Nine-Month Surprise

The housekeeper sniffed the air.

Okay, so he’d shaved and applied lotion. After a hard day’s work, he didn’t want to appear slovenly.

“I knew it wouldn’t take long for the females in this town to discover you,” Eileen continued. “All the same, she must be pretty special for you to invite her home this fast.” He hadn’t even thought about dating any of his acquaintances in Austin.

However, the last thing Will needed was for word to spread about his private connection with Leah. Not that Eileen gossiped, but he preferred to keep certain matters private. “It’s a professional meeting,” he said without elaborating. “She’s doing me a favor by dropping by.”

“I see.” Eileen’s nose wrinkled ever so slightly. He shouldn’t have put on so much aftershave, Will thought. It was a dead giveaway. “We’ll leave it at that, then. I’ll be on my way.”

“Sleep well,” he said.

“Oh, I plan to.”

After she let herself out the back door, Will cast an assessing glance over the room. Mrs. McNulty had done a terrific job of setting up the household in only a few days, considering what little she’d had to work with.

The one-story house, which the physician-search committee had found for him to rent, lacked personality, and the modern furniture Allison had left for her family seemed more functional than aesthetic. One of these days, Will was going to buy his own place and hire a decorator with good taste. No hurry, though.

He went in to see the girls, who’d chosen to share a bedroom. They and their dolls crowded around when he sat on a bed, but instead of their usual story time, tonight they wanted to tell the tale of their first day of class.

“Go ahead,” Will told them. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

The girls spilled out their anecdotes. Miss Morris had told a funny story, Diane said, and recounted it. Miss Morris had visited Austin last summer. Could he believe that? added India. Miss Morris served healthy snacks and taught them about nutrition, Diane said. They both wanted to grow their hair longer so it could swing like Miss Morris’s.

Will stifled a groan. This was going to be a tough year, filled with stories of the one person in town he didn’t want to hear about. He only hoped the girls wouldn’t detect Miss Morris’s voice in the living room later or they’d come pelting out, and no doubt, tell the entire class about it tomorrow.

When they’d finished and he’d kissed them both, he said, “I have a colleague arriving in a while to discuss some business. I’m going to close the bedroom door and the hall door so we won’t disturb you, okay?”

The little girls nodded uncertainly.

“No fair interrupting,” he said. “You both need your sleep. If you stay up late, I might have to keep you home from school tomorrow.”

Horror showed on India’s face. Diane wrung her hands dramatically. “Oh, no, Daddy!”

He hadn’t expected his threat to cause such alarm. “Go to sleep. You’ll be fine in the morning.”

They dove under the covers. After stepping out, Will stood in the hallway listening and was amazed to hear none of the usual chortling and whispering. He wondered how many kids were afraid of being kept home. Only ones who loved their teachers, or who loved learning, as he had.

In the living room, he took out a stack of medical journals. The field of obstetrics changed rapidly.

When the bell rang at eight, Will gave a start. He hadn’t read a single word of the article in front of him. He’d been too busy rehearsing what to say to Leah.

The effort was a waste of time. As he hurried to answer, he discovered he’d forgotten every word he’d planned.

When he opened the door, Will simply stood for a moment, enjoying the sight of long, shiny black hair and velvet-smooth skin. He got a physical buzz even stronger than he’d experienced at the bar, because now he knew how delicious Leah’s lips would feel beneath his and how her body could tantalize him.

He took a tight grip on his musings, and got the impression she was doing the same. “Miss Morris,” he said. “How punctual.”

“We both want to get this over with, I presume,” she replied coolly.

Will ushered her into the living room. The hard contours of the room softened around her. “Care for a drink?”

“No, thanks.” Leah wore a light-blue dress, belted at the waist and covered with cornflowers that seemed to emit a delicate fragrance. “I brought you something. Are the girls around?” She reached for her handbag.

“They’re in bed. I told them I was expecting a colleague.” He nearly touched her waist to guide her toward a chair but stopped in time.

“Good. I don’t want them involved in…whatever we have to discuss. But I’m sure they’ll enjoy these.”

From her purse, she produced two photographs. One showed India and Nick proudly carrying trays of snacks to their classmates. In the other was Diane pushing the red-haired girl in a swing.

She’d captured both children in moments of uninhibited animation. From his own frustrating attempts with a camera, Will knew how much sensitivity that required.

“I take shots of all the children on their first day,” Leah said. “Usually, I give them out at parent conferences, but I printed yours early.”

“I’ll treasure these.” No exaggeration required. “I should have brought a camera with me this morning.”

After Eileen had started to work for him, she’d rescued the girls’ photos and drawings from assorted boxes and drawers and assembled them into a family scrapbook. Will planned to add to it regularly.

“It’s more important to experience life than to record it.” Leah remained standing, shaking her head when Will gestured toward the couch. “Some parents are so busy viewing everything through a lens that they become emotionally isolated.”

Will remembered the father with the video camera, but didn’t bother to mention him. Instead, hoping to break the ice, he said, “My housekeeper left a coffee cake in the fridge. Would you care for some?”

“No, thanks.”

“At least, sit down,” he blurted.

“We’re not going to pretend this is a social call, are we?” Leah regarded him skeptically. “We both know why I’m here.”

“So we can put this behind us.”

She folded her arms. “Yes, that would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

The sarcasm raised Will’s guard. “Nice? I should think it’s essential.”

“Convenient, in any case,” Leah muttered.

Irritably, he realized she didn’t intend to simply shake hands on an agreement to keep silent. Then he remembered that he hadn’t yet apologized. “You have a right to be angry. I acted like a jerk.”

“Yes, you did.” Her taut stance eased by a fraction. For heaven’s sake, how had he transformed the welcoming, delightful lady from the Wayward Drummer into this tightly wound challenger?

“I’m sorry. I tend to be self-protective,” Will conceded. “A man in my position…”

“Which, as I recall, was with your pants around your ankles,” Leah quipped tartly.

Amusing as it was, the remark stung. “That’s true. However, knowing practically nothing about you, I had reason to be cautious. Under the circumstances, I believed you might turn out to be unstable.”

A wing of dark hair fell across her temple, partially obscuring her face. “Don’t insult me. You summed up your conduct just fine a moment ago.” She was evidently referring to the comment about acting like a jerk.

“We both screwed up.” Will considered. “May I be blunt?”