Free Bad Boy's Kiss (Firemen in Love Book 2) by Amy Starling Page B

ought to do, and that's my answer.”
    “Your answer is to kill an innocent baby that was conceived through no fault of his own? Just abort it and go on with my life, like nothing ever happened?”
    I shrugged. Dunno why she had to get all dramatic about it.
    “This isn't just a microscopic bundle of cells anymore,” she continued. “It's a three-month-old fetus. A real, living, breathing child. I saw it on the ultrasound. Too small yet to know the gender, but you can already see the little arms and legs growing.”
    I tried to put an arm around her for comfort, but she wasn't having none of it.
    “Look, if I offended you, sorry. I was just trying to help.”
    “I hate Rich for what he did to me, but even so, this baby is a part of me. Mine.” She glared and turned away from me. “If this is your way of helping, then don't bother. I'll figure it out alone.”
    She stormed off to her booth to contend with the line of customers. I was so shocked I couldn't even move for a minute.
    Never in my life had I put up with such talk from a woman. The moment one raised her voice to me, I was done. I didn't tolerate disrespect, and there were thousands of other fish in the sea.
    But with Anna, it wasn't like that. All I wanted to do now was squeeze her tight and never let go.

 
    Chapter 7 - Anna
     
    One week later, Max was still here.
    I spotted him driving around town in his RV sometimes; others, he was riding with Trey or the van he'd rented. He kept trying to talk to me, but I made sure to keep our conversations brief and to the point.
    It wasn't just because he ticked me off with his suggestion to abort the baby. Mostly, it was because he'd slept with me and then proceeded to act like it never happened.
    I didn't know why, but that made me mad.
    Maybe because the sex was so hot, so exciting, that I wanted more?
    Like hell I'd tell him that. No way would I go crawling back, begging him to do to me whatever filthy things his mind could conjure up.
    Too bad the longer I was pregnant, the more easily I got aroused. Just thinking about his smile was enough to drive me nuts until I gave myself some relief. Even then, that simply wasn't enough.
    “This cheesecake is to die for, sis.” Rachael gushed and spooned another bite into her mouth. “You should consider going into business as a baker. Bet you'd make it big.”
    “I've already got enough on my plate. Unless you'd like to work as my apprentice, of course.”
    She swallowed a huge dollop of fresh whipped cream and blueberries. “If I get to sample the goods, you got a deal.”
    Jackie, one of my best laying hens, pecked a moth out of the air and devoured it with a happy cluck. Bees from my hives flitted to and fro, landing on the flowers in my garden and blossoms from the vegetable plants. Bluebonnets swayed lazily in the warm late-morning breeze.
    This place wasn't much, but it was my very own little patch of heaven on Earth. I'd always looked forward to getting married and raising a family here. Dreamed of teaching my kids how to garden and take care of the animals.
    But nothing was going according to plan. If I lost this place, what would I have left?
    “What time is it? I gotta get to the office by eleven.” Rachael checked her phone. “Ugh, so late already. Anna, you're lucky you get to work from home. You can slouch around all day in your pajamas if you want.”
    “Oh, I wish I had such a luxury.”
    While I swept up the dropped dessert crumbs so the nasty fire ants wouldn't swarm my porch, she tapped out a message to Trey on her phone. Then she smiled and sighed dramatically.
    “How many times have I told him to stop calling me 'bunny?' He's such a jerk.”
    “Maybe you shouldn't have told him about your childhood obsession with rabbits, then.” Off the crumbs went into the trashcan. “If that's the worst of your complaints, you have it made, sis.”
    “No, it's not. He leaves the toilet seat up and would rather read the nerdiest sci-fi books than watch