to do it?”
“Step aside? No. Not if I can help it. That case has been on my docket for months now.”
“A high profile divorce like that? To be honest, I’m surprised this is the first time it’s come up.”
Roger and Shelia McCain had worked for a local personal computer company during the boom. The millions they’d made thrust them into the local limelight. Everyone in town wanted to know the details of their divorce settlement. “Until recently, it’s only made the local weekly,” she reasoned. “But now that the story is being picked up by the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle, he can’t resist getting the press. Guess he figures it’s good for the campaign.”
“Good for the campaign? That kind of daily press would be worth a fortune. Maybe you should just let him handle it.”
She shot Kevin an incredulous look. “And let that viper turn those poor people’s divorce into a media circus about waning family values? Think about what that would do to them. Worse still to their kids. I’m not going to give him the case unless I don’t have any other options.”
“Oh, honey.” Kevin shook his head slowly. “Just be careful.”
“I won’t be bullied by him,” she insisted. “Sure, he can make my life difficult, but that won’t further his political ambitions.”
Kevin raised his eyebrows pointedly, as if she’d missed something obvious.
“What else can he do?” she asked with false cheer. “It’s not like he can fire me.” Her chuckle died in her throat when Kevin didn’t join in. “You think he’s going to fire me? That’s ridiculous. Even he wouldn’t try to have someone removed from the bench. Would he?”
“I think if you gave him a reason to he would. Especially if he could pin you with something morally questionable. Think about it, you’d be the first associate district judge fired in over forty years. It’d be all over the press, so it’d be a chance to remind everyone of the hyperconservative values he stands for.”
She studied her friend. “Are you worried about your job?”
“Me?” He shrugged. “Not really. I’m very careful, and you’re the only one around here who knows.” Kevin didn’t dare utter the word gay in these conservative halls. “Besides, it’s not me he hates. And if he gets rid of you, he could swoop in, take over the McCain case and maximize his media exposure.”
As she listened to Kevin, she felt a sinking sensation deep in her stomach. What if he was right? What if Hatcher was just looking for a reason to fire her?
She’d been perfectly behaved, perfectly respectable her entire life. Except…
Except now she was pregnant. With no plans of marrying.
Back when she’d first agreed to be Beth and Stew’s surrogate, it had seemed a simple enough matter. Of course, that was a full five months ago, before Hatcher had announced his plans to run for the Supreme Court. Yes, it had occurred to her that some of her more conservative colleagues might raise their eyebrows, but surely no one could fault her for being a surrogate mother for her sister. But now that Beth was pregnant herself, would people question Kate’s pregnancy?
Kevin must have read the distress on her face, but he hastened to reassure her. “Don’t worry, hon. You’re way too smart to give him a reason.”
Kevin’s reassurances did little to pacify her fears. “What if I had done something wrong?”
“You?” Kevin raised his eyebrows. “Little Miss Perfect you? You haven’t made a misstep in decades.”
“Hypothetically, let’s say I did do something…questionable in Hatcher’s view. He’s just one judge. Wouldn’t he have to convince the other seven district judges in order to get me removed?”
“I’d say it all depends on whether they think your ‘questionable’ behavior impairs your abilities or position of authority. In this conservative political environment, it might not take much. Especially with Hatcher focusing his campaign on moral values. The last thing the other judges want is to appear morally lax. Good thing for you you’re squeaky clean, right?”
She smiled lamely and hoped it didn’t look too much like a grimace. “Right. Lucky me.”
By the time Kevin left for court, Kate’s head was reeling. All she could do was stare numbly at her desk, asking herself over and over again, Could he be right?
Unfortunately, the only answer she could come up with was Yes. Very soon she was going to appear to be an unmarried mother-to-be. That seemed like exactly the kind of morally questionable behavior Hatcher would use against her.
Three
Standing outside Jake’s apartment, waiting for him to answer the door, Kate was practically shaking in her boots. Or she would have been if she’d been wearing boots. As it was, she was merely shaking in her sensible, size-nine black pumps.
“Can we talk?” she blurted out when the door finally opened.
Jake stared at her blankly for a long moment.
Long enough for her to be reminded how handsome he was. How purely masculine. Of course, it didn’t help matters that he was bare-chested.
But the thing that really got to her, that actually made her heart stop beating for a second, was how the sheer size of him made her feel feminine. Delicate. Almost frail, even.
She was a solid five-nine, barefoot. No one made her feel delicate.
No one except Jake.
She didn’t like the feeling one bit. And she couldn’t help wishing that Beth and Stewart had picked some other man to be the donor. Someone who didn’t make her feel so distinctly at a disadvantage. Preferably someone who didn’t make her feel anything.
Someone who didn’t look as if he’d just tumbled out of bed.
“Oh, God,” she muttered, finally breaking the silence. “You’re not alone.” The naked chest, the disheveled hair, the sleepy stupor. She’d have put it all together sooner if she hadn’t been so distracted by the…well, the naked chest and disheveled hair. Mortification spread through her and she spun on her heel to leave. “I’ll come back another time. Or better yet, just forget I ever came here.”
But before she could make it even a few steps, he grabbed her by the arm.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You got me out of bed. You might as well say whatever it is you came here to say.”
“I…”
He pulled her into the apartment, not roughly, but with enough force to remind her—again—how much stronger he was. Toeing the door shut, he wheeled her around to face him.
“I, um…” she began again, only to have all thoughts evaporate the instant she realized how close she was to his bare chest.
“What’s wrong? You look…sick, or something.”
Or something, indeed. “I’m a little
