The Nurse Who Saved Christmas

Abby might be pregnant with his baby.

What had he done?

“This is crazy,” Abby protested when Dirk pulled his truck into a parking space at the pharmacy.

After his terse “We’ll talk when we’ve finished delivering” they’d continued in virtual silence. They’d delivered to the public housing residents on her list. They’d smiled and said all the appropriate things to the grateful recipients, but there had definitely been underlying tension.

Abby didn’t feel tense. Not really.

She felt numb. Perhaps in denial. Yes, she’d missed her period. Two of them. But she’d been irregular on occasion in the past, so that was the likely explanation. Certainly, she hadn’t thought anything of her missed periods. They’d always come and gone as they pleased.

Plus, there were the increased demands on her time with her Christmas volunteering. Although she loved what she did, believed one hundred percent in making the holidays brighter for others, the workload was stressful.

Stress. Stress did a lot of things to the body and could be the reason for the missed periods. She hoped it was. Really hoped it was.

Which was why she didn’t want to walk into the drugstore and buy the item she knew he’d come for, although, from the moment he’d turned off the ignition, they’d just sat in silence.

What if she was pregnant? What if the test came back positive? Then what? Hadn’t he already told her he didn’t do relationships? Yet he’d gone with her today. God, the man confused her. She really couldn’t be pregnant.

“I’m probably not.” She battled the tightening of her throat that she might be. “You used condoms.”

She was twenty-five years old. Why was her face on fire at saying the word “condom” out loud? Here they were discussing the possibility of having a baby and she was blushing over contraceptives?

Gripping the steering wheel, he stared out the windshield at some unknown object. “Women get pregnant all the time despite having used a condom.”

God, he sounded so terse, so like he hoped she wasn’t pregnant. Despite understanding and feeling exactly the same way, his reaction stung. No doubt having her pregnant with his child would be a nightmare to Dirk. After all, he’d only slept with her because they’d been grieving. Although, admittedly, the intensity of his grief had caught her off guard. But there had been sexual attraction between them, too. Lots of sexual attraction. She hadn’t imagined the sparks, the way his gaze had lingered when they’d first made eye contact, the way he’d seemed shocked by the physical awareness zipping back and forth. But women used for sex weren’t supposed to end up pregnant.

Oh, God. Dirk had used her. Two months had passed before he’d asked her out again. That had only been after she’d initiated contact outside work, after getting him to be Santa. The physical attraction was there, but obviously Dirk wasn’t interested in a relationship.

The morning they’d made love, they’d shared a physical attraction, an emotionally wrenching work experience, sex, a budding friendship, and, possibly, made a baby.

Just the thought had her hand going back over her belly. Was Dirk’s baby nestled inside her, growing and wanting to be loved? If she was pregnant, and, God, she hoped she wasn’t, but if she was, she would love this baby. A baby she and Dirk had made.

Maybe made.

“Don’t do that,” he snapped.

“What?” Startled by his outburst, she jerked around in the passenger seat to look at him.

His blanched white fingers clenched the steering wheel. His face looked just as pale. “Cover your abdomen as if…as if you are.”

Was the idea that repugnant to him? Of course it was. She was the one longing for a family, longing for someone to love, and the idea of an unplanned pregnancy left her in a cold sweat. No wonder Dirk was pale. Such a gorgeous man probably had loads of people to love, loads of people who loved him. A baby with a woman he’d used

was the last thing he’d want or need.

Then another thought hit her. Was there someone already in his life?

Oh, God. Was that why he was so upset? Although she’d never heard of anyone special in his life, she wasn’t privy to the intimate details of his life. Actually, his private life was just that. Private. She’d never heard anyone speak of outside work activities involving the man gripping the steering wheel so tightly there was likely to be finger impressions when he let go.

“Is there someone in your life, Dirk? Someone who will be upset if I’m pregnant?”

He didn’t answer her, just gripped the steering-wheel all the tighter, his fingers digging into the dark leather. “If you’re pregnant. We need to know what we’re dealing with.”

A baby. That’s what they were dealing with. She wanted to scream at him. But she bit her tongue, reined in her anger. She couldn’t lash out. Not when deep down she didn’t want a pregnancy any more than he did. It was just…just what? She wanted him to be happy he’d made her pregnant when she wasn’t happy about the idea herself?

Wasn’t that irrational? Could she blame it on hormones? She winced. She could, but she wouldn’t believe it. But if she wasn’t pregnant, this was all immaterial, all stress and angst for nothing.

She sighed. As much as she didn’t want to walk into the store and purchase a pregnancy test, he was right. They had to know. Had to figure out what they were going to do if she had gotten pregnant that morning.