Protecting Their Baby. Sheri WhiteFeather

that you trust me.”

      He shrugged, waited a beat, and then said, “I don’t think I’m going to be a very good father. But I’ll do the best I can,” he added quickly.

      What else could he say? He couldn’t very well tell her to buzz off and leave him alone. He was a bit more honorable than that.

      A bit…

      Lisa seemed to be analyzing his bad-dad remark and debating if she should comment on it. Luckily, she skipped it, saying instead, “I think it’s important for a child to have two committed parents, but I would have raised this baby alone if I had to. If you’d…”

      Refused to accept responsibility, he thought. If only he could, if only he had it in him to walk away. “If we’re going to share a kid, then we’ll have to work on getting to know each other.”

      “Yes, we will.”

      She started wringing her hands, much in the way she’d done earlier. Apparently she was nervous about getting to know him. Clearly, he wasn’t her usual type. Clearly, she’d misbehaved that night.

      Dirty martinis and dirty sex.

      And on her thirtieth birthday, no less. Rex considered the tiny life in her womb and winced accordingly. Was this the Creator’s idea of a joke? A gift for her big three-oh?

      Once again, silence stumbled between them. They were off to a hell of start with this getting-to-know-each-other thing. She wasn’t his usual type, either.

      Still, on that fateful night, they’d flirted shamelessly. They’d even fed each other shelled peanuts and kissed on the dance floor.

      By the time the bar closed, they’d been desperate for more. He’d invited her back to his condo, and she’d readily accepted. Of course she hadn’t been totally irresponsible. She’d gotten his name and address from his ID and given it to her girlfriends, just in case he was an ax murderer and she was never heard from again.

      He’d promised her friends that he would be good to her. Now he wondered if those same friends knew about the baby and if they blamed themselves for letting the birthday girl go home with a stranger.

      Not that they could have stopped her. She was an adult, capable of making up her own mind.

      Her own intoxicated mind.

      Damn, he thought. Did that even count?

      “I should go.” Lisa cut into the quiet, preparing to leave. “I have some errands to run.”

      Rex glanced up from his desk. “I’ll walk you out.” Somehow it seemed like the right thing to do, even if allowing her to make a hasty retreat would’ve been easier.

      “I parked down the street and around the corner.”

      “No problem.” Parking spots in this area were difficult to come by. She was lucky she’d found one relatively close.

      He opened the office door for her, and they walked side by side. She smoothed her blouse, a pretty white garment tucked into a slim black skirt. She looked sleek and professional. He wondered how long it would take for her to develop a bump and if people were going to refer to him as the “baby daddy.” Wasn’t that the phrase of the day? The thing to say?

      The spring weather was warm and bright, and the city was active and noisy. As he and Lisa rounded the corner and headed down a small side street, she pointed out her car.

      She drove a vintage Mustang, but he wasn’t surprised by her vehicle of choice. While they’d chatted at the bar, she’d told him that her grandfather restored old cars.

      “I’ll probably get something newer when the baby comes,” she said. “Maybe an SUV.”

      A kid car, Rex thought. Already she was turning into a soccer mom.

      “But there’s still time.” She managed a smile. “I’ve got a ways to go.”

      Would he be even more scared by then? Or would it get easier? “A friend of mine is going to be a dad soon. His kid is due sometime this month. He’s married, though.” A point that made their situations nothing alike. “He teaches close-quarter combat, and his wife is a homicide detective.”

      “Wow.” Lisa stood beside her car. “That’s going to be one tough little baby.”

      “Tough and sweet. They’re having a girl.”

      “A girl would be nice. Or a boy,” she added, referring to the baby she’d made with Rex. “I don’t have a preference.”

      Neither did he, other than wishing the condom hadn’t failed. Uncomfortable, he shifted his feet. She fell silent, too, and they went back into awkward mode.

      How long would it take for them to have a relaxed conversation? To feel normal around each other?

      “I’ll call you after my next doctor appointment,” she said. “Just to let you know how things are going.”

      “Sure. Okay.” He supposed it was a place to start, even if he wasn’t prepared for any of it.

      She unlocked her car and opened the door. But as she turned to climb behind the wheel, she froze in her tracks.

      And let out a blood-curdling scream.

      On the front seat of her car was a doll that resembled a newborn, only its rounded little body was mangled, with broken limbs and unblinking eyes staring into nothingness. In the center of its tiny chest, where its heart would be, was a knife.

      Equally horrified, Rex reached for Lisa, pulling her away from the gruesome sight and into his arms.

      While he held her, while she burst into fear-drenched tears, he called the police, reporting what appeared to be the mock murder of their unborn child.

      

      Lisa couldn’t seem to let go of Rex. Nor could she stop crying. Who would do something so sick? So cruel?

      Finally, she got the strength to step back and wipe her tears. But she couldn’t stop from staring at Rex, and in between her shivers, she fixated on his eyes.

      The doll had brown eyes, too, and a tuft of dark hair. Was that how their baby was going to look?

      “I don’t understand.” Her voice echoed in her head, the sound thick and hoarse. “Why is this happening?”

      “I don’t know,” came the concerned reply. “But I won’t let anyone hurt you or the baby.”

      Would he be able to protect her? He couldn’t be with her every moment of the day. They barely knew each other. Still, she wanted to believe him, to take his promise at face value.

      “You’re awfully pale,” he said, as they waited for the police.

      “Sometimes I faint.” She clenched her middle. “But it’s normal early on.”

      Rex seemed ready to catch her if she fell. He was certainly more stable than she was.

      “Do you need to sit down?” he asked.

      “I should be okay.” She removed a small bottle of water from her purse and took a sip. “This may help.”

      “You’re not going to pass out?”

      She shook her head. A moment later, she feared that she’d spoken too soon. She got dizzy. “I think maybe…”

      Rex moved in to grab her. She didn’t lose consciousness, but she clung to him for support, her senses on alert. He smelled fresh and clean, like a walk in the woods. It was his cologne. She remembered it from before. Thank goodness she still found his fragrance appealing. Since the pregnancy, some previously pleasant scents roiled her stomach.

      Everything about him was appealing: the width of his shoulders, his height, his stunning cheekbones, the short, sleek thickness of his straight dark hair.

      Before she got too attached,