LITMIR.BIZ

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we all need to sit down and discuss this quietly.”

      She remembered Reggie’s reaction to her pregnancy with Jenny. He’d blown up at her, accusing her of lying, of tricking him. He’d vowed not to be trapped again, as he said he’d been with Brady. His callous reaction had hurt her immeasurably and she’d never forget how she cried.

      Still, she knew one thing for sure: Reggie would never risk pregnancy again.

      And she didn’t think he had this time.

      “Look, Kim, Jack is just trying to help. I’m sure he didn’t mean to sound so gruff.”

      Jack glared at Elizabeth. She ignored him and kept her gaze on Kim. “I know you must be uncomfortable talking about this, but we need to know. Did you have unprotected sex?”

      “Not usually. Reggie was careful, but…but he forgot sometimes.”

      “And you forgot, too?”

      “Yes. I wanted to—I mean, I’m sure it was an accident, but—”

      “I think we can settle this with a simple home pregnancy test.” She looked up at Jack. “Jack, could you go buy one?”

      “Yeah,” he muttered.

      He stalked out of the house, leaving everyone silent.

      Elizabeth asked Carol to put on some water for hot tea.

      Kim protested. “I’ll just have coffee.”

      “You really shouldn’t have coffee if you’re pregnant.” Elizabeth smiled. “I know. I hated giving up my coffee.”

      “And you did? Did your doctor insist? For the entire pregnancy?”

      “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

      “I didn’t know that.” Kim sat quietly for a moment, then she looked up at Elizabeth with frightened eyes. “I don’t think I want to be pregnant.”

      “We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Elizabeth said as she patted the woman’s hand.

      Jack felt like a fish out of water.

      He stood in the middle aisle of the town pharmacy scratching his head as he gazed out on an array of choices. There had to be fifteen different home pregnancy kits.

      He knew about cattle, about horses, tack and grain. But what did a cowboy know about pregnancy tests?

      “Can I help you, Jack?”

      Mrs. Johnson’s voice echoed through his thoughts.

      Just what he needed. Old Mrs. Johnson had been working in the pharmacy since Jack came to town ten years ago. She’d helped him through flu and colds, broken fingers and sore shoulders.

      How was he going to ask her for this?

      “Hello, Mrs. Johnson. I—I was looking for some more liniment.”

      “You’re sure, Jack? You’re standing in front of pregnancy kits.” She paused to give him time to answer. Then, with a once-over that burned him through his clothes, she put on her half-glasses and perused the shelf.

      She chose a box and handed it to him.

      “This one’s the best, I’m told. Just in case you need it.”

      Jack prayed for an early death.

      Elizabeth took the sack from him as soon as Jack came into the kitchen. “If you’ll come with me, Kim, we’ll have an answer.”

      She led the blonde upstairs to a more private bathroom, went over the instructions and left her to do her thing.

      Leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway, Elizabeth kept looking at her watch as her mind raced. As kind as she could be, she had to admit she didn’t want the woman to be pregnant. Not because of the money, but because her children would forever be tied to Kim. They’d have a half sibling who lived with her. And Kim Hall was not the kind of woman she wanted her children associating with.

      She checked her watch again. The box said it took only two minutes. What was taking so long?

      Just then the bathroom door opened and Kim stood there, her face void of emotion.

      Elizabeth could hardly speak. “Well?” she managed.

      “I’m not pregnant.”

      Keeping her relief in check, she wrapped an arm around Kim’s shoulders. “We should tell the others.”

      Elizabeth offered to make the announcement when they reentered the kitchen, but Kim shook her head. Almost magically her personality changed back to the nasty witch from earlier. She stood with arms akimbo and shrugged.

      “I’m not pregnant. Satisfied?”

      “Yeah, I’m satisfied,” Jack said. “It was worth going to the drugstore and ruining my reputation!”

      Elizabeth stared at him. “What do you mean?”

      “Never mind.”

      “Well, there’s no reason for me to stay,” Kim said, already heading for the door. She turned, as if remembering something. Shooting a deadly glare at Jack, she asked, “Does my car work now?”

      “Yeah.”

      Kim was on her way after that response.

      After the click of the door lock, silence descended upon the kitchen.

      Elizabeth felt relieved, and she suspected Tom was, too. But no one wanted to be the first to express the emotion.

      As she looked up at her father-in-law, Jenny’s cry broke the stalemate.

      “That’s Jenny. She’s probably hungry.” She noticed that Carol seemed anxious. “Do you want to go get her, Carol? Just change her diaper and bring her down. I’ll get her bottle ready.”

      “Bring her down, Carol.” Tom looked happy at the thought of holding his granddaughter.

      After Carol left the room, Jack looked at Elizabeth. “Why did you let her go get Jenny?”

      “I thought she deserved to get her. She’d taken care of Brady and Tom and helped entertain Kim. It only seemed fair that she get to take care of Jenny.”

      “That was nice of you, Elizabeth,” Tom said.

      “Carol is a nice lady.”

      “Yes, she is,” Tom agreed.

      They all heard Carol coming down the stairs, followed by Brady.

      Elizabeth hugged her son. “Hi, sweetie. Thank you for being such a good boy.”

      “He was patting his little sister on the back,” Carol said. Her smile said she was proud of Brady, too.

      “Carol said I was helping,” Brady told his mother.

      “Yes, you were, honey.”

      She handed the bottle, properly warmed, to Carol. “Do you mind feeding her while I finish preparing lunch?”

      “No, I’d love to.” Carol took the bottle. “I was hoping you’d be gone when she woke up. Now I get the best of both worlds.”

      “You deserve it, Carol,” Elizabeth said.

      “What about me?” Tom said. “I had to act nice when that lady talked about being pregnant.”

      “We’ve all had a difficult day,” Jack said with a sigh.

      “Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. Anyone want a cup of coffee?”

      “Yeah, that would be good,” Jack said. Tom nodded, too.

      Elizabeth poured coffee for the two men. She poured some juice for Brady. Then she began fixing some vegetables to go with the casserole.

      When Carol finished

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