Getting Married Again. Melinda Curtis

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СКАЧАТЬ sleep, seemed to glow warmly at her, but Lexie was anything but reassured.

      “Wow. That’s…” Lexie’s head bobbed as she floundered for something to say, some way to break the news to Jackson gently. She used to be known for her witty comebacks. Now, all she could manage was “That’s… Wow.”

      “Aren’t you gonna hug Mom?” Heidi asked, looking innocently up at her father.

      One of the Hot Shots chuckled.

      “Oh dear,” Mary said, and disappeared into the back room.

      Lexie’s eyes narrowed even as her chest heaved. She was being set up by her own daughter, in front of an audience, no less. Emotions warred within her—indignation at being caught off guard and outmaneuvered by an eleven-year-old, anxiety that Jackson might find out how close she was to needing his help, a feeling of relief that Jackson was home safe, the sour guilt of her secret.

      The baby slugged her bladder.

      Jackson walked closer, his footsteps a slow herald of the moment of truth. Everyone was looking at her now, probably hoping she’d fall back into his arms as if he’d never broken her heart and shattered her dreams of family. Each step Jackson took made Lexie want to shrink back into the kitchen, but she still had enough pride to stand and face him.

      CHAPTER TWO

      JACKSON FELT about as nervous as the first time he’d asked Lexie out. She looked great. At least the part of her he could see looked great behind the counter. Thick lashes framed wide blue eyes unadorned by makeup. He could gaze into those eyes forever. Her hair, begging to be touched, fell in soft brown waves about her shoulders. Her cheeks were flushed, and there’d been a few moments there when their eyes first connected that he’d been glad he came because of the way she was looking at him, as if she were happy to see him.

      Heidi was pushing his luck a little, but heck, if he could get a hug from Lex on day one, that was something, right?

      He gave Lex his best “hey, trust me” smile, planning to take this as slowly as she wanted, and entered the kitchen. The sight of her full, lush body made him stop in his tracks.

      “You’re pregnant!”

      Her face turned bright red. “Yes,” she said through gritted teeth.

      Lexie had slept with someone else. The room tilted.

      “When did this happen?” Jackson’s eyes bounced around the room from Heidi—argh, don’t ask Heidi—to his Hot Shot buddies—he’d never live this down—to his wife. “How could this happen?”

      Lexie ran her hands over the blue T-shirt—his T-shirt—covering her very pregnant belly.

      “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

      “I tried to tell you the last time you called, Dad, but I don’t think you heard me.” Heidi leaned over the counter and smiled sweetly as if she hadn’t been in on this secret for months.

      Jackson tried to remember the conversation Heidi referred to. It took a few seconds for something to click. He dropped his head and shook it slowly from side to side. “You said she was perfect.”

      “No, Dad, I said she was pregnant,” Heidi corrected, then had the nerve to look back at the Hot Shot crew and grin.

      The men, of course, heard their exchange and roared with laughter. Oh, this was one for the record books, all right.

      Jackson struggled to control his emotions. He wanted to throttle whoever had gotten his wife pregnant, or at the very least, punch a wall.

      Lexie had slept with another man.

      “The ink wasn’t even dry on our divorce.” Jackson’s gaze returned to the floor. He couldn’t bear to look at her. How could she do this to him?

      “Heidi, go get yourself something to eat.” Lexie’s voice brooked no argument and Heidi scooted over to the table with the firemen. She was always more inclined to obey Lexie than to listen to him.

      Jackson lifted his suddenly heavy head and stared at Lexie, barely able to contain his sorrow. He’d never get her back now. How could he, with this child between them? “You were the only thing…” Jackson let his voice trail off, swallowing thickly. She was the reason he’d found a way out of that fire. She and Heidi had been his reason for living. Lexie was his talisman, for heaven’s sake.

      A cold emptiness settled inside of him. He leaned against the kitchen wall, needing support for knees suddenly as limp as spaghetti.

      “I’m sorry you had to learn about it this way,” Lexie said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

      “How could you do this to me?” He’d be the laughingstock of his Hot Shot crew, of every crew and support group from Montana to Arizona—if he wasn’t already. Had Lexie left him for this guy? And what about her infertility problem? Maybe it wasn’t her problem, after all. Maybe all those doctors were wrong. Maybe all his sperm weren’t accounted for.

      “I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it doesn’t change anything between us.”

      And then the reality of the situation hit him. He pulled Lexie deeper into the kitchen and lowered his voice. “You’ve been walking around like…like…that for months, haven’t you.” He pointed to her swollen belly.

      She arched her brows at him as if he’d lost his mind. “That’s right.”

      “And everyone in town knows you’re pregnant.”

      “Probably.” Lexie crossed her arms just underneath her very full breasts, resting her arms over her round stomach.

      Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s why everyone I saw today asked if I’d seen you. They’re salivating out there right now.” This time he pointed toward the dining room. “Just waiting to hear how I react to…to…you!”

      “Probably.”

      He forced himself to lower his voice. “Smiley. Birdie. Spider. And who knows how many others.”

      “It is a situation that people appear to be curious about.”

      Jackson slapped the wall with his palm. “Well, I’m curious, too, damn it.”

      “Really?”

      Jackson tilted his head to the ceiling as if the cracked stucco held the answer to his problems. This other guy was going to move in, sleep in his bed, and kiss his wife good-morning, not to mention good-night.

      Lexie was lost to him. And Heidi…

      Oh, hell.

      Jackson rubbed his dry, sleep-deprived eyes. “Who is he, Lex? Who did this to us?”

      Lexie’s mouth dropped open, then she narrowed her eyes at him and said, “You did, you idiot.”

      “SAY AGAIN?” Jackson squinted at her.

      Keeping her arms СКАЧАТЬ