Plain Jane and Doctor Dad. Kate Little

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СКАЧАТЬ was stunned by his line of reasoning. She pulled back and stared up at him. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’d never make that connection in a million years.”

      “I know you don’t see it that way. But I do,” he argued. “I knew you were too good for him. I knew how he’d end things with you. Just like all the others. I should have warned you.”

      “Even if you had, I wouldn’t have believed you or taken your advice to heart,” Maura replied honestly. “I really thought we were in love and that Scott wanted to marry me someday.”

      “Maybe you wouldn’t have listened to me. Not at first. But it might have helped you see his true colors sooner,” he added somberly.

      Maura met his gaze. Perhaps that was true. But what good did it do to wonder about that now? She had to deal with the present and figure out some plan for the future.

      “It doesn’t matter. Let’s not argue about it,” she urged him. “The point is, I’m the only one responsible for dating Scott…and for everything that happened after.”

      She rose abruptly, then instantly felt her head spin. Doug was beside her in a split second, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

      “Maura, are you dizzy?”

      “Just a little. I haven’t eaten much today,” she realized. “That must be it.”

      He piled up some couch pillows so she could lie back comfortably. “Here, rest a minute. I’ll fix you something.”

      “You don’t have to do that,” she said. “I can manage.”

      “I said rest,” he ordered in a stern tone. “I’m the doctor, remember?”

      When she looked up at him in surprise, he flashed a sexy, stubborn grin.

      “Okay, okay. You win.” She sat back with a sigh and a small smile. “I didn’t know you could cook, Dr. Connelly,” she added curiously.

      “Me? I’m great in the kitchen—if you like scrambled eggs and toast.”

      Maura laughed for the first time in days.

      “Eggs on the dry side, please. Just a little jelly on the toast,” she replied as her head sunk back into the pillows.

      “You got it.” He leaned over and covered her with a throw, then strolled off to the kitchen.

      Maura felt her eyes close, her scattered thoughts lulled by the sounds and tempting smells of Doug’s cooking and the powerful, calming force of his presence. For the first time in days she felt some tranquillity and some hope about the future.

      Her hands floated protectively to her stomach and she thought about her baby. During all her shock and worry, the single most important element in all this had been obscured, she realized. She was honestly thrilled to be expecting a child, no matter what the circumstances.

      When Doug had asked about her intentions, she hadn’t revealed half of her true feelings about the baby. The truth was she wanted this child more than anything. Becoming pregnant made her see that she was very much alone in the world. Maybe she had always wanted a child, to love and be loved by the one person in her life who would always belong to her. She had a good relationship with her sister, but Ellen lived in Portland and had a family of her own. Maura had no one truly close.

      Since her parents’ tragic accident and the trauma of watching her family fall to pieces, Maura had been on a private journey, longing to return to that special place of warmth, love and security she had known as a child. She had imagined creating that kind of stable, loving home life as part of a traditional marriage. But it hadn’t happened that way. Now she had to play the cards she’d been dealt. Despite her worries and fears, in her heart she was grateful for the new life growing inside of her.

      She loved her baby already and knew that she would do her utmost to give her child a good life, to give him or her all the love, security and happiness that a child deserves.

      Even if she had to do it all on her own. It would work out somehow, she told herself. It would.

      Eggs, milk and butter. A bowl, a frying pan and toaster. Doug easily found what he needed and set to work on Maura’s dinner. Their conversation had left him all stirred up, as emotionally scrambled as the bowl of beaten eggs in his hand, and he was glad to focus on some practical task, like cooking. He poured the eggs in the pan, then glanced out into the living room. Maura lay with her eyes closed, and he wondered if she’d fallen asleep. Just as well, he thought. She needed a break. And so did he, to sort out his thoughts about all this.

      He felt bad for her, even partly responsible for the fix she was in. He truly wanted to help her, to do what he could. Doug knew that everything he’d just told Maura was true. But he also knew that there was one reaction to her news he had not disclosed. A gut response even stronger than all the rest.

      He wanted a baby. He’d wanted one for a very long time. It was the real reason his marriage had fallen apart, and after that disaster his chances of being a father seemed even farther out of reach.

      After his divorce, he just couldn’t seem to let any woman close enough for a serious relationship. He’d had that once, and once was enough. Romance was for movies and books, as far as he could see. People only fooled themselves into thinking those earth-shaking hormonal rushes were true love. After the tornado died down, there was only disappointment and pain.

      So how would he ever be a father? Unless he got some woman pregnant by “accident,” as Scott had done to Maura. But that would never be Doug’s style.

      He put two slices of bread into the toaster, then jammed it down with a bit more force than necessary. The news of Maura’s pregnancy and Scott’s reaction had felt like salt poured into an open wound. He cursed Scott for the way he’d treated her, and felt an even deeper bitterness for the way the man had turned his back on his child. Doug felt his jaw grow rigid as the anger swelled in him all over again. If a woman like Maura had come to him with news like that, it would have been the happiest day of his life. Why was life so unfair sometimes?

      Doug scooped the cooked eggs onto a plate, then spread some jelly on the toast. He grabbed a fork and napkin, then headed out to the living room. But even before he reached the couch he could see that Maura was fast asleep. She looked so peaceful, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. He didn’t have the heart to wake her. Watching her sleep, he felt another wave of sympathy for her. She was such a good person. A wonderful person, truly. He really couldn’t remember knowing a woman he liked or respected more. She didn’t deserve Scott’s mistreatment. She didn’t deserve to face such an overwhelming problem all alone. But what could he do to help her? Stand by her as her friend? Give her money maybe, if she’d let him? There didn’t seem much he could do. And what if she moved away? What then? They would lose touch and he’d never see her again. Or her baby.

      The possibility upset him. He almost had the urge to wake her and get her to talk some more about her plans. Instead he set the dish of eggs on the coffee table, then sat down to wait.

      Maura’s eyes opened slowly. Doug’s face, very close to her own, filled her field of vision. His golden eyes glittered in the shadowy light, rugged features tempered by a slight smile. She stared up at him, studying the strong lines of his brow and chin, his amber eyes, square jaw and wide, soft mouth.

      Then he lifted his СКАЧАТЬ