choice. She’s already made it.”
“What does that mean?”
“She’s going to see her doctor this morning. Apparently they have some goddamn morning after pill a woman can take now.”
J.T. nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard about that.” He slapped Ty on the back. “It’s probably for the best.”
“Like hell it is.”
Avery sat across the desk from her gynecologist, trying to conceal her embarrassment. She was an intelligent, well-educated woman who’d built a successful business, yet she didn’t have the good sense to engage in protected sex to avoid an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. At least she thought it was unwanted last night. Today, she wasn’t so sure.
“So you see, Dr. Anderson, my partner and I made the mistake of engaging in unprotected sex,” she said, trying to avoid his careful scrutiny.
Dr. Anderson had been her doctor since she moved to Nashville six years ago. His age, wisdom, and experience always put her at ease during routine examinations, but today he made her feel guilty and ashamed of her actions. Or maybe it was her conscience working overtime.
“I see,” he said quietly, clasping his hands on the desk as he leaned forward. “How does this correspond with your cycle?”
She swallowed nervously, trying to find her voice. Dr. Anderson reminded her of her late grandfather, who was also a doctor. Perhaps it was the white hair, wire-rimmed glasses, or the white lab coat he always wore when he saw patients that prompted her to draw the comparison. Whatever it was, she felt her papa was looking down on her now, shaking his head in disappointment.
“I was ovulating last night.”
The doctor set his pen down on top of the file. “You know the optimal time to conceive would be the day before, during, or after ovulation. There’s a forty-eight to seventy-two hour window.”
She cleared her throat as she shook her head. “Yes, sir. I understand.”
He frowned, removing his glasses. “Forgive me for asking, Avery. But are you sure you want to exercise this option?”
“Why would you ask me that?”
“You seem a little uncertain, unsettled perhaps. Is that because you’re questioning whether a pregnancy is in fact something you might want?” He opened her file. “I see here that you’re thirty-five, which is not as much of a factor as it once was. It does increase your risk of complications marginally, but a much higher percentage of women are having children well past the age of forty now.”
She had never considered the fact that she’d passed the age where a low-risk pregnancy would be a given. How was it even possible that her optimal childbearing years were already behind her? “I see,” she said quietly. “I guess I’d never really considered that.”
“It is something to think about,” Dr. Anderson said, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t want to sway you either way, Avery. But it’s my job to make sure that you’re able to make an informed decision. That being said, there’s a very small window of opportunity if we want this pill to be effective at preventing an unwanted pregnancy.”
She shook her head numbly, trying to process the gravity of his words. “I understand.”
“I have other patients to see. Why don’t I leave you here to think about it for a little while? I’ll be back to find out what you’ve decided.”
She watched the doctor stand and collect her file. “Yes, I think I’d like a bit more time. Thank you.”
She waited for him to leave before sinking back in the upholstered armchair, trying to come to terms with an impossible decision. She’d always assumed she would be a mother one day, but she wasn’t twenty-two years old anymore. How many more opportunities would she have to fulfill that wish? But did she want to have a child now, with a man who was only passing through her life?
She had no doubt Ty was a good man and he would be a wonderful father to their child, but she couldn’t help but feel it was unfair of her to even ask him to accept that kind of responsibility when he was on the verge of realizing his lifelong dream of becoming a best-selling recording artist.
She had no doubt his success was imminent; he had the best team in the business working hard to making him a household name. It was only a matter of time before that happened. And where did that leave her? It left her alone, with a newborn baby to care for and a business to run. She thought about what kind of commitment that would entail. The lifestyle changes, the domestic help she would require, the stress, the sleepless nights.
She glanced at the doctor’s credenza. It was filled to overflowing with framed family photos. She got up to take a closer look. There were photos of the doctor and his wife, his children on their wedding day, his grandchildren at various stages of development. She picked up a candid shot of a baby giggling. It looked like she was throwing her arms and squealing in delight at some unknown stimuli.
Avery’s heart melted and in that moment, she made her decision. She didn’t want to live the rest of her life without rocking a baby to sleep in her arms or taking pride in her son or daughter’s first steps or first words. With startling clarity, she realized she was finally ready to be somebody’s mommy.
Regardless of what happened with Ty, if God saw fit to bless her with a baby, she would do everything in her power to guide, nurture, and protect that baby. She would learn from her parents’ mistakes, seek out help and advice when she needed it, and she would find a way to manage her fear so her baby didn’t grow up to be as neurotic and fearful of relationships as she was.
She turned the doorknob and walked down the short hallway to the doctor’s waiting area. She paused at the nurses’ station. “Please tell Dr. Anderson I won’t need that medication after all. I may be calling to book another appointment in a few weeks. Please send me the bill.”