The Texan's Baby. DONNA ALWARD

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      Chapter Three

      Lizzie opened her eyes, instinctively putting her hand to the muscles in her neck that had tightened from the awkward angle in which she’d slept. A quick check showed they were nearly at the city limits. It wouldn’t be long now and they’d be at the hospital. Good heavens, how long had she slept?

      “Feel better?”

      Chris’s voice came from beside her and she turned her attention away from the view out the window. “I do. I didn’t realize how tired I was.”

      “You probably work pretty long hours.”

      She snorted a little. Pretty long? Twelve-hour days were the norm. Her heart caught a little. What would happen now if her dad couldn’t resume his place at Baron? There’s no way she wanted Mark Baker at the helm. He was younger and a real go-getter, but he was also a part of that boys’ club that made her feel as if she was going to get a pat on the head rather than the respect she’d earned. Especially since he seemed to hold a bit of a grudge where she was concerned.

      Baron Energies should have a Baron at the head of the table. And the only Baron on the board right now was her.

      And she was pregnant.

      What a mess.

      “My hours are probably about to get longer, with Dad away from the office for a while. Hopefully it’ll just be a few weeks.”

      Hopefully.

      “So when are you planning on telling them?”

      Right, there was that, too. “I want my dad to let me run Baron while he’s out of the office. If I tell him I’m pregnant...there’s no way he’ll agree.” She sighed, looked over at Chris and wondered if they were becoming friends now, what with all this confiding. It seemed ludicrous. “This will be the first grandchild. I’m the oldest. He’s a bit old school. I’ll be fighting him tooth and nail even if I stay in my current position.”

      “So not for a while, then.”

      “Are you kidding? Add to that the fact that I’m single, and it’s going to be one stressful conversation.”

      Single. Because they had had a one-night stand, not a relationship.

      Could things be in a bigger mess?

      “Is there anything I can do to help?”

      She laughed a little. “Rewind eight weeks and not walk into the bar?”

      And then she felt instantly sorry she’d said it. That wasn’t fair. She’d been as willing a participant as he had. “Sorry,” she murmured, looking away. “You’re not to blame.”

      “Clearly I’m half to blame,” he returned, slowing down to take an exit, but she could sense he was annoyed.

      “You said you’re going to take a bus back to San Antonio?”

      “It makes the most sense.”

      “Maybe one of the boys can run you to the station.”

      “Wouldn’t that require an explanation?”

      Damn it. And yet asking him to walk or take public transit seemed cold. Like she was...ashamed. Determined to keep him out of sight, and that didn’t sit well with her. She wasn’t brought up to sneak around. Besides, he’d given up hours of his day to drive her here when he didn’t have to.

      Traffic slowed as they neared the city center and Lizzie tapped her fingers on her knee. At some point her family would meet Chris. Heck, Jacob and Jet already knew him, at least a little. What if he came inside rather than being pushed aside, invisible? She had a sudden flash of inspiration. What if Lizzie could bring the family around to this gradually, so it wasn’t such a shock?

      “I was thinking...rather than disappear to the station, maybe you’d like to come in? Just because we show up together doesn’t mean we have to tell my family everything, does it?”

      He stopped at a traffic light and looked over at her, his dark eyes piercing. “You’re scheming, aren’t you?”

      She tried a small smile. “Not scheming, planning. Planning is what I do best. I get fewer surprises that way.”

      Lizzie wasn’t a fan of surprises. Several had come her way over the years that she couldn’t control, but she tried to keep them to a minimum in her own life. Now СКАЧАТЬ