The Baby Bargain (14 page)

Only he had no right to find her desirable. Through his carelessness she'd found herself carrying his child. Oh, it was true that he hadn't forced her and she could argue that the situation was as much her fault as his, but Dan didn't see it that way.

He was the one with the experience, the one who should have known better. And the fact that he'd consumed enough alcohol to knock an elephant to its knees was no excuse. If he couldn't hold his liquor, he'd had no business drinking it.

No, the responsibility was entirely his. Now he had to do his best to make sure that Kelly didn't have to suffer the consequences of his stupidity alone. And he'd make sure that the child they'd so carelessly conceived never wanted for anything.

In the meantime, he simply had to view Kelly as his responsibility—like a little sister. He frowned at a rack of dresses. No, not like a sister. There was nothing brotherly in the way he felt when he looked at her. Okay, so he just had to keep in mind that she was pregnant. No, that wasn't quite the right approach, either. Just the thought that she carried his child stirred feelings he shouldn't be having.

Did she have to be so damned pretty, so vulnerable? Those soft brown eyes made him want to put his arms around her and keep her safe from the world. Unfortunately they also stirred thoughts that had nothing to do with keeping her safe and everything to do with desire.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and tried to force his thoughts away from Kelly. Maybe this was part of his penance—to have her so close and so out of reach. Maybe this was his just deserts for having been so foolish. Maybe if he looked on having her underfoot but untouchable as a kind of medicine he had to take, it would be easier.

But medicine generally didn't come in such an attractive package.

By the time they'd bought all the clothes Dan felt she needed and far more than Kelly could ever imagine wearing, it was late afternoon. They'd eaten lunch early and Kelly's stomach was sending up a polite inquiry as to the condition of her throat. She was thankful when Dan suggested an early dinner.

They ate at the mall, coffee-shop food that was plain and filling. Kelly ate a hearty meal, trying not to think that her sudden appetite might have something to do with the baby, just as she generally tried to avoid any thought of the baby.

Today, more than ever, she didn't want to think about it. She felt almost pretty today, wearing one of the ridiculously expensive outfits Dan had insisted on buying. She'd changed in the store, putting on a pair of trim gray slacks and a soft sweater in a delicious shade of raspberry pink. She could pretend that she was an ordinary girl out for a date with a handsome man. It was almost possible to forget the real reason she was here, the reason she had the beautiful new wardrobe, the reason Dan was with her at all.

The meal was hardly finished when Kelly became aware of a sweeping tiredness. She stifled a yawn. Dr. Linden had told her that she was likely to find herself sleeping more.

"You look beat," Dan commented, pulling out a bill and slipping it under the check. "Maybe we tried to do too much today."

"I'm fine." She tried to look bright eyed and alert as she slid out of the booth, but the truth was she was suddenly exhausted.

"I shouldn't have tried to get this all done in one day," Dan said, seeing the dark tint under her eyes.

"I'm not that tired," she said, spoiling the protest with another yawn.

"Sure you're not. Let's get you home." He reached out to take her arm in a gesture so natural Kelly hardly noticed it.

Outside, the air was chill with evening's approach. Kelly felt the cold, but she was snuggly wrapped in her new coat. She turned the collar up higher, enjoying the feel of the soft ivory wool against her face. She'd never owned anything so luxurious in her life. She pulled a pair of black leather gloves out of a deep pocket and slowly drew them on. The short walk to the car hardly warranted the gloves but she couldn't resist the supple feel of them.

When they had gone into the mall, they'd had to circle around a small construction crew making repairs to the roadway that ran between the mall and the parking lot The crew was packing up for the day as Dan and Kelly left the mall.

"Dan! Dan Remington!" Dan turned, his face breaking into a smile when he saw the heavy set man who'd called his name.

"Larry Welch! You old dog."

The other man covered the distance between them with a speed that belied both his age and his weight. Dan thrust out his hand.

"I heard you hadn't been killed in that crash, after all, but by the time the rumors got around to me, you'd left town again. How the hell have you been, boy?"

Kelly watched as the two men shook hands fervently. Killed in a crash? Dan? What was he talking about?

"I've been okay. How about yourself?"

"Not bad, not bad." Larry shook his head, his broad face sobering. ' 'Sorry about your dad. He was a good man. Musta been tough on you."

"Yeah, well, it was a long time ago," Dan said.

"Best damn boss I ever had," Larry said.

"He thought you were the best damn foreman he ever had."

Dan's father was dead, apparently. Kelly drew back a little, pushing her hands into her coat pockets. It had never occurred to her to ask about his family; she was realizing more and more that she knew so little about him.

"Your mom sold the business right after he died. Offered me first bid but you know I ain't got that kind of dough. Said she was real sorry but she just wasn't up to running a construction outfit."

"She told me," Dan said. "I don't think Mom is the construction type."

"Guess not. A mite too elegant for it, I'd say."

"What have you been up to, Larry? Who are you working for?"

"The county." Larry's tone expressed his disgust.

"Good pensions."

"Yeah, but it ain't the same. Too many bureaucrats. Say, you wouldn't be thinking about starting up your dad's old business, would you? You got the know-how. You have plenty of experience working on the crews."

Kelly was as curious about Dan's answer as Larry was. Dan had told her that his job at the mechanic's garage had been more a favor to a friend than real employment. He hadn't said anything about wanting to do something else. They'd talked so little.

"I don't know, Larry," he said slowly. "I've been giving it some thought, actually. I'll give you a call if I do."

"You'd better." Larry's eyes shifted past Dan's shoulder to where Kelly waited. "Friend of yours?"

"Sorry." Dan turned, giving Kelly an apologetic smile. "I didn't mean to be rude."

"That's okay." She let him draw her forward.

"Larry, this is Kelly, a friend of mine."

"I wish all of my friends were so pretty," Larry said. His hand engulfed Kelly's.

"It's nice to meet you," she said, giving him a shy smile. It was more than a little unnerving to meet Dan's friends. Though at least with Larry Welch there wasn't the disturbing undercurrents she'd felt with the Sinclairs.

"How about the old crews?" Dan asked Larry, his mind still on their earlier conversation.

Kelly tuned the conversation out, letting her mind and her eyes wander. Dan's hand rested lightly against the small of her back. She wondered if he felt the same awareness at the casual touch that she did. Probably not. It had to be the pregnancy that made her feel warm where he touched her. It was probably just her hormones acting up again.

Dan wondered if Kelly was even aware that he was touching her. She was usually so skittish about even the most casual of contacts. Keeping up the train of conversation with Larry, he was still aware of the feel of her under his hand. Even through the layers of coat and clothes, it seemed as if he could feel the warmth of her.

He didn't think he'd ever been quite so aware of anyone in his life. Was it the fact that she was carrying his child? Did that create some sort of primal link between them?

Whether it was that or something else, he didn't know, but he instantly felt the odd little shudder that went through her. He broke off in midsentence, turning to her, aware that something was wrong.

"Kelly?"

She was looking past Larry, her eyes wide and dark. Seeing her pallor, he felt his stomach clench.

"Is it the baby?" he asked urgently.

"I want to go home," she choked out.

She seemed to sway and Dan's arm came up, ready to catch her if she fainted.

"Something wrong? Something I can do?" Larry's rugged face creased with concern.

"I want to go home," Kelly repeated. It seemed as if she had to drag her eyes away from whatever she'd been looking at She looked up at Dan, her eyes wide and terrified. Terrified?

Dan turned his head to follow the direction she'd been looking. There didn't seem to be much to see. Some of Larry's crew putting away the last of the equipment, the truck they were loading and the parking lot beyond that. He was about to turn his attention back to Kelly when his eyes were caught by a lanky old man who seemed to be staring in their direction.

Unkempt iron-gray hair straggled over his ears. The coveralls he was wearing looked nearly as old as he was, and even over the distance that separated them it was plain to see that he didn't have more than a nodding acquaintance with bath water.

But there was something about his steady gaze, something fierce and oddly compelling. Dan had to pull his eyes away. He seemed to be staring at Kelly, his eyes glittering with an emotion Dan couldn't read.

"Kelly?"

"I just want to go home," she whispered without lifting her head.

Through the arm that half encircled her, Dan could feel her trembling. He looked back at the old man, a sudden suspicion flaring.

"Who is that?"

Larry turned, following the direction of Dan's gaze. "The old man?" He shrugged. "That's Russell. Hardly worth a day's wages. Spends most of his time muttering about sin and saviors. Why?"

Dan hadn't heard anything beyond the name. There, not fifteen feet away, was the man responsible for hurting Kelly. Rage blossomed in his gut, rising in his throat to nearly choke him. His hands actually ached with the need to feel that filthy neck between them.

He took a quick step forward, the movement so deadly that Larry took a half step out of his way.

"No!" Kelly grabbed at his arm. "No, please."

Dan stopped, looking down at her, his eyes a cold, angry blue. "You can't let him get away with what he did"

"Please. Please, I just want to go home." Her eyes were wide, pleading with him not to do what every instinct was screaming at him to do.

"What's the problem?" Larry asked uneasily.

"No problem," Dan said at last. He slipped his arm more solidly about her, glancing to where her father had been. But the old man was gone and Dan wasn't sure whether to be glad or sorry.

He made quick farewells to Larry, knowing the other man must be puzzled, to say the least. His only concern right now was Kelly. Recently the shadows had receded from her eyes and she'd looked happy, at least for a little while. But now the shadows were back. One glimpse of her father and all the color was gone from her cheeks; her eyes were haunted. She almost seemed to shrink in size, as if pulling into herself physically as well as emotionally.

Dan said nothing as he settled her into his car, shutting the door with more force than was necessary. He strode around to the driver's door, his hand clenched so tight that the keys gouged into his palm. The engine roared to life, a deep growl that fitted his mood.

Kelly's huddled pose reminded him of the night he'd picked her up. The thought fed into the rage gnawing at his gut. He should have beaten the bastard to a pulp while he had him within reach. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. If he had been alone, he would have taken the Corvette out of town, found some lonely stretch of road and floored it, hurtling down the pavement until he'd left some of his fury behind.

But he wasn't alone. And it was time he learned to deal with his anger in some less childish fashion. He had responsibilities now. Kelly and the child she carried—they depended on him. Which was exactly why he should have beaten her father to a pulp, his more primitive side argued.

Neither of them spoke on the drive home, each wrestling with their private demons. Darkness had drifted over the town by the time Dan parked the car. Kelly walked up the pathway ahead of him, her movements mechanical.

Dan unlocked the front door, ushering Kelly in ahead of him. She still looked as if she'd seen a ghost Or had a glimpse of hell.

Kelly hardly seemed aware of her surroundings. She stood in the hallway, still wearing the coat and gloves she had taken so much pleasure in. She might as well have been wearing sackcloth and ashes.

Just that one glimpse of her father had been enough to show her how fragile her security was. She'd almost managed to convince herself that she was safe—but she had only to look at him to know she'd never be safe. He was always going to be there. He would find her wherever she went, waiting to punish her for her sins.

She turned abruptly, her eyes blind. Dan stood just inside the doorway, taking off his coat, his face grim. She hardly saw him.