“You know Chelsea?”

“I taught Chelsea.”

David was frozen in place. Kate was sure he had something to say, he just couldn’t get it out. The blinks and twitches told her he was still alive but, Kate pretty much decided he’d gone into some kind of wakeful coma. Someone laid on their horn, and David realized he was holding up traffic.

“You didn’t tell me you were her teacher.”

“I tried to block it out. I had her twice.”

“She’s gonna go crazy.”

Kate nodded, although she did think crazy was an understatement. Chelsea was never the most stable young lady while she was in school. Oh, on the surface she was peaches and cream, a real daddy’s girl. She was a cheerleader, class officer, and had the headmaster’s ear whenever she needed it. With her society connections and influential father on the board, she pretty much got whatever she wanted. That meant if anyone crossed Chelsea, she might be sweet to your face, but behind your back, she was plotting your demise. She had a small, tight circle of friends, but even they didn’t cross her. The truth was most kids Kate taught were nice, decent people. Chelsea Connor was not the rule.

Of course, it was possible she’d changed.

But not likely.

*

Later, they sat in David’s den poring over the books they’d picked up after dinner. He’d bought every pregnancy book he could get his hands on, including a few for expectant fathers. She sat next to him on the big suede sofa, intermittently filling in the pregnancy journal and dozing off. Part of him just wanted to tuck her into his bed upstairs and let her sleep, but the other part of him knew that wouldn’t be such a great idea.

The doctor told him the best thing he could do for Kate was keep her relaxed, because pregnant women her age tended to have more anxiety. The issue with the doctor’s plan however, was logistics. He didn’t live with Kate, and he couldn’t see her while she worked. Sure, he’d do his best, but he wasn’t really part of her life.

Technically, David was still a free man. He could date if he wanted, go out with his buddies. Kate never would have gotten in touch with him if she wasn’t pregnant and scared. She needed him, but he still wasn’t sure she wanted him. That was a problem, because the more time they were together, the more he knew he could never give her up.

“I guess I should go home,” she said so quietly he could barely hear.

“Okay.” He gently moved her body and stood, immediately seeing the worry clouding her eyes. “Everything is going to work out.”

“I hope so.”

He came back with her coat and held it as she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

“How much did you weigh when you were born?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.

He chuckled. “I probably shouldn’t tell you.”

She turned to him, her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“I was big.”

“How big?” she demanded.

“According to my mother I was well over ten pounds and twenty three inches long.”

“Holy shit.” Kate’s voice was nothing but a squeak.

He took her shoulders and guided her toward the door. “You’ll manage. You’re tough.”

“Oh, my God.”

“It’s going to be fine,” he said reassuringly, but the whimper from Kate told him she wasn’t so sure she believed him.

*

For the first time in a week, Kate felt like everything was going to be okay. Telling David had been the right thing to do. Seeing John Connor would bring her job to an end sooner than she expected, but fortunately she had her writing career, and as much as she loved teaching, she didn’t need it. Walking into the kitchen, she nearly had a heart attack when she saw Laura standing at the kitchen table.

“Good grief! What is it with people sneaking up on me?!”

“Hey, Mom.” Laura was rigid. Her arms were folded and her face was stone cold.

“I didn’t expect you to be home. I’m sorry. I would have been here.”

“That’s okay. I had some stuff to do.” With those words, Laura moved just enough for Kate to see everything her daughter had collected on the table.

Kate felt all the feeling go out of her legs as she fought to keep herself from collapsing on the floor. She leaned against the counter and looked away. “What did you do, Laura?”

“I found out the truth about you.”

“Really?” Kate looked back and focused on Laura’s face. “Why did you feel the need to go through my things?”

Laura glanced away and then put on her best show of arrogance. “I needed to know what you were doing and now I do. You’re pregnant?”

Kate took two steps toward her and then stopped. Resting a hand on her stomach, Kate looked right in Laura’s eyes. She felt so angry, so violated, that for the first time in her life she could have slapped the child. She didn’t, but Kate couldn’t ever remember feeling so angry.

“I am pregnant. About twelve weeks, and I’m not unhappy about it.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Disgusting?” Kate advanced and Laura stepped back. “Weren’t you the one who told me to ‘get a life’?”

“Who’s the father? The sleaze who dropped you off?”

Kate grinned at the irony. If only Laura knew who she was calling a sleaze. Eventually it would come out, and on that day her daughter would gag on her words. “That is none of your fucking business.”

Laura’s shocked expression was worth the guilt Kate felt about the ferocity of the outburst. Kate rarely cursed aloud and she never raised her voice, but she’d been pushed too far. It wasn’t a secret anymore. She and David had spent the evening in the city. But just looking at what Laura had gathered made her furious. She’d been all over the house, but the majority of what she found was in Kate’s room. Laura was looking for information and there was no doubt who’d put her up to it.

“Why did you do this?”

Laura didn’t answer, looking around for someone to save her.

“Dad put you up to it, didn’t he?”

Laura wouldn’t make eye contact. In every expression and every movement, Kate could see she was panicked.

“Daddy has a right to know what you’re doing!” She sputtered. “He’s trying to protect me.”

“Protect you? From me?” Kate couldn’t decide what to do. She really, really wanted to blow the whistle on Richard and tell Laura what a creep her father was, but she shook her head. “I’ve done my best to take the high road and never bad-mouth your father, but using you to spy on me is despicable, and that should tell you what kind of person he is. It’s wrong, and if you need protecting from anyone, it’s him.”

Laura turned away and almost looked guilty. Kate could tell she knew what her father asked her to do was wrong, but Laura always did what her father wanted. Always.

“You won’t tell me who was in the SUV?”

“Eventually. Not now.” Kate waved her off. “Go to bed. Get out of my sight.”

Laura took a final parting shot. “It doesn’t matter if you tell me, Dad will find out. He’s hired people.”

“Is that so?” Kate smiled, because now she knew what he was up to. “Thanks for the information. He must be getting pretty desperate, because he has far more to hide than I do.”

Laura dashed from the room without responding, and Kate was fairly sure in about thirty seconds she’d be on the phone with Richard or Marie.

Chapter 18

‡

David had known about the pregnancy for a week, and he thought things between him and Kate would settle down, but she was still running hot and cold. Maybe it was hormones, but the truth was, he didn’t really know.

What he needed was a woman’s opinion.

His first choice, his sister Rachel, would have to be brought up to speed on the whole Kate situation, and that would take too long. He’d tell her all about it when he saw her in a couple of weeks.

So, he went to see his second choice, Annie, because like his sister, he knew she would tell him the truth. Even if he didn’t want to hear it.