Free The Baby Agenda by Janice Kay Johnson Page A

little peaked there for a while.”
    â€œI’m making up for it,” she said ruefully. “I swear, I’m ravenous all the time. It’s awful.”
    He laughed, a warm rumble. She expected him to head for the door, but instead he leaned a hip against his desk and kept looking at her. Finally he said, “I haven’t wanted to push, but curiosity is getting to me. Have you contacted your baby’s father yet?”
    Heat rose in her cheeks. “Yes. I sent him an email…”
    His eyebrows rose.
    â€œI tried calling first!” Moira snapped. “It’s not my fault I had to email instead. Turns out he’s moved to Africa for two years.”
    â€œGood God.”
    â€œHe’s, um, actually been really nice. We’ve exchanged half a dozen emails. I told him he was off the hook, but heinsists he doesn’t want to be, that no kid of his is growing up without a father.”
    â€œTold you so.”
    She rolled her eyes. “It was a one-night stand. I might have picked a scumbag to sleep with.”
    â€œNah. Not you.” He straightened, came to her and kissed her cheek. “I know you better than that, Moira.”
    They hugged, and for a moment she closed her eyes at the pleasure of his solid embrace. Then he stepped back. “What’s the guy doing in Africa?”
    She told him, and Gray nodded. “Would I know him?”
    Moira hesitated.
    Gray looked sardonic. “Aren’t you planning to put his name on the birth certificate?”
    She grimaced. “Yes, of course I am. Uh…his name’s Will Becker.”
    Her partner’s eyes narrowed. “Of Becker Construction?”
    â€œYes, but his brother Clay has taken it over now, with Will gone.”
    â€œHuh.”
    â€œDo you know him?” she felt compelled to ask. Oh, Lord—was she wrong about Will?
    But Gray shook his head. “I hear they do good work. Mostly stuff that wouldn’t interest me. Shopping centers, grocery stores, that kind of thing.”
    â€œI don’t think it interested Will, either. There’s some reason he threw it over to build mud-brick medical clinics in Africa.”
    Gray laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. Okay. Is he planning to help financially? See the baby?”
    â€œHe says he’ll be back in the States every so often, and the next time he is we’ll talk.” Moira bit her lip. “He didsay he’d be glad to help financially if I can’t work all the way through the pregnancy, so I guess he probably will offer child support at least.”
    â€œGood. Not as good as his being here, but better than nothing.” Gray jiggled his keys in his pocket as if to make sure they were still there. “I’ve got to run. See you tomorrow?”
    She nodded. “Except I’ll be out at the Fletcher house first thing in the morning.”
    They exchanged a few words about the project that had turned into a huge trial for her, with the clients changing their minds about what they wanted at least weekly.
    â€œDon’t worry about the cost,” Jennifer Fletcher would say blithely. “It’s important to get it right. Tearing it out at this point is better than living with a layout that isn’t perfect.”
    Jennifer would undoubtedly want something else torn out this week. The contractor, Dave Hendricks, was getting even more aggravated than Moira was. During most of their meetings, she played peacemaker.
    Waiting until the door had shut behind Gray, she strolled to her desk and took out her sandwich. She might as well have lunch now, too. She’d intended to make herself wait another hour, but…damn it, she was hungry. And anyway… She peeked out the window at the parking lot to be sure Gray wasn’t coming back for something he’d forgotten, then, when she saw his car gone, sat in front of her computer and went on the Internet. There hadn’t been one word from Will in