Chapter 1

Notice: This book is the sequel to Tryst With Dolphins. Information is revealed in this first chapter that will dilute some of the plot twists and excitement from the first book if you have not already read it.

     That morning, Ashley woke slowly to the sound of doves cooing outside her bedroom window. She lay in bed listening to the song of the gentle birds. On this special day Ashley prepared for her ultrasound. She placed both hands over her stomach. It showed no real signs of growth yet. She anxiously awaited the changes her body was about to undergo.
     Her mood saddened as she spoke to her unborn child, “I feel so badly that your dad won’t be here to share today with us.”
     Michael, Ashley’s husband, had died from an asthma attack six weeks earlier. It appeared to have been an accident, but   Ashley and four of her friends knew it was murder.
     She thought back to that terrible night of the slumber party last December. If only she hadn’t felt so guilty about dropping   Theresa from their little clique of friends. When the five of them went away to college, they had left her behind, pregnant, unable to attend school. If only she hadn’t agreed to call the group back together to have that adult slumber party. If only they hadn’t played that dreadful game of how to murder a husband, Michael and the others would be alive today.
     Ashley often played this “if-only” game in her mind, blaming herself for the deaths of five husbands. The only relief she gained from remembering those horrifying events came from the knowledge that Theresa was also dead. She was the insane person who killed the husbands. She failed with her last attempt to kill her own husband, Mark. She died instead.
     The murders were so carefully planned that each was deemed an accident, except for Amy’s husband, Jonathon. His death was set up to look like a lover’s husband killed him. Fortunately, that husband didn’t do any prison time. The jury could not convict him because of reasonable doubt.
     If he had been convicted, the Dolphins, the girls’ nickname stemming from their high school swim team, would have been forced to go to the police with their story. Prison time was not in their future plans.
     The night of the slumber party, the girls innocently discussed Amy’s husband and his many affairs.
     Stephanie blurted out, “If my husband ever decided to have an affair and I found out about it, I’d kill him.”
     Amy, a criminal attorney, asked, “Okay, and just how would you execute this homicide when all of his friends are lawyers and most of them practice criminal law?”
     Ashley remembered explaining to the five other women at the party that it would be extremely difficult to commit the perfect murder. Ashley’s research for her murder mystery novels convinced her most murders could be solved. The unsolved homicides either have overlooked clues or evidence that hasn’t surfaced yet.
     The conversation ignited something in Theresa who was already over the edge. She developed a plot for the murder of Jonathon in an attempt to create the perfect crime. She suggested Ashley use the plot and the sordid details for one of her books.   Then Theresa took the entire scenario one step further. She encouraged each woman to contribute to the plot by murdering her husband based on one annoying attribute in his personality.
     It wasn’t difficult to get a group of women who had too much to drink to spill their guts about what their husbands did to annoy them. Ashley told them when the plots were not feasible or had been overdone. Amy explained how to get around police procedure.
     Brittany, the model with soft blue eyes and white blond hair, had the most difficulty playing this party game because of her sensitive personality. The game brought her to tears and she refused to continue but Theresa forced the issue by explaining they must all be accomplices.
     How sad that Brittany’s husband was the first to die. A construction accident took his life while alone in the woods working on his cabin, just as planned during the game.
     Ashley was relieved the rest of the girls never told Brittany his death wasn’t really an accident. She felt it was a terrible coincidence. The Dolphins wanted to protect her from the knowledge Theresa had murdered him along with the rest of the husbands before her own accidental death.
     Ashley felt a tear roll down the side of her face.
     “Arrg…Theresa, you’re not going to ruin this special day. I don’t know why I keep letting thoughts of what you did to us continually creep into my mind!”
     She wanted to scream it out. Unfortunately, she was staying in Theresa’s home with their three children, Isha, Trystan and Lexi, helping Mark with his motherless children. They were kind enough to take her in after Michael died.
     Michael’s death was one of the hardest things Ashley had to come to terms with. Staying in the same house with the murderer, while not letting Mark know he was next on Theresa’s list, was equally as difficult.
     The other Dolphins begged Ashley to stay away from Theresa and refuse their offer. At that point in time, Ashley was unaware of her pregnancy and felt she had nothing to live for. She believed it her duty to protect Mark and the rest of her friends from   Theresa by staying aware of her every move. She had no way of knowing the length of her sacrifice would be so brief. The very day she suspected her pregnancy was the day Theresa suffered her fatal accident.
     Ashley climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up before joining the rest of the household for breakfast. She ran a brush quickly through her short, blond hair. As in high school, her hair did exactly what she wanted, sparing her hours of styling and the cost of perms and color changes.
     She threw cold water on her face to reduce the swelling brought on by the tears. She looked carefully into her big, brown eyes and smiled at the mirror.
     “Today, Mommy, you’re going to learn more about your baby,” she whispered.
     She returned to her bedroom to dress, wondering how much longer her clothes would fit.
     Maybe the time has come to begin shopping for maternity clothes. If everything goes well today with the doctor, I’ll take Isha and Lexi with me and we can shop for a new wardrobe for baby and me, she thought.
     When Ashley stepped into the kitchen she was surprised to see everyone seated around the table. Fresh flowers stood in a tall crystal vase placed at its center. Isha and Lexi had adorned the table with the nicest lace tablecloth they owned and their best dishes. Mark finished the last touches of his quiche presentation while Trystan poured juice into wine glasses.
     “What’s all this?” asked Ashley.
     “Your chair, Madame,” said Trystan as he pulled out her chair.
      Mark, wearing a huge smile, approached the table. He served the first slice of his famous spinach quiche to Ashley.
     “The kids and I agree the mood in this house has been way too somber for a mommy-to-be and her new baby. It’s very hard on all of us losing Theresa, but also unfair to dampen the joy of a new baby coming into the world. From this day forward, we will not impose any more of our sadness on you. We will dedicate ourselves to the joyous celebration of your new baby.”
     Ashley reached out to caress Mark’s hand before he pulled it away after serving her. He paused his movement, allowing the contact.
     She smiled at the children and said, “You guys, you’re all so special to me. Thank you for making today even more precious. I’m not sure I could handle all of this baby stuff alone.”
     Tears ran down her face as she looked at her quiche.
     Lexi noticed the tears and asked, “What’s wrong? Did we do something wrong? Don’t you like quiche? We can fix something else if you want.”
     Mark walked to Lexi’s chair, putting his hand on her shoulder.
     “Lexi, honey, those are tears of happiness. When you’re a grown woman you’ll understand all about crying when you’re happy.”
     “Guess I’m glad I’m a guy,” said Trystan, stuffing quiche into his mouth.
     “Besides, everyone knows a pregnant woman is always on the verge of tears. I read that in a magazine somewhere. Right, Ashley?” asked Isha with an authoritative tone to her voice.
     “Right.”
     The remainder of the breakfast conversation turned to chatter about the baby. Will it be a boy or a girl? What names should they consider? What would be the baby-sitting schedule? Who would get to hold it first? Ashley and Mark sat back, grinning at each other while they watched and listened to the kids making the plans, as if Ashley had nothing to say about them.
     Then the subject came up about where the baby would be sleeping. Ashley finally had to butt in.
     “You know, it’s really been great of you to let me stay here as long as you have, but this house really isn’t big enough for all of us plus a new baby. Your dad’s been sleeping on the sofa so I can have his room.”
     Before she could finish, Lexi said, “You know, if you and my dad get married then he won’t have to sleep on the sofa anymore.”
     “Lexi!” said Mark.
     His face began to blush. He glanced at Ashley with a smile and a twinkle in his eye, as if to apologize for his daughter’s comment.
     Much to his surprise, her face also glowed a bright crimson. Cursed with the kind of skin that cannot hide even the slightest hint of embarrassment, the color continued to deepen once she knew she’d been discovered.
    Ashley said, “I was thinking along a different line. Remember, before your mom died, we all decided to move into my home here in Denver? It’s much larger than this one. I’ve decided not to sell my other house in New York. We can use it whenever we want.    Anyway, I’d like very much if you and your father would consider sharing my home here and helping me to raise the baby. I’ll understand if you choose not to leave this house but the time has come for me to move back and start working on the nursery.”
     Still blushing, she looked first at Mark, to study his face, then to the children.
     Mark said, “This is a decision that I’m going to leave to the three of you. If you’d like to leave here and move in with Ashley, I’ll go along with the plan. If you want to stay here, I’ll understand that as well. We could still visit Ashley as often as you like and help out when the baby comes.”
     Mark got up and walked to Ashley’s chair to pull it out for her.
     “We’re going to give you the privacy you need to discuss this while we go to the living room. As long as you three are stuck in the kitchen, clean it.”
     Isha threw a dishtowel at him as he walked away.
     Ashley sat on the sofa; Mark sat close to her so they could talk without the kids listening.
     “What do you think they’ll decide?” she asked.
     “Boy, Ash, that’s a tough one. This has been the only home they’ve ever known. I can see it going either way. I’m sure they’d love the extra space when they have friends over, not to mention the privacy a larger house has to offer. But, I can see them not wanting to leave Theresa’s presence in this house.
     “What about you? Will you miss Theresa’s presence?”
     As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted asking such a personal question. Of course, he had pleasant memories of    Theresa; she was his wife for fifteen years. How could she be so insensitive? He had no idea of the pain and heartache Theresa caused. He had no idea he had married a cold-hearted murderer or that he was her next intended victim.
     Before he had a chance to respond, she said, “I’m sorry. I had no right to ask such a question. What I really meant to say is, are you sure you could leave your home of fifteen years and all the memories?”
     “Gosh, I don’t know. If it’s what the kids want I won’t deny them the move. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to rush out and sell this house. The move is only temporary, to help you through the pregnancy and birth of the baby. Once you become an old pro at motherhood, you may decide it’s time for us to get out from underfoot. Besides, you might meet the love of your life. How would you explain a ready-made family at home?”
     In the kitchen Trystan cleared the table, Lexi rinsed the dishes, while Isha carefully loaded the dishwasher, trying to find enough space for everything to fit into one load. The house rule was anything that could not fit in the dishwasher had to be hand washed, dried and returned to the cabinet, not left in the sink for the next load. Trystan and Lexi agreed that Isha loaded the dishwasher best, so there was no arguing about clearing the table or rinsing.
     The sound of dishes and silverware clanging interrupted the silence of the small kitchen. No one wanted to be the first to start the conversation. Isha and Trystan were both old enough to know the subject needed to be approached with some planning, for fear the vote would go two against one. Lexi was more easily persuaded to go along with someone’s idea rather than bold enough to stand up for her own. Whoever won Lexi over had the winning vote.
     Lexi broke the silence with, “Well, are we moving or not?”
     “That depends,” replied Isha. “How do you feel about moving?”
     “Yeah, Lex, what’s your vote?” Trystan asked.
     “I think Daddy and Ashley should get married and then we should all move in together.”
     “Marriage is a big step,” said Isha, “I’m not sure either of them are ready for that right now.”
     “So if they were ready and wanted to get married, how would you feel about that?” Trystan asked.
     “I like Ashley, but what if they got married and then decided to move back to New York? That could be exciting, but I’m not sure I’d want to live there. I’d miss all of my friends,” said Isha.
     “I don’t want to move to New York,” said Lexi. “Now I hope they don’t get married.”
    “That’s jumping way ahead, you guys,” Trystan said. “All we’re supposed to decide today is whether or not to move out of this house and in with Ashley. Even if we stayed here they could still decide to get married. There’s nothing we can do about that. My vote is let’s move.”
     “Trystan’s right,” agreed Isha. “If they decide to get married, it doesn’t matter where we’re living. I, for one, would sure like to live in that big house. It’s like a mansion. All my friends will be green with envy. I second the vote to move.”
     “I like the idea of having a swimming pool in the backyard. I can’t wait to have a pool party with all of my friends. So I vote yes, too,” said Lexi.
     “Say Mark, while we’re alone for a few minutes, I want to ask you if it’s okay for the girls to come along with us today when we go to the doctor for the ultrasound. I thought it would be fun to take them shopping afterward for baby things and a maternity wardrobe for me when I’m fat,” asked Ashley. She had never asked anything of Mark since the day she moved in with them.
     “Sure, you can take the girls shopping. They’d love it and the ultrasound will be exciting for them. But, I’m not planning to go with you today. I have things to do with my students. I didn’t know you wanted me to go. Sorry.”
     Ashley blushed again. “Oh, I just thought you were planning to go along. It never occurred to me to invite you; I thought you’d want to be there. Oh gosh, I don’t know what I thought.”
     “You look disappointed. I really can’t get out of my plans for today. Can you reschedule your appointment?”
     “No, that’s okay. I’m a big girl; I can handle this. Besides, I’m not sure I can wait another day wondering how my baby’s doing and if everything went well with the invitro process. This’ll just be a girls’ day out.”
     The kids came bouncing into the living room. Not a moment too soon, thought Ashley, hoping to avoid any more of their awkward conversation.
     “Well, what’s the verdict?” asked Mark.
     “Guess,” said Lexi.
     Mark looked at Lexi; she had that devilish look in her dark eyes as she tossed her black wavy hair over her shoulders. So often he was reminded of Theresa when he looked at her.
     “My psychic mind tells me you want to make the move,” he said.
     “Wow, how do you do that?” asked Lexi.
     Ashley looked from one child to the next and then to Mark.
     “Well Dad, are we moving?” she asked.
     “Guess so.”
     “Great!” Trystan said. “I’ll start packing.”
     He ran out of the room and up the stairs to his bedroom.
     His sisters turned to follow him when Mark stopped them.
     “Girls, Ashley wants to know if you wanna go with her to the clinic for her ultrasound and then go shopping for baby stuff and clothes for her fat belly. You know, all that yucky girl stuff,” said Mark.
     Ashley popped him in the belly, “Fat belly, huh? Look who’s getting a big belly and there’s no baby to use for an excuse.”
     The girls were thrilled.
    “Are you kidding? Of course we want to go!” said Isha.
     “Well, then, go get ready. I think she wants to leave soon.”
     He glanced at Ashley for confirmation.
    “Yep, we need to leave here in about thirty minutes, that is if I can get my fat belly out the door,” she laughed.
The girls ran to get ready.
     “I’d better get going, too. Sorry I’m gonna miss out. Maybe I can go to another appointment with you. I really didn’t know it meant so much to you. Theresa never liked to have me go along.   She wanted all the attention for herself and didn’t like it when congratulations went to me. See ya tonight. Maybe you can tell us if it’s Junior or Junette,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.
     Ashley went back upstairs to change. She had barely begun putting on her makeup when both girls appeared. Isha studied very closely how Ashley applied it. At fourteen, makeup and hair means everything to girls like Isha. She didn’t have the same striking dark features as her sister. She favored Mark’s green eyes and sandy brown hair. Then, of course, there were the impossible-to-hide freckles.
     “Boy, you sure put a lot of stuff on your face,” said Lexi impatiently. “My mom almost never used makeup.”
     “Shhh…Dad says not to talk about Mom in front of Ashley,” she whispered in Lexi’s ear.
     “What?” asked Ashley.
    She noticed the whispering when she saw them in the mirror.
   “Nothing,” said Isha. “You’re so lucky you never had freckles to cover up.”
     Ashley laughed, “I remember feeling the same way about my freckles as you do, but they’ll fade as you get older. I have to look very hard to find a trace of them now.”
     She touched powder to Isha’s nose and reminded them it was time to go.
     They climbed into the car and fastened their seatbelts. They were only a few blocks from home when Lexi announced she had to go to the bathroom. Isha was furious with her.
     Ashley defused an argument by saying, “Good idea, I need to go, too. That’s what happens when you’re pregnant.”
     Ashley pulled over to a convenience store and they ran in to use the bathroom. Ashley couldn’t resist her craving for ice cream, so she grabbed three ice cream bars.
     Isha came up behind her, “Hey, it’s morning and we just ate a huge breakfast.”
     Lexi joined them, “Boy, I’m sure glad you’re pregnant, this can be fun,” she said while ripping off the wrapper.
     Finally, they arrived at the clinic. Ashley filled out the endless pages of paperwork. Isha thumbed through magazines about pregnant women and Lexi checked out the kids’ books.
     Ashley looked around the room at the other women. They looked tired. Some of them looked so huge, she wondered how their stomachs could stretch so far and not burst.
     She returned her paperwork to the receptionist and tried to wait patiently. The office was beautifully decorated with soothing seafoam green wallpaper and soft antique white trim. The carpet swirled various shades of green and the antique white into a calming pattern. Ashley noticed how relaxing the colors were and wondered how to use them in her nursery.
     She wondered again if it was a boy or a girl. I guess these colors could work either way. She thought she would give the baby her old room, the brightest of the upstairs bedrooms and the only one lacking the heavy, dark wood that flowed throughout the house. She had begged her mom to change the dark wood to white. Ashley pictured a crib below the window. Her doll collection would be perfect for a little girl. She crossed her fingers, hoping for a daughter. Being so focused on the baby lying in her crib in her newly decorated green room, she didn’t hear the nurse call her name.
     Isha nudged her, breaking her daydream. She turned to Isha and then heard the nurse repeat her name. Ashley motioned to Lexi to follow them as she was led to another room to be weighed before being guided to an exam room.
     “Remind me not to eat on the way to every doctor visit,” she laughed.
     She didn’t have a plan prepared for bad news. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring the kids to the first official visit. Once again, her thoughts drifted to her husband, Michael. Wishing he could be with her today, she felt his presence and that comforted her.
     The doctor stepped into the office and introduced himself to   Ashley as he shook her hand. She introduced the girls as her friends to avoid any embarrassing comments about them being big sisters to the baby.
     Isha and Lexi fidgeted as the long list of questions were answered. Ashley explained her move from New York, where she had had the procedure done, the death of her husband, why she was in Denver and why she had waited so long to make her appointment.
     Once the doctor had the necessary background information, he palpated Ashley’s belly and took a measurement. He looked at the anxiously waiting girls.
     “Don’t you think it’s time Mrs. Moore’s baby makes his or her television début? Let’s see what we can find. Come a little closer.”
     Ashley was pleased when he included the girls.
     A few moments after the doctor applied the gel to her abdomen, he pressed the probe in a circular motion to find the baby. The girls and Ashley had their eyes focused on the screen.
     “See that? Right there,” the doctor pointed. “See the pulsating spot there? That’s the baby’s heart.”
     Ashley felt a tear roll down her face once again. Oh, Michael, there’s your baby, she thought.
     “And here’s the spine, looks sort of like a string of pearls. Let’s get a better look at the head over here…” the doctor paused.
     Ashley quickly looked from the monitor to the doctor. She read concern in his face. He stopped talking and looked deeper into the monitor, making adjustments before he said another word.
     Lexi asked, “Why does the baby have two hearts?”
     Ashley’s eyes scrutinized the monitor.
     The doctor laughed causing Ashley to feel a huge sense of relief.
     “The baby doesn’t have two hearts, dear,” said the doctor. “The mother has two babies.”
     “Twins!” exclaimed Isha. “We’re gonna have twins!”
     Both girls jumped up and down around the room.
     “Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?” asked Ashley.
     “Yes, Mrs. Moore, you’re carrying twins. You should’ve already been informed of the possibility when they transferred three embryos into your uterus. Multiple births are very common for invitro fertilization. But everything seems fine. You’ll need to come back to see me in one month. Do you have any questions?”
     He wiped the gel from her skin and turned off the machine.
     Stunned, Ashley replied, “No. No more questions.”

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