Page 50 of More Than A Boss

“Oh, don’t worry darling, we intend to! Bye now.” And she hung up on Allie smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary.

To say she felt devastated was an understatement. Allie’s hormones, combined with the shock of her positive pregnancy test and Helen answering Zane’s phone, left her no room for reasoning. What was Zane doing at the lake house with Helen? In her opinion, there were no reasonable explanations. She could not come up with any good explanation for him to be there showering in the same house as his ex-wife! The betrayal was a visceral feeling deep in her gut. She protectively cupped her belly. She was completely lost at that moment. Oh, Zane, she thought, how could you? Then she began to cry. She cried for herself, she cried for her unborn child, she cried for all that was now lost.

—

Zane finished the garage in less than an hour and, after filing the report with the police, headed back home. Helen had been in an extremely good mood when she had said her goodbyes. Go figure, he thought. He would never understand that woman and was glad to not have to spend all that energy trying anymore. She had wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him on the lips, but he had given her his cheek and hugged her briefly before climbing behind the wheel of his SUV and taking his leave.

That was odd, Zane thought to himself. He had left several messages for Allie this morning and no return call. He was beginning to be concerned. This last message he left had expressed an urgency and that if he didn’t hear from her soon, he would be contacting the local police department to check on her. Several minutes later his phone rang, and it was Casey.

The minute Zane said hello, Casey immediately started chastising him. “How could you? Allie opened her heart, and this is all it meant to you? I am shocked. I thought you were a better person than this!”

“Whoa! Wait a minute, what the hell are you talking about?” Zane exclaimed.

“What were you doing at the lake house with Helen at 7:00 this morning taking a shower?” Casey said angrily.

“What? Oh, let me explain. How did you know that I was at the lake with Helen anyway?” he asked.

“Allie called you this morning, and Helen answered your phone and told her you were in the shower and implied that you were enjoying much more than you should be, considering your relationship with Allie. But maybe we have all misunderstood your real intentions here,” Casey said.

“Casey, you must believe me when I say that I would never in a million years have an intimate relationship with Helen again, even if it meant celibacy for the rest of my life!” Zane promised.

“I’m in love with Allie. I have no desire for anyone else. I am a one-woman-man! I always have been. I am not a player. I know it must look bad from your perspective, but from mine it was innocent. Helen was just being her normal devious self to imply that there was anything more to it. No wonder she seemed so pleased with herself when I left. I should have known something was up. I went there because she called to tell me that there had been some vandalism, which needed my attention. She was telling the truth about that. I drove down, had dinner, went to bed, got up early, dealt with the mess, filed a report, and left immediately,” he explained.

Relenting, Casey said, “Well, I will give Allie a ring and tell her to pick up your call. She is pretty devastated, Zane. It is hard for her to completely trust someone after having her husband cheat on her. That does something to a person’s soul. You have to give her a little slack for jumping to the worst conclusion. Helen was pretty convincing.”

“Oh, I’m sure she was. She should have gone into acting instead of law,” he said with jaw clenched. “I will deal with her later. For now, please call Allie and pave the way for me, OK? And thanks, Casey, you’re a great friend to Allie and, therefore, my friend as well,” he said sincerely.

“Zane, I’ll call her, but she is pretty emotional at the moment. Hopefully she will take your call. I’ll do my best,” Casey said. “I’m sure she will eventually come around. If she doesn’t pick up the first time, keep trying.”

—

“How do you know he was telling the truth?” Allie argued with Casey.

“You have to trust me. I have a good instinct for sniffing out liars. He was shocked, and I know he was telling me the truth. It all makes sense, and you know what a viper Helen is. Please, just give him a chance to explain. I know your condition makes it a little harder for you to feel safe but do it for you and your baby. Zane deserves to know, and your baby deserves a father,” Casey said logically.

“I’ll think about it. I just need a little time,” Allie said.

“Well, don’t take too much time. All that crying is not good for Casey, Jr.,” Casey joked.

Smiling, Allie promised to think about it and signed off.

After several hours and ten missed phone calls, Allie relented and picked up on the next call. “Hello,” She said.

“Allie, for God’s sake, what kind of man do you think I am?” Zane said with exasperation. “Do you think I am the type of man to go around telling all the women I date that I am in love with them? Allie, believe me, nothing happened with Helen. I told her that I was in love with you!” he said.

“You really told her that?” Allie asked, still a bit sulky.

“Yes! She wasn’t happy about it, which is why she pulled this stunt with answering my phone when you called, which I intend to deal with later.”

“Zane, I guess I was quick to judge you. I’m just so vulnerable right now and, with my history, I have such a hard time trusting. But I do trust you. Really, I do. I’m sorry,” she insisted.

“Thank God! I love you Allie and only you,” Zane said.

“Zane, there’s another reason I was not in my right state of mind this morning. I called to talk to you about something very delicate, so I’m just going to have to jump right in and tell you. I’m pregnant.”

There was a very long stretch of silence before Zane replied. “Did I hear right? Did you just say we are pregnant?” he asked.

Relief flooded Allie’s heart when she heard him say “we.” She knew everything was going to be alright.

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