Saving Felicity by Darlene Franklin

Author:Darlene Franklin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“...grandchild.”

Travis’s hold on the coffee tray loosened and the coffeepot crashed to the floor. Dark liquid soaked the toe of his shoe and spread across the linoleum. Where did Mom keep her dish towels? He opened drawers at random until he found them, tossing them at the puddle.

Mom and Felicity popped into the kitchen at the same time.

“What happened?” Mom demanded.

“Are you hurt?” Felicity grabbed a dish towel and dropped to the floor to clean the mess.

“Watch out for broken glass. I’d better sweep first.” When he bent over to sweep the pieces into the dustpan, he noticed the dark stains on his trouser legs. His knees smarted, probably a mild burn. It wasn’t his first accident in the kitchen, and it wouldn’t be his last.

Mom had noticed the grimace. “Go and change. And, Felicity, all that mopping around on the floor can’t be any good for you or the baby.”

Felicity scrambled to her feet, backing away from Travis. “There is no baby. We aren’t—” She looked at Travis, unwilling to say the words. “You explain.” She ran blindly down the hall, opening doors until she found the bathroom.

“Mom, about Felicity—”

“So what if you’re not married yet? That’s not so important these days.” She filled the mop bucket.

“Mom.” Travis wrested the mop bucket out of her hands. “Felicity isn’t pregnant. She isn’t even my girlfriend.”

Mom’s face crumbled. “Oh, dear.” She sank onto the closest chair.

The floor could wait. Travis sat across from her.

“I’m so sorry. She’s a little plump around the middle....” Mom covered her face with her hands. “You never bring anyone home. You don’t even come home yourself except for Christmas and birthdays, maybe. I thought the two of you must be serious.”

Travis fought the urge to explain himself to his mother. A grown man shouldn’t worry about disappointing his parents. “You want me to marry and give you grandchildren. I understand. But you can’t talk to strangers like that. We were going to stay overnight, but I won’t blame Felicity if she wants to leave right now.”

Tears spilled from beneath Mom’s eyelashes, but Felicity’s tears worried him more. He covered the hallway in five long steps and he knocked on the door. “It’s me.”

“Come in.”

He eased the door open and crossed the threshold. Felicity sat on the edge of the bed, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. For a minute Travis pictured that same round profile, only with their child lending her body that shape. He’d love to give his parents a grandchild, and Felicity would be a great mother.

“I’m sorry I ran away like that.”

He swallowed. “Don’t be. In your shoes, I might have grabbed the keys and run out the door.”

Felicity’s face was free of tears but pale, and her gray cardigan did nothing to help it. Even with her feeling her worst, though, her bone-deep beauty stirred him. “Did I tell you how pretty you are today?”

“You did, but you’re lying. I’m not.”

“Maybe your peaches-and-cream complexion made Mom think you had that special glow I hear women get in pregnancy.

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