Rise: Populations Crumble, Book 2 Read online

  I smile back, appreciating the sentiment. “Thanks Faith, but I think I’m okay.”

  She settles back into her seat, and Teddy slips his arm back around her. She rests her head on his shoulder, and my heart clenches painfully. I force myself to look out the window instead, as the scenery slips by in the darkness. The drive slips by in silence, and then we’re pulling up in front of what appears to be a large guest house. The white board siding reflects in the moonlight, looking old and stately. I can’t see much else, but I can hear the ocean close by, and taste the salt in the air as we step off the shuttle stairs.

  Pink-shirted staff come out and take our bags from Todd, and an older gentleman with slicked back salt-and-pepper hair approaches us.

  “Good evening, newlyweds! My name is Jared, and I’m so pleased to welcome you to the Mairmont Honeymoon Resort! We’re so glad you chose to start your new family with us. Please follow me inside, and we’ll get you settled into your rooms as quickly as possible.” He turns and leads us into the guest house. “Gentlemen, if you’d step over here, I have a few things to discuss with you. Ladies, there are hot beverages and fresh pastries on the side board; do help yourselves. I’ll have your dashing grooms back to you momentarily.” He may be older, but the toothpaste-ad grin he shoots us could be Eric’s twin.

  Faith and I go inspect the pastries, and once we’ve both gotten one, we take a seat in one of the plush wingback chairs surrounding the sitting area. I’ve got a cheese Danish halfway to my mouth when she asks quietly, “Are you sure you’re okay? I was serious earlier, I don’t mind talking with you if you’ve got questions. Or concerns. Anything you need to know, I’m here.”

  My mouth is full of pastry. “Fimlj otkah” I quickly swallow it down and try again. “I’m okay, thank you. Patrick and I are going to take our time, not rush into anything right away. So, I may have questions, but not tonight.” I give her a reassuring smile, hoping she’ll let it drop.

  “I see.” She grimaces. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and I’m sure we’ll get dragged to a presentation tomorrow, as that’s how it usually goes. But, the director frowns pretty heavily on taking things too slowly.” I freeze mid-bite, and she continues, “They’re going to expect you to track . . . things in your fertility app, and you’ll be expected to test each month and report results. If you aren’t tracking as expected you could be sent for an”—she does finger quotes— “intensive getaway.”

  My mouth drops open. “Are you serious? It’s not enough to marry us off and keep us here, away from our families. They expect to police when and how often we . . .” I trail off, unsure how to process that information. I put my head in my hands.

  Faith leans over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Sadie. My fertile week starts soon, but yours doesn’t, right? What does your tracker say?” I look to my wrist, where it usually sits.

  “I’m not sure exactly, but I think ten days or so?” I’m so used to having it there now, I find myself rubbing the spot absentmindedly.

  “See, that’s good. You’ve got a little time to take things slow.” She tries to reassure me.

  “I mean, they won’t know if we maybe track something that didn’t really happen to keep them off our backs, right? To buy a little more time to ease into things?” I say quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the hovering staff to our conversation.

  Her lips press into a grim line. “Technically, no. But with my first husband Bill, a couple at our honeymoon in Campetán were a ninety percent match, and after their third month they were sent for extra testing when they didn’t have results. You two are a ninety-nine percent, right?” I nod. “Yeah, so, I wouldn’t want you to have to deal with more tests. Don’t put it off too long, okay? Ease into it, sure. But remember the longer you put something off, the more stressful it can feel.”

  Her look turns compassionate, and I look down at my half-eaten pastry, unable to meet her eyes anymore. I know she’s right, and if it weren’t for the deception I probably would have no problem taking her advice. Hopefully we’re able to work something out before it causes us issues with the director.

  “Who’s ready to get out of those dresses?” Teddy walks up jangling a room key. I’m surprised to see it’s actually a large, antique looking key with a decorative lobster tail attached, instead of an automatic fob like we had back at the NLC.

  Patrick is hot on his heels, but simply holds up our key without additional comment. Faith and I both hop up, eager to get out of our gowns. While I was excited to put it on, formal gowns are not exactly comfortable travel wear. The guys lead us down a short hallway filled with nautical décor, and straight out the back door.

  “Uhm, guys? Where are we going?” Faith asks.

  “You’ll see!” Teddy grabs her hand happily and pulls her down a small path through the rocky outcropping towards the sound of the ocean.

  “Are we not staying in the main guest house?” I ask, turning to look at Patrick.

  “No, actually. It’s even better.” He gives me a shuttered smile. “I think you’ll love it.”

  The four of us make our way down the path, through some scrubby bushes on a small incline. Just as the ocean sounds peak, we come to the top of the outcropping and the rocky beach spreads before us, bathed in moonlight. I draw in a shocked breath and stop to take in the dazzling view in front of me.

  “It’s stunning!” I say, awed by the harsh beauty of waves crashing into the rocky beach.

  “Yes, you are,” Patrick says quietly. I snap my gaze over to where he’s standing, drinking me in like I’m going to disappear. I blush, and start moving again. Faith and Teddy are already picking their way along the rocks, and I can see cottages spread along the beachfront.

  They stop and wait for us at the first cottage, Faith snuggled into Teddy’s side.

  “This is us! You guys should be the next one over. Y’all have a good night, and remember”—he looks sternly at Patrick—“if you hurt my sister, they’ll never find your body.” He pops finger guns at him before turning and leading Faith up to their small cottage.

  Oh, my gosh. Really Teddy? I’m mortified, but thankfully Patrick just chuckles in amusement.

  “I’m so sorry,” I say as we walk to the next cottage.

  “It’s fine, if I had a baby sister in your shoes, I’d probably say the same thing. He’s a good guy, we’ve talked several times,” he confesses.

  “What? You two have been talking?” I’m surprised to hear that.

  “Yeah, who do you think tipped me off about the hot chocolate?” He nudges me lightly with his elbow, and my mind jumps back to this morning, Charlotte knocking at my door with his thoughtful gift and a steaming mug of cocoa. I hadn’t questioned his knowledge at the time, but it makes sense.

  “You’ve really put in a lot of effort, haven’t you?” My hand flutters up to touch his mother’s hair clip of its own accord. We’ve arrived in front of our cabin, but instead of heading up he stops and turns to face me, reaching for my hands for the first time since our wedding ceremony.

  “Sadie, I know I messed up. I own that, and I apologize. I just hope—” He stops, looks out at the ocean over my shoulder and clears his throat. “I just hope that you’ll give me a chance to prove to you that the rest of it wasn’t a lie. That I’ve been me the whole time. The only difference is the last name on the man you chose to marry.” He looks back to me and gives my hands a squeeze before letting go and leading the way to our front door.

  With the sound of the waves crashing in my ears, I swallow past the lump in my throat and then follow him to our new home—for now.

  We wander through the front living space of the cottage, and find ourselves standing inside the master bedroom, staring at an expansive bed taking up most of the cozy space. Patrick steps around the room opening doors, taking note of what’s behind them.

  This is so awkward. I just want to wash off this day, and sleep. Alone.

  Looking down at my massive gow
n, an unpleasant realization hits me like a brick.

  “It looks like the bags are already in the closet. I can shower in the hall bathroom so you’ll have some time to yourself in here.”

  “I’d love to shower, but—” I stop, my throat suddenly dry. “I can’t take this dress off without help.” I turn, and show him the long row of pearl buttons, which Nell had painstakingly buttoned earlier today.

  “Ahh, yes, those would probably be difficult to reach,” he says, and runs his hands through his hair with a nervous chuckle. “I can help with that.”

  I freeze as he steps forward, and starts at the top button. This is humiliating.

  The warmth of his fingers slowly penetrates the satin fabric of the gown, and I hate myself for feeling a small tingle in response.

  Down, girl. We do not get tingles for liars. Even handsome ones with perfect hair.

  Patrick continues working down the line of buttons, unaware of my inward battle for indifference. Finally, he reaches the small of my back and the dress sags. I reach up with both hands to hold it in place before spinning out of his reach. “Thank you! That’s good, I can take it from here.” I give him a grimace, which is as close as I can muster to a smile.

  “Of course, happy to help.” He walks stiffly over to the closet and grabs a slim black toiletry bag before beating a hasty retreat. The bedroom door closes with a soft click, and my shoulders sag in relief.

  This is not how I pictured my wedding night going.

  ✽✽✽

  When I wake up the next morning, it takes me a minute to process where I am. The beams overhead are pale and unfamiliar, and my foggy brain slowly recalls that this is our honeymoon beach cottage. I frown, remembering our very non-traditional wedding night before looking over to see that Patrick is already up from the chaise lounge he claimed as his last night. The sheets are neatly folded and stacked at the end, indicating he’s been up for a while.

  Climbing out of bed, I head to the bathroom and go through my morning routine. There’s no sign of Patrick when I emerge, and the house is quiet. As I amble into the kitchen, I smell coffee and spot a wrapped package with a pink frilly bow on the counter. On closer inspection, the tag has my name on it. Well, kind of; it says Sadie O’Roarke. Scowling, I lift the lid off of the box to find my fertility tracking wristband with three spare colored bands.

  My eyes roll of their own accord. Sure, it’s way less invasive since you gave me more color options. Ugh. With a resigned sigh, I select the green band and slide it back onto my wrist. While I tighten the strap so it doesn’t flop around, the sound of a door clicking shut catches my attention. I look up and see Patrick, in sweat-plastered workout clothes, coming in the door. His smile is instant, and he shows no signs of being upset about spending his first night as a married man on a couch. I would like to say my stomach didn’t tighten at the sight of his shirt clinging to the muscles of his chest, but that would be a lie.

  “Good morning!” His voice is chipper. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Uhm, yes. How about you? I know the couch in the bedroom is kind of small.” Guilt colors my voice, but I firmly remind myself that it’s okay to need some space.

  “Just fine. I could just barely hear the waves, and I slept like a log.” He moves past me to the brimming coffee pot and starts rifling through the white cabinets in search of a mug. On his third cabinet, he finds what he’s looking for and turns around with a blue nautical mug which matches the house’s décor. He pours a cup and scoops in three heaping spoonfuls of sugar before asking, “Are you hungry?”

  “I could eat. Do we have stuff to cook here, or do we have to go back to the guest house?”

  “Hmm.” he opens the fridge. “It looks like we have the basics. Eggs, some fruit, bacon. Will that work, or would you rather see what they’re serving there?”

  I think it over and bite my lip. “Let’s stay in. It might be kind of awkward running into Teddy and Faith first thing this morning.”

  “Why, exactly?” He asks with a chuckle.

  I shudder. “Because! We know what they’ve been doing. And they don’t know what we haven’t been doing. Awkward.”

  His face sobers at the reminder, and he sets eggs and strawberries from the fridge on the counter. “Sadie, there’s no reason to feel awkward. I’m sure we are not the only couple in this program who needed a little extra time to get comfortable with each other before jumping in bed. We’re taking it slow, remember?”

  He leans over and snakes an arm around my waist and gives me a quick side hug and a kiss on the side of my head, and then turns and starts working on breakfast.

  “Why don’t you let me do that? You look like you might want to shower.” I gesture to his workout gear. “Where were you, anyways?” I slide past him and start washing the strawberries.

  “Just went for a quick run on the beach. It’s beautiful out there! If you wanted, you could come with me tomorrow morning.” He waggles his eyebrows at me.

  “Patrick, there’s a lot we don’t know about each other yet, but I think you should at least know that I’m not a morning runner. I’m a morning sleeper.”

  “Well, you can’t blame a man for trying.” He snags one of the berries and pops it in his mouth before heading to the shower.

  A few minutes later he emerges, just in time to help me dish up our fried eggs, fruit, and toast. We make our way to the built-in kitchen table, which has a bay window overlooking the ocean. I’m savoring my second bite of toast when I hear a chime coming from the front of the house. Patrick and I look at each other, then around to try to locate the source of the noise.

  “Do we have a doorbell? I didn’t notice last night.”

  “Probably, but who would be coming to visit us this morning?” He points out the unlikelihood.

  We both make our way out of the dining area and I instantly spot the source of the noise—not the doorbell, the television. We’ve got an appointment in the guest house.

  “Ugh, couldn’t we at least finish breakfast before they summon us? Don’t they know it’s early?” I grouch, and head back to the breakfast table.

  Patrick sits back down across from me before answering, “It says it’s just an introduction meeting, I’m sure it won’t be too bad. There are probably some other couples here who we’ll get to meet.”

  That’s Patrick, putting a positive spin on things. Doesn’t he realize it’s too early for that? I reach over and grab my cup of cocoa and give him a return shrug. “We’ll see. Faith told me that it’s probably for them to lay down some more ground rules.”

  He looks confused. “Like what? Don’t go in the communal swimming pool without a shower? Don’t hang your underwear to dry on the porch where everyone can see them?” he jokes, and shovels in another bite of eggs.

  “No, like fertility tracker stuff. I hope she’s wrong.” I trail off, not wanting to delve into the conversation yet.

  “Well, it’s okay. We can finish our breakfast and then go see what’s up,” he says reassuringly.

  After loading our breakfast dishes into the dishwasher, we head to the guest house for our introduction meeting.

  Once we arrive at the guesthouse, we’re directed to a small conference room where three couples are already waiting, including Teddy and Faith. We choose seats next to them and exchange quick greetings before an employee makes her way to the front of the room to begin the presentation. She looks to be in her early fifties, with a hint of graying hair around her temples threaded into the blonde.

  “Good morning everyone, and thank you so much for rising early on this beautiful day to meet with me! My name is Melissa, and I’m the medical director for this location. I just wanted to go over some specifics with you all to get you started off on the right foot. For those of you who have been here for a while, there won’t be any new information, but we always like to give our resident couples a chance to meet.” She gestures to the two couples across the table from us, and they all nod or wave in acknowledgement.

/>   “Well then, the very first thing I want to say is that I know this is new to you, but we hope you will see that we here at the Mairmont Honeymoon Resort endeavor to make what could be uncomfortable topics for you as normal and painless as possible. We are all here for the same reason—we want to help you start your families!” She fixes us with her best maternal expression. “So please, know that everything we do is to support you so we can work together towards that end. We foster openness and communication between the couples and staff, with the hopes of getting you a baby sooner. Before I get into the nitty gritty, are there any questions?”

  When nobody interjects, she launches into her presentation.

  ✽✽✽

  An hour later, Melissa leaves us all to mingle. I glance over at Patrick, and he looks as shell-shocked as I feel. Teddy, however, is the first to break the silence.

  “Well that was . . . specific,” he says bluntly.

  One of the men across the table snorts. “You get used to it after the first couple months. They really are matter-of-fact about the whole process, and after a while you will be, too.”

  “That’s good to hear, I guess.” He still sounds unsettled, but switches gears to stand and offer his hand. “My name’s Teddy Taylor.”

  “Hey, Teddy. I’m Emmett Alexander.” He stands and shakes Teddy’s proffered hand. He’s short and stocky, with dark chocolate skin. He gestures to his wife, a petite blonde with bright blue eyes. “This is Carolina.”

  She gives us all a friendly wave. “Nice to meet you all. We’re thrilled to have more company.”

  “This is Faith, my wife; Sadie, my sister; and Patrick, my new brother-in-law.” Teddy points at each of us, and we wave in turn.

  “Whoa, brother and sister in the same batch? That’s unusual.” The taller man across the table chimes in. “I’m Dominic Heath, and this is Odette.” He is scruffy, and his relaxed linen clothing looks like he’s taken to the beach lifestyle here.