The Baby Race (17 page)

Race stood just outside the living room and
listened as Claire spoke with Bobbie Sue.

"Of course they do," Claire reassured her.
"Big sisters are very important to little brothers."

"And little sisters," Bobbie Sue added with a
giggle.

"Whosits is a lucky baby to have you as a big
sister."

Frick and Frack, half-grown balls of yellow
fluff played with the ribbons and wrapping paper at Claire's feet.
Claire's teasing names for the rambunctious kittens had stuck.
While Framus went home with Rachel, somehow these two had managed
to join Cassandra as house cats. Sandy, what Bobbie Sue called her
sometimes-haughty kitten, sat atop the room's television, viewing
her brothers' antics with typical female disdain.

A fire burned in the fireplace filling the
room with the smell of pine. The soothing sound of Christmas music,
homey smells, and sights twisted and broke something deep inside
him. Unwilling to admit what he felt or let Claire read the need he
knew was in his eyes, he started to turn away.

"Daddy."

Bobbie Sue's excited cry halted his steps. As
always the sound of that word on her lips stirred painful emotions
in his gut. In the last few months, despite his every effort to
avoid opening himself up to her, she'd crawled inside his heart.
When his marriage to Claire ended, how could he bear to let them
walk away?

He didn't have a choice. He'd provide
economic support, but knew he didn't have what it took to be a real
father or - husband.

"Come feel the baby. He kicks just like
Penny," Bobbie Sue referred to one of the resident goats with a
perchance for kicking. She grabbed his hand and tugged him into the
room.

Claire sat on a low stool, next to a coffee
table covered with glittering paper, shiny ribbons and bows, tape,
and half-wrapped gifts. She didn't look up as he approached. The
flickering fire cast shimmering highlights in the dark brown hair
hiding her face from him. Only the curve of one pink cheek and the
creamy line of her throat peeked through the heavy curtain of hair.
Longer than when they'd first met, her hair now fell past her
shoulders, a thick cascade of warm silky strands that urged him to
touch.

Memory of those strands trailing over the
sensitive skin of his chest and lower when they made love rushed
through him, making him glad she didn't look up. Evidence of his
thoughts pressed hard against the zipper of his jeans.

Lost in his thoughts he jumped when Bobbie
Sue shoved his hand against Claire's abdomen. Heat shot up his arm,
lower, and then up his cheeks as Claire's startled gaze locked with
his. Color flooded into her face.

"Feel, Daddy," Bobbie Sue insisted, pressing
his palm hard against Claire.

And he did. A soft flutter tickled his palm
and reality slammed into him. He'd thought he'd come to terms with
the idea that Claire was having a baby – his baby, but he'd been
wrong. Only now did he realize the depth of feeling the knowledge
engendered in him.

And it hurt. Unbearably.

He jerked his hand away. Ignoring Bobbie
Sue's protest and the sudden pain in Claire's eyes, he stomped out
of the room.

"What's wrong with Daddy?" A puzzled frown
wrinkled Bobbie Sue's forehead.

"Nothing," Claire lied. "He just needs to
check the animals before we leave."

Bobbie Sue hesitated. "Do you think Daddy'll
like the present I made him?"

The little girl had labored long and hard to
make him a hand tooled leather wallet. Despite the emotional
distance he kept between himself and Claire, Race spent hours with
Bobbie Sue. When not in school or with her friends, she could be
found in the barn either helping him with the care of the horses or
at Race's side in his saddle making shop. He'd even given her a set
of leather working tools.

"He'll love it," Claire assured Bobbie Sue.
He'd better. "You've done a beautiful job." One side of the wallet
had Race's initials, on the other the words RESCUE RACE RANCH were
inscribed in a circle around the profile of a horse's head. War had
helped her lay out the design. "Now go get dressed for church."

"'Kay. But first I'll go help Daddy."

Before Claire could stop her Bobbie Sue
dashed out of the room. Claire rose awkwardly to her feet. Though
only four months pregnant, she felt fat and ungainly. While Lizzie
blossomed in her second trimester, her hair shiny and skin glowing,
Claire wilted. Morning sickness still plagued her; only it wasn't
kind enough to limit itself to morning. The sight and smell of food
left her nauseous, which made her food service classes difficult.
More than once she'd had to run out of class to the ladies' room.
Even her doctor chided her about her weight gain or rather the lack
thereof.

"Are you ready?" Claire jumped as Race popped
into the room. "Bobbie Sue's waiting in the truck." He held out her
coat. Snowflakes dusted his dark hair melting into glistening drops
that shimmered in the light. The smells of leather, horse and hay
rose off the cool air he carried inside with him.

Claire swallowed heavily and slipped her arms
into the sleeves. When he reached around from behind to fasten the
buttons she struggled to resist the urge to lean back into his
broad chest. His warm breath brushing over her cheek as he leaned
forward to finish the job sent a jolt of heat through her. With a
sigh of defeat, she sagged into him. His hands slid lower to where
the coat gaped over the small rise of her belly. Cool, calloused
fingers slipped under her sweater and stroked lightly over her taut
flesh. She shivered. The baby chose that moment to move, a small
but determined kick.

Race's hand stilled then he flattened his
palm against her belly. At first his touch felt cool, but it
quickly heated until Claire felt branded. She remained motionless
while the baby performed a complicated gymnastic routine.

"He's really in there, isn't he?" Race's
words whispered across her cheek.

"He might be a she." Claire's voice came out
breathy. The feel of hard solid body pressed to her back ignited
longings that had nothing to do with babies, but everything to do
with the making of them.

Race's lips touched the sensitive skin of her
neck as he said, "Another little girl. I think I'd like that. A
miniature Claire."

"Grandmere would be disappointed."

Race stepped back so fast Claire nearly
toppled. She turned toward him, but he stomped away. She longed to
withdraw her impulsive words, to return to his embrace, to bury her
face in the curve of his shoulder, to answer without words the
unspoken questions that hovered between them.

With a muffled curse he whirled around and
said, "Grandmere can go to the devil! Amelia Reed might be able to
manipulate me into marriage, but even she can't pre-determine a
baby's sex. I hope the baby is a girl. I hope Lizzie's baby is a
girl, too. That would serve the old witch right. She uses her money
and power to make us all dance to her bizarre tune. What gives her
the right to toy with people's lives?"

Despite the warm winter coat Claire wore, a
chill settled over her. "She's old and lonely. Try not to judge her
too harshly. Boys or girls she's going to love her
great-grandchildren."

Race snorted. "How can you defend her? Look
what's she's done to you – married to a man you don't love." His
gaze dropped pointedly to her belly. "Pregnant with an unwanted
baby. Your life will never be the same again. Why? Because of
Amelia Reed's manipulation."

A man you don't love. An unwanted baby. How
could he be so blind? Hurt made Claire spread both hands over her
abdomen in an unconsciously protective gesture. Anger stiffened her
spine as she glared at Race. "Grandmere had nothing to do with this
baby. I don't recall her being in bed with us."

The color drained from Race's face. Eyes cold
and hard, he looked her up and down. "No. We were alone. Or I
thought we were. What did she offer you to seduce me? You did a
nice job of it, but weren't you cutting it a bit close? One time
might not of gotten the job done. Guess luck was on your side. Do
you get paid whether you produce a son or a daughter?"

Like a cornered wolf, when she got too close
Race lashed out at her. But this time anger drowned her
sympathy.

"Me, s-seduce you? Who married whom for
money?" Shock made her sputter.

Her fingers curled into fists. For the first
time in her life she felt the urge to hit someone. She took a step
forward. "Why y-you, you arrogant, overgrown jackass!"

"You had something to gain, too."

"We both had our reasons for getting married.
But I hardly seduced you. Why don't you trust me?" Why did she want
him to? Because she trusted him, the answer settled in her mind.
Because to love someone, first you had to trust them. And she
wanted him to love her.

"Mommy? Daddy? Are you mad at each
other?"

Bobbie Sue's wobbly questions stopped her in
her tracks. How much had the little girl heard?

"Mommy?"

She hurried to where Bobbie Sue hesitated in
the doorway, kneeled down and hugged the little girl. "Of course
not, Sweetheart."

Bobbie Sue looked unconvinced and worried.
Tears welled in her eyes. "Then why were you calling Daddy a bad
names? Peter at school's parents called each other names and they
gots a divorce. Peter's daddy moved away and Peter only gets to
sees him every other weekend. I don't want my daddy to move
away."

"Well, I, ah, just…." Claire looked up
helplessly at Race.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kitten."

If only he would promise more.

"Then why'd you call him a…."

No longer cold and hard, his eyes gazed down
at Bobbie Sue. "I was being like old Rocko." Race referred to the
ancient, ill-tempered burro that considered himself self-proclaimed
king of the paddock. "I said something stupid and made Mom mad.
Come on, let's go or we'll be late for church."

She watched them leave the room. That was as
close to an apology as she was likely to get. And he'd never
answered her question.

~~~~~

CHAPTER TWELVE

With a laugh, Lizzie leaned back in the
secluded corner booth at Max's Café where she and Claire were
having lunch and asked, "He actually had the nerve to accuse you of
seducing him? Did you?"

Claire found some comfort in the friendship
that had formed between her and Lizzie. Though she didn't reveal
everything, during one weak moment she'd confined that her marriage
with Race was one of convenience rather than true love. Lizzie's
confessions that hers and Colin's marriage was based on convenience
also, cemented the bond between the two women.

"Of course not," Claire shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I wouldn't have the first clue how to go
about seducing a man. He apologized later – sort of." After two
weeks of being avoided by Race she felt if she didn't talk to
someone she'd burst. Of all the people she knew she thought that
Lizzie might understand her situation. Now she wondered if baring
her soul had been such a good idea.

Lizzie knew about Grandmere's Baby Race, but
she along with everyone else wasn't aware that Claire and Race had
married for any reason other than love. And Claire preferred to
keep it that way.

"Do you want to?" Lizzie asked.

"Want to what?"

Lizzie leaned closer and grinned. "Seduce
him?"

The question generated a sudden heat in
Claire. Ever since Christmas Eve the thought had been rolling
around in her mind. Memory of her one night in Race's bed
tantalized her. Could she, a bloated, five-month-pregnant woman
lure a man to her bed?

No. It had to be the mommy hormones raging
through her body that made her even consider trying to seduce Race.
"It was just a stupid argument at Christmas. Race was adamant about
not giving in to Grandmere, and my getting pregnant so fast
triggered some harsh, unmeant words. I don't know why I even
mentioned it."

"Because you do want to seduce Race, don't
you? I knew it! You've got the hots for the man," Lizzie said. "I
told Colin there was more between the two of you than Grandmere's
silly contest."

Claire groaned. "Does the whole town know
about the Baby Race?"

"No, but Colin and Race are pretty close.
They may not tell each other everything, but I can read between the
lines. They've got some other deal cooking between them. Colin
isn't letting on what, but eventually I'll find out."

"I do not want to seduce Race," Claire
insisted. "And even if I did, it would never happen."

"Why ever not?"

Claire ran her hands down to her
ever-expanding waistline. "Look at me. I'm a fat blimp."

Lizzie laughed and patted her rounded middle.
"So? I'm even bigger than you and it hasn't slowed Colin and me
down."

"You and Colin – but I thought you hated – I
mean with the sparks flying between you and Colin I don't know how
you manage to keep from incinerating each other." Heat flooded
Claire's cheeks as she realized what she was saying. "Forgive me,
your relationship with Colin is none of my business."

"Relax. You haven't said anything I haven't
thought at least a dozen times a day. Or anything the rest of the
town isn't thinking."

"It doesn't bother you being the subject of
town gossip?" The thought of being the center of attention made
Claire cringe.

Lizzie shrugged. "I was born here, so I guess
I'm used to it. There's no malice in it. People care. I've loved
Colin since we were both babies. We were a hot item in high school.
We even talked about getting married after college."

"What happened?"

A shadow of pain crossed Lizzie's face. "My
father worked as an accountant for the Reeds. During my senior year
in high school he embezzled a large amount of money from the
company then abandoned my mother and me. Always a dependent type of
person, after that she took to drinking. Of course, I wasn't aware
of this all right away."