Having His Baby by Beverly Barton Read Free Book Online Page B

expression on Jake's face, she surmised that he wasn't accustomed to ladies' bedrooms being filled with expensive antiques. No doubt, most of Jake's "experiences" with women had taken place in cheap motel rooms.
    Like the motel room you shared with him for a weekend! a little voice mocked.
    "Please, place the basinet right here—" she indicated the spot by pointing to it "—by my bed. With her this close, I won't have to get up during the night to feed her and change her diaper."
    Jake put the basinet beside the bed, then turned to Donna. "Well, I don't guess I can feed her, but I suppose I can change her diaper … if you'll show me how."
    Donna gazed at him quizzically. "I don't think that will be necessary."
    "Sure it is. I've never changed a diaper before in my life. And Hank said you'll need all the rest you can get for the next couple of days and nights, so I should take over diaper duty for the time being."
    "Hank said …" Donna let her sentence trail off as she realized that Jake had every intention of spending the night. So, that's why Sheila hadn't stayed, as they had originally planned—back in the good old days, before Jake had come to town!
    How was she going to tell him that he couldn't spend the night? She'd have to send him away and then call Sheila. She would need help for the next few days, until the nanny she'd hired started work. Maybe she could call Mrs. Winthrop to see if she could start a few days early.
    "Jake, there's really no need for you to stay tonight," Donna said, deliberately avoiding eye contact with him.
    "You're going to need somebody around for a day or two, until you and Sugar Baby settle in and adjust. Who better than our girl's daddy to help take care of her?"
    "Jake, I … Well, this is Marshallton, Tennessee, you know. If you stay here, people are bound to talk and—"
    Jake laughed. "Sugar, don't you think the whole county is already buzzing with the news that old renegade Jake Bishop is your baby's daddy? You can't be naive enough to think you can keep something like that a secret."
    Donna sighed loudly. He was right, of course. Oh, God! What would her society friends and college associates think when they found out that Louisa's father was an uncouth, macho cowboy? No one except Joanie Richardson, who had quit her job and moved to California during the Christmas holidays, had an inkling about the complete true story behind Louisa's conception.
    "All right, let's compromise." Donna eased herself to the edge of the bed, leaned over and nestled a still sleeping Louisa into the basinet. Forcing her tired legs to stand, she faced Jake. "You can stay here tonight—in the bedroom across the hall. But I want you gone after breakfast in the morning. I'm going to call to see if Mrs. Winthrop can start work tomorrow instead of next week."
    Jake frowned, shifted nervously from one booted foot to the other and then cleared his throat. "You aren't going to marry me, are you?"
    Surprised by his statement, Donna hesitated before she replied. "No, Jake, I'm not going to marry you."
    "I don't exactly fit in to all of this, do I?" His gaze quickly surveyed the room. "Hank told me that you're a college professor and that your folks are old money in these parts. I knew, that very first night, that you were a lady. I just didn't know you were a blue-blooded Southern belle."
    "It's not that I think I'm too good to marry you, it's just—"
    "That I'm not good enough to marry you."
    "No, Jake, really … We are strangers, with nothing in common … except Louisa and … and—"
    "A strong physical attraction?"
    "Yes, something like that." Sitting on the edge of the bed again, Donna glanced away, so that Jake couldn't see just how strongly she still felt that physical attraction.
    Jake thought she looked fragile and weary resting there on her blue-striped bedspread. Her eyelids drooped. She placed her hand over her mouth to cover a yawn.
    "I'm staying tonight. And I'll help you, if you'll let me." Jake