She paused. “By your father?”
“Yep. I figured it’s the least he could do, Mom.”
He didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t pry. Her son was an adult now, more than capable of making his own decisions. She supposed she’d need to remind herself of that more than once.
Nonetheless, after they said good-bye, Maddie’s stomach felt queasy, despite the prenatal vitamins she wanted for the duration of her life. She guessed it was because the next day she’d face Rex, and the list of things she’d planned to say to him were now long gone from her mind. Maybe it would be better if she winged it, anyway.
Maddie bungled her way through the next morning by killing time weeding out closets and dresser drawers that did not need weeding out. Finally, she put on stretchy pants, a camisole, and a vibrant red tunic—a color that the clerk at The Green Room in Vineyard Haven said complemented the coppery shade of Maddie’s skin. One thing was certain: Thanks to the weeks since she had seen him, Rex would be shocked to see how much bigger her belly was.
Once she made it to the hospital and parked Orson, she turned off the ignition and unhooked her seat belt. Then she rubbed her belly to calm the baby, which she hoped would calm her, too. After a few deep, rhythmic breaths, she got out, walked slowly across the asphalt, entered Windemere, and took the stairs up to his room, the same one where he’d been before.
He was awake. And alone.
“Hi,” she said, stepping inside. He looked healthier than the last time she’d seen him.
He smiled, and her heart began to melt. “Hi back. I didn’t know when, or if, I’d see you again. And, by the way, you look … beautiful.”
“Rex …”
He held up his hand, palm first. “No need to explain. I’m glad you’re here. And I’m sorry about the drama of the past few weeks.”
Tears sprang to her eyes; her lower lip started to tremble before she could press her teeth down on it. She stepped closer to the bed. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m the one who did that, who made your blood pressure spike. Which must have been so scary for you. And not that it matters, but it scared me, too.”
He shook his head, reached out and took her hand. “Maddie, don’t. First of all, it wasn’t your fault. I was on anew med that my BP didn’t like. It wasn’t you. But I’m okay now. Honest.”
She wanted to believe him.
“Please,” he said. “Sit. We need to talk.”
Her belly felt upset again, but she didn’t want to rub it because she didn’t want him to think there was a problem with the baby.
She began to move the chair next to the bed when she realized the big neck thing was gone. “Where’s your neck brace?” she asked.
“Dumpster,” he replied.
She smiled and pushed the chair close to the bed.
He took her hand.
Her anguish melted, truly melted, right there on the spot.
“I wasn’t finished when you left,” he said. “My fault again, not yours. I should have told you what happened from the end to the beginning, not the other way around.”
Maddie didn’t know what he was trying to say, but wished he’d hurry up.
“Raejean …”
Her insides cringed. After all, she already knew that though he hadn’t been married, they’d lived together seven years, almost twice as long as she’d lived with Owen. She shifted on the chair.
“Wait. I started that wrong again. I should have said, ‘It wasn’t until I was in prison that I found out there wasn’t, and never had been, a baby.’” He paused, letting that sink in.
It took a minute. Maybe more.
“Raejean was never pregnant. My attorney ran into her a few months after I was arrested, and told me ‘in no way’ did she look pregnant, when by then she should have been bulging. When he questioned her, she laughed and took off. Bottom line was she didn’t want to take the blame for her shenanigans, so she tricked me into it. And then she disappeared.”
The only sound in the room was the gentle hum of a couple of machines that Rex was still hooked up to.
“You’re serious,” Maddie finally said.
