Free Pulled by Amy Lichtenhan

dragged myself to the shower and turned the water to as hot as I could tolerate, easing my body into the stream. It washed over me, somewhat easing the tension I felt. I breathed in the steam to try to clear my thoughts.
    What was I going to do? I was so lost. Having a child had been the single most important thing to me, but that dream had died when she did.
    First off, I needed to find out if this was even my baby. I mean, now after five months she tel s me I’m going to be a father? I did not trust her. I never had, and I wasn’t going to start now. But if the child was mine, what then?
    Marry Vanessa?
    Not a chance in hel .
    The thought of living with that bitch put every fiber of my being on defense. There was no way I could do it.
    Yeah, it might be the right thing to do, but I was just not that noble or stupid. I would have a responsibility to the child, but not to Vanessa.
    After my shower, I dressed, putting on the suit I’d picked up from the cleaners a couple of days before. I ran my hands through my wet hair and cal ed it good.
    I grabbed al the information I needed and stuffed the papers into my bag, praying I was organized enough to pul this off after ignoring the work I had planned to do this afternoon.
    Locking my apartment, I headed down to the parking garage to my car and typed Vanessa’s address into the navigation system. It was six-twenty—plenty of time to pick her up and stil get to Cushing Gril on time.
    I sat for a moment when I pul ed up to the curb in front of her house. She lived in a little duplex in a nice area, nothing upscale, but it had a family feel. At least she’d have a decent place for the child to live.
    I rushed up the sidewalk and rang the bel , nervously glancing around me and trying not to focus on our encounter.
    Vanessa answered the door just seconds after I rang. I was taken aback as she stepped out, and I could see the obvious bump showing through her dress. In al the shock of the day, it had never registered just how far along she was. In four months, she was having this baby.
    Nerves prickled across the back of my neck, and it was not a pleasant feeling.
    “Hel o, Daniel.” She brushed my arm with her hand and started walking toward the car.
    She let herself in, and I went around to the driver’s side and slid into my seat, not hesitating to start my car and pul away. My hands shook against the wheel. I stared straight ahead and never made eye contact with her as I struggled to find the right words.
    “Five months?” They were the only words I could find. I didn’t believe she couldn’t have found a way to tel me sooner, and suspicion was boiling under the surface.
    From the corner of my eye, I could see she was playing with the zipper of the purse on her lap, shaking her head.
    Final y, she answered, “I just didn’t know what to do. I cal ed, and you never cal ed back. I got scared. I wanted to barge into your office and demand to see you, but I thought you’d just run. I figured if I kept cal ing, eventual y you’d give in and cal me back...just like you did.” With the last statement, she looked my way, waiting for my response.
    “I don’t even know what to say to you, Vanessa. I met you one time five months ago, and now we’re having a baby in four months?” The anger in my voice was obvious.
    “I just can’t wrap my head around this right now. I don’t have any clue what to do.” I knew I was being harsh, but it was true. I had no idea how to handle this.
    “It’s a boy, you know,” she said quietly into her lap.
    I tried to guard myself from the memories her news summoned, but it was no use. They were al I could see.
    January 2000
    Melanie held onto my hand. I could feel her excitement and anxiety, as I’m sure she could feel mine.
    My stomach was in knots, my head sore from the number of times I had run my hands through my hair. I smiled down at her and caressed her cheek, looking at her green eyes overflowing with emotion.
    “Okay,