Pregnancy Plan (20 page)

“
No, but what else can I do? I don’t
want to marry her only to find she won’t give me
children.”

“
Have you asked her why she doesn’t
want children?”

“
Yes, but she always gives me silly
excuses like her career, our freedom, not wanting to change her
body.”

“
How long has this been going on?”
Derek wondered if this was the reason the two didn’t seem to be
getting along.

“
About six months. That’s why we put
off the wedding date.”

Derek pointed out the obvious. “You know,
there may come a time when you have to decide whether you want to
marry Kelly and not have children or look for someone new.”

“
I know, and it’s killing our
relationship.” Jason sighed.

Derek glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Maybe we should get back to the girls. We’ve been out here for
quite a while. Remember don’t mention the cradle to Jillian. It’s a
surprise.” He set down the sandpaper, and stepped to the door. “It
won’t be long now before I need to put my wife to bed. It’s way
past her bedtime.”

****

Jillian squinted at the clock. Nine-thirty.
No wonder, she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

Just returning from the kitchen, she handed
Kelly her wine. “Would you like Derek and me to leave you alone
with Jason when they come back in?”

Kelly toyed with the wineglass. “I guess,
but I really don’t know what I’m going to tell him.”

“
Tell me what?” Jason asked, entering
the living room.

Jillian turned. He and Derek were standing
in the entryway from the kitchen. They must have come into the
house right behind her, and she hadn’t even heard them.

Jason sank onto the couch beside his fiancée
and asked again. “Tell me what?”

Tears clouded her eyes before Kelly lowered
her head. He shifted closer and wrapped his arm around her
shoulders.

Derek captured Jillian’s hand. “Honey, you
look tired. Let's get you up to bed.”

She smiled. This was her exit line.
“Good-night guys, we'll see you both in the morning.” She drew her
husband along behind her as they headed for the stairs.

“
Why are you dragging me off to bed?”
he asked when they entered their bedroom.

She released his hand to undress. “Maybe I
wanted to do wild, wicked things to your body.”

“
Seeing as you’re asleep on your feet,
I think there’s more to it than that.” He placed his hands on her
shoulders and guided her down onto the bed.

Exhausted, she lay back on the bedspread and
closed her eyes. Derek lifted one leg at a time and tugged off her
shoes.

“
What was it Kelly had to tell
Jason?”

Her eyes sprang open when he undid the
button on her pants. Watching him, she tried to gauge his reaction.
“Kelly can’t have children.”

With no change of expression, he slid her
pants down her legs. “How long has she known?”

Jillian noted the intense glare in his eyes.
“Since she was nineteen. She said when she first met Jason he
didn’t want children. She thought she was safe. Then he changed his
mind.”

Derek helped her to her feet and yanked back
the covers on the bed.

“
She’s petrified of losing him, so she
pretended that she didn’t want children.” She laid her hand on his
chest when he would have turned. “Derek, you have to let Jason
handle this.”

****

With his wife tucked in bed, Derek
undressed in the dark. He could hear her soft breathing as she
eased into sleep.
The lady is a diamond
among rocks.
Their relationship had been built on
solid ground. Not once had she misled him—another reason in his
long list about why he loved her.

He climbed into bed, drew her close and
snuggled against her shapely body. He relished the bliss of having
someone to hold that he could trust. Completely at peace, he
drifted off to sleep.

****

The next morning in the kitchen, Derek
couldn’t hold back his doubts. “How can you ever trust a woman who
lied to you?”

“
Come on, bro, she was scared,” Jason
argued.

“
Of what?” Derek huffed. He could see
no reason for Kelly to have lied over something so
important.

“
Of losing me.” His brother wrapped
his hands around his coffee cup.

“
Right.”

“
It’s not really Kelly’s fault. I’m
the one who changed my mind.” Jason paused. “Actually, you might
say it’s your wife’s fault.”

“
Jillian!” Derek slammed his hand on
the table. “How can you blame her for your girlfriend lying to
you?”

“
Calm down.” Jason stared at him,
silently conveying the message that he wouldn’t continue until
Derek had settled down.

He drew in a deep breath. “All right, go
on.”

Jason stared into his cup. “After Jillian’s
father died, we had a chance to talk. She was upset, and I—I was
trying to calm her down. So we started talking about what we wanted
in the future.” He paused to take a sip of coffee.

“
I told her about how I wanted to
marry Kelly and she told me about how she wanted a child. She had
this very elaborate plan as to how to get pregnant.”

Derek remembered Jillian explaining her
plan. He wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t shown up at
her hotel room that night.

“
Anyway, she started talking about how
special a child could be. I had never thought about it before, but
I started seeing her point. After that, I started thinking about
having children too. Naturally, I assumed Kelly would want
children. When she didn’t, I wasn’t sure what to do. I tried to
force her into it by refusing to get married until she agreed to
start a family.” Jason glanced up as if seeking counsel.

Derek held back. “So what now?”

“
Kelly said Jillian knew someone who
might let us adopt her child, if we helped her with the expenses,”
Jason answered.

“
Let me guess. Susan.” Derek
replied.
Damn
. His wife
wanted to fix everyone’s problems.

“
I don’t know the girl’s name. Just
that she’s pregnant and she doesn’t want to have an abortion,”
Jason answered.

“
And what if that doesn’t work out?
Are you still going to marry Kelly?”

“
Yes. It’s not her fault she can’t
have children. We’ll try adopting a baby another way.”

Satisfied with the answer, Derek nodded his
head. “All right. What would you like for breakfast?” He stood and
strolled into the kitchen.

“
Don’t care, but it’s supposed to be
hot today. Why don't we grill something for lunch today?” Jason
suggested as Derek removed the cereal from the pantry.

“
That’s a wonderful idea.” Jillian
stepped into the room. “Why don’t we set out those steaks I bought
the other day?” She opened the freezer to find the
steaks.

Derek frowned at his brother. “Now look what
you’ve done.”

“
We can have a salad with it and it’ll
keep the house cooler.” Jillian carried the steaks to the sink and
kissed him on the cheek when she turned. “Are you planning on going
to church with me today? Or do you want to stay home with Kelly and
Jason?”

“
What time does it start?” Derek
walked to the breakfast table.

“
Church starts at quarter to eleven.”
Jillian grabbed a few bowls from the cabinet and followed
him.

“
What time is Kelly getting up?” Derek
questioned Jason, and then sat before sliding Jillian down onto his
lap. He enjoyed having her close.

“
Don’t know. We got to bed late. Why
don’t you guys go on without us?” Jason responded.

“
You’re welcome to come along if you
want. It’s only a little after nine, Kelly might get up before we
need to leave.” Jillian slid her arms around Derek. Her fingers
toyed with his hair and he couldn't help but run his hands across
her thighs.

“
No, I think we’ll just stay in and
rest if you don’t mind.” His brother reached for the cereal
box.

“
Okay.” She scanned the items on the
table. “Do you guys want anything else for breakfast?”

“
No. Cereal is fine.” Jason reached
for a bowl. “But we’re going to need the milk.”

Jillian rose. “I’ll get it. I need to get
some coffee anyway.”

“
No.” Derek grabbed for her hand, but
she escaped him. “You’re not supposed to have caffeine.”

Sparks flared in her eyes when she turned.
“Watch me.”

Jason laughed.

Derek hurried after his wife.

****

Singing the closing hymn, Jillian shifted on
the hardwood pew. Thankfully, church was over. Her butt hurt, and
she needed to hit the bathroom. Derek led her down the aisle to the
exit with the rest of the congregation.

She whispered in his ear. “I'm stopping by
ladies’ room. I’ll meet you outside.”

He nodded and released her hand. She turned
to the left.

Jillian caught Susan’s reflection in the
mirror when she exited the stall a few minutes later. With wavy
dark hair and soft brown eyes, Susan didn’t appear old enough to be
heading off to college. A little over five feet, she appeared to be
no more than a freshman in high school.

“
Well, hello there. You’re just the
person I was hoping to see.”

Susan glanced at the other people in the
room. “Really?”

“
Umm-hmm. John Paul told me you were
planning to attend University of Texas in Dallas in a few weeks. I
thought you might be interested in a job I’ve heard
about.”

“
What kind of job?”

“
Well, it’s sort of a live-in maid,
pays room and board and a little extra. It’s for my brother-in-law
and his wife after they get married.”

“
What would they want me to
do?”

“
I’m not real sure. Why don’t you stop
by after lunch today and talk to them. They’re here for the
weekend.” Jillian finished washing her hands. “I’m sure they’d love
to meet you.” She slid her arm around Susan as they left the
bathroom. “Don’t worry. They’ll love you, just the way we all
do.”

Weakly, Susan smiled back. “I have to check
with my parents but it should be fine. What time should I come
over?”

“
How about around three? That should
give you plenty of time to eat lunch.”

On the sidewalk, Jillian spotted Susan’s
parents waiting for her. “Just let me know if you can’t make
it.”

“
Okay.” Susan strolled off toward her
parents. Jillian watched as they turned toward their
car.

“
Ready?”

She peered up into Derek’s face. “I just
invited Susan to come over and meet Kelly and Jason. I thought she
would be perfect for that job as their maid.”

“
Maid?”

She slid her arm into his, and drew him
along to his father’s truck. “Don’t you remember? Kelly said she
wanted a live-in maid after they were married.”

He helped her into the cab of the truck. “I
must have forgotten.”

She smiled, and he shut the door.

A week had passed since Derek had come home
with her. It felt more like a lifetime, with the way he’d changed
her existence. Now he filled her day, with them working, eating,
and sleeping together. Until Friday, the sexual tension between
them had made her uneasy. But now she truly enjoyed his
company.

Shyly glancing over at him, she noticed he
had gained a little weight in the last week. His cheeks didn’t look
as hollow, and had more color. The man was beautiful, and hers. The
thought made her giddy. She placed her hand on his thigh and ran it
along the inside of his leg. He covered her hand with his, stopping
her adventurous fingers.

“
You need to behave.” He didn’t take
his eyes off the road.

“
But I was having fun.” She loved the
way he responded to her touch.

“
Yes, and I’m driving.” His
stone-faced expression didn’t change.

Jillian wished she could unlock his
thoughts. She inched her hand from under his and moved along his
stomach, then his rib cage, searching for a ticklish spot.

No smile crossed his face, but then he
didn’t smile often. Sympathy for the pain he held inside made her
stop teasing him. She laid her head on his shoulder instead. Still
recovering, he needed her patience, but she missed the old
Derek.

They entered the house together to find
Jason read the paper at the breakfast table while Kelly stood at
the kitchen counter, tearing lettuce into a bowl. “Hey guys, how
was church?”

“
It was great. I believe Derek met
everyone in town again.” Jillian remembered the greetings they’d
gotten when they entered the church.

“
Not everyone,” Derek
countered.

“
Well, just about.”

“
Lunch should be ready in a little
while. Jason got the grill going, and he can slap the steaks on it
whenever you guys are ready. The salad is almost done.” Kelly
indicated the bowl in front of her.

“
Let us change clothes, then Derek can
put on the steaks.” Jillian stepped to the kitchen
doorway.

“
Okay.” Jason leaned back in his chair
and lifted the paper.

“
What do you think about eating
outside?” Jillian asked when they stepped into their
room.