Free The Baby Race by Elysa Hendricks Page A

girl's view of Claire, who looked as stricken as
he felt.
    "Why don't you go on down to the kitchen?
Vicki's there. She'll make you some breakfast."
    Bobbie Sue looked doubtful. "Is Claire okay?"
She tried to peek around Race.
    He put his hands on her thin shoulders and
turned her toward the stairs. "She's fine. We'll be down in a
minute. Have you fed Cassandra yet this morning."
    Distracted by the thought of her kitten,
Bobbie Sue raced away. "Hurry."
    Reluctant to face Claire, Race ran a hand
through his hair. The action resurrected the feel of her fingers
massaging his scalp.
    He'd only meant to give her a friendly kiss,
a thank you for her hard work. But when she melted in his arms,
he'd wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life.
The thought scared him beyond reason. With that kind of wanting
came commitment and responsibilities he had no intention of
fulfilling. He yanked his hand down and turned.
    Claire stood at the window with her back to
him, her spine a rigid exclamation mark. A long worn terry cloth
robe covered her from neck to ankles.
    "Claire, I'm sorry...."
    Eyes blazing, she whirled on him. "Don't you
dare apologize. I'm not a child or a fool."
    "But...."
    "No buts. While our marriage is one of
convenience, we're both human, with adult wants and needs. We have
to control them. Bobbie Sue won't always be around." Color flooded
her pale cheeks. Her voice started to quaver. "We each have our
goals. Let's not complicate the situation with sex."
    Sex? That's exactly what he'd been about to
tell her. So why did it bother him to hear her speak of what they'd
almost shared as merely sex?
    "I don't think...."
    "Exactly. You didn't think what might happen.
I have to focus my energy on convincing the social worker I'm a
proper parent for Bobbie Sue. I can't afford to complicate things
with a physical relationship. So let's just forget this. It was a
fluke, a mistake. It won't happen again. We can be partners without
becoming lovers."
    A mistake? Then why did it feel so right?
    She held her chin high and her eyes glinted
with determination, but Race could see the slight tremble of her
lips and her voice shook on the word lovers. They both might reject
the attraction between them, but somehow he doubted they'd be able
to resist it.
    "Be sure and remember that when you move into
my room."
    "What are you talking about?" Shock widened
Claire's eyes.
    He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed
his arms over his chest. "Well," he drawled. "It'll hard to
convince the social worker we're happy newlyweds if we don't share
a bedroom."
    The sudden panic in her eyes made him wonder
if he'd gone too far.
    "You can't be serious. There has to be
another way." Fists clenched, she stared at him.
    He straightened.
    "Race!"
    Bobbie Sue's yell echoed up the stairs,
providing him with an escape. Coward that he was, he took it.
    *****
    The carnival proved to be the perfect
distraction. Claire shook off her worry about what Bobbie Sue's
natural father planned to do and threw herself into enjoying the
day.
    Harder to forget were those moments in Race's
arms and his decree that they share a room, especially since he
insisted on escorting them around the small carnival. Appearing
completely unaffected by their encounter, he crammed himself onto
the rides with them; bought them cotton candy, soda and hotdogs;
and won them stuffed animals at the game booths.
    The shadows were growing long when Claire
collapsed gratefully onto a bench and watched as Bobbie Sue and
Rachel raced off toward the petting zoo. "My feet are killing me.
Where do they get the energy?"
    Race grinned and sat next to her. "Must be
all the sugar and preservatives in the junk food they eat."
    She gently rubbed her belly. "Don't remind
me. My stomach may never be the same." Two stuffed animals tumbled
to the ground. She groaned and left them lay.
    Race stretched out his long denim clad legs
and leaned back.
    Yards away the river shimmered in the late
afternoon