Dad By Choice. Marie Ferrarella

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СКАЧАТЬ of being caught off guard. Since his father’s death more than ten years ago, when he’d suddenly found himself sole guardian of his younger sister, he’d tried to be prepared for all contingencies way ahead of time. But the woman’s voice, amused, low and reminiscent of aged bourbon taken slow on a long winter’s evening, did just that.

      And the sight of her did even more.

      Having expected to see a dour, matronly looking woman in sensible black shoes, an austere hairdo and utilitarian clothing, he was momentarily rendered speechless by the slender brunette in three-inch heels and a fashionable, light blue suit that looked as if it had been made for her.

      The blue brought out her eyes.

      He had no idea why he thought that, or even noticed. He wasn’t given to details like that. Not about people, only about microchips and semiconductors, like the one he’d perfected—the one that was responsible for his fortune.

      Well, Abby thought, it seemed as if good looks ran in the family. Marcie McDermott had struck her as a beauty the first moment she’d met the poised teenager. On her brother, Kyle, those dark good looks were even more arresting, although on him they seemed to come with a certain edginess.

      That could have been due to the frown on his lips.

      Gamely, Abby put out her hand, feeling just a tad like someone bearding a lion in its den.

      “Hi, I’m Abby Maitland, Marcie’s doctor, and I’m sorry about the delay.” She looked around the waiting room. It was more packed than she’d expected. Some of her patients had turned up early for their appointments. Murphy’s Law. “Ladies, I’ll see you all in due time. I’m afraid I was unavoidably detained, but I’ll try to make up for it.” Crossing to the inner area, she nodded a greeting at her nurse. “Lisa, please show Marcie into room 1. I’ll be there in three minutes. Faster, if the buttons on the lab coat don’t give me a hard time.”

      The nurse she’d addressed as Lisa, a willowy blonde, came to the doorway, a chart in her hands. “Looks like you’re up, Marcie.” But when Kyle rose to accompany his sister, Lisa stopped him with a slight shake of her head. “Not yet, Mr. McDermott. I’ll come get you when we’re ready.”

      Great, Kyle thought. More waiting. Now he really couldn’t leave. He didn’t want Marcie to come out and find him gone. God knows what she’d think or do then. For the most part, she’d always been a levelheaded kid, he thought, but this pregnancy had thrown her off.

      As it had him. With effort, he banked down the resentment that rose within him.

      Kyle sank back onto the seat, resigned. How had he gotten to this place in his life? he wondered. Wasn’t this where the good part was supposed to come in? He’d struggled hard these last fifteen years to get through college and make a go of his business, at times financing things on a shoestring that seemed as if it would snap at any second. He’d made sacrifices to keep the company going, a great many sacrifices. He knew his romance with Sheryl had been a casualty. She hadn’t been willing to share him—not with his dream and not with his sister. So he’d made his choice, stuck with the plan. All so that he and Marcie could finally be in a position to have everything they ever wanted or needed.

      So that Marcie would never want for anything.

      Now here they were, fifteen long years later. His company was bordering on going public and his sister was bordering on unwed motherhood.

      It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

      He looked at his watch again.

      Lisa returned to call another patient in, this time to room 2. Before Kyle could ask her how much longer this was going to take, she turned toward him and smiled.

      “Mr. McDermott?”

      He was on his feet instantly.

      Lisa opened the door wider and stepped back. “Dr. Maitland says you can come in now.”

      “How very gracious of her.”

      Passing the nurse, Kyle struggled to curb his temper. It wasn’t the doctor’s fault that Marcie had gotten herself pregnant. And it wasn’t her fault that Marcie adamantly refused to marry the boy who had gotten her into this condition, despite all Kyle’s assurances that he would set them up and help pay for her education and Billy Madison’s, as well. But it was the doctor’s fault that he was now drastically behind schedule. He didn’t tolerate lateness well, not in himself and not in others. That wasn’t how things got done.

      His father had always been late. Late to work, late to pay the bills. Late with everything. That’s why he had never amounted to anything, and why, when he died, there had been a mountain of debts for Kyle to pay off.

      He walked into room 1 to see his sister lying on the examining table. A wave of discomfort washed over him. His eyes darted toward the doctor. “Is this going to take long?”

      Busy preparing the monitor, Abby glanced in his direction. “Not too.”

      Maybe it was the tension of thinking that one of her brothers might be responsible for the baby she’d just left with Ford. Or maybe it was knowing that, at the very least, because of this baby her family had suddenly become the target of every journalist, photographer and news media wanna-be.

      Or maybe she just didn’t like Kyle McDermott’s distant attitude. Marcie had confided a few things to Abby in moments of dire unhappiness. Things that hadn’t put the too-too-busy Mr. McDermott in the most flattering light, despite his chiseled, killer looks, his high cheekbones and that dark, flowing mane of hair that seemed just a bit out of place when paired with the expensive suit he had on.

      Whatever it was, Abby found herself hanging on to the tattered ends of a far shorter temper than she normally possessed.

      The monitor was ready. She walked over to Marcie, but she was still looking at Kyle.

      “Most people view this as a miracle, Mr. McDermott, one not to be hurried through like a car wash. This is a very precious time. You get to make the baby go where you want it to and do what you want it to—except for kicking,” she added with a smile as she looked at Marcie. “They really don’t listen when it comes to that, no matter what diplomacy you use.”

      Marcie’s swollen abdomen was partially exposed, and Kyle watched as the doctor with the sharp tongue rubbed some sort of jelly on it. He loved Marcie more than anything in this world and had thought, until this thing with Billy had come up, that he was pretty much privy to all her feelings. But right now he felt intrusive, as if he were somehow invading her privacy. It was the same at the birthing classes. He was out of his depth, had no business being there.

      Kyle turned away, not sure where he should look.

      As she watched him, Abby’s lips twitched in amusement. He certainly didn’t look like the delicate type.

      Can’t tell a book by its dust jacket.

      Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets and addressed the wall beyond Abby’s head. “I don’t mean to sound as if this isn’t important to me, it’s just that—”

      “You’re running behind schedule, yes, I know.” This man was flirting with an ulcer, if he didn’t already have one. But that was his problem, not hers. “You made that very clear. I’m afraid most of us are running behind schedule practically СКАЧАТЬ