Tug of Attraction

by Ashlyn Chase

  “I thought pregnancy was supposed to help,” he reminded her.

  “Not immediately. As the womb expands it eases the...” She realized he didn’t need the details. He was probably just being polite. “Never mind.”

  “No. Tell me. I want to understand.”

  “You don’t need to. You’ve done your part and now you can go back to normal women who don’t have this problem.”

  “What?” He turned her face toward him and looked at her incredulously.

  “This is it. I can’t give you what you want and need. I’m sorry. Someday you’ll thank me.” She rolled onto her back and tried to push herself up.

  He leaned over her with one hand on either side, trapping her body. Just as well. She could barely hide the wince that came with the effort.

  “Brigit. I don’t know what idiots have told you in the past, but I hope you’re not confusing me with them.”

  “Nobody said anything. I always tried to explain the situation before it got to the bedroom. That’s usually when they stopped calling.”

  Ethan let out a sound of disgust. “No wonder you think men are scum.”

  Her eyes rounded. “I don’t think men are scum. I just know they have needs I can’t fulfill the normal way. If they’re going to leave anyway, it’s better sooner rather than later. I don’t blame them. I learned the hard way to be honest about it.”

  “What do you mean by ‘the hard way?’”

  “I don’t like being cheated on,” she said, sounding bitter without intending to.

  He shook his head slowly. “Neither do I. I told you that as long as we’re together I won’t see anyone else. I don’t want to.” He swept some hair away from her face. “I love you. I’m not going anywhere. I can’t promise forever yet, but this condition of yours is not the reason why.”

  “But, you’ll get bored.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  “Men don’t want to be gentle all the time.”

  “I don’t mind being gentle. Don’t mind a bit.”

  “What about—”

  He silenced her with a long, tender kiss.

  When he finally let her speak, she smiled. “I was going to mention that there are other ways I can satisfy you without involving anything other than my hands and mouth.” She winked.

  “You’d do that?”

  “I never wanted to before, but I do now—for you. I just need a little recovery time.”

  “I’m going to pray to the cell phone Gods that the damn thing leaves us alone for the rest of the day.”

  Chapter 9

  Brigit could hardly wait to share her good news with her boss and coworkers. They didn’t know about her arrangement with Ethan, of course, and she’d keep it that way, but she’d let them know how thrilled she was to finally have life growing inside her.

  She poked her head around the open door of her supervisor’s office. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Carolyn?”

  “Sure Brigit. Come on in.”

  She strode into the small office and sat in the seat adjacent to the woman’s desk. Receiving a warm smile, she figured it was a good time to share her news.

  “I’m pregnant!” she said, excitedly.

  Her supervisor’s face fell. A mumbled ‘Oh no,’ caused a ripple of panic to travel up Brigit’s spine. Then she realized her unmarried status might be the reason for her boss’s concern.

  “It’s a good thing, Carolyn. I want this baby. Single moms with good support systems are doing it all the time—”

  Her boss raised a hand to stop her from continuing. “It’s not that. I’m sure you’ll make an excellent mother. Anyone can see that from the way you care for the animals here.”

  Brigit tipped her head. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “Toxoplasmosis. You know what that is, right?”

  “Yes. I know the risk, but I can limit my exposure to cat feces.”

  “How? Almost half the cats who come in here are a mess. Many are litterbox trained, but that doesn’t matter. You’re not supposed to clean litter, either. Are you going to ask the vet to clean them up?”

  “Of course not. I’ll wear gloves...”

  Carolyn shook her head slowly. “Not good enough. I don’t want to take the chance that some kind of birth defect could result from your working here. Think of the health of your child.”

  Brigit’s jaw dropped. How could anyone insinuate that she would do anything to harm her precious child! Not only that, but it sounded like she was losing her job. How would she take care of the baby? She didn’t want to rely on her parent’s charity any more than she already had. “But...but, there must be a way. I can’t afford to be unemployed.”

  “There is a way we can help. You can be laid-off instead of fired. Then you can collect unemployment compensation until you find a more suitable job.”

  She gasped. “Fired? You’d actually fire me?”

  “I don’t want to. You’ve been a wonderful employee. But we can’t let you work with the animals anymore, and there’s no desk position to give you.”

  “So that’s it? Shouldn’t I give a two-week notice?”

  “Nope. You’re done.” She pulled over a file box. “Maybe the volunteers can increase their hours...”

  Brigit had never cried at work and didn’t want to start now. But the lump in her throat and the burning behind her eyes made it clear she was going to, if she didn’t do something soon. “I—I need to use the ladies room. I’ll think about your offer and touch base with you when I get back.”

  Carolyn gave her a pitying look.

  Oh, goddess. I hope I don’t get too many of those.

  * * * *

  “What the...How the hell did you let that happen?” Brigit’s stepfather’s face was turning red as he paced across their opulent dining room. Uh oh. She knew that look. So did her mother.

  “Now, Jonathan, there’s no reason to get upset. She wanted a baby and never dreamed she’d be let go from her job.”

  “You mean you did this on purpose?” he yelled. His neck veins were bulging now.

  “I—I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not,” Brigit squared her shoulders. “I’ve dreamed of becoming a mother all my life.”

  “Who’s the father?” he demanded.

  “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.” She pushed her asparagus around on her plate.

  He waited.

  “It’s impossible,” she added.

  “Oh, you can’t pay rent, but you managed to pay for a sperm bank baby?”

  “No. I didn’t do it that way.”

  “So, unless this was another immaculate conception, you’re saying you did it the good, old-fashioned, ‘normal’ way.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why can’t you tell me...Oh my God. There’s more than one man? I never took you for a—a...”

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” her mother warned.

  “I know who the father is,” Brigit said, quickly. “I just don’t want him involved.”

  Her stepfather jammed his hands on his hips. “Why not? Is he married? A struggling musician? Or—oh, crap. A drug addict?”

  “No! Nothing of the kind. He’s a wonderful man and a bachelor. That’s why I chose him to be my child’s father, but I promised him he’d have no responsibility if he did me this enormous favor.”

  Her stepdad snorted. “Yeah, right. Some favor. He had the pleasure of knocking you up while getting out of any financial duties.”

  “You don’t even know him. I had a hard time convincing him to do this for me.”

  “Probably because he didn’t believe you. Hell, I don’t even believe you. What made you think you could get away with this?”

  “I had a contract drawn up. I want to be the sole parent, making all the decisions and raising the baby my way.”

  He was silent for a few moments. At last he returned to his chair. “Okay. Let’s say the father is a great guy...”

  “He is.”

  “Then he’ll
support the child, contract or no.”

  “I don’t want him to!”

  Mr. Graham slammed his fist on the table. “Damn it, Brigit. It sounds like you expect me to support this child. I can afford to, but I won’t. It’s your stupid mistake and you can figure out a way to deal with it.”

  Her mother laid her hand on her husband’s arm. “Please don’t be angry, Jonathan. No one would have guessed she’d lose her job, and I told her I’d babysit—”

  He whirled on his wife. “You were in on this insanity?”

  She jumped. As far as Brigit knew, her stepfather had never hit her mother, but unlike her other three husbands this one was smart enough to sign a pre-nup. Her mother could be out on her ass too.

  “Please don’t get angry with her. She was just trying to help me realize my lifelong dream. I can take care of myself and this child.” Somehow.

  “Oh, yeah? And I’m supposed to turn you out while you’re pregnant? That will go over really well. Enough people think I’m heartless as it is.”

  As usual, it’s all about him and his image.

  “Couldn’t you spin it to your advantage, honey?” her mother asked. “I mean, who wouldn’t understand a child making a mistake? And as a loving father helping her out in her time of need...that only shows how compassionate you can be.”

  He dropped his head and let out a deep breath. Brigit knew she should probably be grateful for her mother’s ‘help’ but that’s not the way it was.

  “This wasn’t a mistake,” she said simply.

  “Of course not,” her mother said. “And once the little bundle of joy gets here, it won’t matter anyway. You’ll be a wonderful mother and everyone loves a happy baby.”

  “You mean you’ll be a wonderful grandmother.” His eyes trained their laser gaze on her mother. “The child rearing is going to fall on you, and it sounds like you knew that.”

  “I’ll be there when Brigit is working, but I’m sure she’ll want to spend every spare minute she can with her son or daughter.”

  Her stepfather was oddly quiet. She could almost see him drawing up a plan in his mind. He was a smart man and had a way of turning everything into a profit. How he was going to do that with this situation she had no idea.

  “I want to meet him,” Mr. Graham said, evenly.

  “No. I can’t let that happen. I promised.”

  He smirked. “I don’t need your permission, or your help. That’s what private detectives are for.”

  She gasped. “You’d have me followed?”

  He laughed. “No need. Besides, you’d just get sneakier about seeing him. I’m sure there are enough observant people in the area who owe me favors. Someone will tell me who you’ve been spending time with.”

  Had she covered her tracks enough? None of her obvious contacts knew about her relationship with Ethan. He had come to her workplace once, but she hadn’t introduced him to anyone. There were no cameras there, so a PI couldn’t talk anyone into coughing up footage. No one knew about her being Wiccan or the coven. Thank goodness she had kept that part of her life to herself. Even if someone did discover it, none of her fellow coven members would say a word.

  She tossed her napkin onto the table, rose and strode to the front door, calling over her shoulder, “Knock yourself out.” No, really. Knock yourself out.

  * * * *

  Fayleen rushed into the hotel and grabbed Hanna by the arm. “There’s no time to waste. Freeze everyone and come with me.”

  “I will not. Give me a min—”

  The next thing Hanna saw was the garbage dump in New Jersey where she, Fayleen and the Stregheria had searched for the grail—and come up empty.

  “What the—”

  Fayleen cringed. “Sorry. There was no time. I came back here for one last look and found a supernatural dog. He talks! He said he used our grail as a water bowl. I had to come and get you before he disappeared.”

  Hanna glanced around. “A dog? A supernatural dog? You’re kidding. So where is he?”

  Fayleen shaded her eyes and scanned the area. “Shoot. Don’t tell me...” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Here, Independence!”

  “His name is Independence?”

  “He named himself. He’s a stray. That’s why I was afraid we’d miss him if I waited for you to make up some excuse for your staff.”

  “Oh, for the love of...”

  “And he likes the fact that the name came with a birthday.”

  “Let me guess. Independence Day?”

  A white terrier mutt with a few large brown markings trotted over. “You got it. They even have fireworks to celebrate with me every year. Hey, Fayleen. Is this the babe you told me about?”

  “Uh, yes. I wanted her to meet you, because we both want to see the grail that gave you your supernatural powers.”

  He tipped his head. “And if I show it to you, what’s in it for me?”

  Fayleen squatted in front of him and rubbed behind his ears. “How about something you’ve never had. Some loving female attention.”

  “Heh heh. Who says I don’t get all the bitches I want?”

  “I was talking about humans.”

  He looked Hanna up and down. “Hmmm. I like her. She’s got some extra meat on her bones. That means she probably has a little more food than she needs and can share some of it with me.”

  “Whoa!”

  Fayleen grabbed Hanna’s arm and whispered furiously, “Don’t get upset. He was never socialized. He says whatever he thinks.”

  She glared at her friend. “Kind of like someone else I know, but what’s your excuse?” Fayleen bristled, so Hanna dropped the joke. “Never mind. What did you tell him about me?”

  She shrugged. “I simply said my friend was a beautiful witch who would probably love to have a supernatural pet.”

  Hanna’s mouth dropped open.

  “Careful,” Independence said. “That’s how you wind up swallowing flies.”

  Hanna all but exploded. “I can’t have pets at the hotel. You didn’t promise I’d take him home, did you?”

  “Um...I’m right here,” Independence said. Then he turned on Fayleen. “It sounds like your promise of the attention I’ve never had isn’t going to happen. Therefore, I won’t tell you where I buried the thing.”

  “It’s buried?” Hanna looked at Fayleen and telepathically said, I don’t know if a metal detector can pick it up, but if the mutt isn’t going to cooperate, we could try it.

  “The mutt can read minds, ladies,” Independence interjected. “Supernatural freak, remember?”

  “Fuck,” Fayleen muttered.

  “Nice language, babe,” Independence said. He flopped onto his back and waved his legs in the air. “Who wants to give me a belly rub?”

  Hanna covered her eyes with both hands and tried to hold in her disgust.

  “Yeah, yeah. I have fleas and I’m filthy. That doesn’t mean I won’t clean up nice. Now how about if you two take me to those fancy groomers I saw downtown.”

  Hanna bit her lip. That might work.

  “Do you have a car?” Fayleen asked.

  She sighed. “No.”

  “Damn. I’d have loved a ride in the car. I could stick my head out the window. I’ve seen lots of dogs do that and from the goofy grins on their faces, it looks like fun. I’d like to let my ears catch a little air...”

  “We could rent a car,” Hanna said. “I do have a driver’s license and I’m over twenty-five.”

  “Wow! That would make you a hundred and seventy-five years old in dog years. And you don’t look a day over forty.”

  Hanna opened her mouth about to object, then just shut it and gave up. “Fine. Fayleen and I will get a car and come back for you. Then you’ll show us where the grail is and we’ll take you to the groomer. Deal?”

  “Hell, no. I don’t show you were my new water dish is until you make sure I’m all groomed and given the loving attention I deserve.”

  Hanna planted her hands on her hips an
d faced Fayleen. “I need to get back to the hotel, unfreeze the staff and guests, and that’s the easy part. After that, I have to come up with an errand that will take the rest of the afternoon.”

  Fayleen tapped her chin and then snapped her fingers. “You can say you have cancer and have to go for chemotherapy. That takes a while, and then you could say you felt sick afterward and had to go home to lie down.”

  Hanna gasped and stared open-mouthed at her friend. “That’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard.”

  “I gotta warn you about those flies again,” Independence said. “If you keep opening your mouth like that around here, you’re going to swallow a bug.”

  Hanna slapped a hand over her mouth.

  “Look. I hate when kids blame me for eating their homework, but maybe you can say I chewed up your monthly report or something. Then you can lock yourself in your office to rewrite it.”

  Hanna smirked at Fayleen. “That’s a better excuse than cancer.”

  Fayleen crossed her arms. “Are you saying I’m not as smart as a dog?”

  “I’m not saying anything, except I have to go. Now! What if someone walks in and discovers everyone in the lobby is frozen?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” Fayleen said. “I froze everyone in the parking lot too.”

  “Hanna pulled her short, dark hair. “Gaaah! I’ll be back after damage control is done. Both of you stay here.” With that, she disappeared.

  * * * *

  Ethan had a hankering for one of the Bewitching Bakery’s cinnamon pastries, and he decided to take a stroll down there. He wondered if Rebecca put the thought in his head while she was baking his favorites, or if she just happened to have them on hand whenever he showed up. Her witch powers seemed to have grown by leaps and bounds, so he wouldn’t be surprised either way.

  He smelled something delicious as he walked through the door. Then his eyes landed on something even more delicious that had nothing to do with pastry. Brigit, wearing her slim fit jeans, was bending over, studying the contents of the display cabinets.

  As much as he’d love to admire her round bottom all day, he cleared his throat. She snapped upright and whirled around. “Oh, Ethan!” She slapped a hand over her heart and chuckled. “It’s only you.”