GAMBLING ON LOVE (Travis Series) (31 page)

Maggie reached across the table and patted her hand
.
“Is that what he told you
?
That the baby was his?”

Beth blinked
.
“Well
…
actually, no
.
I don’t think he ever did
.
I just assumed it was because he didn’t deny it.”

“So he’s still protecting her after all these years,” Maggie said wistfully
.
“I’m going to tell you, Anne, because
Sam never will and
I think you deserve to know
.
The young woman’s name is Mary
.
She was in her third year of college when she
discovered
she was pregnant
.
Mary
came to Sam and told him she was going to get an abortion and
wanted him to
loan her the money.”

“
Loan
?”
Beth was outraged.

“Everything will be clear to you in a minute, I promise
.
When Sam refused, she told him she
would
get the money some
how
.
He followed her the next day and caught her just outside the abortion clinic
.
That’s where the tabloids got their pictures
.
He
knew how ruthless the paparazzi could be, and that it was his fault they were there. They hounded him mercilessly
, eager for anything that smelled like a scandal. It was fortunate Sam saw
them
and
made sure
Mary’s
face was covered a
s her ushered
her inside the building
.
Sam sat with Mary for almost two hours trying to convince her
not to go through with it
.
He
opened up his home to her
;
promised to pay her college
tuition
and daycare until she got on her feet
.
In the end, Mary walked out
of there a little scared but
still pregnant.”

“So
,
Sam
did
help her out,” Beth said with relief.

“Yes, but he didn’t have to.”

Beth’s
temper flared
.
“Of course he had to help her
!
What kind of man would leave a woman to have a child on her own
?
It’s bad enough he didn’t want anything to do with the baby
…
”

“Anne, please,” Maggie pleaded gently
.
“I don’t think you
quite
understand yet.
”
She got up from the table
.
“Walk with me to my bungalow
.
I want to show you something.”

Beth followed her to the
b
ungalow and was surprised at how expensively furnished it was
.
Sam
, she thought
.
He would have made sure that Maggie had every convenience possible
.
Maggie led her to the fireplace
where she
pulled a picture down
and
handed it to Beth
.
The
family picture
featured
a handsome, dark-haired man and a very pretty woman who had Maggie’s smile and bright eyes
.
The little girl she held in her arms was smiling happily and clutching a little stuffed dog.

“Is this your daughter?”

“Yes,” Maggie beamed, “and that’s my granddaughter, Miranda
.
She’s about the greatest gift God ever gave me next to my Mary.”

Beth’s eyes shot up
.
“Mary
?”
she
said hoarsely
.
Maggie nodded solemnly
.
“Then Miranda is
…
”

“No, Anne
.
Miranda is
not
Sam’s daughter.
”
At Beth’s puzzled look, Maggie asked her to sit so she could explain.

“Mary was like a kid sister to Sam
.
She was always pestering him, but he didn’t seem to mind
.
He bought Mary her first car because she’d kept her grades up her senior year in high school
.
He never said anything, but I suspect the scholarship she received has his name on it somewhere
.
When she came to him about being pregnant and he refused to
give her the money, she decided to do it anyway
.
I think she just didn’t want to disappoint me by not finishing college.
”

Maggie took the picture from Beth and stared at it for a moment before replacing it on the fireplace
.
“Sam is the one who told me she was pregnant after he’d talked her out of aborting the baby
.
He told me what he planned
to
do
-
pay for college, daycare, and any other expenses until Mary could support herself and the baby
.
It took some doing, but she finally graduated with a business degree
.
Three years ago, she met Joshua, and a year later they were married
.
Miranda
i
s not
Joshua’s
biological daughter, but you
would
never know it by the way he treats her.”

“Why wouldn’t Sam just tell me that?”

“I guess he still feels th
e
need to protect Mary from gossip or from anyone thinking poorly of her.”
 

Beth shook her head
.
“He
would
rather have me think he’s some sort of monster for abandoning his child than tell me Mary considered having an abortion
?”
She had to stop for a moment to rein in her emotions
.
She
looked at Maggie
.
“I really did
win
the
grand prize
, didn’t I?”

Maggie smiled warmly
.
“
You couldn’t find a better man than our Sam.”

“Thank you for telling me the whole story
;
I can’t tell you how much it means to me
.
I guess I’d better get back to the house before Sam wonders where I am.”

Maggie rose from the sofa
.
“If you don’t mind me asking
…
how long do I have left here?”

Puzzled,
Beth
asked,
“What do you mean?”

“How long before I’m dismissed?”

“Why on earth would you be dismissed?”

“I just thought with you here to take care of Sam now, there’s really no reason to keep me on.”

“How could you even think that, Maggie
?
Good Lord, I can barely take care of myself what with the business and all
.
Do you think I could handle a house this size and coordinate meals and bake cakes
?
Sam thinks of you as family and that means I do
,
to
o
.
”

“You really mean that?”

She gave Maggie a big hug
.
“You’re not going anywhere except to bed right now because your workload
has
just doubled
.
I don’t know how to cook or bake and I have
no desire to learn
.
Besides,” she said
with a huge grin
, “I’ll need someone to help with the children once they start arriving
.
Something tells me Sam intends to have a house full of them.”

“Are you sure?”

“
Positive. Now,
what time should I expect breakfast?”

Maggie beamed at her
.
“Six sharp
.
Sam likes to get up early and read the paper.”

Beth nodded
.
“Good-night, Maggie
.
I’ll see you at six.”

“What took you so long
?”
Sam frowned when she came into the room.

“Just girl talk,” she said flippantly.
 

“Girl talk,” he repeated.

Sam was sitting in the recliner with a book face down on his lap
.
Beth moved the book aside and
took its place on his lap
.
She put her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers, kissing him
as if
there was no tomorrow.
Sam willingly participated for quite some time before lifting his head with a soft laugh.

“What was that for?”

“Just for being you.”

He eyed her suspiciously
.
“What did you and Maggie talk about?”

“I told you, girl talk.”

“Anne
.” His
deep voice held a hint of a threat.

“Some secrets are better left untold, Sam.”

He smiled down at her
.
“I love you, Anne.”

“And I’m the luckiest woman in the world because of it
.
I’m going to marry you, Sam Travis,” she said, “before someone comes along and steals you away from me.”

“Nothing on earth will ever tear me away from you, sweetheart.
”
He tightened his hold on her
.
“Let’s go to bed now
.
I need to make love to you.”

Beth’s face fell in disappointment
.
“We can’t, Sam
.
I didn’t start my cycle today.”

He
rose from the chair with
Beth in his arms and carried her to the bed
.
He eased her back onto the mattress, lowering himself over her.

“Sam
…
we shouldn’t
.
”

“Why shouldn’t we
?”
He buried his face in her neck and began a soft trail of kisses to her jaw.

“You know why
.
I could get pregnant.”

Sam lifted his head, a sexy smile on his lips
.
“I’m counting on it.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                      *
**

Beth woke to the sound of the
running water from the
shower
.
She looked at the clock and groaned
.
Five
thirty was entirely too early to wake up, but she’d promised Maggie she
would be there
breakfast
and
forced herself to roll out of bed
.
Still tender from a night of Sam’s fierce lovemaking, Beth let out a groan, followed by a happy giggle.
Sam
had
been tenacious
,
to say the least, determined to get her pregnant if it killed them both
.
Apparently, he’d de
termined that
the harder he d
eeper he went
, the better chance he had of getting the job done.

She slipped quietly into the bathroom
, openly admiring
Sam
’s magnificent body as he
shower
ed
behind the etched glass
.
God,
how
she loved him
.
She
was just
about to climb in with him when her cell phone went off
.
Beth hurried back to the bedroom and grabbed her phone.

“Is this Elizabeth Sweeney
?”
a
man’s voice asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry to bother you so early
.
Your security company gave me the number.”

A tremor of fear raced through her
.
“Who is this?”