The Baby Bargain (25 page)

He wanted to rush home and tell her immediately. He wanted to know if she felt the same. But he reined in the urge. He wanted everything to be perfect when he told her. He wanted to be able to make her see how much she meant to him, to show her how much they belonged together.

Kelly knew she'd overreacted to the kiss. She'd known it as soon as it happened, but it had been too late to change things then. There had been something in Dan's eyes—something like hurt And if he was hurt, it was her fault. She'd reacted like an hysterical little fool. No wonder he'd gone out again. He probably didn't want to look at her. She had made it a point to be in bed before he got home, taking a book with her and not reading a word of it

She didn't sleep well and woke later than usual, feeling groggy and out of sorts. Slipping into the bathroom, she caught a whiff of coffee, which meant Dan must already be up and about Hopefully he'd be gone by the time she got out of the shower. He probably didn't want to see her any more than she wanted to see him.

Not even a shower could wash away the rumpled state of her mind. And it didn't improve her mood to hear Dan whistling in the kitchen. She debated ducking back into the bedroom and hiding there until he was gone, but that was hardly an adult way to behave. Smoothing one hand over the thick fall of her hair, she made her way toward the kitchen.

The scent of coffee had been joined by that of bacon and eggs. As Kelly came around the breakfast bar, Dan was just slipping slices of bread into the toaster. He turned, his face creasing in a disgustingly cheerful smile when he saw her.

"Good morning. My timing is impeccable as usual. Pull up a chair. Breakfast will be on the table in a minute."

Kelly sat down at the table, watching him warily. Why was he suddenly so happy? Where was the tension that had been a constant companion these past weeks? He hadn't been in this kind of a mood last night. In fact, she'd never seen him like this.

The toast popped up and he lifted it onto a plate, buttering it with what could only be described as a flourish. A moment later, he set a plate of crisp bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs and golden-brown toast in front of her. It wasn't until then that Kelly noticed that the table was neatly set for two, including glasses of chilled orange juice and the omnipresent milk.

"Looks great, doesn't it?" Dan sat down across the table from her. "Hope you're hungry."

"It looks wonderful." On the contrary, what little appetite she might have had disappeared in the face of his unexplained good cheer. She picked up her fork and poked it into the eggs, sliding a glance at him from under her lashes.

What had happened between last night and this morning to change his mood? Whatever it was, he didn't seem to be interested in offering any explanations, leaving her imagination free reign.

Unfortunately the only thing her imagination came up with was that he must have met another woman and fallen madly in love. Probably some athletic blonde at the gym. Someone who didn't look as if she'd swallowed a basketball. Someone who didn't act like an idiot over a little kiss.

"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?" Dan's question dragged Kelly away from her evermore gloomy thoughts.

"No."

"Good. I have something I want to show you."

"What?"

"It's a surprise. Wear comfortable walking shoes and you'd better bring a jacket. They're threatening us with showers."

He glanced at his watch. "I've got to run. I'll pick you up about four. Is that okay?"

"Fine." Kelly watched him pick up his empty plate and carry it into the kitchen. Her own food was barely touched.

"Eat up. You need to keep up your strength," Dan told her on his way back through. "I'll see you this afternoon."

He was whistling under his breath as he lifted a stack of folders from the breakfast bar. Turning, he gave her a wide smile that somehow managed to hold secrets. Kelly couldn't manage more than a weak grimace in return but it didn't seem to bother him. With a lift of his hand, he disappeared into the entryway and a moment later she heard the door shut behind him.

It was only in the silence he left behind that she realized what he'd been whistling. "Some Enchanted Evening." The blond bimbo theory seemed to have some supporting evidence.

The hours between the time Dan left and four o'clock seemed to move by in slow motion. If Kelly glanced at the clock once, she glanced at it a hundred times. The textbook she was supposed to be studying remained open to the same page, her notebook filled with nothing more informative than lots of doodled lines.

He had something he wanted to show her. She tapped her pencil on the table, her eyes focused on nothing in particular. A surprise. What could he want to show her that was a surprise and that required comfortable shoes?

Did the surprise have something to do with him getting die business off the ground? After the tension that had been between them these past few weeks, why would he want to share that with her?

She changed clothes three times, trying to decide just what comfortable shoes implied. Did it mean sneakers or low pumps? Slacks or a soft skirt? She finally settled on a pale gray trousers and a pair of flat skimmers.

Despite her indecision, she was dressed and waiting at three-thirty, with nothing to do but stare at the clock and will the hands to move faster.

When there was a brisk knock on the door a few minutes before the appointed hour, Kelly jumped as if stung. She hurried to the door. Dan must have forgotten his keys.

But it wasn't Dan who stood on the other side of the door. Her father's lean frame was such a shock that it took her a moment to believe he was actually there. Stunned, she hesitated for one disastrous instant before moving to slam the door. He thrust a battered work boot into the door, blocking it open.

"I've come to talk to you," he said, pushing the door open despite her efforts to close it

Breathless, she fell back. He stepped into the hallway, bringing a miasma of dirt and sweat with him. He pushed the door shut behind him, and Kelly felt her heart bump with something she didn't want to admit was fear. It was one thing to face him in the open, with people all around. It was something else completely to be alone with him, closed off from the rest of the world, closed off from help.

"What do you want?" She was proud of the steadiness of her voice, determined that he would never know that her heart was beating double-time.

"It's my duty to try and turn you from the path of sin you've chosen to walk," he said, his voice booming out over her.

"I have nothing to say to you. I want you to go."

"You're my flesh," he said as if she hadn't spoken. "And Td be failing the Lord if I didn't try to save you."

"The Lord has nothing to do with what you're doing," she told him.

"That child is born of sin," he said in a menacing voice, pointing one grimy finger at her stomach. "You must repent, lest you both burn in hell."

"Get out," Kelly spat, one hand pressed over her stomach as if to shield her unborn child from the venom her father was spewing.

"You've turned your back on the Lord and chosen to walk Satan's path. You must get down on your knees and beg His forgiveness."

"You're mad," she breathed, seeing that it was no more than the truth. The fierce light that burned in his eyes held little sanity. "You're completely insane. Get out. Get out before I call the police."

Madness burned in his eyes and she backed away, a coppery taste of fear in her mouth. Brought up short by the breakfast bar, she was afraid to turn away from him, as if the only thing holding him in check was the fact that she faced him.

"Repent. Repent and you may yet be saved."

"Get out." She groped behind her, trying to find the phone.

"The Lord has shown me the true path," he intoned, advancing toward her. Kelly choked back a sob of sheer terror. She knew that look, knew what followed it. Abandoning her search for the phone, she slid sideways, thinking perhaps she could dart around him and reach the door.

"I am the Lord's instrument," he told her, his eyes seeming to glow with a terrifying inner light.

Kelly didn't bother to answer, edging closer to the door, hoping he'd shift just a little bit farther. But she'd run out of time. She saw him reaching for her. With a terrified sob, she tried to dart past him. But pregnancy had slowed her and he was too close. His fingers closed over her upper arm, jerking her to a halt and spinning her around.

"Your sins must be punished," he thundered Kelly saw the blow start to descend and she closed her eyes, both hands covering the swell of stomach.

The openhanded slap caught her across the cheek, jerking her head to one side. She felt her lip split and her mouth fill with the taste of blood. The force of the blow sent her stumbling backward. Only a wall stopped her from falling. Her breath coming in ragged sobs, she crouched down, making herself as small as possible, wrapping her arms around her swollen stomach, her only thought to protect the baby.

She heard him take a step toward her and whimpered, trying to brace herself for the next blow, knowing there was nothing she could do but endure.

She'd forgotten that Dan was due home, forgotten everything but the need to protect herself as best she could, the need to survive. At the sound of the door opening, she lifted her head, sensing more by instinct than by conscious thought that help had arrived.

The moment was forever frozen in Dan's mind. For one split second he stood poised in the doorway, while the camera in his mind registered the scene. Kelly was crouched against the base of the wall, curled into herself. A filthy old man with a shock of ragged gray hair stood over her, one hand drawn back as if to deliver a blow.

Kelly lifted her head, looking at him with eyes blinded by fear. One cheek was livid and a thin trickle of blood marked where her lip had been torn.

Dan's vision was suddenly overcast with a thin, red haze. Somewhere in his subconscious he recognized that this was Kelly's father, but his only conscious thought was to kill the man who'd dared to lay a hand on his woman.

With a growl that was more animal than human, he launched himself forward. It was an unequal struggle. Dan was younger, larger and the fury that filled him magnified his strength. In a matter of seconds, he had the other man pinned to the floor, his neck caught in Dan's fingers. He proceeded to slowly choke the life out of him, feeling not a second's hesitation.

It took Kelly several seconds to realize that Dan wasn't merely choking her father into submission. He had every intention of choking him into oblivion. She scrambled toward them on her hands and knees, grabbing at Dan's wrists.

"Let go! You're killing him! For God's sake, let him go!"

She might as well have been trying to move an iron bar. He didn't seem to hear her and his hold didn't slacken. The old man's face was slowly turning purple. The blows he'd been directing at Dan's shoulders grew weaker. Dan's lips were drawn back from his teeth in a terrifying facsimile of a smile.

Frantic, Kelly tried to pull Dan away from him, her breath coming in deep sobs. "Stop it! Oh, please, you've got to stop."

Her father's hands began to claw weakly at Dan's.

"Dan. Listen to me. He's not worth it. Please, he's not worth it" Desperate, she caught his face in her hands, forcing him toward her. "Please don't do this. I beg you. He's not worth it"

Whether it was her words or die sight of the tears streaming down her face, she didn't know. But she saw the change in his eyes, saw awareness break through the primitive rage. His hands loosened, allowing his victim to draw a gasping breath.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"I'm okay."

"You're sure?" He caught her shoulders, drawing her to her feet. He stepped away from the old man still gasping and choking on the floor. "You're not hurt?"

She nodded, her throat too full of tears for her to get words out.

"The baby? The baby's all right?"

"We're fine. We're both fine."

"Oh, God." He caught her to him, holding her so close it was hard to breathe. They stood like that, saying nothing, drawing comfort from the physical contact. Neither of them paid any attention as her father finally scrambled to his feet, one hand at his throat. He cast one terrified look in Dan's direction and scuttled out the door.

It was a long time before any coherent conversation was attempted. Dan insisted on putting an ice pack to Kelly's face, though she assured him that it didn't hurt He hovered over her like a mother hen with only one chick. She allowed herself to revel in the attention, though a small voice in the back of her mind insisted on pointing out that of course he was concerned—he was worried about the baby. That didn't seem important at the moment. She'd been scared for the baby herself.

"I shouldn't have let him in," she said, her speech muffled by the presence of the ice pack she was holding to her cheek.

"You didn't know it was him when you opened the door. I shouldn't have let him go like that," he muttered. "I should have finished the job. I could still finish it."

"No." Kelly reached out to catch his hand, drawing him to a halt as he paced restlessly in front of her. "No. He's not worth it He won't dare come back now. I think you gave him a closer look at the afterlife than he really wanted."