EXPECTANT BRIDE-TO-BE Read online

  That would give him the opening he needed to talk to her in a calm and sensible manner. Then he could finally set things right between them. And they could start thinking about the future, and how they wanted to spend it together.

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  Chapter 11

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  Abby sat in front of Jan Nelson's desk, waiting as patiently as she could for the real estate agent to check over the papers Abby had signed granting Jan's agency the right to list her mother's house for sale.

  She had expected to be finished with the whole business much sooner, but Jan had been busy with another client when she arrived for her appointment. Apologizing profusely, the agent had suggested that Abby might want to grab a bite to eat at the café rather than spend the "hour, at the most" in the agency's waiting room.

  It had been close enough to lunch time, and as seemed to be the case more often than not lately, Abby had been hungry. So she had agreed, reluctantly risking the possibility that she'd run into Jack Randall at the very place where they'd had dinner in December.

  Odds were that she'd cross paths with him sometime during her planned three-week stay in Promise, but she would rather not do it on her second day in town. The second-to-last day would be much easier to handle.

  Jan had joined her just as she'd finished her chicken salad sandwich, and had insisted on picking up the tab. Back at her office, she had also readily agreed to Abby's request that she handle all the details necessary to ensure the speediest possible sale of Larissa's house.

  She had used the demands of her job as the reason why she would rather not have to return to Promise to oversee the process herself. But she suspected the agent knew that her pregnancy was a factor, as well.

  While Abby's condition wasn't all that obvious yet, especially in the loose-fitting dresses she planned to wear while she was in town, a woman with eyes as discerning as Jan Nelson would have known she was pregnant almost immediately. The agent had to have also noticed that Abby wasn't wearing a wedding ring, and she hadn't mentioned a partner of any kind, either.

  Small-town resident that she'd been all her life, Jan had surely realized that Abby would prefer to stir up as little gossip as possible. And that could only be accomplished if she managed to stay away from Promise, Nevada once her girth had begun to expand.

  Which was exactly what Abby hoped to be able to do with the agent's help.

  "Well, everything seems to be in order," Jan said at last, smiling as she glanced at Abby. "Let me make a copy of the paperwork for you. Then we can decide on a time when I can stop by to take a few photographs for the multiple listings and the ad I'll run in the paper. I'd also like to walk through the house so I can make sure we haven't missed any important selling points."

  "Fine," Abby agreed, stifling a sigh of exasperation as the woman pushed away from her desk and walked briskly out of the office.

  She wanted to go back to her mother's house, close the blinds, crawl into bed and sleep the rest of the afternoon away, safe from prying eyes and whispering tongues. But she had to stop by her grandparents' apartment to tell them about her meeting with the real estate agent, and then the grocery store to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, juice, bread, cereal, fish, chicken—

  Abby's stomach growled, making her smile. She had just eaten lunch, and she was already thinking about dinner tonight, not to mention breakfast tomorrow. She was going to weigh a ton by the time the baby came. But that was all right as long as he or she was healthy, she thought, resting a hand protectively on her tummy.

  In response, she felt the faintest flutter deep inside her womb, like a butterfly spreading its wings, then taking flight, and her smile widened. She had first experienced the sensation a couple of weeks ago, and though it now happened on a daily basis, often several times, her baby's movement still filled her with a sense of awe.

  Her baby … her precious baby … tumbling around inside her with strength and spirit, reassuring Abby that bringing her child into the world had been the right choice. A choice she had made on her own, and would never regret no matter what happened in the future.

  Again, Abby considered the probability that she would run into Jack at least once in the next three weeks. Her grandmother had told her he was one of the physicians on staff at the clinic located right there in the town square. And though she wouldn't have much reason to be in that part of town while she was in Promise, she couldn't avoid the area altogether.

  There were only so many places where she could shop for necessities, too. Places that Jack would surely frequent, as well. But maybe if she timed her forays outside her mother's house carefully enough, she would be safe.

  Frowning, Abby picked at the fabric of her bright yellow sundress. Safe… What an odd word to use in relation to Jack Randall. As if he might cause her harm should they happen to meet.

  She knew full well that he wouldn't—at least not physical harm. And any emotional turmoil she experienced would be as much her fault as his. He could only hurt her feelings if she gave him the power to do it, and she wasn't about to put herself in that position again.

  Which was why she had flatly refused to even consider her grandmother's gently offered suggestion that she go to see him and tell him—

  "Here you go. One copy of your agreement with the agency covering the listing and sale of your mother's house." Jan Nelson bustled back into the office, interrupting Abby's reverie. The agent handed her a file folder containing the paperwork, then sat behind her desk again and opened her appointment book. "Now, let's see if I'm free anytime tomorrow," she continued. "Yes, in the morning from eight-thirty until nine-thirty. Or, if that's too early for you, I could stop by late in the afternoon, say sometime after four, four-thirty at the latest."

  "Morning would be all right," Abby said. "That way, I can start making arrangements for someone to take care of whatever needs to be done cosmetically to make the house more saleable."

  "Good thinking," Jan agreed, writing Abby's name in the eight-thirty slot. "Although from what you've told me, I doubt we'll come across any major problems. You've already said you're going to give the house a thorough cleaning, and you've had a lawn service taking care of the yard." Jan hesitated a moment, a tiny frown furrowing her high forehead. "You are planning on leaving most of the furniture in the house until it's sold, aren't you? It will show much better if it looks lived in."

  "Yes, I had planned to do that," Abby assured her.

  "Good." Jan smiled once again as she nodded her approval, then stood to indicate their business was finally finished for the day.

  Abby stood gratefully, as well, and extended her hand across the desk. "Thanks, Mrs. Nelson. I really appreciate all your help. And thanks again for lunch."

  "Oh, my pleasure, Ms. Summers. You were so understanding about the delay. And, please, call me Jan."

  "And I'm Abby."

  "Abby." The agent shook her hand, her grip firm. "I'll see you tomorrow morning … without delay."

  Although Abby could have just as easily seen herself out, Jan escorted her the short distance down the hallway to the reception area. Busy trying to adjust the shoulder strap of her purse while hanging onto the file folder the agent had given her, Abby walked along beside the woman, her head down.

  As she entered the reception area, however, a sudden movement off to one side drew her attention as someone rose from one of the chairs. Only he wasn't just someone, Abby thought with sudden dismay, freezing in her tracks and causing Jan Nelson to crash into her.

  The man looming tall and broad-shouldered in all his green-eyed, blond-haired, chiseled-chin glory was none other than Jack Randall. And he was eyeing her with intensity, the expression on his handsome face such an odd mix of anger and relief that her breath caught in her throat.

  Instinctively, Abby put a protective hand on the gently rounded mound of her belly. Then, as Jack's gaze followed her movement, she realized her mistake and snatched it away—too late, if the way his eyes narrowed when he loo
ked up again was any indication.

  Beside her, Jan Nelson touched her shoulder apologetically. "I'm sorry, Abby. I didn't mean to bump into you like that," she murmured. Then, turning her attention to Jack, she stepped past Abby and extended her hand to him as she continued in a brighter, more syrupy tone. "Hello, Dr. Randall. Did you have an appointment with us today?" She glanced at the receptionist, busy typing at her desk. "Sheila, you should have let me know Dr. Randall was waiting."

  "Actually, I'm not here to see you," Jack answered, his gaze still on Abby. "I came to meet Ms. Summers." Closing the short distance between them, he took her by the arm, his grip just firm enough that she couldn't break away without a noticeable effort, and flashing an utterly charming smile that didn't quite make it to his glinting eyes. "Abby, darling," he said as he drew her toward the door. "All finished here?"

  Abby stared back at him, then nodded mutely when he gave her arm a warning squeeze. Though she tried to hang back, he tugged her gently, yet purposefully, toward the door.

  "I didn't know you two were … acquainted," Jan said as she hovered close.

  "Oh, we're much more than friends, aren't we, darling?" Jack replied as he finally managed to hustle her onto the sidewalk. "I'll be in touch about the loan application and the inspection results in the next day or so."

  "Of course," Jan chirped.

  Jack closed the door on the woman's cheery smile, then drew Abby into a patch of shade several yards away, for which she was momentarily grateful. The combination of bright sunlight and dry heat after the hour or more she had spent in the cool, dim confines of the real estate agency, had made her feel slightly dizzy. And now, of all times, she had to have her wits about her.

  Gathering every ounce of courage she possessed, Abby forced herself to look up at Jack and smile blithely.

  "How nice to see you again," she chattered inanely, pretending for all she was worth that they were merely two acquaintances catching up on old times. "My grandmother told me you had come back to Promise to join the clinic. I hope it's worked out as well as you—"

  "Stop," Jack muttered, cutting her off.

  Her smile fading, Abby looked away. Somehow he had known she was back in Promise. In fact, he'd known exactly where to find her. She had no idea how. Not that it really mattered—spooky as it was. The bottom line remained the same. By his choice, they were together now, right in the center of town. And short of creating a major scene, she couldn't escape the coming showdown.

  At least the worst would have happened, she consoled herself as she waited for him to say his piece. She wouldn't have the prospect of it hanging over her head in the days ahead, and for that she could be glad.

  Still holding onto Abby's arm, Jack reached out with his free hand and touched her cheek, turning her face so that she was forced to meet his gaze again.

  "We have to talk," he said, his tone now soft and coaxing. "But not here."

  "No, we don't," Abby insisted, trying desperately not to let down her guard.

  She had forgotten just how fatal her attraction to Jack Randall could be. Standing close to him on the shady patch of sidewalk, with the touch of his hands on her suddenly warm and tender, her longing for him rose up unbidden, threatening to undermine the staunchness of her determination.

  "Oh, yes we do." Holding her gaze, he shifted his hand from her face to her belly, splaying his long, clever fingers over her in a gently possessive caress.

  Abby shivered delicately as a wave of heat radiated through her from her very core. Immediately, Jack took his hand away, and at the same time, he finally released his hold on her arm.

  "Tonight. Seven o'clock. Your mother's house. Be there, or I swear to God I'll find you—" He stopped himself short, shoved a hand through his hair and looked down at the ground for a long moment.

  He was right, Abby admitted. They had to talk, no matter how much she would prefer not to. And the sooner she assured him that she expected nothing of him, the better for both of them. They could each get on with their lives with no hard feelings between them.

  Tentatively, she laid a hand on Jack's arm. When he glanced at her, she mustered a slight smile.

  "I'll be there, Jack. I promise. And I'll listen to whatever you have to say if you'll promise to listen to me, too."

  He eyed her silently a few seconds longer, then smiled sheepishly.

  "It's a deal," he said. Then, before she had time to realize what he had in mind, he put his hands on her shoulders, pulled her close, and kissed her, hard, on the mouth.

  Giving her no chance to protest his highhandedness, he turned and walked away as Abby stood on the sidewalk, lips parted, staring at his back. Only the murmur of voices and a little girl's giggle brought her back down to earth.

  Great, just great, she thought as she turned in the opposite direction to retrieve her rental car from the nearby parking lot. Home a couple of days, and already she had made a spectacle of herself with Jack Randall in the town square. The telephone lines would be buzzing the rest of the afternoon.

  But that was all right. She wouldn't be around long enough to let the gossip bother her. And the Randalls were so well-liked and admired that they wouldn't be affected at all.

  So their son had kissed one of the town's least favored former residents. Such an outrageous action would only make him that much more interesting to Promise's eligible young debutantes—any one of whom he could, and probably would, have as his wife within the year. And that was fine with Abby. Just fine and dandy.

  Or so she tried to tell herself as the afternoon hours crawled slowly by.

  She stopped to see her grandparents so she could tell them she'd listed Larissa's house with Jan Nelson's real estate agency, but she studiously avoided any mention of her subsequent meeting with Jack. Then she shopped for groceries, and home again, started cleaning out the kitchen pantry, looking at the clock on the wall so many times it got to be ridiculous.

  Finally, so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open, she stripped off her dress and crawled into her narrow bed. She would sleep just one hour. That would give her time to shower, put on a clean dress and freshen her makeup before Jack arrived. Thus bolstered, she would be able to face him with enough equanimity to avoid letting her true feelings show.

  She didn't want him thinking he owed her anything just because she was pregnant. Because he didn't. And she didn't want him thinking she would take his charity. Because she wouldn't.

  She wasn't like Larissa. She didn't measure her feelings of self-worth by a man's interest in her, especially an interest born out of a sense of duty. Jack hadn't loved her in December, and no matter what he said, she knew he couldn't possibly love her now. He was feeling guilty, as he had been in March. And a relationship born of culpability was the last thing she wanted or needed.

  She would much rather take care of herself and her baby on her own, and she had every intention of making sure Jack understood that before they parted company, once and for all.

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  Chapter 12

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  Consummate professional that he was, Jack managed to get through the rest of the afternoon without doing any disservice to his young patients. He had willingly taken on the responsibility for their care, so he had to give their needs top priority.

  But thoughts of Abby were never far from his mind—thoughts that triggered a whole gamut of emotions from anger and confusion that she hadn't told him about her pregnancy as soon as she'd known, to elation that she was here in Promise.

  In her current condition, surely she would now be willing to let him make things right between them.

  With each child he saw during his hours at the clinic, Jack was also reminded that he would soon have a son or daughter of his own. That realization brought with it warring emotions, as well—a great deal of pride in the family he had started, tempered with a full measure of fear at all he once again had to lose.

  As an only child, he had missed having brothers and sisters, and the same h
ad been true of Cindy. They had planned to have a houseful of children once Jack finished medical school. Then Cindy had died, and Jack had lost all desire to offer fate another hostage.

  He hadn't counted on how he would feel when he saw Abby Summers that cold, lonely night in December. Nor had he expected that the life force within him—tamped down for so long—would rear its wild and, crazy head.

  Jack had made love to Abby with an uncontrolled passion unlike any he had ever experienced. How right it now seemed that a child had been conceived during those wondrous moments. And how doubly foolish of him to think that running away would save him from pain.

  He hadn't had a moment of real peace since he'd walked out on Abby, and he wouldn't until he made her and their child a permanent part of his life. Instead of isolating himself behind the heartachingly lonely wails of his fear as he had for too many years already, he would take each day as it came, enjoy his time with Abby and the baby to the fullest, and put worst case scenarios out of his mind altogether.

  With only an hour to spare until he was due at Abby's mother's house, Jack left the clinic and drove the short distance to the small apartment he had rented in lieu of moving in with his parents until he was able to buy a house of his own.

  His mother had considered it a waste of money, but hadn't given him any grief once he'd made up his mind. She had probably concluded that he would be more likely to date, and thus eventually provide her with a new daughter-in-law if he had a place of his own.

  Jack couldn't help but smile when he thought of how surprised and pleased she and his father would be when he told them about Abby. Especially since they had begun to despair of ever having grandchildren to spoil.

  He and Abby might not have gone the more traditional route of marrying first, but Jack knew his parents would welcome her into the Randall family with the same love and affection they had always offered him. They had taught him to be a kind and decent person by their example, and he had no doubt that their kindness and decency would be extended to anyone with whom he chose to share his life.