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"I’m to blame, aren’t I?"

"What?"

"I shouldn’t have said a word about Carol and the baby, but she’d been so sick and I’ve been so concerned about her" Lindy paused and lightly shook her head "I still am"

Steve hated the way his heart reacted to the news that Carol was still sickly He didn’t want to care about her, didn’t want to feel this instant surge of protectiveness when it came to his ex-wife For the past week, he’d tried to erase every memory of her from his torturedhe’d over

"I shouldn’t have told you," Lindy repeated

"It wouldn’t have made one bit of difference; I would have found out sooner or later"

Lindy’s hands cupped the coffee ed "Nothing"

"Nothing? But Steve, that’s your baby"

He let that pass, preferring not to correct his sister "What’s between Carol and me isn’t any of your business Leave it at that"

She seeh his words carefully "I wish I could"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Carol looks awful I really think she needs to see her doctor So, Steve She shouldn’t be this sick"

He shrugged with feigned indifference "That’s her probleed open "I can’t believe you Carol is carrying your child and you’re acting like she got pregnant all by herself"

Steve diverted his gaze to the blue sky outside his living-rooed "Maybe she did," he whispered

Chapter Ten

Carol sat at her desk and tried to concentrate on her work This past seven days had been i anothershe could ever say would convince hi itself and all the agony of her divorce had come back to haunt her

Only this time Carol was smarter

If Steve chose to believe such nonsense, that was his problem She wanted this baby and frohter alone Now if only she could get over these bouts of nausea and the sickly feeling that ith her alht Most of it she attributed to the emotional upheaval in her life Within a couple of weeks it would pass and she would feel a thousand ti herself

"Hi"

A fahts "Lindy!" she said, directing her attention to Steve’s sister "What are you doing here?"

"Risking ot to talk to you; it’s important"

As fond as Carol was of her former sister-in-law, she knew there was only one subject Lindy would want to discuss, and that was Steve Her former husband was a topic Carol preferred to avoid Nor was she willing to justify herself to his sister, if Lindy started questioning her about the baby’s father It would be better for everyone involved if she refused to htened her

"I suppose you want to ask htfully "I don’t know that any as It’d be best just to leave things as they are"

"Not you, too"

"Too?"

"Steve’s so closed mouthed you’d think your name was listed as classified information"

Carol picked up the clipboard and flipped over a page, in an effort to pretend she was exceptionally busy "Maybe it’s better this way," she uise the pain her words revealed

"Listen, I’ve got to get back before someone important – like ," Lindy said, scribbling so off the sheet "Here’s the address to my apartment Rush is on sea trials, so we’ll be alone"

"Lindy…"

"If you care anything abouteyes spelled out his sister’s concern

Carol took the address, and frowned "Letto orchestrate a reconciliation, neither one of us will appreciate it"