Free Morgan's Child by Pamela Browning Page A

out in a boat," he said sternly. "You should sit around and watch television or something."
    "Television," she said scornfully. "The antenna pulls in one station, and even that one disappears sometimes." She bent over to push the boat through the reeds onto the shore, but Morgan said, "I'll do that," and gave it a giant heave.
    When he turned, his eyes were on the level of the round protuberance under the wet shirt, and Kate turned away, embarrassed. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm, but she yanked it out of his grasp.
    "Sorry," he said. "I thought you were falling again."
    She wrapped her arms around herself, which didn't hide anything. Little rivulets of water ran off her clothes into the reeds.
    "Don't you have something else to do?" Kate said.
    "I've already done it," Morgan said. He had come to this end of the island to evade the two women from the ferry who kept following him around. He hadn't known he would run into Kate.
    "Would you mind bringing that basket from the boat?" Kate asked him in a small voice.
    He leaned over and picked up the basket. "Come along, I'll see you safely to the house. How you're going to make it up that winding path—"
    "I can do it," Kate said through gritted teeth.
    He made her walk in front of him, and she was aware of him close behind her as she headed upward. Kate eased her way by pulling herself up with the aid of drooping branches. By no means did she want to give him any reason to touch her again.
    I will not, she thought grimly, let him see me breathing hard. Nevertheless, she was huffing and puffing when they reached the top.
    "Of all the harebrained, idiotic things to do," Morgan muttered. "Pregnant women aren't supposed to go gallivanting around in boats. They should stay home and crochet little sweaters or something."
    Kate, as miserable as she was, couldn't let that pass. "Don't swing that basket so hard—you'll break the sample. And I don't crochet."
    "Somehow that doesn't surprise me," he said. "What kind of sample is in here, anyway?"
    "Water," she snapped. "I told you about my job."
    "A sample of water was important enough for you to risk life and limb? Since when are bacteria more important than your life or the child's?" Morgan asked heatedly.
    They had reached the lighthouse, and she turned to face him in front of the door to the quarters. She wiped the perspiration from her forehead with a flick of her hand.
    "The child is more important, of course. I suppose I'll have to think about giving up my job, but I need the money," she said.
    "Courtney provides you with living expenses, you told me that yourself," he pointed out.
    "Yes, but after I have the baby, after I leave here, I'll need a nest egg. My father's illness took all we'd managed to save, and—oh, why am I telling you this?"
    Kate turned away, sick at heart. She didn't want to do any more explaining; she only wanted him to go. She pushed the door open, and to her dismay, he followed her into the house.
    "You should get someone to come and live with you," Morgan said. "To take care of you."
    "Who? No one wants to live on a barrier island four miles off the coast. The only people who come here are slobs who complain about the smell of pluff mud, throw trash on the beaches, and ask endless questions about the lighthouse," she said, aware that her voice was rising.
    "And besides," she continued in a more normal tone, "the house is too small. There are only four little rooms."
    She walked swiftly into one of the other rooms, and he heard her rummaging. When she returned, she'd looped a loose shawl in a soft shade of gray around her shoulders, hiding her body.
    "I'll be in touch soon," he said. He gestured in the direction of the basket containing the water sample. "Did you say something about sending that to a lab on the mainland? I can deliver it to the ferry if you'd like."
    She massaged her temple for a moment. "I'd almost forgotten. Yes, that would be a big help. Here, I'll label it."
    Quickly she slapped a