Second Chance Pass by Robyn Carr Read Free Book Online Page A

“We have to put the needs of the child first.”
    She sighed. “God,” she said, tears sparkling in her eyes. “I never expected you to act like this. I thought you’d take off or deny it. But you’re a good man, Paul. A real good man…”
    If I was worth a damn, you wouldn’t be unmarried and pregnant, he thought. “I’m sure I’ll fall short a lot, but I’m going to do my best.”
    “Thanks,” she said. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
    When their lunch was over, he walked her to her car and she hugged him. “Just having you nearby—that’s very reassuring,” she said. “I thought I’d never hear from you again. Sometimes this feels so lonely.” Then she looked up at him and said, “Although I might not have a husband—I feel like I have a partner. Thank you, Paul.”
    “Um… Yeah. We’ll work together on this, make sure everything is covered…”
    Her arms still around his waist, looking up at him withthose large, sad eyes, she said, “Maybe I could make you dinner this weekend…”
    He was shaking his head before she even finished. “We have to keep this in perspective, Terri. We’re going to be parents together, I guess. But that relationship we had, such as it was? We’re not going to have that relationship anymore. We can’t. It’ll only complicate a situation that’s already complicated.”
    Her face fell. She looked down. “I see,” she said.
    He put a finger under her chin, lifting her face so their eyes met. “We’re in this together, but we’re not a couple. We never were.”
    She took a breath. “If I’m going to carry the baby, it would be nice if I also had some affection.”
    He put a small kiss on her brow. “You have that. As the mother of my child.”
    “You’re absolutely sure nothing could grow between us? As we have this baby together?”
    “Terri, my intention is to be good to you and be a good father. But if there was something more between us, we both would have known before this, before now. I think what we can be is good friends, good parents. Let’s shoot for that, huh?”
    “Sure,” she said with a sad smile. “Sure. That’s something, I guess.”
    “I’m sorry, Terri. That’s all I have. And until that night I called, I think that’s all you had. Think about it—we never even had phone calls. We just weren’t that connected. Let’s move ahead. Let’s see if we can make this work for the child.”
    “Then I guess it’ll have to be enough,” she said, pulling her arms from around him.
    For the first time he thought, what if she takes this child away from me? What if she finds someone else,some guy, willing to be that husband and father? And it puts me in the way? I have to know more about this kind of thing, he thought. I have to know what I can do about this.
    “That’s all I can ask.” He gave her shoulders a brief, friendly squeeze. “I’ll be in touch.”
     
    Vanessa had almost every piece of clothing she owned spread out across the bed. She was trying to pack for a trip to Grants Pass to visit Matt’s parents and she wanted to look her best. She had asked her mother-in-law, Carol, if she would please invite Paul to dinner. She hadn’t seen him since the baby was born and she’d so like to get his attention. But when Vanessa looked in the mirror, she saw a waist that was still too thick, breasts too heavy for her tops and thighs that felt like tree trunks. She couldn’t get into any of her old clothes and she’d be damned if she’d wear maternity clothes. The baby was almost two months old.
    Vanessa had always been sure of herself. Her mother had called her feisty, her father proclaimed her a handful, her best friends from the airline told her she was a fearless extrovert and counted on her to handle difficult situations with pilots or passengers. Matt had called her his fiery-haired vixen.
    Around Carol, however, she lacked confidence. Carol was chic, perfect, successful and took self-assurance to the