“I’m going to be a mom.”

Karen laughed at the wonder in her voice. “Well let’s get you and the baby fed. You have to be hungry.”

“Starving. And the doctor wants me to gain weight.”

Karen giggled and drove away from the clinic.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Karen convinced Becky that staying in St. George was safer than driving back to Bell. Not to mention the hotel options were much better.

Karen booked a couple of rooms, knowing that Becky and Nolan would probably like their privacy. She no longer thought Becky wanted to run away…not from Karen and Zach anyway.

With a full stomach and having had a busy emotion-filled day, Becky crawled into bed for a late-afternoon nap.

Karen slipped into her own room to make some much-needed phone calls. She started with Gwen, in hopes of pushing a few mommy buttons to get some help.

“Hey baby mama,” Karen teased when Gwen picked up the phone.

“Well it’s about time you called. We were starting to think you’re never coming back,” Gwen scolded.

“I’d have made it back already but I got hung up.” Karen told her about Becky and the entire messed-up situation.

“Oh, the poor thing.”

“She’s sleeping now. Much happier since she saw the baby.”

“It’s a wonderful moment. Neil cried.”

“No way!” Neil was the poster child for stoic.

“He’d deny it if you called him on it. But he teared up and spent the rest of the night with his head in my lap as if he could hear the baby’s heartbeat through my stomach.”

Karen couldn’t imagine it. Neil was simply too fierce and big to do something so gentle.

“Becky’s more at peace now that she’s seen the doctor and the baby. But we need to get her parents to back off. She’s still considered a runaway, and I have no doubt they’d bring Nolan up on charges for God knows what if given the chance.”

“What can I do?”

“I need some facts checked. I don’t know how the laws are different here than in California. Becky still won’t be eighteen when the baby is born, but close to it. She could just stay hidden until she’s eighteen, but that’s no way to live.”

“If Neil and I were there, I’d have my husband knock on her parents’ door and tell them to leave her alone or go to jail.”

“I thought about that, actually. We should look into the resources for abused kids who want to escape their parents.”

“Is Becky willing to go to the police?”

Karen cradled her head in her hands. “Not yet. But I think if it was that or risk the health of her baby…she’d rat her parents out. And rightfully so.”

“It would still be hard on her.”

“I’d like to find a way to keep Zach and Michael’s family out of the drama as much as possible. Hilton is a freakin’ small town. So if it comes down to it, I might ask for some help here.”

“We’re here for you. Or I can ask Rick to go.”

Rick was a good friend of Neil’s, a fellow retired Marine and nearly as big as Mr. Stoic himself.

“I might take you up on that.”

Gwen sighed. “So how is everything else? I saw that Michael came home long enough to pack and leave again.”

Neil and his security team, including Rick, monitored the house and probably knew more about the two of them than was necessary.

It was Karen’s turn to sigh. “Michael’s sister figured out what we’ve been up to…and why.”

“Oh, my.”

“She called Michael on it. But he’s not ready for the rest of his family to know what’s going on.”

“Oh…and what about Zach?”

“He doesn’t know.”

“That’s not what I’m asking, Karen. What about you and Zach?”

“I don’t want to have feelings for him.”

“But you do.”

Karen nodded though no one could see the gesture. “I do. He’s kind and thoughtful. He makes me laugh…makes me feel safe.”

Gwen hesitated. “Have you…?”

“No. Well, we’ve kissed. The guilt was so awful I couldn’t do more than that. But the guilt is fading, Gwen. It’s like the more time we spend together the harder it is to see why we’re trying to stay apart. And he knows that Michael and I are getting divorced.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I didn’t see keeping the lie. Not when the sister already knows, and Michael and I weren’t planning on visiting again. Not together anyway.”

“Does Michael know about Zach?”

“No. Which is killing me.”

Gwen clicked her tongue. “This is so easily solved.”

“How can you say that? I’m falling for my husband’s brother. There’s nothing easy about that.”

“Tell Michael.”

“Michael will hate it.”

“Oh, Karen. Michael might have his faults but he does love you. I’m sure he’d want to see you happy. So long as his secret doesn’t get out, he can’t fault you for falling for his gene pool.”

Karen played with the diamond on her finger. “I don’t know.”

“You’ve given up your life for a year to help keep Michael’s secret hidden.”

“And I’m getting paid to do it.”

Gwen snickered. “You know what’s funny about that? I wouldn’t put it past you to sacrifice yourself for a friend without the pay. Look what you’re doing for those kids. You’ve known them less than two weeks and you’re hiding runaways, sleeping in motels…Karen, my dear, you’re a bleeding heart to the highest degree. Yes, Michael came to us, but had you known him, the real him, before meeting through Alliance you might have offered to marry him just to help him out.”

Karen wanted to deny her friend, but couldn’t.

“I have to tell him about Zach.”

“Yes. You do,” Gwen agreed. “Call Michael. I’ll make some calls here and see what we can do for your runaways.”

Thirty minutes later Karen connected with Michael. Her hands shook as she held the phone but Gwen was right. The longer this secret stayed inside her, the harder it was to let out. If she told Michael about her feelings for Zach, and he hated her for it, then at least she was the one to tell him and he wouldn’t find out from someone else.

“Hey? How’s Canada?”