LITMIR.BIZ

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      Gemma gave her a gentle smile, her eyes sympathetic. “What would be their motive? They’re inanimate objects. They would have no reason to lie. I’ve been a midwife for a long time, Lisa, so I can tell you that pregnancy tests, especially six of them done at the same time, are going to be truthful.”

      Panic fluttered in Lisa’s throat as she looked around. “But we’re in your birthing center. Don’t you have a...another test I can take?”

      “The ones here at the Sunshine Birthing Center aren’t any different than those you bought at the pharmacy.”

      In desperation Lisa turned to clutch at Gemma’s hands, holding them with her shaking fingers. She knew her hair was frazzled and messy because she’d been sitting and holding her head in her hands while she’d waited for the test results—which she now had. “But what if I did another—”

      “Doing another test won’t change the results,” added Carly.

      White-faced, Lisa looked at them. “Pregnant. How? How could this have happened?”

      Carly raised a dark eyebrow. “Oh, I think it happened in the usual way.”

      “I can give you a clinical description,” Gemma added, “but I think you know how it happened.”

      “I...I do know. But I’m thirty-three years old. It’s not like I’m a silly teenager with her first boyfriend...and we...we used protection.”

      “No protection is one hundred percent reliable.”

      “I know that—however, I didn’t think—”

      “Did you suspect you were pregnant? Has anything been different?”

      “I’ve been a little light-headed, though not really faint, for a couple of months. I thought I was just working too hard, what with the plans coming together for the resort out on the lake—”

      “You always work too hard,” Gemma pointed out. “And I’m not quite sure you have to be the point person on the resort project.”

      “Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how many jobs this will bring to Reston County? And besides, I’m not really heading it up. Mayor Morton is.”

      Gemma held up her hand. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have become sidetracked. What other symptoms have you had?”

      Lisa wrinkled her nose. “Things smell odd. Stronger. I had to take all the scented candles out of my home and office because they were overwhelming, and they’ve never bothered me before.”

      “Those are all symptoms of hormonal changes.”

      “I’ve felt sick every day for two weeks and I’ve thrown up every day, too. I thought it was some kind of flu bug or—something I ate.”

      “Every day for two weeks?” Carly asked. “Denial much?”

      “You didn’t say anything about feeling sick,” Gemma put in, sending Carly a quelling look.

      “My period’s been off for months, but I thought maybe things change when you’re in your thirties, you know?” She groaned and continued, “And they should. A person is supposed to have sense enough to not get unexpectedly pregnant at the age of thirty-three.”

      Gemma said, “Some hormonal changes are normal—”

      “But a complete abandonment of common sense?” Lisa asked desperately. “I don’t think so.”

      They all fell silent. Lisa knew they were waiting for her to deal with this the way she did most things—head down, moving forward, plans set.

      She couldn’t do that, though, because she’d been distracted and daydreamy for the past month. She had difficulty concentrating, and odd, random thoughts and memories had popped up like jack-in-the-boxes when she tried to focus on work. She was sure Gemma was right—it was probably hormonal.

      And now shock had paralyzed her brain even more. She could barely form a coherent thought, except for one—that this didn’t seem real. Or possible. “I’m going to have a baby.”

      “That’s right,” Gemma said. “In about seven months.”

      “So...in September?”

      Lisa frowned. “So, nine months from the end of December—”

      “Nine months isn’t accurate. Pregnancy is actually supposed to be forty weeks, a little more or less depending on the mother—and the baby. Multiples often come earlier.”

      Lisa gulped as her eyes widened. “Multiples?”

      “Um, sorry. I gave you too much information right there. Professional hazard.” Gemma cleared her throat. “Back on track. Be forewarned, being pregnant in this Oklahoma heat and humidity won’t be easy.”

      “Nothing about this will be easy.” Lisa looked up. “And I feel sick all the time.”

      “That should ease up in a few weeks. We need to make an appointment for you to see Nathan. He can prescribe something to help with the morning sickness if you want. In the meantime, there are herbal supplements you can take.”

      Lisa nodded, then dropped her head forward. “I can’t believe I’ll be the first one of us to have a baby. At least you two are married.”

      Carly waved that away. “That just means you’ll have two ready-made babysitters—until we have kids. Even then, we’ll work something out.”

      Gemma got up and took a bottle of water from the small fridge in the examination room where she had brought Lisa to wait for the test results. She twisted off the cap and handed it to her.

      Shakily, Lisa took a big drink, then held the cold plastic bottle against her cheek and closed her eyes. She had to get a grip on this, but all she wanted to do was to fold up into a ball and cry.

      When Lisa opened her eyes, Gemma had seated herself beside her once again. She and Carly were looking at her curiously.

      “What?” she asked.

      “We’re wondering...” Gemma said. “When you’re going to tell us...”

      “Who the father is,” Carly concluded.

      Lisa pressed her lips together.

      “Oh, come on, Lisa, we’re your best friends. We’re not going to judge you.” Gemma gave her a fond smile.

      Lisa looked from one to the other—Gemma, with her practical, no-nonsense approach to life, and Carly, who was strong and businesslike, but who could see a broken-down wooden chair in a junk heap and imagine it as a fun and useful porch swing.

      Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly and said, “It’s Ben McAdams.”

      “You’ve got to be kidding!” Carly yelped. “The Reston Rascal? Oklahoma’s answer to Casanova?”

      “I thought you weren’t going to judge,” Lisa said drily.

      “Um, sorry.”

      Astounded, Gemma said, “I didn’t even know that he was back in town, or that you two were dating, or even liked each other.”

      “We aren’t and we don’t.” Lisa gazed at them miserably. “We haven’t been friends since we were twelve and his parents banned me from seeing him after I—”

      “Masterminded the jailbreak,” Carly interrupted with a grin.

      “Yeah. And that hasn’t changed.”

      “Lisa, obviously something changed.” Gemma smiled in sympathy. “However you don’t have to tell us and—”

      “I want to know what happened,” Carly objected.

      “You don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready,” Gemma went on as if Carly hadn’t spoken. She stood

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