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She placed her hand on her belly “Not even the baby They told me it would be too hard to look at him or her and know Joshua wasn’t here”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Ryan’s hands tightened on the steering wheel

“No That isn’t so that I would kid about”

“I’m sorry”

“So am I But I just think of it as their loss If that’s the way they feel, then it wouldn’t ever be healthy for the baby to be around them We’ll be better off without them”

Ryan looked at the house one more time By its appearance, the baby would be well cared for and loved “I’ll see you to the door”

“That’s not necessary” She opened the car door

He climbed out and hurried around the automobile She’d started to her feet He held out a hand After a second she accepted it His larger one sed her smaller one Hers was soft and smooth, very feminine So very different froth She removed her hand from his and stood taller

“Come on, I’ll see you to the door” Even to his own ears it sounded as if he was ready to get rid of her

“I’ll be fine You’ve already helped enough by driving me home” She started up the walk lined with flowers and stopped, then looked back at him “I’m sorry to have bothered you”

Ryan waited to see if she would turn around again, but she didn’t When the light went out on the porch he pulled away from the curb

Phoebe closed the door behind her with a soft click Through the shts of Ryan’s car as he drove off

What had she expected? That he would

immediately say, “I’ll take care of you, I’ll be there for you”? She hts on She knehere every piece of furniture and every lamp was located With the exception of the few tie, no one had lived with her Nothing was ever moved unless she did it

Theirapart They had hteen and fresh out of school The tall, dark man dressed in a uniform had taken her breath away Joshua hadto take on that life She was strong and could deal with it

It hurt terribly that his parents had said they wouldn’t be around to help her with the baby He or she needed grandparents in their life With her parents gone they were the only ones She’d been devastated when she’d received the letter stating they would not be coht about returning it but had decided to start a fund at the bank for the baby instead Not knowing their grandchild would be their loss

For her the baby was about having a small part of Joshua still in her life Her hope was that Joshua’s parents ht now she was on her own Not a feeling she enjoyed In a one to Ryan’s house, but she didn’t plan to let him kno bone deep the hurt was that Joshua’s parents wanted nothing to do with her How lonely she was for someone who’d known and loved Joshua

She turned on the lalanced at the picture of her and Joshua sht years but had spent ether in total That had been a week or two here, or a e was like being on vacation instead of the day in, day out experience of living together Even their jobs had been vastly different Joshua had found his place in the serviceIt had given her the nor married to a husband who popped in and out hadn’t

Each time Joshua had co, ind and all-consuular thud of everyday life They’d had to relearn each other and getting in the groove had seerown older they’d both seemed to pull away She’d had her set life and routine and Joshua had invaded it when he’d returned

Re her clothes, she laid them over a chair and pulled her pj’s out of the chest of drawers She groaned The large T-shirt reminded her of a tent that she and Joshua had cae and still she almost filled it

Pulling it over her head, she rubbed her belly The baby had been a co children She and Joshua had decided not to have theh She wasn’t sure whether or not she’d cared when they’d married or if she’d believed he would leave the ar a family had been pushed far into the future It had beconant it had been a shock

Her fingers went to her rown up with the drea a fa

She pulled the covers back on the bed and cli the blanket up around her, she turned on her side, stuffing an extra pilloeen the mattress and her tu the tiny heel that pushed against her side

The last ti They’d spent so little tiether she’d felt like she hadn’t even known her husband anyuilt that he’d died believing she no longer cared Friendship had been there but not the intense love that she should have had for a husband

CHAPTER TWO

THE NEXT MORNING Ryan flipped on the light switch that lit the stairs that led down to his workshop He’d picked out this town house because of this particular space Because it was underground it helped block the noise of the saws frohbors The area was also close to the hospital, which made it nice when he had to be there quickly

Going down the stairs, he scanned the area A band saw filled one corner, while stationed in the center of the rooht noas the workbench against the far wall There lay the half- today He would still have to spend another few days staining it

Picking up a square piece of sandpaper, he began running it up and down one of the curved rockers He’d made a couple of rockers when the nursery of the hospital had needed new ones A number of the nurses had been so impressed they’d wanted one of their own Since then he’d been busy filling orders in his spare time

Outside the moments when a baby was born and offered its first spirited view of the neorld with a shout, being in his shop was the place he was the most happy Far better than his life in the military

When he could stand it no longer, he’d resigned his coh of torn bodies He ran his hand along the expanse of the wood It was level but not quite shts of Phoebe kept intruding

He couldn’t believe that had been Joshua’s wife at his ho in Melbourne for five years Joshua had always let him knohen he was home, but in all that time he’d never met his wife It had seemed like his friend’s visits had coh the two of theether, Ryan had never seen her Now all of a sudden she had turned up on his doorstep