Chapter One #2
She rubbed her belly. “The timing of my pregnancy is great. I have savings and the pay from my maternity leave. Between that and my business, I probably won’t have to go back to the factory job for at least a year, which means I can be home with my baby.
In the meantime, I’ll look for something in bookkeeping.
While factory work pays the bills, it isn’t the most interesting job on the planet.
” She covered her mouth with her fingers.
“Sorry, I’m telling you way more than you wanted to know. ”
“No, I’m enjoying hearing about your plans.”
At five feet seven inches, Heather was fairly tall for a woman, but Jim dwarfed her. Even sitting down, he looked big and strong.
“It sounds like you work a lot of hours. Is that okay?” He tilted his head slightly to indicate her stomach.
“Yes. I’m very healthy.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Even so, your long days must make your husband worry about you.”
She resisted the urge to stick her finger down her throat and make gagging noises. “I’m not married, so that’s not a problem.”
“Oh.” Jim looked a little embarrassed. “Well, the father of your baby, then.”
Heather leaned her head against the wall of the elevator and closed her eyes. “The father of my baby is a no-good rat,” she said, her voice calm. “And I’m a fool.” She opened her eyes and shrugged. “He told me he was divorced and I believed him. Even when he seemed to ‘travel’ all the time.”
“He was lying?”
“With every single word. It turned out that he and his wife were just separated. While he was seeing me, he was considering a reconciliation with his wife. Not that he ever told me.”
Heather tried to force those thoughts from her mind.
There was no point in rehashing the past. Luke had been a low spot in her life, but she’d gotten over him.
The good news was that she was about to have a baby and she’d always wanted children.
As her mother used to tell her, even the darkest cloud had a silver lining.
“He was seeing both of you at the same time?” Jim asked, outraged.
She’d forgotten there were still a few good men left on the planet.
“Imagine how I felt,” she said. “The day I told him I was pregnant, he left me to return to her. It turns out she was pregnant, too.” Heather realized what she’d said and pressed her lips together.
“This is crazy. I’ve just told you something incredibly personal and I don’t even know you.
I’m really sorry. I don’t usually babble like this. It must be the hormones.”
“No. It’s the elevator. I’ve heard they have this effect on people.”
“It must only be on women,” she grumbled. “I don’t hear you spilling your guts.”
“I don’t have anything interesting to share, otherwise I would.”
“Maybe you could make up something. You know, just to make me feel better.”
He thought for a moment. “How about if I confess that I used to be a woman?”
Heather smiled. She eyed his long, lean frame and the masculine shape of his head. “Not likely. Is that the best you can come up with?”
“Sorry, yes.”
They both laughed.
“I could beat him up for you,” Jim suddenly said.
Not sure she’d understood the statement, Heather blinked, then had to figure out who the “him” was. “Luke?”
“The father of your baby. I’m assuming if he went back to his wife, he’s not interested in his kid.”
She nodded slowly. Luke had warned her he was going to deny paternity.
“He doesn’t want his wife to know about the affair,” she admitted.
“Acknowledging the baby would mean telling her the truth. I decided that rather than having someone with his defective character around my child, I would prefer that he never know him or her.” She touched her belly in a protective gesture.
“We had a lawyer draw up the paperwork. He signed away his rights to the child, and I agreed to never contact him or pursue child support.”
Jim made a low sound in his throat. “Like I said, the guy needs a good beating.”
She stared at him for a long time without speaking. He was incredibly good-looking and, from what she could tell during their brief acquaintance, a real, live hero. “Do you walk old ladies across the street in your spare time?” she asked.
“No. But I do think a man should always do the right thing. You’re in no position to teach this guy a lesson, so I’m volunteering. I don’t mind helping.”
He wasn’t kidding. Heather didn’t know what to do with that information. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d met a decent man, at least not one under the age of fifty.
“You’re a nice man, Jim Dyer,” she said. “I know that men hate to be called nice because it’s not macho and sexy, however I’m hoping you’ll indulge me and simply accept my compliment. I mean it most sincerely.”
“Thank you.”
She sighed softly. How would her life have been different if she’d met someone like him during the past ten years instead of the three deadbeats she’d been involved with?
Heather shrugged off the thought. She didn’t believe in dwelling on the past or the difficult times in her life.
Right now, she was doing great. She was healthy, about to give birth, and financially she was going to be fine.
She had everything she needed. If a dream or two was going unfulfilled, so what?
It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened.
“What are you thinking?” Jim asked.
“That I’m very lucky.”
“Because you’re trapped in an elevator with me?”
His eyes were an impossible shade of blue—dark and welcoming, not to mention fringed with long lashes.
“Compared with some of the other possibilities, you are the ideal elevator companion,” she said. “You don’t seem the type to start panicking, which is good. One of us should remain calm and in control.”
“You’re doing great,” he said. “I can barely notice you’re nervous.”
“Gee, thanks.”
But she didn’t mind his teasing. He was easy to talk to, concerned without being intrusive, but strong. If he were—
Pain ripped through Heather. She felt as if invisible hands were twisting her in two from the inside out. She was so stunned by the sensation she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even cry out. Then it was gone and she was left to wonder what on earth was happening to her.
Jim glanced at the phone in the elevator panel and thought about calling to find out how much longer the repair would take.
So far, Heather was holding up great, but the stress of being trapped in an elevator couldn’t be good for her.
She had a pretty face, with big green eyes and a mouth that smiled easily.
She looked as if she should have given birth a month ago.
With her arms and legs so thin, she looked all tummy and very uncomfortable.
His gaze drifted to her stomach and he tried to imagine the baby inside. He didn’t want to think about children or infants, but it was hard not to. So he forced himself to concentrate specifically on Heather and not to think about his past.
Heather was bright, funny and pregnant. What kind of bastard would turn his back on her?
He shook his head slightly and told himself she was better off without the jerk in her life.
He wondered if she felt the same way. She’d sounded as if she was more than ready to write off the guy, but women didn’t always—
Heather jerked suddenly. Jim stared at her. “What’s wrong?”
Color drained from her face. Her knees came up toward her chest and her hands curled into fists. Even before she spoke, he saw the pool of water darkening the gray carpet on the floor of the elevator.
“Heather?”
Her eyes were big and unfocused. She wet her lips and tried to smile. “I hate to impose on our very short acquaintance, but I think I’m going to have this baby. Now!”