going to have this baby before at least Sunday night, that was all there was to it, and she had no intention of sharing the doctor’s warnings with Garrett. The information might up the coercion level for getting her to go back to Austin with him immediately, and as vulnerable as she felt, she didn’t think she was up to the confrontation.
She had to admit she was glad to have him there to drive her home, though. She was definitely feeling a little weak and shaky. And thankfully, he seemed to have accepted her assurances. He was quiet as he escorted her out to the car again.
Starting up the engine, he turned to look at her. “Nothing’s wrong? What about the pain you were having?” Garrett didn’t move the car as he waited for Lanie to answer.
So much for accepting her word for anything.
“I told you, I’m fine,” Lanie repeated, working to make her voice firm. Garrett’s piercing dark gaze, so much like Ben’s—and yet so different, unsettled her. She wasn’t used to having anyone worrying about her.
For just a moment Garrett’s attention and concern felt nice. Kind of warm and fuzzy, with just the right dash of the unknown.
Ben had certainly never worried about her. He’d always been too busy worrying about himself, angry and obsessed by his bitter emotional struggle with his father.
How would Walter Blakemore feel if he knew he was right about at least one thing about her—that his son’s marriage to her had been a mistake?
Reality reared up, ugly and painful. The Blakemores hated her. Garrett wasn’t worried about her. His concern and attention was not for her. He was worried about the possible Blakemore heir.
“It was just false labor, like I thought,” she forced herself to say blithely. “Now, please, I really have to get home. I have guests coming in tonight.”
She remembered suddenly she didn’t even have the room made up. Just thinking of the evening ahead made her bone weary. She’d had a full house the night before—and had intended them to be her last guests for a while. She’d taken care not to allow bookings for the month preceding her due date and for six weeks afterward, the most time she could afford to close the struggling B&B. But she’d been feeling chipper this morning when a couple had called for last-minute reservations.
She regretted the impulse that had made her accept the booking. She wasn’t feeling nearly so chipper now.
Garrett backed the car out of the parking space, but he wasn’t through with his questions.
“How do you know it’s false labor?” he asked as he swung the car into the street, heading in the direction of the B&B.
“The contractions were erratic,” Lanie explained briefly. “And they went away. Also, the pain began in my lower abdomen, rather than my lower back—which is where real contractions usually start.” She looked out the window, as if intensely interested in the scenery passing by, discouraging further conversation. She had no intention of elaborating.
They passed through the town square, complete with a courthouse surrounded on four sides by active businesses that clearly appealed to Hill Country tourism—a hotel, several restaurants and antique and novelty shops. In a few minutes they arrived at the Victorian B&B. Lanie unhooked her seat belt and shoved open the passenger-side door.
“Thank you for taking me to the doctor.”
“No problem.” Garrett removed his keys from the ignition.
“I’m sorry you made this trip out here for nothing,” she said with almost painful civility. “I really don’t think there’s anything else for us to talk about.”
“Lanie—”
“I’m not going back to Austin with you,” she said, cutting Garrett off. “And I don’t even want to discuss those tests.”
“Lanie—”
“Walter can believe whatever he wants to believe. I merely felt it was my duty to inform him about Ben’s child. That’s all. I don’t want anything from him—not his help, and certainly not his money, if that’s what he’s afraid of. Tell him he can relax.”
Salty pinpricks stabbed at Lanie’s eyes. What a time to get hormonal! she cursed inwardly, determined to put the emotion down to her pregnancy rather than to the idea that she might give a hoot about what Ben’s father thought. Or Garrett, for that matter.
“Lanie—”
“Goodbye,” she managed, and got out of the car. She slammed the car door shut, wishing she could make a more graceful departure than that of a lumbering elephant, which was what she felt like at the moment.
She heard Garrett’s car door shut behind her and knew he’d gotten out, too. “Lanie, I’m not leaving. Not tonight, at least.”
Lanie’s shoulders drooped at Garrett’s words. She stopped in the middle of the street and swiveled to face him, wishing desperately that he would disappear. She was far too tired to deal with him.
“Look, I’m not going to press you about the tests. Not tonight.” Garret approached Lanie. She looked tired, and he knew the decision he’d just come to was the right one. Her golden waves shifted in the wind as she stood there, the long tresses swinging softly around her small shoulders. The afternoon sun caressed her bare cheeks, the warm light loving her smooth skin. Again Garrett experienced an oddly protective sensation.
He put it down to the fact that the baby Lanie carried might be Ben’s. This was about the baby, he reminded himself. Not Lanie.
“I heard what the nurse told you,” he went on. “You’re supposed to rest—and you have guests coming. I could stay and help.” He didn’t know what work this would entail, but he couldn’t see leaving her alone right now.
He wasn’t entirely convinced she was telling him everything about her visit with the doctor. Besides, nothing had been settled. He had to find out the truth, for Walter’s sake. For Ben’s sake.
And for his own, he realized abruptly. He had to know if Lanie was an innocent—or a liar. He didn’t even want to think about why that was suddenly so important to him. It simply was.
Lanie blinked. “You—help?”
She looked so shocked he didn’t know whether to laugh or be insulted. He was getting tired of her looking at him like he was Attila the Hun.
Not that he cared whether she liked him or not. Not at all. It was just that as long as she disliked him this intensely, he was going to have a hard time getting her to cooperate.
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Of course I can help. Why not?”
Chapter Three
Lanie noticed Garrett looked kind of nice when he smiled. Less like a power broker, and more like a human. He even had a dimple, just on the left side, which she hadn’t noticed before. Perhaps because the man didn’t seem to smile all that much.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here tonight.” As tempting as his help sounded, she didn’t think having Garrett around, any more than necessary,
