The Surrogate (Clearwater) Read Free

myself.” He hated that he didn’t recognize it
sooner, if they had been patients of his he’d have seen it, maybe he could have
prevented it. “She came back from a doctor’s appointment with you when you
found out it was twins. That’s when it came out.”
    “What did?” She leaned
forward, at least as much as her stomach would let her, her hand in his.
    “That she only agreed to the
surrogacy because I wanted it. She tried, but she didn’t want a child that
wasn’t hers. She couldn’t get past the fact the doctor wasn’t able to use her
eggs, and in the end she couldn’t accept the babies.” He rose and walked to the
window. He needed to look away from the very pregnant and beautiful woman lying
in the bed wearing only a thin blue nightgown. “It’s better that I found out
now, before the twins are born. This way I can provide a life for them, without
the tension. The divorce changes nothing when it comes to the children.”
    “Actually, I think it changes
a lot.” She adjusted in bed to look toward him.
    “What?” His head whipped
around so fast, he felt the muscles pop and his stomach heaved. “What are you
saying, Jes?”
    “I agreed to this when I
thought the children would be raised in a home filled with love and two
parents. Michael, you work long hours. How are you, alone, going to provide the
care to two infants?”
    She had him there. He hadn’t
actually worked that out. He got as far as a nanny, but that was it. A nanny
wouldn’t replace an actual family but what choice did he have? “I’ll hire a
nanny and I’ll cut back on my hours. Whatever I have to do.”
    “Your practice is almost as
important to you as children. Not to mention you’re the only pediatrician in
Clearwater. What will your patients do without you?”
    “A better question would be,
what would my children do without me?” Anger rose but he fought it. His anger
shouldn’t be pointed at Jessi. After all, things could have been so different if
he would have expressed his feelings for Jessi long ago. She might have been
his wife now.
    “Not without you. Hell, I
couldn’t raise these children on my own either. I’m saying you will need help
and, to be honest, yes, this put doubt that I made the right decision, but as
you can see it’s a little late now.” She pushed the covers away, exposing her
stomach. “We got ourselves into it and we’ll have to figure out a way to
provide for the children.”
    He stalked to the bed, glaring
down at her. “I will provide for them just like I said I would.”
    “Michael, don’t start. You
know damn well that I could fight you for the twins. I might not win in the
end, because I don’t have the means to support myself and two children as you
do, but I could make things hell for you. So let’s act like adults here and
figure out what’s in the best interest of the babies.”
    He took a deep breath, calming
himself. He swore that he’d find a way to work things out with Jessi. What he
didn’t need was to fight her in court, he had seen enough of lawyers and the
legal system to last a lifetime.

 
    Chapter Two
     
    Jessi was cleaning the family
room when Michael shuffled down the steps. The late morning sun reflected off
the marble entryway making him growl and shield his eyes.
    “Morning. You must feel like
hell to just be getting up. There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen.”
    “You shouldn’t be doing that.
Leave it, I’ll get it,” he told her as she cleared the coffee table.
    “I’m pregnant, not
handicapped. I can take care of the few things you left about.”
    Her words made the guilt of
last night rise in him. He meant to hire another housekeeper when Betty went
with Peg, but he never got around to it. In that moment he wished he would
have. He didn’t need Jessi cleaning up after him. “After some coffee, I’ll call
the agency in Jackson Hole that helped me find Betty. Maybe I can get a
housekeeper to start today.”
    “I don’t mind. I think we