Her Pregnancy Surprise

Because she had written down his home number and cell number when he left the message on her answering machine the Sunday night he’d returned from his business trip, Grace called both his house and his cell that night.

He didn’t answer.

She gave him forty-eight hours and called Thursday morning before he would leave for work. Again, no answer.

A little more nervous now, she gave him another forty-eight hours and called Saturday morning. No answer.

She called Monday night. No answer.

And she got the message. He wasn’t going to pick up her calls.

But by that time she had something a little more serious to handle. She couldn’t get well. Amazed that she’d even been able to go to work the Monday of her encounter with Danny, she spent her days in bed, until, desperate for help and advice, she told her mother that she was pregnant and sicker than she believed was normal. They made a quick gynecologist appointment and her doctor told her that she was simply enduring extreme morning sickness.

Too worried about her baby to risk the stress of dealing with Danny, Grace put off calling him. Her life settled into a simple routine of forcing herself out of bed, at least to the couch in her living room, but that was as far as she got, and watching TV all day, as her mother fussed over her.

Knowing the bonus she’d received for her weekend with Orlando would support her through her pregnancy if she were frugal, she quit her job. Swearing her immediate supervisor to secrecy in their final phone conversation, she confided that she was pregnant and having troubles, though she didn’t name the baby’s father. And she slid out of Carson Services as if she’d never been there.

She nearly called Danny in March, right before the baby was born, but, again, didn’t have the strength to handle the complexities of their situation. Even though he would be forced to believe she hadn’t lied, he might still see her as a cheat. Someone who had tricked him. She didn’t know how to explain that she hadn’t, and after nine months of “morning sickness” she didn’t give a damn. A man who behaved the way he had wasn’t her perfect partner. His money didn’t make him the special prize he seemed to believe he was. It was smarter to focus on the joy of becoming a mother, the joy of having a child, than to think about a guy so hurt by his divorce that he couldn’t believe anything anyone told him.

When Sarah was born everything suddenly changed. No longer sick and now responsible for a child, Grace focused on finding a job. Happily she found one that paid nearly double what she’d been making at Carson Services. Because her parents had moved into her house to help while she was pregnant, she surprised them by buying the little bungalow down the street. Her mother wanted to baby-sit while Grace worked. Her dad could keep up both lawns. And the mortgage on the new house for her parents was small.

Busy and happy, Grace didn’t really think about Danny and before she knew it, it was September and Sarah was six months old. Everything from baby-sitting to pediatrician appointments was taken care of. Everyone in her little family was very happy.

And Grace wondered why she would want to tell Danny at all.

But holding Sarah that night she realized that this situation wasn’t about her and Danny anymore. It was about Sarah. Every little girl had a right to know her daddy.

The following Saturday evening, Grace found herself craning her neck, straining to read the small sophisticated street signs in the development that contained Danny’s house. It hadn’t been hard to find his address. Convincing herself to get in the car and drive over had been harder. Ultimately she’d come to terms with it not for Danny’s sake, but for Sarah’s. If Grace didn’t at least give Danny the chance to be a dad, then she was no better than he was.

She located his street, turned onto it and immediately saw his house. Simple stone, accented by huge multi-paned windows, his house boasted a three-car garage and space. Not only was the structure itself huge, but beyond the fence that Grace assumed protected a swimming pool, beautiful green grass seemed to stretch forever before it met a wall of trees. Compared to her tiny bungalow, his home was a palace.

She parked her little red car in his driveway, got out and reached into the back seat to unbuckle Sarah. Opting not to put her in a baby carrier, Grace pulled her from the car and settled her on her arm.

Holding her squirming baby and bulky diaper bag, she strode up the stone front walk to Danny’s door, once again noting the differences in their lifestyles personified by decorative black lantern light fixtures and perfect landscaping.

Grace shook her head, trying to stop the obvious conclusion from forming, but she couldn’t. She and Danny were different. Too difference to be together. Why hadn’t she recognized that? He probably had. That’s why he’d told her he didn’t want to see her. They weren’t made for each other. Not even close. And he’d now had fifteen months to forget her. She could have to explain the entire situation again, and then face another horrible scene.

Still, as much as she dreaded this meeting, and as much as she would prefer to raise Sarah on her own, she knew it wasn’t fair for Sarah to never know her father. She also knew Danny should have the option to be part of his daughter’s life. If he again chose not to believe Grace when she told him Sarah was his child, then so be it. She wouldn’t beg him to be a father to their baby. She wouldn’t demand DNA testing to force him in. If he wanted a DNA test, she would comply, but as far as she was concerned, she was the one doing him the favor. If he didn’t wish to acknowledge his child or be a part of Sarah’s life that was his decision. She wasn’t going to get upset or let him hurt her again. If he said he wanted no part of her or her baby, this time Grace and Sarah would leave him alone for good.

Again without giving herself a chance to think, she rang the doorbell. Waiting for someone to answer, she glanced around at his massive home, then wished she hadn’t. How could she have ever thought she belonged with someone who lived in this part of the city?

The door opened and suddenly she was face-to-face with the father of her child. Though it was Saturday he wore dress slacks and a white shirt, but his collar was unbuttoned and his tie loosened. He looked relaxed and comfortable and was even smiling.

Then his eyes darkened, his smile disappeared and his gaze dropped to Sarah, and Grace realized he remembered who she was.

She took a breath. “Can we come in?”

The expression in his eyes changed, darkening even more, reminding Grace of a building storm cloud. For the twenty seconds that he remained stonily silent, she was positive he would turn her away. For those same twenty seconds, with his dark eyes condemning her, she fervently wished he would.

But without saying a word, he pulled open his door and stepped aside so she could enter.

“Thank you.” She walked into the echoing foyer of his big house, fully expecting this to be the worst evening of her life.

CHAPTER FOUR

AS GRACE brushed by Danny, a band of pain tightened his chest. At first he thought the contraction was a result of his anger with Grace, fury that she’d continued with her pregnancy scheme. He wondered how she intended to get around DNA since he would most certainly require the test, then he actually looked at the baby in her arms, a little girl if the pink one-piece pajamas were any indication. She appeared to be about six months old—the age their baby would be if he had gotten Grace pregnant that Sunday night at his beach house. More than that, though, the baby looked exactly as Cory had when he was six months old.

Danny stood frozen, unable to do anything but stare at the chubby child in Grace’s arms. Suddenly the baby smiled at him. Her plump lips lifted. Her round blue eyes filled with laughter. She made a happy gurgling sound that caused playful spit bubbles to gather at the corners of her mouth. She looked so much like Cory it was as if Danny had been unceremoniously flung back in time.

Feeling faint, he pointed down the corridor. “There’s a den at the end of the hall. Would you please wait for me there?”

Grace caught his gaze with her pretty violet eyes and everything inside of Danny stilled. In a hodgepodge of pictures and words, he remembered bits and pieces of both the weekend they’d spent together with Orlando and the morning he’d kicked her out of his office—wrongly if his assumptions about the baby were correct. In his mind’s eye, he saw Grace laughing with Orlando, working with him, making him comfortable. He remembered her soft and giving in his arms. He remembered her trembling when she told him she was pregnant, and then he remembered nothing but anger. He hadn’t given her a chance to explain or even a sliver of benefit of the doubt. He’d instantly assumed her “pregnancy” was a ruse and wouldn’t hear another word.

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