Her Secret, His Child: A Little Secret by Tara Quinn (rosie project .txt) 📕

contact, mating her mouth with his. It didn't seem to matter what went on between them, her explosive physical need for him didn't change. Except to grow stronger.

And yet, despite the insidious desire curling through her, Jamie's stomach was filled with other tensions. The knots got tighter and tighter.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The president of the United States was traveling through Denver in late April. He was making a public appearance out by the airport, and Miss Peters wanted to take Ashley's preschool class. Karen and Jamie offered to go along to chaperone, as did most of the other moms. Early that Tuesday morning, they boarded the bus that would take them to the airport, all chattering excitedly. It was hard to tell who was more excited about the outing, the children or their mothers.

It was a gorgeous spring day, and the children were in high spirits, all wearing red, white and blue in some form or other. Ashley and Jamie both had on blue denim overalls and white T-shirts. With their auburn hair, red wasn't a good color on either of them, but she'd bought them each a pair of red sneakers.

Karen and Kayla were in the matching red, white and blue striped jumpers Karen had made especially for the occasion.

"I figure if I make mine a tent, we can wear them for the Fourth of July, too," she'd laughed when she'd shown Jamie the material. Jamie had laughed,

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also. It just felt so good to see her friend happy again.

"So what's going on with you and Kyle?" Karen asked as the two women shared a seat in the back of the noisy bus.

Still getting used to having a friend she actually confided in, one who really knew her, Jamie shrugged. "He comes over for dinner almost every night."

' 'Just for a free meal?''

' 'Of course not. He always brings dinner or dessert or flowers or wine. Anyway, the man's loaded. He makes good money, doesn't spend much on himself, made smart investments. I'm his accountant— I should know how much money he has." Not that it made a difference to either of them. Money mattered only if you didn't have enough of it.

"You sure couldn't tell by his clothes."

Smiling, Jamie looked out at the huge trees zooming past the window. "That's just Kyle," she said. ' 'He finds something that fits him, buys ten of them and figures he's done. Says it's much simpler that way."

"So, are you two—you know—happening?"

Karen's hands lay across the mound of her belly. Jamie envied her that.

Jamie shook her head. "I don't know what we are, Karen."

"You love him."

"Yeah."

"Does he know that?"

"Yeah."

HER SECRET, HIS CHILD

"Well, he loves you, that's obvious."

"Yeah." Though Jamie felt a jolt of happiness at hearing her friend say so, she'd never get used to hearing those words.

"So?"

"So, he loves me, but there are parts of me he can't stand."

"Your past."

"Mmm-hmm." Jamie stared out the window again. She'd made her choices. She was accountable for them.

"He's a jerk if he can't see that you were just a desperate young girl making what seemed like your only choice."

"He's not a jerk." Jamie glanced back at her friend. "He just has a very strong sense of right and wrong. It's part of what I love about him."

If Karen had any more thoughts on the matter, she kept them to herself. Jamie didn't want to think about life at all. She just wanted to enjoy the day.

And she did. Until Nelson Monroe bumped into her right after an announcement that the President's plane had been delayed and he wouldn't have time for his address.

"Jamie! Hello. Twice in two months! I'm a lucky man," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

Shoving Ashley back with Karen and Kayla, she tried to steer Nelson away from the other mothers and children. If she'd thought God would listen, she'd have prayed. Instead, she focused one-hundred percent on getting the man as far away from her daughter as she could.

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"You're visiting in Denver?" she asked him, attempting to push through the crowd.

"No!" He grabbed her hand, pulled her to a stop—which wasn't hard, as the crowd wasn't moving an inch. "I thought you knew. I'm living here now."

"What about Tom?" The two men had worked closely together. "He's still in Vegas, isn't he?"

"Of course!" Nelson laughed. "You'll never get him out of that city. But he's semiretired now, and so am I."

The children were right behind them. Jamie could feel a little hand pushing against her leg. She could hear their chatter. But not Ashley's. She fervently hoped that Karen had managed to hold Ashley back in the crowd.

"Well, it was nice seeing you," she said with forced cheer. She had to get rid of the man.

And when that was done, when Ashley was safe from Nelson's dirty aura, then Jamie could fall apart. She might have climbed out of a hellish life into a good one, but there was just no way to obliterate history. It was alive. And dangerous.

"Wait!" Nelson's arm stole around her. "We had fun together once, didn't we?"

Trying to unclasp his hand from her hip, Jamie said, "I don't remember any fun." She couldn't pretend anymore. She had to get away.

"I've missed you, Jamie." He squeezed her hip. Not hard. But possessively.

Jamie almost threw up.

Pulling free from his hand, she cried, ' 'Leave me

HER SECRET, HIS CHILD

alone!" She couldn't stand this. Couldn't stand what she'd been. Couldn't stand the fact that she was exposing her daughter to this scene.

"Hey!" One of the mothers came forward. "Leave her alone, you jerk," she said. Two other women moved up with her, circling Nelson.

Jamie would have cried at their support if she hadn't been so humiliated.

Nelson held up both hands in surrender, much the way he had that night with Kyle. "Hey, ladies, just saying hello to an old friend."

The first woman turned toward Jamie. "He's your friend?" she asked. She remained in her defensive stance while she waited for confirmation.

The women would walk away, leave