Pregnancy Plan (17 page)

“
Why would I not like it?” His brow
drew together into a frown.

“
One never knows.” She walked to the
door. “Now if you will excuse me, I’m heading upstairs to take a
shower. I want to cool off. It’s really hot tonight.”

In the shower, she wondered again if he
thought she'd wait to make love. If so, he really was crazy! All
she had to do was tempt him to the point where he couldn’t wait any
longer.

But how could she go about doing that?

She’d never seduced a man before, except for
the other night at the condo and look how that had turned out. What
did it take to tempt them?

Drying off, she reviewed her assets in the
mirror. Her breasts were fuller, her body curvy with a stomach
sticking out more than she wanted it too. But over all, it wasn’t
bad.

She eyed her clothes, and smiled. Did she
really need a nightgown? After all, it was a hot night. Naked, she
might tempt Derek to lose control. If that didn’t work, she just
shop for some sexy underwear. “Something has to turn the man
on.”

With the bedside lamp on, Jillian laid in
the middle of the bed. Setting the perfect scene, she turned the
lights low while the fan created a gentle breeze overhead. The
stereo played romantic music in the background. Closing her eyes,
she daydreamed about how to please Derek when he came to bed.

****

“
What time did you come to bed last
night?” Jillian growled, irritated that she’d missed him coming to
bed. Today she felt fat, crabby, and ugly. No wonder he wanted
nothing to do with her.

“
It must have been around midnight. I
didn’t wake you. Did I?” Derek opened the truck’s passenger door
for her.

“
No.”

“
Would you mind if I ran by the
lumberyard today? I want to get some wood for a project.” He
climbed behind the wheel of the truck.

“
No. Why don’t you drop me off, and
then go over and get it now, before it gets crowded?”

“
No, I don’t want to leave the wood in
the back of the truck all day. Maybe we can do it after
work.”

“
Just do it this morning, and then
drop it off at house before you come back to the store.”

“
Are you sure you’ll be all right at
the store alone?”

The concern in his voice ruffled her already
flared feathers. She was tired of being coddled. “I’ll be
fine.”

“
If you’re sure.” He drove around the
back of the building and dropped her off. “I won’t be
long.”

After a quick kiss, she walked to the back
door. “Have fun.”

****

It is a good thing I’m
getting away from her for a while.
After seeing her
waiting for him naked on the bed last night, the temptation to make
love to her was driving him insane.

Last night a cold shower had helped but just
being around her this morning turned him rock hard. How much longer
did he have to wait? Maybe a special evening would help. Take her
out to dinner, a movie, then come home and make love to her.

She must know how much he wanted her. Why
else would she keep trying to tempt him? Did she want to make love?
Or was she tempting him so he'd break his promise? Then she’d have
a way out of their marriage.

Pushing the problem aside, Derek reviewed
the design of cradle he wanted to build for the baby. Last night,
he’d spent hours drawing up the plans. It needed to be small enough
to fit beside the bed in the master bedroom and big enough for the
baby. He wanted their child to be in the same room with them.

Maybe he should surprise her with his plans
for the crib on their date Friday. But that was four days away.

Well, maybe he should make it Thursday. Oh
hell, maybe tonight. Who was he kidding? He wanted her now. Pulling
up in front of the lumberyard, he killed the engine and yanked open
the door. Jillian deserved patience.

****

“
Karen Ann, I just don’t get it. I
know Derek wants me. He follows me around everywhere I go. I can’t
get out of his sight for more than a few seconds. Then he kisses
me. It’s as if his life depended on me, but the next minute, he
turns it off. I just don’t understand.”

“
Have you asked him about it?” Karen
Ann sat on the sofa in Jillian’s office.

“
Yes. He said he promised me that he
would give us time to get to know each other. But I don’t want
anymore time.”

“
Have you told him that?”

“
No, but...” Not wanting to tell her
friend about last night, Jillian stopped and fiddled with her pen,
drawing circles on a scratch piece of paper.

“
Have you tried seducing
him?”

“
Yes.”

“
What happened?”

“
I fell asleep.” Jillian threw down
her pen.

Karen Ann struggled not to laugh, but
Jillian could see the grin. “How could you fall asleep?”

“
I was waiting for him to come to bed.
The only problem was he got involved in my father’s workshop and I
feel asleep.”

“
Great, so what now?” Karen Ann
uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.

Jillian frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe I
should wait until he’s ready. I don’t think he can wait much longer
and I don’t want to rush him.”

“
Sure you do. Tell Derek you’re going
out shopping with me tonight, and we’ll go get you something sexy
to wear.”

“
I don’t know.”

Karen Ann looked at her watch. “Well, think
about it. If you decide you want to go shopping, call me. Gotta
go.”

Unhappy, Jillian turned her attention to the
orders she’d placed last week. They still hadn’t come in. With John
Paul watching the front, she logged onto her computer to check
their status.

****

Derek found her there, several hours later.
“Everything okay?”

“
Yes. Did you get what you wanted from
the lumberyard?” Jillian, still hurt from last night’s neglect,
refused to turn around.

“
Yes.”

“
Good.”

He caressed his hands over her shoulder and
swiveled her chair around so she faced him. “What have you been
doing?”

“
I was working.”

“
I need to ask you something.” He
knelt in front on her.

“
Okay?” Jillian studied his face, but
he gave nothing away as his hands took hers.

“
How would you like to go out with me
Friday night?”

“
What do you mean?” Her gaze fell into
the steel gray depths of his eyes. “Like a date?”

“
Yes, we could go out to dinner and to
the movies.”

Was this how he planned to get to know her
better? Unsure what to say, she hesitated before responding.
“I—uh—guess. If you want to.”

He nodded, kissed each of her hands, then
stood up, and released her. “Good. Friday it is.”

Left alone, Jillian stared at the close
door.

She didn’t know what he had planned. But
he’d better be prepared, because Friday, one way or another, she
intended to have her man.

Now if she could just wait that long.

****

John Paul entered the store behind Mr.
Jenkins.

Jillian greeted her customer from behind the
register. “Good Morning, Mr. Jenkins. How are you today?”

“
Fine, thank you.” Mr. Jenkins leaned
against his cane. “I thought I would check in to see if you folks
had any damage out your way from the storm last night?”

“
No, just some small limbs blown
down.” She glanced up. Her expression must have alerted Mr. Jenkins
because he turned to John Paul.

“
Nice shiner you have there, young
fella. How’d ya get it?” Mr. Jenkins commented.

“
Oh, the usual way, at the wrong end
of the fist.” John Paul shifted as if unwilling to share the
details of how he got his black eye.

“
Been on the wrong end myself, a time
or two. All part of growing up.” The old man smiled.

“
Are you okay?”

“
I’m fine, Ms. Jillian. I’ll find Mr.
Harris and get to work.” John Paul headed down the aisle before she
could question him farther.

Busy most of the day, she didn’t talk again
to John Paul, much less question him about his eye, until almost
closing time. With it Thursday, and payday, she knew he'd come
looking for her. His check tucked in her pocket, she stood and
closed out the register for the day.

“
Ms. Jillian, can I get my
check?”

“
Sure, John Paul.” She pulled out his
check. “Mind telling me how you got that black eye?”

Derek, who was a few steps behind John Paul,
answered for him. “It really isn’t any of our business, Jillian.
The boy has a right to his privacy.”

“
I know but...” She hesitated. “You
know if you’re in any kind of trouble, you can come to us. We’d do
everything in our power to help you.” She could tell the teenager
was burdened by whatever had happened.

John Paul shifted on his feet as if weighing
his options, and then he let out a sigh. “I got in a fight with my
sister’s boyfriend. Or should I say her ex-boyfriend?” He paused,
and then slowly continued with his story. “Anyway, my sister went
to the prom with him in May and just found out she’s pregnant. When
she told him, he refused to marry her.”

He slammed his fist against the counter. “He
wants her to have an abortion!”

Confused by this bit of news, she reviewed
the recent problems she had with morning sickness, and the negative
comments from her neighbors. She hated the idea of Susan going
through her pregnancy alone. “What is she going to do?”

“
She’s not sure yet. She doesn’t want
to have an abortion. But she also wants to go to college. She can’t
do that and have a baby.” John Paul’s unhappy face showed his
misery. “You know my dad, Ms. Jillian. He’ll go ballistic when he
finds out. Mom will cry and carry on.” He hung his head. “I don’t
know what Susan is going to do.”

She walked out from behind the counter. “You
tell her to come see me. If she wants, I’ll take care of her until
the baby comes, then she can put it up for adoption or I’ll adopt
it.” She patted his arm, “Whatever she wants to do. We’ll work
something out.”

Confusion marked his face. “But Ms. Jillian,
you’re about to have a baby of your own. Why would you want another
one?”

“
You can never have too many babies.”
She handed him his check. “You run along home and have your sister
call me.”

John Paul pocketed his check and headed out
the front door. “Thank you, Ms. Jillian.”

When the door closed, Derek stared blankly
at her. “Do you really want to adopt another baby?”

“
I’ll do whatever it takes to save a
child. As I told you a long time ago, a child is a precious gift.
If Susan is willing to have her child, I’m willing to do whatever
it takes to help her.” Fueled by her strong emotions of the
subject, she continued. “Most people say they don’t believe in
abortion, but when the question comes to their own front door, they
turn away, talking and laughing at the unwed mother behind her
back.”

She knotted her hands on her hips. “Well not
me, I’ll do whatever I can to help Susan.” Her finger pointed at
him. “And if you don’t like it, you better get out of my way.”

He grabbed her hand and bought it to his
lips for a kiss. “I’m behind you all the way.”

Jillian stepped into his arms. “Thank you. I
like having you on my side.”

“
Ditto, kiddo.” Derek picked up the
receipts in one hand and guided her down the aisle with the other.
“Let’s get going. I’m starved.”

Thank goodness it was Friday, a hot steamy
week in more ways than just the weather. The heat shattered only by
an approaching storm. Dark and threatening, clouds gathered on the
horizon, mirroring her escalating desire. Would Derek finally make
love to her?

With only an hour and a half before quitting
time, Jillian wanted to call it a day. She had already sent John
Paul home. The store was empty.

Most people wanted to arrive home before the
rain started. The weather forecast had announced tornado warnings
until nine o’clock. The store should be quiet until closing time at
six.

“
Derek, what do you...” She stopped as
Cheryl Henderson walked in. Her husband, standing by the door
watching the approaching clouds, held it open for her.

“
Hey, Derek, Jillian. So glad you guys
are still open.” Cheryl, looking young and pretty in a bright
yellow halter top and short blue-jean shorts, had Jillian cursing
the drab khaki-and-green of her own clothes.

“
What brings you out in weather like
this?” She forced herself to smile.

“
Oh, it’s just a little rain.” Cheryl
waved her jeweled hand, dismissively. “I need a cooler. Derek,
could you please be a dear and get me one from that high
shelf?”

He nodded and walked down the main aisle to
retrieve the ladder. Cheryl followed him. “Which one do you
want?”

A manicured finger landed in Cheryl’s mouth
as she considered.

Jillian stared at the Cheryl's
shoes.
How can the woman walk in her four
inch heels?

The bell over the door rang again.

“
Hey Jill, I’m surprise to see you’re
still open.” Karen Ann stepped inside with a curious look. “What
with the weather and your hot date.”