Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (35 page)

She
looked
up
at him
and considered his offer
. Was she
reading hope in his eyes, desire?
A little frisson of electricity shot through her. Or
had
the baby
just
wiggled against her ribs?
She
considered
Ben’s
question
s
and then
shook her head.
“
No
, I can’t do
that.
What if my Dad found out?
I’ll come back here.
I’ll still have
four days
before I have to leave
.”

Shortly
after
dark on the second day
of searching
,
they learned of
a
little cottage in the woods
just outside
the New Harbor
city limits
,
recently vacated by summer visitors. Its two small bedrooms were adequate, and the living room
had
log walls
.
The
large windows
looked
toward
the beach,
flood
ing
the room
with
morning
light. The owner was happy to rent it for six months
in the off-season
.
Danni
hoped
that,
by the
n
,
her father would accept
her and the baby, and she signed the lease immediately.

“Y
ou can get to the clinic in less than
fifteen
minutes
if we go the back way to town,
”
Ben crowed. He
helped her move
in
the day
before her lease was up on the
tiny
apartment overlooking the bay
.

Dannilynn
’s mother visit
ed
the little cottage
and immediately arranged to
bring her
a few extra pieces of furniture.
Right before she left, h
er mother pressed
several large
bills into
Danni
’s
hand.
“The money you would have needed for room and board winter quarter
. Use it to stay here.
I
won’t tell your father
where you’re living
. That
way you won’t have to worry about him bothering you.”

A week
after
Danni
moved in, Ben brought over a
bag of fragrant dishes
from his favorite Chinese restaurant
.
“I have a favor to ask
,
”
he said
between
bit
es
of
cashew chicken.

“Could you pass the sweet sauce?
”
She licked her lips as she nibbled on
an egg roll.
“
What favor is that?
”

“I want to move in here.”

“What?” S
he stopped in mid-chew.
Her pulse picked up speed.
Was he saying he wanted to live with her?
I wo
uld
n’t be alone
then
, but what will Dad say, or Mom?

He
seemed to sense her hesitation.
“He
ar
me out before you say no. Y
ou’ve got two bedrooms.
” He smiled. “
You’re blushing. Don’t
look at me like that.
I’ll sleep in the
small
one.
The people who own my house are coming back, and
I need a place to stay
. Joel offered me the boat, but it’s too cramped, and I
’ll
hit my head every time I st
an
d up
inside
. I
f I’m here, I can help you—you know, after the baby comes. Plus, you won’t have to take the bus
to work
. I’
ve got
the
Green M
onster working better
now
. It almost never dies in
mid-stride anymore.” He paused.
“
A
nd
I can
split the rent with you
.
Make your money go farther.
”

Danni
resumed
chewing. “Hm
m
.
You made some good points.
” She
set down her fork and took a
dee
p breath
. “What
should
I
tell my m
om?”

“Tell her the truth
.
We’re not living together. We’re just sharing the rent
.
W
e’re roommates!”
He grinned. “Think of me as a
nother
Sarah
. If you want me to, I’ll dye my hair
red
like hers
.”

She
smirk
ed at his suggestion and lapsed into silence
for a moment
.
“
Will you help me up?
Doctor
Wright
says I’m
i
n the ‘hoist and derrick’ stage.
”

She
strolled
into the smaller bedroom and
looked
it over. “The closet is kind of small. How much stuff have you got?”

“Not much. My
clothes
will fit.”

“This
window
gets
some slanted
east
light
. T
he
sun
might
wake you up in the morning.”

“I
t
’ll
keep me from being late
for work
.
”

“Will
you clean up after meals?”

“You drive a hard bargain,
lady,
but the answer is yes.
”
He grinned lopsidedly at her.

She flopped her arms against her sides.
“
Okay
.
”
S
he
gave him a hug.

“Hey!” He reached
down
and
brush
ed
his hand over h
er belly. “The
bump
just kicked
me
!”

She laughed. “Sh
e’s been doing that for quite a while.”

They returned to the table and finished their dinner.

“We’ll just have to make sure my dad does
n’t know about you.
If he sees
you
here, he’s
sure
to
think you’
re this baby’s daddy.”
She
rubbed what she
thought
was
the
baby’s back, wishing
Ben qualified
, afraid to voice how she felt
about him
. But
frankly, Ben acted
just
like a daddy
,
the way he seemed to care about her, and how he
’d
almost reverently touched her belly.

“How are you feeling
these days
?”
The doctor
measured
Dannilynn’s
abdomen
later that week
. “You’
re
look
ing
more
pregnant
by the day
.
”

“You don’t say.
”
S
he
giggled. “I’m having to throw my legs over the side of the bed and push to get out these days.”

“And you will until the baby is born.”
Doctor Wright
listened to the
fetal
heartbeat, and smiled. “All’s well in there. Any questions?”

“Not this time.”

“I have something for you.
”
The doctor
handed
her
a brochure.
“Now that you’re home and you don’t have to worry about
your college courses
,
I recommend you take
childbirth
classes. You have about nine
weeks to go, and the classes last six, so you should be able to finish them all in time for the baby’s birth.”

“
This paper
says I
need
a coach.”

“
Right. S
omeone to
help you
practice your breathing.
Your mom c
an
be your coach, or anyone else you
’re
comfortable with. Some of the
military wives
have their mothers or a close friend, a sister or other relativ
e.
One of my
pat
ients had her teenage
daughter with her when her husband couldn’t be here.
Your
coach
will
attend the
classes
, too
.”

“But t
hey’
re in the evening. M
y mother has
church
meetings
then
, and sometimes she drives down to see my dad
.”

“I’m sure if you ask
her
, she’
ll set
th
ose meetings
aside to be with you.”
Doctor Wright
jotted notes in
the chart and closed the cover.
“
The first class starts at the end of this week. Please be there.”

When she
returned
to the little house in the woods,
Danni
decided to
show the material to Ben
.

After
a long day at the clinic
, h
e disappeared
into
his
room
.
Minutes later, he
returned to the living room
in a well-worn sweatshirt and clean jeans
,
his feet bare and
his hair was still wet
from
a
quick shower
. H
e smelled of soap and shampoo
when he leaned down and pecked
Danni’s
cheek
.

“
Doctor
Wright
wants me to take a childbirth class.
” She handed Ben the brochure.
“
What do you think about that?”

“A great idea.
Julie
went through them for
Mark
and she
took
a refresher when she was due with Natalie. She said they were
great
.”
Ben sat down i
n
the overstuffed chair
,
leaned
his head back
and stretched his legs in the direction of the fireplace
.

“Who was her coach?”

“She had two for
Mark
and one for Natty.  My mom went with her most of the time, and I pitched
in when she couldn’t be there.
With Natty, her husband,
Jason
,
did it
.
He
had his doubts
about the movies
at first
.
Wasn’t sure he’d watch them.
But
he’s not into things medical.” He
sat up
then kneeled down next to the couch and
rubbed
Danni
’s
neck and shoulders
when she
pointed to her
back
.

“Umm,
that feels
good.
Lower, please.
”
S
he rolled
slightly
to one side, facing away from him
.