Dane's Storm(37)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN


Then . . .



Audra yawned as she walked sleepily down the hallway, thirst having woken her from a deep sleep. She put her hand on her belly, feeling the small curve and smiling to herself. She had just started feeling the tiny fluttery kicks of the baby moving inside her. Right now he or she was sleeping.

The low hum of voices caught her attention and she frowned, pausing and turning toward the office. Dane had stayed up to work on a paper for one of his classes, but she couldn’t imagine who he was talking to. Turning, she headed in the direction of the second bedroom they’d turned into an office, but paused when she heard her name in Dalila’s voice. “Does Audra know?”

She paused, hesitant about eavesdropping, but too curious to stop herself. Did she know what?

“No.”

“God, Dane, you can’t begin a marriage on a lie. How’s she going to feel when she finds out you kept this from her?”

Audra’s skin prickled and alarm bells began to ring deep inside.

Dane groaned. “I know. I’m going to tell her. But she’s pregnant and Audra . . . God, Audra’s going to blame herself.”

Oh God. Oh no. She sagged against the wall and let it hold her up. He’d lied to her?

“It was your dream to run the business, though, Dane. If anyone is suited for it, it’s you. And it’s rightfully yours. What is wrong with Grandmother? I’ve never known her to despise anyone as much as she despises Audra. I don’t get it. But to cut you off, take away your future, your dream . . .”

There was only silence from within the room for a moment and then Dane said, “It is . . . was my dream. But Audra is more important to me. I’ll get a good job somewhere else once I graduate. We may not live in luxury like the rest of the Townsends, but I’ll live knowing I made the honorable choice. I think Dad would agree.”

Honorable? Tears welled in Audra’s eyes, and she felt like she’d sag to the floor. He’d given up the family legacy that was rightfully his—the chance to make that contribution that was so important to him—because of honor? Because he’d gotten her pregnant and done the right thing? His grandmother had cut him off for it, and he’d never told her. Bile rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down. She knew Dane loved her. She didn’t doubt that. But she would have never let him make that sacrifice had she known, just as he said.

I heard Dalila sigh. “So, no California. Selfishly, I’ll be happy to have you two close by so I can spoil my niece or nephew in person.”

“I think Audra will be happier here too,” Dane said after a short pause. “She can visit her dad as often as she wants. It was hard for her to put him in a facility. She’s the only one who’s cared for him her whole life.”

“How are you paying for the care facility?”

“Mom gave me the money she was going to spend on Stanford and said I could use it the way I wanted to. Colorado State is a fourth of the cost. I’m using the rest to pay for Audra’s dad’s care, and I spent some of it on a building Audra’s going to turn into a gallery. I don’t want her to give up her dreams too, just because of our baby.”

Give up her dreams, too.

Like he had. Audra felt like a weight was pressing on her chest, and she brought her hand to it.

“Isn’t there something Mom can do?”

Audra heard Dane sigh. “I love Mom, but her against Luella? Seriously?”

Dalila made a small sound in her throat that Audra barely heard. “Yeah, you’re right.” She paused. “Still, I know she’d give you more money now if you need it.”

“No,” Dane’s voice sounded harsh. “No,” he repeated, more gently. “I’m a married man with a kid on the way. Taking what would have been my tuition to Stanford is one thing, but I’m not going to let Mom pay my bills. An old friend of Dad’s offered me a position in the mailroom of his company while I’m in school.”

“The mailroom?” Dalila asked. Audra could hear the note of disappointment in her voice and she winced. There was a pause and Dalila sighed. “At least you’ll still get your trust fund once you turn twenty-five.”

Audra heard Dane make a scoffing sound and she cringed, laying her cheek against the cool surface of the wall. “I’m sure Luella will find a way to rescind that as long as I’m still married to who she perceives as the wrong girl.”

Luella’s words came back as sharp arrows to Audra’s heart.

“Townsends are expected to keep company with a certain . . . quality of people.”

The wrong girl.

“Dane may do as he pleases in private and behind closed doors, but in public, such . . . things will not be tolerated.”

The wrong girl.

I was the wrong girl for Dane and always would be.

Dane and Dalila were both quiet for a moment as Audra’s heart silently broke outside the partially opened office door. Finally, she heard Dalila say, “I don’t know, big bro, they say honesty is the best policy.”

Dane sighed. “Maybe. But, fuck, I needed some time to come to terms with it myself first. When Audra told me she was pregnant, everything, my whole damn future went up in smoke. That’s not something that’s easy to swallow. I haven’t worked out what to say.”