Blake by Diana Palmer

Author:Diana Palmer [Palmer, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488096198
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

For days, Violet and Blake were hesitant around each other. He was the soul of courtesy. He didn’t curse or yell. He didn’t throw anyone out of the office. He seemed to be a changed man.

Violet loved the tenderness he showed her. He never raised his voice or made sarcastic comments about her work. But he wasn’t forward in any way, either, and he didn’t touch her. He seemed to be waiting for something, watching. Violet wondered why.

Julie Merrill was arrested for the attempted arson of Libby and Curt Collins’s house the following Saturday, and Cash Grier had a big surprise for the city council at the Monday disciplinary hearing. The patrol officers were exonerated and the mayor was embarrassed for trying to force them to retract drunk driving charges against his uncle, State Senator Merrill.

The next day was the primary elections. Calhoun Ballenger won the Democratic nomination away from Senator Merrill in a huge upset, and the mayor lost his job in a special election won by former mayor Eddie Cane. It was a great day for Jacobsville.

But on Wednesday morning, Violet lost her breakfast at the office. Blake, walking past the bathroom, heard her retching. He felt sick himself. Violet was healthy as a horse. If she was throwing up, there could only be one explanation. She had to be pregnant.

It was the end of the world. Blake went around for the rest of the day in a daze. So did Violet. He overheard Mabel and Libby murmuring about Violet’s bout of sickness and her upcoming doctor’s appointment. They clammed up immediately when Blake walked into the room. It didn’t take much to figure out that if Violet was pregnant, her boss was responsible. After all, who else had Violet been crazy about for a year? More importantly, who had she been alone with lately? It didn’t take a lot of guesswork.

* * *

Violet was panic-stricken after she lost her breakfast. She phoned Dr. Lou Coltrain’s office and made an appointment, all too aware that Mabel and Libby could hear her doing it. She told them she thought she had a virus and she was afraid of giving it to her mother. But they were suspicious and it showed.

She drove to Lou’s office after work, leaving Libby and Mabel to close up. She swore Dr. Coltrain to secrecy before she even mentioned her symptoms. Lou gave her a worried look as she had her nurse draw blood for a simple pregnancy test.

“One time,” Violet choked when Lou gave her the results of the test a few minutes later.

“One time is all it takes,” Lou said ruefully. “Oh, Violet.”

“What am I going to do?” the younger woman groaned, with her face in her hands. “I can’t even step on ants, Lou!”

The other woman patted her shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sure once Blake knows…”

Violet gave her a horrified look.

“Who else could it be?” Lou asked reasonably. “He’s the only man you care about, and you spent half a day at his house,” she added, smiling ruefully when Violet flushed.

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