The Pregnancy Surprise

“It’s easy to lease a car if you really need one.” But he hadn’t taken a road trip since college, and even back then he hadn’t seen the point in it.

“I miss my car,” she said wistfully. “It had over two hundred thousand miles, and I logged every one of them.”

“Maybe time to get a new one then. Old cars aren’t as safe as the new ones, and not as economical or environmentally friendly, either.”

“Yeah, well, if I could buy a new one I would. I’ll have to settle for a used one, once I save enough money.”

At least she understood the concept of saving money. A lot of people didn’t—they wanted to buy everything on credit.

He wondered how people like Sara made it in the world. She was obviously not stupid. She was pretty—more than pretty, actually—and personable. He knew not everyone had been born with the advantages he had, and maybe her parents hadn’t sent her to college, but there were lots of careers that didn’t require a degree.

She could have gone into sales, or gotten an entry-level job at a company and worked her way up. But instead she’d chosen to drift aimlessly—at least, that was the way it appeared to him. He doubted she had any savings or property. “Have you made any plans for retirement?” he asked suddenly.

She stared at him as if he’d just sprouted an extra nose. “Excuse me? I’m twenty-nine. I haven’t planned for next month.”

“Now is the perfect time to start thinking about it. If you saved just a hundred dollars a month—”

“What is this? You’re not going to try to sell me swampland in Florida, are you?”

Obviously he’d made a conversational gaffe. “I just worry about you.”

“Oh.” She backed down a bit. “Well, that’s sweet, but I don’t worry about me, so why should you?”

“Exactly.”

His answer seemed to flummox her. “You hardly know me.”

“We’ve lived under the same roof for almost three weeks now. I know you better than you think.”

She smiled and cocked her head flirtatiously. “And here I thought you didn’t know I was alive. You hardly ever say anything to me.”

That was because she often made him tongue-tied. It certainly wasn’t because he didn’t notice her. With her swirly, bright-colored skirts and tie-dyed shirts and big, dangly earrings, how could anyone miss her? Not to mention that mountain of curly brown hair and those big, soft hazel eyes.

She was watching him carefully with those incredible eyes, and his mind went blank. Talking about finances, he was in safe territory. Anything else, and it was hit or miss.

“I didn’t mean to shut you down,” she said. “If you really want to tell me about how I should save for retirement, I’ll listen.”

He shook his head. “Never mind. I overstepped. I apologize.”

Neither of them said a word the rest of the way to Corpus Christi.

Chapter Two

Sara knew she’d blown it. She’d finally engaged Reece in a conversation—a real conversation, not just Would you like more coffee? or Thanks for breakfast.

But she’d gotten her back up because he’d asked her about her future, and she had a reflexive defense mechanism built in about that. Every time she visited her parents, they hammered her about how she chose to live her life.

Reece obviously disapproved of her, too. When he’d said he worried about her she’d softened, but it was too late—her reaction had sent him right back into strong-and-silent mode.

She wondered what to do next. She’d never been timid where men were concerned, and if she saw one she liked, she let him know, and she persisted until she found out whether there was any interest in her.

The jury was still out with Reece. She hadn’t flirted openly with him, since Miss Greer would not have approved of her hitting on guests. Yet she felt a certain chemistry at work whenever they were in the same room.

Once they reached the hospital, Sara sat in Miss Greer’s treatment room while Reece took care of the paperwork. He stuck his head in the door once to see how their patient was doing, but then he disappeared again.

Maybe he didn’t like being around sick people. But when he returned a short time later with a doctor in tow, insisting that he take a look at Miss Greer now, she realized he was just doing his man thing—solving problems, making things happen. She had tried to snag a doctor in the hallway—twice—but they’d blown her off. She was doubly glad she’d insisted on Reece coming to the hospital, or Miss Greer might have waited in the treatment room being systematically ignored till the cows came home.

“We need to get some X-rays,” the young doctor declared. “You two can wait out front.”

Reece wasn’t good at waiting, she soon discovered. He spent a lot of time outside the hospital’s glass doors, pacing and talking on his cell phone. He looked at his watch a lot.

Sara didn’t even wear a watch. If she needed to know the time, she could look at her cell phone—if it was charged.

At one point Reece disappeared, but when he came back he brought her an apple and a cup of coffee from the cafeteria. A peace offering, perhaps? Or maybe he just didn’t want her passing out from hunger.

Finally a nurse called them back. Miss Greer had been returned to her treatment room, looking none too happy. A doctor was waiting for them—a different one.

“Your grandmother’s hip is broken,” he said matter-of-factly. “The joint was in bad shape to begin with. If she wants to walk again, we’ll have to replace the hip.”

“She’s not our—” Sara started to say, but Reece nudged her with his elbow. She cleared her throat. “Then of course she should have the surgery. Right, Grandma?”

“I told the doctor just to give me some crutches and let me go home,” Miss Greer grumbled, “but he doesn’t listen.”

“How long will she be in the hospital?” Reece asked.

“Given her age, at least a few days. But once she’s home, she’ll need a lot of help. We’ll assign a home-health aide and a physical therapist, but she still can’t stay alone—not for at least a month.”

“She has me,” Sara said. “I live with her.”

“I can help, too,” Reece said.

“Good. Then you want to proceed with the surgery?”

“Excuse me, Doctor,” Miss Greer said, “it’s my hip that’s broken, not my brain. Stop talking like I can’t hear you.”

Sara bit her lip. It was refreshing to hear her landlady giving someone besides her an earful, for a change. “Grandma, you want the surgery, right?”

“No, but if there’s no other way to get better, I guess I’ll have to do it.” She looked at her own watch. “Oh, Holy Ghost, the guests will be arriving any minute and no one is there to greet them.”

“They’ll let themselves in,” Sara said reassuringly.

An orderly came to transfer Miss Greer to a room, leaving Sara and Reece standing alone in the hallway. She looked at him, eyes full of worry. “Why don’t you go back to the Sunsetter? I want to stay for a while longer and make sure she’s taken care of.”

“How will you get home?”

She shrugged. “Oh, I’ll find a way, I always do.”

Reece could just imagine. Would she hitchhike? Take a bus? “What if I come back in a while to get you?”