Chapter Ten
“What do you think you’re doing Laura?” Lucas spat to the redhead, who he’d dated months before him and Amy had become involved.
She’d walked into his office moments before, with her famous pouting expression, stating they needed to have a talk. He’d told her there was nothing to talk about but she’d come around his desk and sat in front of him, spreading her legs open, so he had no choice but to notice she was wearing nothing underneath her far too short skirt.
He couldn’t believe at one time he had desired her. She was as fake as Amy was real and he wanted her out of his office immediately.
“You need to get out. There’s nothing left between us,” he said between clenched teeth as he backed his chair away from her. “You also know I’m a married man now and no longer on the market,” he finished.
She’d just smiled at him with what she thought was a seductive stare and ripped open her shirt to show her ample breasts spilling out of her bra.
He’d stood up to physically escort her from the room, when she wrapped herself around him and locked her lips to his. He was so shocked; he stood there for a few seconds before his hands came up to her waist and pushed her from him.
“Baby, you know you want me,” she said sounding falsely hurt. He was done with her games. He marched over to his desk and pushed a single button. “Security, I need you in my office immediately,” he said into the speaker.
Within a minute, two large men came into the room to see the still half naked woman trying to wrap herself around their boss. “Please escort this woman to the outside of the building and never let her in again,” he said tightly, barely able to control his rage.
“Yes, Mr. Anderson, right away,” they replied professionally, while each of them took one of her arms and led her away from him.
Lucas sat back in his chair and then rested his hands on his head. All he could think was thank God his wife wasn’t there to have witnessed that situation. He was sure she would’ve thought he’d invited the woman.
She had good reason to be insecure in their marriage, as he’d been shutting her out lately. He’d pushed her further away with their intimacy reaching such a high level. He sat there as the realization he was in love with Amy washed over him.
Suddenly it didn’t feel like a burden at all.
He loved his wife.
She loved him.
They were going to have a child together.
Suddenly all he wanted was to go home and wrap her up in his arms and tell her repeatedly how much she meant to him. He was done pushing her out of his life. He started to get up to head for the door, but remembered he had to finish what he was working on. The contract was due that evening and he was almost finished.
One more hour would make no difference, even though it felt like a lifetime. He quickly got back to work so he could be on his way home. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face. He would stop for some roses on the way. He realized he had yet to purchase any for her.
Amy couldn’t keep the tears from falling as she drove from the office to her beautiful home. She sat there in the car, staring at the place with a deep sadness, knowing she would never sleep there again in the arms of her husband. How could he have cheated on her? She’d given him her body freely and her love as well.
She pulled herself together enough to walk inside. She slowly climbed the stairs leading to their bedroom and once again a few tears slipped from her eyes. It wouldn’t take her long to pack up; as she wouldn’t take anything she didn’t consider hers exclusively.
She packed up some clothes and baby items and then took the case back to her room. She looked around with one last glance and then took off her wedding ring. She sat at the vanity and wrote her husband a note.
She set her ring on top of the letter, grabbed her suitcases and walked out the door without allowing herself to look back again.
She had no idea where she was heading or what she was going to do when she got there. She just knew she had to get away. She was so afraid if he came through those doors and wrapped his arms around her she would melt and beg him to love her and to not run to the arms of another woman. She’d already given him her heart; she had nothing left to offer him. She had nothing he wanted.
Amy drove onto the freeway and started to drive south. After a few hours she was passing through Salem and it didn’t feel far enough away. She was starting to feel a little bit sore though and pulled over at a rest stop to stretch out. She wanted to call up Tom and talk to him but he was at work and she was too afraid that Lucas would overhear the conversation. She would have to call him later because she really needed a friend right then.
She got on the road again and continued driving further south. Suddenly she was in Springfield, which was next to Eugene. She’d always wanted to go there so she took the next exit and ended up downtown.
She pulled off the freeway into the business district and started to look around for a cheap hotel.
She passed the Hilton and shook her head. That was beyond her price range at the moment.
Finally she found a little dive of a place and pulled in.
She walked inside, more tired than she could remember being in a very long while. The man behind the counter was leering at her and frightened her a bit with his missing teeth and foul odor.
“I would like a room for the night please,” she asked quietly.
“Do you have a credit card,” he hacked out at her.
“No, I have cash,” she responded not wanting to use her credit card and not trusting the man to have her information.
“Well, we normally require a credit card in case you steal anything...” He leered again.
“Oh, then I guess I’ll have to find another place,” she stated calmly, even though she felt as if she was going to fall over at any moment.
“I guess we can do it on cash this time,” he said a bit desperately. She wasn’t going to stay in the place if there was not a double lock on the door. She didn’t trust the guy at all.
“Thank you,” Amy responded and then filled out the necessary paperwork, received her key, grabbed her car and drove to the parking spot in front of her door.
She wearily got out of the rig, grabbed her suitcase and then opened the door. She gasped a little bit at the smell of cigarettes and stale beer. She sighed and stepped inside. She was too scared to even open a window as the neighborhood she was in didn’t seem the safest. She was not going to be Mrs. Anderson anymore and would have to get used to life like it had been before her marriage.
She didn’t really care about the room; she was just so empty from the betrayal of her husband cheating. She’d been in his arms the night before and then he was in the arms of another just a few short hours later. Thank goodness for her exhaustion because she fell into a restless sleep almost immediately.
“Well then where the hell did she go,” Lucas shouted to his cook Rosa. He knew it wasn’t her fault Amy was gone but he had no one else to take his fear and anger out on.
He’d come home, anticipating holding his wife in his arms. The roses were clutched to his chest.
He’d opened the door and called out to her. When there was no answer, he hadn’t felt panic yet, just headed up the stairs, where he figured she was taking a nap.
She’d been far more tired lately and he’d been worried about her health as well as that of his son’s. He smiled as he thought about the fact that he called the baby a boy and she called her a girl. Neither of them cared the sex of the baby, as long as he or she was healthy and safe.
He quietly stepped into their bedroom and looked around. He frowned slightly when she wasn’t there but then figured she was in the bathroom. He walked over to the door and she wasn’t in there either.
He was turning to walk back out and ask Rosa where she was, when he happened to glance over and saw her ring sitting on the table above a piece of paper. Instantly he was furious. She’d left him. He felt it. She’d told him she loved him and still walked out. He would drag her back no matter where she’d gone and then take his child from her and then he’d be the one leaving.
She wasn’t going to make him into a fool and leave him standing there alone and vulnerable.
She’d lied to him. She told him she loved him and then she walked out on him. He was sure she had taken all she could get her greedy little hands on in the process. The whole time she’d just played him.
He slowly walked over to the paper and looked down at it, not wanting to know what she’d written but unable to stop himself.
Lucas,
I’m so sorry you weren’t able to love me. I can’t help how much I have fallen in love with you, even though that was never the arrangement between us. I can no longer live here with you, while you are leaving me to be in the arms of another woman. I know you love our child and I will not try to keep her from you but I have to get away for the sake of my own health right now. I will contact you after the baby is born and we can arrange something at that time. I will return the car to you just as soon as I can get things worked out. I’m not trying to take it from you; I just had no other way to leave.
Amy
He read the note about ten times, not understanding what was going on. He wasn’t cheating on her. Why would she think he was? He went from anger to confusion in the space of a heartbeat.
He calmed down and re-read the note once again. He needed to find out what was going on and not just jump to conclusions.
He slowly walked down the stairs, almost as if he was in a trance. He walked into the kitchen where Rosa was cooking. “Hello Mr. Anderson, you’re home early today,” she said as if nothing was wrong. This attitude made his temper come to the front again.
“Have you seen my wife?” he asked with a bite to his voice. She turned towards him with her brows puckered. “She left a while ago,” she said perplexed, as if he should know this. That was when he shouted at her.
He immediately felt bad and calmed himself down. “I apologize Rosa,” he said. “It’s just that she’s gone and all I have is this note,” he said as he thrust the note in front of her.
She scanned the note and then her breath hitched as she re-read it. She looked up at Lucas with some suspicion on her face. He knew Amy had become friends with Rosa and the two of them spent a lot of time together.
“I didn’t cheat on my wife,” he began defending himself. He didn’t need to explain anything to her, but he didn’t like the censure he saw in her eyes. She immediately looked down, as if she knew she’d been glaring at her boss.
“It’s not my business,” she stated to him.
“Can you tell me where Amy has been today?” he asked Rosa.
“Didn’t you see her Mr. Anderson? I packed her up a lunch and she was bringing it into your office. She said she wanted to surprise you with a romantic lunch because you’ve had to work so late every night. She was very excited when she left,” she said.
“She came home much quicker than I had thought she would, but I assumed she’d just forgotten something, because she was only here for about fifteen minutes and then rushed back out the door without saying another word,” she finished.
Lucas suddenly sank down into the chair next to him. He felt like his legs wouldn’t hold him up any longer. “No,” he cried out with such devastation in his voice that Rosa put her hand on his shoulder.
He knew she must’ve come by the office when Laura was in there. If she’d been there at the right moment, it may have looked like he was having an affair. He slowly got to his feet. “I have to make some phone calls,” he said as he walked out of the room.
One hour later, he again cupped his head in his hands. He’d spoken with his security guards and found out that yes, she’d been there at noon and had left within five minutes. She’d been there only minutes before they’d escorted his unwanted visitor out.
So, she thought he was having an affair. It seemed to him that her not trusting him was a little convenient. Why had she not marched in and asked what he was doing? He assumed she was thinking she’d found him in the arms of another woman so she could get past the prenuptial agreement and take him for all he had. She thought wrong.
He called up the banks to find out how much she’d taken. After another half hour he hung up the phone and once again felt shame. She’d taken nothing. He’d put a trace on all the credit cards to find out where they’d been used and found she’d not used any of them.
Not only had she not used any of them today, but she hadn’t used them once since his mother and she had furnished the house. There were zero purchases. Why had he not paid attention to any of that? He hadn’t noticed that she hadn’t been out shopping, or gone anywhere.
He wandered into their bedroom once again, feeling an aching need for her to be there. He had liked going baby shopping with her. She was so excited about each new purchase. He thought back over those trips and how they would pass through the malls and she never even looked at the jewelry stores, or many fashion boutiques.
He looked into the small jewelry box his mother had given to Amy and noticed the few pieces he’d picked up for her were still in there. She’d taken nothing but some clothing and the car, which she said she would return.
The Car!
He was suddenly jumping to his feet and running back into the office. He’d been feeling hopeless on how to possibly find her, since she wasn’t using the credit cards, when he realized there was tracking on the vehicle. He always added it on in case of theft or an accident.
Within moments he had the vehicle located. He glanced at his watch. It was eight at night. He called his pilot and told him to get the jet ready. They would be heading to Eugene within the hour.
Lucas jumped in his car and dialed his father as he drove towards the PDX Airport. His father listened as Lucas explained everything that had happened. “Get her back son, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” his father said when Lucas got everything out.
“I’ve been so stubborn and stupid, Dad. I love her and was afraid if I gave her my heart she would have everything. I finally realize that it doesn’t even matter anymore because without her in my life it doesn’t matter if I have a beating heart or not,” he finished on a strangled note.
His dad gave him a moment to compose himself and then let him know he and his mother would be there for him if he needed anything at all.
Lucas felt a bit better after talking with his father. He knew how much his parents loved Amy.
He couldn’t have a single conversation with his parents without hearing them praising Amy about one thing or another. Amy could often be found up at his parents’ house during the day working on one thing or another for the baby.
His mother had also helped Amy finish the baby room. They’d made beautiful stencil designs on the walls and sewn curtains. He’d asked one day why she didn’t just go buy some and she’d looked at him like he was a child. “It means so much more when they come from the heart.
When our child grows up she’ll know that her grandma and mom loved her so much they wanted to make her first room the best place ever,” she’d simply stated.
Lucas reached the airport and was in the air within thirty minutes of his arrival. “The flight will only take about forty minutes Mr. Anderson,” came the pilot’s voice over the intercom. His attendant brought him a much needed drink once they were in the air.
He arranged transportation to his wife’s destination to be waiting for him the minute he landed.
He stepped off the jet and into an awaiting town car. He gave the driver the address and was horrified when he reached his destination.
He knew she was there by seeing her car sitting out front, looking out of place
“Would you like for me to wait here?” the driver asked.
Lucas handed him several bills, “no thanks. I have other transportation but thank you,” he said as he walked towards the front doors.
The clerk behind the filthy counter looked Lucas up and down in awe. “You looking for a room?” he asked looking past him. Lucas figured the man was looking for the cheap hooker he was planning on bringing there. Lucas wasn’t full of himself but he also knew the guy didn’t get clients like him there, ever.
“My wife checked in here earlier today. I need to know which room she’s in. She will be checking out,” Lucas said with authority.
“I can’t give out information about my customers,” the man’s voice shook as he didn’t quite meet Lucas’s eyes.
Lucas was ready to grab the wiesel of a man by the shirt and throw him against a wall but he if he remained calm he could get his way a lot more easily.
Lucas placed a hundred dollar bill down on the counter and he saw the little man practically drool. “Amy Anderson’s room please,” was all he said as he kept his fingers on the bill.
“She’s in room twelve,” the man said without any further argument. He handed Lucas the key and snatched the bill off the counter before the rich man could change his mind. Without another word, Lucas walked out and up to door twelve.
He stood there listening and didn’t hear any sound, so he inserted the key and the knob turned easily. He started to push it open when a chain halted him. He peaked through the crack and saw her lying there on the bed, shivering in her sleep and curled up into herself with her hand protectively over her stomach.
Lucas pulled the door back towards him a few inches then gave it a quick jerk inward and the chain snapped without much effort. He was aghast at the lack of security in the building. Amy didn’t even wake as he stepped into the room.
The smell of the place was enough to turn his stomach. He needed to get her out of there fast before there was any lasting damage to her and his child.
He sat on the side of the bed and gently shook her. Amy jerked awake immediately at his touch and sat up, her eyes round with terror.
“Oh, thank Goodness it’s only you Lucas,” she said to him as her breathing came under control.
He wondered who she thought it may be and then thought back to the clerk and could see why she would’ve been scared.
Her happiness of having it be him and not the desk clerk was quickly forgotten as she realized that Lucas was sitting in her room.
“How did you get in here? How did you know where I was?” she questioned him.
“There is tracking on your car Amy and before you start shouting about me spying on you, there’s tracking on all of our vehicles. It’s a safety precaution in case any of them are stolen,” he held up his hand as he tried to delay the fight.
“I know you have a lot to say to me about what you think’s happened, but I’m really uncomfortable with having you and my child in this unhealthy environment. I’ve already reserved a suite at the Valley River Inn, which is only a few miles from here. Let’s head over there, get some food and have our talk,” he said with his usual calm, commanding voice.
He didn’t wait for Amy to say anything. He just gathered up her things, which was pretty easy considering nothing was unpacked. He walked her bag out the still open door and placed it in the rig.
When Amy still hadn’t said anything or budged, he walked into the room, scooped her up in his arms, as if she weighed nothing at all and then gently deposited her in the front passenger seat of the car. He placed a couple more hundred dollar bills down on the nightstand with a note that said ‘for the lock,’ and then quickly pulled out of the slum motel’s parking lot.
Lucas programmed the hotel address into his GPS and was at the Valley River Inn within ten minutes. There was hardly any traffic that night. Amy said nothing to him on the drive over. She sat in the passenger seat with her head turned away from him and her arms crossed.
Amy had so many emotions running through her at once and didn’t know what to focus on. The emotion on the forefront was love. She loved the man so very much. Her life without him seemed so endless and empty.
She loved him far too much too be able to sit back while he had affairs with many different women. She knew the redhead wouldn’t be the last. He was vibrant, handsome and every woman’s dream. Look how quickly she’d fallen for him.
They reached the hotel and she obediently followed him in. She was far too exhausted to fight him anymore that night. She would just have to rationally explain to him she wasn’t the type of woman who would sit back while her husband slept around.
They entered the beautiful suite and her nerves were stretched to the breaking point. He hadn’t spoken to her since he’d whisked her out of that disgusting room. She wasn’t sorry to see that place go.
Maybe after they talked he would let her stay in her old apartment until the baby was born. He knew she was on strict orders to not be working right then as it could cause harm to the baby.
She would never do anything to hurt her child. Her hand caressed her stomach as she sat down on the couch and waited to see what he had to say.
Lucas stepped over to the phone and placed an order for some food and then sat down next to her on the couch.
“Amy, I’ve never been as terrified as when I realized you had left me. How could you not realize what you mean to me?” he began speaking. She opened her mouth to respond, but he gently shook his head and then pulled her into his lap.
She knew she should struggle but even though he was the reason she was in so much pain, she wanted the comfort that he was offering her. He began rubbing her back in slow circles and she had to fight off the tears that wanted to fall again. She didn’t see how there was a single tear left in her body.
“Look at me, please,” he pleaded with her. She finally turned to look into his eyes. They seemed so filled with love and sincerity. “I love you,” he simply stated.
She finally lost the battle to hold her tears in and they fell freely down her cheeks and her body shook gently as she was finally hearing the words she had wanted for so long.
“I love you and only you,” he said again as he gently wiped away her tears. “What you saw today was not me clinging to another woman. She is an ex-girlfriend who was trying to get me back. If you would’ve stayed a moment longer, you would have seen that I pushed her away from me as soon as she made her move and had security remove her from the premises. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he finished with a sheepish grin on his face.
She stared at him, starting to feel a ray of hope. He was saying he loved her and maybe she really had jumped to conclusions. “Why would you think I would cheat on you? Making love to you is the best sex I have ever had in my life. It’s so much more. I can never get enough of you. Why in the world would I need to go to another woman when I have you to myself every night?” he asked with confusion.
“It makes more sense to me that you would want a woman like her. I’m not sophisticated, or gorgeous. You got trapped into being with me because of the baby. It just makes more sense than you actually being able to love me,” she broke off on a sob and could say no more.
Lucas lifted her chin up and placed his lips on hers, cherishing the feel of their soft touch. She immediately responded to him as she always did at his lightest touch. He pulled back before things could get out of hand, which was so easy with her, as he couldn’t get enough of his wife.
“Amy, I admit we didn’t start out the best way, but none of that matters anymore. All that matters now is how we feel about each other and how we feel about our child,” he said while running his hand over her stomach.
“I love you so much. I’m sorry I’ve been such a fool. I was afraid to give you my heart because you already own me in every other way. I would walk through fire for you. I would hunt you down to the edges of the universe. I can’t and won’t live without you. You and our child are my reason for survival. Without you both, there is no joy or passion in my life. There is no meaning,” he said.
She believed him. He loved her.
He loved her!
She’d never in her life felt such tremendous joy as at that moment, sitting on her husband’s lap with his arms wrapped tightly around her. She could see the love on his face and feel it in his body. She knew everything would be all right. She knew they were going to be the couple that beat all the odds.
“I love you so much Lucas. I think I have loved you from the very first time we met. I tried to fight it so hard, but there is no fighting a man like you. You are who I want to be with the rest of my life,” she purred.
Amy Threw her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him with a passion that would keep them up for a very long time that night.