The phone rang. The nurse from her doctor’s office had some names.  She said she could e-mail them to Lane if it was easier.  Lane agreed that e-mailing was probably best.  She gave her personal e-mail address and was soon going through the names.  She selected one and called the office taking the first appointment they had, which luckily was for late the next morning.  They asked if she’d taken a home pregnancy test and she explained that she’d fainted, was taken to the ER in an ambulance and the ER doctor had told her she was pregnant.

She was still sitting in the recliner with her laptop when Jamie came home from football practice.

“You look tired, Mom.  Are you okay?” What is she doing home already? Jamie thought.

“I’m fine.  I don’t feel like cooking tonight though, let’s order pizza.  Okay?”

She needed to tell the kids, but it would have to wait.  She knew she couldn’t tell the boys without telling Jess, and she knew Jess was very busy right now.  Jess had won the coveted starring role playing identical twin sisters Kate and Kit Hart, in the movie adaptation of the Harts in Time trilogy.  Since then, she had been making the rounds of talk shows and doing other appearances since the announcement was made.

The first book told the story of sisters who were identical in appearance, but as different as night and day in disposition.  Kate Hart was old fashioned, kind and introspective while Kit Hart was modern, edgy and an extrovert.  It began when the sisters were in Europe vacationing.  They’d both kissed a stone that superstition said when kissed would grant your wish.  They had stood on opposite sides of the stone and making a wish, each pressed her lips to it.  Kate wished for true love and happiness.  Kit wished for power and wealth.  Kate backed away from the stone formation and found herself in a parallel world 100 years in the past.  Kit found herself in that same parallel world, but 100 years in the future.  The first book followed the sisters through figuring out how to survive and thrive in their new reality and it ended when they were just as inexplicably brought back to the time and place where they had started.

The second book, Broken Harts told the story of them exchanging tales of their time apart and of them kissing the stone again in the hope of getting back to the lives they had landed in; Kate the past and Kit in the future, but as they kissed the stone a second time, they had exchanged time periods.

The last book well, we don’t want to give it all away.  Who’d read the books or go see the movies?

Chapter 5

A proposition

At five o’clock, when his shift was over, Mick drove to Lane’s house.  He called her from the driveway, making sure she was awake.  Her son answered the phone.  What was his name?

“Hello, this is Detective McGuire, is your mother home?”

“Yes, sir.  Let me get her,” Jamie responded.

Jamie had just hung up after ordering the pizza.  He looked out the window in his room and could see the Ford Explorer in the driveway.  What was that guy doing at the house?

Jamie walked into the family room and extended the phone toward Lane.  “It’s Detective McGuire.”

Lane took the phone.  “Hi, Mick.”  She sighed.

“I’m in the neighborhood, and I thought I’d drop by.”

Jamie answered the door when Mick rang the bell.  He showed the Detective into the family room and looked questioningly at his mother.  She didn’t seem to notice as she motioned Mick toward the sofa.

Mick said, “Thanks, Kid.”

It was like he was dismissing Jamie.  But this was Jamie’s house and he wasn’t going anywhere.  At least until he had to leave to pick up the pizza anyway.  Jamie sat in the chair next to his mother.  He hadn’t liked this guy when Ben had brought him home for dinner a while back, and he didn’t like him now.  He especially didn’t like that he’d shown up while Ben and his mother were taking a break.  He might be only 17, but he knew trouble when he saw it.

Lane looked at Mick.  “You remember my son, Jamie.”

“Sure. Jamie, good to see you again.”  How was he going to discuss his proposal with Lane while the kid was in the room?  Didn’t he have something to do?

“Jamie just ordered pizza for us.  He’ll be going to get it in a few minutes.  You’re welcome to stay for dinner.”

Great the kid was going to go pick up pizza.  That would give him a perfect opportunity to talk.  “Sure, I’d like that,” Mick replied.

Jamie wanted to tell his mother they didn’t have enough for the detective to stay, but it wasn’t true and besides, he knew she’d disapprove of any rude behavior.  So, he’d sit here and do everything he could think of to discourage the guy in the meantime.  Where was Jess when you needed her?  She’d know what to do about this guy.

Lane was always a good hostess and asked, “Mick, what can we offer you to drink?”

Mick nodded toward Lane’s tea.  “As I recall, you make a great iced tea.”

“Jamie, would you refill my iced tea and bring one for Mick?”

Great now he was waiting on the guy.  He should call Ben.  He had no idea what was going on between his Mom and Ben.  Ben hadn’t been around for weeks now.  He and Jake had said that if Ben hurt their Mom, they’d make him pay.  Jess had told them that everything was fine and the boys should hang tight, but Jess didn’t know about Dickhead McGuire.

Jamie got up, took Lane’s glass, and went to the kitchen.

Lane leaned toward Mick.  “I haven’t told my family yet, so I’d rather not talk about anything in front of Jamie.”

Lane thought Jamie had been out of ear shot, but he’d heard what she’d said.  What hadn’t she told her family and why was she talking about it with Dickhead McGuire?

He brought the tea back into the room.  He put one glass on the coaster by his mother’s chair and handed the other to the Dickhead.

“I need to go pick up the pizza.  Shall I get anything else while I’m out?”

Lane shook her head.

“Okay, I’ll be back in ten to fifteen minutes,” he said as he walked toward the garage.

They’d ordered Minsky’s to go and Jamie knew it would take all of the time he’d told his mother he’d be gone to drive there and back.  When he got to Minsky’s, he called his brother.

“Jandy.  What’s up?”  Jake answered, using the nickname he’d given his younger brother when they were kids.

“Hey, I’m just picking up Minsky’s.  You want to come over?  Maybe you could bring Meg and Abbey.”  The more people that are in the house, the better to keep Dickhead McGuire in his place.

*****

When Lane heard the garage door close, she looked at Mick.  “Did you want to talk to me about the Rochelle Jones hearing?”

Mick shook his head.  No, it really had been just an excuse to see her.  If the DA wanted her at the hearing, he’d contact her.

“Lane, tell me truth.  Has Bellini abandoned you?”

She blinked.  She still wore her engagement ring.  What on earth gave Mick the idea that he had any right to ask that question?  Even if it were true, he had no right to ask her about something so personal.

“Mick, why would you even ask such a question,” she asked, incredulously.

She picked up her glass to take a drink, and Mick could see her hand shake.  His experience as an observer of body language had been honed by 25 years on the police force.  Something wasn’t right.  He reached out to take her hand.  “I want to help. Lane I care for you. If he’s left you, let me take care of you and the baby.”

She pulled her hand back. “Mick, you’ve no right to talk to me this way.  I told you, Ben’s very busy with the trial.”

She lowered her voice.  When Lane was really angry, she always lowered her voice and carefully enunciated every syllable.  “Maybe things would have been different if we’d met a year ago, even six months ago.  But we didn’t.  You see this?”  She pointed to her engagement ring.  “It should tell you everything you need to know.  As long as this ring is on my finger, Ben Bellini is the only man who…”