Lisa Shriver. She got it from her doctor, a Dr. Peters.”
Dr. Peters was an old friend, and one of Thad’s few confidants. They’d discussed Thad’s intentions at his last physical, three months ago. Evidently Dr. Peters had decided to help him, after all. “And you called because you need ninety-eight thousand dollars?”
“And change.”
“For something you won’t tell me.”
“It’s not a big secret. It’s just my business. If we decide to…to work together, I want my personal life kept as separate from yours as possible. I’m sure you understand.”
He did understand, and he felt the same way, which was a point in Ms. McKinney’s favor. “What do you do?”
“I’m in my second year of med school. I want to be a pediatrician.”
“Now I know why you need so much money.”
A faint smile reminiscent of the one in the photograph flitted across her face, then her gaze fell to the floor. “So, would you like to explain the details of what you propose, or have I lost any chance of…of being the one you select?”
Thad sat on the corner of his desk so he wasn’t hovering over her. “Let’s just say I’m willing to spend a few more minutes together before I decide.”
Her hands knotted, but when she looked up at him, her unique beauty, and that mysterious something that haunted her eyes, struck him again. “I’m usually not difficult to get along with,” she said softly. “I’m sorry about earlier.”
Thad winced, surprised that even the dream of graduating from med school could bring this proud woman to her knees. “I’m not looking for an apology, Ms. McKinney.”
“Macy.”
Maybe they were getting somewhere at last. “Fine, Macy then. And please, call me Thad.”
“I know you want a baby, Thad. Would you mind telling me why you’re not able to have one in the normal way?”
He cleared his throat to dislodge the lump that nearly choked him whenever he spoke of Valerie. “My wife died in a car accident eighteen months ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“She was carrying our first child, a son. The doctors couldn’t save either of them.”
“How terrible.” They were simple words, the same so many people had used over the months, but something in the tone of Macy’s voice told him she could hear the silent scream inside him. And he hated the vulnerability her knowing inspired.
Pushing off the desk, he went to the window so he wouldn’t have to face the pity, thinking that he preferred the harshness of her judgment. “I merely want the child I was denied, Ms. McKinney…Macy. It’s as simple as that.”
“Simple?” she echoed. “Nothing about this is simple. Surely you must realize that.”
“It’s as simple as we make it.”
“How do you plan to…I mean, how would I…”
He kept his face averted. “Become pregnant? You’d be artificially inseminated, of course. I want this to be handled as professionally as possible, in every way.”
“Of course.” She seemed to breathe a little easier. “And once I’m pregnant…”
He turned toward her. “You’d carry my baby and deliver it, then you’d turn the child over to me and walk away forever. And for your trouble, you’d be a hundred thousand dollars richer.”
She studied him as though trying to decide what he was thinking behind the mask of his face. “What if I were to miscarry?”
“You’d be paid in installments as the pregnancy progresses, the final payment after delivery, all nonrefundable deposits.”
“God, it sounds like you’re buying a house,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.
“The terms have to be clear, Macy, or we’re setting ourselves up for disaster.”
Composing herself, she sat up taller. “I realize that. This is just all so…so unnatural.”
Thad went back to staring down at the traffic ebbing and flowing in the street below, remembering Valerie’s radiant smile the morning she woke him with breakfast in bed to say she was pregnant. Valerie was gone. Now there was no natural way to achieve what he wanted. But when the baby arrived, the end would justify the means. He wouldn’t be alone anymore. After eighteen long months he might actually feel something again. “It’s the only way.”
“What if the baby isn’t whole or healthy? What then?”
“Perfect or not, the child is mine. I’ll take care of any medical bills. On the off chance that something should…happen to you in delivery, the money would go to your heirs.”
“That’s a comfort, at least.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the sarcasm in her voice, and she lifted her hands in a defensive gesture. “I know, I know. We have to talk about all possibilities, make everything clear.”
“It’s a business deal, Macy. The more we think of it that way, the easier it will be for both of us.”
“A business deal,” she repeated, then, more loudly, “When do you hope to finalize your plans?”
“The sooner the better.” He thought of a baby’s happy gurgle breaking the tomblike silence of the house that awaited him at the end of each day and thought it couldn’t be soon enough. “Are you interested?”
Her forehead creased and she sighed. “Yes.”
“Then you’ll need to fill out an application.” He strode to his desk and searched for the packet he’d so carefully created, the one that grew thicker every day. By the time Ms. McKinney finished with his questions, he’d know everything about her, from her shoe size to her grandparents’ medical history. “You are single, right? That’s imperative.”
Tucking her silky black hair behind one ear, she gave him a look that said she was surprised marital status even mattered to a man who was already bending all the rules. “I’m divorced.”
“Good.” He handed her the questionnaire, and her eyebrows shot up when the weight of it transferred to her hand.
“I’ve seen shorter dissertations. When would you like this back?”
Thad wasn’t sure how long it would take to fill out. No one else had gotten beyond the initial interview. Macy McKinney hadn’t passed with flying colors, but he was interested enough to take it one step farther. “I’m still interviewing, so you might want to get it back to me in the next day or two.”
“Fine.” She glanced at her watch and stuck out her hand. “I have to go. Thank you for your time.”
Thad clasped her hand in his, noting
