Fossen Delores - Covert Conception стр 6.

But before he could answer, the phone rang. He waved it off, but the ringing continued and when he perused his shop and apparently realized his employees were all busy, he reached across the desk and answered the phone.

Natalie actually welcomed the interlude. Yes, they needed to get to the bottom of this. Yes, she desperately needed to know whatd happened to her. To them. But she also needed a moment to compose herself. Right now, a thin thread of composure was the only thing that prevented her from screaming. And she didnt want to lose it in front of Rick.

What was going on?

What?

Natalie had been asking herself that for a day and a half and was afraid she wasnt any closer to the truth than she had been when Kitt had first dropped this bombshell.

She was pregnant.

Pregnant!

With a child she couldnt even remember conceiving.

Unplanned motherhood alone would have been more than enough to deal with, but motherhood under these circumstances was terrifying.

Ill get that work order, she heard Rick say at the end of a heavy, frustrated sigh.

He stood, brushed past her. He was so close that she had no trouble catching his scent. With the nonexistent A/C, the steamy claustrophobic office and the fact that hed obviously just finished a long day of manual labor, his body odor should have been offensive.

It wasnt.

Far from it.

Oh, there was sweat all right. His white cotton T-shirt was practically soaked, and the snug fabric strained across his toned pecs and arms. His hair was wet as well. His slightly too-long coffee-colored hair fell, permanently disheveled, almost to his shoulders. But he didnt smell sweaty. He somehow managed to smell, well, manly.

He snatched one of the forms from the top of the filing cabinet and read off some figures. Because her energy seemed sapped and her pulse had turned thick and syrupy, Natalie simply sat on the edge of his desk, watching and listening. Waiting for him to finishwithout a clue what they would say to each other once he was done. None of her life experiences had prepared her for this.

Ricks movements were jerky. Stiff. Angry. And he kept casting glances her way. Natalie was casting some his way as well.

Sweet heaven, if she thought for one minute that hed had any voluntary part in this, she would have had him arrested. Except an arrest wouldnt really have given her answers.

Nor would it change what had happened.

She slid her hand over her stomach. A baby. Even though shed seen the ultrasound, it didnt seem real. Maybe once she understood the circumstances, once shed heard a plausible explanationany explanationmaybe then she could come to terms with this. It wasnt logical,

but at the moment, she needed that hope.

Rick said an abrupt goodbye to the caller and slammed down the phone as if hed declared war on it. In the same motion, he waved off one of his employees who was trying to get his attention through the small window.

What exactly do you remember about that night? Rick demanded.

The answer was readily available on the tip of her tonguemainly because shed already asked herself the same question again and again. I was on prescription meds, and I was exhausted. So, most of the party is a little blurry.

How could we not remember that? He pointed to the frozen image of them on the screen.

I dont know.

He made a sound of agreement. It blended with his jagged huffs of breaths. How do we know it really happened? Those people could be actors.

They arent. Kitt had the images enhanced, and if theyre actors, then theyre exact replicas of us, right down to my freckles and that little scar on the left side of your neck that you got fly-fishing when you were a kid.

He threw his hands in the air before dropping them to his hips. Then, maybe thats what they areactors with very authentic makeup.

She gave a weary been-there-done-that sigh. I would love it if that were true. But it wouldnt explain the bruise on my arm. Or the bruise on your shoulder. And it certainly wouldnt explain this pregnancy.

Maybe the pregnancy happened some other time, he fired back.

For some reason, a reason Natalie didnt want to explore, that stung. Yet, Rick certainly had a right to ask that. If their positions had been reversed, she would certainly want to know.

I havent had sex in over a year, Natalie explained. Not easily. Discussing her love lifeor lack thereofwith Rick Gravari wasnt tops on her list of favorite things to do. At least, I havent had sex that I know about.

He cocked his head to the side and gave her a flat look. And you think you unknowingly had sex with me?

Weary of the questions and the verbal battle between them, she tipped her head back to the screen. Its you in that video, Rick. But if youre looking for definitive proof, I dont have it. The video cant be further enhanced. Theres no footage from a different angle that might give us a clearer image. And its too early to do a DNA test to prove paternity. I asked, she added when his flat look was no longer so flat.

That caused a slight lift of his eyebrow. Natalie responded by lifting an eyebrow of her own. And by asking one very important question. You said you blacked out at the party. What happened?