“Are you married?” she blurted as new horrors presented themselves to her. Was he unable to have children with his wife infertile? Was that what this was about? They wanted her to...
Christine would have told her something like that.
Man...she was out of line emotionally where this baby was concerned. And hormonal, she admitted silently to herself.
“No. And thank you. I’ll call you tonight.”
Before she could respond he was gone. Leaving her to fret about the fact that he wasn’t out of her life yet.
Chapter Three
He’d driven his SUV to work that morning, in deference to needing to pick up Talley, and skipped his usual bike ride when he got home that evening. His girl, a twelve-year-old collie, was better, but still not herself and he wasn’t eager to leave her. She was older, but hadn’t quite reached the life expectancy for her breed. Still, he knew that within the next couple of years her time with him would come to a close.
Just as Tricia’s life had done. Come to a close. Talley had been her dog...
His phone rang just as he was getting Talley settled on a fleece blanket on the couch. Still in the brown pants and beige shirt and tie he’d worn to work, he flopped down next to her, settling into the corner, wishing he’d grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator first.
He’d read a recent study that said two beers a night was a good heart-health regimen. Any more than that and the results went backward.
“Thank you for calling,” he said as soon as he pushed to accept the call. Ready to get his answers and move on. The woman could be married. Or engaged. Or with a significant other.
She was the last of the three recipients of his specimen—which had been destroyed at his request after he’d seen firsthand what people could do to their kids. This one remaining detail was all he had to handle.
/> “I give you my word, I’m not out to cause you stress, nor do I have any intention of making your life uncomfortable in any way.”
“What do you want to know?”
That his child would be raised in a loving, happy, secure home.
And how did he quantify that?
He had to know that his child would never hurt or want for anything.
No one could guarantee a pain-free existence. There probably wasn’t such a thing. Life wasn’t meant to be without challenges. He just wished to God he’d been more aware of the possibilities before he’d donated to science as a favor to a friend.
“The truth is, I’m not sure. I was hoping that a conversation with you, meeting you, would show me what I needed to see, and that would be it.”
Talley lifted her head. Laid it on his thigh and closed her eyes. He petted her head. Slowly. Lingering with his palm on her neck, and then back again. Just a light touch, enough for her to know he was there, and for him to reassure himself that she was.
“I really need to know what’s going on here or I’m going to have to ask you to not contact me again,” she said.
“I need to know that the children that I helped create are in happy, healthy environments.”
“Children? You’re calling other women, as well?”
“There were three. You’re the last.”
“You’ve contacted the other two? Met with them?”
“One was an unsuccessful attempt. A pregnancy did not result.”
“And the other?”
“Resulted in a ten-year-old girl who is a delight.”
“You’ve met her?”
“No.” And he didn’t need to do so. “Her parents couldn’t conceive. Their genetics weren’t compatible. But her father...there’s not a man who dotes more on his little girl.”