Free Having His Baby by Beverly Barton Page A

a lousy husband and father."
    "Are you going to marry Donna?" Caleb asked. "Sheila is convinced that you two should get married as soon as possible."
    "I asked the lady to be my wife and she turned me down."
    "So, ask her again," Hank suggested. "Despite the fact that she's an independent woman, Donna's going to find it difficult to raise a child alone around here. People in Marshall County aren't very modern in their thinking. They expect a woman of Donna's background and social standing to be married to her child's father."
    "I think Donna's background and social standing may be one of the reasons she doesn't want to marry me. I'm afraid she doesn't think I'm good enough for her. And I can't say I blame her. After all, compared to her polish, I'm a pretty coarse guy."
    "So, you're not a cultured gentleman. Big deal," Caleb said. "Undoubtedly, Donna liked you well enough to have an affair with you. And from what Sheila tells me, Donna hadn't been with a man since her husband died five years ago."
    "My guess is, that even if Donna is denying she has any feelings for you, she's lying to herself as well as to you," Hank said. "Susan tells me that Donna was deeply in love with her husband and that when he died she nearly had a nervous breakdown. Seems it's common knowledge in Marshall County that Donna was under psychiatric care for over a year after Edward Fields died. They say her aunt and uncle were afraid she'd commit suicide."
    Jake felt a rush of jealous anger swell up inside him and fill him completely. Donna had loved her husband so much that she hadn't wanted to live without him? He wondered if part of the problem now was that Donna really was still in love with Edward. How could he compete with a dead man? The ghost of an old lover?
    "I've offered her marriage," Jake said. "If she changes her mind, she'll have to let me know. But I've got to admit that the idea of competing with Donna's memory of her husband isn't my idea of a good way to start a marriage."
    "Afraid of the competition?" Hank asked, a twinkle of devilment in his eyes.
    "Not if the guy was flesh and blood," Jake said. "But if she's still in love with this other guy, she's going to remember him as if he were a saint. There's no way I or any other man could compete with memories of a perfect husband."
    "Memories, no matter how wonderful, won't keep you warm on a cold night," Caleb said. "I'd say if you two are good in the sack together, then you have a distinct advantage over her memories of her husband."
    Jake mumbled several colorful obscenities under his breath, then glanced from one brother to the other. "I'm not discussing mine and Donna's sex life with you two."
    Caleb and Hank grinned, then laughed softly as if trying not to laugh at all.
    "What's so damn funny?" Jake glared at his brothers.
    "When a man won't talk about his sexual, er, dalliances with a particular lady, then it's usually a sure sign he's got some major feelings for the lady," Caleb said.
    "Yeah," Hank agreed. "You don't happen to be in love with Donna, do you?"
    The question took Jake off guard. He hadn't even thought about love. He wasn't in love with Donna, was he? He had known more than his share of women over the years and he'd truly cared about a few, but he'd never been in love. He wasn't sure he even believed in the emotion. He liked Donna. He loved making love to her. And he had feelings for her because she was the mother of his child. But love her? Nope. Jake Bishop wasn't the kind of man who went soft in the head over a woman. Any woman. Not even a special lady like Donna Fields.
    "I care about her because she's Sugar Baby's mama, but that's as far as it goes—that and the fact that I want her. I think we could make marriage work, if she'd give us a chance."
    "Are you going to tell her that you're buying the ranch?" Hank walked over to the coffee machine, picked up the pot and poured himself another cup.
    "Don't know." Jake rubbed his chin. "She thinks I'm a penniless