half-month share in the profits maybe, but that’s all. The partnership agreement states that if a partner dies, his share in the clinic is split among the other doctors.”
“I see.” Dillon raked his hand through his hair. “Look, why don’t you let me pay off your creditors and the mortgage.”
She stopped pacing and shot him a horrified look. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t hear of it.”
“Dammit, Emily. I can’t let you give up your home. You love this place.”
“Actually…I don’t.” She smiled wanly at his shocked expression. “Keith’s the one who insisted we buy this house. He wanted something that shouted, ‘I’ve made it.’ I’ve never liked this house nor have I felt truly at home here. It’s too big and too stiff and formal. I wanted something cozier and warmer.”
“I see. The trouble is, though the value of this house has risen a good deal since you bought it, even if you sell for top dollar the profit you’ll make won’t be enough to pay off all of Keith’s creditors.”
“I’ll sell Keith’s Porsche, too. And the sailboat and the beach house. And if I have to, I have some jewelry I can sell.”
“Like hell, you will,” Dillon growled. “Before it comes to that I’ll personally go to every bank that loaned Keith money and pay it back myself, whether you like it or not.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” she snapped back. “It’s my jewelry, and I’ll do with it what I please. You don’t have anything to say about it.”
“Dammit, Emily, I hate the thought of you selling your jewelry.”
“Why? I have no intention of wearing any of it ever again.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
She turned to him with glacial eyes, her face set. “Because your brother gave me every piece.”
Dillon stared at her, his chest suddenly tight. What did that mean? That she didn’t want anything that was in any way connected to Keith? If so, did that include the baby? And him?
The latter would come as no surprise. He even expected it. Especially since she’d never been fond of him anyway. He also looked enough like Keith to be a constant, unwanted reminder of her faithless husband.
She claimed to want the baby, but had she been telling the truth? It made him sick to even think that she might reject the child she carried because she believed it was Keith’s.
No. He refused to think that. Not Emily.
“I see,” he said finally. “All right, then. If that’s how you feel.”
He picked up a document from the file. “This is the insurance policy on the condo. Luckily it will cover the cost of rebuilding. I checked.”
“You can’t be serious. I’m not going to rebuild that place.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have any choice. The covenants in that complex require that you rebuild, and the other owners will insist on it. But look on the bright side. You can probably sell it for a tidy profit.”
“Fine. The sooner the better,” she muttered.
“Also there’s the Lexus that Keith bought for his lady friend. The loan papers on the car are in the file. It was purchased in Keith’s name, which means you can sell it.”
This time Emily answered with a bitter look and continued pacing.
Using a fresh sheet of paper, Dillon did some quick calculations. “If my estimates are right, if you sell everything we talked about, you may have enough to pay off all Keith’s creditors, but just barely. There won’t be much left over.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just as long as I get free of these debts.” She sank back down in the chair and closed her eyes.
“Don’t start feeling too relieved. You still have a major problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and the baby have to live.”
“I know,” she replied wearily. “I’ll just have to get a job.”
“Doing what? You haven’t held a job since you graduated from college and married Keith, and you never finished the work required to get your teacher certification.”
“That’s because Keith insisted that I stay home. He didn’t want a working wife.”
“I know that. I wasn’t criticizing, just stating facts.”
Emily sighed. “At the time Keith claimed that he wanted to spoil me and make up for the ‘pillar-to-post’ existence I had known for most of my life. I came to realize that he thought having a working wife would somehow diminish his status.”
A bitter chuckle escaped her. “Oh, he knew just which buttons to push to get his way. He made me feel, for the first time in my life, that I was cherished and loved. So naturally I complied with his wishes and became the pampered, stay-at-home doctor’s wife that he wanted. What a mistake that was.”
“Yeah, I know,” Dillon muttered. He had told his brother at the time that he was being unfair to Emily. She’d worked hard to become a teacher, putting herself through college with a series of menial jobs, and she deserved the chance to attain her goal. However, Keith, being Keith, had merely laughed and brushed aside his concern, saying that as the wife of a prominent doctor she would have financial security and social standing, and that was much better than being a low-paid, unappreciated teacher.
“Still, regardless of the reasons, you’re not qualified to teach,” Dillon persisted.
“Then I’ll get a job in an office somewhere. I have a college degree. That has to count for something.”
“That’s true. Except you’re going to find that there are few companies that will be willing to hire a pregnant woman.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Maybe. But that’s how it is.”
Emily gritted her teeth and looked away. She knew he was right, but that only made her feel more helpless and angry. “I’ll find something,” she declared stubbornly. “If worst comes to worst, I can always go back to waiting tables.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” he snapped. “You have no business being on your feet all day, hefting heavy trays of food. You have a baby to think of.”
She glared at him. “Don’t you think I know that? I am thinking of the baby. As you pointed out, we both have to eat and have a roof over our heads.”
Frustrated, Dillon ground his teeth and studied her mulish expression. It was clear that he wasn’t going to dissuade her about getting a job. And he knew better than to offer to take care of her, though he could easily afford to do so. She’d probably heave something at his head if he suggested it.
“All right. All right. If you’re determined to do this,
