Free His Secret Child by Beverly Barton Page B

so quickly that she had no time to protest. His lips covered hers with breath-robbing intensity. His sex throbbed against her belly. His tongue delved deeply into the moist cavern of her mouth. And she was lost to the power of his passion.
    "Excuse me." A man bumped into Caleb's back as he passed them in the dark hallway. "Don't let me disturb you two. I'm just slipping out the back way."
    Caleb ended the kiss abruptly. Breathing erratically, Sheila shoved him away and ran down the hallway and into the crowded, noisy throng. She quickly made her way back to the table where Gwyn was entertaining Pat with an off-color joke.
    "Where's Caleb?" Gwyn asked.
    "He'll be back in a minute," Sheila replied. "I think he went to the rest room." She turned to Pat. "I'm sorry to be a party pooper, but I have a splitting headache. Would you mind taking me home?"
    "No, of course I don't mind," Pat said. "Do you need to stop by the drugstore and pick up some medicine or anything?"
    "No, I'll take some aspirin when I get home and go straight to bed."
    "Now that sounds like a good idea to me," Gwyn said just as Caleb joined them. "Pat, you take Sheila straight home to bed." Gwyn giggled. "And I'll take our hometown superstar home to bed with me."
    "Good night." Sheila didn't even glance at Caleb when she took Pat's arm and walked away with him.
    Caleb watched until they exited the building, then looked at Gwyn, who had apparently drank another beer while he'd danced with Sheila. He jerked back her chair and lifted her to her feet.
    "Come on. I'll take you home while you can still stand."
    She wrapped herself around him. "Looks like everybody's gonna have fun tonight."
    An hour later Caleb drove by Sheila's house. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this—checking to see if Pat Lawley's minivan was parked in the drive. The small, neat clapboard house was dark and quiet. And the only vehicle in the drive was Sheila's Jeep.
    He let out a deep breath, suddenly realizing how much it mattered to him that Sheila hadn't let Pat stay the night.
    He'd like to knock on the door, wake her up and tell her that he hadn't taken Gwyn up on her offer, that he'd left a mighty unhappy woman screaming obscenities at him from her front porch. He wasn't going to see Gwyn Baker again. Dating her even once had been a mistake. There was only one woman in Crooked Oak he wanted. One woman who could appease the ache inside him. One woman he needed in his bed.
    And that woman had no idea of the power she held over him.

Five
    "My goodness, what's all the commotion about?" Susan Redman turned around in the bleachers and craned her neck to look over the crowd that had formed near the entrance to the Little League park.
    "I have no idea," Sheila said. "But you'd think the president had arrived."
    "It wouldn't be Peyton, would it? I just talked to Tallie yesterday and she didn't mention anything about them making a trip home this weekend."
    "Guess I'd better go check it out." Sheriff Lowell Redman rose from his padded stadium seat and made his way down the bleachers, being careful not to step on anyone. By the time he headed toward the mob scene at the ballpark entrance, a man burst through the horde that was following close on his heels.
    "Hey, it's Caleb!" Lowell called out to his wife and Sheila. "That's even better than a visit from the president or the governor."
    "I should have known," Sheila mumbled.
    "What's wrong with you?" Susan asked, then glanced around at the people sitting nearby. Leaning closer, she whispered in Sheila's ear, "Are you worried about Caleb staying in Crooked Oak long enough to start wondering about Danny?"
    Sheila glared at her friend and snapped, "Will you hush! Someone's liable to hear you."
    "Gossip being what it is in this town, I think you should know that Gwyn Baker's—"
    "I know he's been seeing her!"
    "Don't bite my head off," Susan said. "They've had two dates, but Gwyn couldn't seduce him, if you know what I mean."
    "Susan, how on