Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (16 page)

Danni
was silent
, her eyes downcast
.

Ben
gave her a quick glance
when they were stopped at the light.
“You don’t agree?”

She
was
star
ing at her lap
, twisting her fingers
.

Ben tried again.
“You think he figures I need to know how to clean litter boxes
so I can train my own vet
assistant
s
?”

She sho
ok
her head.
“You should be concentrating on what you are supposed to be doing—surgeries, and identifying cancers and diagnosing other dis
eases
—
you
know, like
the other day—
torsion in horses
that you were reading about
, and
stuff like that. W
hat
you need to know when you
have your own practice
,
like
Joe
l
. How can you do that if he makes you take over
my
job?”

“
He’s my mentor; if he wants me to do scut work every now and then,
I do it
.”

“It’s my fault,
totally my fault.
I’m getting in the way of your training
, Ben. And I’m really sorry about that
.
”
Her chin quivered.

He
placed
a hand on her shoulder.
“
Hey, f
rom what I’ve seen, you’re always on time, you do everything we ask you to do, the dogs you walk
love
you,
and
the customers, too. Seems to me yo
u couldn’t possibly be at fault.
”

“
Well, I am,” she whispered
. After a long minute, she added,
“
I’m pregnant.
”

H
e pulled over to the side of the road
near a park
and turned
in his seat
.
“What?”

“
You heard me.
I’m pregnant,”
she repeated,
and a tear
slid
down one cheek. “Now you know, and you probably think I’m not
so
nice
anymore
.
Girls aren’t supposed to get
pregnant
,
before—you know,
before
they’re married
, even though a lot of them do
.
”

“Hey, wait a minute. I’
m surprised
.
I mean, I didn
’t think you were seeing anyone,
but I’m not judging you. Here.” H
e
reached in a pocket
and
handed her a tissue
.
“My sister
,
Julie
,
got pregnant when she was single. She lived through it
. N
ow she’s married
and has two kids.  It happens.
It
doesn’t m
ean
you
’re
a bad person.”

“
Joe
l
says
I can’t be exposed to cat feces.
”

He remained silent
as a couple walked
out of the park and down the street
, arm-in-arm
. “
He’s right
about
that
.
So, what are you going to do
,
about your—er—bump
?”

“
I don’t know.
What do you think
I should do
?”

He
put his arm around her shoulders
.
“
Juli
anna
, my sister. S
he talked to my mom and
then she decided she wanted the baby, more than anything
.
Even though she didn’t want the guy.
But n
ot
every girl wants to be a mother
.
”

He
watched
Danni
clench an
d unclench
her hands. “What did
your folks say?”

“
My mom doesn’t know. I can’t tell her. My dad w
ill
be furious
if he finds out.
I don’t dare tell him.” More tears streamed down her face.

“Well, you aren’t going to be
able to hide it
.
If you stay pregnant, your
shape is going to change.
Maybe sooner than later.
”

Her expression suggested he’d insulted her
. “I’m not fat!”

“I didn’t say you were. In
f
act, you’re skinny—everywhere.” He felt his blood warm his face and neck and nether regions. “
W
ell
,
almost everywhere, and from the back, you look just like you always h
ave. But from the side, there’s,
well, there’s this little bulge under your belt.” He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. “
Danni
, I’m not t
rying to make you feel bad. But if I’ve noticed,
so
meone who knows you really well,
like your
mom
—
she
will
, too
.
”

He’d noticed?
She moved her hands down to her lower abdomen. “Not if I wear clothes that are loose—like I wear at the clinic.”

“That’s true, but loose clothe
s aren’t going to work for long,
unless you get an abortion. Is that what you want to do?
”

“
I
’m not sure. I’ve been thinking about it
.
”
Danni
looked away from him.
“I’m not sure I
know how to take care of a baby.”

“Don’t you babysit?
I
f you do that, you must know something about kids.”

“I
t’s not the
sam
e. Tha
t’s just for a few hours and then I go home. Having a baby is forever. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that.
And I—my dad—it’s important that I go to college. He never got to.
My mom
,
either.
”

Ben pulled her closer. “There’s always adoption. Have you thought abou
t that? T
here are lots of people who want babies who can’t have them.”

She shrugged one shoulder.
“
A couple I know,
they did that l
ast year. I’ve thought about it,
but I don’t know if I could g
ive it up—after—you know, after
…
”

He took a
dee
p breath.
“
Look, y
ou’ve got all kinds of choices.
And, if you decide to go through with it and keep the baby,
I’m sure
your
family
will
help you raise the little tyke
,
if that’s what you want to do
. That’s wh
at we did with
Julie
and her baby
until she and
Jason
got together.”

She bowed her head and let her tears fall
,
darken
ing
her jeans
where they melted into the fabric
.

“
I’m sure your mom w
ill
help you
,
”
he repeated.
He rubbed her hands
, so much colder than his own
.

She shook her head.
“I can’t tell her.
I don’t know what I’m going to do, and if
—if
I
—get an
abortion, there’s no reason
to tell her
.” She paused
and squinted at him
. “You won’t tell
anyone
, will you?”

He shook his head.
“
Does anyone else know?”

“Joel and the doctor.”

“
Well, he
can keep a secret
.
Anybody
else?”

“M
y best friend, Monica.”

“She lives here in New Harbor, right?”

She nodded, and borrowed another tissue from him.

He started to chuckle. “
T
hen I guess the cat’s out of the bag, Shortie.  If your be
st friend knows, how many
people has she told?”

She glared back at him.
“No one
!
Monica
promised. S
he wouldn’t.
”

“Wanna bet? Best friends are usually the first hole
in the dike of keeping a secret,
especially one
that big
.”
He
gave
her a
quick
hug. “Hey,
I didn’t mean to get you upset.
I just know how things like this get out. Maybe she won’t say anything.
” He paused and asked the question that had been bugging him since Danni had said the P word. “
What about the father? Does he know?”

“No.”
She frowned
, her voice flat
.

That was pretty clear. Maybe he wasn’t
in the picture now
.
“Oh.
” Ben
looked
at her
. “
Well, your secret’s
safe
with me.
And, I doubt old Happy
here,
or the other dogs
will tell
. It’s get
ting late. Let’s get you home.
Better tell your mom I p
ok
ed you in the nose
so
she won’t ask why it’s all red.
”
He
brushed a
finger
lightly
against her cheek
before starting
the car
, aware of the zing of awareness he felt after touching her
.

They
drove in silence to her house.
He
squeezed her hand as she left the car
.
I wonder what she’s going to do now.
Maybe I should have hu
gged her
again
for
moral
support.
But he
’d
wanted to do it for other reasons. Was it too late for that now?

Chapter
6

Dannilynn
knocked on the side door of Dr. Wright’s office. Phoebe ushered her into an exam room. “Good to see you again,
Dannilynn
. The doctor will be right in.”

Danni
looked
at the
baby
pictures
on the wall
. Near the sink were brochures similar to the ones she had been given the preceding week.
She couldn’t believe summer was almost over
. Three more weeks and she was going back to Buckley.

Angela knocked and entered. “I’m glad you
’re here. And right on time
.” S
he sat down on the stool. “W
hat have you decided?”

“I don’t think
…
Not
an
abortion.
”
She sat, her lips pursed
. “I called a clinic, but I couldn’t go through with
it
.
Y
ou
said I had to
do it right away. Since I can’t,
I guess I’ll
just
ha
ve to go through with it.”
Her teeth chattered
and she shivered as she rubbed her arms
.
“You know, h
av
e
the baby. I guess I’ll have to do that.”