was another pause, but she could hear breathing. She was about to hang up when a strong suspicion leaped at her. “Mr. Duncan?” she blurted.
“Yes, but how did you know?” He sounded surprised.
“I just read my mail,” she said dryly. “When I called the clinic, they told me you’d been sent the same letter I got. I assume you’re as stunned as I am by this bizarre turn of events.”
“Stunned doesn’t begin to describe my reaction,” he replied with a thread of humor in his voice that warmed her, despite her wariness. At least the situation hadn’t been all his idea.
Megan frowned. She must remember she really knew nothing about what kind of man he was—except, of course, that he had an adequate sperm count. Nor did she want to know. Instantly her defenses went back up.
“It’s the letter I’m calling about,” he said. “This is awkward, but did you request me as a partner in your childbirth class?”
It was the last thing Megan had expected him to ask. “No,” she replied forcefully. “Why would I do that?”
There was a pause. “Could we get together somewhere and talk?” he asked. “It’s hard to discuss this kind of thing over the phone.”
Panic welled in Megan. Everything was happening too fast. “Getting together isn’t a good idea. It’s obvious the clinic made some kind of mistake, but we can still pretend we don’t know each other’s identity. I don’t want anything from you, Mr. Duncan, and I don’t want to meet you.” Her voice was rising, so she took a deep breath. “This was all supposed to be confidential. From here on out, let’s keep it that way.”
Before he could reply, Megan hung up the receiver. She was shaking all over. This kind of stress couldn’t be good for her baby. It sure as heck wasn’t good for her. She ran a soothing hand over her stomach and murmured softly.
Before she could completely calm down, the phone rang again. Taking deep, slow breaths, she let the machine take it. Someone at the clinic had a lot of explaining to do! As soon as she heard Duncan’s voice, she pressed her hands to her ears and left the room. Moving as quickly as she could, she went back upstairs, humming loudly to block him out.
The phone rang twice more that afternoon while she tried to work. She thought about calling the clinic again, but she finally decided to wait until she’d had a chance to think the situation through. When she finally went back downstairs and saw the insistent flashing light on her answering machine, she deleted both messages without listening to them.
He called again while Megan was eating her supper—vegetable soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. She wasn’t hungry, but her baby needed nourishment.
“Ms. Malone,” his voice pleaded from her machine, “would you please pick up the phone? We need to talk. I’m not going to go away. Now that I know you’re carrying my child, you can’t expect me to just forget about it. I had no idea the clinic had used my sperm. They didn’t have the right. It was a mistake, do you understand?”
A mistake? How could that be? Why would he donate sperm in the first place if he didn’t want them to use it? She grabbed the receiver, intent on asking him just that.
“Oh, you’re home,” he said as soon as she identified herself.
Ignoring the trace of sarcasm in his voice, she asked about the mistake. “That is what happens when you donate to a fertility clinic,” she added. He wasn’t the only one who could be sarcastic.
He sighed. “Look, it’s a long story, but I never agreed to be a part of the donor program. The first I knew anything about this was when I got the letter today. If you don’t believe me, ask the clinic staff.”
Megan chewed on her lip. “I believe you,” she said reluctantly. Why would he lie when she could find out the truth so easily? “I already called, but no one there could tell me anything. I’ll try again in the morning. They certainly have a lot of explaining to do about violating my confidentiality as well as yours.” It must be an even bigger shock for him, she realized, finding out he’d fathered a child he hadn’t planned on. “I promise I won’t ever bother you about this. Since you never intended to be a donor in the first place, you can just put the whole thing from your mind.”
“I don’t think I can do that,” he said slowly.
“What are you saying?” Fresh panic sliced through her like a machete. “You’re not going to make trouble for me, are you? Sue the clinic if you need some kind of revenge.” Men!
“A lawsuit wouldn’t alter the fact that I’m going to be a father, that a child of mine is living a life I’ll have no part of. I just don’t think I can accept that as easily as you seem to expect me to.”
Megan squeezed her eyes shut. Going to be a father! This kind of talk wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “With or without your consent, you were a donor,” she said. “That’s all. But I’m having this child alone, the way I’ve planned to do all along, and I’m raising it without any interference. As far as I’m concerned, you have no role here. You’re not involved.”
“That’s not true,” he argued. “Now that I know about the baby, I can’t pretend it doesn’t exist.”
“That’s exactly what you must do,” she insisted. “It’s my baby and it’s going to stay that way. I have a contract with the clinic. I requested an anonymous donor.”
“You don’t have a contract with me.”
“Look,” she said, “the sooner you accept the fact that you have no claim, the better off we’ll both be.” How she hoped that she was right about that! “Now I really have to go. Your complaint is with the clinic, not me.”
If she had to, she would get an attorney and fight him, but she prayed it wouldn’t come to that. She made a good living, but lawyers were expensive. No doubt it was Mr. Duncan’s testosterone beating its chest over the situation, but when he really thought about the hassle, surely he’d lose interest.
Mac waited until the next day before he attempted to contact the birth mother again. Meanwhile, he tried without success to get in touch with someone at the clinic. Dennis hadn’t gotten back yet and the director was still out sick. The receptionist’s voice sounded panicky as she confided that things were a little confused right now and there was no one else who could help him at the moment.
Mac wanted to tell her that “confused” was putting it mildly.
“I’ll definitely pass on your message as soon as I know who’ll be filling in,” she added.
“Good grief, how long is the director going to be gone?” Mac demanded.
“I can’t discuss that. All I can say is that she’s ill, but as soon as I know who’s handling her duties I’ll have them call you.”
Frustrated, Mac gave up. Just his luck the clinic was apparently suffering some crisis of its own. Until he could get a few answers from them, he’d just have to deal with Megan Malone directly.
What was she like? He wondered. What kind of mother would she be? How well could she provide for the child? And what were Mac’s obligations legally, financially and ethically? She might refuse his help, but that didn’t let him off the hook, not as far as his own
