Free Protecting Tricia by Pamela Tyner Page A

motivation would Matt have had for telling Neil something like that?
“Maybe he thought if he told Neil that, then Neil would be more likely to tell
him where I am.” A pretty lame answer, even she realized that, but it was the
only possible reason she could come up with.
    “Maybe.”
    There was a tone in his voice she couldn’t quite identify.
Was it uncertainty or simply disbelief?
    “Are you sure you’re not pregnant?” Clint asked.
    “Yes,” she hissed. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, she tugged
it up, baring her tummy for his view. “Do I look pregnant?”
    He looked down at her stomach. “No, you don’t.” His gaze
returned to meet hers. “But that doesn’t mean you aren’t.”
    “I’m not,” she snapped as she shoved her shirt back down.
Rubbing a hand over her forehead, she struggled to calm down. “What else did
Matt say?”
    “Not much. He didn’t say how much longer he’d be hanging
around, but he did tell Neil he wanted to speak with you and straighten things
out. Apparently, he’s worried about his child growing up without a father.”
    “There is no child.”
    “How can you be so certain? Even if you used protection,
sometimes it fails. That’s a fact I know firsthand.”
    “For the last time, I am not pregnant.”
    Tricia turned on her heels and headed down the hallway and
into the bedroom. She gave the door a powerful fling behind her. When she
failed to hear the slam that should have occurred, she looked back to find the
door wide open and Clint leaning against the doorjamb.
    “Get out of my room,” she ordered.
    “Actually, it’s my room,” he replied, his tone mild. “And
we’re not done yet. You know, if you are pregnant, then it’s a whole different
ballgame. There’s going to be lots of other things to consider, and you might
need to rethink your strategy for dealing with Matt.”
    “Well, since I’m not, I don’t need to worry about it.” She
planted her fists on her hips and glared at him, but he didn’t budge an inch,
just stood there staring her down. “I can’t believe you’re taking Matt’s word
over mine. Matt. You said yourself you know what he’s like. He’s deceitful,
underhanded, and he lies so much he can’t even distinguish a lie from the truth
anymore.”
    “You have to admit that a pregnancy would explain a lot.”
    She threw her hands up in the air. “What on earth would it
explain?”
    “You stayed with the man for years, and all the sudden you
decided to leave. A pregnancy might have given you the push you needed to do
that.”
    “No. What gave me the push was his fist slamming against my
jaw. Along with the realization that if I stayed with him much longer, I could
end up in prison.”
    He stared at her silently, an unreadable expression on his
face.
    “Basically you’re calling me a liar.” Why it stung, she
hadn’t a clue, because Lord knew, she had been called worse. “What do I have to
do to convince you I’m telling the truth? Do you want me to take a lie detector
test?”
    “I think that might be a little extreme. Although, there is
another test you could take.”
    She blinked in disbelief. She hadn’t actually been serious
about taking a test—any test. “Excuse me? You want me to take a test to prove
something I already know?”
    He lifted a shoulder. “It was your idea. And an excellent
one too. We’ll go buy the test tomorrow morning.” He grabbed the doorknob and
took a step back. “Good night, Tricia.”
    She stared at the closed door and tried to figure out
exactly how it had been her idea.
    * * * *
    Tricia opened the bathroom door to find Clint waiting on the
other side. He was leaning against the wall, reading the back of the home
pregnancy test package.
    “I’m surprised you didn’t demand to come inside and watch me
pee on the stick,” she spat at him.
    “No need to be cranky,” he informed her calmly. He nodded
toward the test wand she held in her hand. “What’s the verdict?”
    She thrust the