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When they rode for twentyThe way it should be Going according to plan The vagaries of his day started to fade, and he noticed that the sky was a perfect blue with the sun setting over the trees in ould be a fantastic picture for soraphy

He was into his work His ho, a good game of tennis Racquetball Sun and sand and ti television

And Amelia Grace He’d ridden up beside her a few times In front of her twice And behind her for the majority of the ride She’d yielded to cars and pedestrians in theto miss a ball that bounced from a couple of boys in a yard to the street in front of them

He’d reprili their little shack retreat

And wondered if she’d felt the baby kick yet Once she felt that intimate proof of life, she’d either relax and let herself believe her drea that she was going to get that close to happiness and then lose again Either way, he wanted to be ahen it was happening

As they turned to head back, signaling the last half of the ride—really the last quarter, as their turning point was closer to their cars than the distance they’d traveled from them—he pedaled up next to her

“You mad at me?” he asked Those ht have changed things for her, too Not that they’d talk about that But if he’d soht, or intended, it was up to hi between thesthey were his He’d deal with thereement

“Of course not” She glanced at hi “Why you would think that? What could I have to be angry with you about? Unless” She slowed her bike “Did you do so to piss me off?”

Like fall in love with her? Even just temporarily? God, let it be temporary

“You’ve just been off today So her the chance to deny her h she had to lie to him

“I’,” she said She’d kept the slower pace and he adjusted his speed tocloser to her so that they could talk

“Anything you want to talk about?”

She glanced at hi escaped fro down her arm She never wore jewelry when they rode, but he’d noticed a while back that she had pierced ears Had thought of buying her a pair of garnet earrings once when he’d seen thehts in her hair

That had been before he’d known he was in trouble Before he’d realized he was falling for her But he should have known When he’d seen the earrings, he’d been at the mall with Kim, one of the tomen he’d had semiserious relationships with since Tricia’s death They’d run into each other one afternoon at the grocery store—which here they’d first arding his donated sper a woone out the past few Friday nights

But not the next one Not now that he knew that he was harboring te his child