92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [106]
“I won’t ever leave you again,” James broke in.
“I’m serious, James. I can’t take the pain.”
He faced her and set his hands squarely on her shoulders. His eyes grew dark and grave. “I’m serious, too.”
“I’m going to finish my schooling.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help you achieve your dreams, Christie. A man does that for the woman he loves.”
She’d been prepared for an argument. He didn’t offer one. Her gaze steadily held his. “I want babies of my own.”
“Babies of our own. And I’m all for it.”
“Don’t be so agreeable,” she snapped. “It confuses me and I—”
He silenced her with a kiss, right there in the hospital hallway. Christie’s arms slid up his chest and looped around his neck as she returned his kiss.
“Three?” he asked in a husky voice when they drew apart.
Christie nestled into his embrace. “Not if they all arrive at once.” On second thought, she mused, that might not be so bad.
James rubbed his hand down the length of her back. “We’ll have beautiful babies.”
She remembered his remark about beautiful babies the day he’d come to the tavern. It was why she’d run after him…“Yes, we will,” she murmured.
He kissed the tip of he nose. “But they won’t play chess.”
“They can if they want to,” she countered.
“Okay,” he agreed, “if they want to play, they can.”
The nurse who’d led Rachel away returned. “I’ve called your friend’s husband,” she said.
“Is everything okay?” Christie asked anxiously.
“No, it isn’t,” Rachel said, a few steps behind the other woman. She seemed about to burst into tears.
“What’s wrong?” Christie hurried after her into the waiting room.
Rachel sat down and buried her face in her hands. “This can’t be true. It just can’t.”
“What can’t?”
Teri’s friend dropped her hands and glanced up. “I’m pregnant,” she wailed.
“But that’s wonderful news,” Christie said. “Isn’t it?”
“It should be,” Rachel said. “I should be happy, but…we’d decided not to have a baby right away and then there’s Jolene. She isn’t ready to deal with this. We promised we’d give her time to get used to us being married first. We promised. I should’ve gone on the pill, but I didn’t.” Looking from Christie to James, she shook her head. “This is what happens. I told Bruce we were playing Russian roulette, but he was so sure we were safe…”
“So what you’re saying is—”
“Sex!” Rachel exclaimed. “This is what happens when you have the most wonderful sex…in the middle of the afternoon. We’ve been meeting at noon—oh, you wouldn’t understand.”
James tightened his grip on Christie and whispered, “Is it noon yet?”
Despite herself, despite her worry about Rachel, Christie smiled.
A moment later, Rachel smiled, too…
Chapter Thirty-One
“What do you mean you’re engaged?” Linnette McAfee shouted over the phone.
Mack knew this would shock his sister—just like it would shock his parents once he told them. The engagement felt…He searched for the right word. Strange, he decided. Yes, strange. And awkward, too.
In the short time since they’d become engaged, things had changed between Mack and Mary Jo, and not for the better. Instead of drawing the two of them together, it seemed to have driven them apart.
Ever since that night two weeks ago, Mary Jo had gone out of her way to avoid him. Mack didn’t understand it. He’d accepted her stipulation. Nonetheless she seemed to believe that Mack would treat her as badly as Rhodes had. That told Mack she didn’t really know him or trust him, although she claimed she did.
Another equally unpleasant possibility was that she didn’t actually care for him and was just using him as protection against David Rhodes. He was perfectly willing to play that role and had said as much. But pride—and his own feelings for her—demanded that Mary Jo marry him for reasons other than fear.
“I hadn’t even heard that you were dating anyone,” Linnette said, breaking into his thoughts.
“It’s Mary Jo Wyse and—”
“Isn’t she the woman who had the baby on Christmas Eve?”
“Yes. I delivered Noelle and we’ve been—”
His sister cut him off a second time. “Tell me again why you haven’t said anything to Mom and