Having His Baby (5 page)

Jake had insisted on driving mother and child home from the hospital in his Jeep. As he pulled up alongside Donna's sleek little Corvette in the driveway of an address in one of Marshallton's more prestigious neighborhoods, he realized the ten-year-old truck he had bought from Hank didn't begin to compare. What bothered him more than the difference in their vehicles, however, was Donna's house. A white, two-story Colonial in the historical district of Marshallton. Obviously, the woman had money. Which meant she didn't need financial support from him. He'd seen the farmhouse at the Henry Ranch and it didn't hold a candle to Donna's place on Mulberry Lane. Even if they remodeled the farm house from top to bottom, would Donna ever be satisfied living there?

What could he offer a woman who apparently had everything? he wondered. Probably nothing she wanted or didn't already have.

The balloon bouquet Susan had tied to the lamppost bounced in the evening breeze. Sheila opened the front door, which was decorated with a huge pink balloon, and ushered them inside. The smell of barbecue greeted their senses as they entered the house. Jake's brothers stood in the foyer, below the pink-and-white banner that read Louisa Christine Bishop. Their Little Miss Bishop's homecoming had turned into a major celebration. Caleb and Hank took turns videotaping the whole affair and the family replayed the tape twice before they left.

Jake gazed down at his daughter, asleep in her basinet.
I
can't give your mama anything she wants or needs. What about you? What can I give you, Sugar Baby? What does a little girl need most?

Donna waved goodbye to the Bishops, closed the front door and returned to the den where Jake stood over Louisa's basinet, watching his sleeping daughter. Donna wished that he wasn't so fascinated with their baby. He didn't seem like the type of man who'd go all mushy inside over an infant, especially a female infant. But what did she know about Jake? Nothing really. Maybe he'd always wanted a child or maybe he had a soft spot in his heart for little girls.

"I'm really tired, Jake. I think I should take Louisa to my room and go to bed myself." She paused several feet away from him, waiting for him to look up and acknowledge her presence.

He glanced at her, smiled and nodded his head. "I'll wheel the basinet to your room, if you'll just show me the way."

Donna hesitated. Oh, what the heck! "All right. But I'll carry Louisa. You'll have to lift the basinet to bring it upstairs. That's where my bedroom is."

"Sure thing. No problem." He removed the sleeping infant from the basinet, handed her to Donna and then picked up the eyelet-lace-adorned basinet.

Donna ascended the stairs slowly, her body still in a state of recovery from the recent delivery. Jake followed her, adjusting his pace to hers. The minute he entered Donna's private domain, he stopped, let out a long, low whistle and shook his head. The room possessed the same elegance and style as the woman, and was as far removed from his lifestyle as Donna was from the women he'd known over the years.

Donna eased her sore, weary body down onto her bed and waited for Jake to bring the basinet closer. But he didn't move. He just stopped in the doorway, his gaze scanning the area from the corona over the Louis XVI bed to the French doors that led out onto a small balcony overlooking the backyard garden.

From the 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 balled his hands into fists to keep from reaching out and caressing Donna's cheek. "Even an old hard-ass like me should be able to change a diaper or rock a crying baby."

"You're going to want to be a part of Louisa's life, aren't you?" Having a father participate in her daughter's upbringing had not been part of Donna's plans. The only man with whom she'd ever wanted to share the responsibilities of parenthood had been Edward. Her husband. A man she had admired, respected and loved.

"The thought of my being involved in our little girl's raising bothers you, doesn't it?" Jake sat beside Donna on the bed. She immediately scooted away from him. He grunted. "You can't change the fact that I'm her father, you know. But maybe if I wasn't around, you could pretend her daddy was some guy like your dead husband. Somebody with education and breeding. Somebody you aren't ashamed of!"

Donna gasped. Her face paled. "I suppose Sheila or Susan told you about Edward." Talking to Jake about Edward seemed wrong somehow, as if by just mentioning Edward's name to this man was somehow a betrayal of all she and her husband had once shared.

"Yeah. Susan told me about him."

"I'm sorry," Donna said. "I realize that I haven't been very considerate of your feelings. But you have to understand that having you show up the way you did—so … so unexpectedly—upset all my plans. If you want to be a part of Louisa's life, then I'm sure we can come to some sort of understanding."

Jake crossed his arms, rested them on his chest and nodded several times. "I guess we're talking about visitation rights and stuff like that?"

"Yes, I suppose." She sighed. "Couldn't we wait and discuss this in the morning? I really am awfully tired." Without thinking, she reached over and laid her hand on his arm. The moment she touched him, his muscles tightened. Warmth spread from his body into her hand and then radiated through her whole body.

He turned abruptly, accidently knocking her hand aside. Taking her by the shoulders, he pivoted her slowly and pointed her in the direction of the bathroom.

"Go change into your gown. I'll keep an eye on Sugar Baby."

Donna groaned inwardly. Apparently Jake was determined to use that ridiculous nickname and there really wasn't anything she could do about it. At least, not tonight.

"All right. Thanks."

She hurried into the bathroom, stripped out of her slacks and loose blouse, which Susan had brought to the hospital this morning. Her soft, cotton gown hung on the peg behind the door. After removing it from the peg, she stepped into it and secured the buttons. While she was pregnant, she had purchased several large gowns that buttoned up the front, knowing she could continue using them once her baby arrived.

After slipping into her white satin house slippers and putting on her quilted white robe over the yellow-flowered gown, she emerged from the bathroom. The first thing she noticed was that all the lights were off, except one bedside lamp. The second thing she noticed was that her bed had been turned down. And the third thing she noticed was that Jake had taken off his boots and shirt and was sitting in the overstuffed Victorian chair in the corner of the room. Louisa, sans blanket, lay atop his hairy chest.

Donna swallowed, then took a deep, calming breath. The man had made himself at home! He was partially undressed and had removed Louisa from her basinet. How dare he! Just who did he think he was?

Louisa's father,
a pesky inner voice reminded her.
Louisa's father and your lover.

Donna's heart sank. How had this happened? How had all her well-laid plans gone haywire? Jake Bishop had shown up, out of nowhere, and turned out to be the mysterious J.B. That's what had gone wrong.

"She was whimpering a little, so I thought it best for me to reassure her that her daddy's here and she's safe."

Jake grinned and Donna's tummy flip-flopped. Stop it! she told herself. Do not let his sexy body and flirtatious smile lure you into accepting him into your life. You do not want this man! You do not need this man!

Liar,
that damn pesky little voice said.

"I should change her diaper and then nurse her," Donna told him. "And I'd like a little privacy."

"Look, sugar, there's no need to be shy around me," Jake said, sitting up straight. He shifted Louisa so that she rested higher on his chest. "I've seen it all, remember?"

Donna noticed that Jake's jeans were unbuttoned. A shiver raced up her spine. Her femininity tightened and released as it recalled the intense pleasure this man's big, hard body had given her.

"Yes, I remember. But that doesn't mean you can—"

"I'm sleeping in here with you," he said. "I can't be of much help with Sugar Baby if I'm across the hall. I sleep like the dead, so I wouldn't hear you if you called me. But if you touch me, I'll wake instantly."

She stomped her foot. "Dammit, will you stop calling her 'Sugar Baby.' Her name is Louisa. Do you hear me? L-o-u-i-s-a!"

Jake took a thorough inventory of Donna as she glared at him. She had loosened her mane of mahogany-red hair. It fell down her back and across her shoulders like strands of fire. Her large, milk-filled breasts rose and fell with each labored breath. He wanted to watch her feed their child. He wanted to caress her and taste her sweetness for himself.

"Come on and show me how to change
Louisa's
dia
per," he said, emphasizing the baby's name. "Then we can go to bed and you can nurse her and get her to sleep."

"You are not sleeping in the bed with me!"

"Yes, I am."

"No, you are not!"

"Who's going to stop me?"

"I'll call …" Who would she call? Not Hank or Caleb. And certainly none of her colleagues. "I'll call the police!"

"No, you won't. Just think of the scandal," Jake said.

"If you touch me, I'll … I'll kill you."

Jake stood, walked across the room and laid Louisa down on the bed. "Show me how to change her diaper."