The Boss's Special Delivery

“I think you heard me. Why the shock and amazement? I’m not married.”

She hated having to explain. The pain of having to make this decision bled freshly every time. She threw up her hands, half a gesture of exasperation, half a plea for understanding.

“I want what’s best for my baby. Adoption can be a wonderful thing. A nice couple who can’t have a child of their own would be a lot better for this child than anything I can promise.”

She hated that she sounded defensive, but there it was.

The muscle at his jaw worked for a moment as his gaze seemed to cut through to her bones. Was it the fact that she was considering putting her baby up for adoption that was bothering him so much? She didn’t know what else it could be. Something was sure going on inside him. Some emotional chord had been yanked with a vengeance. She watched curiously, wondering what he was thinking as his gaze dropped to study her rounded belly. But his eyes were cool and impenetrable and his face was giving nothing away.

“Let’s go,” he said shortly, putting a hand in the center of her back to help lead her out the door.

She balked. That hand felt too good—and too controlling at the same time. “Wait a minute. I’m feeling a bit bulldozed here.”

He nodded. “You want some time to think it over?”

“Yes. That would be helpful.”

His smile was humorless. “You’ll have plenty of time in the car on the way to the clinic.”

“But—”

“Am I going to have to pick you up and carry you again?”

She drew in her breath sharply. “No.” Biting her lip, she let him lead her. After all, what choice did she have?

Chapter Two

“I hope you don’t think I’m taking any clothes off.”

The first thing Annie noticed when she and Matt arrived at the clinic was that the place was empty. It was getting late. Obviously, the staff had all gone home for the night. Still, it made her feel a bit awkward. Not to mention suspicious.

That was actually somewhat new for her, but she was learning. Don’t trust anyone, especially studly-looking men with flattering words and a roving eye. She tugged her light sweater tightly around her shoulders and glared at Matt as though he were the archetypal representative of that very group.

“Because any test that needs me naked isn’t going to happen,” she added, just for emphasis.

To her surprise, instead of getting annoyed, he laughed out loud as he turned to look at her.

“No need for to strip down for this,” he assured her.

Ushering her into the room where various types of medical examination machines stood around like alert soldiers, he glanced at the way she was hugging her clothes around herself.

“But tell me—do you usually bundle up as though expecting snow when you’re preparing to be examined by a doctor?”

“Not with my real doctor,” she said archly.

“What do you think I am?” he asked as he motioned for her to take a seat on the end of the table. “A phony doctor?”

“That remains to be seen.”

Sliding the blood pressure cuff up her arm, he gave her a sardonic look. “So who is your real doctor?” he asked.

“Dr. Marin.”

He nodded, adjusting the tester and inflating the cuff, then listening as he watched it count down.

“Ah yes, Raul Marin,” he said as he released her again. “His son was a friend of mine in high school.” He jotted down her blood pressure reading and turned to get the fetal monitor set up. “Well, if you prefer, I can take you over to his office. It’s after office hours, but—”

“But that’s just the point. I don’t need a doctor. I need to go home.”

She frowned. How had she let him talk her into coming here, anyway? What she said was true. She needed to go home, get into bed, pull the covers up…and wait for all this to end.

But her argument didn’t seem to be swaying him at all.

“I think we can get a few tests in right now. Enough to reassure me that you and this baby are doing okay.”

“Oh, well, as long as you’re reassured, the world can rest easy tonight.”

Her sarcasm fell on deaf ears. He jotted down some figures on a chart, then turned and motioned for her to lie back on the table.

“Let’s see how that little guy is,” he said.

“Little guy.” She liked that. She’d purposefully avoided finding out the gender of her baby, and resisted the temptation to name the child. If she was going to give the baby up for adoption, becoming too close and intimate would just make things that much harder. But when he said “little guy,” her heart skipped a beat and she felt a sudden surge of warmth that almost brought tears to her eyes. He was obviously ready to feel an easy affection for this new life she was carrying. She had to blink hard to keep from letting him see how that touched her.

“Okay, Doctor.”

He glanced into her eyes. “Call me Matt.”

She bit her lip. “How about Mr. Allman?”

A muscle twitched at his jaw. She was finally needling him just a little too much, and when he responded, there was a thread of annoyance in his tone.

“Whatever, Annie. Call me Dumbo if that makes you feel safer.” He moved closer, freeing some cords that had become tangled. “Now just relax and we’ll get this over with.”

She put a hand over her belly, automatically protective. The baby was doing just fine. She was sure of it—as sure as she could be. She was taking all the right vitamins and appearing regularly for her checkups, even though it was difficult to pay for them. She might be seriously considering giving her baby up to someone else to raise, but that was because of how much she loved him…or her. She’d never felt so close to anything in her life as she felt to this baby.

“How much do you charge?” she asked warily as she watched him prepare the monitor. She had some money saved and she didn’t want him to think she was expecting a handout.

He waved the question away. “First exams are freebies.”

For some reason, that irritated her. She wasn’t a charity case. She could pay her own way, even if it was hard sometimes.

“If you’re giving people freebies all over the place,” she said crisply, “I don’t see how you’re going to make enough to keep any sort of staff for long.”

He looked up after strapping her up to the monitor and laughed aloud. “My God, I’m hiring someone who actually understands how things work. Keep this up and I’ll have to make you office manager.”

It was humiliating how those half-mocking words of praise made her glow with satisfaction. She had to cover that up quickly.

“You can’t make me into anything.”

He didn’t bother to respond. He’d caught on long ago to the fact that most of her words didn’t mean a thing and were just a way to keep him at arm’s length. That was okay. Although he understood her need to protect herself, he just wanted to make sure that she didn’t lose sight of what was important—the welfare of this baby she was carrying.

He’d noticed her over the last few weeks, whenever he’d stopped by Millie’s for a quick bite. He’d been keeping an eye on the evidence of her baby’s progress, though he’d never said anything to her until she’d dropped into a faint at his feet. She had a bright, intelligent look to her that he’d liked and he’d wondered about her. He’d noticed that there was no wedding ring and it reminded him of his own unsettling situation….

It had only been a few weeks since an old friend passing through the area had called and innocently asked him what had ever happened to Penny Hagar, a young woman Matt had dated in Dallas a couple of years before. And then he’d asked about the baby.

“Baby?” Matt had responded, startled. “What baby?”

That was the first hint he’d ever had that Penny had become pregnant during their relationship. Since that day, searching for Penny and her baby had begun to consume more and more of his time and energy. He’d hired a private investigator once his own efforts had come up dry. So far, even the professional wasn’t having any luck. But the whole affair had made him much more aware of the babies around him. The world seemed to be full of them. Including the one Annie was carrying. And considering giving away.

“So what kind of staff do you have, anyway?” Annie asked, assuming she would be working right alongside them soon.

“Here in this office? There are two of us family practice physicians. We’ve got a combination receptionist-bookkeeper, a practical nurse and an RN. We’re thinking of hiring a physician’s assistant, too.”

She blinked, taking all that in. “So where exactly will I fit in?”

Turning, he looked at her. “I guess I didn’t make myself clear. You won’t be working here. I’ve also got an office at Allman Industries. That’s where I’m going to need you.”

“Allman Industries.” She said the words slowly, thinking it over. There had been no such thing as Allman Industries when she’d lived here off and on as a child, but she’d heard it mentioned since she’d come back. As she remembered, it was housed in a big old building just off Main Street, one of those structures with gargoyles at the corners, looking like something that came from times gone by.

“Does that meet with your approval?” he asked her, getting a little sarcastic himself.

“I don’t know,” she said pertly. “We’ll have to see.”

He nodded. “I’ll be awaiting your judgment with bated breath,” he said. “What I need at the office is someone to keep track of what the hell I’m doing. I’m basically the company medical staff at Allman’s, but I keep getting drafted into business meetings as well. My father is doing his best to lure me away from medicine. What he’d really like is for me to take over the company. It gets a little difficult to know where I am or what I’m supposed to be doing sometimes.”

She couldn’t imagine him having trouble telling anyone what he wanted or what he thought they should be doing. The man exuded confidence.

“Why don’t you just tell him you don’t have time for the meetings?”

He stared at her for a long moment before responding. Then he grinned. “Why indeed? That will be your first assignment. Tell everyone who calls that I’m too busy to accommodate them. You don’t know how that would simplify my life.”

She shrugged. “That seems easy enough.”

A series of expressions moved across his face. She didn’t know if he was amused or incredulous.

“You just wait,” he said, shaking his head and laughing softly.

“And I can assist you with some of the medical stuff, too,” she said, suddenly feeling she needed to explain that she had certain skills that deserved recognition.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “You don’t have any nursing training.”

“But I do.”

That got his attention. He straightened and stared at her. “What?”

“I was in my second year at Houston Medical School in the nursing program when I got pregnant and had to drop out.”

He made a whistling sound. “Wow. That will be very helpful.”

She shrugged. “I don’t have certification.”

“No. And of course, you won’t be expected to take over any nursing duties. But just to know you’re experienced will be a big help. In a town like this, every little bit of knowledge counts.”

He favored her with a lopsided grin that hinted at a new respect for her. That curled her toes for some unknown reason.

“So you see, you were always meant for this job,” he said. “Kismet.”

Kismet. She shivered. She knew the word just meant fate, but she didn’t like it. There was something romantic about it and romance was something she was dead set against.

And that reminded her of something. Millie’s beautiful daughter Shelley was set to marry Matt’s brother Rafe. Everyone at the café had been buzzing about nothing else for days. Annie liked Shelley a lot, and she’d been just as interested as anyone in the progress toward the ceremony. Now she wondered about Matt. She knew he wasn’t married, but she couldn’t help but speculate about why that was. He was successful and attractive and wasn’t getting any younger. Men like him were usually spoken for by now.

“Okay, Doc,” she said, forcing a stern frown. Craning her neck, she looked at the monitor screen. “What’s the verdict?”

“You and the baby seem fine.”

The sense of relief she felt surprised her. She hadn’t realized she might be more than a little concerned.

“You see? All that worrying for nothing.”

“No.” He shook his head. “It’s never for nothing.”

He had that one right. The longer she hung around this man, the more attractive he was looking. Reason enough to worry. Reason enough to be very, very careful.

And time to escape from this situation.

“You going to let me out of this thing?” she asked.

“Sure. Hold on.”

He was turning off switches on the fetal monitor and she watched, starting to feel pretty darn pleased with herself. She’d been in close proximity to this very appealing man—he’d even had his hands on various parts of her body and had leaned very close a few times, so close that she could feel his body heat and catch a hint of some sort of clean and soapy scent—and had been assaulted with all sorts of tempting male virility. Yet she’d remained completely unmoved by it. She was doing okay. She wasn’t even hyperventilating.

Hooray for me, she thought silently, giving herself a little smile.

And then, as he removed the strap, his hand brushed her breast. She froze and her gaze jerked up to meet his. Intentions were everything and she needed to see his, right now. What she saw didn’t make her feel any better.

There was no hint of any intention to mess with her, or even to take the chance at a little touching. But there was something else that was even worse. Something in his eyes held hers for a beat too long and while it did, she felt a jolt, a sudden connection, a new sensual awareness that snapped between them and made her gasp.

His eyes changed. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Sorry,” he murmured, turning to put away the equipment.

But she was breathless and desperate not to let him know, slowly pulling air into her lungs and forcing back the panicky feeling in her chest.

“If you want to get your things together, I’ll drive you home,” he said, still working with the equipment.

If only it was that easy. If only she could zing back a one-liner that would singe his hair. If only she could tell him to take a hike, that she could just darn well take care of that herself. But she didn’t have her car and she didn’t have any friends she could call. So unless she wanted to walk across town as night set in, she would have to let Matt drive her home.

She closed her eyes for a moment, making a silent promise. As soon as she could, she was going to get out of this mess. And once she was back on her feet, she was never, ever going to put herself in this kind of dependency again. One way or another, she was going to take control of her life.

Cruising slowly down the side street and turning on Main, Matt glanced at Annie. Somehow she managed to look as if she were perched on the edge of her seat despite the seat belt that had her securely strapped in. A casual observer would have thought she was being abducted. She looked ready to wrench the door handle open and leap from the car once she got the chance.

Shaking his head, he stifled the impulse to let her know how annoying it was to be treated as if he were conducting a shanghaiing operation. But he was pretty sure complaining would only make things worse. He couldn’t yell at someone to stop being so scared of everything. That didn’t ever work.

He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up taking care of her anyway. He was too busy for this. He’d only gone into Millie’s to grab piece of pie and a cup of coffee that was supposed to keep him awake while he worked late at his office at Allman Industries, and the next thing he knew, he was volunteering to take charge of another stray being.

That was what she reminded him of: an injured animal. As a boy he’d been famous for bringing home lost things—puppies, kittens, a garter snake, a baby skunk. He remembered a wounded bird he’d once found. He’d carried the poor thing around in a shoe box, doing everything a ten-year-old kid could think of to help it heal. He’d lavished all sorts of attention on it, trying to get it to eat and drink, and it had learned to stay still in his hands. But the look in its bright black eyes was always wary, as though it was sure, despite all his kindness, that he was probably going to hurt it in the end. And that was the look he saw in her eyes as well.

He felt a quick stab of anger at whoever had done this to her. A woman just didn’t get this skittish without cause. He wanted to soothe her, tell her not to worry, but he knew that anything he said might just make things worse.

“So tell me, what made you head back to Chivaree?” he asked, hoping he sounded casual.

She glanced at him sideways. “I told you. I lived here when I was a kid.”

“Did you go to Chivaree schools?”

“Off and on.”

This was like pulling teeth. She’d dropped the smart-aleck attitude, but now she was being so stingy with her answers, he almost wished she’d come back with another good insult.

“How about your baby. Boy or girl?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t asked.”

He looked over at her, puzzled. “You don’t want to know?”

“I’ll know soon enough.”

He grimaced, his eyes back on the road. “You’re keeping your distance, aren’t you? Trying not to get attached.”

She turned away. She wasn’t going to get into this with him, especially knowing how he felt about it.

“How about you?” she asked instead. “Have any children?”

He didn’t answer right away and she looked at him, surprised.

“I’ve never been married,” he said at last.

She shrugged. “Neither have I.”

Turning the car off Main Street, he headed toward the side of town she’d told him to aim for. Chivaree had changed a lot over the last few years. Used to be the place had a lonely, wind-swept look that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in an old-fashioned Western. But lately the population had surged and new subdivisions were going up on the hills around the town. Chain stores and restaurants were opening up near the highway. Growth was good but it carried with it the inevitable costs.

“Turn left at the next stop sign,” she told him.

He nodded, then frowned as he made the turn. He didn’t much like the look of the neighborhood. He hadn’t been on this seedy side of town for a while. Things had gotten worse in this crime-infested area.

“You living with somebody?” he asked hopefully. He didn’t want to face the possibility that she hung around here alone.

“No.”

“You’re all on your own?”

“Yes.”

“You should have someone else with you.”

She gave him what sounded almost like a snort. “That’s a nice theory. But the fact is, I don’t have anybody. I’m fine on my own.”

Fine on her own, huh? Then why did she sound so defensive?

She glanced at him sideways. He couldn’t help admiring that flash of her dark eyes and the way her thick, chocolate-colored hair swirled around her face.

“Here it is. Pull over behind that red car.”

He pulled over and turned off the engine, grimacing as he looked at the grungy building she had indicated.

“Thanks for everything,” she said with a breezy tone he knew she was forcing. “I’ll see you at Allman Industries in the morning.”

“Wait a second. I’ll walk you to the door.”

She flinched as though that startled her.

“No,” she said quickly, that wary look on her pretty face again. “Don’t.”

He frowned at her. “Why not?”

She ran her tongue across her lower lip nervously. “The neighbors will see you.”

“The neighbors?” He stared at her incredulously. “So what?”

“They’ll talk.”

“They’ll talk? Just because I act like a gentleman and—”

“They don’t know from gentlemen around here.” She pulled her things together and released her seat belt, ready to fly. “The men they see around here are no gentlemen.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you telling me—?”

She glanced at him. “Yes. They’ll think—” She shrugged and looked away. “Just let me go alone. I don’t need to be fodder for gossip.”

He bit down on his tongue. Anger was threatening to take over if he didn’t smother it fast. Taking a deep breath, he turned and challenged her.

“Annie, what the hell are you doing living in this kind of neighborhood?”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “The rent’s cheap.”

“Sometimes cheap is the most expensive of all.”

“Listen, Matt. I don’t come from money. I was raised by a single mother who did what she could, but couldn’t do much. I’ve lived in places like this lots of times in my life. I can handle it.”

Giving him a reassuring look, she slipped out of the car and walked quickly toward the entrance to her building.

He sat where he was, staring after her. He didn’t like it. This was no kind of neighborhood to bring a newborn baby back to. He shrugged away the fact that she was considering putting her baby up for adoption.

Assuming, for the sake of this argument, she would be bringing a baby home from the hospital, how was she going to cope in a place like this?

Well, maybe she had some friends.

No. She’d only been in town a month, so she couldn’t possibly have built up the sort of friendships that went with providing for a baby’s needs.

He thought of her, of her pretty face and those dark, beautiful eyes. She didn’t belong here. He wanted to throw caution to the wind and stomp in after her, grab her and—

Yeah, then what? He didn’t know anything about housing here in Chivaree. For all he knew, she was right and this was all that was available. On the other hand, once he got her installed at his office in the Allman building, once he started paying her a decent wage, maybe she would be able to afford a better place. He knew that was a better course. If he tried to go in and force her into doing things the way he thought they should be done, he was going to put her back up permanently.

He almost grinned, thinking of how fierce her pretty face would get, how her perfect little chin would jut out as she defied him. She was a charmer in her own way. Funny how hard she tried to resist that.

Still, the more he thought about it, the more he knew this was just an unacceptable place for her to live. No employee of his should live like this.

He grimaced. Who was he trying to kid? Annie wasn’t going to be just any employee. That baby she was carrying was taking on larger than life proportions in his mind—and it was no mystery to him why that was.

It had only been a few weeks since he’d found out he had a child himself. Out there in the world somewhere was a baby he’d never known about. That was a completely mind-blowing concept and he still wasn’t used to it. So many questions remained unanswered.

It made him sick to think that Penny, the ex-girlfriend who’d had his child and never told him, might have had to live in places like this dump where Annie was staying. But from what he’d learned so far, she’d been on her own when she was getting ready to go through delivery…and preparing to put the baby up for adoption, just as Annie was thinking of doing. So chances were, she’d had to take what she could get at the time.

It was hard thinking that while he was casually going on with his life, laughing, dating, getting a residency in family practice in Dallas, Penny had been taking on all the responsibilities he should have been sharing with her. And that she had made the solo decision to give up her baby—his baby—to someone else.

He should have been there.

Maybe he thought helping Annie would make amends to a certain degree. Could that be part of his interest in Annie and what was to become of her? Sure, he knew it was nuts to get involved. And maybe he was crazy. But babies had to be protected. Absolutely. A no-brainer. And if he had to take on the mantle of guardian angel, he would.