Barbara McMahon – The Pregnancy Promise (страница 3)

“No. I can’t imagine raising a child alone. Wait, before you say a word, I know you’ll be there for me as will the rest of the family. But I want my baby to have a father. Can you imagine our lives without Dad? That wouldn’t be fair to a child, to deliberately bring him or her into the world with no father.”

“You have five brothers, each would be a perfect father figure. Dominic would as well.”

“It’s not the same thing as having your very own. So even if I don’t marry the father, I want a man who will be a part of the child’s life forever.”

“Women who fall in love and get married don’t even get that guarantee,” Annalise said.

“I want it anyway.”

Her sister thought for a moment. “I guess it’s worth a shot. Maybe you’ll fall for a man and get married and end up with a dozen kids.”

“Or maybe just find someone I really like, who is good father material and wants a baby without all the ties and commitment of marriage,” Lianne said thoughtfully. “I mean, how much do I really want to be tied down? I’d be there for the baby, but I still want to work. What if a husband didn’t want that?” She didn’t even want to think about giving up her career.

“Ties and commitment are necessary with a child,” Annalise said. “And you’re strong enough to stand up for yourself married or not. It’s not an either-or decision.”

“You’re right. Still, I’d have to choose a daddy carefully, whatever else happened.”

Lianne rose early the next morning. The sun was peeping above the horizon, below the clouds that were rapidly dissipating. She hoped it would be a better day than yesterday, but the pain that woke her didn’t hold much promise. Staying another day meant she’d need to visit one of the grocery stores. The canned goods that stocked the cottage cupboards didn’t offer the variety she craved. But she couldn’t face that now. Groaning slightly, she curled up in a ball.

Waking an hour later, she felt awful. She made it to the bathroom and her pills. After a few minutes, she headed back for bed when someone knocked on the front door. She debated letting them stay there, she longed for bed. But curiosity more than anything won out and she went to the door.

Opening it, Lianne stared at Tray Elliott standing on the porch, towering over her. His expression was impossible to read. He wore a suit, the tie loosened. He hadn’t shaved yet that morning and the shadow of his beard made him look more rugged and masculine than normal.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came to see you.”

“How did you find the place?”

“Interesting story, that,” he said, glancing at her attire. “You getting up or going to bed?”

She pulled the lapels of the warm fleece robe closer and shook her head. “Today isn’t a good day, Tray.” She began to push the door shut.

He held it open easily and stepped inside.

“You look like you need some help.”

“More than you can give.”

“Meaning?” He studied her closely. Lianne was conscious she hadn’t even washed her face that morning. Her hair probably looked like the wreck of the Hesperus. She hated not projecting her normal cool demeanor. But at the moment, none of it mattered.

“I went to your sister’s home and she gave me directions to here. Which seems like a good thing, now. I didn’t know you two were twins. That was a shock.”

Lianne nodded wondering how much longer she could remain upright. She always kept her family life separate from work. “I’m surprised you even knew I had a sister, much less where to find her.”

“She’s listed as the person to notify in case of emergency.”

“And you count this as an emergency?”

He looked at her. “You tell me. Why aren’t you in bed? You look terrible.”

“Gee, thanks. Actually I need to be.”

He scooped her up and asked which way. Lianne almost protested, but it felt so good to relinquish control for just a second. And being off her feet eased some of the discomfort—or the pills were beginning to work.

“Talk to me,” he said as he walked up the stairs to the bedroom she used.

Lianne didn’t want to let him know everything, but she did owe him an explanation. Her flight had been unlike her and he had a right to know if it would happen again. She wondered if anything else would be so devastating she’d immediately flee to the comfort of the family sea cottage.

“Two heads are better than one at solving problems,” he said. He gently put her on the bed and once she covered herself with the spread, sat on the edge of the mattress.

“It won’t happen again,” she said.

“What happened and won’t again?” he asked.

“I won’t leave so unexpectedly like this time. It was a private emergency.”

“Hey, Protection, Inc. is good in emergencies. We have strategic planning down to an art. I doubt there are many things we can’t handle. Besides, you help me in brainstorming solution, let’s try this one.”

She almost smiled. Tray was so proud of the company—and rightly so. Their success rate was terrific. It was becoming synonymous with high end security in the capital. The firm was constantly hiring new agents as it expanded. One department did nothing but vet new hires. Tray made security as sacred as apple pie.

“Unfortunately the company can’t help in this situation,” she said.

“Try me,” he invited.

He looked rock-solid, firm and dependable. She knew he was as honest as anyone she’d met. And he had an aura of competency that was evident at first glance. Wind had ruffled his dark hair when he walked to the cottage from his car, giving him an almost boyish look. She blinked. She’d met him when he’d been in his thirties. There was nothing boyish about the hard-as-nails man who drove Protection, Inc. He was right, she and he had worked together for years. Might as well share this little bit.

“All right.” She’d take him up on his challenge. “I found out yesterday I need to have a hysterectomy and I always wanted a family. If I don’t do something soon, I can forget about ever having one.”

Tray didn’t move, didn’t even blink, but Lianne knew she’d startled him.

“It’s a female problem and getting worse. My doctor recommended I get the operation soon—like before next month. Where does that fall in Protection’s purview?”

Unexpectedly he reached out and brushed her hair away from her cheek. Lianne was shocked at the awareness that shot through her. This was Tray, her boss, mentor and friend. She refused to hear Annalise’s words echo in her mind about being too involved with Tray.

“Not one of our more usual situations,” he murmured.

“You wanted to know,” she reminded him. She respected him more than anyone she knew. She often marveled at the dangerous situations he was able to defuse. But even Tray couldn’t pull miracles out of a hat. “Don’t worry, this is my problem, not yours. I don’t see it has much of a solution—much less a quick one.”

“You work for me so it becomes my problem,” Tray said.

“I’m coming to grips with the situation,” she said, feeling awkward discussing it with her boss. Their relationship had always been business. Now he was in her bedroom. He’d touched her in a way not consistent with being her boss.

“But it isn’t going away,” he said.

“Sooner or later, I need that operation. I just wanted to have a baby first.” Her voice cracked a little. Lianne took a deep breath. She was done with crying.

“Ironic,” he murmured.

“What is?”

“Nothing. No boyfriend ready to step up to the plate?” he asked.

She shook her head and shot him a look. “When do I have time to date and build some kind of relationship? In case you didn’t know, my boss is a slaver driver,” she teased, trying to lighten the mood. He did not need to shoulder her problems.

“Hey, whatever it takes to get the job done.”

“What it takes is two or three people to keep up with you,” she retorted.

“You’ve never complained,” he said.

“You know how exciting the work can be. I love it. But I think I’ll need to make some changes. I hate to hit the singles bars, but if I want a family—and I do—I could have left it too late. But I have to try.”

He touched her shoulder, the awareness building again. “I have a few friends I could introduce you to. I know Mark Wyatt was married for a while and liked being married.”

“What happened?”

“His wife didn’t, apparently. Anyway, they split about a year ago. He might be right what you’re looking for. He’s around my age, no children yet. Maybe he’d be interested.”

“That hardly sounds romantic,” she said.

“Hey, you want romance, you need to take your time. You want a sperm donor, you take what you can get.”

“Tray, I can’t believe you said that. It sounds horrible. I don’t just want a donor, I want someone to make a baby with and then raise that baby together, going to school functions, family gatherings. I’d like to get married if I can find the right man, but if that’s not in the cards, I still want a father who will be there when the child graduates college and gets married and makes us grandparents.”

“What time warp are you coming from?” he asked.

“What do you mean? That’s not so much to ask.”