Clifford Arbor: Savouring Emily Read online

  His hands shook and he glanced down at their hands together. Chase knew his feelings for Lawrence were changing. They were growing with every day. He no longer viewed him as just a friend but also as a potential lover. Chase imagined he was the one fucking Lawrence when he had Emily in his arms. The connection so strong it was like having his lips against his own.

  Emily meant so much more to them. She was a bridge that connected all three of them together.

  Chase rubbed his thumb along his friend’s fingers and for a few seconds he could imagine there was more between them than Emily.

  Without giving any more thought to his plan he stood up and walked to where she was serving a tourist couple.

  Clifford Arbor accepted the relationships within its seaside town but it was acted on with discretion when tourists were around. He stood behind her until she spun and smiled at him.

  His heart pounded inside his chest and feeling light-headed and dizzy he got onto his knee.

  Emily placed the coffee jug carefully on the table. Without taking his eyes off her he grabbed her hand.

  “Emily, I love you. Always have and always will. When you left I thought a part of me had died and gone to hell. Since you’ve come back I can’t see a future without you in it. I’m not very good at speeches and I suck at everything else. I can only really tell you how much I love and intend to love you for the rest of my life. So with that in mind I would very much like the honor of you becoming my wife.”

  Chase brought the ring up for her to see. His hand was shaking and he couldn’t hold the box steady. He heard her gasp. Tears were pouring out of her eyes.

  "Are the tears good sign?” he called out to the room. Emily started laughing and with a jerk of the head he took as confirmation. “Is that a yes? Baby, be sure because once you give me your answer there ain’t no turning back,” he warned.

  “Yes. I love you so much.” Chase spun her around and Lawrence joined them.

  “We’ll all get married together,” he whispered against her ear. She nodded and accepted the offer of congratulations from everyone else. Chase shook hands with his best friend.

  His life was about to change and he couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

  Chapter Eleven

  One year later...

  Emily glanced out at the vegetable garden. Chase was out with his little wicker basket uprooting potatoes and carrots. She also saw some of his tomatoes and cucumbers. He loved his garden and she loved watching him bend and work. Chase always took off his shirt and she saw the love heart tattoo on his chest. Lawrence was the name at the top above the heart, Chase’s name was at the bottom and in the center of the heart was her name. She loved that ink more than all the rest. The other tats were great but that monster he’d gotten on their honeymoon. As part of their celebration they’d all gotten tattoos. She had a dragon inked on the base of her back. The boys liked to call it her tramp stamp. Lawrence got fancy writing of their names down his arm.

  A very outrageous thing to do but one she’d enjoyed every minute.

  She took a bite out of her apple and watched his muscles ripple as one plant was tough in coming out of the ground. A laugh escaped her when he fell back onto his ass. Lawrence was out at the shop. She’d finally managed to convince Chase he could get some bare essentials like bread and milk. So far Lawrence hadn’t let her down.

  A hand pressed to her stomach when she thought of the news she’d gotten that morning. A few months ago she’d started having the flu and after a few weeks she’d recovered to feeling right as rain. About a week or two afterward, she’d been vomiting in the morning and had a few other side effects. She’d gone to the doctors to find out what was the wrong and they’d said she was pregnant. Emily hadn’t believed them and demanded further investigation. She wanted her blood and urine samples tested before she’d tell her men about the problem.

  Her doctor had phoned a few hours ago. She needed to take folic acid of which she had a prescription to pick up and another appointment had been booked to monitor her pregnancy.

  Chase moved around his garden and she laughed when he scared a bird away from his seedlings. She didn’t know how to approach bringing up the baby. Lawrence and Chase loved her but babies had never been discussed.

  She ran a hand through her hair and took another bite of her fruit.

  Emily moved through the house and went to stand in the kitchen when she heard the front door slam at the same time as the back door. Her men were home.

  She braced herself for the upcoming argument.

  “Fucking hell. It’s a mad house out there. Everywhere you bloody turn one person after another is barging past. I know we love tourists but the way they act it's as if they own the bloody town,” Lawrence complained dumping several bags on the counter

  Chase took his basket to the sink. He kissed her on the way past and squeezed her hip.

  Did he know?

  “Don’t even thinking of unloading that crap into my kitchen before I see what you’ve bought?” he told Lawrence. Emily hid her smile behind her apple.

  “I’ll have you know I own a third of this house and so a third of this kitchen is mine.” When they’d gotten married, Chase and Lawrence had told her she was going on the deeds of the house. She’d told them she didn’t care about what they owned or the house as long as she stayed with them. On this matter they hadn’t been deterred. Both men had wanted her protected against everything.

  The unwrapping of the bought goods began. “You brought cheap bread? I told you to get a proper loaf. You know one I can cut? Where’s the wholemeal bread?”

  Emily snorted. Chase with all his ink didn’t look half as scary when he began talking ingredients.

  “I bought what was available. If you don’t like the taste either toast it or put it into breadcrumbs.”

  Every time without fail.

  “How fresh is this fruit?”

  “For fuck’s sake, Chase. It’s fruit. As fresh as they put it on their shelves. Now, for you my lovely lady.” Lawrence produced a box of chocolates and handed them over to Emily.

  She smiled and thanked him with a kiss.

  “Next time I’ll go to the nearest field and milk the fucking cow if you have a problem with what the shops sell. In case you haven’t noticed, Chase, we live in a town nowhere near a city.”

  “I’m pregnant,” she interrupted. Their argument could go on for several hours and she wanted to get this revelation off her chest. She needed to know what they thought and felt about her upcoming motherhood.

  Both men paused before turning to her. “Is this some joke to stop us arguing?” Chase asked.

  Emily shook her head. “No. The doctor confirmed it this morning.”

  Chase ran his fingers through his hair while Lawrence looked a little bewildered. She fingered her wedding band while she waited for their reactions. So far from their silence things didn’t look good.

  “Is the doctor sure? It isn’t one of those false positive pregnancy tests?”

  “She’s sure. Positive in fact. I’ve got to go and pick up a prescription for some pills and then arrange an appointment.” Emily smiled, shaken.

  You’re pregnant. You’re about to have a baby. Another human life. Can you begin to live with that?

  She pushed away the insecurities.

  “Are you happy about this?” Lawrence asked. He moved forward and cupped her face.

  “I don’t know. A little scared about what this might mean but I want us all to be happy.”

  ****

  Chase stared at Emily. He felt like the world had just sucker punched him in the gut. She was so tiny. A baby. A life was growing inside her. His hands shook. Women could die during childbirth. He’d seen it on the news and read about it in those awful magazines they kept lying around.

  “We’ll always be happy,” he said. Lawrence held her in his arms and he wanted to do nothing more than embrace her.

  Chase was happy. Deliriously so. However, a tight fist of
fear gripped him. On the one hand he was the happiest man alive. His time with Emily and Lawrence had been unbelievable. The love he felt for her and his friend was unlike anything he’d ever imagined. Having a baby would stabilize their relationship and be something to keep them firmly together.

  As with every good thought there was also the bad. What would happen if something happened to Emily? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

  “Do you want me to get rid of it?” he heard her ask.

  Her words and the tears forming in her eyes was enough to send him out of his trance. Whatever happened, he loved Emily and he did want a family with her.

  “Don’t ever talk like that,” he told her.

  Lawrence glanced over her head and he saw the same fear reflected in his eyes.

  “I want this baby. I’m just worried in case something bad happens to you,” he admitted.

  “Women have been doing this for centuries. Nothing is going to happen to me.” Chase held her in his arms and inhaled her delicious woman scent.

  He sent a prayer for her to be safe.

  Sometime later, after they’d collected her tablets and booked another appointment, Chase was boiling up some potatoes. Emily was resting in the sitting room and Lawrence came in and sat watching him.

  While she’d been waiting for her medication, Chase and Lawrence had emptied out the bookstore of most of the first baby style books. So far from the pictures alone he was already nervous.

  “How are you doing?” Lawrence asked.

  Chase cut a cross on the bottom of the tomato and chucked it into the boiling water. He used the fresh tomatoes out of his garden but he had to get the skins off. Shepherd’s pie was on the menu tonight.

  His meat was resting in a bowl on the side. Onions were cooking in some oil.

  “Hey, Chase. I’m talking to you,” Lawrence said.

  With a slotted spoon he pulled out the tomatoes and while they were still hot he peeled the skin off. The heat burned the tip of his fingers. He welcomed the pain from the food. It helped him to deal with the pain in his heart. Once all were peeled he began to slice. The motion of the knife calming his erratic thoughts.

  “For fuck’s sake. Stop ignoring me,” Lawrence cursed.

  Chase slammed his knife down on the board and looked over at him friend. “What do you want me to say? That I’m completely happy with this situation? In case you didn’t notice, Emily is fucking tiny. She’s expected to carry a baby to full term?”

  His hands were shaking and instead of continuing on with the conversation he finished slicing his tomatoes before he added his meat to the sauted onions in the pan. Cooking helped him to think. The actions of making food allowed him to stop the panic so close to the surface.

  “So, you’re just going to ignore her condition until she goes into labor?”

  He slammed the bowl down and scowled at his friend. “Cooking helps to calm me. I want this baby as much as you and Emily. I just don’t want it if it risks her life. This is helping me, Lawrence. I’m not being stubborn or ignoring you. This is how I deal with the facts of life.”

  His garden and cooking is what had helped him when Emily left all that time ago. He stirred the meat through the onions and looked at the glinting wedding band on his hand. He bit his lip and refused to give into the need to cry.

  What Lawrence and Emily didn’t know was his own mother had lost a baby. Chase had been about ten and he remembered being excited about a brother or sister. One night an ambulance had taken his mum away. He and his two dads had travelled to the hospital and about five hours later he’d gone to see his mum. She’d been bawling her eyes out and her rounded stomach had been flat.

  She’d suffered a miscarriage around the fifth month. Not totally uncommon but for several years after that, life hadn’t been the same.

  He wouldn’t share his pain with his family. Chase couldn’t bring himself to think of the loss.

  “I’m scared too,” Lawrence admitted.

  “Then you know what I’m dealing with.”

  He was conscious of Lawrence watching him as he continued to make dinner. For the time being he could forget Emily was pregnant and deal with every day as it came.

  Chapter Twelve

  One month later Chase and Lawrence were sitting in the room while an ultrasound was being performed. Seeing the little heartbeat and the first stages of development made the situation more real.

  The midwife and doctor said her blood pressure was a little raised but that was to be expected. The start of a pregnancy could change how a woman thought and felt. She was about two months along.

  Lawrence loved seeing the slight swell of her tummy. After her appointment they dropped her off at the diner and drove over to the building site. The garage hadn’t had any business for the past couple of weeks.

  “I can’t believe she’s pregnant,” Chase said again. This time they were working at the building site. Harley was already there with and a few of the other men. They worked at the building site between jobs. At the moment not many cars were in need of being fixed.

  “I think she’ll look fantastic. Imagine how amazing she’ll look with her belly all swollen and her tits full. Do you think she’ll breastfeed our child?” Lawrence wanted to be there. He wanted to see the woman he loved nursing his son or daughter. Fucking hell, he cut the thought off. Walking onto the building site with a hard on wouldn’t be a good plan. Most of the men would think he was having dreams about them. Egotistical fuckers.

  “She’s small, Lawrence. What happens if something goes wrong?” Chase wasn’t seeing the good in her pregnancy. Lawrence clapped a hand on his shoulder.

  “Whatever happens we’ll be together and that’s all that matter. Besides, most women deal with pregnancy rather well and Emily is one tough woman.”

  “I know but I can’t help but think something is going to go wrong,” Chase said finally voicing his concerns.

  “She’ll always have us no matter what happens.”

  They walked over to where Harley was talking with the Jeffrey boys.

  “I’m only saying. You shouldn’t have any prior claim over the lovely Raven Peters,” Carl complained.

  Chase and Lawrence shook hands with Harley and stood off to one side while Harley had it out with the brothers. Chase went to go and get some coffee. Lawrence watched him go and knew how much the man he loved was suffering. Emily would be alright. At least he hoped she would. He didn’t know how women dealt with pregnancy but there must be something they did to keep them going.

  He watched the cock fight happening between Carl and Harley and noted Edward stood off to the side. The guy didn’t want this Raven woman anyone could see that. Chase brought him back a black coffee and he didn’t have it in him to tell him he liked milk. He sipped the dark bitter liquid and dealt with his troubled friend.

  Soon Jackson Cole had joined the group. Everyone who knew the two men, knew that they were lovers. Their relationship had kicked started when Jackson’s younger brother had been killed by Harley’s ex-wife Patricia. The six men gathered around.

  "So what is everyone discussing?" Jackson asked. Lawrence glanced over at Chase.

  "Emily is pregnant." Chase and Lawrence answered him simultaneously, both looking worried.

  "Congratulations." Jackson shook each of their hands. Lawrence didn’t want to show his fear but every second he thought about Emily and her slight frame he thought of the problems that could occur.

  Both men smiled at Jackson.

  "What’s the matter?"

  "You’ve seen how small Emily is, can you imagine her bringing a full sized baby into this world. The doctor already said she is going to keep an eye on the size of the baby in case of any problems. Emily is ecstatic but I’m scared to death. What if something happens to her?" Chase sighed.

  "It’ll work out," Harley tried to console.

  Chase and Lawrence nodded. Lawrence grabbed Chase by the arm and moved them away from the group of men. He knew ta
lking wasn’t doing any of them any good.

  “Why don’t we call her?” he suggested.

  “No. I don’t want her to get upset.” Chase sipped his coffee and looked at the mobile phone.

  “Well, if you’re not going to call the woman we love to make sure she’s alright then I’ll do it.” Lawrence dialed her number and waited for her to answer. The diner would be open but Mavis let her employees take calls.

  “Hello,” she said as soon as she answered.

  “How are you doing beautiful?” he responded with a smile on his face.

  “Shouldn’t you guys be lifting bricks or doing something constructive?” He chuckled and glanced over at his friend. He saw the longing and knew he needed to hear her voice. “I’ve got a guy here who is fearing for your life. He thinks something bad has happened to you. Will you talk to him and promise him you’re safe?”

  “Put him on the phone. This is insane. I’m not that far along and he should trust me. Women have been doing this for years.”

  He chuckled and handed the phone to his friend. It didn’t matter how long women have been going through childbirth, Chase would still worry.

  “Hi,” Chase whispered. Lawrence watched as a blush developed along the other man’s cheeks. Obviously he was getting scolded by the smaller woman.

  Chase handed the phone back after five minutes.

  “Please tell him not to worry about me. I’m fine and this will all be okay and in seven or so months he’ll be holding a son or daughter,” she asked him.

  Lawrence smiled. His heart melting when he thought of the baby they’d all made.

  “Will do. I love you.”

  “Love you both.” She hung up the phone.

  “Don’t even think of telling me something else. I know what she said,” Chase warned.

  At that moment Chase and Lawrence watched Patricia—Harley’s ex—walk onto the building site.

  They were poised and ready for business. There was no way that little bitch was going to ruin the happiness one of their friends had found.