With Honor. Rhonda Lee Carver

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      Jasmine ate a small breakfast of toast, yogurt and coffee in a restaurant across the street from her motel. She stared out the window as two children played jump rope in a patch of grass beside the parking lot. Watching the smiles erupt on their faces, she couldn’t resist smiling too. She’d always wanted a child, or two, but she hadn’t planned to have one so soon, or with a complete stranger. Her doubts were real, no matter how much she wanted her baby.

      The waitress stopped by the table. The woman cracked her gum loudly. “You want me to top off your cup?”

      “No thanks,” Jasmine answered.

      After tossing around in the hard, cheap bed last night, she sure could use another cup, but she’d been making an effort to cut the caffeine. Some days she slept like a ton of bricks, other times she couldn’t catch a wink. Last night she’d been wide awake thinking of Shane. Even after she’d fallen asleep, she’d dreamt of him. Why now? Why after seeing him? She knew why, but wasn’t quite ready to admit it to herself. People are attracted most to the one they can’t be with–or know they shouldn’t be with. Could she have feelings for Shane? The idea was ludicrous.

      The deep apprehension stuck with her. In less than fifteen minutes she’d again be meeting with Shane–the father of her unborn child.

      Father. Unborn child. Those were alien words.

      At a cross between shock and numbness, this was a new realm of emotion. Seeing Shane in Florida, not once had she felt a connection beyond satisfying a need. Her sex life had been lacking–by choice. Her female parts had been parched and his offer to water the field had been an offer she couldn’t refuse. A night of forbidden love had been all she wanted and needed.

      So then why the sudden feelings?

      Why did she have a case of unidentified emotions floating around inside her? Was it because they shared something in common now? A child.

      She’d been delighted and dazed when he’d protected her from the earthquake, using his body as shelter. Not every man would do that, but a gentleman would. She wasn’t helpless by any means, but something about his action made her believe Shane could be a man of honor. Still needing proof, she’d know after their meeting.

      Time to get this over with.

      A few minutes later, she drove onto base, and as promised, security checked her credentials, then handed over Shane’s address written on a small piece of paper.

      The sudden urge to look at herself in the mirror overcame her. Her clothes were simple, yet she’d taken a little more time with her hair and makeup. What woman didn’t want to look her best when she was about to talk with a man as sexy as Shane Conner?

      His behavior today would determine where they’d go from here.

      He’d seemed cold last night when he’d walked out of her room. However, she’d seen a softness in him, a look of sincerity in his eyes, that she hadn’t seen before. Question was, would he make a good father?

      Would he even want to be a father to their child?

      Following the street signs, she took the next left onto Eisenhower. The row of cookie-cutter, white ranch-style houses lining the street reminded her of the neighborhood she’d grown up in. Quiet and safe. She found the number and pulled her car in front of a house with a red door.

      Climbing out of the car, she did a quick finger comb through her hair then made her way up the cracked sidewalk. The impulse to run hadn’t affected her until she made it to the porch steps. This was her decision. No one forced her to have the meeting. She could leave and go back to her life and raise their child alone. Being a bright, successful woman, earning a moderate income as a journalist, she could support a baby. Child support wasn’t her motivation–or that she needed mental or emotional support. If she left, she doubted Shane would search for her, although he knew where she lived. Did he even believe she was pregnant by him? So, why didn’t she get back into her car, switch the engine back on and drive the hell off the base and back into her own quiet, secure life?

      She’d opened the can of worms; no backing out now. She owed it to her baby.

      If he told her he had no interest in being a father, she’d walk away, no strings attached. Hell, if she searched her emotions, she probably expected the worst. With a short mantra of assurance that she could do this, she knocked on the red door. The door came open. He met her with a cautious smile and a narrowed eye. Just as she’d figured, he wasn’t happy to see her. Now what? Would they go through the same rigmarole as they had last night?

      He shifted and her gaze slipped over him. His tight black tee fit his upper body, showing off his toned muscles. His worn jeans fit low on his hips and had a rip a few inches above his knee. She had a sudden urge to reach out and touch the exposed skin, betting he was warm and–

      Damn, the man was poison–and virile and tempting. He should come with a warning tattooed across his forehead: Danger.

      “You look like you’re debating whether you should run or puke, and neither is too appealing,” he said with a smile.

      She snapped back to reality and out of his pants–so to speak. “If I’d planned to run, I’d have done it before I knocked. And puking, well, I can’t guarantee your safety on that one.” Honesty was the best policy. Her stomach was a bit woozy.

      “At least you came.” He kicked the door open wider with a bare foot. “Let’s get you in here and closer to the toilet in case you get an urge to upchuck.”

      “Did you think I’d chicken out?” she muttered, not making a move to enter.

      “Possibly, or I thought maybe this was all a joke.”

      “I wouldn’t joke about something like this,” she said.

      His eyebrow went up. “And I’m supposed to know that? I have no clue what your morals and values are. This wouldn’t be the first time a woman lied to rope a man.”

      She straightened her back. “You didn’t question my values while we were naked in bed, did you? A little late now, wouldn’t you say?”

      His СКАЧАТЬ