Expecting the CEO's Baby

“Help me understand,” he requested quietly.

Not sure he could understand, she still attempted to explain. “Discussing artificial insemination with someone other than my husband and doctor isn’t something I’ve done before. Now a whole gaggle of people are talking about it. I’m a minister’s daughter, for heaven’s sake. I still don’t swear in front of my father or anyone who would carry stories to him. I have to talk to him about all of this, and I don’t know how I’m going to do it. On top of that, I’ve driven off with a strange man against my lawyer’s advice. There isn’t anyone here within shouting distance and…” She trailed off, not knowing how to explain the rest. She certainly wasn’t going to tell him she felt things when she looked at him, especially when he got too close.

After studying her for a full two heartbeats, Blake leaned back as if to give her a little space.

“Why would it be so hard to explain all this to your father even if he is a minister?”

“Dad’s very…conservative. He didn’t agree with my decision to become artificially inseminated. He insists that if I was supposed to be pregnant with B.J.’s child, it would have happened before he died.”

“From the background info I read on you, I saw that your mother died when your brother was a year old. You were nine then?”

It bothered her to think he’d accessed information about her so easily. But now she had to make it more than mere words to him. “Yes, I was nine. So I’ve always been more like a mother to Gary than a sister.”

“Did you take care of your father, too?”

“No. We always had a full-time housekeeper-secretary who cooked and baby-sat.”

“I imagine being a minister’s daughter is rough.”

She shrugged. “Not having a mother was rough. Fortunately I wasn’t the wild type to begin with.”

When she mentioned not having a mother, she thought she saw a shadow cross Blake’s face.

After he took a few swallows of soda, he asked, “How about your brother? Is he the wild type?”

“Not really. Gary has just always hated Fawn Grove. We left Pasadena and moved here when he was two. He has his eye on bigger things than a small community can give him. Rafe told me you’ve been back in Fawn Grove for three years. Do you intend to stay?”

“I intend to make it my home base. It was my home when I was a kid, but I’m in Sacramento more than I’m in Fawn Grove. I travel to L.A. and Seattle a lot, too. There’s a charter service I use that makes traveling efficient.”

“We lead very different lives,” Jenna said softly as she thought about his boat and mansion, flying off to another city at the drop of a hat.

“What are you thinking, Jenna?” he asked, his gaze steady on hers.

Again she was chagrined that he could read her so well. She remembered what Rafe had said about not telling this man too much, and yet she had to follow her instincts. “I’m thinking that you can give this child a lot of advantages I can’t, and how a court would look at that.”

“In other words, you think I have the upper hand.”

“No. You may have money, and maybe you can hire the best nannies there are in this world, but I’m this child’s mother. Not by accident, but because I wanted this baby. I think that will pretty much balance the scales unless you resort to something underhanded.”

“You’re not afraid to pitch straight, are you?” he asked, a bit wryly.

“I might be merely a second-grade teacher, and I might live a simpler life than you do, but I’ll fight for this child with every breath inside of me.”

Neither of them spoke for a full minute. Finally he stood and she did the same so he wouldn’t tower over her any more than he already did.

“Round one is over,” he concluded. “I think we both established that neither of us is going to sign away our parental rights.”

“What do we do about round two?”

After studying her for a few moments, he eased one hand into his pocket. “I think we should take an intermission before we jump into the ring again. How about that boat ride?”

“You’re serious?”

“I didn’t bring you to the Delta to sit on the deck and rock in the ripples. I think you’re more fearless than that.”

He had her pegged wrong this time. She wasn’t fearless at all. She was afraid he’d somehow manage to take this baby away from her. She was afraid she’d forget B.J.’s face. She was afraid that Blake Winston could be too persuasive when he set his mind to be. Yet she wouldn’t let him see the fear because that would definitely be giving him the upper hand.

“All right,” she agreed. “Take me for a boat ride. But I’ll warn you right now, I’m pregnant and I just ate supper.”

At that, he chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll consider myself warned. Stay right there and I’ll get your life jacket.”

Blake made sure Jenna had safely returned from the bathroom and was comfortable on the deck before he took the helm. She held on to the arms of the captain’s chair as the boat moved away from the slip and onto the river. After a few minutes, she began to relax…if that was at all possible under the circumstances.

Jenna watched as they passed all the Sacramento marinas. Then the boat picked up speed, and she felt as if she were on a cruise. The blue sky, the hum of the engine, the sun and the warm breeze made her realize she’d never had an experience quite like this. She could see why Blake was drawn to the water. It was peaceful out here in a way that nothing else could be peaceful.

It seemed only a short while later when Blake dropped anchor in a cove and descended the stairs to the deck. “I thought you might like to take it all in from a different vantage point. I know you don’t feel free to walk around while we’re moving.”

He was right about that. She’d almost fallen asleep in the comfortable chair and had been content there. Standing, she stretched, all the while aware of Blake as he stood at the rail looking far down the river. His shoulders were so broad, his skin tanned, his body fit. A tingle of excitement rushed through her as she went to stand at the rail beside him, making sure their elbows didn’t touch, reminding herself Blake only wanted something from her—his child.

Taking his phone from his belt, he handed it to her. “Why don’t you call Pierson. It’s almost five and I’m sure he’s probably ready to put out an APB on you.”

As she glanced at her watch, she realized it was indeed five o’clock. She couldn’t believe they’d been on the water for an hour. He was probably right about Rafe being worried. As she punched in the number, she asked, “This will work here?”

“There’s a tower not far away on the shoreline. While I’m out, I often duck in here to make a few calls.”

Walking over to the bench seat, she gazed out at the horizon. Rafe’s receptionist answered on the second ring and then patched her through.

“Rafe, it’s Jenna.”

“I was beginning to get worried. How was your drive?”

“Um…it’s not over yet. I’m out on Blake’s boat.”

There was silence. “Jenna, do you know what you’re doing?”

“Not exactly.” She glanced at Blake and saw he was watching her.

“Do you know how unorthodox this is? You shouldn’t be fraternizing with him if we’re thinking about going to court.”

If they did go to court, who was going to pay those bills? She didn’t want to say that and have Blake overhear. “We’ll talk about it when I see you.”

“I’ll be in court all day tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll talk to you on Thursday.”

She heard his heavy sigh. “You can be as stubborn as Shannon.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”