Instant Daddy. Carol Voss

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ gain some control of this situation.

      Walking as fast as she could, Jessie glared straight ahead. What is going on, God? You can’t possibly expect me to give up Jake. Haven’t I already lost enough?

      “Hey Jess, wait up.”

      “Maggie,” Jake squealed.

      Trying to rein in her panic without much success, Jessie turned.

      “Hi, Jake.” Her high-heeled best friend jogged to Jessie’s side, barely out of breath. “You look even more upset than Dr. Sheridan does. What were you talking to that hunky man about?”

      “That hunky man says he’s Jake’s father.” Jessie had trouble recognizing the strained voice as her own.

      “What?” Maggie turned to scowl at Dr. Sheridan’s retreating physique. “Why would he say something like that?”

      “You didn’t notice how much they look alike?”

      “Well, I suppose…but that doesn’t mean…”

      “He has the birthmark. He said it runs in his family. And he knows exactly how old Jake is.”

      Maggie looked confused. “He and Clarissa?”

      “Apparently.” Jessie swallowed hard. “She didn’t tell him she was pregnant.”

      “What?” Maggie’s big brown eyes rolled. “What was she thinking?”

      “He says she had no right to give him to—” Her voice broke.

      “Now calm down, Jess.” Maggie threw her hands in the air like she always did when she was upset. “Let’s just think a minute. First, he hasn’t taken a paternity test, so we don’t know he’s the daddy. And second, if he is, you have the adoption papers, right?”

      Jessie nodded, afraid to trust her voice.

      Maggie’s hands darted dramatically. “We both know Clarissa was a stickler for making sure everything was very legal and in order. So even if he does turn out to be Jake’s dad, what can he do about it?”

      Jessie wanted to believe Maggie’s words, but…

      “Nada,” Maggie said as if the whole matter was settled. “Wait here while I get my car.”

      Jessie’s head spun. She needed time to calm down and get her defenses back in place. “Walking is my physical therapy, remember?”

      “But it’s going to rain.” Maggie pointed at the sky. “Besides, Jake is too heavy.”

      “Maggie….” Jessie had warned her friend to quit treating her like she needed help or she’d have to look for a new best friend. Maggie had agreed to watch it, but she still needed reminding.

      “Fine.” Maggie narrowed her eyes. “You sure you’re okay?”

      “I’m perfect,” Jessie snapped. She didn’t even want to think about how protective Maggie and her parents would be if they knew the accident had left her with injuries less obvious than her limp…injuries nothing could ever heal.

      Rain was starting, Jake felt like he weighed a hundred pounds and Jessie’s hip was killing her by the time she struggled up the diner steps. She hoped Will was still inside.

      Jake’s adoption had to hold up in court. Like Maggie said, Clarissa had always been thorough, and she would have made certain the father-not-knowing-about-the-baby loophole was closed. Wouldn’t she?

      She pulled open the door, the bell above it jingling to announce them. The interior’s cool, dry air confirmed her new AC was doing its job. Her cousin Lisa, who was behind the counter, and several customers sitting on Jessie’s new, red vinyl stools greeted them. Jake returned their greetings by opening and closing both little fists in his rendition of a wave.

      With a sigh of relief, Jessie spotted Will, the upper-classman who’d gone to college on a basketball scholarship and returned to Noah’s Crossing with a law degree not long after her accident. She’d still been in physical therapy when he’d asked her out on a pity date, probably engineered by Aunt Lou. At least Aunt Lou tried to organize everybody’s lives, not just Jessie’s.

      But her refusal to date Will didn’t mean they weren’t still friends. It didn’t keep him from stopping in the diner for pie almost every afternoon, either. “Hey, Will. Can I have a word with you in the back room?”

      The corners of Will’s sharp blue eyes wrinkled. “Right now?”

      Jessie noticed the fork in his hand and the half-eaten pie à la mode on the plate in front of him. “Bring your pie with you. You want a cup of coffee on the house?”

      “Can’t pass that up, now, can I?” His puzzled look intact, Will stood to tower over the counter.

      Actually, Will wasn’t any taller than Dr. Sheridan, was he? Jessie pushed the image of the handsome, authoritative doctor from her mind and strode for the curtain that separated the customer area from the prep-and-storage room. She needed to focus.

      Lisa poured Will’s cup of coffee. “You look upset.”

      Jessie met her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said automatically.

      “Well, you don’t look fine.” Lisa handed the steaming coffee to Will.

      “Thanks,” he said.

      Jessie ducked through the curtain and headed for the play corner she’d fenced off near one of the long windows. “Look, Jake. There’s Thomas the engine, right where you left him.”

      “Tomut!” Jake threw himself with glee, totally oblivious to the concept of gravity.

      But Jessie was ready for his lunge and stopped him from falling. She hoped he outgrew his habit before he got much heavier and harder to contain. “Slow down, okay?”

      Jake touched her cheek in the sweet apology that always melted her heart. Then he turned, wriggling for release.

      She bent over the mesh fence to set him down, pain stabbing her hip and making her catch her breath. “There you go.”

      “There you goes,” he mimicked, scurrying to his low train table.

      Will chuckled. “He’s talking more every day.” Setting his empty plate near the sink, he leaned against the counter. “How’d you hurt your leg?”

      Jessie frowned. “My leg is fine.”

      Will took a sip of coffee and wisely decided to change the subject. “You outdid yourself with that raspberry-rhubarb pie. I think it’s my new favorite.” He gave her a little grin.

      She attempted a smile, then gave it up as she hurried to the fireproof safe where she kept her important papers. Grasping her ring of keys from her purse, she knelt and unlocked the box. She clasped the folder marked “Jake,” struggled to her feet and handed it to Will.

      He looked at the identifying tab, then at Jessie. “Jake?”

      “Clarissa СКАЧАТЬ