Chapter Two
Melanie knocked over a bottle of contact lens solution, drawing Jerry Brockmeier’s attention.
“You’re all thumbs today, aren’t you, Melanie? Good thing that didn’t break or I’d have to deduct it from your salary.”
With a grimace that she hoped resembled a smile, she said, “Sorry, Jerry. I’ll try to be more careful.”
It wasn’t the first thing she’d fouled up this morning. The closer the time got to her scheduled lunch, when Spence had promised to arrive, the more her mind kept straying.
She should have written him a letter a couple of weeks ago. But it was Christmas. Somehow that hadn’t seemed right, sending him what she figured he would consider to be bad news at Christmastime.
Besides, she hadn’t been all that eager to tell him. She’d enjoyed hugging her secret to herself. It had made Christmas that much more special. She and her mother had long ago given up the pretense that they were a family, but now she and her baby would form a new family. Together, she thought, a warm smile curving her lips, together they would be a family.
When the bell over the front door rang, she immediately looked up. But the man entering wasn’t a customer. It was Spence and he was ten minutes early.
Though she wanted to duck down behind the rows of merchandise and pretend she wasn’t here, she walked forward.
“Hello, Spence. You’re early.”
He seemed surprised by her greeting. After checking his watch, he caught Jerry’s eye. “Hey, Jerry, mind if I steal Melanie away a little early? We’re having lunch today.”
Melanie grimaced. Jerry was very strict about her clocking in and out on time.
To her surprise, he smiled and waved her toward the time clock. “No problem. We’re not busy today. Just come back a few minutes early.”
Spence frowned and Melanie saw a protest coming. She subtly shook her head no, hoping he would get the message. “I’ll get my bag,” she hurriedly told him, and headed to the back of the store.
After clocking out and getting her coat and bag, she took a deep breath and joined Spence. He stood there, his hands on his hips, impatiently waiting.
To her surprise, when she reached his side, he took her hand in his. The friendly gesture was touching, but it also reminded her of his last friendly overture and the resulting complication. Determined to remain strong, she tried to tug her hand free, but he tightened his hold and pulled her behind him out of the store.
“Spence, someone might see!”
He looked at her consideringly. “And that’s a problem?”
She looked away. “Not for me, but you might think so.”
“Nope,” he said, and started walking across the square. “Are you warm enough?”
“Yes, of course.” With the sharp west Texas wind, she was bundled up to keep out the cold. She wouldn’t take any chances with her baby’s health.
Nothing more was said until they were seated at a table near the stone fireplace in The Last Roundup where a warm fire crackled and burned.
After they’d ordered, Melanie’s nerves tightened again. She didn’t know what to say.
But Spence took care of that. “I’ve tried to talk to you several times. Why have you been avoiding me?”
She shrugged. She hadn’t felt she had any choice. Two months ago Spence had offered comfort. She’d led him to a greater commitment than he had in mind. She certainly wasn’t going to embroil him even more in her problem.
“I wanted to know about the baby.” The momentary pleasure she was surprised to see on his face disappeared. “Why haven’t you said anything before now?”
She looked down at her plate. “I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas.”
“Ruin my Christmas?” He frowned, and his expression only confirmed what her mother had told her. Men weren’t pleased about being trapped by a baby.
When she finally raised her gaze to his face, she found him staring at her intently.
“How long have you known?”
“Several weeks.”
“Why didn’t you tell me then?”
She played with her silverware so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “There wasn’t a good opportunity. It’s not something you let drop in a normal conversation. ‘The weather’s cold, isn’t it? Oh, and by the way, we made a baby.’”
“You know I’ve been trying to spend some time with you. You kept putting me off. I don’t think you wanted me to know.” He was shaking his head in disbelief.
He was wrong. In her dreams, she’d told him about the baby, and he’d wrapped his strong arms around her, held her safe and warm, told her how happy he was about their baby. They’d planned the baby’s future, filled with love and acceptance.
A future unlike her childhood.
But those were dreams, not real life. She hadn’t wanted to face real life, because then she’d have to. give up her dreams.
“I apologize, but it doesn’t make much difference in the long run. It’s my problem. I’ll deal with it.” She worked hard to keep her voice cool, calm, hiding the crash of her dreams.
Frowning, he reached across to take hold of her hand. “What do you mean? Are you considering an abortion?” His voice was harsh, hard.
“No! No, I won’t do that.”
“I don’t want you to do that,” he assured her, and his hold relaxed somewhat.
She pulled her hand from his and tucked it into her lap where he couldn’t touch her. She’d made some surprising discoveries the last time he’d touched her. His warm skin against hers made her weak. His strength made her want more than she should.
Nita delivered their salads and warm, crusty bread whose aroma filled the air. Melanie cautiously tasted the salad, hoping she could keep everything down. Spence sliced some bread, buttered it and handed it to her, taking her by surprise.
“Th-thank you.”
“Have you been sick?” he asked abruptly.
With a half laugh, she said, “Every morning for a month.”
“You said you’d only known for a couple of weeks.”
She grimaced. “I took the pregnancy test two weeks ago, but. . .but I suspected the truth when I began throwing up.”
“Have you seen Dr. Greenfield yet?”
She shook her head and said nothing.
“Why not?”
She shook her head again. How could she explain? There were so many reasons. Until she revealed her pregnancy, she could avoid anyone’s anger, the town’s condemnation, Spence.
“I think you should go see him this afternoon. I’ll call—”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” he asked again.
“I have to work.”
He stared at her before saying, “I’m sure Jerry will let you have the afternoon off when he learns why.”
“No! You mustn’t tell him.”
“Look, Melanie, there may be a little embarrassment initially, but as soon as we marry, everyone will move on to another scandal.” When she didn’t respond, he gave her his lopsided smile and added, “I promise.”
And that’s when she stopped him cold. “But we’re not going to marry, Spence.”
 
SPENCE WAS STILL STARING at Melanie, his mouth open, when Nita brought their steaks.
“Is something wrong with your salads?” she asked.
He assured her they were fine. When she offered to take the steaks back to the kitchen to keep them warm, he refused, asking her to leave them. He didn’t want any more interruptions.
After Nita departed, he took a deep breath. “What do you mean, we’re not going to marry?”
Melanie toyed with a piece of lettuce. “It’s all right, Spence. The baby is my responsibility, not yours.”
“Are you saying the baby isn’t mine? That you’ve been with someone else?” He couldn’t believe the anger that filled him, the need to know she was carrying his baby.
Already in his head he’d taken the baby into his heart, into his future. He and Melanie and their baby. He didn’t want to let go of that dream.
“No!” she returned, her cheeks flaming.
“No, it’s not my baby, or no, you haven’t been with anyone else?” he questioned. He wanted to be sure he got this right.
“No, it’s your baby, but. . .but I know I took advantage of your kindness. I don’t expect you to—”
Spence slammed his hand down on the table. “Well, you’d damned well better expect me to take care of my child. What kind of man do you think I am?” He hadn’t meant to lose his temper, but her words surprised him. He regretted it, however, when he realized she was trembling. “Eat your lunch,” he ordered gruffly. “Then we’ll find somewhere private to talk.”
She picked up her fork, then put it down again. “I can’t,” she whispered.
“Honey, I’m sorry I upset you. I promise I won’t yell again. Just eat a few bites. You look like a strong wind would blow you away.”
He lowered his lashes but watched her as she picked up her fork again and ate a little more salad. He was angry with himself for scaring her. Normally, Melanie was a strong woman. It must be the hormones he’d heard about when a woman was pregnant.
Waving to Nita, he asked for a glass of milk. As soon as she brought it, he swapped Melanie’s tea for the milk.
When she stared at him, he smiled and said, “It’s better for you.” Then he cut and buttered more bread for her.
As soon as she started eating her steak and potato, he excused himself and headed for the pay phone by the rest rooms.
“Marybelle, does Doc have any openings this afternoon?” he said after identifying himself.
“You’re in luck, Spence. Doc just had a two o’clock cancellation. What’s your problem?”
“It’s not me. Well, not exactly. It’s, er, it’s a pregnancy.” He hadn’t realized it would be so difficult to tell anyone.
“Does this pregnancy have a name?” the nurse asked dryly.
“Yeah. Melanie Rule. Hold that two o’clock, okay? I’ll bring her over.”
When he got back to the table, Melanie had made a little progress on her steak and half the glass of milk was gone. “Good girl,” he muttered.
She looked up, surprised. “What for?”
“Drinking your milk.”
“I’m not a child,” she assured him indignantly. “I can take care of myself.”
He smiled. “Never hurts to have a little help.” He said nothing about his phone call. He knew he’d lose any ground he’d gained if he did. He wasn’t sure what Melanie was thinking, but he didn’t want to find out until he got some food inside her. Already her color was improving.
When he’d finished his steak and Melanie refused to eat any more, he paid the bill and, taking her arm, led her from the restaurant. She started across the town square toward the drugstore, but he tugged on her arm, halting her. “This way.”
She frowned. “Where? I don’t have much time. We left early, you know.”
“We have to talk.” That seemed pretty clear to him.
“We will . . . in a few days. But I have to be back on time or Jerry will fire me.”
“So let him. You shouldn’t be working so hard.”
She stared at him. “Spence, I need my job. The insurance will take care of a lot of my medical expenses, but I can’t—”
“I’ll take care of the medical bills. You need to rest.”
She stood resolutely still, staring at the ground. Then she looked at him, her chin up. “I appreciate the offer, but as I was saying, my insurance will pay for most of it. As long as I keep my job.”
“I don’t want you to keep your job.”
Her blue eyes widened. “You want me to lose my job? I told you—”
“Honey, you need to rest—not work all day and night.” That much seemed obvious from the shadows beneath her eyes and the weight she’d lost. And she was his responsibility, though he was careful not to say that. She seemed determined to be independent.
But he would take care of her.
“I can manage, Spence. I need to save money for when I can’t work. I’m hoping to take a month off after the baby is born.” She crossed her hands over her stomach as she spoke.
Spence’s gaze followed her hands. Somehow, that gesture made the baby even more real to him.
“Thanks for lunch,” she said abruptly, and turned back toward the pharmacy.
“Wait,” he called as he snagged her arm. “You’ve got fifteen more minutes. Come sit in my truck and rest. I won’t argue with you, I promise.”
“That’s not necessary, really,” she protested.
“As a favor to me,” he urged. “My truck’s right here and I’ll turn on the heater.”
She studied him, indecision in her eyes. Finally she said, “Okay, for ten minutes.”
He opened the passenger door and helped her in. Then he hurried to his side of the truck. He started the motor and turned the heater on low. “As soon as it heats up, I’ll put it on high. In the meantime, scoot over here and we’ll keep each other warm.”
“Oh, no! That’s not a good idea!”
“Come on, honey, I’m not going to seduce you here on the square where everyone can see us,” he assured her, his eyes twinkling. Not that he wouldn’t want to seduce her. He’d watched her for months, as she smiled at Cal. He’d imagined making love to her, calling himself all kinds of a fool for even thinking about such a thing when he knew she was interested in Cal. But he hadn’t been able to help himself.
The one time he’d made love to her had been so . . . so incredible, he figured he must’ve imagined it. He’d like to try it again to see. But not today.
She scooted a little closer, and he met her in the middle of the bench seat, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She stiffened, but with a low chuckle, he said, “Relax, honey, while you can.”
Slowly she settled against him, letting her head rest against his shoulder. As he’d suspected, she fell asleep almost immediately. He figured she was working the seven-to-four shift at the drugstore before crossing the square to Jess’s restaurant for the dinner shift. She needed the rest.
The fact that she let herself trust him, even for a fifteen-minute nap, meant a lot to Spence. He had a long way to go, but he was making a little headway. He’d convince her to trust him, to let him take care of her and their baby. Then he’d only need to convince her they could build a future together. He tightened his hold around her. Yes, they could.
When it was time for her to return to the drugstore, he called Jerry on his cell phone. Keeping his voice low, he told the man Melanie needed the afternoon off because she was sick.
“Why isn’t she the one calling?”
“Because she’s asleep.”
“I don’t give sick time so my employees can nap. You wake her up and tell her to get over here at once.”
“She has a doctor’s appointment, Jerry,” Spence retorted. He’d considered Jerry to be a pretty good old boy, but he was rapidly changing his mind.
“What for?”
“I don’t think she’s required to tell you that.” He kept his voice low, his gaze on Melanie’s sleeping face, but he wanted to get out of his truck and go punch Jerry’s lights out.
“Never mind. I’ll deal with Melanie in the morning,” Jerry promised.
Spence didn’t like the sound of that. “You’ll deal with her nicely, or I’ll be in to see you,” he promised before disconnecting the call. He didn’t care if Jerry thought he’d threatened him or not.
He wondered if he should’ve told Jerry what he could do with his job, but Spence was pretty sure Melanie wouldn’t appreciate his interference. He suspected she was going to be angry enough about what he’d already done today.
An hour later he discovered he was right.
 
“WAKE UP, HONEY,” a man’s husky voice said, luring Melanie from her deep sleep. But she didn’t want to awaken, so she burrowed deeper in his embrace. His embrace? That thought, and the realization that a man was holding her, had her eyes popping open.
“Oh!” she exclaimed as she sat up. “I’m sorry. Your arm must’ve gone to sleep. Thanks for the little nap. I’ll just run back to the store,” she said, knowing she was babbling because she was embarrassed by her behavior. She automatically looked at her watch as she started moving and came to an abrupt halt. “Two o’clock?”
“Almost,” Spence said pleasantly. “You’ve got an appointment with Doc at two. He had a cancellation.”
Melanie stared at him. “You. . .you let me miss work? Jerry will fire me,” she wailed.
“You’re taking sick leave for the rest of the day. I called him.”
She wanted to slap him. He seemed to think that would take care of everything. She started scooting to the door. Maybe if she talked to Jerry, and worked the rest of the afternoon, she could—
Spence was at her door by the time she slid out and took her arm.
“Let me go. I have to go talk to Jerry,” she protested.
“Melanie, if you don’t see Doc now, it could be weeks before you get in. You know how busy he is.”
Dr. Greenfield was the only doctor in the county, and his patient load was huge. In his mid-fifties, he was nearing retirement and everyone was worried about replacing him.
Melanie weighed her decision. She hated to admit it, but he was right. She’d put off seeing the doctor for too long. She decided to go ahead to the doctor’s office since the damage was already done. But she gave the man beside her a warning. “Don’t make decisions for me, Spence. I told you I’d handle things.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he innocently agreed, tipping his hat in her direction.
Unwilling to trust herself to speak, she turned in the direction of the doctor’s office. To her surprise, Spence turned with her. “Where are you going?” she asked sharply.
“With you.”
“You are not!”
“I reckon I am, honey. After all, I made the appointment.”
What was wrong with the man? Didn’t he have any brains?
“Spence, if you come with me, everyone will know it’s your baby.”
“Yeah.” He took her arm again and urged her forward. “Come on or we’ll be late.”
He was right. And he was much too stubborn to change his mind in a few minutes. With a sigh, she accompanied him to the doctor’s office.
She was quickly shown into an examination room, leaving Spence sitting in the reception area. She thought for a moment he was going to insist on accompanying her even there, but he’d sat down with a frown.
The nurse sent her a sympathetic smile, but Melanie said nothing. She was nervous and couldn’t worry about Spence now.
“Change into this gown, dear, and the doctor will be here soon.”
Finally alone, Melanie took a moment to compose herself before following directions. Her day had been a difficult one so far.
Faster than she would’ve thought, the door opened and the nurse and Dr. Greenfield came in. She followed the doctor’s directions carefully, trying to relax. He said nothing except to occasionally mutter “Hmm.”
When he was finished, he asked her to dress and meet him in his office. Melanie immediately began to worry. Was this standard procedure or was there something wrong with her baby? The doctor left before she could ask any questions. The nurse helped her sit up and handed her her clothes.
“Do you need any help, dear?” she asked.
“No, but . . . is everything all right?” Her voice trembled but she couldn’t help it. Her morning sickness had left her weak.
“Doctor will explain everything in his office,” the nurse said calmly before exiting the room.
She hurried into her clothes, fighting back tears. It was impossible to control her fears. All she could do was hurry.
The door to the doctor’s office stood open and she could see him seated at his desk, writing on a chart. She entered, a wobbly smile on her face. But it was immediately wiped off.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded of Spence, seated in one of two chairs across from the doctor’s desk.
Both men looked at her, surprise on their faces, even as they stood.
The doctor spoke first. “I understood Spence was the father.”
“I am. And I have a right to know how our baby is doing,” Spence added, challenging her.
“I would’ve told you,” she assured him.
“This’ll save you the trouble.” He indicated the seat next to him. “Come sit down so Doc can talk to us. He wouldn’t tell me anything until you got here.”
His words soothed her outrage somewhat. The doctor’s words were even better.
“I’ll even throw this scalawag out if you want me to,” he assured her with a smile.
She almost spoke, but he continued before she could. “But it only seems fair that he should hear everything since it’s his baby, too.”
Looking at Spence, seeing the concern in his eyes for her baby, she reluctantly nodded her approval.
“Well, now,” Dr. Greenfield said with a sigh as she settled down in her chair. “We have a little problem.”