026:

He swallowed, anticipating the worst, only not being able to think what that might be. Was she dumping their friendship? Why now? They were getting along so well. They'd even sparked a good working relationship. What could be so bad now? They hadn't had even one negative conversation lately about anything... not Jared, not her time away, not his mission, nothing. They talked about work, they laughed and joked.

"Okay." He waited patiently, hoping it wasn't anything bad. Maybe she didn't want to go out to dinner.

"I went to ABCSC the other day." She said, and took a deep breath. "Like a little over a week ago."

"Yeah. I remember. You're okay right?" He felt his heart constrict that something might be wrong with her. She had been a little tired lately, but with her schedule and obligations who wouldn't be?

She swallowed, not looking at him.

Oh, this can't be good... he thought in trepidation. "Ryan, I—I think it's only fair that I should be the one to tell you. I haven't told anyone else except my mom and Megs. So you're really the first outside my family to know. But.... Well, I'm pregnant."

He was more than stunned. "Excuse me?" he couldn't have heard that right. Who had she been with? Matthew? But Matthew wouldn't have violated her, even in secret. It couldn't have been... Tom? Yeah, Tom was always horning in on her... but he had a girlfriend. The dirty....son of a....

"It's Jared's." she said and finally turned to look at him and she wasn't a bit upset. "I'm seven months along. I didn't know. I just never had a period after Hannah, but since I'm nursing her, that made sense. My mom even said I could go that long without a period, but I was feeling tired and not losing the weight properly no matter what I did. So I went in and got checked and... yeah.... I'm pregnant."

"How can you be pregnant? He's dead." He blurted in shock.

She laughed a little nervously. "The same way anybody else is pregnant, Rye." She answered, squeezing the steering wheel with white knuckles and a grim, tight smile.

He blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Oh yeah, I saw the ultrasound. It's a girl. Another little girl." She glanced at him once again.

"So, you're telling me I'm going to be an uncle? That's bizarre." He had to force himself to breathe. His eyes couldn't meet hers. He knew she was staring at him now, waiting for a reaction, perfectly capable of holding her own if they started to fight, but knowing she wouldn't want to fight over this. "It's actually freaky weird, is what." He let out his breath and ran a hand over his eyes to hide his confusion. What now? How am I supposed to act now?

"Yeah, I was a little freaked out too." She said, suddenly glad that he wasn't acting mad, or sad, or anything personal. He looked kind of surprised and grim, but who wouldn't be?

"No kidding. I bet it was the last thing you went in there to find out." He laughed outright. His budding and blossoming ideas about the two of them were suddenly being put on hold, once again by his freaking stupid low life scum of a dead brother! He snuck a peek at Melia whose worried expression belied his own animosity. Then he blew out his breath. "You hungry? You want to go get something to eat?" He said this last bit and wouldn't meet her eyes.

For that, she was partly grateful, and partly hurt, but she didn't let on.

Melia got out and closed the door. "I have a meeting, and then I have to get Hannah. Then... yeah, that'd be okay."

They walked up the few stairs and then waited at the elevator.

Melia chatted for a few minutes about nothing, stuff at work, and people they both knew, and naturally reported on, stories they'd been following. They rode the elevator up to Tracy's offices and Melia, as the child of privilege that she was, went right in without knocking, in fact without missing a beat in her conversation.

Inside, two men were waiting, Melia walked straight to them and hugged the blonde one from behind.

Ryan waited, disturbed.

"Stevie!" She squealed, and then as he turned her around to hug her again, his laughing face met her own.

"Mia! This is awesome! I'm so glad to see you! How are you?" He'd heard of course about part of her ordeal, although he'd been on his mission for most of it.

Now the older man beside Steve turned from perusing the mantel pictures and hugged Melia too.

"Uncle Austin!"

Now Ryan remembered the connection between the McQueen's and the Mann's and was relieved. Richard Mann and Austin McQueen had been friends for a long, long time, and had started a film studio out of Salt Lake a few years back. Of course, Melia would be close to them, she'd likely known them all her life.

But was this who the meeting was with?
Melia easily and courteously introduced them to Ryan, and they all shook hands. He'd actually met Steve McQueen on another occasion several years previously. But the first thing Steve asked him was when he'd got off his mission. He was obviously still in that missionary mode, where returned missionaries began every conversation with an account from their missions, and settled easily into missionary talk for the next half hour.

Ryan caught Melia's eye and she deflected this conversation quickly by telling them that due to Jared's death, Ryan had taken a leave of absence.

He waited for Steve's 'ah-so' moment, but it didn't come. Steve, with an understanding smile, instantly started talking about an upcoming project.

They retired to the close seating arrangement in Tracy's office and almost immediately another few men walked in, and Ryan realized this was simply a meeting to discuss a possible gig for Steve and Melia and to talk about prep for it.

She was right, the meeting didn't last very long, things were easily settled. Goodbyes were said and Ryan found himself on the road again, on the way to pick up his niece from the nanny.

The baby was upset and needed to nurse, which made Melia feel languid and not want to go out again.

"We can just stay in and eat herbal smoothies and watch a movie."

"Sounds good." And it would have been good till he noticed a stack of about a hundred pictures on the kitchen table, and when he went to look through them realized every one was of Jared.

Melia's eyes met his from her perch on the couch. "You don't have to look through them all."

He thumbed through anyway, torturing himself with memories that hadn't been confirmed yet.

"From your phone?"

"Yeah, and his."

He held one up. "I like this one. That's on the ranch, right? When you and I went there to meet my folks--- the day you two met and fell in love."

******