Good Husband Material

Still, she forced herself to be nice. “Mom, if you fell in love with someone and wanted to marry him, that would be fine with me. You have a right to be happy. But I wouldn’t want you to marry some guy just because he got you pregnant. It’s just not necessary.”

“No, I agree, it’s not. But I will have to tell him. It’s only fair.”

Mary wasn’t so sure. If there was to be a new baby in the house, she didn’t want to have to share it or her mom with some guy. “He won’t, like, want custody or anything stupid like that, will he?”

Her mom shook her head. “I can’t imagine he would.”

“So who is he?”

“I suppose you’ll find out sooner or later.” Her mother sighed. “It’s Josh.”

Mary hadn’t thought she could be any more surprised, but she’d been wrong. “Josh? As in Josh Carlson, your ex-husband?”

“’Fraid so. Honey, I smell something—”

“Oh, my sauce!” Mary rushed around to the stove and turned off the flame under her saucepan. She stirred the contents. It looked okay, if a little thick. “I think it’s fine. Are you hungry? What am I saying, of course you are. You’re eating for two.”

Natalie smiled. “I’m starving.”

She watched her daughter move confidently around the kitchen stirring various things. This hadn’t been nearly as difficult as she’d feared it would be. She’d anticipated Mary being horrified that her mother would get herself into such a compromising situation, or jealous at the idea of another child in the house. But she seemed to be happy about it.

She and Mary were closer than most mothers and daughters, perhaps because it had always been just the two of them. Natalie had shared a lot about her past with Mary, including the basic facts of her youthful marriage and her infertility. Maybe she shared too much, but confiding secrets to each other had come naturally.

“You saw Josh at the class reunion?” Mary asked as she set a plate in front of her mother.

“Unexpectedly. I’m afraid we let all the nostalgia sweep us away.”

“That’s kind of sweet, really,” Mary said, sitting down at the bar beside her mother with her own plate of food.

It was a lot of things, but sweet wasn’t an adjective Natalie would have used. When she’d awakened naked in Josh’s hotel room the next morning, depraved had been the first word that came to mind.

What the hell were we thinking? had been the first words out of her mouth. In hindsight, perhaps her outburst had been ill-considered. Josh had been insulted by her insistence she’d made a terrible mistake, and their parting had been awkward.

Another wave of terror washed over her as she thought about telling Josh the news of his impending fatherhood.

“Mom? Is the curry too hot?”

“Oh, no, honey, it tastes wonderful. You truly are gifted.” She took another bite of chicken, really noticing the taste this time.

“I’m gonna be a big help when the baby comes,” Mary said. “I’ll help you take care of it.”

“That’s really sweet of you, honey.” She caressed her daughter’s smooth cheek and stroked her shiny black hair. Mary was so beautiful, inside and out. “I’m sure I’ll need lots of help. But I’m not going to stick you with babysitting all the time.”

“We’ll work it out,” Mary said in her sometimes unnervingly adult way. “So when are you going to tell him?”

Natalie set down her fork. “I suppose I ought to get it over with.” She would have to do it in person. Delivering this sort of news in a phone call just wouldn’t do. That meant a trip to Houston and an overnight stay. “I’ll aim for next week.”

She would need at least that long to figure out what she was going to say to Josh. Hi, Josh. Remember how I laughed at you for being worried about birth control? The joke’s on me.

“I’M VERY SERIOUS, MONTY,” Josh said into the phone. He was speaking to a colleague, and he was playing hardball—the only kind of ball he ever played. “Ten million plus medical expenses is a perfectly reasonable demand. My client’s life will never be the same.”

His client was a seventeen-year-old boy, a classmate of his son who’d been attacked and badly injured by a Rottweiler. The dog’s wealthy owner was claiming the boy had provoked the dog, but it turned out the dog had a history of at least three attacks on visitors to their home. The dog owner did not have a leg to stand on.

Unfortunately, neither did Josh’s client, and he meant that in a very real physical sense. The dog had severed multiple tendons in the boy’s leg, which would require surgery and physical therapy, and even then he might not ever walk without a limp. The kid was going to suffer for years and his baseball scholarship was out the window.

This was the kind of case Josh loved, one where there was a clear-cut bad guy—and it wasn’t his client. He would almost welcome taking this one to court. A jury would have a field day.

“My client says one million,” the other attorney said. “Not a penny more.”

Josh laughed. “Call me back when you want to get serious about negotiations.” He hung up without waiting for Monty to respond. He wasn’t worried. This one was in the bag.

He loved his work. Even after all these years, he loved crusading for the underdog. Now that he was a full partner, he could be a bit more selective about the cases he personally took on. This one he was doing as a favor to a friend, but it was the kind of case he would have taken anyway.

The moment he hung up, his intercom buzzed and he picked it up. “Yes, Rachel.”

“Mr. Carlson, you have a visitor. She doesn’t have an appointment, but she said it’s a personal matter.”

Josh frowned. “What’s her name?”

“Natalie Briggs, from Dallas.”

Natalie. What the heck was she doing here? He was surprised, yet not displeased. Ever since their crazy night together in June, he’d been thinking about her—a lot. He hadn’t understood or been very sympathetic to her panic the morning she’d awakened in his room, though. In fact, he’d tried to interest her in more lovemaking. After a couple of hours of sleep, he’d been raring to go.

But Natalie had looked at him as if he’d suddenly grown scales and horns. Not that she’d blamed him for their salacious behavior; no, she’d heaped blame on herself for being impulsive and irresponsible and not at all like the sensible woman she’d become.

Josh hadn’t seen it that way. They hadn’t behaved irresponsibly, and what harm had it done, reliving a few happy memories? He would never understand women.

“Mr. Carlson?”

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Yes, Rachel. Go ahead and bring her back.”

He couldn’t wait to see what she had to say.

Less than a minute later, the receptionist showed Natalie in to his office. She wore beige linen slacks with a matching jacket, a pale lilac top underneath. Her long hair was pulled back from her face so tightly it looked as if it would cause her a headache. Her face was pale, her brown eyes full of doubt.

Josh smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. “Natalie. It’s good to see you again.” He meant that. Though they’d parted awkwardly, he wasn’t angry about it. She’d obviously been confused and overwhelmed. “Can I get you something to drink?”

She smiled tentatively. “Actually, if you have any water, I’m parched. It’s a scorcher out there.”

“I’ll get you a water,” Rachel said. “Mr. Carlson, anything for you?”

“I’ve got coffee, thanks.”

Rachel withdrew, and Josh stepped around his desk. “Would a hug be out of order?”

Instead of warming up to him, she took a step backward. “I can’t think when you get that close to me, Josh. And I need to think clearly right now.”

Josh felt the first real tendrils of concern. “Is something wrong?”

“Sort of. Well, not wrong, exactly. In fact, once I got over the shock I started to feel pleased about it. But I don’t know if you’ll agree.”

“Let’s sit over here.” Josh had a love seat and a couple of plush chairs in his office for more informal meetings. He led her to the love seat, snagged his cup of coffee from his desk and took one of the chairs for himself. Rachel returned with bottled water and a glass of ice for Natalie, then quietly departed.

Natalie busied herself opening the water and pouring. He could tell she was composing what she would say, and he let her. In his business he’d learned that silence was often more powerful than words.

She gulped down several swallows of water, then set the glass down with a clunk. “So, here’s the deal. Now, this came as a complete shock to me, because I really thought…I mean, given our history…”

Oh, God, was she ill? Did she need money for treatment? Was it her daughter, or her sister?

“Natalie, whatever the problem is, I’ll help you if I can.”

“I thought you’d be kind of mad at me after the way I acted at the reunion.”

He couldn’t help smiling. “Hey, when a woman gives you the best night of your life, it doesn’t tend to make you angry.”

She blushed and stared down at her lap. “I got a little freaky about it. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay. I don’t understand women’s emotions and I probably never will, but I accept that you must have had a good reason for hightailing it out of the Holiday Inn like your underwear was on fire.”

“No, that was the night before.” She grinned sheepishly and he returned the favor, but her smile fled almost immediately. “This isn’t easy.”

“Nat, this is me, Josh, remember? We used to tell each other everything.”

She nodded. “That night, at some point you commented that I’d filled out, that I looked more womanly.”

“I always thought you looked fantastic, but a few extra pounds did nothing but improve you.”

“Well, apparently the fact I was too skinny years ago was affecting my, um, fertility.”

She let that revelation sit for a minute between them until Josh figured it out for himself. “Oh, my God.”

She nodded. “Yeah.” Then she gnawed on her lower lip and waited for his reaction.

“You’re sure?”

She nodded again. “I’m eight weeks along. So far, everything’s fine.”

“You’re sure it’s mine?” The instant the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap them back, but it was too late.

“Josh! Of course. What, you think I’m running around sleeping with all the doctors at the hospital?”

“Sorry. But I don’t really know much about your current life. I mean, it’s been a lot of years. I wasn’t trying to shake off responsibility or anything like that. I was just making sure I had all the facts.”

Pregnant. Natalie was pregnant with his child. How they had both dreamed of this moment. For the five years of their marriage, they’d talked of it almost constantly, and worked at it so often that sex had gone from pure pleasure to a source of stress and fear. They’d both wanted children so badly. But he’d never dreamed this moment would come twenty years later.

“How could this happen?” he asked. “Could a few pounds make that big of a difference?”

“My doctor said it was a combination of things. Being underweight and stressed out affected my fertility. Having some actual curves and being relaxed fixed things. As for my age…it’s not unheard of for women to conceive in their forties. We were just…lucky.”

“Lucky?”

Her face tightened and her eyes flashed dangerously. “Well, yeah, lucky. Damned lucky. That’s how I feel about it. Blessed, really.” She softened. “The timing is awkward, but once the shock wore off I was excited and looking forward to it. Mary is almost as excited as me. She’s always wanted a sibling.

“But, Josh, if you’re not too pleased and want to pretend this never happened, I completely understand. I mean, you’ve raised your kids—they’re almost out of the nest. You’re probably thinking about other things—travel, buying a boat—and a new baby wouldn’t be in your plans. So I just want you to know that I’m not demanding or expecting anything from you. If you want to be a part of this baby’s life, that’s wonderful. But if you don’t—”

“Of course I do!” he exploded, not able to listen to any more. “I can’t believe you would think for a moment that I’d be content to wash my hands of responsibility and send you on your merry way.”

She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I’m sorry, Josh. No, I didn’t really expect that. You were always very responsible.”

Responsible. The word seemed almost like a curse. “I’m not just responsible. I love kids, and I’m a helluva good father. I’m going to be a good father to this kid, too, whether you like it or not.”

Natalie sat up straighter. “I wasn’t trying to deny—”

“But you were hoping. I happen to think a child needs two parents. I had to raise mine without a mother, and if they’re turning out okay it’s not because we didn’t go through some tough times.”

“Okay, Josh! I agree, two parents are best.”

“Yet you adopted as a single mother.” Once again, he realized he’d spoken unwisely. What was wrong with him? He didn’t normally blurt things out.

“Because one parent is better than a crowded orphanage,” she said indignantly.

Orphanage? Did they even have orphanages anymore? “Whoa, whoa, let’s back up. I wasn’t meaning to criticize. I’m sure you’re a fabulous mother to Mary. And you’re going to be a fabulous mother to our baby, too.”

She unruffled her feathers slightly. “I’m going to try my darnedest.”

“There’s a slight problem, you know. We live four hours apart.”

“We can work that out. Weekends, vacations—”

“I don’t want to be a vacation dad, or a summer dad. I want to be a part of this child’s life every day. I need that.”

“We’re going to have to make some compromises,” she said reasonably.

“Like hell. The solution is to live near each other. Preferably on the same street.”

“You just made partner,” she said. “You can’t exactly pick up stakes and move to Dallas. And I’m not—”

“It’s more logical for you to move,” he said smoothly. “You’re a nurse. Nurses are in high demand everywhere. With your experience, you can get a job at any hospital in Houston.”

“I can’t move!” she exploded, jumping to her feet. “I’ve got a home in Dallas. Family ties. Mary is in a school she loves, with friends she’s known her whole life.”

He wasn’t surprised at her outburst. He wouldn’t want to have to uproot his life or his kids’ lives, either. But she would get used to the idea. One thing Josh knew how to do was negotiate, and he had just the lever to negotiate Natalie exactly where she needed to be. “I can’t make you move, I guess. But in the end, I know you’ll do what’s best for our child.”

Chapter Four

Natalie steamed through the entire drive home. How dare Josh demand that she give up her life, drag Mary out of her school and away from her friends, and treat her job like it didn’t matter? She’d been doing him a favor, informing him about the baby and giving him carte blanche to participate as much or as little as he wanted in their baby’s life. She hadn’t even suggested the possibility of financial support, though he probably earned at least five times her salary.

All in all, she’d been very reasonable and generous. And how had he reacted? By ordering her to disrupt her entire life, pack everything up and move herself and Mary to Houston.

She’d lived in Houston before, during most of her marriage to Josh, and she hadn’t liked it. Too hot and humid. Cockroaches bigger than your foot. Of course, no place was that attractive when you had no money for air-conditioning. Maybe it would be different now….

No, no, no. That was inconceivable. She couldn’t ask Mary to change schools halfway through high school.

She was no happier by the time she arrived home. She was exhausted from making the four-hundred-mile round-trip all in one day—she’d decided not to stay overnight after her argument with Josh. She’d been too restless to sit in a hotel room, and shopping or looking up old friends had been out of the question given her mood.

Natalie was tired and cranky by the time she arrived home. Of course, she was tired and cranky a lot lately. That was the reason she’d gone to see Celia in the first place.

Celia had warned her to expect more of the same. Pregnancy could be a bit more taxing for her than for, say, a twenty-five-year-old.

The smell of corn bread, though, made her smile. Mary was in the kitchen again.

Mary greeted her with a hug, managing to do it without dislodging the cell phone wedged between her ear and shoulder. “My mom’s home, I’ll call you back,” she said to whomever she was talking to, and disconnected. “Oh, poor Mom, you look done in. How did it go?”

“Not as happily as I’d hoped,” she confessed. “Whatever you’re cooking, I want some. I’m starving. And grateful, by the way, since I haven’t told you lately how much I appreciate the cooking and grocery shopping you do.”

“No charge. I bought some sparkling grape juice today, so you can pretend you’re drinking wine.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet.”

“So was Josh a jerk about it? Did he tell you to get lost?”

“No, nothing like that. He was a little too enthusiastic, in fact. Suddenly he’s super-dad.”

“Oh.” A little frown line appeared between Mary’s eyebrows. “That’s bad.”

Natalie sighed. “Not necessarily. It’s just that I’ve been making my own decisions for a lot of years now. To suddenly have someone trying to tell me what to do…I’m just not used to it and I don’t like it. We’ll work it all out.” The last thing she wanted was for Mary to worry. She was still just a kid, despite her comparative maturity for a sixteen-year-old.

Mary served up a cup of chili, a square of corn bread and a green salad, then made the same for herself. Natalie ate it greedily and felt better afterward. The worst was over. She’d given the news to the two people most affected by her pregnancy. Now she could start planning for the baby. She would have to convert the spare room to a nursery, but right now it was just a junk room, so that was doable.

So much to do, but the more she thought about it, the more excited she got. She had so enjoyed decorating Mary’s room in anticipation of her arrival. It would be even more fun planning it with Mary.

After helping her daughter with the dishes, Natalie was looking forward to a long bubble bath and turning in early with a good book. But she decided to check her e-mail, and she was shocked to find three messages from Josh.

With some trepidation, she opened the first one and read it:

Natalie—

Sorry if I came on a little strong. Your news came out of left field, and my reaction was hardly civil. I appreciate that you drove all the way to Houston to give me the news, and now that I’ve had a chance to think about it, I’m excited. We’ll talk more soon.

Josh

Natalie sighed with relief. So he hadn’t been really serious about her moving to Houston. Thank God. Although she’d meant it when she said she thought children were better off with two parents rather than one. It would be nice if Josh was closer.

She opened the second e-mail.

Natalie: I thought you might find these ads interesting. Please take good care of yourself and the baby.

Josh

He had copied several ads from an online job-listing site. One was advertising for a pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital of Westwood, a Houston suburb. Flexible hours, it said. Salary commensurate with experience. Another hospital was looking for a neonatal unit supervisor with at least five years’ experience. She had that several times over, but the salary mentioned was significantly higher than her current earnings. A third ad, at a prestigious teaching hospital, was also looking for a neonatal post-surgical nurse. Competitive salary, great benefits, advancement opportunities.

Oh, wow. Natalie loved her job, but she had to admit she sometimes cruised job boards wondering if she could command a better salary. And with a baby coming, money would be in short supply. Of course, the jobs Josh had sent her were all in the Houston area.

Subtle, Josh, really subtle. She was almost afraid to open the third e-mail, but she did it anyway.

Natalie—

You wouldn’t believe the real estate bargains you can pick up in my neighborhood right now. One of the big telecom companies nearby closed down its offices, and homes went on the market right and left. Here’s a small selection.

Josh

Just out of curiosity, Natalie checked the ads, which he’d attached, complete with photos. Oh, my word, these were mansions—probably the type of house Josh lived in—but he apparently had no clue how much nurses earned. She couldn’t afford any of these homes, bargain or no. Although…she was a little surprised at the prices. They were lower than she thought they’d be. If she sold her house…No, no, no! This was so pointless. She was not moving to Houston.

Natalie shut down her computer and headed for bed. Her head hurt from all the decisions, all the changes coming at her as fast as a meteor shower. She stopped by Mary’s room to tell her good-night, then decided to have that bubble bath she’d promised herself.

But she couldn’t relax, not even with the soothing smell of lavender and her most sedate CD on the little boom box she kept in the bathroom. What if Josh was right? She agreed that it was important for a baby to have two parents, if there was any way to accomplish it. But was it more important than the life she’d built here?

She really couldn’t expect him to move, not when he’d just made partner. Never in a million years would he be able to get a position in Dallas that would be an equivalent. Plus, he had a son going into his senior year of high school. Uprooting him and the younger boy would be just as hard as moving Mary.

Yet Natalie could change jobs, and probably do better financially than she was doing now. She could employ her skills just as easily in Houston as in Dallas—where her baby would have a father. And she wouldn’t be all that unhappy to ditch her current supervisor, who was a real witch. A stick-in-the-mud, as Melissa would say.

She smiled, thinking about Melissa. She hadn’t yet told her friend about the pregnancy, but she was almost looking forward to it. She thought maybe she would do it in person, so she could see the look of shock on Melissa’s face.

“SO, MARY,” Natalie began, “how would you feel about moving into a bigger house?”

Mary turned to look at Natalie, a bewildered expression on her face. Natalie was driving her daughter to work at the diner where she’d gotten a summer job as a fry cook. “Leave our house?”

“Well, it’s a good size for the two of us, but with the baby coming I was thinking we might need to make a change.” Natalie held her breath, waiting for Mary’s reaction.

“Could we be in the same neighborhood?” Mary asked. “I mean, we wouldn’t move out of the district, right? We have to live in the district for me to go to the magnet school.”

“Well, actually, I’ve been looking at jobs in Houston.”

“What?” Mary exploded. “You’ve got to be kidding! What about the culinary arts program?”

“I haven’t made any decisions yet, because I wanted to talk to you about it first.”

“Then just forget about it!” Mary sounded on the edge of hysteria. “We can’t move to Houston. I refuse.”

Natalie had been afraid of this. Mary had been so calm about the coming baby, preternaturally calm. Natalie had feared something was building inside the girl, something that just needed the right trigger to burst out.

“I really think we should talk about this calmly,” Natalie said.

“Talk all day long if you want to. I’m not moving to Houston.”

“We don’t have to decide anything right now. We’ll just—”

“No, I won’t talk about it.”

“Mary, I’m surprised at you. You’re not usually so unreasonable.”

“Me, unreasonable? You want to ruin my whole life and then you accuse me of being unreasonable about it?” Mary almost screamed. They were stopped at a light about two blocks from the restaurant. Mary collected her purse, flicked open her seat belt and opened the door all at once. “I’ll walk the rest of the way.”