Her Baby's Hero. Karen Sandler

that fact.

      But the baby did. The baby changed everything. It meant he would have to make a place for Ashley, even if she was nothing more to him than the mother of his child. He could never let her go, not completely. She would always be that one small puzzle piece whose edges never quite matched, whose brilliant colors flamed in the otherwise drab tapestry of his life.

      Not five minutes after Jason left, Ashley’s cell phone rang. Deep in the sofa’s cushions, her body still tingling in the aftermath of what had nearly happened between her and Jason, she stared at the device burbling away on the breakfast counter across the room and considered ignoring its summons.

      But it was most likely Sara, and if Ashley didn’t answer, Sara would be on her way back here, lickety-split. Ashley had enough on her hands coping with Jason’s overbearing presence without Sara complicating matters. Her counselor sister would have her under the microscope, analyzing Ashley’s every emotion toward Jason. She’d never believe the short-lived passion of six months ago had burned itself out completely that night.

      The phone stopped ringing, but Ashley knew better than to expect Sara would leave it at that. She’d better call her sister back before Sara grabbed her car keys.

      With a heave, Ashley pushed up from the sofa and hurried to pick up the phone. It rang again almost immediately. Sara’s number flashed on the display.

      “Hey, are you psychic?” Ashley smiled as she answered, hoping it would mask the edginess in her voice. “He just left.”

      “He’s the father, isn’t he?” Sara rarely minced words.

      “Yes.” Twenty-three years old and Ashley still felt like a baby sister. “Guilty as charged.”

      “Why now?” Sara pressed. “All these months since you found out, you’d think he would have turned up before now.”

      Ashley took a breath. “Until today, he didn’t know.”

      Several seconds of silence ticked away before Sara asked, “And now that he’s heard the happy news?”

      “He’s staying for a couple days. To work things out.”

      “Staying where? Not with you?”

      “Of course not. At the inn.”

      She could imagine Sara’s scowl. “Does he know about—”

      “No.”

      “You have to tell him.”

      Ashley tried to rub away the tension building between her eyes. “One bombshell at a time.”

      “What do you know about this man?”

      What did she know, other than his connection with Kerrigan Technology? He’d offered so little of himself during their time at Berkeley. Even that night in his arms, when they’d been as physically close as a man and woman could be, he’d kept his deepest secrets secured behind an emotional wall.

      “I’m pregnant, Sara. He’s the father. I have no choice but to let him be involved.”

      “Are you going to marry him?”

      “What?” The thought twisted her stomach. “Good God, no.”

      “Because if you barely know him—”

      “Marriage is absolutely not an option.”

      Sara released a long sigh. “You keep me informed. If he takes one wrong step—”

      “You’ll be the first to know.” Ashley said her goodbyes and hung up the phone. She couldn’t deal with Sara’s mothering right then, not when she needed to work out for herself what to do next.

      Sara had protected her for years, first from their abusive father, and later while they lived on their own, a seventeen-year-old and a twelve-year-old fighting to eke out a life for themselves. It was a hard habit for her sister to break and even harder for Sara to accept that Ashley could take care of herself.

      The phone still in her hand, she nearly dropped it when it rang again. The caller ID displayed “Kerrigan Technology” on the screen. Her heart rate picked up its pace, but she squelched her reaction as she pressed the answer button. “Hello.”

      “Do you know how to store a number on your phone?”

      The brusque, off-the-wall question was pure Jason. “I can figure it out.”

      “Save my number. I want to know you can get hold of me if you need me.”

      But she didn’t need him, didn’t even want him there. It was very well to tell Sara that Jason deserved to be part of his baby’s life, quite another to accept him into hers. The dance they’d engaged in at the university, the steps a mix of respect, mutual interest and occasional awkwardness, had never quite matured into actual friendship. Their night of intimacy had destroyed even that possibility.

      “I’ll save it. Thanks.” She couldn’t hold back the most obvious question. “What are we doing, Jason? What comes next?”

      “How about dinner?”

      “I have work to do. As I’m sure you do.”

      “Afterward—”

      “I go to bed early.”

      He let out an exasperated sigh. “Then let me take you to breakfast. There’s some kind of coffee shop across the street from here.”

      “Nina’s Café. But I can’t do breakfast. I’m still getting my classroom set up.”

      “I’ll come with you. We’ll talk.”

      The last thing she wanted was him in her classroom, entangled even further in her life. He didn’t belong there. But what choice did she have?

      Tiredness swept over her and she realized she simply didn’t have the energy to resist him. “Pick me up at nine.”

      “I’ll bring breakfast.” A beep sounded in the background. “I’ve got a message coming in I’ve been waiting for.”

      “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

      “I have to take it.”

      “Okay.”

      Still he hung on; she could hear him breathing into the phone. “We’ll work it out, Ashley.” Finally he disconnected.

      She stared at the phone, stunned. He’d actually sounded halfway human. Of course, Jason’s idea of working things out would doubtless involve him demanding and her acquiescing.

      Setting aside the cell, she returned to the sofa to lie down. Exhaustion had been one constant during her pregnancy, made even worse by the extra burden on her body. As she lifted her feet onto the sofa arm and tucked pillows under her head, she considered how she would deliver the rest of the news to Jason. What if that was the tipping point that sent him running? Would that be better than having to grapple with the discomfort his presence stirred up inside her?

      She’d prepared herself to do this on her own. How would she fit Jason into the picture? Her father had shown her the ugliness of men, the horror they could inflict on women. Jason would never raise a hand to her, but he was so reserved, so cold, she couldn’t imagine him letting her get very close. And what kind of father would such an aloof man be to his children?

      He’d been anything but icy that night. She still wasn’t sure how it had happened. If not for the life growing inside her, she could almost believe the fire and passion six months ago had been a dream.

      She couldn’t think about it now. The exhaustion had seeped even deeper, driving thought from her mind. The faintest rustling in her belly a comfort, she surrendered to sleep.

      Jason stabbed the disconnect button on his cell and resisted the urge to slam the device on his desk. He’d expected the conversation with his stepmother, Maureen, to be difficult; he hadn’t anticipated such a nasty