He needed to tell her that Lisa was a plant, put in his bed by Jake to break them up. The ass had admitted that he wanted Karlie back. With a little persuasion from Drew, he was all but readyto turn himself in for attacking Karlie the day of his and Jenna’s doomed wedding. The only thing that stopped Jake from turning himself in was finding out that Karlie skipped out of town and had dropped all charges. Jake was free to do whatever he wanted—he won. And Drew, he lost everything.
He spent his days working his ass off at his shop and his nights dreaming of Karlie. Just yesterday, he got a call from Karlie’s old landlord, asking for Mr. Angel’s number. The landlord told him that Mr. Angel contacted him to have all Karlie’s stuff shipped to her new address, but he had lost the contact information and was hoping Drew could help him get in touch with Karlie’s family to get the address again. “I know that you have her address, her old landlord told me about you contacting him. I know that you know where she is. I need to talk to her and tell her that the whole Lisa thing was a setup. Jake—" Mr. Angel put his hand on Drew’s shoulder.
“Now, stop right there, son. Jake may not be perfect, but he’s my son-in-law now, and I won’t have you talking like that about him.” Drew just shook his head. He knew Mr. Angel wasn’t clueless, but how could he honestly stick up for Jake?
“I understand you standing behind your family, Mr. Angel. My family means everything to me. But what you don’t understand is that Karlie is my family now. I love her. I want forever with her. Jake tried to break us up and used Lisa to do it. He knew how Karlie would react to finding another woman in my bed. He thought it was funny that Karlie ran again.” Drew felt furious just thinking about that day. After he found out the truth about Lisa and Jake’s plan and confronted Jake, he was so angry that he thought that he might kill the son of a bitch. But he also knew that if he touched Jake, he’d be in jail. And he couldn’t go after Karlie if he was sitting in jail. He used other tactics to get thetruth out of Jake about his and Lisa’s plan. He threatened to get Ryan involved.
Being in the military, Ryan made people love and fear him. They respected him and trusted him. The Angels would have taken Ryan at his word—even Jenna would listen to him, and Jake knew it. Jake had told Ryan everything—from the way he cheated on Karlie with Jenna, to convincing Jenna that getting pregnant was a good idea. Ryan knew the whole story. When Jenna refused to get pregnant, Jake took her options away. He tampered with her pills, replacing them with sugar pills. When Jenna got pregnant, Jake convinced her to marry him. He planned to weasel his way into the Angel family any way he could. Drew thought that Jake’s plan had been pretty successful, given the fact that he was now married to Jenna. Mr. Angel had helped Jenna and Jake with everything from a down payment on a house to giving Jake a job. Jake made the mistake of bragging to Ryan before he left. Ryan had threatened Jake with bodily harm if he didn’t take care of Jenna and the baby, but then he shipped out. It made Drew sick that Jake had gotten away with everything, including driving a wedge between Karlie and everyone that she loved. Mr. Angel seemed to be weighing his options, and Drew decided to give him a few minutes, waiting him out.
“Drew, there are things that you don’t understand. Karlie doesn’t want you to find her. I’m the only person who knows where she is because she knows that I won’t tell anyone. I just can’t tell you where she is. She’s safe and she’s moved on, and you should do the same.”
Drew’s laugh was harsh, “Move on with my life? With all due respect, sir, Karlie is my fucking life. I will never move on without her!”
Jenna walked into her parents’ house; Jake trailed behind her. Jake’s eyes widened when he saw Drew standing in the kitchen with Mr. Angel. Drew took some satisfaction in seeing the fear in Jake’s eyes as he looked him over. “Hey, daddy, what’s going on?” Jenna asked, kissing his cheek. Her baby bump had grown into a full-on belly. At that moment, Drew couldn’t breathe. Sometimes, Jenna looked so much like Karlie that it hurt him to be around her. He thought of what Karlie would look like, round with his child. God, he just needed to find her, and he’d make her listen.
“Drew here is just checking in to see if I heard from your sister,” her father said.
Jake seemed to perk right up, “Hey, yeah—how is poor Karlie doing, Dad?”
Drew growled, causing the others to turn in his direction. “I’m sorry, Jenna, I wouldn’t do anything to upset you. But you,” he pointed to Jake, “you need to keep your fucking mind off Karlie. I don’t want you to even think about her, let alone talk about her. She’s none of your business.” Jake took a step back from him while Jenna stepped closer to Drew.
“I know you’re worried about my sister, but Dad says that she is doing well in her new place. She’s moving on with her life since she found you cheating on her,” Jenna accused. Drew wanted to yell at Jenna, but looking down at her belly, he thought better of it. Karlie wouldn’t want him yelling at her pregnant sister.
“I didn’t cheat,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Lisa snuck into my bed while I was in the shower and lied to Karlie. I never cheated on your sister—I love her. If you know where she is, Jenna, please tell me. I—I need to find her,” he stuttered.
Jenna looked into his eyes, hers a little misty, “Sorry,” she said, wiping her eyes, “I think my hormones are completely crazy, I cry at everything. Only a couple more months, and maybe I’ll get myself back under control.” She smiled up at Drew. “I don’t know where she is, or I would tell you. I think Karlie needs someone in her life who loves her. She needs someone, like how I have Jake.” She reached back and grabbed Jake’s hand. Drew wanted to puke. But he believed Jenna; she didn’t know where Karlie was.
“Have you talked to her since she left?” Drew hoped but knew she probably hadn’t.
“No,” she shook her head. “I wish she would call me. I feel like we all ganged up on her when we should have been more forgiving and understanding. She wasn’t herself; she was jealous of me and Jake. I don’t blame her anymore. I just wish she would call so Jake and I could tell her that we forgive her for all the trouble she caused at the wedding.” She looked back at Jake again, smiling, and the asshole had the nerve to smile back at her. At least Jake seemed to be making Jenna happy, and he wasn’t anywhere near Karlie, but neither was Drew. And that was a problem.
∞
Karlie was so tired, she just wanted to get into her apartment and collapse onto the sofa. She couldn’t seem to muster any energy, and all she did was sleep. The doctor said that was normal, especially in the first trimester. She knew once she hit the second trimester, in a few weeks, that she’d feel better. She picked up that book—about what to expect during her pregnancy, and it filled in all the holes that the doctors at theclinic had left out. It would have helped if she had another woman to talk to about her situation. So many times she wanted to call Jenna to ask her a question about whether something going on in her pregnancy was normal. She just found a new normal, including her pants getting a little too tight. She’d expect that if she could actually hold down any food, but that wasn’t an option.
At night, she’d rub her little belly and tell her baby about Drew. She didn’t ever want to paint her child’s father as a bad person. Her baby had been conceived out of love. It wasn’t her child’s fault that Drew cheated on her with Lisa; it was just something that happened. After she got back to Atlanta, she packed what she could and took off. She started driving and ended up in a little town just north of her family. She loved Tennessee, and her new little apartment had everything she needed: a bed, a kitchen, and a little bathroom. It wasn’t in the best neighborhood, but she knew how to take care of herself. And her neighbors all looked out for each other. Her dad was the only one who knew where she was. He was the only one who knew about the baby. She didn’t tell her mom, and there was no way to tell Jenna. She never wanted Jake to know about her baby. Since she left home, Jake had texted her—every day at first, telling her that she deserved everything that had happened to her. He told her that she drove men to their breaking point and was such a boring lover that they had to cheat on her. His texts demanded to know where she was, that he would find her, and take good care of her. She was scared and didn’t know where to turn. So, she called her dad and forwarded him Jake’s texts. Although her father hadn’t been too accepting of her side of the story, she knew that he couldn’t refute written evidence. He called her and they talked openly, for the first time in a year. Her dad seemed to be coming around and knew that Jake wasn’t all that he told everyone thathe was. She wouldn’t go as far as to say that her dad believed her, but he was softening toward her, especially after she told him that she was pregnant.
He begged her to tell Drew and said that he had a right to know about his child. She just couldn’t bring herself to tell him. He’d want to do the right thing, and she wouldn’t have him take care of her or be with her out of obligation. If Drew was going to be a part of her life in any way, he could be a father to their baby. And, for the moment, there was nothing he could do for the baby. After he or she was born, she’d contact Drew to let him know that he was a father. She’d let him be involved in the baby’s life. As much as it would kill her to see Drew with Lisa, she’d do it for her baby. She knew that a child needed a father and a mother, and she would make sure that her baby had both.
Her cell phone chimed just as she was kicking off her shoes and collapsing onto the sofa.
“Hey, Dad,” she had to smile when she saw his number on her caller ID. She was so happy to have any kind of relationship with him again.
“Hey, honey, how are you feeling today?” He sounded worried.
“I’m fine, Dad. The baby is good. I went to the doctor's yesterday and heard the baby’s heartbeat. He said that I am about 10 weeks now, which I pretty much guessed.” Her hand went immediately to her belly as if protecting her baby. She already loved her little peanut so much.
“Have you thought any more about telling Drew about the baby?” he asked.
“No, Dad—we’ve been through this. I don’t want him in my life until after I have the baby. He can’t do anything for him or herright now. His job will start after the baby gets here. Besides, I can’t face him and Lisa together again, yet. I need time to get over him. I’m still in love with him, and seeing him with Lisa will kill me. I’m sure the stress wouldn’t be good for the baby either.” Playing the “good for the baby” card seemed to work, so far. She’d only found out about the baby about six weeks ago when she thought she had a wicked stomach flu. She had been shocked and so scared; she hid away in her new apartment for days. She slowly accepted the news and on the fourth day, got up, showered, and went to her new job. She told them she had a stomach virus since she couldn’t afford to get fired just yet. She felt bad lying to everyone, but she had to put a roof over her head and food in her growing belly.
“I hate to tell you this, Karlie, but Drew was here today. He found out from your old landlord that I know your new address. He was desperate, Karlie. The man begged me to tell him where you are. He said he’s still in love with you. He told me that Jake set him up. He said that Lisa snuck into his bed while he was in the shower and that Jake planned the whole thing, wanting to break you two up.” Her father stopped talking, and for a minute, she thought she had lost her connection.
“Hello, Dad?” she whispered.
“Yeah, I’m here. Karlie, I believe him. Jake and Jenna came in while he was here, and Jenna told him that she misses you. Don’t get me wrong, she still believes Jake, but she wants you to be happy. Drew seems desperate. He said he won’t stop until he finds you.” Now it was her turn to be silent. She didn’t know what to believe. She didn’t want to think that Drew could cheat on her like Jake had, but she found Lisa in Drew’s bed. Lisa made it sound like she and Drew had just had sex. She saw the evidence with her own eyes, caught Drew just like she caughtJake. Now, she was to believe that Drew was set up.
“I don’t know, Dad. Let me think about it, and I’ll let you know what I decide,” she offered.
