Who's The Father Of Jenny's Baby?. Donna Clayton
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“He’s coming,” Chad assured them both.
An elderly man came into the room, his lab coat pristine white but terribly rumpled.
“It’s about time,” Luke growled at him.
“Hey, Doc Porter,” Chad greeted him breezily.
The doctor ignored both men and moved directly to her side.
“Well, Jenny Prentice,” he said, “the nurse tells me you’re having a little trouble with your memory. Seems you might be suffering from a touch of amnesia.”
A touch of amnesia? If her head hadn’t been thumping like the devil was dancing a drunken jig on her brain, she’d have laughed right out loud, despite the jumbled state of her memory.
“Let’s have a look at you.” The doctor took a small penlight from the pocket of his coat and proceeded to shine it first in her right eye and then in her left. “Good pupil reflex,” he said. Tucking the pen away, he leaned back and looked into her face. “So what can you tell me about yourself, Jenny Prentice?” he asked.
She got the distinct impression that he’d stated her full name twice in order to get her used to the sound of it. But everything around her seemed so foreign, so unfamiliar, that she simply remained mute.
“Can you tell me how old you are?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“The name of our town?”
Again she shook her head.
“What state do you live in?”
This time she didn’t bother to answer. She just drew her bottom lip between her teeth in an effort to keep her tears at bay. How could her memory be so... empty?
“How about these rascals here in the room with us?” With a small jerk of his head, the doctor indicated the two men standing at her bedside. “Do you recognize them?”
Her breathing grew shallow, and she felt sure she would lose all control. Using every ounce of determination she could muster, she forced back the anxiety.
“I know their names are Luke and Chad,” she said slowly, her voice a grating whisper. “And Luke told me—” Her breath caught in her throat. She took a moment to steel herself, then began again. “He said he was my husband.”
“Well,” Doc Porter said, patting her shoulder in gentle consolation, “that’s a start.” He turned his attention to Luke. “I want to keep Jenny overnight. I want to keep an eye on her.” His face wrinkled with a smile. “I’m happy to report some good news. The X-rays show no sign of concussion, and the fall she took doesn’t seem to have hurt the baby.”
The room grew utterly still and quiet.
“The what?” Luke’s features had gone lax with pure, unadulterated astonishment.
She sat motionless. The doctor was saying she was pregnant. This was all just too much to take in.
Her name was Jenny Prentice. She repeated it silently, slowly. She was married. And she had a baby growing inside her. The weight of all this staggering news had her reeling. It was a wonder she didn’t faint dead away. But she didn’t.
Maybe it was a strong sense of survival, maybe it was a deep, innate maternal instinct, but whatever the cause, she found herself zeroing in on one single word.
Baby. Instinctively, she smoothed a protective hand over her lower abdomen. She was going to have a baby.
“My God, Jenny,” Luke said, disappointment in her showing plainly in his eyes, “why didn’t you tell me?”
All she could do was look at him helplessly. This was all news to her, too. But as she looked at his devastated expression, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of woman would keep such wonderful news from her husband?
“Maybe I didn’t know.” Her tone was weak, even to her own ears, and she looked at the doctor, hoping for a confirmation.
The old man shook his head. “You came to my office for the test two weeks ago, Jenny. You’ve had the results for a while.”
“I don’t understand,” Luke said.
His midnight gaze threatened to bore a hole right through her. But she couldn’t help him, because she didn’t understand any of this, either. She could give him no answers, offer him no solace, not when she was so overwhelmed by the total blank that was her memory.
“I might be able to shed some light on this situation.”
Every eye in the room was on Chad, and they all waited, seemingly breathless, for him to explain himself.
“I’m sorry you have to find out like this, Luke,” Chad continued. “But I think that Jenny didn’t tell anyone about the baby because...” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his tan shorts, heaving a sigh before continuing. “Well, to put it bluntly, I think I may be the baby’s father.”
Jenny Prentice slipped into the pair of well-worn jeans. She’d have sworn on a stack of Bibles that she’d never laid eyes on them before, yet as she fastened the metal stud and zipped the zipper, she couldn’t deny the fact that the soft blue denim fabric fit her body to a T.
Everything felt so strange. Every action seemed new and never-before-performed. Her whole world was an alien place.
Yet, she knew what blue jeans were when the nurse’s assistant brought them to her, telling her the clothes had been left for her by her husband. She’d known what the toothbrush was used for. And the brush and comb. However, even though she’d been told these items belonged to her, she’d felt as if she’d been seeing them, using them, for the very first time.
Her overnight stay at the hospital had turned into four days. After the horrible scene that had taken place between the Prentice brothers the day she had awakened after the accident, Jenny had begged Doc Porter to give her some time. Alone. And thankfully, the elderly doctor had complied.
The truth was, she’d been frightened witless by the argument Luke and Chad had had after her pregnancy had been made known. Not that the men had come to blows. Doc had made himself a physical shield between the brothers before that could happen. But the anger and hurt and accusations that had flown back and forth between them had painted a terrible picture in her mind.
What kind of woman would have an affair with her husband’s brother right under—
Don’t think about this, she urgently ordered herself. But the trouble was, there was nothing else in her brain on which to focus her thoughts. Her memory was simply... gone. So her mind kept coming back to the hideous insinuations made by the brothers. But she just couldn’t make herself face the situation, so she’d used that same silent order over and over during these long, lazy days. Don’t think about it.
Every day, Doc came to visit her. He checked her scratches, her bumps and bruises. Then, every day, he’d ask her if she had any questions about herself, her life, her existence before the accident. And every day she’d answered firmly, negatively.
Jenny wasn’t ready. She didn’t want to know who she was, what she’d done, who she’d hurt. The implications she’d gathered from the fight the brothers had had were enough to make her terribly afraid of learning the truth. No, nothing was said outright, but the fact that Chad had declared that he was her baby’s father had been more than enough.
Realizing she’d once again become lost in dark dread, that she hadn’t yet finished dressing, she reached into the bag that contained her clothes. The white, sleeveless top she tugged over her head smelled faintly of honeysuckle. Tucking the hem into the waistband of her jeans, she was extremely aware of the soft fragrance wafting around her.
Was this delicate, flowery perfume what she normally dabbed on her wrists and behind her ears? Was it a fragrance that Luke found alluring?
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