A Secret Love (new chapter every weekend)

Chapter 9

Daisy had just finished work for the day and was shutting down her computer when her cell phone rang. She grabbed the phone from the desktop and checked the caller ID. It was her mom. She accepted the call.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hello, sweetie," Gayle said. "I'm not interrupting your work, am I? I can call back."

"I'm done for the day," Daisy informed her, closing the laptop.

"Oh, good." Gayle said. "Listen, honey. Your gran is feeling a little under the weather, so we're canceling the family dinner."

"What's wrong with her?" Daisy inquired.

"Her blood pressure is a little low," Gayle responded. "She's feeling a bit dizzy and has an upset stomach."

Concerned, Daisy asked, "Has she talked to her doctor?"

"Yes, and he wants to see her tomorrow afternoon," Gayle said. "In the meantime she needs to rest. If she starts feeling worse, he told her to go to the ER."

"Is there anything I can do for her or you?" Daisy queried. "I can bring you dinner."

"It's sweet of you to volunteer, but we have everything we need," Gayle assured her. "You take care of that husband of yours and don't worry about us."

"I can take care of him and worry about you and Gran at the same time," Daisy said. "I know how to multi-task."

Gayle laughed softly. "Yes, you do."

"By the way, Shawn knows that Jason and I got married," Daisy told her. "He stopped by last night. Jason sat him down and told him. He took the news better than I thought he would."

"I'm so glad." Gayle said. "Well, honey. I'm going to let you go. I will see you and Jason in the morning, when we meet with Mr. Forrester."

"Give Gran a hug for me," Daisy said. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Daisy ended the call and pushed back her chair. She left the office and made her way to the kitchen. As she was passing through the foyer the doorbell rang. She walked over to the door and peered through the peephole. It was Jason's sister.

Unlocking the door, Daisy opened it. She took one look at Kimber's face and knew something was wrong.

"Can we talk," Kimber uttered softly.

"Of course." Daisy took her hand and pulled her into the house. She closed the door and wrapped an arm around her sister-in-law. "Let's go to the kitchen. I need to figure out what to make for dinner."

In the kitchen Kimber took a seat at the island while Daisy searched the freezer for ideas on what to make for dinner. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"I'm pregnant," Kimber said.

Slowly, Daisy shut the freezer door and turned around. When she saw that Kimber was close to tears she hurried around the island and embraced her. "Oh, sweetie. Don't cry, please."

"What am I going to do?" Kimber buried her face against Daisy's shoulder. "I'm not ready to have a baby."

"Oh, honey," Daisy said. "Not many people are ready. Have you told your ex?"

"Yes." Kimber sniffled. "Jared doesn't believe the baby is his. He told me when the baby is born he'll do a paternity test. Until then he told me to leave him alone."

"Bastard." Daisy rubbed her back in comforting circles. "How far along are you?"

"Five weeks." Kimber sat back with a heavy sigh. "I called Mom and told her."

Daisy had a feeling Mrs. Cooper hadn't taken the news well. Kimber's next words confirmed her suspicions.

"She told me to stop whining, that it was my fault I got pregnant." Kimber dug a crumpled tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. "She said I should have taken more precautions to make sure I didn't get knocked up. I made my bed and now I have to lie in it."

Daisy gritted her teeth as a surge of anger swept over her. "I don't want you to listen to your mom. The truth is she doesn't have the right to put her two cents in. She hasn't been here for you in a long time."

Kimber massaged her stomach. "Do you have any ginger ale?"

"Feeling nauseated?"

"Yeah," Kimber mumbled.

"I don't have any ginger ale, but I do have ginger snaps," Daisy said.

"That will work."

Daisy disappeared into the walk-in pantry and came back with a bag of cookies. She handed them to Kimber. "I know things are scary and overwhelming right now. That's why you shouldn't make any decisions until you've had time to calm down."

"I know I don't want an abortion." Kimber nibbled on a cookie. "I just don't know if I want to keep the baby or give it up for adoption."

"Like I said, you shouldn't make any decisions until you're in the right frame of mind," Daisy said. "You have plenty of time to decide what you want to do."

Kimber smiled weakly. "Instead of calling Mom, I should've called you."

Daisy returned her smile. "I'm always here for you. You don't have to go through this pregnancy alone. Jason will be here for you too."

"I'm scared to tell him," Kimber whispered. "What if he's disappointed in me?"

"You know he won't be," Daisy said. "And you know he won't judge you. If anything, he will be concerned about you. Then he'll want to beat the crap out of Jared."

Kimber groaned. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Don't worry." Daisy patted her hand. "I won't let him anywhere near your ex."

"Thank you."

"If you would like, I'll tell him about the baby for you," Daisy volunteered.

"That would be great." Kimber hugged her. "Thank you, Daisy. It's easy to see why my brother loves you so much. You have such a big heart."

Daisy's breath caught in her throat. "Jason loves me?"

Kimber winced. "I shouldn't have said that."

"How long?" Daisy asked quietly.

"Jason has been in love with you for years," Kimber admitted. "He didn't act on his feelings out of respect for Shawn. Please don't tell him I told you."

Daisy cleared her throat. "I won't say a word."

"Thanks," Kimber exhaled. "I think I'm going to go home and curl up with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a rom-com."

"Call me if you need anything," Daisy said.

"I will." Kimber squeezed her hand. "Thanks for listening. It helped."

"Anytime, sweetie."

Kimber left, the sound of the front door opening and closing signaling that Daisy was alone again. She stared at the wall, her thoughts turning to her husband.

A/N: Thank you for your support. I appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a great weekend! :)