“You told him about the artificial insemination?”
“Yes, and that you were the donor.”
“Am I going to get to meet your dad?” He asked the question lightly, but it was suddenly important that he did.
“If you’d like to. We’re going to the play at the Little Theater tomorrow night. I think there are still tickets available if you’d want to go.”
“I’ll see if I can get a seat. What’s your father doing while you’re at work?”
“Actually he drove to Grand Rapids today and won’t be back until late tonight. He has a friend who lives there and he hasn’t seen him in a long time.”
Sam had been restraining himself from touching Corrie but now that restraint broke and he reached out and stroked her cheek. “How would you like to come to my place tonight? I’ll cook you dinner.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. We can just kick back, relax, watch a video. Nothing heavy.”
“Do you mean that?”
“I do. It will be just you, me, Patches and Jasper hanging out.” His hand settled on her shoulder. When his thumb found a freckle on her neck and circled it, he felt her tremble.
“That sounds wonderful,” she said a bit shakily. “What can I bring?”
“Just you.” He might have kissed her then, he might have taken her into his arms, and they might have made love again on the couch, but he’d never know because the bell in the reception area rang, and he guessed Mr. Thompson had come to pick up Rochester, a boxer who had had minor surgery today.
As Corrie moved away from him, gave him a smile and left the lounge, Sam knew no other vet assistant could replace her.
No other woman could replace her? Because she was carrying his child?
Absolutely.
Tonight he hoped she could relax around him. Tonight, he hoped she’d let her walls down and invite him in.
“Can I help?” Corrie had entered Sam’s apartment a few moments before. While she shed her jacket, Jasper was already tugging on a chew toy with Patches in the living room.
“Everything’s almost ready.” Sam added a pat of butter to the vegetables then looked over at her. When their eyes met, her heart beat so fast she could hardly get her breath. There was something in his expression that made her feel warm and tingly, and very glad she was here.
“You can grab the salad from the refrigerator. Once I take out the meat loaf, we’ll be all set.”
Telling herself this was Sam, she was here to relax and just have a fun time, she crossed to the refrigerator. “Where did you learn to cook meat loaf?”
“It’s my dad’s recipe. He made it every Thursday night and we always looked forward to it.”
After she set the salad on the table, Sam brought the main course to the table and motioned for her to sit. “Having dinner together was something Dad insisted we should do as often as we could. It was hard sometimes, particularly when we were playing sports, but Sunday dinner especially was sacred and nothing interfered.”
“That’s nice,” Corrie murmured, thinking of her and her mom, the long silences after her dad left, the companionship as they’d gotten used to living without him.
“I should cook more,” she admitted. “I eat too much Chinese takeout. But that will stop once I have a baby. I want to make my own baby food.”
“You’re going to be a natural mother.”
“As natural as I can be.”
“Does that mean labor and delivery, too?”
“Sure does. I might even look into having a midwife.”
“You’re not serious.”
“Yes, I am.” She knew exactly why he was frowning. “It’s safe, Sam, really.”
“I’d have to be convinced of that.”
She reached across the table and touched his hand. “I’ve done a lot of research on the Internet and I plan to speak to someone in town. I’ll give you the number if you’d like.”
“We can always go together.”
She pulled her hand back. “Yes, I guess we could.” But did she want to? Did she want Sam to be involved in everything?
Over dinner, Sam took the conversation in a different direction. He told her stories about him and his brothers when they were kids and he elicited information from her about her life in Minneapolis. They were sitting around the corner from each other and every once in a while their knees brushed. Sam didn’t move his leg away and she tried to steady her pulse. He looked so sexy tonight in jeans and a chambray shirt, the sleeves rolled up. His sneakers had seen a lot of walks with Patches and she loved his unpretentiousness. She loved him.
But that confused her and upset her. Sometimes she found it downright impossible to believe she was going to have his baby. Maybe that was because of the way they’d done it. If they made love again…
She wasn’t seriously considering it, was she?
“What just crossed your mind?” he asked her.
Embarrassed, she looked down at her plate. “Nothing.”
He tipped her chin up with his thumb. “You’re a terrible liar. Whatever it was, it added some extra sparkle to your eyes.”
When she still didn’t say anything, he let her off the hook. “Dessert now or later?”
“Later.”
They were clearing the table together when it happened. Sam was so close Corrie couldn’t think straight. He was wearing aftershave tonight. Every time she inhaled it, she noticed his strong jaw, the line of his lips, and her insides felt like mush. She reached for a napkin at the same time he did. He was slow to pull away. They bumped into each other at the sink. He laughed and she did, too. But the laughter faded away into unbearable awareness.
When she returned to the table, he watched her and she felt as if he were seeing her naked again. She imagined him naked and her face felt hot. He picked up the silverware and she reached for the glasses. She dropped one and water spilled, soaking the tablecloth and dripping onto the chair.
She backed away and murmured, “I’m so sorry.”
Sam didn’t seem to care about the spilled water. He was there in front of her, holding her shoulders, kissing her. All of their pent-up desire caught fire.
His lips were hot, his tongue possessive and his hands? She wanted to feel them everywhere. When her fingers fumbled with his shirt buttons, he helped her. As his hands tunneled under her sweater and lifted it over her head, she unfastened her bra. She had worn a pale-blue lacy one tonight that matched her bikini panties. She hadn’t consciously dressed for Sam, had she? She hadn’t known this was going to happen.
They were so eager for each other that they didn’t move into the living-room area or the bedroom. Once Sam removed his boots, jeans and briefs, he swung a chair around, sat on it and watched her finish removing her clothes. When he opened his arms to her, she straddled him and sank down onto his lap. Where they’d bantered and talked before, there were no words now, only hunger and the all-consuming need to feel Sam inside of her. He nibbled at her collarbone then took her breast in his hand and brought his lips to it. The sensations that tugged at her womb were erotic and exciting as she cried out and then moved restlessly on his lap seeking fulfillment.
He read the signal and understood it. Holding her hips, he entered her. The sheer completion Corrie felt shook her. The words I love you almost slipped from her lips, but he was kissing her, holding her tightly and moving inside her. She rocked back and forth on him. She was lost in Sam’s touch and taste, the feel of him hot, hard and swollen where she needed him most. The tantalizing sensations increased like a storm building in ferocity till the lightning and thunder finally released a torrent of rain. Her orgasm poured over her and she held on to Sam. When his final release hit, he broke their kiss, held her tightly, and shuddered against her. They breathed in unison as they let their world right itself again.
Then, as Corrie opened her eyes and looked into Sam’s, she didn’t know if her world would ever be right. She longed to believe that he wanted her and
desired her and saw her as a woman he could find happiness with. Yet, as her breathing became normal, as her body cooled down and she shivered, even though she was still joined to Sam, doubts gnawed at her.
Sam had told Alicia they didn’t have a future, but was he truly over her? Or was he looking for someone merely to distract him from having his dreams dashed? Was he having sex with her because she was convenient? Worse yet, did he have an ulterior motive? He’d told her he wanted joint custody. Did he see this as a means to get it?
“What?” he asked, strain in his voice.
She slid off of him, grabbed for a towel, muttered, “I’ll be right back,” and went straight to the bathroom. It was only when she’d gotten there that she realized she’d forgotten her clothes. Sam Barclay scrambled her brains, kept her off balance, made her unsure. She turned on the water and leaned on the sink.
There was a loud knock on the door. “Corrie, I have your clothes.”
She couldn’t tell him to go away when she was in his bathroom, in his apartment, had just made love with him again. She took a deep breath and then opened the door.
He was holding her sweater and pants, and the blue lacy underwear was on top. “I thought you might need these.”
When she took them from him, her hands brushed his arm and the electricity that had brought them together sparked again.
“I didn’t ask you here tonight for that,” Sam admitted gruffly. “I really did just want to hang out with you.”
“Everything between us is all mixed up. I don’t know what your motives are, or what I want or even if we should be getting involved.”
“What my motives are?”
“You told me you want joint custody. What better way to get it than what just happened?”
She’d rarely seen Sam angry, but he looked angry now. “I would never use sex to persuade you to think my way.”
“Even if it’s not intentional—”
“I’m serious, Corrie. Unintentionally, intentionally, not ever. I don’t know where the chemistry between us came from, but wherever it did, it’s potent. It seems to have a mind of its own. Maybe it will go away as quickly as it erupted. I don’t know. It sure doesn’t feel like that right now.”
He’d pulled on his jeans, zipped the fly but hadn’t buttoned them. She could tell he had an erection again and she didn’t know what to say. She still wanted him, too.
Swearing, he stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door.
Corrie sat on the closed commode, her clothes in hand, not knowing what to do next.
Chapter Twelve
Sam hadn’t planned to have sex with Corrie again.
As he sat in the theater, craning his neck every few minutes to spot Corrie and her dad, he was beginning to believe his subconscious ran his life!
His need for Corrie had been so hungry and hot, so fast and furious, that he’d lost control of it.
The lights blinked, signaling the play would soon begin. Maybe Corrie had convinced her dad meeting Sam wasn’t a good idea.
He spotted movement in the aisle on the other side of the theater—Corrie and her dad hurrying to their seats. The theater went dark and Sam counted the minutes until intermission.
Why was meeting Corrie’s dad such a big deal?
As soon as the lights in the theater blinked back on at intermission, Sam lost no time making his way to the row where Corrie and her father sat. He wasn’t sure what he saw in Corrie’s eyes as her dad stood and shook his hand. She seemed uncertain these days and that wasn’t at all like Corrie.
George Edwards looked Sam up and down. No one wore suits in Rapid Creek unless they were attending a funeral, a wedding…or a Valentine’s Day dance. George was wearing a suit. The way the man was appraising Sam’s sweater and jeans made Sam feel like a teenager taking a girl on a date for the first time.
“I hope you’re enjoying the play, Mr. Edwards.” Sam thought he’d start out with something easy.
“I am. It’s amazing what your local talent can do.”
Sam wasn’t sure where to go from there. Corrie was still silent and he guessed she was going to make him sink or swim on his own. How did you get into a subject like a baby in a place like this?
“I’d be glad to take you both for coffee and dessert when the production’s over,” Sam said. The conversation could be more casual.
George patted his belly. “Oh, I can’t eat dessert this time of night. I’ve become very health conscious, even joined the gym.”
Sam felt as if he was stuck in the middle of nowhere and Corrie wasn’t throwing him a lifeline. He tried again. “Maybe you’d like to visit the clinic tomorrow. Corrie could show you around.”
“I’ll be going ice-fishing tomorrow. And I think my daughter will be glad to get me out of her hair.”
At this Corrie shook her head. “You haven’t been any trouble, Dad, and I know it’s been boring for you while I’ve been at work all day.” She said to Sam, “He brought all his gear along. Tell him about your family’s cabin.”
George patted his daughter on the shoulder. “You said you were thirsty. Why don’t you get something to drink while Sam and I talk.”
Corrie gave Sam an Is-that-okay? look. He nodded. If he had to get to know Corrie’s dad this way, that’s what he’d do. Ice-fishing was safe enough.
But ice-fishing wasn’t the topic her father pursued.
“What made you decide to be a sperm donor for my daughter? Did you get paid for it?”
To Sam’s relief, no other playgoers were within earshot. Sam’s shoulders squared, his spine straightened and he decided he wasn’t going to be defensive with this man, he was just going to tell it like it was. “No fee was involved. This had nothing to do with money.”
George shook his head. “What was in it for you?”
He wasn’t giving Corrie’s dad his life history when he felt as if he was walking up a steep road with no chance of a meeting of minds at the end of it. “I’ve always wanted to be a dad. I admire my own father. And I’ve watched my brother with his son.”
“But you won’t really be a dad, will you? Corrie told me the two of you are friends and you’re her boss. That doesn’t go very far when decisions about the future have to be made. You have no personal investment here. It’s not as if you and my daughter are involved.”
He and Corrie were involved all right. A lot more than this man knew. And Sam was feeling more and more involved every day. Because of the baby? He wasn’t even sure about that.
Corrie’s father went on, “She told me about the job offer from that lawyer.”
“I think she wants to take it.”
“Yes, I think she does, too. But that would be accepting a great responsibility at an important time of her life. I made another suggestion.”
Sam’s instincts told him he wasn’t going to like this suggestion at all.
“Corrie and I are settling some matters on this trip. And the truth of it is, I want to be a father to her in a way I was never able to be. I’d like to be a good granddad to this baby. She and I are mending fences and I don’t want that to stop when I leave. She doesn’t really have a lot of ties here, the way I see it, so I suggested she move back to Minneapolis.”
Back to Minneapolis? Sam’s heart almost stopped.
“She shouldn’t be revving up her life right now, but winding it down a little. As her pregnancy progresses, she’ll need some time off, not new projects. If she returns to Minneapolis with me, she can finish up her degree. After the baby’s born, I can help her. When she’s ready, she can work for a veterinary practice there or start up her own. I could subsidize her. She wouldn’t take any money from me for college, but now I think she’ll see it all differently.”
Independent Corrie depending on her father? Could her mind-set really have changed this much in a week?
Sam had to find out if she was seriously thinking about leaving Rapid Creek.
Corrie’s dad dismissed further conversation with Sam when he
said, “I’m going to find the men’s room before I have to sit through the second half.”
While George headed in one direction, Sam veered toward the lobby. Corrie was examining the performance schedule for the upcoming season.
He tapped her shoulder and when she turned toward him he asked, “Are you seriously thinking about living in Minneapolis?”
Usually Corrie showed her emotions. Even though she was sometimes guarded, he could tell what she was thinking. But right now he couldn’t.
“My dad has suggested it,” she replied cautiously.
“You’d live with him and go to school until the baby’s born?”
She shrugged, but her gaze stayed on his face. “That’s one option.”
“What about the shelter?”
“I’m still considering that, too. I got the feeling you thought that was something I shouldn’t undertake.”
“You have to make your own decisions about your life, Corrie. But if you move back to Minneapolis, how much am I going to see my son or daughter?”
He thought he saw disappointment in her eyes and he didn’t know why. He was ready to take over his responsibilities for being a dad and she wanted to steal those away from him.
“This isn’t settled yet, Sam. I’m thinking about what’s practical and what’s not.” Again she searched his face as if she were looking for something important.
The lights in the theater dimmed, announcing that intermission was over. “I have to get back to my seat. We can talk about this later.”
“When, later? After you make up your mind?”
“No. After my dad goes back to Minneapolis. That’s what we agreed, wasn’t it?”
Sam knew that’s what he’d told her they’d do. But now the discussion seemed more urgent.
With a last look at him, Corrie left the lobby to join her dad.
As the playgoers milled around him, Sam watched Corrie’s back, watched the curls bobbing on her shoulders, remembered the sex they’d had and the way he’d felt afterward.
The Daddy Plan Page 15