I didn’t get a chance to see Denise again for the next few days. On Sunday, Anna and I went shopping while the men played golf, then we met up for a nice brunch at the country club and spend the afternoon at the private lake the Sawyer’s house was bordering. It was a nice and relaxing day and I was pleased to see that Greg and Alex seemed to really be getting along. They even agreed to get together again sometime soon.

Monday was the hearing for the restraining order. It turned out that neither Alex nor I had to go. With Andrew in jail and pleading no contest, the lawyers were able to handle the hearing efficiently. The judge had plenty of evidence to issue a permanent restraining order, though no one had any idea when, or if, Andrew would be getting out of jail. That suited me just fine. So instead, I spent the day showing houses, meeting with clients and on the phone with the banks.

Alex called to tell me about the judge’s decision a split second after his lawyer did, but I didn’t get to talk to him again until after I got home late that night. And then Tuesday I was once again back in the office, hunched over my desk and trying to get some appointments set up so they didn’t overlap and gave me plenty of time between each one to prepare for the next.

“Morgan, you have a visitor.”

I glanced to my phone as the voice of the receptionist came through the speaker part, then lifted my eyes towards the entrance and felt my heart taking a dive into my toes. Denise Solis was heading right for me.

“Morgan!” She exclaimed with a smile as she finally reached my desk, clutching the strap to the purse that hung over her shoulder.

I stared at her, wondering if she’d come to berate me some more, or find out who Dixon was or to introduce herself to all of my coworkers. “Um…Mrs. Solis…”

“Please, I told you to call me Denise.”

I slowly sat back in my chair. “Denise… I…wh…what are you doing here?” I shifted my eyes around to see people watching us, wondering who the newcomer was.

“I wanted to take you to lunch.” She smiled at me, her eyes twinkling.

Was this the same woman who three days ago had thrown insults at me? “Lunch?”

“Yes,” she nodded her head and glanced around the office then back to me. “Do you have time? Alex said you usually take lunch about this time.” She glanced to her watch then back to me.

“Well, um…I do…” But I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of lunch with Denise. I wasn’t in the mood today for more of her mind games.

“Good, then let’s go; my treat.” She waved her hand for me to follow then started for the front.

Looked like she wasn’t giving me a choice in the matter. With a sigh, I pulled my handbag from the bottom drawer of my desk then followed after her.

We made it outside and she led me to Alex’s SUV, moving around to the driver’s side and climbing in. I joined her and she steered the vehicle from the parking lot and into the street.

“So, where would you like to eat?”

I glanced over to her. “Um, doesn’t matter. Did you have anywhere specific in mind?”

“No, but I do remember there being a nice little café somewhere around here.” She scanned the area, maneuvering the SUV along the road.

“I think there’s one just around this next corner.” I motioned to the traffic light we were approaching.

“Oh, yes, I think you’re right.”

Soon we were seated inside a trendy little corner café.

Denise waited until we’d both decided on our lunch meals and placed the order before resting her hands on the table and watching me.

I met her eyes, feeling a nervous flutter in my stomach. “What?”

She sighed some. “I thought it was time we talked again. I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Alex had said he was going to talk to his mom.

She nodded and watched me a moment before speaking, “I need to apologize. My behavior has not been the best and for that, I’m sorry. I know that I was being very judgmental and not even paying any attention to the person that you are. You’re nothing like the women of his past and I was treating you like you were.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. She truly seemed sorry and I didn’t note any hints of sarcasm or spite, even her eyes looked friendly and pleading with me to believe her.

“I do think you’re good for my son.” She reached out and touched the back of my hand. “It’s just hard for me to not be suspicious and to let my guard down. I’m so used to waiting on the other shoe to fall as it always does. But you and he,” she shook her head some, “are nothing like he’s ever had before. And I do think you two will go far.”

“You do?” My brows lifted at her confession.

“I do. Ever since he’s met you, I’ve been noticing changes. But it wasn’t until I actually got out here that I really saw them. He’s come a long way since you two have met and it’s for the better.”

That made me smile; a warm feeling in my chest. “He’s changed me a lot, too.”

“I know he has. You two bring out the best in each other and that’s what he’s not had in any of his previous relationships.”

“I really bring out the best in him?”

“Oh yes,” she nodded some, “he was telling me that he hasn’t had any anxiety or stress attacks in a long while, and that he really feels at peace. He’s always struggled with anxiety and been restless and unsatisfied with himself and what’s going on in his life.”

“But he’s not anymore?”

Denise shook her head. “He says he knows what direction his life is going and he’s ready.” A smile tugged at her lips. “He told me that you’re the one.”

I squelched the giggles that wanted to erupt. “So, um…what makes you believe that? I tried to tell you that last week, but you weren’t hearing it.”

“Morgan, you have to understand that Alex tells me every one of his girlfriends is ‘the one’. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s like the boy who cries wolf, eventually you just can’t anymore.”

I half understood that and half wanted to argue it. But I didn’t. “Then why do you believe him now?”

She gave a sigh and fiddled with the straw in her iced tea glass. “Because of these changes in him; he has a new outlook and he was genuinely upset after the incident on Saturday.”

“Yeah, we had a ….fight of some sorts.”

“I know and I’m sorry. I was way out of line. I just want to see him happy and with the right person; someone who isn’t going to hurt him, or use him or take advantage. He’s such a sensitive soul and he’s so giving and trusting that he doesn’t even know when he’s been worked over.” Her eyes searched my face intently. “But you’re not like that and I know that now.”

I had to smile. “Thank you.”

She returned the smile with one of her own. “You’re welcome.” A beat. “So, I hope we’re able to put all this behind us and move forward.”

“Of course. No hard feelings.” I sat back as the server appeared and placed our orders down.

“Good.” She waited until it was just the two of us again before speaking once more, “I do want a relationship with you. I want us to be able to get along and go out together. I’ve never had a daughter and I’ve always longed for a kind of relationship like that with someone.”

I smiled softly. “I think we’ll get along just fine.”

Denise’s eyes twinkled. “Good. I hope so.”

~*~*~*~*~

The rest of lunch with Denise went off without a hitch. We had even agreed to fit a little shopping in Friday afternoon. I was sure I could sneak away from work a little early, so we planned to meet at the closest shopping mall. I made it back to work on time and spent the rest of the afternoon up to my elbows in client meetings, financial phone calls with the banks and trying to get inspections scheduled. I was getting ready to leave and head on over to Alex’s, like I had promised Denise I would once she was dropping me back off, when the phone on my desk rang.

I lifted it from the cradle while digging in my bag for my keys. “Morgan Weston.”

“Morgan?” Dianna’s voice trembled through the line.

I frowned at that, immediately sensing something was not right with my friend. “Dianna? What’s wrong?”

“Oh God, Morgan, I don’t know what to do.” I could hear the tears in her voice.

“Dianna? What’s going on?”

“This… it just… can’t be happening. Not to me… not right now. Not ever.”

I peeked to the phone, feeling worry starting to course through me. “What can’t be happening? What’s going on, Dianna?”

“Morgan, it’s horrible,” she wailed.

I was at a complete loss, but her tears had me nearly freaking out. “Okay, it’s alright, Dianna. Where are you? Are you at home? Where’s Manuel?”

“H...h…isn’t here…”

Lord, they had probably gotten into some kind of a fight and he’d stormed off. The Torres’ weren’t the fighting kind, so any upset was always a surprise and a pretty big deal. “Where is he?”

“I…I don’t know. Oh, Morgan, what am I gonna do?”

She was crying and Dianna rarely cried. Something was seriously wrong here. “Okay, just sit tight. I’m on my way. I’m leaving the office now so I can be there in twenty minutes.”

“Okay.”

I heard her sniff and pouted. “Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.” Then I quickly hung up, grabbed my satchel and started for the door.

I made it to the Torres residence in a record 17 minutes. Dianna greeted me at the door with red rimmed eyes and clutching a tissue in her hand. She led me into the living room then sank down onto the sofa, pulling her legs up onto it and hugging them to her chest.

I sat next to her, a little weirded out by her behavior. I’d never seen her so desolate and not in control of her emotions. “What’s going on, hon?” Gently, I reached and touched her arm.

Her caramel colored eyes grew teary. “It’s awful,” she managed out, fiddling with the tissue clutched in her hands.

“What happened? What did you two fight about?”

She blinked some, looking at me like she had no idea what I was talking about. “What?”

“You and Manuel,” I prodded.

“Manuel and I didn’t fight.” She wiped at her eyes and sat right on the sofa, letting her legs down.

“Then…what’s going on?” I glanced around then back to her, very perplexed by the whole situation.

Dianna gave a sigh and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and propping her head into her hands. “I’m pregnant.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I’m pregnant,” she moaned out, covering her face with her hands.

I was trying to process why she was treating the news like it was the end of the world. “Well, honey,” I reached out and smoothed my hand on her back, “that’s wonderful news.”

“No, it’s not.” Lifting her head, Dianna pushed her unruly hair from her face and met my gaze. “You know that Manny and I don’t want children. I don’t even want a dog.”

“Okay, true, but c’mon, Dianna… we’re talking about a precious little baby here; something that has come from you and Manny both. It’s a lot different than a dog.”

“But we don’t want a baby! I don’t know anything about being a mom, I don’t want to be a mom!”

I sighed, trying to rack my brain for the right words of comfort. “I know, honey, but sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. We just have to learn how to roll with the punches.”

“Why is this happening to me?” She fell back into the sofa.

I rubbed the back of my neck, taking a moment to collect my thoughts. “What does Manuel think of the news?”

“He doesn’t know.”

“How long have you known?”

Dianna lifted her wrist and checked the silver watch on it. “About fifteen minutes before I called you. So…almost an hour.”

“And you’re sure that you’re pregnant? It’s not just …a false positive? Sometimes those happen.”

“No,” she sighed again and sat up straight, “I took six of those First Response tests. Six”

“And they all came back positive?”

“They all came back positive,” she echoed me in a deadpan tone.

I rubbed my face. “Alright, so you don’t want a baby… so are you going to have an abortion?”

“Do you know how dangerous those things can be? The kinds of complications that women can have?”

“Okay, well, you could put it up for adoption.”

“I don’t know.” She raked her hands through her hair in frustration. “I have to talk to Manuel.”

I patted her shoulder. “That would be a good idea.”

“This isn’t supposed to be happening. That birth control I’m on is supposed to be foolproof.”

“Then God must want this baby here pretty badly.”

She looked at me. “What?”

I shrugged, not sure where I was going with it, but knowing I needed to go somewhere. “Think about it; you and Manuel created a little life despite this foolproof birth control. There has to be a reason for it.”

“Yeah, it’s called, The Doctors Lying.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her cynicism. “Everything happens for a reason, Dianna. That’s something I struggled hard to understand since losing Hugh. But now I know it’s true. Even with the most devastating events; goodness finds its way out.”

She cast me a sideways glance. “When did you become so Pollyanna positive?”

“When I realized that losing what I thought was the best thing for me only showed me what really was.”

She chuckled low and wiped her eyes again. “Now you’re like a Hallmark card.”

“I’m just in love, Dianna.” I brushed some hair from her shoulder. “And I know that when Alex and I get to the same place you and Manny are, I’ll be thrilled to know that we’ve created a little miracle from our love.”

She sighed and glanced to her stomach, not saying a word.

I rubbed her arm. “Besides, when we do have those babies, they’re going to need a big, older cousin looking out for them.”

That got a small chuckle from her. “I don’t know, Morgan. I don’t know anything about being a mom.”

“No woman does. It’s just something that comes with time.”

“Yeah, but there are some out there that would do so much better at it than me.”

“And there are some that would be worse.” I shifted on the couch to face her. “For what it’s worth, I think you’d make a great mom. You’ve taken care of me since I moved here.”

“You’re a lot different than a helpless little baby.”

“Hey, it won’t be a baby forever. And you’ll have Manuel to help. You know he’ll do that,” she nodded some at that, “and I’ll be there every step of the way for whenever you need me.”

“Really?”

I gave a nod and squeezed her shoulder. “Of course; it’s the least I could do. You’ve done so much for me.”

“That’s if I decide to keep the baby.”

“Well, of course.” A pause. “What do you think Manny will want to do?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head slowly. “I really don’t.”

I sighed some. “Well, whatever you decide, Dianna, I’ll support.”

She smiled and pulled me in for a hug. “Thank you. You’re a really good friend.”

I returned the hug and gave her a squeeze. “I’m only doing what you would do for me.”

She pulled back and gave a nod. “And I appreciate it.”

I smiled and glanced to the time. “So, when does Manuel get home?”

“Probably not till after eight.” Dianna checked her own watch.

“Okay, c’mon then,” I rose from the couch and motioned to her, “let’s go rustle up some dinner. You’re eating for two now.”

“Meh.” She rose to her feet and followed behind me. “Let this be a lesson to you and Alex; there is no complete foolproof birth control. Except for abstinence and I doubt he’s going to want to practice that method.”

I laughed and moved into her kitchen, flipping on the light. “I don’t blame him, I don’t want to either.”

“Hey, who knows, maybe we can go through it together.”

I blinked and gaped at her, grabbing up an apple and sending it her way. “Don’t even joke!”

Dianna caught the apple then held a hand out. “Okay, okay, sorry.”

“His mother and I are finally getting along; I can only deal with one major issue at a time. And that’s one I do not want to deal with. Least not for a long while.”

“Ooh, you and the mama made up, huh?” She pulled herself up on a stool and watched as I scoured the fridge for something to make for dinner.

“Mmhmm, she showed up at the office today and we went to lunch. Apologized for causing the trouble and not trusting or believing in our relationship.”

Dianna made an impressed face. “Why the change of heart?”

I shrugged some and took out a package of ground beef before shutting the fridge door. “Because she said she’s noticed good changes in Alex; things she’s never noticed in him before.”

My friend grinned at me across the counter. “Well, that’s great, Morgan. I’m glad you two were able to patch things up.”

I had to smile. “Me too.” Then casting my eyes her way, I spoke again, “I think everything’s going to be right as rain again.”

Dianna gave a sigh, twirling the apple in her hand. “I wish I could say the same for myself.”

I pouted and pulled a skillet from under the counter. “It’s going to work out, Dianna, it always does.”

“And what if it doesn’t?”

“It’s going to.”

“How do you know?”

I turned from the stove and placed my hands flat on the counter across from her. “Because I do. Just trust me, okay?”

She gave a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping as the fight melted away. “Okay, but if it’s not, I hold you personally responsible.”

“Deal.” I gave a firm nod then turned back to the stove. “Now, how do you feel about taco salad?”