Downfall(71)

I chuckled under my breath when a middle-aged man side stepped up to me, eyes cast downward like he was worried I might decide to mug him or something. I was planning on giving him a wide berth, but stopped when he stuttered, “Hey, you’re Noble’s dad, aren’t you?”

I pushed the brim of my ball cap up with a finger.

“I am.” And how fucking cool was that?

“Umm, Miranda is having a horseback riding party at the end of the month. She was insistent that Noble be invited. Did you know your daughter is the most popular girl in her class?”

I didn’t know that, but I wasn’t surprised. She was a social, smart, funny little thing, who made friends everywhere she went. She had the ability to put a smile on anyone’s face.

“I’ll have to run it by Noble’s mom. She gets the final say on extracurricular activities.” Knowing Orley, she was going to make sure Miranda’s parents had zero ties to her old life before she agreed. Anyone with any connection to the Vincents or her previous life were automatically blackballed. Channing might’ve fallen from grace, but people still remembered his missing empire. There had been months and months of speculation as to where his money went after his arrest. Strangers came out of the woodwork trying to cozy up to Orley thinking she might know something about the vanished fortune. Little did they know, my girl was no longer gullible and na?ve. She was harder to get close to than the Mona Lisa, and she’d gotten really good at telling the fake from the genuine.

“Great, that’s great. Hey, is that your Coronet convertible parked out in the lot?” He sounded nervous but his wary gaze lit up when I nodded. “Is it the RT version? Weren’t there only three or four of those made?” My car was guaranteed to give any car guy a boner.

“Yep. I built it from the frame up.” I could sell the damn thing for hundreds of thousands, but I wouldn’t. It was my dream car. The one I was keeping forever, or until I handed it down to Noble and found a new project.

“That’s… unbelievable. I’ve always wanted a Ford Fairlane.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m probably not a cool enough dad to drive one of those, though.”

I chuckled and fished a business card out of my wallet. “Driving a classic automatically makes you a cool dad. If you get serious about getting your hands on one, give me a call. I’ll pass on the invite about the party to Orley.” I was a cool dad with or without the car, and I doubted this guy had the balls to venture into the city where my shop was, but it never hurt to try and drum up new business.

I was getting into my car when my cell rang. Since Orley was in class until early afternoon I was surprised to see her name and pretty face on the display. Wondering if I forgot to do something she asked, I answered the call with a bit of trepidation. I thought I was busy before; I had no idea how busy I was going to be once Noble was old enough to start having her own social life.

“What did I forget?” I tried starting off with a joke in case she was pissed off. That was another thing I’d adjusted to slowly. Orley seemed so timid when she first showed up in the city. Now my girl had no problem letting that redheaded temper flare. Timid was the last thing I would call her now that she was a bonafide city girl.

“Uh, nothing. I’m actually home. I was wondering if you could meet me here and head into the shop a little later.” There was something in her tone I couldn’t identify and it immediately had me sitting up straight and wracking my brain to figure out why she was playing hooky. Normally, she was far too responsible to skip class.

“Sure. I can go in later.” I made my own hours, so my schedule was often more flexible than hers, which is why I dropped Noble off in the morning. No one would miss me if I went in an hour or two later than usual. “I’ll be home in like, twenty.”

She mumbled a goodbye and a surge of panic hit me. Orley was very good about being upfront and honest with me about how she was feeling and what she needed from me. This whole situation was weird, and I didn’t like the unease that slithered around in my belly.

I parked in front of the townhouse, not even slightly worried my car was going to get jacked or messed up in any way. That was another benefit to leaving the inner city behind. Guaranteed parking was always nice. I ran up the steps, pushed the door open and called Orley’s name at the top of my lungs. I was too impatient to wait for her to answer me, so I prowled though the house looking for her.

I found her in our bedroom, sitting on the side of the bed, pale as a ghost, dressed only in a long purple robe. Her hair was piled in a mess on top of her head and her eyes were locked on something in her hand. Trying to get my worried, racing heart under control, I plopped down on the bed next to her and threw my arm around her shoulders.

“What’s wrong? You sounded like a mess on the phone.” I pulled her into a tight side hug and kissed the top of her head. I refused to believe there wasn’t anything I couldn’t make better for her.

She sniffed as if she’d been crying, and held out the object in her hand for inspection. I’d never seen an at-home pregnancy test before in real life, but I knew what it was without asking for clarification. Other than that one time in the shower at the apartment above the garage, we’d always been careful and never had even a close call, so I was stunned at the sight.

“Whoa. Is that what I think it is?” I leaned to the side a little so I could look at Orley’s face. Her blue eyes were foggy with emotion and unshed tears.