The Best of Us (Sullivan's Crossing #4)(78)

“Sully, I’ve never seen her more radiant. Like this whole pregnancy is agreeing with her. And yet...” Helen just shook her head. “Rob was out of town with Finn for a few days and she admitted she missed him. Soon he’ll move Finn to Boulder to begin school.”

“I’ll have a big crowd in here for Labor Day weekend,” Sully said. “Always do. Then it slows down a lot. There are the fall leaf peepers and hunters. Almost time for the elk to move to lower, warmer elevation and start the whole rutting season. That gets noisy.”

“I can’t wait,” she said. “Then snow,” she said. And the thought made her shiver.

“Relax,” he said. “I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“I should be going,” she said. “Get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I wish you could just stay.”

“So do I,” she said. “I’ll get Leigh settled. Then things will be much more relaxed.”

When Helen got home, the lights were on. She would have expected to find Leigh either watching TV or reading in bed, but she was up. Waiting.

“Auntie,” she said, her cheeks rosy and her eyes bright. “I felt the baby today! Just those first little flutters, but it’s wonderful.” She ran her hands over her tummy.

“How nice,” Helen said. “I’m going to make a cup of tea. Can I get you one?”

“Perfect. You spend so much time with Sully, we haven’t had any time to really talk.”

“Do you have breaking news, miss?” Helen asked, smiling as she fired up the kettle.

“Nothing besides the baby moving.”

“Have you and Rob figured anything out?”

She laughed softly. “He’s putting the pressure on. But there’s no getting around the fact that I haven’t known him long.”

“You’ve known him for a year, Leigh.”

“But despite the fact that I’m four months pregnant, I’ve only really known him about five months. We might’ve known each other, superficially, but we weren’t even friends.”

“I’d say your friendship got off to a roaring start,” Helen said.

“I know,” Leigh said. “One official date and bam. I don’t think I ever got involved that quickly before. Where was my brain?”

“But are you sorry? I was under the impression you’re very fond of him.”

“I am. Of course I am. But is that enough? I don’t know.”

“Hmm,” Helen said, dunking tea bags in both cups. “Ordinarily I’d agree with you, but the two of you have some extenuating circumstances. There happens to be a child involved.”

“But we’re capable of doing an excellent job with this child without rushing to commitment. My mother wasn’t married and I think I had an excellent upbringing.”

Helen frowned. “Leigh, your mother was eighteen. And she had no one but me. She didn’t have a capable man who loved her. Your father, whoever he is, didn’t step up. She didn’t give me too many details, possibly to keep me from hunting him down and kicking his ass. Her heart was broken. By the time you were a few months old, she accepted that the two of you were probably better off. He was a loser. He was also a child, like your mother. I hold the hope that as he matured he became a better man, but I’ll never know.”

“But we did fine,” Leigh said, taking her tea to the living room. She sat in the overstuffed chair, her feet up on the ottoman.

Helen chuckled. “Fine? I wouldn’t expect you to be aware of the finer details, given you were a child. We got by, but it was far from easy.”

“But better than it would have been had she insisted on making a life with my father, who you called a loser.”

“He might’ve had some fine qualities I was unaware of, but I never knew anything about him and I don’t know anything about his family, if he even had one! But never mind that, I think she would have chosen him over living with me, if that had been an option. It wouldn’t have been a good choice.”

“She chose you and stability,” Leigh said. “She was sure of you even if she wasn’t sure of him. And because she did, I had a good life. We were a very good team.”

“Oh, mercy,” Helen said. “There are no similarities between your mother’s situation and yours. None. You are thirty-four with a successful career, involved with a mature, responsible man who loves you. And I think you love him.”

“Oh, I do, for what it’s worth,” she said, sipping her tea. “In fact, I might end up married to Rob one day. You said not to do anything unless I was sure. That’s good advice.”

“When I said that, I meant that you should work at being sure. You weigh all the possibilities and choose the one that is most acceptable. If you need a definition of that—either decide you’ll share parenting responsibilities and nothing else or get together and do it together.”

“Right now I think it’s best I not move in with Rob or marry him.”

“How will you manage?” Helen asked imploringly. “You’re a busy doctor. Not as busy as you were in Chicago, but just the same...”

“We’ll manage. We always have.”

Helen was stunned. “Wait. How does Rob feel about that? You managing with him offstage?”