Burden to Bear (Road Trip Romance Book 17), page 6
I took advantage of it and allowed myself to have a slower morning this morning. I stayed in bed a little longer before heading downstairs to grab some breakfast. It would have been nice to have the whole day with nothing pressing to do, but that wasn’t an option.
Once I’d noticed the snow easing up, I’d decided it was time to get myself ready to head out and start clearing the walkway in front of my house, the driveway, and the sidewalk.
By the time I’d gotten myself dressed in my gear and went to put my boots on, I glanced outside again and was shocked to see Mia was already out and working on clearing the snow at her place.
I smiled at the mere sight of her and the prospect of being able to talk with her while it wasn’t getting dark out right before dinner, when we’d both had long days at work.
As quickly as I could, I got my boots on and walked out through the garage, opened the door, and grabbed my shovel. I had a snowblower, and I’d likely pull it out at some point, but since I hadn’t gotten a workout in this morning like usual, I figured the shoveling would be a great way to get some exercise.
I began shoveling out a pathway and worked hard at it for a solid twenty or thirty minutes, when I glanced up and saw Mia looking in my direction. I smiled and waved at her. “Hey, Mia.”
She waved back, but there was no smile on her face. “Hi, Brock.”
I was going to return to shoveling, but I noticed she had started to trudge through the snow in my direction. Deciding to meet her halfway, I made my way through the snow toward her.
Once we were close enough to be able to speak without the rest of the neighborhood hearing us, Mia declared, “I figured it out.”
Confused, my brows drew together. “You figured it out?”
Nodding and out of breath, she clarified, “The downside to homeownership.”
Immediately, it clicked. “Shoveling snow.”
“Yep. I was in an apartment complex before, and the snow removal was always taken care of, so I never gave it a second thought,” she shared. “Ever since I moved in here, I’ve been nothing but happy about the house. I love living here, and I enjoy every other aspect of owning my own place. But I totally didn’t think about this part.”
I sent a look of understanding in her direction. “I get it. When I moved into my place, it was July, so I didn’t think much about the snow at first. Then again, my mind was focused on something else when it came to home maintenance.”
Surprise and curiosity washed over her expression. “Oh, no. Did you have something that needed to be repaired after you moved in?”
Shaking my head, I answered, “No. I don’t want to alarm you, but once spring hits, the grass cutting begins.”
“That’s going to continue through the summer when it’s sweltering hot outside, isn’t it?” she questioned me.
“I’m afraid the grass grows in the summer, too,” I returned.
Her shoulders fell as she dropped her head back and closed her eyes. “Maybe I’m not going to like this as much as I thought.”
Laughter spilled out of me. “It’s not so bad. The snow can be a bit cumbersome, but the grass cutting isn’t horrible.”
Mia shook her head. “I don’t think I’m cut out for either of them.”
Surely, Mia had to have considered that she’d need to do regular maintenance around her property. It was an obvious part of homeownership. Or, well, it should have been. Maybe she had believed her boyfriend would help her with tasks like snow removal and grass cutting—it’s what I would have done for her if she was mine—but considering how selfish I knew her boyfriend to be, it didn’t surprise me that he clearly hadn’t told her he’d come by to help her today. He was probably still pissed that Mia bought the house without him and decided this would be the perfect way to show her how he felt about it. He likely thought he’d be teaching her a lesson.
It blew my mind.
I couldn’t imagine having a woman like Mia in my life and not bending over backward to do everything I could to show her how much I cared for her.
Hell, she was merely my neighbor, and she always made me feel happier whenever I had the opportunity to talk to her. It was only when I had those lingering bouts of jealousy or bitterness about her being with a bad guy that I ever had a negative thought. And those thoughts were never directed at her.
Unwilling to put myself in a bad mood by even mentioning her boyfriend and asking her if he planned to come and help her, I reasoned, “Well, there are people you can hire if you decide you don’t want to do it.”
“Yeah, I can’t do that. It would feel like such a waste of money right now, especially when I’m completely capable.”
I couldn’t disagree with that sentiment. I’d always felt that way, too. “You’re like me. Though it’d save me time by not having to do it myself, I have this thing about paying people to do something I’m more than capable of doing on my own.”
Nodding her agreement, Mia’s eyes scanned the area she needed to shovel. “There’s so much left. If I don’t get back to it, I’m afraid I might not ever get it done.”
There was a battle happening inside my head. I’d given Mia a suggestion to hire someone, but she wasn’t willing to do it. I thought her boyfriend should be here helping her, but it wasn’t my place to say that.
And the words my brother had said to me were lingering in the back of my mind. If the guy she was with was such a dick, it was likely he wouldn’t be around much longer. Showing Mia the kind of guy I was could work in my favor.
“I’ll tell you what,” I started. “I’m going to get my space cleared over here, and once I’m finished, I can come over to help get your space cleared for you.”
“Oh, Brock, that’s very sweet of you to offer, but I can’t ask you to do that,” she replied.
“You didn’t. I offered.”
“Technically, yes, you did. But even if I could bring myself to accept that offer, there’s so much snow to shovel. You’d be out here all day.”
I shook my head. “It’s not as backbreaking as you might think, because I’ve got a snowblower.”
Her eyes widened. “You do?”
“Yep.”
“So, why are you using a shovel?”
I shrugged. “I wanted to get some exercise.”
She shot me an incredulous look. “I swear, I’m convinced I’ll never understand men.”
Maybe that was because she was with a man who acted like a spoiled brat. “We’re not that complicated. Trust me.”
Mia tapped her finger on her chin and eyed me with a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. “And yet, you stand there with a shovel when you have a working snowblower.”
Laughing, I promised, “I’m going to pull it out in a bit. I’m just getting a path cleared, and I’m going to shovel out the walkway from the driveway to my front door. So, honestly, if you want me to take care of your snow for you, I can do it.”
Mia allowed her eyes to roam over my face for a bit, and I could see the questions lingering there. But she never asked them. Instead, she stated, “I’ll work on my walkway for now and clear out what I can. But if you really wouldn’t mind helping, I’d be so appreciative.”
I dipped my chin. “Of course. Let me get back to working on this, and I’ll be over soon to help.”
“Thank you, Brock. It really means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome, Mia. Don’t worry about it.”
With that, I got back to work on clearing out the snow at my house. It didn’t take long, since I decided to spend less time using the shovel, so I could get it done faster and help Mia sooner.
I only hoped my brother was right. With any luck, Mia was going to see that she deserved better than what she had.
SEVEN
Mia
“I was convinced you were never going to call.”
I’d done it. I’d finally reached out to Susie and told her I was ready to get together with her and talk. It was a Saturday afternoon at the beginning of February, I was eleven weeks pregnant, and without a winter storm to contend with, Susie and I had decided to meet up for lunch.
I still wasn’t entirely sure how this was going to go down, but the fact that we were here, and she seemed genuinely concerned for me, helped to ease some of the worries I had.
I sent an apologetic look across the table. “I’m sorry, Susie. I never intended to make you feel like I was rejecting you or anything like that, but I was a bit out of sorts when everything first happened, and I needed some time. It hasn’t been easy to process it all and wrap my head around this new life I’m facing.”
She returned a look that told me she was sympathetic to my situation and mindset. “I don’t want you to feel bad, Mia. I totally understand where you’re coming from and why you needed time. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I was here and ready to talk whenever you were.”
Susie had made that much clear over the last few weeks. There was a small part of me that believed it was strange to be sitting here with Todd’s sister, but Susie had always been incredibly sweet to me. We’d gotten along great from the start, and I’d considered her a good friend. I could only hope, regardless of how things went with Todd when it came to his baby, that Susie and the rest of her family would still want to stick around and be in this baby’s life.
“I appreciate that more than I can tell you,” I promised her. “And I’m glad we can actually be here, talking civilly and enjoying lunch together, despite Todd and I no longer being together.”
Disappointment crept into her expression and marred her features. “I still don’t understand why Todd is acting the way he is. I told him he’s making the biggest mistake of his life by walking away from you. Our parents told him the same thing.”
While I’d felt some uncertainty about how this was all going to go between Susie and me today, I hadn’t realized just how much tension and stress I’d been feeling until she’d said what she’d just said.
There was something so wonderfully reassuring about knowing that even if Todd wasn’t interested in maintaining our relationship—romantic or otherwise—at least his family wasn’t going to cut me off.
“Well, I certainly won’t say it’s been easy,” I started. “But as difficult as it’s been these last few weeks, I’ve realized I need to stick to my guns and do what’s best for me in this situation. Todd has his mind made up about where he wants his life to go, and as much as it surprised me to learn the way that I did about where he stood, it is what it is. I can’t sit and dwell on it. A baby didn’t factor into it for Todd, and all I can do now is accept where he stands, move forward, and do what I’ve got to do to prepare for life as a single mom.”
I had hoped Susie would tell me that she understood where I was coming from, that she and the rest of her family would be there to make sure her nephew or niece would know his or her dad’s side of the family, regardless of what Todd chose to do.
But Susie didn’t tell me that.
In fact, Susie stared at me like she’d just been slapped across the face.
Her reaction was unexpected and alarming enough that I quickly ran through what I’d just said to figure out why she seemed so visibly stunned. Was she upset that I’d decided the best thing for me to do was try to move on and focus on where my life was heading without factoring Todd into the decision? Surely, she had to be able to understand why that was my only option.
Since she seemed unable to respond, I figured it was best to try to clarify my position. “Look, Susie, I realize that the ideal situation in theory would be for Todd and me to be together, preparing for this new stage in our lives as a couple. Unfortunately, that’s not an option, because he doesn’t want it. And I tried in the beginning. But I can’t spend this entire pregnancy fighting with my baby’s father just to get him to see that he’s making a mistake. At this point, it’s not about how I feel. I didn’t arrive at this place overnight, but I’m doing my best to focus on what’s most important right now, and that’s this baby.”
“What?”
“The relationship Todd and I had together is over, because that’s what he chose. I’m doing the best I can to move past that now, and as much as it hurts to know my baby won’t have his father in his life, I’m not sitting around crying over the fact that Todd no longer wants to be in my life,” I explained.
Susie shook her head, her lips parted in shock. “You’re pregnant?”
I blinked my eyes rapidly, jerking back in my seat.
This whole time I’d been rambling on and on about this baby, and Susie had no idea I was pregnant. Why did she think Todd and I broke up? What had he told his family?
“You didn’t know?” I countered, the disbelief evident in my tone.
Susie continued to shake her head. “No. Not at all. That’s why you and Todd are no longer together?”
“Yes. I thought he told you on Christmas Eve,” I answered. “That’s when I told him. We were supposed to be heading to dinner together that night with your family, and I thought I’d surprise him with an early gift by sharing the news with him. I thought he might be excited and want to share it with the family that night. Obviously, I was wrong about how he’d react to the news. I don’t understand, though. What did he tell you? Why did you think we broke up?”
There was an extended silence, and I could see how much Susie was struggling to wrap her head around the news she’d just learned. “He… he just said that the two of you were taking some time apart. That you both needed some time to figure out where you wanted to go, if you both wanted the same things in life. But you’re telling me you were pregnant the whole time?”
“Yes. And I thought you all knew. Even if Todd didn’t give the details on Christmas Eve, I assumed he would have said something when the split was made official between us just after the new year.”
“Why? What happened then?” she questioned me.
I pressed my lips together, unsure how and what to share with her. I didn’t necessarily want to keep any of this from Susie or the rest of her family, but Todd should have been the one to tell them the truth. But now that we were here, now that it had been months and he hadn’t said anything to them, I couldn’t keep this from her.
“I had called Todd to let him know I was going to be heading to my first appointment,” I shared. “I let him know the date, time, and location in case he wanted to be there. He never showed up, so I made one last-ditch effort. I went to his place after that appointment and gave him an ultrasound photo. I thought it might make him realize what he was giving up, what he was missing out on.”
“And you’re telling me it didn’t?”
I shook my head. “Susie, I’m sorry, but he told me he wanted me to get an abortion, that he wanted nothing to do with me or the baby.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I had no idea. Mia, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you,” I assured her.
She wiped at her tears just as our server turned up with our meals. Recognizing Susie was in no position to do it herself, I requested additional napkins and thanked the server. Once he walked off, Susie begged, “Can you start at the beginning and tell me what exactly happened?”
“Of course.”
Then I launched in and told her everything. I started at the very beginning, reminding her of how tired I’d been when I first moved into the new house. I went on to explain what prompted me to realize I’d missed my period and how I immediately went to pick up some tests just a few days before Christmas. I shared how I was scared, nervous, and finally excited about the news and couldn’t wait to share it with Todd.
Susie continued to listen intently as I revealed how things went down on Christmas Eve, and though it didn’t help her emotional state, I thought it was important to tell her the truth about the things Todd had said to me. Of course, I went on to explain how Todd never reached out to me even once since he left my house that day and how it was only when I showed up at his place that he solidified his decision for us to remain separated.
There was a small part of me that felt bad about dumping everything on Susie the way I had, but she wanted the details. She was the kind of woman who, even if devastated by learning what her brother had done and said, would never want me to keep something from her to spare her feelings.
When I finally finished sharing it all, Susie took a few moments to process everything. It was a lot to digest, so I sat patiently and gave her the time she needed.
Eventually, she said, “I don’t know what to say, Mia. I’ve got so many thoughts and feelings running through me right now. I’m shocked and hurt and embarrassed and happy and sad and excited. With some time, I’m sure I’ll settle all of that down. Most importantly, I feel compelled to tell you that I intend to be here for you in whatever way I can as you progress through this pregnancy. I cannot even begin to tell you how angry I am with my brother for his response to this news. Even if this wasn’t planned, he still has a responsibility. He’s my brother, Mia, and I know you love him or loved him, but he seems to excel at proving just how big of an idiot he is. I’m mortified to know how he’s treated you. My parents are going to feel the same. And I just hope that you don’t punish us for what he’s done or chooses to do moving forward. I’m begging you to allow me and the rest of the family to be involved in this baby’s life.”
When I finally reached out to Susie to schedule this lunch with her, I didn’t quite know what to expect. Of course, I’d assumed she already knew about the pregnancy, so I tried to remind myself that she wouldn’t have been interested in sitting down together over lunch if she felt negatively toward me about it.
But now that I’d learned she had no clue about the pregnancy, nor the real reason Todd and I split up, and was responding to it the way she just had, it was safe to say I felt like a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
