Betrothed for the Baby

Staring after her new boss, she wondered what had caused his abrupt change. When she’d met him at the airfield, he’d been congenial and outgoing. But within the span of a few minutes his mood had become pensive and troubled. Was he concerned that she would be unable to do her job?

She rose to her feet to follow him into the office and reassure him that she was perfectly capable of carrying out her duties, but the dispatch radio chose that moment to crackle to life.

“Looks like we have another run,” Mary Lou said, crossing the room to answer the call.

As Callie listened to the highway patrol officer relay the location of the one-car accident on Interstate 10 and the patrolman’s assessment of the driver’s injuries, she, George and Corey started for the door. “Tell him we’re on the way.”

“ETA is fifteen minutes,” George said.

“Keep the stew warm,” Corey added.

Out of the corner of her eye Callie saw Hunter reenter the room. His concerned expression reinforced her determination to set his mind at ease. But their talk would have to wait until later. Whether or not he believed she was capable of doing her job, she had an accident victim depending on her for emergency medical attention. And she wasn’t about to let her patient down.

Drenched in a cold sweat, Hunter awoke with a jerk and, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, sat up. Propping his elbows on his knees, he cradled his head in his hands as he tried to chase away the remnants of his nightmare.

He hadn’t dreamed about the accident in almost six months. But it was just as real now as it had been when he’d lived through it five years ago. He and his fiancée, Ellen Reichert, a second-year resident at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, had flown into Central America to deliver medical supplies and administer first aid to some of the remote villages hit the hardest by a category-four hurricane. Everything about the trip had been routine and uneventful until he’d circled the landing site for their last stop. That’s when all hell had broken loose and the course of his life had changed forever.

The twin-turbine helicopter he’d been piloting had suddenly lost oil pressure, then, before he could get it safely set down, it stalled out. He didn’t remember a lot of the details of what happened after that, only that he’d fought the controls with little success. The chopper had ended up tilting precariously in midair, then come down hard on its starboard side.

His first thought had been to make sure that Ellen was all right, then get them out of what was left of the helicopter. But the blood in his veins had turned to ice when he’d called her name and she’d failed to respond. He’d placed his fingers to the side of her neck and, detecting a faint pulse, scrambled to release their seat belts. Pushing the door on the port side of the chopper open, he’d carefully lifted her up through the opening, then carried her a safe distance from the wreckage.

When she’d regained consciousness, they’d both known she didn’t have long, and that’s when his devastating heartbreak had turned to total despair. She’d told him that she’d been waiting for the perfect time to tell him she’d recently learned she was pregnant. With her dying breath she’d told him how much she loved him and how sorry she was that she had to go, then, closing her eyes, she’d quietly slipped away.

The ensuing investigation into the crash had proven the accident had been caused by mechanical failure and there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. But he’d quit flying that day and struggled for the past five years, feeling guilty because he’d walked away with nothing more than cuts and bruises, blaming himself for living when the woman he’d loved and their future child had died. He’d spent countless hours going over every detail of the accident, wondering if there was something he could have done differently, something that could have lessened her injuries or saved her life. But try as he might, he couldn’t think of anything that would have changed the outcome.

He took a deep shuddering breath and tried to relegate the disturbing memories to the back of his mind. There was no doubt why the horrific dream had returned, and he couldn’t say he was overly surprised that it had. After discovering that Callie was pregnant, all he’d been able to think about was once again being responsible for the lives of a woman and her unborn child. Even though she wasn’t on his flight crew, as her employer it was ultimately his job to see to her safety.

Fortunately her shift had ended right after the Evac II team had returned from transporting the car accident victim to a hospital in El Paso. That meant that he had four days to come up with a convincing argument to get her to ground herself. And unless her crew was called out as backup for Evac III, she and her baby would be safe.

Now all Hunter had to do was figure out a way to keep them that way.

“Give me a second,” Callie called when it sounded as if whoever was at her front door would knock it off its hinges with their insistent pounding. Wiping the flour from her hands with her apron, she turned her CD player down and hurried from the kitchen to open the door. “What’s so important that—”

She stopped short at the sight of Hunter O’Banyon standing on her tiny front porch. Lord have mercy, but he was one of the best looking men she’d ever seen. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and worn blue jeans. The soft fabrics fit him like a second skin and emphasized the width of his broad shoulders and his narrow hips. When she glanced at his arms, the sight of his bulging biceps stretching the knit sleeves of his shirt sent a shiver of awareness straight up her spine.

Callie gave herself a mental shake. What on earth was wrong with her? And why in the name of heaven was she ogling the man as if he were a fudge-nut brownie with rich chocolate frosting?

“Are you all right?” His expression was one of deep concern.

“Of—” she swallowed hard “—course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Other than being embarrassed that her hair was piled on her head in total disarray, her shorts and T-shirt were the oldest things she had in her closet and she was coated with a fine dusting of flour, she was just peachy.

“I knocked for five minutes before you answered the door. I thought something might be wrong.” He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Never mind. Do you have a few minutes? We need to talk.”

What could he possibly think they needed to discuss? And why did he have to show up after she’d received a phone call from her mother?

At least once a week since telling her mother she was pregnant they’d gone through the same old routine of her mother wanting to know who the father of Callie’s baby was and why she was so insistent on keeping the man’s identity a secret. Frustrated beyond words with her mother’s persistence, by the time Callie had ended the phone call, she’d already measured the ingredients for several dozen sugar cookies and had pulled the box of oats from the cupboard for a double batch of chocolate-chip-oat-meal cookies.

Some women cleaned house when they were upset. Callie baked.

“Do you mind if I come in?” Hunter asked, returning her to the present.

“I’m sorry. Please come in.” She stepped back for him to enter her small cottage. “I was just baking some—oh no! My cookies!” Remembering the peanut butter cookies she’d put into the oven just before hearing him pound on the door, she made a beeline for the kitchen with him hot on her heels.

“Damn! When you make cookies, you don’t fool around, do you?” he said, looking around.

Taking the baking sheet from the oven, she placed it on the top of the stove, then glanced at the table and countertops. Plates of cookies covered every available surface.

Shaking her head at the sight, she nibbled on her lower lip. She must have been more upset over her mother’s phone call than she’d realized.

“Would you like some milk and cookies?” She grinned. “I have plenty.”

“No kidding.” His deep chuckle caused a wave of goose bumps to sweep over her skin. “What are you going to do with all of them?”

“They won’t last long around George and Corey.”

She opened a cabinet to get something to store the cookies in, but the feel of Hunter’s broad chest pressed to her side as he stepped forward to reach for several of the plastic containers on the top shelf sent a charge of excitement skipping over every nerve in her body. When he handed them to her, then stepped back, she had trouble drawing her next breath.

Unnerved, her hand trembled as she took the containers from him. “Th-thank you.”

He gave her a short nod, then moved farther away. “I think I will take you up on that offer of some milk and cookies.”

Pouring them each a glass of milk, she set one at the far end of the table and started to sit down at the opposite end. Hunter was immediately behind her, holding the chair, and his close proximity unsettled her so much that she almost turned over her glass.

What in blazes was wrong with her? She not only felt as jumpy as a frightened rabbit, she’d suddenly turned into a major klutz.

When he sat down across from her, he studied the plates of cookies between them. “What do you suggest I start with first?”

“I like the oatmeal cookies, but that’s probably because I use chocolate chips instead of raisins,” she said, reaching for one of the tasty treats.

He nodded as he took a cookie from one of the plates. “I’m kind of partial to peanut butter myself.” Taking a bite, his eyes widened. “Corey and George weren’t exaggerating—these are some of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted.”

As they munched on the cookies, Callie wondered what it was he thought they needed to discuss. For the life of her she couldn’t think of anything so important that he’d pay her a visit on her day off.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, hoping the sooner he stated the purpose for his visit, the sooner he’d leave. She desperately needed to regain her composure.

Taking a deep breath, he set his empty glass on the table, then caught her gaze with his. “I’m concerned that your job might be a little too much for a woman in your condition.”

She laughed. “Contrary to what you might think, pregnancy is not a disability.”

“I understand that,” he said, nodding. “But at times I’m sure it’s extremely tiring.”

“I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t.” She rose to place their glasses in the dishwasher, then started stacking cookies in the containers for freezing. “But there are also times when we’ll go for a day or two without an emergency call and I’m exhausted from sheer boredom. Besides, my obstetrician doesn’t have a problem with me working as a flight nurse, so if you’re worried that it’s too strenuous for me, don’t. Corey and George are both very conscientious and won’t let me do any heavy lifting. And when we’re not out on calls, I make sure to take regular naps.”

“Yes, but there’s other things to be considered, such as turbulence or pilot error,” he said as he handed her plates full of cookies to be stored in the plasticware.

“I trust George. He’s a good pilot.”

“I’m not saying he isn’t.”

She snapped the lid shut on the box, then started filling another one. “What are you saying?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as if to relieve tension. “Aren’t you worried about having to make a rough landing or a possible crash?”

“Not really.” She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why he was so overly concerned. Every pilot she’d ever known considered flying the safest mode of transportation. “In the event that something like that happens, I’m in no greater danger because I’m pregnant than I would be if I wasn’t.”

“But—”

“I see no reason why you’re so worried about it, but if you think it’s that important, why don’t you review the employment records and put me on the crew with the best pilot?”

To her surprise, he placed his large hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. But instead of arguing his point further, he stared at her for several long seconds before he muttered a curse and lowered his head to capture her lips with his.

As his mouth moved over hers in a gentle caress, Callie’s pulse raced and her insides began to hum. The last thing she’d expected for him to do was kiss her. But instead of pushing him away as she should have, she reached out and placed her hands on his biceps to steady herself. The feel of his rock-hard muscles flexing beneath her palms sent a shiver of excitement up her spine and caused her knees to tremble.

If she had any sense, she’d put a stop to the kiss right now and demand that he leave. But his firm, warm lips were making her feel things that she’d only read about in women’s magazines and romance novels, and she didn’t want the delicious sensations to end.

When he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him to deepen the kiss, the feel of his superior strength surrounding her sent tiny little sparks skipping over every nerve in her body. Opening for him, she felt her heart skip several beats when he slipped his tongue inside to tease and explore her with a tenderness that made forming a coherent thought all but impossible.

Placing his hand at the small of her back, he urged her forward, but the feel of her round little tummy pressed to his stomach must have brought him back to reality. He suddenly went completely still, then, releasing her, he carefully set her away from him and took a couple of steps back.

“That shouldn’t…have happened.” He ran an agitated hand through his thick dark brown hair. “I think I should probably leave.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Embarrassed and more than a little confused by her uncharacteristic behavior, Callie began packing more cookies into the plastic containers. Why hadn’t she stopped him instead of clinging to him as if she were desperate for a man’s attention?

Hunter O’Banyon might be tall, dark and movie-star handsome, but she was no more interested in him than she was in any other man. But, dear heaven above, could he ever kiss.

Her cheeks feeling as if they were on fire from her sudden wayward thought, she shoved a container of cookies into his hands. “Take these back to the hangar for Mary Lou and the on-duty crew.”

“Callie…I—”

If he didn’t leave soon, she’d be up all night baking. “It’s getting late and I’m sure you need to get back.” She walked into the living room and opened the front door. “Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your concerns and I will give them some thought.”

“By the way, I know this is short notice, but I’m holding a staff meeting the day after tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.,” he said, looking anything but happy. “Will you be able to be there?”

She shook her head. “I have a doctor’s appointment. But I’ll stop by after my checkup and someone can fill me in on what was covered in the meeting.”

He stared at her for what seemed an eternity before he gave her a short nod. “Good night, Callie,” he said, walking out onto the porch.

“Have a nice rest of the evening, Hunter,” she said, closing the door behind him.

Walking straight to the kitchen, she stacked the containers of cookies on a shelf in her freezer, then pulled out the ingredients for a batch of brownies. Her phone conversation with her mother had been frustrating and caused her to make several batches of cookies. But Hunter’s disturbing kiss was sending her into a baking frenzy, and for some odd reason everything she wanted to make was chocolate.

As she measured cocoa and flour, something she’d heard on a cooking show came to mind and caused her to knock over a cup of sugar. Eating chocolate released the same endorphins in the brain that were released while having sex.

“Not good, Callie. Not good at all.”

Hurriedly opening a bag of milk-chocolate chips, she popped a handful into her mouth, and as the rich taste spread over her tongue, she decided that even if chocolate did make her gain too much weight, it was far less dangerous to her peace of mind than Hunter O’Banyon.

As he descended the steps and walked over to the white truck with Life Medevac painted on the side, Hunter shook his head. He didn’t blame Callie one damned bit for giving him the bum’s rush. Hell, he’d deserved more than that. He’d acted like an oversexed teenager on his first date. But what he was having the devil of a time trying to figure out was why.

Getting into the truck, he started the engine and, backing from the driveway, drove across town. But instead of turning onto the road leading to the Life Medevac hangar, he kept going until the lights of Devil’s Fork faded in the distance behind him. He needed to think, and even though he could go into his room for solitude, he’d found that staring at the vastness of a starlit night always helped him put things in perspective.

When he parked the truck and stared out the windshield at the stars above the Apache Mountains in the distance, he couldn’t help but wonder what the hell had gotten into him. He’d only stopped by Callie’s place to try to talk some sense into her and get her to see the wisdom in grounding herself until after she had her baby. But when he’d placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her pretty violet eyes, he could no more have stopped himself from tasting her sweetness than he could stop his next breath.

He took a deep breath. Although he wasn’t overly proud of it, he hadn’t exactly led the life of a monk since Ellen’s death. But he’d always been careful to be with women who wanted nothing more from him than mutual satisfaction and had no expectations of their liaison leading to anything more. And Callie Marshall was most definitely not that type of woman. Instead of smoke-filled nightclubs, champagne cocktails and a meaningless one-night stand, she was a cozy little cottage, homemade cookies and a long-term commitment.

But come to think of it, he’d been so busy in the past several months that he’d completely abandoned any kind of a social life. And although he was far from being as randy as a seventeen-year-old boy, a man of thirty-two did have certain needs that couldn’t be ignored.

He frowned. But he’d never in his entire life found a pregnant woman irresistible.

He stared at a shooting star streaking across the inky sky. He guessed it was only natural that he’d be attracted to Callie even though she was expecting a baby, considering his current state of celibacy. She was a very pretty woman with a killer smile, a delightful laugh and a pair of legs that could drive a saint to sin. Combine all those traits with his neglected libido and it was no wonder he’d felt compelled to kiss her.

Satisfied that he’d discovered the reason for his uncharacteristic caveman behavior, he started the truck and headed back toward the Life Medevac base. Now that he had things in perspective, there was no reason that he and Callie couldn’t put what happened this evening behind them and move forward as employer and employee. Hell, maybe they could even be friends.

But much later, as he lay in bed trying to will himself to sleep, Hunter couldn’t seem to forget the sweet taste of Callie’s soft lips or that the blood in his veins had heated considerably when she’d kissed him back. And whether he liked it or not, the very last thing on his mind was friendship.

Three

On the drive back from her appointment with the obstetrician, Callie thought about Hunter’s visit and how foolish she’d been. The kiss they’d shared had been very nice, but it didn’t mean anything. She knew he’d been frustrated with her refusal to ground herself and he’d been just as surprised by his actions as she had. There had really been no reason for her to get so flustered and read more into it than that.

But she’d spent the rest of the night baking everything from chocolate-fudge-nut brownies to chocolate cake. And by the time she’d gone to bed, the gray light of dawn had begun to chase away the shadows of night. She shook her head. She hadn’t baked that much since she’d discovered she was pregnant.

Thinking back on that day, she could still remember walking out of her gynecologist’s office in a total state of shock. She’d always wanted children, but she’d envisioned herself happily married and anticipating the blessed event with the man she loved and who loved her in return. She wasn’t supposed to have become pregnant by a man who put social status above a meaningful relationship.

When she’d first met Craig Culbertson, he’d swept her off her feet with his charm and thoughtfulness. But it hadn’t taken long for her to discover that he wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. He’d hidden his true nature behind a winning smile and charming ways, and by the time they’d parted company, shallow, self-centered and selfish were the nicest words she could think of to describe the conceited snake.

Then, when she’d discovered she was pregnant a month after their breakup, her disillusionment with Craig had turned to abject fear. One of the deciding factors in her ending their relationship had been the sickening disgust she’d felt when he’d confided in her that at the age of nineteen he’d gotten his girlfriend pregnant and that his twelve-year-old brother was actually his son. He’d told her that once his parents had learned of the pregnancy and discovered the girl wasn’t the family’s social equal, they’d used their money, as well as their position in Houston society, to gain custody of the baby, adopt him and raise the boy as their own.

A cold chill raced through Callie. She could only imagine the devastation and powerlessness the young mother must have felt at losing all contact with her child. And that was the very reason Callie had made the decision to leave her job as an emergency room nurse at one of the Houston hospitals and take the job as flight nurse with Life Medevac.

If Craig found out about her pregnancy, she wasn’t sure he and his parents wouldn’t try to do the same thing to her that they’d done to the mother of his first child. Callie hadn’t been born into a life of wealth and privilege and therefore would no doubt be considered an undesirable candidate to raise a Culbertson heir. They’d take her to court and she’d come out the loser. She didn’t have the kind of money it would take to fight a custody battle against their high-powered lawyers.

She’d come from a middle-class single-parent home where there hadn’t been an endless supply of money, and social outings had consisted of making trips to the mall or attending a matinee at the movie theater. And even if her father hadn’t been lost at sea during a storm while working on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, her social status wouldn’t have been a whole lot different.

As she steered her car onto the lane leading up to the Life Medevac hangar, she placed her hand on her rounded tummy. She might not have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but she loved her little boy with all her heart, and no one was going to take him away from her.

Parking the car, she took a deep breath and forced herself to forget about Houston and the ruthless Culbertsons. She was about to face Hunter O’Banyon and tell him that she’d given a lot of thought to his request that she ground herself. She’d even gone so far as to discuss her physical limitations with her obstetrician, and together they’d concluded there was no reason for her to go on maternity leave for a few more months. Now all she had to do was explain that to Hunter.

“Hi, Mary Lou,” Callie said as she entered the dispatch room. “Is Hunter in his office?”

The older woman nodded. “I suspect he’s back there compiling a list of everyone’s size and the number of new flight suits he’s going to order.” She laughed. “How do you look in red?”

“We’re going to wear red flight suits?”

“That’s what he says.” Mary Lou looked thoughtful. “Come to think of it, though, our crews will be more easily identified among other emergency personnel at an accident scene.”

“It does get confusing sometimes when some of the other services wear the same shade of dark blue that we do,” Callie agreed.