He loved his work. Even after all these years, he loved crusading for the underdog. Now that he was a full partner, he could be a bit more selective about the cases he personally took on. This one he was doing as a favor to a friend, but it was the kind of case he would have taken anyway.
The moment he hung up, his intercom buzzed and he picked it up. “Yes, Rachel.”
“Mr. Carlson, you have a visitor. She doesn’t have an appointment, but she said it’s a personal matter.”
Josh frowned. “What’s her name?”
“Natalie Briggs, from Dallas.”
Natalie. What the heck was she doing here? He was surprised, yet not displeased. Ever since their crazy night together in June, he’d been thinking about her—a lot. He hadn’t understood or been very sympathetic to her panic the morning she’d awakened in his room, though. In fact, he’d tried to interest her in more lovemaking. After a couple of hours of sleep, he’d been raring to go.
But Natalie had looked at him as if he’d suddenly grown scales and horns. Not that she’d blamed him for their salacious behavior; no, she’d heaped blame on herself for being impulsive and irresponsible and not at all like the sensible woman she’d become.
Josh hadn’t seen it that way. They hadn’t behaved irresponsibly, and what harm had it done, reliving a few happy memories? He would never understand women.
“Mr. Carlson?”
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Yes, Rachel. Go ahead and bring her back.”
He couldn’t wait to see what she had to say.
Less than a minute later, the receptionist showed Natalie in to his office. She wore beige linen slacks with a matching jacket, a pale lilac top underneath. Her long hair was pulled back from her face so tightly it looked as if it would cause her a headache. Her face was pale, her brown eyes full of doubt.
Josh smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. “Natalie. It’s good to see you again.” He meant that. Though they’d parted awkwardly, he wasn’t angry about it. She’d obviously been confused and overwhelmed. “Can I get you something to drink?”
She smiled tentatively. “Actually, if you have any water, I’m parched. It’s a scorcher out there.”
“I’ll get you a water,” Rachel said. “Mr. Carlson, anything for you?”
“I’ve got coffee, thanks.”
Rachel withdrew, and Josh stepped around his desk. “Would a hug be out of order?”
Instead of warming up to him, she took a step backward. “I can’t think when you get that close to me, Josh. And I need to think clearly right now.”
Josh felt the first real tendrils of concern. “Is something wrong?”
“Sort of. Well, not wrong, exactly. In fact, once I got over the shock I started to feel pleased about it. But I don’t know if you’ll agree.”
“Let’s sit over here.” Josh had a love seat and a couple of plush chairs in his office for more informal meetings. He led her to the love seat, snagged his cup of coffee from his desk and took one of the chairs for himself. Rachel returned with bottled water and a glass of ice for Natalie, then quietly departed.
Natalie busied herself opening the water and pouring. He could tell she was composing what she would say, and he let her. In his business he’d learned that silence was often more powerful than words.
She gulped down several swallows of water, then set the glass down with a clunk. “So, here’s the deal. Now, this came as a complete shock to me, because I really thought…I mean, given our history…”
Oh, God, was she ill? Did she need money for treatment? Was it her daughter, or her sister?
“Natalie, whatever the problem is, I’ll help you if I can.”
“I thought you’d be kind of mad at me after the way I acted at the reunion.”
He couldn’t help smiling. “Hey, when a woman gives you the best night of your life, it doesn’t tend to make you angry.”
She blushed and stared down at her lap. “I got a little freaky about it. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay. I don’t understand women’s emotions and I probably never will, but I accept that you must have had a good reason for hightailing it out of the Holiday Inn like your underwear was on fire.”
“No, that was the night before.” She grinned sheepishly and he returned the favor, but her smile fled almost immediately. “This isn’t easy.”
“Nat, this is me, Josh, remember? We used to tell each other everything.”
She nodded. “That night, at some point you commented that I’d filled out, that I looked more womanly.”
“I always thought you looked fantastic, but a few extra pounds did nothing but improve you.”
“Well, apparently the fact I was too skinny years ago was affecting my, um, fertility.”
She let that revelation sit for a minute between them until Josh figured it out for himself. “Oh, my God.”
She nodded. “Yeah.” Then she gnawed on her lower lip and waited for his reaction.
“You’re sure?”
She nodded again. “I’m eight weeks along. So far, everything’s fine.”
“You’re sure it’s mine?” The instant the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap them back, but it was too late.
“Josh! Of course. What, you think I’m running around sleeping with all the doctors at the hospital?”
“Sorry. But I don’t really know much about your current life. I mean, it’s been a lot of years. I wasn’t trying to shake off responsibility or anything like that. I was just making sure I had all the facts.”
Pregnant. Natalie was pregnant with his child. How they had both dreamed of this moment. For the five years of their marriage, they’d talked of it almost constantly, and worked at it so often that sex had gone from pure pleasure to a source of stress and fear. They’d both wanted children so badly. But he’d never dreamed this moment would come twenty years later.
“How could this happen?” he asked. “Could a few pounds make that big of a difference?”
“My doctor said it was a combination of things. Being underweight and stressed out affected my fertility. Having some actual curves and being relaxed fixed things. As for my age…it’s not unheard of for women to conceive in their forties. We were just…lucky.”
“Lucky?”
Her face tightened and her eyes flashed dangerously. “Well, yeah, lucky. Damned lucky. That’s how I feel about it. Blessed, really.” She softened. “The timing is awkward, but once the shock wore off I was excited and looking forward to it. Mary is almost as excited as me. She’s always wanted a sibling.
“But, Josh, if you’re not too pleased and want to pretend this never happened, I completely understand. I mean, you’ve raised your kids—they’re almost out of the nest. You’re probably thinking about other things—travel, buying a boat—and a new baby wouldn’t be in your plans. So I just want you to know that I’m not demanding or expecting anything from you. If you want to be a part of this baby’s life, that’s wonderful. But if you don’t—”
“Of course I do!” he exploded, not able to listen to any more. “I can’t believe you would think for a moment that I’d be content to wash my hands of responsibility and send you on your merry way.”
She pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I’m sorry, Josh. No, I didn’t