A Weaver Baby

by ALLISON LEIGH,

  Her sister laughed softly. “Driving you right up a tree, is he?”

  “I don’t need him looking over my shoulder when it comes to Latitude.” Was that his shadow just inside the barn door? She sidestepped a little, still looking out the window, but from a safer, less noticeable angle.

  Angeline laughed a little more. “Oh. Definitely, that’s what’s bothering you.”

  “You’re my sister,” she grumbled. “You’re not supposed to be taking such delight in my misery.”

  “I’m your sister and I love you but I’m not going to stand by and pretend you don’t have your head in the sand,” Angel countered smoothly. “You’ve got to deal with the matter, J.D., and the sooner the better. How long do you think it’s going to be before someone in the family happens to mention the blessed event that’s getting closer with every day that passes? You think Jake isn’t going to wonder why you didn’t happen to mention to him that you’re pregnant?”

  It was him. He strode out of the barn, carrying a bale of hay as easily as if he’d done so every day of his life.

  He also didn’t so much as glance at the house. At her.

  She went to the refrigerator, yanking it open to pull out a block of cheese and the sliced ham that her mother had sent home with her the other night after yet another casually offered invitation to dinner.

  And, by the way, why didn’t she bring along Jake?

  She hadn’t had a single meal with her family since Jake had arrived in town that hadn’t included him.

  It was maddening.

  She couldn’t seem to get away from him no matter what she did. No matter how many times she tried to convince him that she didn’t need his assistance to put Latitude through his very gentle paces, he kept showing up at her place at the crack of dawn each morning. He didn’t turn down a single invitation that she was convinced had been issued solely to make her insane.

  What was worse, she was afraid she was getting used to it.

  Used to him. His constant presence. His quiet, wry humor. His intelligence and the sight of his tall, broad-shouldered body looking more and more at home around her home.

  But he didn’t touch her again.

  Not an unintentional brush of hands.

  Not an abruptly unexpected kiss.

  And certainly not…anything…more.

  The nights, though, were the hardest.

  If she slept, she dreamt of him. And if she didn’t sleep, she thought of him.

  “Telling him will only make things more complicated,” J.D. said to her sister.

  “He has a right to know. Your baby has the right to know.”

  “My baby has the right to grow up knowing he’s completely wanted and utterly loved. The same way we grew up.” There would be birthday celebrations and holidays and school events and Sunday dinners, and always, always, there would be plenty of love. Expressed and returned.

  “Letting your child and his father know one another doesn’t mean that’s not going to happen,” Angeline countered reasonably. “This isn’t a secret you’re going to be able to keep for long, J.D. I know you love to be in control, so I’d think you’d rather control the time and place he learns about it.”

  “I don’t love to be in control.”

  Angeline laughed outright. “Please. You’re making my side hurt here.”

  J.D. made a face at the block of cheddar as she cut off several thin slices to add to the mound of ham she’d sliced. “You’re such a help. I’m so glad I called you.”

  Angeline’s laughter calmed. “Can I help it if I think you’re making this harder than it has to be? Tell him.”

  Her sister wasn’t telling her anything her own conscience wasn’t telling her. “He’s made it plain that he doesn’t consider himself a family man, Angel.”

  “Neither did Brody and look at him.”

  “Brody’s head over heels in love with you, and vice versa,” J.D. countered. “Jake is not in love with me.”

  “Are you in love with him?”

  She made a mangled mess out of the plastic wrap she snapped off the roll. “I’m thirty-one, Angeline. I know exactly who and what I am, and am just fine with it. And that woman is not at all the type that Jake chooses.”

  “That’s not an answer, sister dear.”

  “I don’t do love, remember?” Not well, at any rate. And falling for Jake would be the height of impossibility.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, J.D.! You and Donny were barely out of college,” Angeline reminded, sounding exasperated. “That’s just old water under an old bridge. And might I also point out that whatever type you think is Jake’s, he chose to sleep with you.”

  J.D. gave up on the wrap and leaned over to shove it in the trash beneath the sink. “Blame it on the champagne.”

  When she straightened, Jake was standing in the doorway. “Blame what on the champagne?”

  She felt the blood drain out of her head and wasn’t entirely certain whether to blame him or the pregnancy they’d created. “Nothing.” She waved at the sandwiches she’d been in the middle of assembling and walked blindly out of the kitchen.

  Fortunately, she was already familiar with the layout of her new home and managed not to walk straight into a wall before her vision started to clear.

  “J.D.?” Angeline’s voice was sharp. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she repeated again. “I’ve got to get lunch on,” she said, “before I go into town. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “He’s there, isn’t he?”

  “Yes. Love you, too.” She hit the end button, squashing her conscience at the same time.

  “Here.”

  She nearly jumped out of her skin, and looked back to see Jake standing behind her, a sandwich in his extended hand. Why couldn’t the man make some noise when he moved? “I made those for you and Ryan.”

  He didn’t lower the sandwich. “And the last time you looked this pale, you about passed out at my dining-room table at Forrest’s Crossing. Eat.”

  She didn’t need any reminders of that day at his palatial mansion. She snatched the sandwich and brushed past him back into the kitchen. “I saw you hauling out that fresh hay. You didn’t need to.” She pulled out a plate and set the second sandwich on it. “Here.”

  “Didn’t it need to be done?”

  “Yes, but feeding the horses I board is my responsibility. Not yours.”

  “Thank you, Jake.” His voice was arid. “I appreciate the help.”

  She just looked at him.

  He let out a sigh and yanked out one of the chairs at the small table. “I know that you know what graciousness is about. Because I’ve met your mother.” He sat down and picked up his sandwich. “Thank you for the lunch.”

  She planted her palms on the table and leaned toward him. “Thank you for pulling out the hay. You’re welcome for the lunch. Now, why don’t you stop playing games and go back to your world?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “My world. Your world. Never realized before what a snob you are, J.D.” He sank his white teeth into the thick sandwich.

  She straightened and whirled around to the counter, rapidly fixing another sandwich for Ryan, which she wrapped in a napkin and carried out to the mudroom. She opened the door there, wincing a little at the cold air that blew in, and yelled his name. He appeared seconds later, silently took the sandwich and headed back to the barn.

  She found herself envying her cousin’s antisocial attitude.

  Steeling herself, she went back into the kitchen and forced down a few bites of the sandwich while standing next to the counter. “I’ll be in town most of this afternoon,” she finally said. “Evan will be by later to check on Latitude. There’s really no need for you to hang around.”

  “I’ll drive you to town.”

  “Then I’d just need a ride back home again.”

  “And that’s a problem because…?”

  Her fingers curled. “Because you’ll have to drive me back again.”

 
; “So?”

  She exhaled noisily. “So, I want my own truck with me.” And she did not want him dropping her off in front of the offices of Weaver OB/GYN. “I have errands to run, Jake.” She waved her hand restlessly. “Shopping. Girl…stuff.”

  His lips twitched. “Girl…stuff.”

  “Is that so hard to believe? I am a girl.”

  “Believe me.” His gaze ran down her body, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. “I am well aware of that.” He picked up his sandwich again. “But fine. Go do your stuff. I’ll wait here.”

  No reprieve for the wicked.

  “There’s really nothing for you to do—”

  “I want to talk to Evan.”

  Which just had worry of another sort assaulting her. “Latitude is doing well, Jake.”

  “And I still want to talk to Evan.” He gave her a look. “Just because Latitude is loving all of your attention doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods, yet.”

  “I know that.”

  His gaze was steady. “Do you, really?”

  “It’s only been a week. If you’re worried about laminitis, he’s not showing any signs of it.” The disease had a number of causes and no respect for class of horse—pleasure or athletic or anything in between—but it could easily strike a horse who was unable to equally distribute his weight on all four feet. While Latitude’s broken leg might be healing, another foot could become even more of an issue. Laminitis wasn’t just painful. It could become so severe that the hoof separated from the bone. A few of the most famous racehorses of all time had been humanely euthanized when stricken with the excruciating disease.

  “And I could name off another half dozen things that could go wrong in addition to laminitis.”

  “Well, given that his very life is on the line, you can give him more than a week!”

  “And I will when I’m convinced he’s actually improving.”

  She pressed her lips together, wanting to argue, but knowing he was entitled to his opinion. And also knowing that he wasn’t completely in the wrong. No horse should have to suffer if there was no end to it in sight.

  The problem was, they didn’t know where that “end” was, much less what it might hold. It was too early.

  The clock on the oven behind Jake’s shoulder indicated that she was already cutting the time close before she was due at the doctor’s office. “Rinse your plate and put it in the dishwasher when you’re finished,” she said, and sped out of the room and up the stairs where she quickly changed into clean jeans and a long-sleeved blouse and hustled back down again, yanking a brush through her hair as she went.

  Jake was still at the kitchen table, evidently finishing the rest of the sandwich that she’d abandoned. He had his cell phone at his ear, but told her to drive carefully before she left out the back door.

  Outside, she saw Ryan high on the ladder next to the barn. He was still scraping away the peeling paint and he lifted one hand in a sketch of a wave as she climbed in her truck and backed down the drive.

  By the time she made it to the doctor’s office, her nerves felt so tight she wanted to scream.

  Was it any wonder, then, that Dr. Keegan sat J.D. down in her office after she’d examined her and asked her bluntly if she was under any undue stress? “You’re obviously tense.” The young doctor folded her hands together on top of her desk and looked at J.D. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

  “As long as the baby is healthy, I’m just fine,” J.D. assured.

  The doctor didn’t look convinced. She wrote out a prescription and handed it across the desk. “For your prenatal vitamins,” she said. “And I want to see you after Thanksgiving for an ultrasound.”

  The little square of paper crinkled as J.D.’s fingers tightened. “The baby is healthy, right?”

  “It appears to be,” the doctor said calmly. “But this is our first visit together and you’re a little small for seventeen weeks. Since your previous OB didn’t order one for you, I’d like to. The ultrasound will give me a better idea of your true due date. Plus, you can find out the sex of the baby, if you want to know.”

  “It’s a boy,” she said. “I know it is. And I already gave you the date I conceived.”

  The doctor smiled. “I know some women think they can pinpoint exactly the moment they conceive, but that’s usually more of an emotional response than science. Conception could have occurred even during one of the less momentous of lovemak—”

  “There’s only one moment,” J.D. interrupted. And it most certainly had been momentous, and not because she’d had any inkling whatsoever that she and Jake had been creating a new human being. “One man. One time.”

  The doctor blinked a little. “Oh. I see.”

  J.D. doubted it. She’d chosen to use Dr. Keegan as her obstetrician because she was filling in for the practice’s owner, who was on sabbatical. Most specifically, this doctor wasn’t in any way affiliated with J.D.’s family. Much as she loved them, this was one time she’d wanted someone around who was completely objective. “So, there’s no question about the calendar,” J.D. finished. “And if the baby is too small, what does that mean?”

  “It may mean nothing,” Dr. Keegan assured. “Truly, J.D., don’t let this stress you out more than you already are.”

  “I’m not stressed!”

  The other woman just lifted her eyebrows a little. “Would you like me to take your blood pressure right now?”

  J.D. realized her hands were clenched over the wooden arms of her chair and subsided. “Okay,” she sighed. “Maybe a little.”

  “Anything you want to talk about?”

  “I don’t think they taught the answers to my problem in medical school.”

  “What’s the problem?” The other woman’s gaze flicked to J.D.’s chart. “Anything to do with the one man, one time?” Her lips curved gently. “It’s not such a stretch, given your condition.”

  “I thought I was doing the right thing by not telling him.” She folded the prescription precisely in half. Then in half, again. “But how can I be sure?”

  “Is he a danger to you or the baby?”

  Only to their hearts.

  She shook her head. “He’s not dangerous that way.”

  The doctor leaned across the desk a little. “Well. The one thing I can tell you is probably what you already know. Bringing a baby into the world is more easily done when there are two parents. Maybe that’s not entirely PC anymore, but that’s the reality. Babies are an immense amount of work. An incredible responsibility.” She smiled slightly. “All worthwhile, of course. At least in my opinion.”

  J.D. glanced at the framed photograph of a little girl on the credenza behind the doctor. “How old is she?”

  The doctor glanced back at the photo. “Chloe’s almost seven now.” She looked back at J.D. “And I can tell you from experience that being a single parent isn’t exactly an easy road, even when you do have a solid support system around you.”

  “Telling the father isn’t going to change my support system,” J.D. murmured. She could always count on her family for that.

  But from Jake? The baby would get every other tangible thing he could provide. And given his wealth, that wasn’t insignificant. But would he provide what counted most?

  Love?

  She was no closer to an answer for that than she’d ever been. “I appreciate your time, Dr. Keegan.” She pushed out of the chair, putting an end to her internal debate.

  “That’s what I’m here for, J.D. If something’s disturbing you, I want to hear about it. Taking care of mom isn’t just about vitamins and blood tests.” Dr. Keegan rose, too, and walked with J.D. out to the reception area. She set J.D.’s chart on the counter. “Don’t forget to set that appointment.”

  “I won’t.”

  The woman smiled again and turned to the other patient in the waiting area. The two disappeared behind the door again. J.D. made her appointment, paid the fee for the office visit, and walked down the street to the
corner drug store where she filled the prescription. It was the same thing that the doctor in Atlanta had prescribed and she tossed the bottle in her purse and drove back through town, stopping in at Classic Charms, the quaint shop that Tara owned and operated. Her cousin-in-law wasn’t in the shop that afternoon, but J.D. still enjoyed browsing the eclectic selection. Since Tara had married Axel and had Aidan, she’d begun carrying a fair-sized collection of baby items and J.D. felt drawn to it.

  Tiny little jeans. Macho little sweatshirts. Frilly dresses that seemed so small nothing human could possibly fit into them.

  She picked up a knitted sweater in a bright blue and felt such a squeeze of yearning inside her that her eyes went damp. What a mess she was.

  But she simply couldn’t make herself put the sweater back and when she left the store, the sweater was nestled in tissue at the bottom of one of the store’s pretty shopping bags.

  The sun was angling lower in the sky that had gotten heavier and grayer since she’d driven to town. A few snowflakes drifted in the air and she flipped her collar up more closely around her neck as she hurried the few blocks back to her car.

  By the time she made it home, it was snowing in earnest. She left the shopping bag in the mudroom and went out to the barn. Jake was there, along with Ryan, nearly finished with settling the horses inside for the night.

  “It’s starting to come down pretty hard,” she warned as she joined them. “If you want to get back to town, you’d better go now.”

  Typically, neither man seemed bent on listening to her and she mentally tossed her hands in the air and asked Jake instead how Evan’s visit with Latitude had gone.

  “He’s satisfied the break is beginning to heal, finally.”

  The relief that shot through her was wide and sweeping and she practically threw her arms around Latitude’s satiny neck. “You hear that? You’re healing!” She was still grinning when she faced Jake again. It was all she could do not to hug him, too, but the odd expression on his face kept her in line. “What?”

  He shook his head a little. “Just haven’t seen you smile like that in a while.” His voice dropped a notch and he grazed a lock of hair trailing over her shoulder with his fingertip. “It’s good to see.”