Our Finest Hour (The Time #1)(20)



I forge ahead. “I went to their house. The file listed their home address.”

Jenna sets her eyes back on me. “While I was flying here to get to you, you were going to see your…your…baby mama?”

For a second I want to laugh. The words baby mama are so out of place coming from Jenna’s mouth. The feeling dies fast.

“I needed to know for sure. I was already certain, but I needed to hear Aubrey say it.”

“And she did?”

I nod.

“Well…uh…well,” She falters for words, another thing that’s very un-Jenna like. “She’s probably lying. She’s just found out her one night stand is a successful doctor and wants child support.”

“Aubrey’s not like that.” I hear the defensiveness in my voice, and I know it’s only going to make this worse.

“Oh, really? How would you know?” Jenna stands. She crosses the living room, taking care to walk on the far side of the coffee table, away from me.

I’m up too, following her. She goes into the kitchen and opens the fridge, pushing stuff aside angrily. She slams the door shut, nothing in her hands. After moving on to the pantry, she stands in front of it, door open, fists balled at her sides.

“Aubrey didn’t want to tell me about Claire. I think she would have preferred if I didn’t know. She doesn’t know me, and she doesn’t know how I’m going to impact Claire’s life. She’s scared too.” I walk to the open pantry door and stand behind Jenna. Her shoulders are lifted and tense, and I can’t see her face. “Jenna, please. This is news to everybody—”

“Everybody except Aubrey.” She whirls around. “Was she just saving this ace in her back pocket for the right time?”

“No, no, not at all.” I rub my eyes, trying to figure out how to explain this to Jenna. “When Aubrey found out she was pregnant, she couldn’t tell me. It happened right before I left for Africa. And…” I hesitate, embarrassment coming over me. “We didn’t exchange a whole lot of information about each other that night. Including last names.” My neck feels hot.

Jenna’s jaw drops a few inches. “You had sex with someone whose last name you did not know?”

I don’t say anything. I don’t appreciate being judged, but right now isn’t the time to point that out.

“Don’t get hung up on that. It was a long time ago.”

“Isaac—”

“Just understand, please. You’re not perfect.” But isn’t she? Never a hair out of place. I’m not even allowed to touch her hair after a certain time of day. Does she have a fault? I’m not so sure. We never fight. Ever. Except right now. And it’s not even a real fight. I’m basically just tossing shocking information at her, the equivalent of cold water, and telling her to deal with it.

She takes a deep breath. “OK. What now?” Her voice has returned to a normal volume, but the stress she’s feeling strains it.

“I’m going to see Claire this afternoon. Aubrey said I could come over.”

“What?” Jenna's face hardens. “Are you kidding? Sunday is our day. I leave again on Tuesday.”

“Claire has school during the week. I’m lucky Aubrey is even letting me see her. She doesn’t have to, you know. I have no right to her yet.” But I will. It’s something I’m going to see about.

I sigh and study my fiancée’s face. The shock is still there in her dazed, bugged out eyes. I can’t blame her for that, but shocked or not, I need to know where she stands. “Are you with me in this, Jenna? We need to be a team.”

Jenna stares at me, her face only inches from mine. Her blue eyes are cold. It’s terrible timing, but I can’t control my thoughts, and right now I’m picturing Aubrey’s eyes and how, even when she was revealing to me her ugly truth, her blue eyes remained warm.

“No.” The surprise is gone from her face. Now her gaze is steady, a carefully placed mask of frosty calm. “I signed up to marry Isaac the brilliant orthopedic surgeon. Not Isaac the single dad.” She steps away from me.

I silently repeat what she’s said, just to make sure I understood. Her no is echoing in my mind. “Are you kidding me?” I have to ask, because what she just said is inconceivable to me. If the situation were reversed, I know where I would stand.

“Isaac, I love you. I want to build a life with you.” She takes another step away, her eyes on me. “I want kids, you know that. Just not somebody else’s.” She pivots and walks from the kitchen.

Like someone punched me in the gut, the air whooshes out of me. How could someone not want Claire? I hardly know her, and I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anything.

I stay there, in my kitchen, until Jenna comes back a minute later. Her roller bag is behind her, and I realize she was still packed from her trip.

“It’s not fair of you to expect me to accept this.” She stands straight, like she’s up against a wall.

“I knew you’d be upset, but—”

“Stop. Don’t tell me how I’m supposed to be a bigger person.” She waves a stiff hand while she speaks. “Don’t tell me how I’m supposed to be understanding. It’s not fair for you to expect me to want this.”

Jennifer Millikin's Books