Seducing Simon (15 page)

Perhaps he needed a PRN person.

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She drove to central dispatch, just two blocks from the fire station and the county run ambulance service. Luck was with her and Lonnie was in his office.

He looked up when she knocked and smiled welcomingly. “Hey Toni.

Come on in. What can I do for you?”

“Hi, Lonnie.” She slid into a chair in front of his desk and nervously took in a breath. “I was wondering if you had any PRN positions open.” He raised his eyebrow in surprise. “Sure. I always need dispatchers to fill in. As it is, most people are working extra hours. You asking for yourself?”

She nodded. “I still work for Doc Johnson so I could only work weekends or in the evenings, but I’d like the part time work.”

“I sure won’t turn down an experienced dispatcher.” He rolled back in his chair to the file cabinet behind him and rifled through one of the drawers. He pulled out an application and handed it to her. “Fill this out and get it back to me. When would you like to start?”

“As soon as possible,” she replied, taking the paper from him.

He handed her a pen and studied her for a moment. “I’ve known you for a long time, Toni. What’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?” She raised her eyes to look at him. “Oh no. No trouble. I’m sure you’ve heard by now.” She paused a moment. He hadn’t been at the barbeque, but as much as the town loved to gossip, she couldn’t imagine he hadn’t heard.

“Heard what?”

“That I’m pregnant. I just need the extra money until the baby’s born.”

He tried to mask the surprise, but his eyes gave him away. “No, I hadn’t heard. Congratulations.”

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“Thank you. You’re the first person to actually congratulate me and mean it,” she said with a smile.

“I can well imagine,” he said dryly.

She handed the application back to him.

He glanced over it a moment, then looked at his calendar. “Want to come in Monday after you get off work and reacquaint yourself with the surroundings? Sarah is working then, and she’ll be glad to show you the ropes again.”

“That would be great.” She got up and extended her hand. “Thank, Lonnie. I owe you one.”

“Hell no you don’t. If you only knew how badly I needed dispatchers. I should be down kissing your feet.”

She grinned. “I’ll see you Monday then.” Feeling a little lighter, she got into her Jeep and checked her watch.

It was only ten. Well, now that she had another job, she could go look for baby things anyway. And it sure beat going back home and facing Simon.

Tomorrow she’d run her job idea by her doctor and get his okay before she committed to the whole shebang. She needed the job. Needed the money.
Needed
to get away from Simon before she imploded. But she would do nothing at the expense of her baby. Their baby.

By seven, she was thoroughly exhausted. She’d hit every department store in Beaumont, not to mention every baby boutique and furniture store. Her list had been compiled of exactly what she wanted. A crib small enough to fit in her bedroom. A bassinet for the living room. Lots of must haves, according to the saleswoman, like a swing and bouncer.

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Unable to avoid the inevitable any longer, she turned homeward, praying that A.J. and Matt were at home so she could avoid any conversation with Simon. All three trucks were in the driveway to her relief. She parked then trudged into the house.

Three sets of eyes stared at her when she opened the door. Her fatigue must have been evident because they immediately pounced.

“Where the hell have you been all day?” Matt demanded. “You look like hell.”

“I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” She started toward her room, avoiding Simon’s gaze when A.J. spoke up.

“Is everything okay, Toni?”

She smiled crookedly. “Yeah, just overdid it. G’night.” Not waiting for them to say anything more, she escaped to her room and locked the door behind her. No sooner had she gotten undressed and into bed a knock sounded at her door.

“Toni, it’s me Matt.”

“I’m in bed,” she called.

“I want to talk to you.”

“Can it wait? I’m really tired.”

There was a long pause. “Okay. Get some rest. We’ll talk later.” She laid back and closed her eyes. Then the tears fell.

Monday she congratulated herself on going the entire weekend without seeing Simon more than in passing. She’d work in dispatch after work and the guys were starting a forty-eight on Tuesday, so the earliest

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she’d see Simon would be Thursday afternoon. Provided she didn’t work that night.

She got off a little early so she went home to change before she headed in to her second job. When she let herself in, the guys were all watching TV in the living room. She called out a hello then went into her bedroom to change.

Moments later she came back out and paused in the kitchen.

Knowing she had to at least tell them where she was going, she cleared her throat. “I’ll see you guys later.”

They swiveled around to look at her. “Where you going?” A.J. asked.

“Work.” The word hung in the air a moment as they digested what she’d said.

“Work?” Matt asked. “You just got home from work.”

“I’m doing some PRN work for Lonnie over at dispatch.” Their surprise was evident. “Huh? Since when?” Matt asked.

“Since Saturday.”

“Hell, Toni, you used to tell us shit like this. What’s the deal lately?” Matt’s voice rose, and he got up to walk toward her. “You should be in bed resting. Have you forgotten what happened a few days ago?”

“Look it’s no big deal. I just haven’t seen you guys what with your schedules lately. I gotta run, or I’ll be late. I’ll talk to you later.” She blew a kiss at Matt and spun around to leave.

Simon watched her walk out and suppressed the urge to put his fist through the coffee table. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out she was avoiding him.

Matt returned to the living room a deep frown on his face. “I don’t know what the hell is going on with her, but she isn’t telling us something.”

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“Oh you think?” A.J. muttered.

“What’s with her getting a second job? She’s pregnant for Christ sake.

She doesn’t need to be working two jobs,” Matt said in a raised voice. He turned to Simon. “You usually aren’t short on something to say. Do you know what’s eating Toni?”

Yeah he knew all right. But he wasn’t going to blurt out that he’d been putting the moves on Toni in her weak moment. Matt and A.J.

would use his face for a punching bag. “No, I don’t. Maybe she just needed the extra cash with the baby coming.” Matt snorted. “There’s no way in hell I’d let her work two jobs when she’s pregnant. If it’s money she needs, she only has to ask.”

“But that’s just it,” Simon said. “I don’t see her asking anyone for anything. You know as well as I do, she’d never do anything she thought would make herself a burden.”

“I think it’s something else,” A.J. popped up. “I don’t know what it is…yet. But I aim to find out.”

Nothing had changed in dispatch since she’d last worked, and she picked up the mechanics again quickly. She sat for a few hours watching and listening to Sarah and Cody, the other dispatcher.

When she was ready to leave, Sarah pulled her aside. “First of all, I wanted to offer my congratulations on the baby.”

“Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate it.” Sarah was a down to earth woman in her thirties. She had a no-nonsense approach to everything, and next to Lonnie, she called the shots around dispatch.

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“Secondly, Lonnie figured you’d pick things back up quickly so he left a tentative schedule for you. Look over it and see what you think. If it’s okay, we’ll jot you down for those days.” Toni took the sheet from her and glanced over it. She worked both days of the upcoming weekend, plus one weeknight in between. The rest of the month consisted of at least one weekend day and two to three weeknights. Not overwhelming, but it sure wouldn’t leave much time at home. It was perfect.

“These are fine,” she said handing back the schedule to Sarah.

“You sure it won’t be too much with you being pregnant?”

“I’ll be fine. I can always sit with my feet up.”

“That’s true,” Sarah said with a grin. “I’ll make sure Lonnie gets you a nice cushion. You could probably ask for just about anything at this point. He’s so grateful he’d likely give it to you.” Toni laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, you get on home. I’ll see you Thursday.” Toni waved and headed out to her Jeep. When she got home and let herself in the house, she nearly groaned aloud. Matt, A.J. and Simon were all sitting on the couch obviously waiting for her.

Ignoring them, she set about making a sandwich.

“It’s not going to work,” Matt announced.

She turned around and raised her brow.

“You’re ignoring us.”

“I’m eating,” she pointed out.

“Well, that’s something, at least. You haven’t been doing enough of that lately.”

“Don’t lecture,” she said with a frown. She turned back to her sandwich, but she felt their stares. If she were really brave, she’d go to

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her room and bar the door. But that would immediately send the signal she was indeed avoiding them. Better to sit here and eat then go to bed.

“We want to talk to you, Toni,” Matt persisted.

With a sigh she turned back around. “Can a girl eat in peace?”

“By all means finish, but when you’re done, we’re going to have a little talk.”

She rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“I think there is,” Simon spoke up, his voice strained.

Panic assailed her. Surely he wouldn’t bring up what happened in front of the guys. Her food coiled in a knot in her throat then hit her stomach like a ton of bricks. Her stomach lurched in protest.

Not bothering to explain, she bolted for the bathroom. Her stomach emptied in short order. She leaned heavily against the toilet, anxiety eating a hole in her gut.

“Toni, open the damn door,” Matt demanded.

Well, at least it wasn’t Simon. Weakly, she flipped the bolt then returned to her stance of hanging her head over the bowl.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he shoved into the small bathroom with her.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He grabbed a washcloth from the closet and ran cold water over it.

“Here,” he said offering it to her.

“Thanks.” She rose slowly, wiping her forehead with the cloth.

“Now suppose you tell me what the hell is going on with you.” She flushed the toilet then lowered the seat so she could sit. “Nothing is going on. This is normal pregnancy stuff.”

“I see. You getting a second job is normal pregnancy stuff. And not saying anything to me about it is normal pregnancy stuff.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at her.

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She let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s no big deal. I wanted the extra money for when the baby comes. Lonnie’s offered me a job before. I thought it would be a great job. You worked on Sunday so I didn’t see you.”

“You used to come around the station,” he pointed out. “And in the past you would have come right over to share any news.”

“I just don’t feel comfortable coming around right now,” she hedged.

It wasn’t a complete lie. She was uncomfortable, but her pregnancy had nothing to do with it.

“Is my asking Stephanie to marry me bothering you? You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, Toni. If you want to stay here, just say so. I don’t want you killing yourself at a second job in order to afford to move out.”

She stared at him in shock. “No. God, no. That isn’t it at all, Matt. I’m thrilled for you. Stephanie is a wonderful girl and you deserve to be happy. I’m angry at myself for being such a screwup. You shouldn’t have to plan your life around me and my stupidity.” He frowned hard at her. “I don’t want to ever hear you talking like that. Stephanie and I could never be happy knowing it was at your expense. And you aren’t stupid. No one thinks that.”

“So you don’t think it’s stupid I got myself knocked up and have no man in the wings?” she asked dryly. She immediately regretted her snappy question when Matt jumped on it with both feet.

“I have to admit I’m curious,” he said quietly. “You’ve never talked about the father. I’ve respected your privacy, but I’m a little hurt you feel you can’t confide in me.”

She groaned. “Oh, Matt. It’s not that I can’t confide in you. The fact is I can’t confide in anyone right now. I’ve just got to work out some things on my own right now.”

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“I don’t like this distance I feel opening up between you and us. You know A.J. and Simon love you as much as I do. We’re family.” Her heart constricted. Matt would be so pissed if she ruined things between the four of them. And she may well have already done it.

“Just give me some time. This pregnancy gig isn’t a cake walk.”

“Let us help you, Toni. You aren’t alone.”

“Thanks, Matt. I just need some time to sort things out.”

“Okay, I’ll back off, but you have to promise to take it easy. I don’t like this second job you’ve gotten at all. And if you don’t take care of yourself, I’ll make sure Lonnie cans your ass.” She laughed. “Okay, deal. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.” He gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

She wasn’t about to tell him she worked then. After he’d left, she shuffled into her bedroom and pulled back the covers. Truth was, she didn’t feel much like going to sleep, but the alternative was getting the riot act from the guys.

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Thursday morning, to her surprise, she seemed to have popped out overnight. When she shed her clothes to get into the shower, she had a very noticeable bulge. She stood in front of the mirror examining all the different angles.

According to her pregnancy book, she should be feeling the baby’s first kick just anytime now. In just four more weeks, she’d have her sonogram at twenty weeks, and if everything went right, she’d find out the sex.