Baby For The Mountain Man

Mothers. They never get uncomfortable asking about this, as if it was the most normal thing to ask.

“Mom! Don’t push it. We’re taking it easy for now. Maybe in the future, but let’s not rush it, okay?”

Dad shook his head at this. “Young people these days. Taking it easy? What are you waiting for? You’re already thirty-four.”

Chloe reached for my hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I appreciated this gesture of support.

“Bryce is currently busy in the hospital, so at the moment, we can’t make any plans,” Chloe responded calmly with a polite smile on her face.

Mom frowned and glared at me, dissatisfied with this. “Bryce, what is happening with you? I understand that you love work and all, but don’t you think you’re overdoing it? Why can’t you slow down for a change?”

And just like that, my mood dropped, her preaching ruffling my feathers. “Mom, Chloe didn’t come here to listen to this same old argument. Please, can you leave it be?”

Thankfully, Dad changed the topic, asking Chloe if she liked fishing, but I saw that Mom didn’t want to drop this. She didn’t mention anything for the rest of our dinner, talking with Chloe about her favorite TV shows, but each time she looked at me, the frown lines around her mouth appeared, and it irked me.

“Bryce, love, will you come with me to the kitchen and help me with desserts?” she asked me and stood up, heading to the kitchen without even waiting for my answer.

I met Chloe’s worried gaze and shrugged my shoulders, hating that she had to witness this.

“I’ll be right back,” I told her and went after my mother, preparing myself for yet another argument.

8

Chloe

Things took a turn for the worse, I thought, worried about Bryce. I glanced at the door, wondering if he was okay. They were in the kitchen more than ten minutes already, and I was becoming anxious, tapping my foot on the floor repeatedly.

Mr. Evander noticed me looking at the door, and he let a long sigh out.

“I’m sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable. You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“It’s okay. I have similar arguments with my parents, so don’t worry about it.” I smiled at him, feeling more comfortable next to him than I had thought I would be.

I had imagined Bryce’s parents to be stricter—more formal—but they were down to earth people who welcomed me warmly to their home and showed nothing but respect. I felt nice here, and I had to admit to myself that I enjoyed this pretence a little bit too much. A pang of guilt filled my chest because they were so nice, and I was deceiving them, pretending to be Bryce’s girlfriend. How would they react if they knew I was just his assistant? Just the girl he was sleeping with?

“It’s just that he’s working so hard. Too hard. And we can’t help but be worried about him. It seems like he’s obsessed with succeeding, failing to see what he already has.” He exhaled a long sigh, staring at some spot on the table. “I’m just afraid that when he realized that the life is short, it would be too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bryce always wanted to be a doctor. This was his biggest dream, and Ruth and I were more than happy when he started working in the hospital. He was finally doing something he’s been dreaming about his whole life. But then he began earning money, and somehow, his interests shifted. He wasn’t just a doctor anymore—he was a businessman—and we got to see him less and less.”

I had no idea how to respond to that. It was true that Bryce was super ambitious and had his full focus on expanding his business, but I’d thought that was something he had wanted all along.

“I’m sorry for bothering you with this. We just hope that since he has you now, he’ll be able to see some things from a different perspective. Maybe he would be able to focus on what truly matters instead of just chasing more money and power.”

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I told him I needed to go to the bathroom and excused myself. On my way down the hallway, I passed the kitchen and halted when Bryce’s and Ruth’s voices reached me. It seemed like they were arguing about work.

I tiptoed to the corner and peeked around it, spotting Bryce and his mother in the middle of the kitchen. My pulse accelerated when I saw Bryce’s face twisted in anger as he glared at his mother.

“You’re working too much, Bryce. I wouldn’t be surprised if you came here with business in mind.”

This hit close to home, and I saw Bryce wince. I thought he was going to tell her about going to see the hospital while we were here, but he didn’t, dodging her remark with a complaint about tonight’s dinner.

“Every single time. I was hoping to come here and have a nice dinner for a change, but no, you had to mock me and my work right in front of Chloe. And of all nights, you had to ruin this one. It was supposed to be a calm, family dinner, not a battlefield. Tonight was supposed to be about Dad, remember?”

“We just want the best for you, Bryce. We see how much this wears you down. You’re different.”

Bryce crossed his arms. “I’m not different.”