“What can I get you? Some juice? I saw a machine in the hall.”
“That sounds good.”
“Let’s go.”
After having been on her own for over half a year, she had to admit it felt wonderful to be taken care of again. No one was more solicitous of her needs than Cord. He’d been a giver from the first moment she’d met him. That quality in him hadn’t changed.
Within a couple of minutes he’d whisked her to their room a few doors down the halt and had forced her to sit down at the side of the bed, guarding her to make sure she drank every drop of the canned orange juice.
Though she hadn’t needed a drink, it tasted delicious. While she emptied the can, he put the bag in the closet, then lifted her suitcase onto his bed and started emptying it.
Ridiculous as it seemed, though she’d been married to him for six years, she felt shy and a little embarrassed as he unpacked her things, particularly her nightgowns and underwear.
“What are these?” He held several vials of pills in his hand.
“Prenatal vitamins and calcium tablets.”
He put them on the top of the dresser. “How often do you take them?”
“The vitamins once a day. The calcium, twice.”
Any normal man who’d just. found out he was going to be a father would show some curiosity. But this was Cord who’d been told by specialists that he would probably never be able to father a child.
Yet the miracle had happened. He was about to become a new dad. She could see the excitement in his eyes every time they rested on her. More, she could feel it in the huskiness of his deep voice. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her.
This was his baby she was carrying. His natural curiosity had been magnified a dozen times by the wondrous news. Ashley had to resign herself to the fact that he’d already taken over his role as prospective father with a seriousness that bordered on overprotectiveness.
In her heart she couldn’t blame him. Right now she didn’t think that even Sheila could wield enough power to win him away from Ashley’s side, no matter the urgency. Once she’d delivered, it would be a different story. In the meantime, it was evident Cord would be preoccupied with thoughts of the son or daughter almost ready to be born.
If Sheila already hated Ashley now, how much more would that emotion escalate when she found out Ashley was carrying Cord’s baby?
Instead of his stepmother somehow finding out first and running to Cord with the information—no doubt twisting it in some strange way to make Ashley look bad in his eyes, Ashley derived a certain satisfaction in knowing that Cord would have to inform Sheila he was about to be a new father. That would definitely come as a shock!
She bit her lip. How long would Cord wait before he excused himself to use the clinic phone and make that important call?
Following the thought, she wondered how much the baby would put a crimp in his future plans with Sheila, whatever they were.
If Cord married her, that would mean she’d be the other woman in their child’s life. Ashley couldn’t fathom such an untenable possibility.
“Come on, Ashley. You’re still looking wan. Let’s get you to the dining room for some solid food.”
“I’m really not hungry, but I’m sure you are. Why don’t you go without me? I ate something before I came and the juice filled me up. Besides, my back is aching a little, and I would like to lie down till the psychologist arrives.”
He pondered her remarks with a single-minded intensity reminiscent of the old Cord she’d first met and fallen in love with. “Then let me help you relax.”
Faster than she could think to lift her legs from the floor, he leaned down and gathered her in his arms to help her stretch out properly on top of the bed.
His gentle solicitation, the close proximity of their bodies produced a bittersweet ache. She turned her head toward the wall, afraid to look at him. “It’s a little cool in here for you, I think.” In the next instant he’d found a light blanket to cover her.
“Th-thank you,” she whispered. The words came out haltingly because as he tucked it around her, his hands seemed to have a mind of their own. She squeezed her eyelids tightly together as she felt him shape his palms to the large mound containing their baby and begin a slow exploration.
You don’t have the right, Cord! Not when you’ve been intimate with Sheila, her heart sobbed in silence.
But Ashley felt powerless to stop him.
Because you’re still in love with him and crave any contact with him. Admit it!
His sure touch was light as a feather, but she felt it in every atom of her trembling body. It had been eight months since she’d known such exquisite pleasure. Eight lonely, interminably long, desolate months. She never wanted him to stop.
“It’s a miracle, darling—” she heard him murmur in a thick-toned voice.
Suddenly the blanket disappeared and the weight on her stomach felt a little heavier. She opened her eyes and turned her head back around to discover his face buried against her belly. A slight gasp escaped her throat as he started to kiss her through the filmy material of her dress.
Unshed tears sprang to her eyes. From almost the very first moment they’d met, he’d kissed her under every conceivable circumstance and manner, but she’d never been as moved, never felt as worshiped and adored as she did at this moment.
Cord would never have the experience of carrying a child nine months inside his own body. Yet it was his child. She realized this was the closest he could come to sharing the experience with her. But she hadn’t counted on the indescribable swell of emotion that made her want to forget every painful thing that had gone on in the past and just feast on this incredible feeling of oneness with him.
A little being was growing inside her, getting bigger every day. A little life which was half her, half Cord. But while she’d had over eight months to ponder the wonder of it all, he’d only just learned that his life was already immortalized by the son or daughter waiting to make an appearance shortly.
Being pregnant with Cord’s baby bonded them in a way that went far beyond the physical world and touched on the eternal. She couldn’t begrudge him the God-given right to fatherhood by denying him this miraculous moment of discovery.
It was something she would treasure in her heart, long after they’d separated and gone their own way. Which they would, a nagging inner voice cried out in despair once more.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispered, pressing a hard, swift kiss to her astonished mouth. After covering her again with the blanket, he left the room in a few swift strides.
CHAPTER THREE
“HELLO, you two. I’m Vincent Warren, but since we’re going to be getting to know each other very, very well—” He grinned. “Why don’t you just call me Vince.”
“That sounds good to us,” Cord spoke for both of them in a deep, even voice. He sat down in a chair next to her bed, drinking a cup of coffee he’d carried from the dining room. Out of thoughtfulness, he’d brought her back a roll and some grapefruit, in case she got hungry later.
Seated on the edge of the bed, Ashley tried to put the memory of those moments before Cord had gone for breakfast out of her mind. It had been a transcendent experience, one which had shaken her and affected her ability to concentrate.
She did note that the middle-aged psychologist emanated a professional mien in his pale blue lab coat and clipboard. He was clean-shaven, unlike so many in his profession.
“Ashley?