Shelby put down her fork and ran to the bathroom. When she came out, her father was waiting outside the door.

“You have been sick all week. I called the doctor and made you an appointment.” He handed her a bag from the pharmacy. “Just in case you are curious before tomorrow’s appointment.”

Shelby looked in the bag. She had not even thought of that being a possibility. Her and Philip had only spent the one night together before he left for basic training. Their wedding night. He had left the next morning.

She gave her dad a big hug. “Thank you, Daddy. I will actually do this now. Just please don’t stand outside the door. That is weird.”

---

Andy looked up at his daughter when she came into the living room. He saw her give a small nod and smiled.

“You should call Philip.”

Shelby shook her head and sat down beside her dad. “I don’t want to tell him on the phone. He is almost finished with basic training. I will be seeing him soon. I will tell him him.”

She looked over at her dad. “Please don’t tell anyone else. Philip should be the next to know.”

Andy nodded and agreed. “I won’t say a word. I promise.”

Shelby put her hand on her stomach and smiled. This hadn’t been in the plans, but she was happy. She hoped Philip would be also.

“It’s a good thing your sister is at school.”

Shelby had to agree. “If she knew, the entire world would know by now. That girl cannot keep a secret.”

---

---

Andy looked over at the boy that Shelby had brought home. It was prom night and the two were going together.

Andy knew the two of them had been dating for awhile. He had met the boy several times, but this time things were different. He remembered the things that happened at prom.

“You rented the limo for tonight?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You are taking her to dinner before the dance?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The dance is at the school in the gym?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You bought the condoms for after the dance?”

“Yes, sir…I mean no, sir. I have no plans for needing those tonight.”

Andy couldn’t help laughing. “You two have a good time.”

He watched the two of them leave and sighed. His little girl wasn’t so little any more. She would be graduating in a couple weeks. he knew that Philip had enlisted in the military and would be leaving the week after graduation. He also knew that him and Shelby were planning to get married. He didn’t know the time frame or the details, but was sure they would tell him when they had it figured out.

He looked over at Nakusa when she slipped her hand into his.

“I will never leave to go to a dance with a boy. They are yucky.”

---

---

Daniel sat with his nephew talking about the news article. “Your great-grandfather would be very proud of the man you have become. I knew I had made the right decision when I asked you to take my place instead of Antonio.”

Andy did not like being compared to his cousin. Especially when one came out better than the other. “Anthony is a good man. He has been a big help to me. He would have been a good choice.”

Daniel shook his head. “He does not have the heart to do what needs to be done.”

“He does. He helped find…”

“I know he helped. But do you believe the outcome would have been the same if he had been in your shoes?”

Andy shook his head. “That is not something we could know. He has never been faced with what I have. He has only experienced it as an observer.”

Daniel nodded and smiled. Now his nephew understood. “When you dealt with the man who hurt your children, I knew that you had it in you to do whatever it takes to protect the family. Anthony has never faced that test.”

“I hope he never has to.” Andy knew the experiences had changed him.

---

Just wanted to let everybody know that I have NOT abandoned the story. The game is unplayable in that save right now since adding the new pack. All I can do is build. I have purchased a new computer and it is supposed to be here Wednesday. I will transfer the save over to it and get a new chapter out to you as soon as possible. Only 4 more chapters left for Andy then we move on to Shelby.

Andy stood facing Slade. His men had finally found him and brought him to the arranged meeting place.

“You are a hard man to find.”

“Not hard enough apparently.”

Andy moved closer to him. “You are in no position to make jokes.”

He stepped back when the guy tried to spit on him.

“That’s not very nice. I invited you up here for a nice chat and this is how you act?”

He gave the man a soft pat on the cheek before punching him with enough force to double him over.

He looked at one of his men. “Did you get it from him?”

After being assured they had it recorded and tucked into his pocket with copies sent to a few key people, Andy nodded.

“Good job. Your bonuses will be in the bank by morning.”

He grabbed Slade’s throat forcing him to stand eye to eye with him.

“You took something very important from me. You took my girl and my son. For that you will pay.”

“Jail won’t stop me from coming after you. I know you have two daughters. One is about to turn 18 isn’t she? Shelby, right? And she has a little sister who just became a teenager. Maybe I should be the one who turns them both into women. I bet they are as hot in bed as their mother.”

Andy felt his grip tightening around the guys throat. “You will never touch another person I love.”

He felt the hand on his wrist. He released the guy and backed up several steps.

He turned and headed for the door. “You guys know what to do.”

---

“What do you mean, no?”

“Exactly what I said. Your mother cannot move in here.”

“She’s having your child. Don’t you care?”

“No, Shelby, I don’t.”

She couldn’t believe he was acting like this.

“I don’t know what happened between you and Mom, but I have never seen you be this cruel to anyone before. You are evicting a pregnant woman from her home and not leaving her with anywhere to go except back to the streets.”

“Your mother is not going out on the street. She has a place to go. You need to go talk to her instead of yelling at me.”

---

Andy was helping Nakusa with her project when Shelby came in from the garage. He watched her go into his office. He got up and followed her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Would you have believed me if I had?”

She shook her head. “Probably not.”

“It was something you needed to hear from her.”

He could see that she was upset and had been crying. He put his arms around her letting her cry.

“What is going to happen to the baby?”

“If the baby is mine, I will raise it. If not, I don’t know.”

Shelby looked up at her dad. “Daddy, that is my little brother or sister no matter who the father is. We can’t let the baby go into the system.”

“That’s a lot to ask, Shelby.”

“Just think about it. Please?”

“I will think about it.”

---

Andy glared at Cara. “After everything that has happened, you are upset because I am not happy with your news?”

“It’s a baby, Andy. Our baby.”

“I have seen no proof of you either being pregnant or of me being the father.”

“Who else would it be?”

“I don’t know. For all I know, you have been sneaking back into the city and meeting up with your old friends.”

“I haven’t. I swear. I have kept to our deal.”

He shook his head. “I can’t trust you anymore, Cara. I tried to be nice to you for our girls, but I can’t anymore. Not after what you did.”

“What did I do?”

Andy closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before answering.

“Did you know that the security company keeps a recording of all videos even if the homeowner deletes the video?”

He watched the color drain from her face, but she still denied it.

“I don’t know anything about security cameras or videos.”

“So you weren’t the person who deleted the video that was recorded from your home’s camera? The video that showed Zalia was alive when I left her house. The second video that showed her ex-boyfriend go into her house half an hour after I left. The third video that showed him leaving and covered in blood.”

When she didn’t answer him he shrugged. “Thankfully, I only spent one night in jail. Antonio was able to get the security company to send the videos to the police. They also sent the time, date, and phone they were deleted from.”

He watched the scared look in her eyes.

“It is smart to be scared. Do you know how rough labor is in prison?”

She put her hands on her stomach. “The baby…”

“When the baby is born, a paternity test will be done. If the child is mine, I will take custody and you will see the child.”

“You can’t do this to me. Not again.”

“I am not the one doing this to you. You did it to yourself.”

---

Andy looked across the desk at the cops. “I have answered all of these questions before. Why are you here bothering me yet again? You should be out there looking for the person who killed her.”

“The autopsy report has come back. We have a few new questions for you.”

“Then ask them so I can get back to work.” He looked at his watch. “I have a meeting in an hour.”

“You may want to cancel that meeting, Mr. Maynard.”

That didn’t sound good. What could the autopsy report say that would have led them to his door?

“Were you aware that Miss Pugh was pregnant?”

Andy sat there in shocked silence letting that sink in. “I did not know. We had only been dating a few months.”

“The baby’s DNA was matched to yours. You would have had a son.”

“A son…” He closed his eyes and could picture Zalia holding their son. He felt the fresh wounds ripping into his heart.

“Mr. Maynard, we also matched your DNA to the semen found at the scene and in her body. You were a match.”

“I had already told you that I had spent the night at her house the night before. You already knew that  you would find my semen there.”

The cop was looking at him and watching his reactions.

“Yours was the only DNA found. She had been sexually assaulted and yours was the only DNA at the scene.”

Andy shook his head. “I never would have hurt her. I loved her.”

“Men in love hurt women all the time.”

“Not me. I never would.”

The cops both stood up.

“Mr. Maynard, you are under arrest for the rape and murder of Zalia Pugh.”

---