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"You knew?"

"Oh, sweetie, we’ve been friends far too long for me not to see how you feel about Will"

Miranda looked stricken "Do you think Will knows?" she asked anxiously

"Will Jefferson?" Shirley asked "The poor ht he did…and that he felt exactly the same way

Seventeen

When Gloria had first discovered she was pregnant with Chad Timmons’s baby, it had felt like the end of the world In the months since, she’d come to think differently She loved her unborn child with a fierce protectiveness and the kind of intensity she’d never experienced before

Her obstetrician had ordered a routine ultrasound for Tuesday e of her bed, Gloria closed her eyes, silently debating what to do She hadn’t seen or heard fro lot, the day he’d been with that other woman

The blonde had looked beautiful, petite, delicate Unlike Gloria, who considered herself hness As a cop, she had to be strong, mentally and physically

Chad knew about the baby For reasons of his own, Roy McAfee had told hiainst her express wishes, but she’d forgiven hi that this uncomfortable task had been taken froh, Chad hadn’t made any effort to contact her That shouldn’t surprise her, though Oh, he’d had Mack deliver those books, which showed he was concerned But he hadn’t reached out to her--nor, for that matter, had she approached hiht want to know about the ultrasound The nurse who’d scheduled it had told Gloria that she could bring so her birth mother, but Corrie was in North Dakota with Linnette and her new grandson Otherwise, Corrie would certainly have accoe that the one person who should be there was Chad Fingers shaking, she picked up her cell phone and punched the button that would connect her to Chad A dozen times she’d been tempted to delete his number She never had Perhaps she’d secretly wanted to maintain this link

He answered immediately "Dr Timmons"

"It’s Gloria" Her throat was so dry, she could barely get her name out

Silence

"I understand Roy told you…"

"That you’re pregnant," he finished

"Yes…alnawed at her stomach "I tried to tell you," she blurted out "That day I showed up at the hospital But you ith this wo her off

"How is your…friend?" That was a less than subtle way of asking if he was involved with the other woman

"That’s none of your business"

Gloria clenched her fist "Right"

"Is everything okay with the baby?" His voice remained cool, detached

He hadn’t inquired about her "Everything is nor an ultrasound to retted calling hi on hostility--wasthis nearly i so foolish

"You want me with you?" His voice softened

"If possible I…I realize I didn’t give you much notice"

"I work the early shift on Tuesdays"

"Oh" She should’ve phoned right away…

"I’ll do what I can But I’ any pro he’d join her if he could--that he wanted to be with her

"Okay," she said, and recited the pertinent information

"At nine," he repeated

"Yes, and, Chad, thank you for the books" She wanted hiht not care about her, but he cared about his baby, and that gave her courage She wondered if she would’ve had the nerve to call hin

"Mack told you the books were from me?"

"Not at first I confronted him about it after Roy admitted he’d talked to you" Once she’d found out, her eht to know I’reed "You do"

"You should never have hidden it from me" She heard the resentiven her

"I hope to see you tomorrow," she said, and before their conversation could deteriorate into a verbal battle, she ended the call She did understand his reaction to her keeping the pregnancy a secret The ironic thing was, she’d done it for hiht be, for all she knew At this point their only bond was the baby, and she didn’t feel that an unplanned responsibility, one he hadn’t asked for, should interfere with his future or his new relationship

The nextGloria arrived at the ultrasound clinic fifteenarea held six chairs, four of which were occupied Gloria took the fifth one, sat down and picked up a azine The couple across from her held hands, while the other couple whispered excitedly

The two holding hands were called in first Gloria glanced at the wall clock, figuring Chad probably hadn’t been able to get the time off

Ten minutes later, the assistant called her naazine, which she’d hardly looked at, and stood She followed the wo area and into an examination room She was on the table, with her pants unzipped and pulled down and her top raised, when there was a knock on the door The technician was explaining the procedure and what Gloria could expect to see and not see in the ultrasound She listened intently but found herself distracted by a feeling of aloneness A feeling of abandonh to anyone The lump in her throat seemed about to choke her--and then the assistant opened the door