Part 35 (1/2)
”Uh ... right.” He would have to tell Kari first, break the news to her tonight.
The last thing he wanted was to see Angela Manning without his wife's knowing about it. ”Are you sure? You took a test?”
”Of course I'm sure,” she huffed. ”What happened to us, Tim? You told me you loved me, remember? And yes, after two people live together for weeks on end, a pregnancy is a real possibility.”
He knew he should feel compa.s.sion, and he did. He was sorry for her, even sorrier for her unborn child. But something in her tone caused him to know without a doubt that he didn't love this 313 woman. He never had. She had been merely a diversion, a mistake. And somehow that made the situation worse.
”I'm sorry, Angela.” Tears welled in his eyes. That was an understatement. ”I don't know what to say.”
There was a pause, and she sniffed again. ”We need to talk.” Tim ma.s.saged his temples and felt the beginning of a migraine. ”Okay. Tomorrow, noon, in my office.”
As he hung up the phone and gathered his things, he felt an ache in his chest and knew it was his heart breaking. From that moment on, nothing about his future would ever be the same again.
And now he had to go home and tell Kari.
Dirk Bennett's body was colder than it had been in his entire life. His fingers were numb, and his teeth chattered. But deep within was a fire, a pa.s.sion that made the night seem almost warm.
He gazed out the window of his pickup and stared at Angela's apartment.
Soon, my baby ... soon.
A small, hinged box sat on the front seat beside him, and he reached for it, feeling his arms ripple with the motion. They were muscled enough that it was almost difficult to bend them. ;Gently, tenderly, he lifted the box lid and stared at the diamond ring inside, the one he had purchased more than a year earlier.
The ring he would place on Angela's finger the moment she said yes.
And Dirk knew without a doubt that moment was coming. .He'd watched Angela's apartment off and on for the past three months, varying his schedule and convincing himself more every day that he'd been wrong about the professor. The man wasn't still seeing Angela on the side.
At the same time, Dirk had tripled the number of pills he was taking. He smiled.
The pills were the best thing to happen to him 314 since meeting Angela. His body was drawing looks from half the girls at the campus weight room.
There was no way she'd turn him down now.
He closed the lid on the ring box, set it back on the seat, and opened the glove compartment. Life would have been much simpler if Professor Jacobs had stayed away from his girl to begin with.
Dirk blinked and rubbed his fists over his jeancovered thighs. An image came, and then another and another. Angela with the professor at lunch. Angela and the professor walking hand in hand near her apartment. The two of them going into her apartment and turning off the lights.
It didn't matter that the man wasn't seeing Angela anymore. Dirk gripped his steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. If the professor were there in front of him, he'd still ...
Everything was suddenly hazy red and blurred around the edges. Dirk tightened his grip on the wheel and held his breath. He hated Professor Jacobs for what he'd done. If it wasn't for him, Angela would never have left him. If the professor hadn't gone after his girl, life would be different. Dirk fired his fist into the dashboard and left a hole several inches deep.
He studied his fingers and wiped at three spots that were bleeding. Fear joined the dance of emotions on the floor of his heart. What's wrong with me? The action had relieved some of the rage, but not all of it. He opened the glove box and fingered the revolver inside. As he did, a truth dawned on him.
If he was wrong, if for any reason Professor Jacobs was still seeing his girl, there would be no point in scaring him off as Dirk had originally planned.
It was time to make wedding plans, not wait in the wings while Angela Manning disgraced herself in a sordid affair. No, the situation was far too serious to mess around with just scaring the professor away.
Dirk wiped his b.l.o.o.d.y knuckles on his pants leg. At this 315 point, he would have to handle the situation differently-very differently.
Even if it cost him his life.
He started his engine, clicked open the gun's chamber, and peered inside.
Good. Plenty of bullets.
That meant he didn't have to go to the store. Instead, he had time for dinner and some homework. Then he'd come back, walk up the inside stairs to Angela's front door, and give her the ring.
The rage he'd felt moments ago was already fading. In fact, he felt pretty good.
As long as no one got in his way-by ten o'clock that night he and Angela Manning would be engaged.
316.
316.
317.
Kari WAS IN THE BABY'S BEDROOM trying to decide what shade of pink wallpaper would look best with the pastel bedding she and her mother bought earlier that day.
It didn't matter that everyone-even Tim-thought she was having a boy. She still had a deep sense that the precious child growing within her was a girl.
She felt the baby turn and placed her hand on her abdomen. An active girl.
Kari could hardly wait for the chance to meet her daughter face-to-face, cradle her close, and watch Tim experience his first moments of fatherhood. Brooke had told her that having a child humbled a man, and Kari didn't doubt it. She could imagine Tim staring at his own flesh, face-to-face. Realizing the depth of his vulnerability, knowing that every decision from that point on would affect and shape his child.
It was a transformation that was bound to strengthen the new bond between them.
Kari wandered across the room and stared at the baby's only 318 toy, a stuffed white baby eagle that perched precariously on the dresser. It was from Tim, his first gift to their child.
”White because G.o.d gave us a clean new start with this baby,” he had told her a week ago when he brought it home. He'd waited until they were seated near the fire that night before presenting her with the gift. She'd held it in her hand, admiring the detail on the wings, the feel of the plush body.
Tim ran a finger over the toy and let his hand settle on hers. ”And an eagle, because eagle families are forever. And one day when we're past all this, we'll have forever too.”
Kari blinked, but the memory remained. She reached for the stuffed bird and nuzzled it against her face. The white synthetic fur was whisper soft, and she could picture their daughter, a few years from now, carrying the eagle around by the wing. It would be her favorite, probably a dull gray by then, and most of the fur would be loved off. But Tim's words about the small, sweet toy and the meaning behind it would be as fresh and new as ever.
Kari heard a noise and spun around to find her husband looking at her from the doorway. Since they'd been back together, he'd made a point of being home earlier than he had in the days before his affair. It was one of the ways she knew he was trying.
”Hi.” She smiled at him and guided the eagle on a miniature flight not far from her face. ”Our girl's going to love this.” She set the bird back down. ”I didn't hear you come in.”
The corners of Tim's mouth made an attempt to lift, but his eyes were sad. He crossed the room and ma.s.saged his fingers into her shoulder as a shadow fell across his eyes. ”How was your day?”
Concern rattled her heart. ”Good.” She angled her head. ”You okay?”
”Yeah.” He searched her face, his hand still gripping her shoulder. ”Fine. Just a long day.”