Ryan patted Tracy’s rounded. “Let me state for the record that I’m not in favor of that.”
“I’m not, either!” Jax bit out. Trey startled, opened his eyes and screwed up his little face.
“Don’t cry, buddy. Everything’s all right.” Jax gentled his voice and bounced Trey in his arms. Without taking his eyes off the baby, he said, “It’s just that your mother isn’t making sense.”
“On the contrary,” Marietta said in her best professorial voice, “the logic is perfectly sound. In the indigenous culture, the husband is named the legal father but the other men are involved in the baby’s life.”
“Now how could that work?” Jax still sounded incredulous but his voice wasn’t much louder than a whisper. Trey smiled up at him and touched his cheek with a chubby hand. Jax really was a terrific father, Marietta thought.
“The child with multiple fathers gets more fish, berries and meat,” Marietta said, being careful not to let her smile break free.
“Oh, dear,” Tracy said. Since finding out she was pregnant, that was as strong as her sister’s language got.
“Does anybody at NPR know you got married and had a baby?” Ryan asked.
“Yes,” Marietta said. “The person who called congratulated me.”
“Oh, dear,” Tracy repeated.
Jax looked sick. “You’re really going to preach that stuff about the more fathers, the better on live radio?”
Marietta couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer. She covered her mouth to stifle it.
“What’s so funny?” Jax asked.
“It was a joke, Jax!” Marietta was still laughing.
“What?” Jax looked as flummoxed as when someone didn’t find one of his punch lines funny.
“Aren’t you always telling me to lighten up?” Marietta ruffled their baby’s hair and then laid a hand on the side of Jax’s face. The skin of his cheek felt slightly scratchy against her palm. “Of course I’m not going to advocate multiple fathers!”
The corners of Jax’s down-turned mouth slowly curved up. “Then what are you going to talk about?”
“I just had a baby and I’m married to Coyote Man, the UWA’s most popular act.” Inexplicably, but Marietta wouldn’t get into that. “In this case, After the Sperm refers to how a baby can strengthen the pair bond.”
“Thanks for clarifying,” Jax said with another one of those slow, symmetrical smiles. “We wouldn’t want to have another misconception.”
“Maybe not.” Marietta got up from her chair and ruffled their now-smiling baby’s hair. “But I sure am glad we had the first one.”
Then she leaned down and kissed the only man she’d ever want flush on the mouth. Because she was a woman in love, she mated for life.
Other romantic comedies by Darlene Gardner:
BAIT AND SWITCH
SNOOPS IN THE CITY
About the author
While working as a newspaper sportswriter, Darlene Gardner realized she’d rather make up quotes than rely on an athlete to say something interesting. So she quit her job and concentrated on a fiction career that has turned out pretty well. She’s the author of more than thirty contemporary novels from single-title romantic comedies to emotionally charged family dramas.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
About the author
The Misconception Page 29