Kitabı oku: «The Bride Said, 'Surprise!'», sayfa 2
And that being the case, Meg decided, she couldn’t risk her son being hurt by any mistakes she made. Jeremy had struggled enough, growing up without a father in his life, and didn’t need his life turned upside down now. Maybe she hadn’t been able to give Jeremy a father, but she’d given him everything else—a home, family, security and lots of love. She wasn’t going to risk that being taken away from him.
“Can I go out and watch the movers unload the van?” Jeremy asked as he finished his favorite breakfast of cereal, milk and fruit.
Feeling steadier now that she’d reassured herself her decisions had been the right ones, Meg shot an affectionate look at her son. With his auburn hair, a shade darker than Meg’s, fair freckled skin and chocolate-brown eyes, he was definitely a Lockhart. Already tall for his age, he’d added another inch to his sturdy little body over the summer. “Just make sure you stay in our yard,” Meg cautioned as she helped him tie his sneakers. She shot a look at Luke next door and felt her stomach tighten. “I don’t want you getting in the way of the movers.”
“Okay,” Jeremy said agreeably, going back to the table to quaff the last of his juice. “Do they have any kids?”
Happy about the additional children in the neighborhood, Meg told him about Luke’s three girls.
Jeremy grinned as he ran to get one of his toy trucks. “Now I’ll have someone my age to play with all the time.” Dashing back, he stopped just short of Meg and asked, “Can Alexandra come over and watch the movers unload the van, too?”
Alexandra Remington was Meg’s sister’s new step-daughter, also five. Upon meeting, Jeremy and Alex had quickly become friends. “Sure,” Meg smiled. “If Clara says it’s okay.”
“How come she has to ask Clara instead of Jake and Aunt Jenna?”
“Because Jake and Aunt Jenna just got married yesterday afternoon, honey, and they went to spend their wedding night at a country inn.” Alex had stayed home with her housekeeper-nanny, Clara.
Jeremy wrinkled his nose, perplexed. “How come they wanted to do that?”
“Because they just got married and they wanted to be alone for a while,” Meg said.
Jeremy frowned. “Are they gonna take a honeymoon, like Aunt Dani and Uncle Beau did when they got married?”
“Yes, but not until later this fall, when things are more settled.”
“How come you aren’t getting married, too?” Jeremy demanded, running his truck back and forth over the tabletop.
Out of the mouths of babes, Meg thought. “Because I’m not in love with someone yet,” Meg explained. And the way things are going, she thought dispiritedly, might never be, especially with Luke underfoot, distracting her and reminding her what was and wouldn’t be again.
“But you had me,” Jeremy continued.
“Yes, I did,” Meg smiled, knowing that was the one thing—the only thing—she would never regret. “And I love you very much.” Meg knelt so they were face-to-face, wrapped her arms around Jeremy and hugged him tight. Loving the peace and happiness he brought to her life, she breathed in the baby shampoo scent of his hair and then drew back. Grinning at the excitement dancing in his eyes, she asked, “Now, do you want to call Alex?”
“And Trevor and Teddy and Tyler, too?” Jeremy insisted.
Meg smiled as she thought of the triplet sons of Annie and Travis McCabe. “Okay. Ask them to stay to lunch.” That would keep her and Luke from being alone. It would keep her from realizing all over again just how very attracted she was to him.
UNFORTUNATELY, her sisters, Kelsey and Dani, who dropped by midmorning, were every bit as curious about Meg’s new neighbors as her son, Jeremy, had been.
“I can’t believe Luke Carrington actually bought that house and is moving into it, as is,” Dani murmured, keeping a watchful eye on the five kids now congregated in the side yard, watching the unloading, while Meg, taking solace in the abundance of company, busied herself by rushing around the kitchen, intent on making enough kid-pleasing macaroni and cheese to feed an army.
“It’s a very big house, structurally sound and was sold at a pleasing price. With three girls, Luke Carrington needs a lot of space,” Meg murmured, casting a glance out the window at the large turn-of-the-century Cape Cod next door.
“The lavender exterior paint and the deep-purple trim aren’t exactly guy colors. Not to mention the clashing dark-green shutters and snowy-white door,” Kelsey began critically, watching as Dani’s husband, Beau, and Kelsey’s business partner, Brady Anderson, went over to introduce themselves and lend a hand to Luke and the moving crew.
“That house has the most garish interior paint I have ever seen. I know, because I saw it before I bought my place,” Dani said as she sliced ham for sandwiches.
“So Luke Carrington has his work cut out for him. I’m sure he can manage. To get inspired, all he has to do is look at my place,” Meg said as Kelsey began to help with the salad making. Maybe the redecorating would take up all his spare time and energy.
“Or you,” Dani teased.
Meg rolled her eyes at Dani. Luke had desired her once, but that didn’t mean it would ever happen again. “Just because you and Jenna are happily married and head-over-heels-in-love with your husbands does not mean I have romance on my mind.”
“Maybe you should,” Dani said, covering the filled platter with plastic wrap and sliding it back into the refrigerator. “After all, Luke’s a doctor. You’re a nurse. You both work at Laramie Community Hospital. You both are single and both have kids.”
“You know what I find interesting?” Kelsey interrupted as she washed the lettuce. “That the new doctor in town would have the same name as that buddy of yours from your grad school days in Chicago. Remember how much you used to talk about that guy on the phone to us? It was always Luke this and Luke that.”
Leave it to baby sister Kelsey, the most fickle of all the Lockhart women, to remember a detail like that, Meg thought. And then bring it up at the worst possible time. When she was still feeling vulnerable from Luke’s visit.
Dani’s amber eyes brightened. “That is a coincidence.”
Meg knew she might as well be honest—her sisters would find out soon enough that Luke and she had known each other before. If not from John and Lilah McCabe, who were responsible for bringing Luke to Laramie, then from Luke himself. “It’s the same guy.”
“How did he end up in Laramie?” Kelsey asked as she put the washed lettuce into the salad spinner and gave it a whirl.
Wary of divulging her emotions, Meg gave more than usual concentration to the cheese sauce she was making. “Lilah told me he met John at a family medicine conference on rural medicine in New Mexico last spring,” she replied in the most casual voice she could manage. “John knew he was going to retire this summer, and he encouraged Luke, who was looking for a way to come back to the state where he grew up, to apply for the position at the hospital here.”
Looking every bit the native Texas cowgirl she was, in jeans, chambray shirt and boots, Kelsey leaned against the kitchen counter and munched on a carrot. “You never did tell us why you had that falling out with Luke after Mom and Dad died.”
Meg did her best to curtail a blush as she drained the cooked macaroni through the colander in the sink. “It wasn’t a falling out.”
“Seemed like one to me,” Dani noted as she began slicing red cabbage into thin strips. “You wouldn’t take his calls or read his letters.”
Meg put the drained macaroni into the buttered casserole and poured the cheese sauce over that. “I was just upset that summer, that’s all.”
“Meaning it was all your fault and not Luke’s?” Dani asked, suddenly acting more counselor to the hopelessly romantic and perennially unattached than the film critic she was. “Or simply that you still don’t want to talk about it?”
Leave it to Dani, a person who knew a good story when she found one, to zero in on the problem. Her shoulders stiff with building tension, Meg sprinkled the dish with bread crumbs and slid the casserole into the oven to bake. “I am not going to discuss this with you two.”
Dani and Kelsey exchanged mischievous looks. “The question is, did you discuss it with Luke?” Kelsey pressed.
“Discuss what with Luke?” Jenna asked curiously, coming in the door and glowing like the very recent bride she was.
Kelsey quickly brought their other sister up to speed on what was happening. “Meg has just informed us that the new doctor at the hospital—who just happens to have also bought the house next door—is the same Luke she knew in Chicago years ago.”
Looking lovely in a fashionable dress of her own design, Jenna quirked a red-gold brow. “Interesting.”
“Isn’t it?” Dani agreed as she put the finishing touches on the salad.
Knowing she had to nip this meddling in the bud before it got any worse, Meg made eye contact with each and every one of her three sisters. “Okay, ladies. Lay off.”
Kelsey grinned and took a long swig of the bottled water she’d brought in with her. “Ohh. Me thinks that man has gotten under her skin again.”
Meg did her best to contain a telltale flush. “Luke has done nothing of the sort,” she said firmly, looking around in vain for something else to do to prepare for the welcome-to-the-neighborhood luncheon she was having for her new neighbors. “If anyone has gotten under my skin, it is you all.”
“You sure?” Kelsey continued to tease playfully.
“What went on between us was a long time ago,” Meg said firmly, as she began counting out napkins.
“And yet, looking at the expression on your face just now,” Jenna interrupted, setting out the old-fashioned Texas sheet cake she’d brought from Isabelle’s bakery, “I’d swear it feels like it happened to you today.”
Meg counted out silverware. “Luke Carrington and I are going to be working together. We’ve got kids the same age. We are living next door to each other.”
“So?” All three of her sisters asked in unison, studying her.
“So I can’t change the reasons for the tension between us years ago,” Meg said, her exasperation growing by leaps and bounds with every new question.
“Meaning what?” Kelsey’s eyes narrowed. “That you forgive him for whatever he did?”
Meg drew a deep, bolstering breath. Forgiveness had nothing to do with it. It was self-preservation, maintaining the serenity of their lives, that was key. “Meaning I am going to let bygones be just that and treat Luke just like any other neighbor of mine. No better, no worse.” And certainly not any more intimately, Meg promised herself determinedly. Because this time she and Luke had not just themselves to think of, but also all four of their children.
SOON AFTER, John and Lilah McCabe arrived with Luke Carrington’s three little girls in tow. Like stairsteps, they were the image of their mother, Gwyneth, with blond hair, golden-brown eyes and pretty, delicate features. All three had the same haircut—silky, chin-length bobs with bangs—and were dressed in pastel shorts and matching sleeveless tops, tennis shoes and socks. As John and Lilah brought them over to Meg’s to introduce them to the children gathered on the lawn, watching the unloading of the moving van, Meg went out to join them.
“And this is Jeremy’s mom, Meg Lockhart,” Lilah said, concluding the introductions.
“Hello,” Susie, the oldest, said shyly.
“Can Jeremy and the other kids play with us sometimes at our house?” Becca asked.
“Absolutely,” Meg smiled, finding it impossible not to warm to the three adorable little girls. “And you can come over here, too, as often as you’d like.”
Amy, the youngest, smiled at Meg and the other kids, then tugged on Lilah’s hand. “Where’s my daddy?”
At the mention of the word, Jeremy frowned.
“Right there.” Lilah pointed and lifted her hand in a wave, motioning Luke over.
Jeremy gave Meg a petulant look, abruptly taking up the dispute they’d been having off and on all summer. He propped his hands on his sturdy little hips and scowled at Meg. “How come everybody else gets to know who their dad is, even if he isn’t hardly ever there no more, like with Teddy, Tyler and Trevor, and I don’t?”
Tyler, Teddy and Trevor looked at Meg, waited expectantly for her reply. As did everyone else, including Lilah McCabe, all three of Meg’s sisters and all three of Luke Carrington’s little girls. “Honey,” Meg felt herself beginning to blush self-consciously despite her desire to stay cool, calm and collected under fire, “I think we should discuss this later.”
“Why?” Jeremy shot back belligerently, his patience with Meg clearly at an end. “You always say the same thing.” He turned to Luke and the other men who had just joined the group. “Do you know who my daddy is?” Jeremy asked Luke. Ignoring the collective gasp of all the adults present, Jeremy pressed him contentiously, “Because I don’t think my mommy knows.”
Meg blushed all the more.
“Of course she does,” Luke said firmly. Then looked at Meg with all the intimacy of a once-dear friend, letting her know with a single glance that he agreed with everyone else and thought she wasn’t being fair to anyone, by keeping Jeremy’s paternity a secret.
Unfortunately, Meg knew it wasn’t that simple. Jeremy didn’t just want to find out who his father was. He wanted a daddy in his life and Meg’s. He wanted the kind of two-parent family other kids had. And while there was always a slim chance that might happen in a sort of marriage-of-convenience way, were Meg to try to get Jeremy’s father to take responsibility for their son at this point. There was also the equally strong possibility that Jeremy’s father would—once the first flush of excitement wore off—be interested in a much less taxing arrangement than what Jeremy had in mind.
Meg had seen it happen plenty of times in her years as a nurse. Fathers who were thrilled and attentive one year, too busy or just plain not interested the next and practically estranged the following year. When the romance of it all wore off, it was always the kids who suffered, who felt somehow they were to blame for the father walking away from the child they’d never planned on and the woman they had never really loved in the first place.
Meg would rather have her son do without than have his hopes raised and then crushed, his heart broken, as hers had been. She didn’t want him to think he had magically found the love he had been looking for all his life, only to see it slip away the next. As it was, Jeremy had her to rely on. She would never make him feel he was a burden or be too busy for him, never lose interest as time went on and walk away from him.
“Let’s not discuss this now, please,” Meg said.
The three sisters exchanged glances. Lilah and John McCabe looked worried, too. The kids all appeared confused. “I’m going to put the finishing touches on lunch,” Meg said, hardening her heart and letting everyone know the subject of Jeremy’s paternity was closed, just as it had always been.
THANKS TO LILAH AND JOHN MCCABE and their insistence in drafting everyone who stopped in to help Luke unpack and get his house in order, by bedtime the work was finished. There were towels in the linen closet, sheets on the beds and plenty of food and beverages stocking his pantry and fridge. The only thing that hadn’t gone quite according to plan were the sleeping arrangements. Although there were bedrooms for all, his three little girls wanted to share one room. Knowing how hard the move had been for them, Luke had put their bureaus, clothes and bookshelves in one bedroom, all their toys in another and their beds in the third so that they could sleep together in the bedroom across the hall from his. It made for a rather strange arrangement of furniture and belongings upstairs, but he figured that as time passed and they grew more comfortable in their new house, they would go back to each having her own room again. Meantime, he had three very tired little girls on his hands, Luke noted, as he tucked them into their beds. Weary as they might be, however, they still had a lot on their minds.
“You have to help Jeremy, Daddy,” Susie said.
Becca nodded. “We told him you were real good at finding things.”
Amy added, “Jeremy’s real sad because he can’t find his daddy.”
His girls looked increasingly worried as Susie explained, “He can’t find him because he doesn’t know where he is.”
Or even who he is, Luke thought, once again wishing that he were Jeremy’s father so he could quickly put everything to right for Meg and the boy.
“I am sure Jeremy and his mommy are talking about this very thing right now,” Luke said gently, doing his best to reassure his daughters the way he wished he could comfort Meg’s son. “And I’m also sure they will work everything out.” If only because Jeremy was not about to let the subject rest until they did so. “Now you girls go to sleep,” Luke said, tucking them in one by one.
“Okay, Daddy.” There were kisses and hugs all around. Then, minutes later, deep, even breathing.
With a sigh Luke headed back downstairs. He wished he could fix things for Jeremy and Meg, but the truth was, since he wasn’t Jeremy’s father after all, it wasn’t any of his business. Luke looked out the window, blinked at what he saw, then paused and blinked one more time.
Then again, maybe it was his business, Luke decided as he walked outside and confronted the person marching down the sidewalk, dragging his loaded red wagon behind him. A backpack that looked crammed to the gills, a stuffed animal, a sailboat and a toy dump truck were inside it. “Hello, Jeremy.”
Jeremy looked at Luke and, chin set stubbornly, kept right on going, pulling his little red wagon behind him.
Unable to help but admire his gumption, even if his mother clearly had no idea what he was up to, Luke fell into step beside Jeremy. “Just where do you think you’re going?”
Chapter Two
Jeremy turned to face Luke contentiously, suddenly looking far older than his years. “I’m running away from home.”
Things were obviously more serious than Meg knew here, Luke thought. He glanced at Meg’s cottage. The lights were still on upstairs, but the downstairs was dark, which probably meant Meg was either in bed or getting ready for bed. Figuring the only way to keep Jeremy from running away again was to hear him out and convince him this was absolutely not the way to solve his problems with his mom, Luke suggested calmly, “How about we have a man-to-man talk before you go, then? I make a pretty mean chocolate milkshake. What do you think? Got time to stop in and have one with me?”
Clearly not wanting to be kept from his quest, Jeremy hesitated. “Will Susie, Becca and Amy be there?” he asked.
Luke shook his head matter-of-factly. “No, they’re asleep. It’ll be just the two of us. A guys only sort of thing.”
Again Jeremy had to think about it. Eventually his thirst for a chocolate milkshake won out over his need to hurry. “Okay,” he said finally. He looked at Luke seriously.
“But then I really gotta go.”
“I understand completely.” Hand on his shoulder, Luke guided the five-year-old up the sidewalk. “I think you can leave your wagon parked beside the porch. It’ll be okay.” And would also serve as a red flag to Meg if she noticed Jeremy was missing before Luke had a chance to call her.
He and Jeremy stepped inside and made their way quietly to the kitchen. Luke seated Jeremy at the kitchen counter and got out his blender. “So, how’d you get this idea?”
Jeremy propped his elbows on the counter and his chin on his hands. Oblivious to the fact his dark-auburn hair was standing on end, he watched Luke bring out ice cream, milk and chocolate syrup. “My teacher at the day care center at the hospital read us this book. It was about a little bear cub who lost his mama, and couldn’t find her anywhere. So he went off through the forest and asked all the other animals if they knew where his mama was. The chipmunk didn’t know. And the blackbird said he didn’t know, either. Anyway, the little bear just kept going until he finally found someone who knew where his mama was.”
“And where was she?” Luke asked, as he scooped ice cream into the blender.
“In the forest, down by the river, looking for her baby bear.” Jeremy’s brows knit together as he shifted closer. Still watching Luke inquisitively, he continued his recitation in all earnestness. “She was crying, too, because she couldn’t find her baby bear cub.” Briefly Jeremy’s eyes clouded up as he recounted wistfully, “They were real happy when they found each other. So I’m going to do the same thing.” Jeremy swallowed hard, then continued in a voice laced with heartfelt determination, “I’m going to ask everybody if they know who my father is until I find him. And then we’ll both be happy, too.”
“It could work,” Luke agreed slowly, irked that no one else seemed to realize how desperately Jeremy wanted and needed his father in his life. What had Meg been thinking to deprive Jeremy and his father of each other’s love? Maybe she hadn’t meant to be cruel, but she had been. And the situation was going to get worse.
Luke poured milk and chocolate syrup over the ice cream, put the lid on tight and set the glass pitcher on the base. “But first don’t you think you should get a good night’s sleep?”
“I can’t go home,” Jeremy said emphatically as color swept into his fair, freckled face. He regarded Luke defiantly. “I already left.”
And if Luke took him back now, before talking some sense into Meg, Jeremy would turn right around and leave again. Perhaps to disastrous results, Luke thought, knowing what kind of things could happen to unattended children. No one was taking this kid seriously, Luke thought furiously. Especially Meg. “I can see your dilemma.” Luke blended the shake, then poured Jeremy a glass and one for himself. He found straws for both of them and then sat down at the counter next to Jeremy. “How about putting a bedroll on my sofa just for tonight, then. You’ll go farther if you get a good night’s sleep.”
“I am kinda tired.” Jeremy finished his shake, then rubbed his eyes.
Luke got Jeremy settled on his sofa. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Luke picked up the phone and dialed. Meg answered on the first ring. Luke identified himself, then said, “I think you’d better come over here. Now.”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” Meg responded, piqued. “Jeremy’s asleep.”
“He sure is,” Luke agreed grimly.
There was a pause on the other end. Suspiciously Meg asked, “How do you know that?”
“Because your son is sacked out on my sofa.”
A scant minute later Meg was at Luke’s door. She was dressed in a pair of pink cotton pajamas that buttoned up the front, and her auburn hair was damp. She smelled like soap and perfumed bath salts. “How did he get over here?” she demanded in shock and dismay as Luke ushered her in.
“He ran away from home,” Luke said.
Color rushed into Meg’s cheeks, highlighting the delicate curves of her cheekbones in her oval face. As she glanced past him at the living room sofa, where her son was curled up sound asleep, she was vulnerable in a way he hadn’t seen her since the night, the only night, they had ever made love. It was all Luke could do not to take her in his arms and hold her close.
But, knowing that was not what she—or Jeremy—needed now, Luke escorted her in to check on her son. As soon as she saw for herself he was indeed all right, Luke led her out to the kitchen, where they could talk without fear of waking any of the children. Trying not to notice how lovely she looked, Luke got out a couple of glasses and a pitcher of ice water and explained Jeremy’s thinking.
Meg felt her way into a chair. “He’s been peppering me with questions for weeks now.” She shook her head, her lower lip trembling slightly, her aqua eyes full of regret. “I had no idea he was this determined.”
Luke tore his eyes away from the soft curve of her lips and took in the enticing swell of her breasts. Returning his glance to Meg’s face, he warned her bluntly, “You’re going to have to do something.”
“I will.” Meg nodded, enthusiastically. “I’ll talk to him first thing tomorrow morning,” she promised.
“And tell him the truth?” Luke asked.
Meg nodded firmly. “That he and I are it, as far as family goes. Plenty of kids grow up in single-parent homes these days. I admit it’s a lot more common in Dallas, where we were living, than here in Laramie, but it happens just the same, and the families do just fine.” Meg shrugged her slender shoulders, the movement jiggling her breasts just enough to remind him she wasn’t wearing a bra under her pajama top.
“It’s not as if he doesn’t have any men in his life,” Meg continued defensively. “Now that Dani and Jenna are married, he will have uncles around to do guy stuff with him.”
Luke sat back in his chair. He stretched his long legs out in front of him, bumped Meg’s under the table, then shifted them to the side. “That’s probably true as far as Jake Remington goes, since he’s an independent businessman who owns a ranch. But Beau Chamberlain is a movie star. He’ll be off making movies a lot.”
“That’s true.” Meg also sat back in her chair, oblivious to the way the curve of one breast was revealed in the gape of her pale-pink pajama top. Meg kept her eyes on Luke’s as she continued defending her game plan. “Beau will have to go off on location. But he is also building a sound stage near here so he can work a lot of the time in Laramie. He’s already said Jeremy can come over and watch filming whenever he wants. The same goes for Jake. He said Jeremy is welcome out at the J&R ranch to play with his daughter, Alexandra, anytime.”
Luke shook his head. “What you are offering Jeremy is not the same as having a father, Meg.”
Meg gave him what he considered to be an outrageously self-righteous smile. “It’s the best I can do,” she said icily, slaying him with a glance. “And I would appreciate it if you would back me up on this.”
How could he, Luke wondered, when Jeremy was suffering so, and Meg was clearly in the wrong?
Meg leaned forward earnestly. “Please, Luke.” She took both his hands in hers. “Help me make Jeremy see it is okay for me to be both mother and father to him. Obviously, he’ll listen to you in a way he won’t listen to me.”
Maybe because I listen to everything your little boy has to say, Luke thought, not just what I want to hear him say. Luxuriating in the feel of her soft, slender hands warmly gripping the backs of his, Luke said, “Have you asked Kip to be a father to him?”
“Luke, I’ve told you.” Meg dropped her grip on him and sat back abruptly once again. “Jeremy isn’t Kip’s responsibility. He’s mine.” She pushed away from the table and began to pace. “You need to get that through your head, and so does Jeremy.”
“Meaning what?” Luke watched the sway of her hips beneath the loose-fitting pajama bottoms. “You haven’t told him? Or you told him and his reaction wasn’t favorable.”
Meg shoved both hands through the tousled strands of her damp auburn hair. “Meaning I was a wreck after Kip and I broke up and my parents died.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Meg?” Luke asked gruffly, aware she was hurting him whether she meant to or not by shutting him out, pushing him away.
Meg’s fair skin turned red, white, then red again. She had trouble meeting his eyes. “I’m trying to tell you that sleeping with you wasn’t the only foolish thing I did. There were other things I regret doing, too, both before and after you and I—” Meg stopped, unable to continue, and looked away. She took a deep breath, then turned back to him. Her hands knotted in front of her, she continued emotionally, “The truth is I made a series of mistakes. I’d give anything if I could go back and do it all over…do it differently. But I can’t.” She released a ragged sigh, pushed on. “And because I can’t change things, including the less-than-desirable circumstances under which Jeremy was conceived, I think it’s best that I leave those mistakes in the past, where they belong. And not hurt Jeremy or anyone else with the disclosure of the facts.”
Luke knew what she was trying to say, that there had been a third or even a fourth person in her life and in her bed. But he didn’t believe it. Meg had been so innocent and untutored the night they’d been together. And later, so upset at the passionate, uninhibited way she had behaved. He couldn’t believe she’d jumped into bed with anyone else either before or after they’d made love, no matter how upset she’d been over her parents’ deaths and her breakup with Kip. That was the kind of unplanned, unthinking thing that happened to a highly self-sufficient woman like Meg only once. On the other hand, he never would have believed she would summarily end their friendship, either, just because they’d foolishly and recklessly made love in a moment of crisis. “Then who is Jeremy’s father if it’s not me and it’s not Kip?” Luke asked bluntly, wanting her to look him in the eyes and tell him everything. Here. Now.
Meg’s jaw clenched as she spun away and haughtily resumed her pacing. “As I said, Luke, I am not discussing this with you or anyone else. What happened back then is over and done with,” Meg continued firmly, “and it’s no one else’s business but mine.”
Clearly, Meg had been hurt by whatever happened. It was obvious she felt very abandoned by whomever Jeremy’s father was, though how anyone could turn away from a cute kid like Jeremy, he didn’t know. Unless, Luke thought, Meg hadn’t been exactly forthright about the depth of her dilemma back then, and Kip or whoever Jeremy’s father was really didn’t know he was a father. If it was Kip it would have been just like Meg, Luke realized, to go to Kip and see if they could get back together and, failing that, just not tell him about the baby. Meg was so independent, self-sufficient, and responsible. Always had been. The last thing she ever would have wanted was for someone to marry her only because of the baby she was carrying. The last thing she would have wanted was a loveless marriage borne out of responsibility and nothing more.
