“But what can you do besides freeze to death?” It actually did sound kind of nice to be away from everyone, and now she was curious.
“We’ve done all sorts of things, like snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, hunting. But the best part is the night. Sure, it gets darker much earlier in the winter, and it’s so damn cold, but that turns out to be a good thing. We set up our shelters, build a huge fire, and talk for hours while having dinner and hot drinks. When we were young, our dad would scare the crap out of us with ghost stories and talking about alien abductions.”
“Alien abductions?” she asked with a laugh. “Really?”
“Hey, don’t knock it,” he said with his own laugh. “I swear he had us convinced one night that a light in the sky was a UFO. I’m still not convinced otherwise,” he added with a wink.
“Well, it sounds like I’m going to have to try winter camping,” she told him as they pulled up to the doctor’s office.
“I will be glad to take you,” he said, shutting off the truck and jumping out, then rushing around to her side to open the door before she could.
“I think we will both be doing separate things by winter, Jackson.” She needed to maintain some distance with this man, because each day she was with him, she was finding that task just a little bit harder.
“I’ll just have to disagree with you on that.”
She left Jackson in the waiting room and went back to see her doctor. The news wasn’t good. He wanted her to stay off work for at least one more week. She’d developed a slight bleed that wasn’t going away, and her blood pressure was high. It wasn’t from being pushed down, he didn’t think, just a symptom of pregnancy. Her second trimester wasn’t being good to her.
Slightly depressed as she walked back out to Jackson, she climbed into the truck without saying much. For once, he didn’t fill the silence with small talk. When they reached her house, she didn’t try to fight him when he lifted her into his arms again and carried her up the stairs.
The trip had worn her out, and Alyssa quickly removed her coat and shoes and climbed into bed. Jackson hovered over her looking like he wanted to say something. She waited, knowing he wouldn’t leave without getting off his chest whatever it was.
“I can see you’re tired and depressed, but keep your head up. This won’t last forever,” he said, and she was surprised that was all. “I’ll come see you again tomorrow, Alyssa.”
With that, he bent down and softly kissed her, then turned and walked from the room, leaving her lips tingling and her body slightly achy. When after a half hour she wasn’t able to fall asleep, she sat up in bed and grabbed her journal and pen from the nightstand drawer.
An hour passed before she was finished writing, and she felt much better after ranting in the safest place she knew of. Yes, she was still completely muddled about her feelings about Jackson, and she still wasn’t sure when she would tell him the truth, but over the past few days she had figured out that she would eventually have to tell him.
Knowing the man made it impossible for her to justify keeping the secret.
“You have a visitor, Alyssa.”
“Thanks for telling me this time,” Alyssa muttered, but it was to no avail. Before Alyssa could finish speaking, her mother was gone and Jackson was strolling through her doorway, his arms full with two gigantic bags. It was more than obvious that her mother was in love with Jackson and Alyssa could see the wheels turning in both her parents’ heads.
Their daughter was pregnant and alone. Jackson was making it more than clear to them that he was sticking around. Of course, they didn’t know that he wanted to continue their affair and was willing to take her, baby and all, to do that. What they were hoping would last forever was in reality going to last only until he grew bored with the game. And, knowing him, that wouldn’t take long.
She had to tell her mother the truth, but how could she do that? If she wasn’t yet willing to tell Jackson that the baby she carried was his, how could she tell her parents? She was sure if they knew he was the father, they’d be marching the two of them down the aisle, perhaps with a shotgun at both of their backs. Neither she nor Jackson would be happy with that arrangement.
“What are you up to now, Jackson?” she asked as she pulled her blankets a little higher. This was even more perfect. She was lying in bed in her favorite flannel pajamas, her hair sticking out in all directions, and without a lick of makeup on. But who cared, right? She wasn’t trying to impress him. She’d known he would show up. If she’d been concerned, she would have tried to doll herself up a bit.
Still, she lifted her hand self-consciously and tried to tame her hair. Bed rest wasn’t conductive to feeling beautiful—or to getting better, from what she’d read. What she wouldn’t give for a day at the spa. That was her first order of business when she could finally get out of the house again.
“I told you I’d be back, and this time I’ve brought goodies so you won’t be bored. The doctor said one week, right?”
“No. He said that it would be a minimum of one week, but most likely two. You can’t fire me because of this,” she hastened to add. “I have a doctor’s note.”
“As much as I would rather you weren’t working at the saloon, I won’t fire you, Alyssa. I’m not a demon,” he said as he finally set the bags down on the side of her bed.
Alyssa was dying to look inside them, but she hardly wanted to seem too eager. That would give him another leg up in their silent competition, with the prize going to the most stubborn.
“I see the sparkle in your eyes. Go ahead and see what I’ve brought. Since you so accurately pointed out that I don’t know you, I’ve tried guessing. This way, if I made a few wrong choices, you still have a lot to choose from.”
Damn him for looking far too adorable with his mussed hair and gleaming eyes as he sat at the foot of her bed.
Alyssa’s curiosity got the better of her, and, pulling one of the bags closer, she took out several puzzle books—she loved the things, but she wouldn’t admit it to him—plus more chocolates, caramels, fruit candies—every variety, it seemed—and finally a dozen novels, the covers all featuring gorgeous couples in passionate embraces with very little clothing on. The romances made her blush.
The next bag had lotion, more snacks, warm, fuzzy socks, and beautiful maternity pajamas. She wondered who’d helped him pick those out.