Baby Business. Brenda Novak
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу Baby Business - Brenda Novak страница 8
Название: Baby Business
Автор: Brenda Novak
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
isbn: 9781408944486
isbn:
“I’ve never seen you before,” she replied doubtfully.
His smile grew. “No, your mother and I haven’t known each other very long. Did she go home to get some rest?”
“Lisa made her go to the lunchroom.”
“Good for Lisa. She’s your mommy’s friend, right?”
Haley frowned, looking unsure, but finally nodded. “What’s that?” she asked, eyeing the teddy bear with obvious appreciation.
“It’s for you. But it looks as though you might not have room for him.”
She scooted to the side. “He can fit. See?”
Thad placed the giant bear in the bed beside her, and she promptly began to cover him up with her blankets. “He’s cold,” she explained.
“It doesn’t look like he’ll be cold for long. What are you going to name him?”
She screwed up her face, thinking long and hard. “Scotty has a dog named Bruiser.”
“Who’s Scotty?”
“He lives next door to us.”
“Well, I doubt he’ll mind if you want to name your bear after his dog.”
She smiled, and a hint of how beautiful she would be if she were healthy caused another pang in Thad’s chest. He could see Macy’s elegant features in her and began to wonder how her father could have abandoned such a lovely child, or how, for that matter, he could have abandoned her mother. Marrying a man capable of doing something like that didn’t seem like Macy McKinney, but then, there was no accounting for love. It could blind even the strongest and wisest.
“What are you doing here?”
Thad turned to see Macy at the door, gaping at him.
He studied her for a moment, then chose his words carefully. “I have a hundred thousand dollars in the bank, Macy. There isn’t any reason we can’t both get what we want.”
Macy’s eyes darted suspiciously from Thad to her daughter and the stuffed bear, then back to Thad. “And what is it you want, Mr. Winters?”
“You know what I want. I want my baby.” He nodded to Haley. “And you want yours.”
Taking a business card from his shirt pocket, he scribbled down his home number and handed it to her. “Call me if you’re still interested,” he said, and walked out.
“WHO WAS THAT?” Lisa demanded, coming through the door to Haley’s room just after Thad Winters had left.
“Guess,” Macy replied. Dropping the backpack she’d been dragging around with her so she could study, she slumped into the seat next to her daughter’s bed.
Lisa raised her eyebrows. “Well, he wasn’t wearing scrubs or a white coat, so I doubt he was a doctor.”
“It was Fad,” Haley piped up. “He brought me a bear.”
“Thad,” Macy corrected, eyeing the stuffed animal as though she’d like to belt it. “Thad Winters.”
Lisa blinked in surprise. “That was him? Oooee, what a babe! You’re crazy if you think a man like that has to pay a woman to do anything.”
Macy rolled her eyes. “Handsome is as handsome does.”
“And what has he done that’s so unhandsome?”
Macy didn’t really have an answer for that. He’d caught her in a lie, which had embarrassed her, but she had no right to hold that against him. He was offering her money to do something she didn’t want to do, because he knew her back was against the wall. But he could have offered the deal to someone else. As Lisa had said, there had to be any number of women who would happily oblige a man like Thad Winters—for free! So what, then, had her so angry?
The desperation that forced her to act beyond her own good judgment, she decided. And the fear. But those things had nothing to do with Thad Winters, either. At least he seemed to want a baby for the right reasons. Everyone who knew him was convinced he’d take good care of a child. Besides, she couldn’t expect him or anyone else to plop a hundred thousand dollars into her lap for nothing. A hundred bucks wasn’t inconceivable as a charitable donation, but one hundred thousand?
“He wants you to do it, right?” Lisa asked, watching her.
Slowly, Macy nodded.
“And you will?”
Macy nodded again. She had no choice. Haley meant everything to her. She could only hope Thad was right—that his money would bring them what they both wanted. Otherwise, if the bone marrow transplant didn’t work, she’d be expected to give up the new baby on the heels of losing Haley.
THAT NIGHT Macy tossed and turned until she wanted to scream. The nurse had insisted she go home and get some rest, had convinced her that she’d be no good to Haley if she didn’t. But sleep eluded her, despite the weariness she dragged around like an old blanket. Her shoulder ached from hauling her heavy textbooks everywhere she went, and all she could think about was Thad Winters and his offer, and what the money might do for Haley. She had to believe the bone marrow transplant would finally make her daughter well. She couldn’t face the alternative.
The telephone on her nightstand glowed beneath the silver sheen of moonlight filtering in through her window. Macy knew Thad’s card lay beside it, nagging at her, keeping her from relaxing enough to sleep.
Impulsively, she propped herself up and flipped on the lamp. “All right, dammit,” she grumbled, squinting against the light to read the number on his card while grabbing the handset. “This is it. There’ll be no going back now for either of us.”
Sleep slurred Thad’s voice when he finally answered. “Hello?”
“Mr. Winters?”
He seemed to come instantly awake. “Macy.”
“I’m sorry to wake you, but I couldn’t put my mind at ease until I accepted your offer.”
She heard some rustling, as though he was sitting up or readjusting his bedding. “You’re going to do it?”
“Yes.”
He exhaled audibly, then silence fell for several seconds.
Macy broke it. “How soon do I go in for my physical?” she asked, wondering what the next step was. Did they sign contracts? Did she visit his doctor or hers? Did she tell Haley what she was doing or wait until the baby made itself apparent?
“I’ll get you in tomorrow.”
So it would be his doctor. She should have known. Of course he’d want as much control over the process as possible.
“There’s only one СКАЧАТЬ