Free Baby Comes First by Beverly Farr Page A

difficulty
of getting anything done during the holiday season.
    She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
It didn’t matter how difficult it was, she’d have to deal with it.
But how? She couldn’t drive around, checking out the various
facilities.
    She called out, “Mrs. Parker?”
    The woman walked into the den, wiping her
hands on her apron. “Yes?”
    “I hate to bother you, but I need your
opinion. I need to use my desktop computer, but I can’t sit up to
use it. Which do you think would be better -- to drag the couch
across the room, or should I put a mattress down on the floor by
the computer?”
    “Put a mattress down over there,” Mrs. Parker
said, after a moment’s consideration. “Otherwise, you’ll want to
move the couch back and forth so you can watch television.”
    “I guess you’re right.”
    “Do you have a mattress you want to use?”
    “The twin mattress in the guest room.”
    “I’ll get it right now.”
    “I’ll help,” Hannah offered, then realizing
what she had said, corrected herself with a smile. “No, I won’t.
Sorry.”
    “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” Mrs.
Parker said.
    Hannah lay back on her pillow and stared at
the ceiling. It was only Day Four of her bed rest and already she
was getting stir crazy. She’d discovered that there was nothing
like laying down all day to make her think up new home
improvements. Mrs. Parker could take care of any deep cleaning
projects, but she kept thinking of decorating ideas. She wanted to
paint walls and move furniture, probably more from boredom than
anything else.
    She’d already watched the movies Luke had
brought her, and she’d read several paperback romances. Maybe with
computer access, she wouldn’t be so bored. And, more importantly,
she could research assisted living places.
    Within a few minutes, Mrs. Parker had dragged
the twin mattress into the den and placed it on the floor next to
her computer desk.
    Hannah walked across the room and laid down
on the mattress. She could lie on her back with the keyboard on her
bent legs and type, but it was impossible to see the monitor. “What
if we put the monitor on the floor?” Mrs. Parker asked.
    “We’ll have to unplug everything and set it
up again to make the cords reach.”
    Mrs. Parker shook her head. “I don’t know
much about computers and I’d hate to mess things up.”
    “I don’t think it will be a problem,” Hannah
said. “We can figure it out togeth–”
    The doorbell rang, interrupting her. “I’ll
get it,” Mrs. Parker said.
    She returned in a minute with Luke. For a
second Hannah almost didn’t recognize him because he looked so
different in casual clothes. Hannah wondered if she’d ever seen him
without a tie.
    Today he wore a crew neck sweater and jeans.
The softer fabric seemed to emphasize his broad shoulders and the
muscles in his thighs. She’d known he was a big man, but she hadn’t
noticed before how athletic he was. But that shouldn’t surprise
her. He often played racquetball with the other partners of the law
firm, and he had a membership in one of the downtown gyms.
    She was glad that she’d taken the time that
morning to smooth her hair back and put on a little make-up. She
was also wearing stretch pants and one of her more attractive
maternity tops. “Good morning,” she said.
    “What seems to be the problem?”
    He still wasn’t one to waste time with the
social niceties, she thought, amused. The day he said good morning
to her, she’d faint from shock. “We’re trying to set up the
computer so I can use it lying down.”
    He glanced at her equipment and the mattress.
“You need a laptop or a tablet,” he said decisively.
    “My computer may be old, but it still does
what I need.”
    “I’ll get you a new one.”
    Hannah took a deep breath. Luke was like a
bulldozer. Give him a problem, and he wanted to solve it
immediately – in his own way, full speed ahead. Anyone that
disagreed would be run over. “I