Читать книгу Nine-Month Surprise - Jacqueline Diamond, Lori Copeland, Jacqueline Diamond - Страница 12

Leah had decided to walk the half dozen blocks to Will’s house because she needed exercise, although she’d worried that she might be tired heading home. Instead, powered by fury, she practically burned a track down the sidewalk, scarcely noticing the cooking smells wafting from the tidy frame houses on either side.

So Dr. Stiffneck didn’t want to be held responsible for anything. Well, fine by her! She’d intended to set aside her pain and tell him about the pregnancy before anyone else learned of it, but after that little speech, absolutely not!

It was questionable whether he’d buy the artificial insemination story when it came out. But why shouldn’t he when it obviously suited his mind-set? True, he’d apologized, but it had been more of an I’m-sorry-I-got-caught response than one expressing real regret.

And that crack about her being unstable! If she were that volatile, she’d have responded by slapping him. He’d certainly deserved it.

Leah’s pace slowed as she considered how his cheek might have felt beneath her palm. He’d shaved after work, she could tell, and put on aftershave lotion. But what had that business been about offering her coffee cake, as if they were Lucy and Ethel?

Or two people who might become friends.

Friends! Impossible, yet she supposed she’d have to pretend something in front of others. He was Jenni’s coworker and the father of two of her students.

The ticklishness of the situation struck Leah afresh as she rounded the corner onto her street, Bennington Lane. Fortunately, Jenni and Ethan were taking only a brief honeymoon, so she wouldn’t have to rely on Will for treatment, but if she suffered any complications, bypassing him for a doctor in Mill Valley would be tricky.

No sense borrowing trouble that might never happen. As for the delivery, there had to be a way to arrange for another doctor to handle it.

Peering ahead through the dusk, Leah saw that she’d neglected to switch on her houselights. In the dimness, the cottage looked lonesome and a bit shabby, tucked between a two-story home and a vacant lot where her neighbor, Eunice, grew vegetables. With the best part of the season over, the aging cornstalks and sprawling tomato plants gave the yard an unkempt air.