Chapter 10

After searching for a couple of days for someplace to stay, Glen finally purchased a small house that was only a few miles from Susan's home. He decided that since he was definitely going to be staying in town quite a bit, he would be better off in the long run if he just bought him a place outright, instead of trying to rent something. That way he could make sure that he stayed close to Susan in case something happened to her or the baby. He ordered enough furniture and appliances to fill every room, although he didn't know exactly why he had insisted on furnishing the spare bedrooms too. It wasn't like he was going to have any company...he would make sure that nobody beside Susan knew he was there. Well, except maybe for Mark. Glen sighed as he picked up the phone to call his friend, already preparing himself for the "I told you so" speech that he was sure he was going to hear. Glen dialed the number and it rang several times before Mark finally answered.

"What!" he yelled, causing Glen to jerk the phone away from his ear.

"Somebody needs to teach you some manners, boy! Didn't your mama teach you the proper way to answer a telephone?" Glen teased.

"Sorry man. You just would not believe how crazy things have been around here for the past couple of days. And I'm stuck here right in the middle of it while you're off chasin' some woman halfway across the country! It's about time you called anyway…where the hell have you been? Did you find her?" Mark asked.

"Yeah …I found her."

"And…How did it go? Was she surprised to see you?"

"Uh…yeah…you could say that." Glen replied, recalling the look on Susan's face when she had opened the door and found him standing there.

"Well! What the hell happened?" Mark asked impatiently. He assumed that things hadn't gone too well…Glen didn't sound like he was exactly beaming with happiness. But then again, he didn't seem to be too disheartened either. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly had happened between the two of them.

"Well…I showed up at her house…I tried to talk to her…and she told me I had to leave."

"Leave? Why? What was the problem?" Mark asked, getting more curious by the minute.

"The problem is…she's married. That's why she left that morning without talking to me. She regretted what happened between us and she didn't want her husband to find out."

"Married?" Mark repeated, feeling sorry for his friend. "Look, I'm sorry man. I know how disappointed you must be but…"

"There's more." Glen interrupted.

"More? Don't tell me you beat up her husband or something stupid like that." Mark chuckled, knowing that it was very possible considering how obsessed Glen had been with this woman.

"She's pregnant."

"Pregnant?"

"Is there an echo in here? Yes, pregnant…with my child." Glen added reluctantly, knowing that Mark was going to go through the roof.

"What? How the hell did that happen?" Mark yelled in surprise.

"Didn't your mama teach you anything?" Glen teased, amused by Mark's reaction. "You want me to explain it to you or do you need me to draw pictures?"

"Can it, smart ass." Mark growled. "You know what I meant. How can you be so sure it's yours anyway? Don't you think it's possible she could just be lying to you to get to some of your money?"

"Not a chance. She tried to deny that it was mine but I saw right through her. I finally got her to admit that it was true."

"And what exactly does her husband have to say about all of this. I'm sure he was none too pleased with you showin' up on her doorstep, especially since she's havin' your baby."

"He doesn't know." Glen replied. "She never told him about the night that we spent together. He thinks the baby is his."

Mark took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he said something to Glen that he regretted. What in the hell had his friend gotten himself into this time?

"So she's married…she's having your baby…her husband doesn't know and I'm willin' to bet that she doesn't want you anywhere near her. So why the hell are you still there?" Mark asked.

"I've been looking for someplace to stay."

"You do have someplace to stay…it's called a hotel!" Mark answered. This boy was gettin' stranger by the minute!

"I mean someplace permanent…someplace I can stay on my days off." Glen replied.

"Glen…what in the hell are you talkin' about? She doesn't want you there…you don't have any reason to stay. Just forget about her and come back home."

"Mark…you know how long I've waited to have kids of my own. I'm not going to just walk away from this child. I want to stay here and be a part of this kid's life."

"Have you lost your damn mind? The only thing you're going to be a part of is a big mess! If she doesn't want your help, then there's no point in trying to force it on her. Leave her alone, let her stay with her husband and let them raise the baby!"

"I can't do that. Look, Mark. I've got to go." Glen stated, wanting to get off of the phone before Mark tore into him too bad. "We'll discuss this more when I get back in a couple of days."

"I hope you know what you're gettin' yourself into!" Mark replied.

"Everything will be fine. Stop worrying about me! I'll talk to you later."

Glen hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad he had that out of the way, although he knew that it was far from over with. Mark was going to have his ass when he got back. But it didn't matter. All that did matter was the fact that he wanted to be here…he wanted to make things right with Susan and the baby. And that was something that both Susan and Mark were going to have to learn to deal with!

XXXXXXXXXXX

For the next few days Susan was a nervous wreck, looking over her shoulder whenever she went out and jumping every time the phone rang. Her biggest fear was that Glen would call or come by the house when her husband was home. That was the last thing that she needed. She couldn't understand why Glen was so insistent about hanging around. She was sure that he could have his choice of any number of women and more than one of them would surely be willing to have a child with him if that's what he wanted. So why did he insist on trying to keep this child in his life. It didn't make any sense. What was he up to?

Sighing, Susan took out the piece of paper with Glen's cell phone number and turned it over in her hand. She needed to call him…she had to find a way to convince him to leave her and her family alone. She couldn't let him ruin everything that she had worked so hard to protect.

Susan dialed the number and waited patiently while the phone rang several times. Just as she was about to hang up, Glen finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Glen? This is Susan."

"Susan? Are you okay? Is something wrong with the baby?" Glen asked, surprised that she would be calling him.

"No. The baby's fine." Susan replied. "Listen…is there somewhere we can meet and talk? I think we have a few things we need to discuss."

"Uh..sure." Glen replied, giving his new address to her. "Meet me there in about an hour."

"Is it private?" Susan asked, not wanting to take a chance on someone seeing them together.

"Yeah. It's private. Don't worry…no one will know you're there."

"Okay. I'll see you in an hour then." Susan replied, before hanging up the phone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Susan pulled into the driveway of the house, double checking the address that Glen had given her.

"What is he doing here?" she wondered, as a feeling of dread began to form in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if maybe he had friends or family in the area. Maybe one of them let him use their house. Hesitantly, she got out of her car and walked to the door, where she knocked softly.

Glen hurriedly opened the door and let her in, his breath catching at the sight of her. He still thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even if he knew he could never have her for his own.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked, as he helped her remove her coat.

"I'm fine. How are you?" Susan replied, wanting to keep things as civil as possible between them.

"I'm good. Here…come on in and have a seat." he stated, as he reached down to take her hand and tried to lead her to the couch. Susan gasped and pulled away, her skin still tingling from the contact. She still couldn't believe what an effect this man had on her. She knew she had to be careful around him. She couldn't let things get out of control again.

"Sorry." Glen said apologetically, realizing that he had probably made her feel uncomfortable again. He guided her into the living room and helped her sit down on the couch.

"Thanks but I think I can manage." Susan stated, smiling at Glen's attempts to help her. "My stomach's not that big yet. I can still get around pretty good."

Glen nodded his head as he sat down across from her.

Susan looked around the room, noticing how new everything looked.

"Whose house is this Glen? Do you know somebody that lives around here?" she asked.

Glen hesitated for a moment before he answered her. He was pretty sure that she wasn't going to take the news well.

"It's mine." he replied softly.

Susan's jaw dropped as she stared at him. "What did you just say?"

"I said it's mine." Glen repeated. "I bought it a few of days ago. I'm going to stay here when I'm not working."

Susan could only stare at him in shock. So much for talking him out of anything. She realized now that he had been more than serious when he told her he wanted to stay close to her and the baby.

"Glen…you can't do this." she pleaded, her fear threatening to overwhelm her. "David can't know the truth. He would never speak to me again if he found out what happened."

"Susan, I know you're worried about your marriage, but you've got to tell him the truth. He deserves to know what happened between us that night. He deserves to know that this is not his child. I'm sure that he'll be angry at first, but if he truly loves you then he'll be willing to work things out with you. You gave him a second chance…why shouldn't he do the same for you."

"You don't understand. You don't know him. He would never forgive me…especially since I've waited so long to tell him. Glen…please…"

"I'm sorry Susan. I know I can't force you to tell him but I'm not going to just go away. You're going to have to deal with this one way or another." Glen replied as gently as possible, not wanting to upset her again.

"Please…don't do this to me." Susan pleaded. "I'll do anything you want…I'll pay you money…I'll even sleep with you again if that's what you want…"

"Susan…."

"I'll do it right now." she stated, as she tried to steady her hands long enough to unbutton her blouse. "I'll do whatever you want Glen…just promise me that you'll leave my family alone."

In a matter of seconds, Glen was beside her on the couch. He grabbed her wrists and jerked them away from her shirt.

"Stop it, Susan. You know I wouldn't ask you to do that."

"Let me go!" she cried, as she struggled against him, causing Glen to tighten his grip on her.

"Not until you stop fighting me." Glen said softly, trying to get her to calm down.

Susan continued to struggle, trying her best to break free, but she realized that he was too strong for her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she sobbed, as she ceased her struggles and began to cry.

Glen loosened his grip, afraid that he was hurting her.

"I'm sorry baby. I swear the last thing I want to do is hurt you." Glen answered, as he wrapped his arms around her.

Susan turned into his chest and continued to cry, as Glen did his best to soothe her. He pulled her against him and held her tight, rubbing her back as he tried to comfort her. He didn't think he had ever felt as low as he did at that moment.

"I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to be hurt by all this." he whispered softly, as he caressed her.

Eventually, Susan began to calm down and she immediately became aware of the heat that was radiating from his large body. Closing her eyes, she rested quietly against him as she replayed the events of that night over again in her head. She remembered how safe she had felt…how comforting his embrace had been to her…those were the same sensations that she was feeling right now as he held her again. Opening her eyes, Susan looked upward at Glen's face, meeting his gaze. His eyes locked on hers, and he stared at her for a moment before he raised his hand and gently ran his fingers down her cheek. He leaned in slowly, as if to kiss her, but Susan regained her senses, and realizing what he was doing, she quickly pulled away from him. She jumped up from the couch and began to straighten her clothes.

"I see what you're doing now." she stated coldly, turning around to face him again. "You're doing this on purpose to break up my marriage, aren't you? You think if you can start enough trouble, David will leave me and then you can have me all to yourself."

Glen looked at her in shock. How could she even think he would do something like that?

"That's it, isn't it?" she asked again, taking a step closer to him. "You want to break up my marriage so you can have another go at me. Isn't that right Glen?"

Glen held up his hands in defense. "The last thing I want to do is break up your marriage Susan. I know firsthand how hard it is to go through a divorce. I would never intentionally do something like that to hurt you."

"Don't lie to me! That's exactly what you're trying to do! Well, it's not going to work! I'm not going to just stand by and let you ruin my marriage!" Susan yelled, as she headed toward the door and slipped on her coat.

"Wait Susan…please. We need to talk about this." Glen pleaded as he followed behind her, desperately wanting her to stay and talk to him.

"There is nothing left to talk about Glen. I want you to stay away from me and stay away from this baby! If you come near me again, I won't hesitate to go to the police and press charges against you for stalking!"

Susan turned and jerked the door open, heading outside to her car.

"Susan…wait…please!" Glen called after her, but she didn't offer a reply. Glen watched in frustration as she climbed into her car and drove away. Slamming the door closed, he turned and punched the wall, leaving a huge hole in the sheetrock. He hated this. He knew this whole situation was less than ideal, but she was going to be the mother of his child and the last thing he wanted to do was to fight with her.

Glen walked back to the couch and took a seat, as he thought about the things she had said to him. He realized that maybe part of what she had said to him had been true. Maybe deep down, a part of him really wanted her marriage to fall apart…at least then she could be with him and they would have a chance to raise their child together. Glen shook his head at the thought. How could he be cruel enough to deliberately wish that kind of pain on her? It didn't matter now anyway. He was sure that after what just happened, she would probably never speak to him again.

Glen sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. Maybe Mark had been right. Maybe it would be best if he just packed up his things and left town. There was no future left for him here. The woman he loved was already married to another man and the child that he so desperately wanted would be raised by someone else. With his travel schedule, Glen knew he would be a part-time father at best. They could at least provide it with a happy home and the stability that children so desperately deserved and needed. Maybe it would be better just to bow out and let Susan and her husband raise this baby. Sighing again, Glen picked up his cell phone and examined it. Then taking a deep breath, he turned it on and dialed the number.