Soul Mates Read online

  “So what’s your plan if she is pregnant?”

  “We have to get married.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I love her and no kid of mine is going to be born without my last name. We’ll have to find a house that’s midway between both our businesses and look at schools, start a college fund, buy furniture—”

  Mick laughed. “You have it all planned already?”

  “Why not? I always knew I’d have a few kids one day. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”

  “Tell you what. You go find out if she’s really pregnant and we’ll celebrate then.”

  He laughed, raking a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I guess that is the first step.”

  “Yes, but you might want to wait until after the funeral.”

  “I want to know now.”

  “But now is probably not a good time for her. Give her some time to grieve and let her tell you in her own time.”

  He sighed. “I hate it when you make sense.”

  Mick laughed. “You’re welcome.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The next week passed slowly for Trey. He spent his days working out of the conference room at Carlee and Erinae’s office. He spent his nights rocking Carlee to sleep. Although she didn’t cry again after the first night, she was clearly not in the mood for making love or even talking. He longed to ask her about the pregnancy test, but decided to take Mick’s advice and allow her to tell him about it in her own time.

  The following week, he and Erinae attended Creekland’s memorial service with Carlee. She squeezed his hand during the short service but didn’t cry. When he looked in her eyes, her level of grief and sadness dismayed him. There was also a hint of fear in her gaze. What did she fear?

  “Do you want to talk about him?” he asked that night as they sat on her terrace.

  She sighed. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  He took a long swig from the open beer can sitting on the table in front of him. He’d waited nearly two weeks to have her tell him she was pregnant and now he was so excited his hands shook. He sat down his beer can and clasped his hands together on the table. “Go ahead.”

  She compressed her lips and clenched her hands into fists. “Trey, you know I love you. Don’t you?”

  “Yes and I love you.”

  “Did you mean it when you said nothing would ever keep us apart?”

  “Yes.” He shook his head impatiently. “This build up isn’t necessary, Carlee. Just tell me what you want to tell me.”

  “We talked about the possibility of my getting pregnant when we thought we were going our separate ways and you seemed to like the idea.”

  He nodded. “I did—I do.” He reached across the table to clasp her hand in his. “The idea of…hell, Carlee, let’s stop beating around the bush. Are you trying to tell me you’re pregnant?”

  She whispered her answer. “Yes.”

  The frightened look in her eyes dampened his desire to pump his fist in the air and shout for joy. He released her hand and sat back in his chair. “Why so glum?”

  “There’s a problem.”

  “What problem?”

  She averted her gaze.

  “We both want a baby, Carlee. I don’t see a problem here.”

  “There is one.”

  “I don’t see how there can be. We’re old enough to be responsible parents, we have careers, we are financially able to provide for a baby, and we’re in love. What can possibly be wrong?”

  She sighed, shaking her head.

  “What’s wrong?” He touched her hand. “Look at me. Are you sorry?”

  “I want this baby.”

  “So do I. So what’s wrong?”

  She bit her lip. “I’m pregnant.”

  He smiled. “Yes, I know.”

  “How?”

  “I saw the pregnancy test kit in the trash a while back.”

  “What you don’t know is that I’m about eleven weeks pregnant.”

  “So? I don’t care how pregnant…what? How many weeks are you? Did you say eleven weeks?”

  She nodded.

  He released her hand and slumped against his chair. “But prior to six weeks ago, we hadn’t seen each other in over two months.”

  “I know.”

  “Did you get pregnant from our time together at the lodge?” Even as he asked the question, he knew that wasn’t the explanation. That would have made her several months pregnant instead of eleven weeks.

  “No.” She pressed a fist against her lips.

  He stared at her, feeling his world slowly fall apart. “Are you…” He bolted to his feet. “You’re telling me it’s his baby?”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. She extended her hand to him. “Trey?”

  He shook his head, stepping away from her. “It’s his baby?”

  Her hand fell back to the table. “Yes.”

  His chest tightened and he had to fight to force air in and out of his lungs. He raked both hands through his hair. “I thought you were on the pill!”

  “I was, but it’s not a hundred percent!”

  “No shit! Well where the hell does that leave me, Carlee?”

  “Nothing’s changed, Trey.”

  “What?”

  “I mean we—”

  He stared at her. “Nothing’s changed? Are you out of your mind?”

  “Trey, please. I—”

  “You sit there and tell me you’re pregnant by another man and then say nothing’s changed? What if I told you I‘d gotten some other hussy pregnant? Would you be okay with that? Hell no!”

  Her lips trembled. “Are you telling me you think I’m a hussy?”

  “If the damned shoe fits—”

  She shot to her feet and faced him. “It doesn’t! I’m thirty-three and have only had two lovers! There’s no damned way you have any right to call me names, Trey! None!”

  “I haven’t called you anything, but I suppose you think I have no right to be upset either?”

  “No, you don’t! This happened when I thought it was over between us! I had a right to see who I wanted.”

  “And you did that all right, didn’t you? You hopped into bed with him the moment my back was turned!”

  “I didn’t see him until six weeks after you left.”

  “How the hell do I know that’s true?”

  “Because I tell you it is!”

  “Well maybe that’s not proof enough for me, Carlee. And even if I believed you, why the hell should it matter?”

  “It should matter because we love each other!”

  “I don’t know if you even know what love is, Carlee. I had opportunities to sleep around while we were apart. I was tempted, but I resisted! Why the hell couldn’t you do the same?”

  “The difference is you knew you planned to come back. I didn’t know that!”

  “The hell you didn’t!”

  She closed her eyes briefly. “Trey, we need to have a time out and talk about this again when we can both be calm.”

  “That won’t be necessary, Carlee.”

  “Why not? What are you going to do?”

  “What the hell do you think I’m going to do? I’m getting the hell out of here!”

  She gripped his arm, staring up at him. “Trey! Okay, I know you’re upset, but—”

  He shook off her hand. “Upset doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. I feel betrayed!”

  “You have no reason to feel that way! It’s not like we were together when I slept with him! I thought it was over!”

  “You know what? You’re right. It is over—for good this time!”

  “Trey, wait a minute—”

  He shook his head. “If you think I can forgive this, you’re wrong. I can’t do this. When we were separated, I didn’t go jumping into bed with ex-lovers! I waited for you!”

  “There’s nothing I can say that will make you see reason, is there?”

  “There’s nothing you can say that will excuse your chea
ting on me! You want to have his baby? Fine! Have it, but don’t expect me to hang around and watch!”

  She grabbed his arm. “Trey! Trey, please don’t go! I know why you’re angry and hurt, but I need you. Please don’t go!”

  “I have to go!” He peeled her fingers from his arm. “I can’t do this!”

  “You can’t leave me like this, Trey. You can’t. You promised you wouldn’t leave me again!”

  The desperation in her voice and the pain in her eyes stabbed at him, but he couldn’t overcome the rage knotted in his gut. “That was before you betrayed me with another man!”

  “I didn’t betray you!”

  “The hell you didn’t!”

  “I need you, Trey. Please. Don’t leave me.”

  “I have to! I can’t stay and watch you have his baby.”

  “What else can I do?”

  He stared at her. “There are ways of handling unwanted pregnancies.”

  She recoiled as if he had struck her. “What? You think I’d…no! Never. And there’s something you need to understand, Trey. This isn’t an unwanted pregnancy! You do what you need to do for yourself, Trey, but don’t delude yourself into thinking I don’t want this baby more than I want or need to be with you!”

  He sucked in an angry breath. “Fine. I hope you and your baby will be very happy together, Carlee.”

  She placed her hand over her stomach, lifted her chin, and gave him a cool look. “Don’t you worry about us.”

  “I won’t!”

  She took a deep breath. “I think I finally get the message this time, Trey.”

  “What message is that?”

  “That depending on you leads to broken promises and heartbreak every time!”

  The pain in her voice cut into him, reminding him of all the pain she must have endured in the past because he had not been able to keep his promise to her. He raked a hand through his hair. Some of his anger dissipated. “I pride myself on keeping my word, but this is asking too much of me, Carlee.”

  “Then do what you need to do for yourself, Trey. It’s what you do best, isn’t it?”

  He swallowed hard. “I would stay if I could, but I can’t! If you need a man around for awhile, call Mick. He’ll help you out in any way he can.”

  “Well, hell, Trey, thanks so much! The last time I looked, Mick isn’t the one who said he loved me and would never leave me.”

  “I can’t stay.”

  “I really need you now, Trey and if you leave anyway knowing that, it’s over between us.”

  He wanted to embrace her and assure her that everything would be all right. But a deep wellspring of rage and pain wouldn’t allow it. It hurt more than he could bear that she had found it so easy to sleep with another man so soon after they’d become lovers. Now she wanted him to accept his rival’s baby?

  “If you need help, Mick will help. I can’t stay.”

  She bit her lip. “Can’t or won’t, Trey? I know what I’m asking isn’t easy, but—”

  “What you’re asking is impossible. Good-bye.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Please, don’t.” She clutched his hand. “Please, Trey.”

  He pulled his hand away, shook his head, turned, and walked into the house. In the bedrrom, he tossed his suitcase onto the bed and threw his clothes inside. She followed him, standing near the door, tears steaming down her face.

  His stomached knotted at the sight of her tears. He sucked in a breath. When he finished packing his suitcase, he paused by her, not quite meeting her gaze. “I’m sorry you’re hurt, but I’m hurting too. I can’t stand by and watch you have another man’s child.”

  “What else can I do? You want me to abort the baby? Would that make you happy? Would that make you stay?”

  “No!” His earlier remarks notwithstanding, he’d never ask any woman to have an abortion.

  “Good because I wouldn’t abort this baby to keep three of you!”

  He bit back an angry retort. “If you find you have any financial difficulties, I’ll—”

  “You’d be the last person I’d call for anything.” She lifted her chin, wiped her cheeks, and glared at him. “You want to leave? Leave! You were never worth all the grief and pain anyway! I wish to God I’d never seen you again! Leave and don’t ever look back!”

  “I won’t!” He slammed the door behind him.

  Outside in his car, he sat with his head on the steering wheel for a long time before he felt calm enough to drive. Before he started the car, he called Mick and asked him to call Erinae to bring Danny and spend the night with Carlee.

  “Why? Aren’t you going to be there?”

  “I have to leave.”

  “Why? What’s happened, Trey? It must be something very important to make you leave her when she needs you.”

  “I can’t stay with her any longer and I don’t want to hear any shit from you, Mick!”

  “What? What’s going on, Trey?”

  He told Mick about Carlee’s presence.

  “His baby? Oh, hell, Trey! I’m sorry.”

  “So am I. Sorry, angry, and so hurt I can taste it.”

  “Look, I know it must hurt like hell, but—”

  “There’s no damn but, Mick.”

  “Yes, there is. Don’t leave her. Go back inside and tell her you’re sorry. Beg her to forgive you.”

  “Forgive me? The hell I will! I’m not the one who went screwing around the moment we were apart.”

  “Come on, Trey—”

  “No! Can it, Mick! I told you I wasn’t in the mood to hear any shit! And that’s what this is—shit! Just do me a favor and call Erinae and tell her Carlee needs her and keep your damned advice to yourself!”

  “I’ll call Erinae, but Trey—”

  “Save it!” He broke the connection, started the car, and drove away.

  * * * * *

  “That stupid, selfish, self-righteous bastard!”

  Feeling as if she were living a nightmare, Carlee sat at her kitchen table, sipping decaf hot enough to burn her lips. Erinae, angry tears steaming down her cheeks, paced the length of the room. After two days of sobbing herself to sleep, Carlee felt numb, but no longer able to cry.

  “He’s just hurt, Nae. If you look at it from his perspective—”

  “He’s a stupid bastard from anyone’s perspective!” Erinae snapped again. “Who the hell does he think he is to just walk out on you when you need him most?” Erinae stopped by the table and slammed her fist down on the surface. “I know how much you love him. How could he just walk out on you with no thought for your feelings?”

  “Well, he did suggest that if I needed male help to call Mick!”

  “Mick wasn’t the one who took your virginity; he was!”

  She sighed. “He didn’t take it. I gladly gave it to him.”

  Erinae gave an angry toss of her head. “What are you going to do, Lee?”

  She put her cup down and squeezed Erinae’s hand between both of hers. “I’m going to have the baby and go on with my life. I’ve lived without him before and I will again. Please, Nae, it’ll be all right. Stop crying.”

  “I can’t! When I think of how he hurt you, I—”

  “It does hurt, but I’m a survivor. With friends like you, the baby and I will be fine. We’ll be fine, Nae. I promise. Now please stop crying.”

  Erinae leaned over to embrace her. “If you won’t cry, I have to cry for you.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve shed my last tears over him, Nae. I love him and getting over him won’t be easy, but I’m going to do it for Sam’s sake.”

  Erinae lifted her head and looked at her. “Sam’s sake?”

  Carlee nodded, touching her stomach. “I’m going to name the baby Sam. Samuel Erin if he’s a boy and Samantha Erinae if it’s a girl.”

  Erinae smiled through her tears. “Samantha Erinae?”

  She nodded. “It has a nice ring to is, doesn’t it? Although we’ll probably end up calling her something silly.”

/>   Erinae nodded. “Yeah. Like Nae-nae.”

  “Yeah. That’s silly enough. So no more crying, huh? Sam is going to be my reason for getting over Trey.”

  Erinae stared into her eyes. “You go ahead and be strong. No more tears for you. I can see a lot of grief in your eyes yet. I’ll take care of the crying. Until the baby comes, it will be like old times. Me and you against the world. Okay?”

  This was something Trey had promised her would never happen again. She nodded, blinking away tears. “Like old times. Me and you against the world.”

  * * * * *

  “Trey! Trey, help me! Please!”

  Her screams for him shattered the still of the night and sent him bolting up in bed from a deep sleep. He tossed the bed covers aside. He nearly tripped in his haste to get out of bed and rush to the window. His room looked out over the back road leading to the slave quarters.

  Looking out the window, he saw his father’s overseer, Joshua Wilton. Wilton sat astride his big stallion with a small slender figure in front of him on the horse. Trey’s heart thumped with fear as he recognized that figure. She had beautiful dark skin, warm brown eyes, and a sweet smile he’d never been able to resist.

  He tossed the window open, leaned out, and blinked. Instead of the road below the plantation house he expected to see, he saw the dark contours of the neighboring condos.

  Condos?

  Trey bolted up in bed, his heart pounding, his body drenched with sweat. He turned on the light. He was alone in his bedroom. He glanced at his bedside clock. It was three-twenty a.m. He turned off the light and fell back against his pillow.

  Sleep eluded him. With his eyes open, the nightmare returned. He couldn’t stop it. He saw a young version of himself on Danton’s back galloping down the road after Carlee. When his father caught him, the words he’d called out to her echoed in his ears.

  Carlee, I’ll find you. I promise. I swear. No matter how long it takes, I’ll find you! And when I do I will never leave you again!

  The nightmares had returned the night he walked out on Carlee and now they were merging with reality. He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow.