Catch 'n' Kiss (Are You Game?) (22 page)

“Better?”

“Yes, much, thanks.” She sat behind her desk and began to work.

“Aren’t you going to head home?”

“No.” Jody looked up with one eyebrow raised. “Why would I?”

“Because you’re not well and tomorrow is a big day. Go home and get some rest.” He checked his watch. “If you leave now you can be home before the girls and spend some time with them before you all have to deal with tomorrow.”

“Thanks for the suggestion, but I still have things to sort out before I take the day off.” She returned her gaze to the file in front of her.

He could not believe she thought work was more important than time with the girls, especially with everything that was going on. Snatching the file out from under her, he leaned in until their noses almost touched. “Go home.”

“Dan—”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. Go home. Everything is under control. There’s absolutely nothing that can’t wait until you get back if I can’t sort it out.” Dan grabbed her arm and helped her out of the chair. “Please, for me, go home and spend time relaxing with the girls. Rent a movie or take them to a movie, whatever, just go be with them.”

“Okay, fine. But don’t get shitty when something comes up that I should have dealt with.” She bent over and grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer of her desk. “If things go quickly in the morning, I’ll come in afterwards. Mum and Dad are going to be there so they can take the girls out or something so I can come in.”

“Don’t even think it. If you’re out of there early you can all go spend time with your parents.”

“But—”

“No buts. Take the time, Jody.” Dan was on the verge of begging her to take it when he felt her soften next to him. It was like every muscle she had took a breath and relaxed.

“Okay, but I owe you for this.”

“Sure. Dinner.”

“What?” She went a little pale.

“Have dinner with me.”

The colour drained right out of her face and she slammed a hand over her mouth before dashing to the bathroom. Dan didn’t care what she said, it was more than worrying about tomorrow, and if something she ate yesterday messed her up this bad then it was food poisoning and that could be deadly.

He walked down the corridor and knocked on Cassie’s door.

“Come in,” she called out.

“Hey, mind if I shoot through for a few hours?”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, Jody’s sick and I want to be sure she gets home all right.”

“Sure. No worries, but isn’t tomorrow the court thing?”

“Yeah, which is why I want to be sure she’s okay.” He paused to check no one was in the hallway. “I think I’ll take tomorrow too. There’s nothing that either of us needs to do, and this week is a quiet one, thank God. So if you’re cool with it I think I’ll take the day and help Jody out.”

“Definitely. You’ve got Luc’s number, right? He’ll be there tomorrow anyway, but if you need him at all today, ring him.”

“Thanks, Cassie, but I’m pretty sure having me hovering around is going to piss her off, we don’t need to aggravate the situation by adding Luc.” He grinned.

Cassie laughed. “You’re right. He can be a little over the top when he worries.”

“I’ll text you later.” Dan heard the bathroom door open. “Gotta go. See you on Wednesday.”

“Catch you then.”

Dan quickly caught up to Jody. “Here give me that.”

“What the hell are you doing?” She pulled away from him.

“Trying to carry your bag for you.” He was worried she might still be a little shaky, and the last thing he wanted was for her to topple down the stairs.

“I can carry my handbag. I’m not an invalid.”

Whoa. He hadn’t heard that tone from her in weeks. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend.”

“No. I’m sorry. I was snapping at you for no reason.”

“You’ve got a lot going on. Add in feeling sick and I imagine just breathing is making you snappy.” He grinned to soften his words. Heaven forbid she take offense and snap at him again.

“Probably.” They were almost to the bottom of the stairs when it twigged he was walking out with her. “What are you doing?”

“Going out with you.”

“What?”

“Coming with you.” Dan cupped her elbow and kept her moving when she stopped. “I’m going to make sure you take it easy. I’ll organise dinner and occupy the girls if you want to rest or think of something we can all do to pass the time.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because…well…because…argh! I have no idea why not exactly, but you can’t.”

Dan laughed. As arguments went it was a complete wash, but he’d give her credit for trying. He ushered her through the door and out into the sunlight before he turned her to face him. “Here’s the thing. I either follow you home and come in and do all I just suggested. Or I follow you home and sit outside your house in my car. Your choice.”

“That’s not a choice.” She was right. There was no way she’d let him sit outside and he was counting on it. “Fine. But when the girls get home you can explain why we’re not at work. Oh, and you get to help with homework.”

Homework was the least he’d do to spend the afternoon with Jody and the girls. He smiled. “Deal. Unless it’s English. I suck at English.”

Jody laughed. “Too bad. You already made the deal. No changing the rules now.”

Dan followed her over to her car and made sure she was okay to drive before racing over to his Jeep and starting the engine. He knew where she lived so didn’t need to tail her, but he was worried she’d have another bout of vomiting, and if she did he wanted to be there to take care of her.

Jody was stretched out on the couch wondering when it was that Dan had taken over her life. He was currently at the dining table with the girls doing their homework. She could hear them giggling and generally having fun, which she couldn’t remember them doing whenever she helped them. He’d ordered dinner, which would be delivered around seven. And he ordered her to take a nap. Ha. Fat chance that would happen when all she could hear was her girls and how happy they sounded.

She hadn’t been sick again but the nausea was still hanging around. The thought of food made it worse, so she tried to not think about it. But she was thinking about something that made her feel even sicker. It had been a while, a good long while, but she had a sinking feeling she knew exactly what was wrong with her. If she was right, her world—and Dan’s—was about to be turned on its head.

She’d put it off long enough. Forcing herself to move, she got to her feet and headed to her bathroom. She found the packet of pills she was looking for and studied it carefully. The sugar pills had kicked in five days ago and she still hadn’t got her period. This wasn’t good. She checked to see she’d taken all the other pills before she suddenly remembered something that not only confirmed her suspicions but dropped the bomb on her world.

During the first week of this packet of contraceptives, she’d had a throat infection and had to take antibiotics for fourteen days. How could she have been so stupid? She knew the drill. Knew the meds would affect the pill and put her at risk, but she hadn’t thought about that when she’d assured Dan that she was safe. Sinking to the edge of the bath, she stared at the empty pouches and wondered what to do. Telling him was out of the question. Not until she knew for sure. There was no point stressing out both of them until she’d either peed on a stick or in a jar.

“Hey, you all right?” Dan asked from the doorway. He noticed the packet in her hand and came into the room, closing the door behind him. “What’s wrong?”

“I, um, I’m not sure…” Did she just blurt it out? Oh God. She’d been here before. Pregnant, unmarried and facing an uncertain future. Except this time she was older—wiser—and she had no intention of being forced into something she didn’t want. “I was just taking some medicine.”

“Do you have a headache, fever?” he asked as he placed the back of his hand on her forehead.

“A slight one,” Jody lied.

“Why don’t you have a shower and get in your pyjamas. If you want to skip dinner and go straight to bed, I’ll take care of the girls.”

Tears stung her eyes. He was being so nice and she was keeping a huge secret from him. But until she knew for sure, she wasn’t about to reveal what she’d discovered. Instead, she’d play the sick card and keep out of his way as much as possible. “If you don’t mind, I’d really like that. I can always ring Mum though.”

“Nonsense. I’m already here and dinner is taken care of, so there isn’t any point dragging her out when I’m more than capable.” He grinned at her, which made her want to cry more. Why did he have to be so nice when she was feeling so crappy?

“Thanks.”

He backed away. “Yell if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it. Anything.”

“I will.”

“Good. I’ll get you a glass of water for beside your bed. Do you want anything else, food?”

“No. I don’t think I could stomach anything right now.”

“All right. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

He was out the door and gone before Jody breathed easy. She had some major decisions to make. Having a baby was not in her plans. She’d been there and done that. The idea of more children had never entered her head after she’d had Amy. Her hand slid over her belly. If she was pregnant, did she want to keep it? Could she even get rid of it? No. There was no way she could abort a child. It just wasn’t in her to take that step.

Pushing to her feet, she turned and twisted the hot-water tap in the shower. Steam rose almost instantly, and she adjusted the cold until the water was the right temperature. She stripped out of her clothes and stepped under the warm spray. The heat and massage showerhead did wonders for her tight muscles and she stayed under longer than she should have.

When her fingers began to wrinkle, she decided it was time to get out. The end of her ponytail had gotten wet so she grabbed a handtowel to squeeze the water out before picking up her large bath towel and rubbing the soft cotton over her skin. With the towel wrapped around her, Jody made her way out into the bedroom to find Dan had done exactly what he said he would. On her bedside drawers sat a glass of water.

She fought off the onslaught of tears that suddenly pressed against her eyes and quickly got into some pyjamas. Turning back the covers, she climbed beneath and snuggled into the thick quilt. First thing tomorrow, she’d sneak off and buy a home-pregnancy kit. The sooner she knew for sure, the sooner she could make some decisions and plans.

Chapter Seventeen

Jody stared at the stick in her hand and couldn’t believe it when a tiny pink plus sign appeared in the clear window. That couldn’t be right. She shook the damn thing in case it was stuck. No change. She grabbed the box and re-read the instructions. Had she peed on the stupid thing right? Maybe she was supposed to pee in a cup and soak the end for a minute or something. She scanned the words as they blurred before her eyes.
Oh God!
She’d done everything exactly as instructed.

Full-blown panic took over. She trembled from head to toe and sweat broke out, slicking her palms so much that the reason for her sudden terror slipped from her grip. It dropped to the bathroom floor and she scrambled to pick it up before someone in another cubical saw.

“Oh God.”
This can’t be happening again.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God.”

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t get past the terrifying reality that at thirty-four she was a divorced mother of two teenagers and pregnant from what had essentially been a one-night stand.

“Oh God.”

It had to be wrong. She couldn’t be pregnant. Did these things have used-by dates? Surely it was broken or something—anything other than finding herself in the same position as sixteen years ago. A wave of nausea swamped her and she spun around, flipping up the toilet seat before emptying her stomach into the bowl. Again. She’d never been this sick with either of the girls. That had to be a sign the stick lied. Didn’t it? When the last of the spasms passed, Jody got to her feet and almost toppled headfirst into the toilet when someone knocked on the door.

“Are you all right in there, love?” The voice was shaky with age and Jody thanked God it wasn’t the smartly dressed twenty-something who’d been her constant shadow since arriving at the courthouse.

“Y-yes.” Jody licked her dry lips and bile rose in her throat at the foul taste. “I’m fine. Thank you.” Her own voice shook, but it had nothing to do with age.

She needed to pull it together. Revealing her secret here was not an option, and if she didn’t get control of her emotions the first person to look at her funny would send her into a meltdown. Water ran in one of the sinks and Jody hoped the elderly woman was about to leave. Drawing in a deep breath, she turned the lock on the door and stepped out of the cubicle.

“Here you go, dear.” The smallest woman Jody had ever seen held out a handful of wet paper towel. “Put that against your neck. I always found that helpful when I was suffering morning sickness.”

Jody’s hand froze in mid-air as she reached for the wadded up towel. “How—”