She wiped her eyes again and heard a faint rap at the door. She didn’t respond, but the door opened anyway. Laura, looking scared, poked her head in the room. They made eye contact and Kate was shocked at first, then touched. Not only had Laura stayed with her during the miscarriage, she was still there; something kept her there.
“Hey,” Kate said. “I didn’t think you were still here.”
Laura nodded. “I wanted to see how you were.”
“I’ll be okay.” A tear rolled down her cheek and Laura approached and sat at the end of the bed. “Thank you for staying with me.”
“I couldn’t leave you like that.” Laura paused. “I felt so bad, like it was my fault or something.”
Kate thought about the argument she and Marie were having when the first pain hit. “It’s not your fault. It’s not even Marie’s fault.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. It happens sometimes.”
Laura nodded, and then she offered a weak grin. “I, uh, met David.”
Kate was still teary and sniffled, smiling at how Laura must have reacted to meeting him. “Oh.”
“He’s with your doctor right now. He seemed pretty upset.”
“He really wanted the baby,” Kate told her.
“He only asked about you.”
The way Laura said it made it sound like all David cared about was Kate, but it was the baby that brought them back together. And now the loss would probably split them apart.
Kate saw Laura close her eyes and scratch her head. “This is going to sound really mean, but he’s like thirty years old and fifteen kinds of gorgeous. How did you get him?”
Kate laughed, which made it easier to push down the tears. It was good that Laura was asking questions instead of tossing accusations. “It’s a long story,” she offered. “That started in California on my birthday.”
“Wow,” Laura said. “That’s amazing.”
“It’s over, but he’s been very supportive since I found out I was pregnant.” Kate heard her voice crack and she started to tear up. Her heart broke thinking that she not only lost her child; she was probably going to lose David. There was no more baby and no more reason to spend time with her. Her eyes were like a running faucet, with tears leaking out. Laura rubbed her leg, but when David walked in the room, Laura’s hand stopped moving and Kate felt herself dissolve.
David didn’t hesitate. He rounded the bed, sat on the edge so they were hip to hip, and gathered Kate into his arms. He didn’t say anything, he just let her cry. She’d cried like this when she told him she was pregnant, and now again that she lost their baby. She looked up into his face and his hand stroked her cheek.
“Thank God you’re alright.”
Kate drew a breath to regain her composure and looked at Laura, who sat as the very end of the bed, trying not to pay attention. Eventually she rose and stepped out of the room.
“Shit.” Kate watched the door close behind her daughter. They’d broken some new ground today and Kate didn’t want Laura to feel alienated already. Kate moved to get out of bed, even though she knew she shouldn’t. “I should talk to her.”
“Stop, you need to take it easy,” he said. “You started hemorrhaging when you got here, so you aren’t moving.”
“She stayed with me.”
“I know. You might be in much worse shape if she hadn’t.” He rose from the bed and started after Laura. “I’ll get her.”
“Marie wanted her to leave and Laura flat out defied her.”
David was halfway to the door and he stopped short when he heard that. He faced Kate.
“She was moving out,” Kate told him. “But somehow I don’t think that’s what she wanted.”
“From what you told me about your ex, her taking your side won’t go over too well.”
Kate nodded.
David resumed his walk to the door. “Don’t worry.”
*
David looked for Laura, checking every waiting area and lounge finally finding her in the hospital lobby trying to get a cell phone signal. The poor girl looked completely lost. This was new ground for everyone. He never meant to encroach on her time with her mom, but she had to get used to him being around.
“Hey,” he said. “Why’d you take off?”
“Oh, hi.” David noticed she was flustered and her red eyes told him she’d been crying too. Like mother, like daughter. “You were there,” she whispered. “Mom didn’t need me anymore.”
“I don’t know about that.” He gently took her arm and led her to a couch in the lobby where they both sat. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you were there when it happened. You may have saved her life.”
Laura kept her eyes down and shrugged. “I couldn’t just leave her. There was, blood and…” She gulped hard and tears slipped down her cheeks. “So much blood.”
He rubbed her back and let her cry. “The miscarriage happened very fast and it got dicey. It was lucky you didn’t do as you were told.”
“How could Marie think about leaving?” Laura asked. “How could she? She says she’s such a freaking humanitarian, but she’d let my mother bleed to death?”
David said nothing as the grip Kate’s ex-husband and his mistress had on Laura slipped away. They had completely underestimated that deep down this was Kate’s daughter, and nothing could change the strength of her DNA.
“Laura, I’m new to all this with your family, but I think you and your mom are more alike than you think.”
Laura nodded and wiped her eyes.
“Come back upstairs so we can figure out what to do.”
David stood and helped her up. She blew out a breath, and he was curious if she knew how much her mannerisms were like Kate’s.
“So, can I ask you a question?” She was studying his face, watching for a reaction.
David nodded. “Shoot.”
“You’re in love with my mother, so why aren’t you together?”
Damn. She nailed it. They were walking toward the elevator. “Why do you think I’m in love with her?”
“Seriously?” Laura rolled her eyes and smirked. “You think people can’t tell?”
Realizing he couldn’t deny it, David stopped at the elevator doors, stuffed his hands in his pockets and answered her directly. “She doesn’t trust me.”
Laura folded her arms now. Great, he was getting the third degree from a teenager. “My mom trusts everyone. That’s why my dad was able to screw her over for so long.”
David leaned in her direction. “And that’s why she doesn’t trust me.”
The elevator opened and they stepped inside. This girl knew exactly what her father was doing to Kate. Why she’d stood for it was something else. This, however, seemed to be a turning point. For whatever reason, Laura had made a choice; and from what he knew about Richard Nicholls, David doubted he’d be happy about it.
*
Richard was seething. He was so pissed he could have killed someone. Never in his life did he think he’d be so angry at Laura. She always did what he wanted. Always.
He’d been at the college all afternoon, and when he returned home he expected to be helping Laura bring the rest of her belongings to her room. Instead, he found Marie in her office typing drivel into her computer, having completely screwed up the move.
Laura was with Kate.
Marie told him about Kate’s pregnancy and apparent miscarriage and that unnerved him on another level. He’d always spread the story that he and Kate never had any more children because she’d been sterilized. He never expected to be caught. He never thought Kate would be able to find someone to sleep with her so quickly.
When she’d met him at the lawyer’s office, he’d noticed she was different. Kate had always dressed well, but she tended to be conservative. That seemed to be changing. She walked into the lobby at the attorney’s wearing a pair of very high heels and a silky, olive green dress that wrapped around her body. It hugged her in some places and flowed out in others and Richard got hard just thinking about her. The tease of cleavage made him speculate about what was going on, and now it made sense. His ex-wife looked perfectly put together, as she always did, but she’d turned up the heat for someone else.