Free Unnatural Relations (Lust and Lies Series, Book 1) by Marilyn Campbell Page B

obstetrician, Dr. Roselli, and was able to get an appointment the next afternoon.
    About an hour before her shift ended that night, Russ showed up at the restaurant. "I went to see a movie," he explained, "and figured we could go home together."
    Barbara was pleased to have the company, especially since he kept her laughing for most of the trip. She also decided it wasn't so bad having someone around the next day to help her get through the bout of sickness, and was actually relieved to have him accompany her to the doctor for moral support.
    Dr. Roselli was the perfect obstetrician for Barbara. Her examination revealed that Barbara should have no problems with a natural delivery and that the baby was due in mid-February. There was only one problem. The doctor required payment of half of her standard fee by the next appointment and the balance by the end of the second trimester. Since Barbara had no health insurance, she either had to come up with the cash or go to a public clinic.
    "How much do you need?" Russ asked before he left Barbara at the restaurant.
    "Three thousand dollars, but it might as well be a million. I only have about seven hundred in the bank and it took me two years to save that much."
    "Can you borrow it from someone? Your parents? Friends?"
    Barbara didn't need to give that much thought. "No. I've decided not to tell my parents until after the baby is born. And most of my friends have less money than I do."
    "You could probably get it from the Hamiltons."
    Her eyes widened in panic. "You wouldn't tell them, would you? I'd rather die than have any of them find out."
    "Even Howard?" Russ prodded.
    "Especially Howard. If he didn't love me enough to choose me over his mother, I certainly don't want him to feel obligated to come to me because of a baby. Please, Russ, promise, no, swear on your life that you won't tell a soul about this. Heaven knows what twisted plans they'd have for my child. As much as I hate the idea of going to a clinic, I'll do that before I take one penny from the Hamiltons."
    Russ gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "You won't have to do either. I swear. Something will come up."
    She was surprised to see him back at the restaurant a few hours later.
    "I have something for you that just couldn't wait until you got home." He handed her a folded white piece of paper.
    It took Barbara a moment to comprehend that it was a receipt from Dr. Roselli's office for fifteen hundred dollars.
    "I need the other five hundred for an investment that should bring in the rest in plenty of time."
    Instead of being overjoyed as he expected her to be, she was extremely annoyed with him. "Russ! That was all the money you had. I don't know when I'd ever be able to repay you. You've got to get your money back."
    "Now, babe. I know you wanted to do this on your own, but you have a little one to consider. I'm going to help one way or the other, so you may as well stop being so stubborn about it. And you don't have to repay me. Consider it my portion of the rent. Anyway, I owe you for giving me the idea about the florist. The owner of the third shop I went to this afternoon jumped at the idea of my operating a sidewalk franchise of his store. The money I have left should be plenty to get started and in exchange for his help with the business end, I'll work for him for free a few hours each week."
    "That's wonderful." She was elated that her suggestion had helped him, but his offhand remark that he had just prepaid his share of the rent for an indefinite number of months nullified her pleasure.
    She was determined to get his money back and have a straightforward conversation with him about her preference to live alone, but another issue took precedence that night. Russ hung around for the remainder of her shift, exchanging jokes with the waitresses when they had a minute and talking at length about sports with her boss.
    Barbara was repeatedly told what a great guy Russ was and how cute he was.
    "You be nice