Chapter 13
It was the first day of autumn and it was already starting to feel cold, which was unusual for the normally mild climate of Landview. Usually, it didn't start to get cold until at least November and it was only mid-October.
Brock had the day off from work and he almost wished he didn't. Lucy had gone on another needless shopping spree which meant he had the entire house to himself. It was always so quiet with her gone and it just made him think more of how much he wanted children.
Someone to make a little noise and cause a little disorder in the quiet stillness. Every creak and crack could be heard throughout the big empty house.
He sat on the edge of his bed and pulled open his sock drawer to examine the ring that Neal had mysteriously recovered from the dark depths of the harbor. Laying back on his bed, he held it between his fingers and just stared at it, imagining what might have been if he had just had the courage to tell her how he felt back then.
The sound of the front door was jarring and he quickly put the ring away and closed the drawer. Lucy was home and she was on her way upstairs with tons of shopping bags. She smiled at him when she entered the room as she watched him sprawled out on the bed.
"I was going to hit one more store…" Lucy informed him with a giggle. "But I remembered it was your day off from the hospital." She crawled on top of him. "And I figured you might be lonely, so I came rushing home."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, then started to unbutton his shirt. His hands tugged at her shirt and she helped him lift it over her head. His hand reached around her to unclasp her bra and he felt her tug at his belt.
He tangled his fingers in her hair and trailed his hands down her body. She closed her eyes and sat back, welcoming him into her. His eyes were focused on her body, but his mind had drifted. This lacked the passion he craved. The passion he could only get from the one girl who wouldn't talk to him.
Brock felt her hands on her chest and he closed his eyes, but it didn't feel the same. She wasn't Misty. She never would be. And fantasizing about her wasn't doing the job anymore. Not since he had actually been with her.
His imagination could never duplicate something that wonderful.
His cell phone rang on the nightstand and he looked over, but Lucy forced him to look at her. "It's not important." She growled sensual, bringing one his hands to her breast. He squeezed it and smiled.
"What if it's work?"
"That's what voicemail is for."
Lucy threw back her head and ran her fingers over the contour of his muscles. His hard body felt warm to the touch and she moaned out his name softly, reveling in the sensation of him. He was like a god.
His cell phone rang again and she snapped her eyes open, looking at him with agitation. "Turn that thing off…"
Sighing, he reached over and dragged it from the nightstand, preparing to turn off the ringer and forget about it. But the name that appeared on the screen made him hesitate. It was Misty.
After three weeks of not speaking to him, it was Misty. He couldn't pass up this opportunity to speak to her. He had to answer. "It's work." He told Lucy breathlessly.
Rolling her eyes, Lucy rolled off of him and settled down next to him.
"Hello?" He answered, feeling Lucy nuzzle his neck with her nose.
"Brock, it's me…" Misty's voice quivered and she sounded upset. His heart began to race, but not because of his wife.
"Hey, uh…what's up?"
"Brock, I have to tell you something and you have to promise me you're going to get mad." She said and he felt his heart plummet.
"Oh…ok. I promise." He swallowed hard and prepared himself for the worst. She was going to tell him she found a boyfriend, that she had moved on. He just knew that was going to come out of her mouth next. He wasn't sure how, but he just knew…and then--
"I'm pregnant."
He sat up quickly and Lucy looked up him completely confused.
"Whoa! Are…you…serious?"
"Don't be stupid, Brock!" She yelled over the receiver. "I wouldn't joke about this! I'm pregnant….I found out this morning."
He rubbed the back of his head and looked down at the rest of his body. His arousal had been completely lost and he stood up, gathering his clothes.
"Brock!" Lucy's hollered at him, crawling across the bed as if to stop him. "Where are you going? We're in the middle of having sex! Tell them you'll be in later."
"It's an emergency." Brock cradled the phone between his cheek and shoulder.
"Oh…you're…you were…with Lucy?" Misty stammered over her question, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed. What a time to call and deliver the news. She knew she should have done it in person. Or perhaps, not at all.
"Listen, I'll be there as fast as I can. Where are you?"
"Violet's house."
"Don't go anywhere." He hung up before she could protest and he grabbed his shirt from the floor. "I have to go."
"You're not going to work…" She stood up and wrapped herself in her robe. "I don't know what's going on, but I've never seen you in such a hurry just to go off to work."
Brock stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her. "Look, I don't have time to explain right now. I just have to go…"
Misty looked out to see his truck pull into the driveway behind Lance's car. She took note of how worn out, rusty and dirty Brock's truck was and she wondered why he never drove his Ferrari.
She stood on the front porch and tried to convince herself she wouldn't run inside and hide from him. Her entire body quivered when she saw him step out of his truck and he closed the door with a loud creak.
"Brock…" Her voice cracked with the threat of tears behind it and before she knew what was happening she was being pulled into his embrace. His strong arms were around her waist and he pressed her into him, stroking his hands through her long hair and then rested them on her hips.
God, she missed him.
"Everything's alright," he whispered softly, pulling back to look at her. "I'm going to take care of you."
Suddenly, she tore herself away from him. "That's what I was afraid of! I didn't want you to come all the way out here! Especially when I can smell Lucy's perfume all over you!" She growled and folded her arms. "You like torturing me, don't you?"
"I didn't think about that…" Brock looked down at his clothes. He should have changed, but he didn't have time. "Misty, look, the important thing is, is that I'm here."
"I don't want you here," she lied and looked anywhere but his gaze. "Just go back to Landview. I don't want to see you."
"Oh yea?" He stepped in front of the door to block her from making an exit. "Then why did you call me? If you didn't want me here, or you didn't want to see me, you would have kept this a secret for God knows how long." He stepped closer to her and she moved back. "So, you're lying."
"I figured you'd like to know when you're bringing a child into the world. I didn't think you'd stop…whatever you were doing and come all the way out here." She felt hot all over and she tied her hair back into a lose ponytail, letting a few strands frame her face. "Please, just go away before Violet sees you."
"She doesn't know?"
"Of course she doesn't know!" Misty rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I'm going to tell anyone I am having a baby by a married man?"
Brock grabbed her hands and looked down at her. "I'm leaving Lucy…"
Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. "No, Brock. I don't want you to do that."
"I have to."
"I don't want you to be with me just because you got me pregnant, Brock." She backed away from him, as if she was afraid for him to touch her. "I'd rather be alone than that. Really."
"It's not because you're pregnant." Brock shoved both fists in his pockets. He knew she obviously didn't want to be touched or comforted right now. "It's because I'm in love with you."
She slapped him across the face.
"You're a fucking liar."
He touched his burning cheek and blinked his eyes back into focus. "What was that for?"
"You were just fucking her when I called! Now you're feeding me this bullshit about being in love with me! You're so full of shit!" She saw he was still blocking the front door so she headed for the porch steps and planned on escaping through the backdoor, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him quite roughly.
Her back was pressed against the wall and he was kissing her just like he had that night on the beach before he made love to her. He was touching her like he had that night in the hotel room. Everything was so invitingly familiar and invigorating that she couldn't help but kiss him back.
His hair felt soft between her fingers and she could feel the muscles of his torso as he pressed himself against her. She felt the urge to cry again. This is exactly why she didn't want to see him; she was too emotionally attached.
He slowly parted from her and she allowed him to rest his forehead against hers. He watched her chest rise and fall with each exhale against his and he brushed the lose hair back from her face.
"I know I've hurt you. I can see that. But just give me the chance to say I'm sorry." His voice cracked and it was the first glimpse of emotion she had never seen him show. Did he mean it? Or was he just a good actor?
Misty looked up at him and pulled his hands off her shoulders. "I can't handle this affair any longer, Brock. It's breaking my heart. I don't want to break up your marriage. What kind of person would I be if I did that?"
"What about this baby?" He placed his hand on her stomach as if to feel it, even though he knew he couldn't.
"Baby?"
Both of them froze by the inquisitive male voice behind them. It was Lance who had walked from around the back of the house. Misty and Brock exchanged a glance.
"Uhm, we were just…" Misty started to speak, but couldn't think of an excuse. She looked up to Brock for help.
"Hey Lance. How's it going?" Brock offered him a handshake by the red-haired man pushed it away.
"I'm not stupid, Harrison." Lance muttered, folding his arms. "What's going on here? Are you pregnant, Misty?"
It wasn't until then that both of them realized the way they were standing. His hand on her stomach with her hand tightly clutching his. Of course it looked that way because that's exactly what was going on.
The only problem was, she knew Lance would tell her to leave if he found out she was pregnant. And Violet wouldn't bother fighting him.
"Lance, I can explain…" Misty started but he held up his hands.
"Look, I agreed, against my will, to let you live in this house. You're quiet and not a half bad housekeeper, but I refuse to have a child in the house unless it's my own."
Brock clenched his fist. "What's you're problem? How can you kick a pregnant woman out like that? It's getting cold."
"Maybe she shouldn't have gotten pregnant by her gay husband." Lance chuckled and grinned. "Anyone with a brain could see he was gay. Apparently, Carrot Top lacks one."
"I could say the very same thing to you!" Misty stomped her foot and stood up to him.
"I might be a red-head, but I'm not pregnant and divorced either." His taunting laugh was cut-short when he felt his back hit the brick wall.
"If you get Misty upset and cause her to have a miscarriage, I'll kill you. With my bare hands," Brock clutched him by the collar of his shirt and shook him. "leave her alone!"
Lance grabbed his fists and tried to pull his powerful grip away from his neck. "Why are you so concerned, Harrison? It's Ketchum's kid. Don't try to play hero just so you can get in her pants."
"You son of a bitch!" He slammed him against the wall and Lance started to struggle free. "Don't talk about Misty like that."
The front door opened and Violet saw what was happening. "Brock? Oh my God! What's going on?" She pounded Brock in the shoulder with her fist, but he didn't budge.
"Brock, stop it! Let him go!" Misty begged him, but he didn't flinch.
"Do you know what this asshole threatened to do to your little sister?" Brock didn't let him go, but he looked over at Violet, who was apparently clueless. "He's threatened to kick her out on the street because she's pregnant and I'll be damned if I let that happen."
Lance kicked his legs. "Oh, come off it, Harrison! It's not even you're fucking kid!"
"It is my kid!" He pushed the other man tightly against the wall and finally let him go.
Violet rubbed Lance's back as he staggered to regain his composure. He shot Brock a hateful glare.
"Misty," Her sister looked over at her curiously. "you're pregnant? You didn't tell me that."
Misty brushed a tear from her eyes. "I just found out this morning. I didn't want to tell anyone because I knew Lance would react like this."
"Or maybe you didn't want to tell anyone because you were fucking a married man!" Lance shot her a scrutinizing glare, but recoiled when he made eye contact with Brock.
"Lance, go back inside the house! Now!" Violet scolded him and turned back to Misty as he retreated back in. "Misty, you don't have to leave. Lance is being a total jerk. You know you're always welcome here."
She shook her head and hugged her knees to her chest. "No. I don't want to live with him. I'll find a job and rent an apartment in Landview."
"Misty, you can't possibly expect to work full time while you're pregnant. That's totally not healthy for the baby - or you -" Her older sister looked up at Brock. "Convince her to say here. I can totally get Lance to calm down."
"Actually, Violet, I think it's best of Misty comes back and lives with me." It wasn't a suggestion, it was more a demand.
"Brock!" Misty stood up. "What about Lucy?"
"Yea? What about Lucy?" Brock shook his head. "I don't care about what Lucy wants. I own that house and I pay the bills. If I say you can stay with me, you can stay with me."
She opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it and sighed, as if to surrender. She really didn't see any other option.
"Are you sure about this?" Misty finally asked, standing awkwardly on the porch. How did she get herself into this kind of mess?
"Of course I'm sure. Go wait in the truck. I'll go up and get your bags." He watched her until she safely got inside the truck and he turned back to Violet. "I'm taking you know everything that's going on between Misty and I?"
"Totally. Like, sisters know everything." She winked at him and led him inside, thankful to see that Lance was pouting in the living room in front of a football game. He wouldn't try and start trouble with Brock.
Violet began packing Misty's clothes and other belongings. "Brock?"
"Yea?"
"I just want to let you know that Misty's my baby sister. I don't want her to get hurt." She told him, zipping up one bag.
"I won't hurt her, Violet. I wouldn't be here if I didn't care." He stood awkwardly by the door entrance as she brought him several bags. She held a couple in her hands while he carried the majority. "I want to be with her, but she's not making this easy."
"She wouldn't be Misty if she made it easy." Violet gave him a smile and led him down the stairs and out the front door.
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