A Reckless Life Read online

  “Hi back,” I replied, taking the coffee.

  “So what are you doing here? I didn’t expect to see you again,” he told me.

  “I’m not angry with you, Huck. I figured you just needed some space, so I gave you some. Now I want us to be friends again. I miss you.” I was sincere. I had missed him terribly. Life was very lonely without my best friend.

  “I know. I miss you too. I acted like a jerk. You love Adam and I get that. It just hurt me and I needed some time. I’m glad you came in.”

  I jumped up out of my chair and gave him a big bear hug. I struggled to keep from crying. I was so happy to have him back. “You know I love you, right?” I asked him.

  “Yeah, I know,” he said softly.

  “So what is up with you and Teresa?” I asked him. “Things looked pretty intense from over here.”

  “Oh, that. It’s nothing. We started seeing each other again after…well, you know. But, I don’t love her. I felt it was time to tell her that. I was just trying to be honest. She didn’t take it very well.”

  “Yeah, I saw that. I hope you didn’t bring my name up while you were breaking up with her. She gave me the stink eye as she was running out the door.”

  “No, of course not. I think she knows how I feel about you though. I probably wasn’t very good at hiding it.” He seemed a little embarrassed by that.

  “Oh. Well, there is a reason I came to see you,” I quickly changed the subject.

  “I thought you came to see me because of my incredible handsomeness.” He grinned.

  He was very cute and that made me smile.

  “Well, yes, of course there’s that,” I retorted. “But, there’s more.” It was fun joking around a bit with him again. I had missed him so much.

  “I have news,” was all I said.

  “Okay.” He leaned back in his chair, precariously balancing his coffee cup on his chest, waiting for me to continue.

  I hesitated. How was I going to tell him? He would be devastated. Okay, here goes. “I’m pregnant.” I kind of grimaced, bracing for the inevitable fight that was coming.

  He just looked at me and said nothing.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” I asked him.

  “Well, what do you want me to say? What’s done is done. Me getting mad about it is not going to change anything, is it?” He sat his chair back down on all four legs and put his coffee cup on the table carefully.

  “I guess not. This is just not the reaction I was expecting.”

  “So, what are you going to do now? How did Adam take it?” he asked.

  “I haven’t told Adam yet. I wanted you to know first. I was hoping you could help me sort this whole thing out. I have no idea what I’m going to do now. He’s probably not going to take it very well.” Obviously.

  “You think? As much as I hate it, as much as I hate this whole thing, you have to tell Adam. He has a right to know.” Huck told me matter-of-factly.

  “I know he does. I’ll tell him soon.” I was putting it off as long as I could.

  “What do you think he is going to say, when you do tell him?” Huck asked me.

  “I’m not really sure. On the one hand, he will probably be happy, because Sarah can’t have kids and I know he wants them. On the other hand, he is married and will have to deal with his wife finding out that he got me pregnant. At least I think so. He’s got to tell her, right? Would he expect me to hide it from her?”

  “Those are good questions. I barely know him and have no idea how he is going to react,” Huck responded.

  “I don’t know how he is going to react either. I could see it going a variety of ways. I’m suddenly terrified of having a conversation with him about it.”

  I wasn’t kidding either. With Sarah and Violet involved, who knew what the outcome would be. I really didn’t want to go back home and face him, or any of them. So I stayed and hung out with Huck for a while, long after I was supposed to be back to work. Oh well, what was Oliver going to do about it? Nothing, that’s for sure. Or would he? Would Adam let Oliver fire me now that I was carrying his child? Good question. I guess I was about to find out the answer to that.

  Later that evening, Adam found me alone in the kitchen. Oliver had left for the day and I was just doing the final daily cleanup. I hadn’t worked up the nerve to tell him yet.

  “Abbey, can we talk?”

  “Sure, about what?” I tried to sound light and breezy, without giving away my apprehension.

  “Let’s talk upstairs. I’ll meet you there in five minutes.”

  I immediately went up to the third floor room with the Picasso in it. I called it “the love nest,” though I don’t think that amused Adam. This was the room where we usually met to be together without anyone knowing. Most of the staff didn’t even know it existed, and we could lock it from the inside. We spent many wonderful hours in there, just being together. I got to know Adam like no one I had ever met before and I knew that he was the love of my life. It only took a couple of minutes until Adam showed up. When he walked in, he locked the door and we sat on the couch, facing each other. Something was definitely up. He was acting kind of strange, which made me start to worry. I suddenly got the feeling I was about to be dumped.

  “I want to talk to you about something,” he began. “I love you.” He took both of my hands in his.

  “I know.”

  “Okay, just wait. I’m not done yet.” He seemed a bit irritated that I had interrupted him.

  “Sorry. Go ahead.”

  “Like I said, I love you. You are the one I want to be with, not Sarah. I never really loved her, not in the way I should anyhow. You are the one I love. I want us to get married.”

  I think my heart skipped a beat when he said that. Wow, that was not what I was expecting at all. Just the opposite actually. But I was only excited for a few seconds.

  I was skeptical. “How is that going to work? You know, the whole you already having a wife thing?”

  “I’ll divorce Sarah, and then after a respectful amount of time, we can get married. Will you?” He looked hopeful, raising his eyebrows in a questioning gaze.

  I thought for a moment. Oh boy. This is exactly what I wanted. However, the next few minutes were going to be very important in determining my future. I had to tell him. How could I not?

  “Well, there are two things that you need to know before we go any further in this conversation.” I said, trying to remain calm. “Three things actually.” I held up three fingers for emphasis.

  “Okay, what?” He was definitely curious where this was all going.

  “First, I love you too.” I leaned over and kissed him passionately.

  “I like where this is going,” he said, smiling brightly.

  “Second, I’m pregnant,” I just blurted out, looking at him with a smile, hopeful that he wouldn’t be furious at me.

  “What? Oh my god, that’s wonderful. I love you so much.” He then leaned over and hugged me tight, then kissed me again. “I’ve always wanted children and Sarah couldn’t have them. Oh sorry, I shouldn’t bring her up right now. I don’t want to spoil this. I’m not sure how we are going to work this all out, but we will find a way. I want us to be together, as a family.” I could hear in his voice how excited he was and it made me smile.

  Well, that was easy. Now the really hard part. I knew it was going to change everything, but there was no way around it. It was the most important and scariest thing of all. He had to know.

  “There’s one more thing,” I told him.

  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. What is it?” He was still beaming from the news.

  I took a deep breath. “I’m 15 years old.” There. I said it. He knew at last.

  I watched as his face slowly changed from a wide grin to a deep frown, as the realization hit him.

  “Oh crap,” was all he could manage to say. It looked to me as if shock chased the breath from his lungs. He could hardly speak.

  “I’m sorry that I lied. I nee
ded the job and knew you would never hire me if you knew,” I said quickly, before he had a chance to say anything else.

  “I can’t believe this. How could you not tell me you were 15 freaking years old!” he screamed at me.

  He was furious and I couldn’t blame him. I would not be surprised at all if he never talked to me again. I suddenly had visions of me being kicked to the curb and raising my baby out on the streets, alone and destitute.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quietly, not daring to look him in the eyes.

  “You already said that. I can’t believe this is happening. This is a nightmare. You know that I could go to jail for this?”

  “I know. But, I won’t let that happen. I wanted this as much as you do. We are in love, it will be okay.” I tried to calm him down, patting him on the knee.

  He pushed my hand away and scowled at me. “No one will care that you were willing or that we are in love. The fact is that I got a 15 year old pregnant. There is no way to talk my way out of this one.” He bent his head down and put his hands on each side of his head, in deep thought. I thought he was going to start crying.

  “We have to tell my mother,” he said suddenly. “She will be furious, but hopefully will help us.”

  “Oh I don’t think she’ll be furious,” I blurted out without thinking.

  “What do you mean by that?” He looked at me, clearly confused by my comment.

  Oops. “Oh, nothing. I just thought that maybe she would like to have a grandchild. I’ve heard her mention before that the house could use some children running around.” I was just throwing anything out there that I could think of, hoping something might stick. He couldn’t know about Violet’s plan.

  “Yeah, maybe. But, I doubt it. My mother is all about appearances. Me having a baby with you, and not my wife, will not be good for the family’s reputation.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  This whole thing about appearances and reputations was completely ridiculous to me. People should be able to just live their lives and not spend it worrying about what people think. People should just be their authentic selves. I didn’t want to spend my life trying to be something that I was not, just to make other people happy. Screw them.

  “Let’s get out of here. I want to think about this whole mess and I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Okay?” he asked. He seemed a bit calmer.

  “Okay.”

  I knew he need time to process everything. It was a lot for one afternoon. Now that he knew I was 15, I figured the wedding was off.

  Chapter 17

  The next morning Adam told me that he was going to go talk to his mother, alone.

  “Wait, no. I think I should be there.” I was terrified that Violet might say something about our non-existent plan and implicate me.

  “I really think that I should talk to her without you. She will not be happy and having you there might make it worse.”

  “No it won’t. We are in this together and I want to come with you. It’s not fair for you to take all the heat yourself. I deserve to be yelled at too.” I really meant that. This mess wasn’t all on him. I was just as guilty.

  His eyes looked to the side, deep in thought. “Well, okay, that’s fine. Let’s go now, before I lose my nerve.”

  We found Violet in the library with her usual cup of tea. We walked in and closed the door behind us. She looked up, surprised to see us together.

  “Mother, we have something to talk to you about.”

  “Okay, sit down.” She gestured toward the couch across from where she was sitting. We sat.

  “I don’t really know how to say this,” he began. “But, here goes.” He took a deep breath. “Abbey is pregnant and it’s mine.”

  She didn’t even miss a beat. “I see. What are your plans now?”

  We both looked at her, not expecting such a calm reaction to the news. Well, I kind of expected it. Violet very much wanted me to get pregnant, but Adam didn’t know that, obviously.

  “Why are you so calm about this? Did you hear what I said?” he asked her.

  “Yes, I heard you. What is the point in getting upset now? What’s done is done. Now we have to figure out what to do about it.” She was still very serene. Would it have hurt her to at least act a bit surprised and angry about it? A little acting would have gone a long way. Adam didn’t seem to notice though.

  “Well, you might not be so calm after this next bit of information,” He continued. “She’s 15 years old,” he said much more quietly.

  “Almost 16.” I volunteered, like that really made any difference.

  With that, she was definitely taken aback. “She’s 15? Why didn’t anyone tell me this?!” There it was. Now she was agitated.

  “I just found out myself,” was Adam’s response, while giving me a sideways glance.

  I suddenly felt betrayed. Please, not now.

  “It’s all my fault. I wanted this job so much, that I lied to everyone. Adam didn’t know until yesterday,” I interjected.

  “What in the world are we going to do now?” she asked. She was clearly upset, knowing full well what the implications of my being 15 years old meant for Adam and his future.

  “We want to get married. After I divorce Sarah, of course,” Adam told her. He was much more forceful then.

  “Absolutely not.” Violet was very direct and it sounded a lot like it was not up to debate. “Sarah is a better wife for you and I won’t have this gutter snake as a daughter-in-law. What would people think?”

  “Mother!” Adam yelled, jumping up off the couch. “Don’t call her that! I love her, and she is going to be the mother of your grandchild.” He was standing over Violet as he said it. It didn’t seem to phase her at all.

  “Really Adam, sit down. Your hysterics are not helping.” She then calmly took a sip of her tea.

  She obviously was not going to engage in a fight with him, so he sat back down on the couch, next to me. He looked over at me and said he was sorry that his mother called me that. Violet heard him and did not respond. The woman was cool under pressure.

  “Now, about her age. Who else knows?” Violet asked Adam directly.

  I answered back. “No one. You are the only two people here that know.” I didn’t mention that Huck and Teresa also knew. They wouldn’t tell anyone.

  “Good. No one else needs to know. Do I make myself clear?” She was looking directly at me.

  “As glass,” I responded.

  “You two will stop seeing each other immediately,” she announced.

  “No we won’t,” Adam told her. He looked at me and smiled. “She’s pregnant with my child. Whether she’s 15 or not, I want to be with her.”

  “We will discuss that more later.” And that was the end of that topic, apparently.

  “Now, let’s move on. Does Sarah know about the baby?” she asked Adam.

  “No, not yet,” Adam told her.

  “Well, you need to go tell her right now, without Abigail there to make things worse.”

  “Yes, you’re right. I’ll go now. Come on Abbey.”

  Adam and I got up to leave.

  “Actually, Abigail, I would like you to stay. I would like to speak with you alone,” she said.

  Adam and I looked at each other. He nodded for me to stay. I couldn’t believe he did that. Did he not know his mother at all? She was going to tear me a new one as soon as he walked out the door. I gave him a look and walked over and sat down. Boy, was he ever going to pay for that later. Of course, I knew he had it worse than I did. He was the one that had to tell his wife that he got someone else pregnant. That was going to be the toughest conversation of his life. I felt a bit sorry for him. I wished that I could be there for moral support, but I knew that would just make matters worse. They needed to have that talk alone.

  “Close the door behind you, Adam,” Violet called after him.

  Once he was out and the door was closed, she started in on me. “So, I thought you were going to be careful and not get yourself pregn
ant?” She was very smug.

  “I didn’t get myself pregnant. There were two of us involved.” I was in no mood to put up with her smart ass comments. I had Adam on my side to help deal with her.

  “You are an idiot for not taking me up on my offer.” Wow, no holding anything back with this woman. “Now you are doing it for free.”

  Well, she had me there. Maybe I should have taken her up on her offer. That way, I would have gotten Adam, had his baby, like I am now, and get a nice chunk of money for the rest of my life. Not now though. Maybe I was an idiot. If that was the case, and it certainly seemed to be, at least I can be honest with Adam, because the truth is that I did love him and didn’t mind having his baby. I was going to keep it though. I was not giving it to Adam and Sarah, so that his mother could be an influence to the child. I couldn’t have that. Violet would ruin him or her. I loved Adam, but he was kind of a mess when it came to his mother. He had no backbone at all. I wanted my child to grow up strong and independent, not under the rule of Violet Tyler.

  “I’m not doing it for free. Adam and I are going to get married and raise the baby together. I don’t need your money.” God, I hoped that was the case.

  “Don’t be absurd. Adam talks a big game, but in the end he will never marry you. Adam will never leave Sarah for you. I’m not even worried about that.”

  She almost seemed to be mocking me. It was painfully obvious that she was telling the truth, she wasn’t worried about me at all. Did she really have that big of a hold over him? Would he abandon me, and our baby, for Sarah? He told me himself that he never really loved Sarah like a wife. He said I was the one that he loved. I know he was telling the truth. If not, then he is the world’s best liar, because I believed every word he said. He even stuck up for me to his mother. That had to prove how much he loved me. Violet was not an easy woman to defy.

  “Besides,” she continued, “if he ever found out that you did agree to seduce him and get pregnant on purpose, even though you tried to back out, he would hate you.” She smiled at that one and it sounded a lot like a threat.

  Before I had a chance to respond, the door to the library burst open and Adam came storming in. He had a look of fury on his face.