Chapter 14The driver drive into the company and Anita was still tears, she remembered how Richard stare at Isabella romantically and that make her cry more and she looked her the food flask Isabella gave her and he got angry, she got down from the car in anger and she trash the food flask and Dan was surprised by her action, he went to meet her. “ Anita! Are you alright?”Dan ask and Anita looked up and she saw Dan.“ Dan! What are you doing out here?” She ask.“ I notice that you haven’t arrived to your office yet and I decided to wait for you out here but with the situation of things I think you are not fine. Tell me what is the problem with you?” Dan ask.“ I am fine Dan, you do not need to worry about me” she says and she was about to go inside the company and Dan stop her.“ You are my best friend Anita and I know when you are upset about something, you can tell me what the problem is” he says and Anita stare at him and she remembered the way Richard was staring at Isabella and
Richard drove us to the restaurant, where we met Dan and Henry for dinner. They were already sitting down in a booth when we arrived. The waitress showed us to our seats, and Isabella stood there, looking at the booth.“What’s wrong?” I asked.“There’s no way I’m going to fit in there.” She frowned.Isabella was big, and she looked like she was going to give birth any day.“Isabella , I’m sorry. I should have requested a table. I don’t want you squishing my goddaughter.” Dan laughed.I called the waitress over and told her we needed a table. She accommodated us immediately. We sat down, and I asked Isabella if she was okay. She looked at me as we both started laughing about her not being able to fit in the booth.“I better lose all this weight,” she said.“We’ll go to the gym together, and I’ll hire you a personal trainer,” I said.Dan grabbed Henry’s hand and told us they had an announcement. She held out her left hand and showed off her exquisite engagement ring. Isabella wanted to
Tell me to breathe one more time, and I swear I’ll castrate you, Richard Jones !” I screamed.I heard Dan burst into laughter, and Connor looked at me.“Wow, Isabella . That was uncalled for,” he said.“No! What’s uncalled for is you making me feel worse than I already do. I don’t want to know when another contraction is coming! I don’t want you to tell me to breathe! I know you’re trying to help me, but all I need from you, babe, is silence.”Richard stared at me and took my face in his hands. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean—”“I know you didn’t, Richard . It just hurts so badly, and I want it to be over,” I said as I interrupted him.“I know you do, and I can’t wait to see our daughter. She’s going to be beautiful, just like her mother.” He smiled.A tear fell from the corner of my eye and down my cheek as another contraction started; the worse one yet. I looked over at Henry.“Please, Henry, give me an epidural. Please, I’m begging you.”“Isabella , I can’t. You’re not dilated yet.
Richard I followed them out of the room and stood there as they wheeled Isabella down the hall. I was scared shitless and worried. If something happened to them, I didn’t know what I’d do. I would never forget the look on Isabella ’s face as they wheeled her away from me.“I’m going to make sure that Isabella and the baby are fine,” Henry said as he put his hand on my shoulder. “Get changed and I’ll see you in operating room.”I nodded my head as Isabella disappeared from my sight. Nurse Bailey handed me a pair of light blue scrubs and told me to change in the bathroom.“She’s going to be all right, Mr. Jones . Now hurry up and put those on.” She smiled.As I walked into the bathroom to change, Anita went to the waiting room and sat with my family. I quickly changed, and when I opened the bathroom door, Nurse Bailey was standing there, holding a mask in her hand.“You need to put this on before we go into the room. It’s for the baby’s safety.”As I took the mask from her, she led me
They’re beautiful, Richard . Thank you.”“You’re welcome, baby.” I smiled.“She’s probably hungry again,” Isabella said as she looked over at Julia.“I’ll feed her.” I smiled. I walked over and took her out of her bouncy seat. The minute I held her, she stopped.“I think she missed her daddy today.” Isabella smiled as she set the food on the table.I sat down at the table with her and attempted to eat. The minute I picked up my fork, Julia started to scream. Isabella got up and warmed a bottle for her. She went to take her from me, but I wouldn’t give her up.“Let me feed her, Isabella . You go and eat. You’ve been with her all day.”“But you worked all day. I can feed her so you can eat your dinner.”“No, now give me the bottle, and let me feed my daughter.” I smiled at her.“Okay.” She smiled back as she handed me the bottle.When I put the bottle in Julia’s mouth, she instantly started to drink it. As I looked over at Isabella , she glanced at me and ran the tip of her tongue acros
“Bye, my beautiful little girl.” Richard smiled as he kissed Julia on her head. “And goodbye to you, my beautiful wife,” he said as he kissed me on the lips.“Bye, babe. Good luck and call me.”He gave me a small smile before the elevator doors closed. I took Julia upstairs to change her diaper. Since I couldn’t stop thinking about the trial, I was pissed that Richard wasn’t talking to me about it. I wanted to be there for him, but since Julia had been born, I hadn’t had time to think about anything else but her, and I was exhausted all the time. I changed Julia’s diaper and carried her downstairs to find my phone. As I grabbed it off the kitchen counter, I dialed Anita .“Hello, bestie. Did you and Connor have amazing sex last night?” she asked.“Good morning, Anita , and yes, we did have amazing sex, but that’s not why I’m calling.”“Oh, I thought you’d want to talk about it,” she said with a disappointed tone.“Are you busy today?” I asked her.“I just have a few errands to run. Wh
I shook my head. “I miss Julia, and I want her home,” I cried.“Aw, Isabella . Come here, baby,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me. “She’ll be home soon.”Suddenly, I heard voices coming from downstairs. I jumped up from the bed and flew down the stairs. When I saw Anita and Dan by the door, I grabbed the car seat from Dan’s hand.“Julia, Mommy missed you so much,” I cried as I took her out of her car seat and held her tight.“God, Isabella . Are you okay?” Anita asked.“She’s fine,” Richard said as he came walking down the stairs. “She just missed Julia.”Richard walked over and kissed Anita on the cheek. “Thank you for looking after her,” he said, and then walked over and shook Dan’s hand. Richard kissed Julia on the head and told her how much he missed her.“What’s going on with you?” Anita asked as she sat down next to me.“I missed her, Anita . It was the first time we’d been apart since I found out I was pregnant, and it was hard.”“Aw, sweetie,” she said as she put her a
“Hello,” I said as I tried to sound as if I wasn’t crying.“Hi, baby. Why is Julia screaming like that?”I couldn’t hold it together anymore as I broke down. “I don’t know. She just won’t stop and I don’t know what to do for her,” I cried.“Is anyone else there with you?” he asked.“No, I’m here by myself. Richard, I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She just won’t stop crying.”“I’m on my way, Isabella ,” he said as he hung up the phone.I tried to tell him not to come home, but he had already hung up. I held Julia up over my shoulder and patted her back. She screamed. I bounced her as I walked up and down the stairs. She screamed. I sat in the rocking chair and tried to rock her. She screamed. I literally was going to lose it. As I walked back down the stairs with her, Richard stepped out of the elevator. He walked over to me and took Julia. As he looked at me, he wiped the tears from my eyes.“Maybe I should call the doctor,” I said.“How long as she been like this?” he asked.“Abo
Well?" she asked, demanding a response from him."I don’t want to quarrel over this, Hannah." He was smart enough to recognize a loaded question when he heard one. Smart enough to extract himself as best he could, too. "All I’m saying is that I’d prefer it if you invested as much time in our relationship as you would in a job. There are only so many hours in a day. You can’t do everything, you know.""In other words you wouldn’t be willing to help with the cooking or the housework?"Richard was quickly losing his grip on his patience, which had always been in short supply. Isabella seemed to be looking for an excuse to pick a fight with him by tying him up in verbal knots. She had been from the moment he’d arrived home. Hell if he knew what he’d done that was so terrible now."I’d be willing to help with the cooking and housework." He fully expected his answer would take the starch out of her arguments. How willing he actually would be to help around the house was another question ent
Isabella ?" He spoke her name softly when he noticed the moist trail of tears that streaked her face. "Would it help any if I told you I was sorry?" He didn’t know what he was apologizing for, but it was apparent he’d hurt her, and knowing that didn’t sit right.She stopped and looked up at him through narrowed, suspicious eyes."Whatever I said, I didn’t mean it," he tried once more."You don’t remember?" She sounded incredulous."No," he admitted, reaching for her hand. "Come back to the house and we’ll talk about it. All right?"She seemed to be trapped with indecision. He raised his hands to her face and gently rubbed the tears from her cheeks. Each one was an accusation against him. His heart constricted at how pale her features were, how fragile she looked. It demanded every ounce of control he possessed not to take her in his arms and beg her forgiveness. He was a reckless bastard to inflict his drunkenness on so delicate a soul, and he silently vowed never to do it again."Com
Tell me," he said, walking toward her, fully intending to take her in his arms; a couple of kisses might reassure her even more. "You wouldn’t happen to be jealous now, would you?""Jealous?" She threw the word back in his face as though he’d issued the greatest insult of her life. "If you can honestly mistake integrity and principles for jealousy, then I truly wonder what kind of man I’ve married."With that she turned and walked into her bedroom and closed the door. Isabella had probably never slammed a door in her life, he realized.Air seeped between Richard’s clenched teeth. He’d done it again. Just when he was beginning to make headway with her, he got cocky and said something stupid. It was becoming a bad habit.He let a few moments pass, then decided to try once again. He knocked on her bedroom door, but didn’t wait for her to answer before turning the knob and walking in. A husband should be allowed certain rights. Isabella turned and glared at him accusingly."I didn’t mean
None of my business," she repeated calmly. Obviously she was traipsing across ground he had no intention of mapping. "I see.""It’s obvious you don’t. Damnation, woman, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill.""I most certainly am not," she replied, doing her best to hold back the flash flood of anger that threatened to drown her. "If anyone is being unreasonable, it’s you. Apparently the subject is a touchy one and best dropped. I’m sorry I said anything.""So am I."It seemed that Richard wasn’t watching the road as well as he should have been, because a car shot past them and the driver hammered on the horn as he sped by. Her husband muttered something under his breath that Hannah pretended not to hear."Are there others?""Other what?" Richard shouted. His frustration with her was clearly getting the best of him."Women," Isabella explained serenely. "I should know about them, don’t you think? It might save us both a good deal of embarrassment.""Are you asking for a list of e
He came around and helped her out of the car and cupped his hand under her elbow as they walked up the flight of concrete steps to his apartment.Once they reached the top, Richard unlocked the door. Shoving it open, he turned to Isabella and without a word calmly lifted her into his arms.Taken by surprise, she let out a small cry of alarm. "Richard ," she pleaded, "put me down. I’m too heavy.""Let me assure you, Isabella Jones , you weigh next to nothing." With that he ceremoniously carried her over the threshold, gently depositing her in the leather recliner.Isabella smiled at him, a little breathlessly, although he’d been the one to do all the work. This man was full of surprises. All week she’d been convinced she was marrying a monster, but Richard had gone out of his way to prove otherwise. Perhaps this marriage had a chance to survive, after all.Richard turned on the television and reached for the evening paper and, after a few minutes, Isabella excused herself and began unpa
Glancing at her now, sitting by his side as they drove to his apartment in nearby Port Orchard, gave him further cause to wonder. She hadn’t said more than a handful of words since the ceremony. He hadn’t a clue what she was thinking, but he figured she was looking for some way to get out of this."It was very nice of Chaplain Stewart and Lieutenant Commander Kyle to arrange housing on the base for us, wasn’t it?" she asked softly."Very nice," he repeated. He wondered how many strings his CO had had to pull to come up with that. The news had come as a surprise to Richard , who’d lived in a small apartment complex for the past two years."When will we be moving?""Soon.""How soon?"Hell, first he couldn’t get her to talk, now he couldn’t shut her up. "Next weekend.""Good. Packing will give me something to do while you’re gone during the day. Once we’ve moved, I’ll look for a job.""I don’t want you doing any lifting, you hear?" She flinched at his harsh tones, and he regretted speak
I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.""Obviously," he retorted, trapped in his anger. "No one in their right mind would do this to themselves. The question is, what the hell are we going to do about it now?""Oh, don’t worry. It isn’t necessary for you to marry me. I don’t know what ever made Dad suggest that."She seemed so damn smug about it, and that riled him all the more."Apparently your father feels differently. He seems to think my marrying you would salvage your honor."She nodded. Her hair was tied at her nape, giving Richard a clear view of the delicate lines of her face. As pale as she was, she resembled a porcelain doll, fragile and easily breakable. She looked dangerously close to that point right then."My father is an old-fashioned man with traditional values. Marriage is what he would expect.""What do you expect?" His tone was less harsh, his concern for her outweighing his irritation.Isabella placed her hand on her smooth stomach as though she longed to protect
She woke when her father made a sharp turn and eased to a stop in front of a guard house. He rolled down the window, and a blast of cold air alerted Isabella to the fact they’d arrived at their destination. She straightened and looked around. Although she’d never been on one before, she recognized immediately that they were entering a military compound. "Dad?" she quizzed. "Where are we?""Bangor," he announced a little too loudly. "We’re meeting Richard Jones."In Chaplain Stewart’s office Riley sat, ramrod straight, across the room from Isabella Brown and her stern-faced father. Richard gaze narrowed as he fired a look in her direction. Not once did she deign to glance his way. She sat, her back as rigid as his own, but although she held her head high, her gaze refused to meet his. Perhaps it was just as well.First thing the previous morning, Richard had been called before his commanding officer. When he arrived, he’d discovered Chaplain Stewart and Lieutenant Commander Steven Kyl
Richard blamed himself still. He feared he’d frightened her so badly that she’d fled in horror. Had he hurt her? She’d been so tight and so small. It was all he could do not to slam his fist into the wall every time he thought about their brief encounter, which was damn near every minute of every day. What had happened to her since? Was she sick? Alone? Frightened? Pregnant?He’d been in control of their encounter until she’d kissed him. Now it was weeks later and he still reeled at the memory of the gentle, shy way in which she’d pressed her lips to his. He cursed how he could close his eyes and continue to taste her. How sweet she’d been. How warm and delicate. Her lips had molded to his, and her flavor reminded him of cotton candy. That alone was enough to torment him, but it wasn’t all. Her fragrance continued to obsess him. It wasn’t a commercial one he could name. The only way he could think to describe it was to imagine walking waist-deep in a field of wildflowers.The woman ha