HAVE BABY, NEED BEAU

by Rita Herron

  At least, he had at first. Now he wasn't so sure.

  He contemplated that strange realization for the next hour while patients came and went, his palms sweating as he gripped the steering wheel. A police car cruised by and he swore, sending a silent prayer that the cop didn't stop and question his presence. The policeman slowed and stared at him, and Seth straightened to his full height, grateful he'd worn his boring suit and tie. It didn't help. The cop parked and climbed out, patting his weapon as he strolled up to Seth's window. Seth wiped his damp palm on his pant leg and rolled down his window. "Hi, Officer."

  "Hi. Mind telling me what you're doing parked at a yellow curb?"

  Seth winced. "Sorry, sir. I didn't notice. I'll be glad to move."

  The officer arched a brow. "Something going on?"

  Seth opted for a white lie. "I drove a friend over to the clinic. Thought I'd wait out here and make a few calls while she saw the doctor." He gestured at his cell phone.

  "Can I have your name, sir?"

  "Dr. Seth Broadhurst. I'm a psychiatrist over at Sugar Hill General."

  The officer crooked his hat sideways. "A shrink, huh?"

  "Yes." Seth pulled out his business card and handed it to the man.

  "Listen," the officer said, "I've been having trouble sleeping at night. Having these weird dreams."

  Seth plastered on his professional face and tried to focus as the policeman sailed into a long diatribe about his odd dreams, mainly sexual in nature, which didn't sound all that odd.

  "What do you think they mean?"

  "You dream that you wake up naked and your wife has you handcuffed to the bed?"

  "All the time. Then there's the one where I stop my wife's twin sister on the road for speeding, and … well, we do it in the back seat."

  "Why don't you come by my office?" Seth suggested, not wanting to dispense advice on the street. "I have a friend who's an expert in analyzing dreams. Maybe you can talk to her."

  "Great. I'll do that." The officer grinned and tipped his hat. "Have a good day."

  I will, once I know Mimi's all right.

  Seth moved his car to the other side of the street and watched the cop drive off, then turned back to stare at the clinic. What in blazes was taking so long? A quick check of his watch and he realized he had to be back at the hospital in twenty minutes. But he couldn't work until he talked to Mimi. And he wanted to do so in private.

  He picked up his cell phone and called his secretary to reschedule his appointments—something he'd never done before. He told her he had a little emergency of his own. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. If he didn't find out soon that Mimi was all right, he was going to have a coronary.

  * * *

  "You're pregnant," Hannah said.

  Mimi glanced at Alison in panic. Alison glanced at Mimi in concern.

  Mimi shook her head in denial. "I can't be."

  "It's true, Mimi." Hannah gave her a sympathetic look. "The test is definitely positive."

  "How far along?" Mimi asked.

  Alison cradled her hand and squeezed it for support. Tears automatically blurred Mimi's vision.

  "Just a few weeks." Hannah studied the chart for a moment. "Other than that, you're as healthy as can be. I can give you something for the nausea if it gets too bad, but you may want to try some soda crackers first."

  Mimi nodded numbly and Hannah sat on the exam table, letting her legs swing beside Mimi's. "It's going to be okay, Mimi. We'll take care of you."

  "And we'll help you with the baby," Alison said

  "Ba … by." Mimi choked back a sob. "This all has to do with that hope chest Grammy gave me."

  "What?" her sisters asked in unison.

  Mimi explained about the baby blanket and rattle. Her sisters exchanged odd looks, then Hannah curved her arm around Mimi's shoulders. "Are you going to tell Joey?"

  "Joey?" Mimi's blurred gaze swung to Alison's. Alison's eyes widened.

  "Yeah, I know this must be difficult," Hannah said, "especially since he was arrested."

  Mimi's pulse raced. Of course. Hannah would assume the baby was Joey's. "I … I suppose I should tell the father."

  "You don't have to tell him right away," Hannah said. "Give yourself time to get used to the idea, sis. There's no rush. You have nine months."

  Nine, long, tension-filled months.

  Alison cleared her throat. "She doesn't have to tell Joey, does she? After all, he's in jail."

  Hannah patted Mimi's hand. "Look, Mimi, it's up to you whether you tell Joey. For now, this will be our little secret."

  Mimi nodded, knowing she should confess the truth to Hannah. She had never lied to her sister before, and she hated deceiving her now. There were too many secrets. But she couldn't tell her the truth … not yet. She couldn't bear the disappointment she'd see on Hannah's face.

  And what about Seth? He'd told her that he didn't want kids. How could she tell him she was carrying his baby, especially when he was seeing someone else and when he still might be in love with Hannah?

  * * *

  Three hours later, Seth stood on Mimi's porch, his knees knocking as he waited for her to answer the doorbell. He'd driven by a dozen times in the past few hours and seen Hannah's car in the drive, so he'd waited. With every passing second, his imagination had gotten wilder. He told himself Mimi's condition couldn't be serious or Hannah would have taken her to the hospital. But his fears had escalated until he'd almost developed a nervous twitch.

  Mimi was pregnant and needed help. Mimi would never even tell him. Dear God, Mimi had had a miscarriage.

  He ran a hand over his face, grateful Hannah and Alison had finally left. He'd never sleep tonight unless he saw for himself that Mimi was all right.

  He finally heard feet shuffling inside and Mimi's voice. "Who's there?"

  "It's me. Seth."

  "Seth?" Her voice squeaked, alarming him more.

  "I have to see you for a minute. Please let me in."

  "Seth, I … I'm really tired. Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

  He considered making up a phony excuse, but exhaustion clouded his brain and his patience snapped. "No. Now either open the damn door or I'm going to break it down."

  "What?"

  "Please. I have to see you." He hated the desperation in his voice.

  Mimi slid back the lock and opened the door. Her pale face poked through the tiny opening, and his heart thundered at the sight of her swollen red-rimmed eyes.

  "Take off the damn chain and let me in."

  "Seth, what in the world's wrong? You sound upset."

  He took a deep breath. She was right. He didn't sound like himself. Worry did that to a man, tore him inside out and made him crazy. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry, just concerned. I really want to come in."

  She bit down on her lip, her chin trembling.

  "Mimi, please. I promise I won't stay long."

  She sighed and closed her eyes as if trying to decide, but finally disengaged the chain. He tried to calm himself as he walked inside, stepping by a laundry basket in the foyer. Colorful, odd-shaped contemporary furniture filled her small apartment. A bright yellow U-shaped sofa, purple swivel chair, beanbags chairs covered in a leopard-skin print. Magazines and books were scattered on the coffee table, a pile of shoes tossed in the corner beside a rubber chew toy that had been mangled by an animal. He shuddered, unable to help comparing her home with his tidy, well-kept one. Mimi obviously didn't have a cleaning compulsion.

  A Chinese pug lay snoring on a lime-green shag rug, and a gray cat was curled up on the sofa—probably the mangler of the chew toy. The minute Seth stepped into the room, the dog leaped up, snarled and dove for his leg.

  Seth had never been around animals much. He jumped backward and tried to shake the dog loose, but the little animal latched onto his pant leg, sinking his teeth in deeper as if he wanted to take a bite out of Seth.

  "Good grief, call him off, Mimi, before he kills me."

  "He won't k
ill you." Mimi stooped and reached for the animal, her voice a soft purr. "Come here, Wrangler. What's wrong with you, bud?" She eased the dog away from Seth, taking a chunk of his gray slacks with her, then calmed the dog while Seth stood shaking, wondering about the status of the dog's rabies shots.

  "I'm sorry. I'll replace the pants." Mimi stared at him in confusion. "He's usually so friendly. I don't know what set him off."

  The dog narrowed his beady eyes. Seth stiffened.

  "You don't like animals?" Mimi asked.

  "It's not that I don't like them."

  "But you're not comfortable with them, are you?"

  Seth hesitated, wondering why her question sounded like an accusation. "Not really. My parents never allowed pets. Mother thought them barbaric and dangerous."

  She nodded. "Figures."

  "What does that mean?"

  "First, animals can sense if someone doesn't like them. And second, your parents don't look like pet people." She gestured around the den. "On the other hand, I can't imagine living without a pet or two. Or three."

  He remembered Hannah saying that Mimi did some volunteer work with the Humane Society, that sometimes she acted as a foster parent for injured or stray animals until the society could find them homes. But he didn't want to talk about her pets.

  He wanted to talk about her. To hold her.

  She hugged a fuchsia robe around herself and gestured toward one of the chairs, then sat down on the sofa and stroked the pug's back as he curled in her lap. She avoided Seth's gaze. "Do you want some coffee or tea?"

  "No. I want to know if you're okay."

  His voice shook and she glanced at his face, her expression wary. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

  "When you left the restaurant earlier, you looked ill."

  Her pouty mouth tried to form a smile, but it appeared weak, and her hands trembled as she pushed a strand of that long wild hair behind her ear. "I'm fine."

  "The hell you are." He stood, his hands fisted on his hips. "I saw you at the clinic. Now tell me the truth. Are you all right?"

  Her eyes widened. "You followed me to the clinic?"

  He hesitated. He hadn't meant to tell her that tidbit. "Yes. I was worried."

  "Well, you have no reason to worry," she said as if he had no right to worry, which only made him angrier. "My sisters took care of me. Besides, why would you leave your lunch date on account of me?"

  "Leave my lunch date? I not only left, I sat outside the clinic like a damn stalker and almost got arrested." He began to pace. "Then I lied to my secretary, canceled my appointments for the day, something I've never done before, and drove by your place waiting for your sisters to leave. Then I sat outside for another hour—trying to figure out why you hadn't called me if you weren't feeling well."

  Mimi seemed surprised by his speech. She thrust out that little chin. "Why would I call you? We're not even dating, Seth."

  He was surprised, too. He never lost control. At least he never had before he met Mimi. Besides, she did have a point.

  "I'm sorry, Seth. Nobody asked you to follow me or cancel your appointments. I don't understand why you'd drive by or make such a big deal—"

  "Because I thought you might be pregnant!"

  She snapped her lips together, then opened them to ask, "Why would you think that?"

  "Because we were together and you looked ill and I started thinking and putting two and two together—"

  "I had food poisoning," Mimi said in a low voice.

  Her words stopped him in his tracks. All afternoon he'd been preparing himself to learn he was going to be a father. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or … a little disappointed. "Food poisoning?"

  "Yes."

  He sank onto the sofa and exhaled, emotions churning through him. Relief. Frustration. Tension. Worry that she still might not be telling him the truth.

  He felt like a fool.

  She pulled at a loose thread on her robe. "It hit me really quickly in the restaurant, but Hannah says food poisoning does that. Comes out of nowhere and knocks you for a loop. She took me to the clinic and fixed me up, but it has to run its course…" She finally stopped as if she realized she was babbling.

  "So, you've been feeling okay otherwise? Before today at lunch?"

  "Yes."

  "No morning sickness?"

  "Really, Seth." Mimi shook her head and stood. "You're worrying for nothing. I just got sick on that glazed chicken. My stomach's already settling."

  "You don't need anything, then?"

  "No. I'll be fine tomorrow. I simply need to rest."

  She did look exhausted.

  "I suppose I should go, let you get some sleep." She nodded and walked him to the door, but his legs still felt shaky.

  He studied her ashen skin, the almost purple bruises beneath her eyes, the way her chin quivered, and he wanted to reach out and hold her so badly he ached. But she'd been ill and, as she pointed out, she had her sisters. The two of them weren't a couple. They never would be.

  She didn't even find him that attractive.

  Her words haunted him all the way home. When he finally crawled into bed, he remembered she'd said she'd gotten food poisoning from the chicken. He bolted up in bed, his pulse racing. He'd eaten the chicken, too, and he hadn't gotten sick.

  * * *

  Mimi lay in the darkness of her bedroom, staring at the ceiling, replaying the day's events, tears dribbling down her cheeks. She should have told Hannah the truth. And Seth. She would have to eventually. Only she didn't have the energy now, not so soon after learning the news herself. Besides, Hannah had just returned from her honeymoon. If she knew the truth, she would worry, would try to be the caretaker, just as she always did. Mimi had been trying so hard to be independent, to prove she could stand on her own two feet, even if they were klutzy and too big for her height.

  She lay her hand across her stomach and envisioned the changes that would take place over the next few months. The obvious physical changes. The mental and emotional ones. The changes in her career plans. There was so much to think about, so many adjustments.

  A baby. A real live little person who would depend on her. Who needed her.

  Her baby would need a daddy, too.

  Just like she and her sisters had needed their father.

  On the other hand, she and her sisters had gotten along fine with just one parent.

  Not that they hadn't missed having a mother around…

  She closed her eyes and hiccuped on a sob. She didn't want to disappoint her family, not her father or Hannah or Alison. And she didn't want to disappoint Seth. To make him feel trapped. Tied to a woman he didn't want. Saddled with a child he'd had with the wrong woman.

  After seeing him with that other doctor today, she knew she'd never fit into his world. Just the sight of his parents made her legs shake and rattle. And look at the way her dog had reacted to him and the way he'd reacted to Wrangler. She massaged her stomach, tears overflowing.

  No, she and Seth were completely wrong for each other.

  * * *

  Chapter 9

  « ^ »

  Seth buried himself in work the next week and staunchly avoided Mimi. He couldn't believe what a fool he'd been, barging in and demanding she talk to him. Especially after the things she'd said about him to her father.

  But all week reminders of Mimi jumped out at him, grinding his nose in the memory of that one wild night together. Her scent lingered in his car as if the leather seats had absorbed her potent perfume permanently. And apparently Mimi, or her father, had devised an advertising stunt to boost business at her café. He'd seen a white customized van cruising the streets sporting a huge chocolate cake twirling on top, red streaks representing raspberry sauce running down the sides, an intercom blasting an invitation to visit the Sugar Hill Café.

  He hadn't gone near the place.

  But today be was going to see her anyway.

  He adjusted his burgundy tie and combed his hair, remind
ing himself his evening would be spent leading the first support group for single parents, not enjoying a date with Mimi. But after four days without seeing her he… He'd what? He was going crazy?

  How could that possibly be when he knew as well as she did how ill-suited they were? He was simply worried about her health. Once he knew for certain their erotic night hadn't resulted in a pregnancy, he could rest easily and extricate her from his mind.

  A few minutes later he hurried to greet Mimi at the community center, but when he arrived, she'd already arranged the tables.

  He walked up behind her, admiring the view as she set out the refreshments. "Hi. It looks like you have things under control."

  Mimi jumped and spun around, her eyes big and sparkling. "Hi. Yes, I think we're all set."

  "The food looks great." He gestured toward the strawberry shortcake and the mudslinger chocolate pie. She'd also brought a tray filled with a mixture of cookies and a coffee cake that smelled of cinnamon and apples. "My stomach's rumbling already."

  "The coffee should be ready soon. I also made a fruit punch and brought sodas."

  "You thought of everything."

  She nodded. He had slept with this woman, had seen and touched and tasted every delicious inch of her. Yet now they'd resorted to chitchat.

  He started to comment, but the room suddenly filled with parents. Relief flooded Mimi's eyes, and he vowed to corner her later and find out if she'd suffered from any more bouts of food poisoning.

  * * *

  Mimi watched Seth mingle with the group of single parents, introducing the various attendees, his large hands moving as he spoke, his deep voice titillating. Just the way it had been when he'd called her name in the throes of passion.

  Darn it, why couldn't she go back to seeing him the way she had before? As boring old Seth, the shrink, not sexy Seth, the man who'd made love to her so tenderly she'd nearly wept. Seth, the father of her baby.

  The man she wanted to hold her all night long.

  Her hand automatically covered her still-flat stomach, and she swallowed, wishing she could gain the courage to tell him. And Hannah and her father. But so far, she'd barely been able to accept the news herself.