Rachel Bailey - Return of the Secret Heir

You’ll be fine, little one. Don’t give up.

He supported her weight with an arm around her waist as they walked out the front door and hailed a cab. His lean, muscled form was so strong, so reassuring against her that she melted into him. As soon as they were in, he punched in a number on his cell, explained their situation to the person on the other end, and told them they were on their way.

He hung up, slipped the phone into his pocket and turned to her. “The receptionist says Dr. Crosby was about to leave for her hospital rounds, but she’ll wait till we get there.”

Pia sent up a silent prayer of thanks, and another that her baby would be unharmed. JT sat beside her on the cab’s vinyl backseat, his arm loosely around her shoulders, his face turned to the passing scenery. What was running through his mind? Did he have the same bone-deep terror that she would lose the baby? Did he blame her? She clenched her fists tight and turned away to her own window.

When they reached the medical suites, the receptionist ushered them straight in.

Dr. Crosby was calm and reassuring as she did the examination. Once they were sitting at her desk again with JT, the doctor made some notes, then turned to them.

“I can’t find any signs to indicate a problem. You’re in the first trimester and the baby is well insulated in your womb at the moment, but if you have any spotting or cramping, call me immediately and get to a hospital.”

“Do you think that’s likely?” JT asked, his voice grave, and Pia was glad he’d asked the question that had been on the tip of her tongue.

“It’s hard to say,” Dr. Crosby replied. “Occasionally these things surprise me, but I’d say you should be safe because it wasn’t a heavy fall and everything looks fine.”

Pia let out a pent-up breath that felt like every last bit of air in her lungs escaped. Her baby should be fine. She smiled at JT, giddy with relief.

“This might be a good time to discuss your first pregnancy, Pia.” Dr. Crosby laid a hand flat on the desk and her expression grew solemn. “I’ve reviewed your medical records-the trauma you suffered from your fall caused a placental abruption. This means you do have an increased risk of the problem reoccurring-probably about a ten-percent risk. I don’t want you to worry unduly but it is important that you take extra care.”

Any traces of relief Pia had felt vanished as Dr. Crosby’s words slapped her in the face. “Is there anything we can do to keep my…our baby safer?” she whispered.

“Keep up with the suggestions I gave you last time, like having enough fluids. And you need to get plenty of sleep. And because you’ve fainted twice, you might want to put some precautions in place until we see how your blood pressure responds in your second trimester.”

“Precautions?” JT said from beside her. His body stiffened and tension radiated from him.

Dr. Crosby smiled kindly. “Simple things-for instance, when you’re showering, you should make sure the water isn’t too hot, perhaps have a shower stool so you can sit down. Try to take showers when there’s someone else around.”

Her fingers wrapped around each other tightly. She’d lived alone since moving out of her college dorm-how was it possible to have someone around when she showered? She licked dry lips and decided to work that out later. In the meantime, there was another issue. “What about my job?”

“That’s entirely up to you,” Dr. Crosby replied. “It depends on whether you feel safe there. Also, we want you to keep your stress level under control because of the potential effects it could have on your system.” She looked down at her notes. “You’re a lawyer, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Is it mainly desk work?”

Meetings and appointments off-premises were fairly regular, but she could try to rearrange things to stay in her own office each day. “I can probably make it a desk job for the short term.”

“It should be no riskier than being at home, but it’s hard for me to make that judgment without knowing the details of your schedule. Although something to consider is that your stress will adversely affect the baby, so we want you to be safe and to have you feel safe. You certainly don’t have to stop working, but maybe you could take steps to balance your load. Only you know if the stress you’re under now is too much. But keep in mind that if you have an episode of low blood pressure, you’ll need to feel comfortable about managing that by lying down or at least putting your head down.”

Dr. Crosby’s words replayed in Pia’s mind during the cab ride home. Precautions needed to be put into place, no question, but how many? How much was enough? She desperately wanted the partnership at her firm, but never at the risk of losing another baby.

She laid her head back on the headrest behind her and closed her eyes. Four weeks ago, JT had been a distant memory and the partnership had been the most important thing in her future. Too much had changed too fast.

The cab pulled up in front of her apartment and JT paid the driver and followed her in without invitation. Which pretty much summed up their situation now-JT looking after things and being an unquestioned part of her life. And every time he came here, or they were out together, they ran the risk of being seen, of her career exploding in her face. Everything was spinning out of control, and in the midst of the mess, she had to ensure that keeping emotional distance from JT remained a priority. She would soon be a mother, and needed to keep her head straight, to be the strongest and best version of herself for the baby’s sake. JT and keeping her head straight were not compatible.

He stood before her, dominating her living room, strong hands on his lean hips. “What will you do about your job?”

“Take time off,” she said. She’d turned the elements of the problem over and over on the ride home, looking from all angles, searching for a solution that would suit all her needs. But ultimately-no matter how small the risk her job was to her baby-there was only one plan she could live with. “It’s not just the work but the commute, too.”

He cocked his head to the side, his eyes intent on her face. “I thought this promotion meant the world to you?”

“It did. It does,” she corrected. “But the baby means more. I’ll have some files sent over and can work from home. There’s not that long before the second trimester starts and, if my blood pressure is better, I’ll go back then.”

Warm approval flared in his eyes. “And I’ll be here at night.”

Her heart missed a beat, both at his words and the casual way he delivered them. “What makes you think you’ll be here?”

“Dr. Crosby told us to minimize your time alone. I’ll sleep on the couch and be here while you shower. While I’m at work, you can do safe things. Work on your cases at the table, watch television. Sleep.”

“I won’t be sleeping. I have a full caseload.” She’d have Arthur bring files and notes over straight away and she could log on to the firm’s email server from her laptop. Maybe it wouldn’t need to be classed as time off. Just working from home.

“Sure, as long as they’re things you can do sitting or lying down.”

Was he questioning her commitment to the care of their baby? Her spine straightened. “Have no doubts, JT, I won’t jeopardize this baby.”

He arched a brow. “Then you won’t have a problem with my sleeping on the couch in case you faint again.”

Pia let out a breath. She’d been over and over this on the cab ride, too, and had to face that her options were fairly limited. She could stay with one of her sisters and her family, or she could stay with her parents. Both options involved moving back to her hometown of Pine Shores -too far from the office to have someone regularly drop off or pick up work.

Or she could accept this offer from her baby’s father-a man who had as much to lose as she did if she fell and didn’t have help. Why even hesitate? There would be minimal disruption to her work, and JT would simply be carrying out fatherly responsibilities. Of course, her work would have a problem with it if they found out, but it shouldn’t be hard to conceal if she was careful.

She looked up at his darkly beautiful profile, into the depths of his dark-fringed eyes, at the small scar above his lip and her pulse began to jump madly.

She almost groaned. This was why she needed to be cautious. Could she resist the sublime lure of him if he slept five paces from her bed? If she rose in the night for a glass of water and saw his face relaxed in sleep, his limbs strewn across her couch? If he emerged from her bathroom with damp skin and her towel wrapped around his waist? How strong was her resistance exactly?

Yet, she couldn’t start an affair with JT. Soon, she’d be a mother, and mothers needed to be sensible. Rational. Prudent. Around JT, she’d never been any of these things. She wasn’t sure any of them were remotely possible when he was near.

And now that they would have an ongoing relationship through their baby, she’d need to be even more careful to keep things on an even keel, to ensure she and JT could sustain a lifelong connection. If they stepped too close to the fire again, could they walk away and remain on pleasant enough terms to share the parenting of their child? The last time they broke up, she’d had to sever things completely. That wouldn’t be an option when they shared custody.

But-her hands crept to her belly-her weakness wasn’t the issue. Her baby needed her to accept the help on offer. Her baby was depending on her to put every possible safety net in place to keep her or him protected.

She swallowed past the resistance in her throat and met his gaze. “You can stay.”

Dusk was falling when JT came back. Pia had asked her assistant to bring over her briefcase and laptop-which she’d left on her desk when she’d ducked out for her ill-fated lunch break-plus the case files she was working on…except the Bramson estate.

Linda Adams had appointments all afternoon and Pia hadn’t had a chance to talk to her yet, but now the will was Linda’s responsibility, Pia needed to know how she wanted her to work on it from home. Ethically, she couldn’t have paperwork pertaining to the case in the same apartment where a claimant was staying and could stumble across it, so she’d have to find a solution.

Unfortunately, Arthur hadn’t arrived with her things yet-he’d needed to cover for her in a couple of meetings and said he’d drop them off in the morning.

Home alone with nothing to do, the anxieties raised by the day couldn’t be pushed aside and they preyed on her mind… What if she lost this baby, too? A clammy shiver raced across her skin. If that happened, then she wouldn’t survive either.

And JT staying here? How would she keep up her guard with him on her couch? He was dangerous for her, she’d known that-he brought out the worst in her. With him at her side, she’d always succumbed to reckless abandon, doing things against her own best interests. Within four weeks of his swaggering back into her life, she’d compromised herself at work, fallen pregnant and now had him sleeping in her apartment.

As her brain worked overtime, her fingers had itched for something to do, a contract to read, anything. So, under the gaze of an ever-watchful Winston, she’d found herself pulling out the bags she kept tucked away at the bottom of her wardrobe, and spreading her hat-making materials over the dining table. When JT arrived, she was working on a series of elaborate bronze petals that needed so much concentration that she almost managed to silence her fears.