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I wish you’d reconsider.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to stay here with you feeling sorry for me and everybody
speculating on why.”
“If you leave, you’ll hear plenty of speculating,” he replied with visible impatience.
She turned back to her desk, feeling empty inside. “I can’t stay.”
“Well, don’t expect me to try to stop you,” he replied furiously. “If you’d rather go out there and tell
the whole planet that you’re pregnant and you won’t marry the father of your child, be my guest!”
“And that lovely sentiment is exactly why I’m leaving!” she raged. “You aren’t concerned about me,
you’re concerned about what people think! Your reputation might be ruined, isn’t that it? You might
lose clients!”
His eyes blazed at her. “What about your mother, Violet?” he shot back, seeing the point hit home as
she winced. “How is she going to feel when she finds out?”
She bit her lip. “Mama will understand.”
“Think so?” he replied sarcastically. “How about Duke Wright?”
“Excuse me?”
“When you start showing, what is he going to think? And his employees, not to mention his ex-wife!”
He glowered at her numb expression. “They’ll think it’s his!”
She gasped. “They…won’t!”
“Bull!”
She glared at him. It was just too much, all at once. She didn’t want to believe what he was saying, but
it was the truth. Her face grew redder by the minute.
He glared right back. His eyes narrowed on her thickening waist. His expression changed. He’d never
thought of children. At least, not since Shannon’s death. Now, he began to wonder what a child of his
might look like. Would it have dark hair like his and Violet’s? Would it have blue eyes? Would it be a
boy, or a little girl?
“You look…odd,” she commented.
“I was thinking about the baby,” he said absently, his eyes still on her waist. “I never really thought
about being a father. I’ve been alone most of my adult life.”
“So have I,” Violet confessed.
“What do you want?” he asked, meeting her eyes levelly.
She blinked. “I…haven’t thought about that. Not much anyway.”
He moved a step closer. “What would you like to have?”
She was lost in his eyes. “Little girls are nice,” she ventured. “I like to knit and crochet and quilt. I
could…teach her.”
His breath caught. A little girl. He thought about Rey Hart’s little girl. The family had come to see him
about a minor legal matter and Celina came with them. She was barely six months old, dark-haired
and fascinating to Blake. He’d watched her like a hawk, noting that Rey was a pushover for his
daughter, to his wife Meredith’s amusement. The same could be true of Judd Dunn and Christabel’s
twins. Everyone in town was indulgently amused at how easily a tough guy like Judd Dunn was
reduced to putty when he held those babies.
“Little girls are nice,” he agreed softly.
“But I wouldn’t mind a boy, either. I like baseball and soccer,” she continued. “I can still bat and catch
and kick.”
He smiled. “So can I.”
Her face fell as reality came rushing back. “You don’t really want a child, Blake,” she said sadly.
“You’re doing the right thing, offering to marry me. But it wouldn’t work.”
“You don’t know that,” he said. “A lot of couples start out with less than we have. I said some stupid
things on the phone, and you heard them. But I’m still in the early stages of this. You’ve had time to
think about the baby. I haven’t.” He stuck his hands in his trouser pockets. “I don’t react well to
change,” he said flatly. “I have to have time to work through what it’s going to mean.”
Violet sighed worriedly. “Yes, but you’d feel trapped.”
He shrugged. “Honestly, maybe I do, a little,” he confessed. “But that’s temporary. I just need a little
time, Violet.”
“I know that. So do I.” She turned and went back to her desk, to the box she was packing up. “Duke’s
willing to let me come back. I’m going. In a few weeks, when you know what you want, we can talk.”
“In a few weeks, you’ll be showing, Violet,” he replied shortly.
She turned. “I’m plump,” she said without heat. “I won’t show for a while.”
“Plump.” He smiled gently. “Womanly is a better adjective. You look lovely.”
Her eyebrows arched.
“I’m not trying to win you over,” he said when he saw her expression. “I actually mean it. There are a
lot of things about you that I like. Besides, the cats like you.”
“Does that win me points?” she ventured.
He chuckled. “They don’t like many people. And they attacked a pizza delivery guy one night, one cat
climbing up each leg. I have to pay extra now to get him to come back. And I have to promise to lock
up Mee and Yow before he pulls into the driveway.”
“Ouch.”
“It could have been the anchovies, I guess,” he said in hindsight. He eyed her quietly. “All right, if
you’re determined to leave again, I won’t stand in the way. But you have to do some thinking yourself.
The person we both need to consider is the baby. He, or she, has no choice at all about this.”
She grimaced. “I didn’t think about…precautions.”
He smiled slowly. “We were both a little preoccupied. Both times.”
She flushed.
He laughed. “It was very good. I imagine I could search for the rest of my life and never find a
woman who suited me so well, physically.”
She shrugged. “I thought men could find pleasure with anybody.”
“So they say. But I’ve stopped looking.”
The way he was looking at her made her toes curl in her shoes. He seemed to be genuine about his
feelings. But he didn’t love her. And she did love him. It would be a poor match.
“I plan to call you, often,” he said. “I’m giving advance notice. Don’t think because I’m agreeing to let
you leave, that it means I’m giving up on you. I’m not.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
“And I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell your mother we’re having problems,” he added. “She doesn’t need
any more upsets.”
“Yes, I know. I won’t tell her,” she agreed, her head bent over the box.
“There’s a rumor that Duke’s wife may be coming down with their son, for a quick visit,” he added.
“It may be for legal reasons, but I think she’s heard about the new lady vet who’s working for
Wright.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Jealousy?”
“Who knows? But it would be nice if they could patch up their differences. A child needs two
parents,” he added firmly, and he wasn’t talking just about the Wrights, Violet guessed.
“Yes. A child does need two,” she agreed.
“You were?” she exclaimed, surprised.
“I was. Open the door.”
He moved forward and picked up the box for her. His eyes were solemn. “I should have gone with
you, the afternoon you left sick,” he said unexpectedly. “I was going after you when the phone rang
and I had to placate a frightened client.”
She did, and he followed her through to the outside.
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