a bill from the fertility clinic.” Mrs. Marshall sounded worried.
Blake scanned the statement. It was indeed a bill. One that had only his wife’s name on it. The bottom line was a great deal less than what they’d been told to expect for in vitro fertilization.
Probably because the services rendered had been for artificial insemination instead.
As the import of what he was reading sunk in, Blake felt his stomach drop. Thoughts spinning, he double-checked. Yes, Bella was listed as the patient. But she hadn’t been implanted with fertilized eggs. She’d been impregnated with his sperm.
Drew wasn’t Vicky’s son.
He was Bella’s.
* * *
With Blake in the city for a few days, Bella decided to take Drew on a tour of some local museums. East Hampton had a rich history that fascinated her. Established in 1648, it was one of America’s earliest settlements. Fishing and farming was the way most made their living until the early part of the twentieth century, when the town began attracting the wealthy as well as artists and writers.
She started at Mulford Farm. Built around 1680, the house was remarkable in that it remained unchanged since 1750. In addition to being architecturally interesting, the fact that the Mulford family had owned the house for most of its existence offered insight into how they used the land and the buildings.
While Bella explored the rooms furnished with period pieces, Drew fell asleep in his stroller. He was exhausted after a difficult night of teething. Bella sympathized. She too was worn out, but her scholarly interest was stimulated by the house and the barn. She took a lot of pictures, knowing her father would find the layout of the barn intriguing.
Her phone rang as she was buckling Drew into his car seat. Thinking it was Blake, she answered.
“Hiya, sis.” It was her sister Laney. At thirteen, she was the most social of all Bella’s siblings.
Laney had two close friends who lived in town and when the three girls weren’t together, they were texting or chatting through social media. To save her parents the cost of an additional line, Bella had put Laney on her cell plan. Plus, it offered her an opportunity to see how much time her sister spent “connecting.”
“What’s up?”
“I don’t know if I told you that our choir got invited to Chicago to perform in August.”
“That’s fantastic.”
“Mom and Dad aren’t going to be able to chaperone and I was wondering if you could.”
Bella sighed at her sister’s request. It was something she’d done in the past. Laney had been in the choir since she turned nine. They’d often traveled to sing, but never to a city as big or as far away as Chicago.
“When is it?”
“August first through the sixth. We’ve raised almost all the money we need, but we’re short two chaperones.”
The timing of the trip wasn’t great. Bella didn’t know when Talia would be back and she didn’t want to leave Blake in the lurch for that long. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do that.”
“Come on, Bella, you’ve done it for me before.” Which was why Laney expected her sister to drop everything and do it again. “We might not be able to go if we don’t have enough chaperones.”
The despair in Laney’s voice was real and Bella winced. She hated disappointing her sister, but she had an obligation to Blake, as well.
“I’m not saying no because I don’t want to,” she explained, ignoring the way Laney’s request had caused a dip in her mood. “It’s just that I have a job this summer and I’m not sure I can get away.”
“Can’t you ask them? Tell them how important it is. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“This is important, too.” Bella cursed her rising temper.
She didn’t want to be cross with her sister. Laney was thirteen and excited about going to Chicago. Bella didn’t blame her. If she’d had an opportunity to spend a few days there when she was her sister’s age, she would have been over the moon.
“Please. Please. Please.”
With each pleading syllable, Bella felt herself weakening. “I’ll have to check and see if I can have the time off. I’ll let you know later in the week.”
“I need to know tomorrow. That’s when they’re deciding if they need to cancel the trip or not.”
Behind Laney, Bella heard her mother’s voice. A second later, Laney was replaced by her mother.
“Bella, we have everything in hand here. You don’t need to ask your boss for time off.”
As much as it would relieve Bella to believe that, she’d grown up hearing her mother utter the exact same phrase when things weren’t the slightest bit under control.
“That’s not the way it sounded.”
“Your sister cannot expect you to fly to home so you can chaperone.”
The weariness beneath her mother’s exasperation tugged at Bella. She should be home helping out instead of living the good life in New York. It had been selfish of her to move so far away.
“I’m sure it will be okay with Blake,” she assured her mother.
“Blake Ford? That nice man who called us a few weeks ago?”
Bella rolled her eyes at her mother’s description of Blake. Many words could be used to describe the attractive CEO. Nice was probably not top on the list. Forceful. Determined. Persuasive. Sexy as hell. Nice was too tame.
“I’m working as his son’s nanny for a couple months while his regular nanny recovers from a broken leg.”
“It’s wonderful that you can help him out. Don’t you worry about Laney. Someone will step forward and be their chaperone.”
Even though Bella had been relieved of responsibility, her sense of obligation lingered. “If no one does, give me a call back. I’m sure I can figure something out.”
“Of course.”
But Bella knew her mother wouldn’t call. She never asked for help. She just tried to get it all done on her own. Only she never did. There was always something left undone. Pieces to be picked up by Bella. And now her other siblings. But were they helping out?
“How are things going there, Mom?”
“Terrific.”
Bella wasn’t sure why she asked. Her mother never showed any signs of stress. But it was always there, just below the unruffled surface. When Bella had lived on the farm, it had been easy to pitch in. These days, Bella worried all the time about what was going on, but she was too far away to help.
Except with money.
It
