Dangerous Devotion by Valerie Hansen

Author:Valerie Hansen [Hansen, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-61750-905-6
Publisher: NYLA

Chapter Eleven

Restless and nearly frantic, Jessica was certain she would never be able to sleep, but when her eyelids finally drooped and the stress of the day overtook her, she was transported by an unsettling dream to the night Johnny had been conceived.

It had been late June. Greg was scheduled to leave the following day and she’d clung to him as if the world was about to end. For her, it was.

She had barely gotten used to being his wife when he’d announced he was joining a firm that would be sending him all over the world on business. If she’d been older and wiser, she’d have doubted his veracity right then and insisted on a more plausible explanation. Instead, she’d hugged him tight and wished she could think of some way to make him change his mind about leaving.

Fighting tears, she’d kissed him with all the youthful passion crowding her soul. “Oh, Greg. Don’t go. I’ll miss you too much.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Jess. But it won’t be for long. I’ll be home as much as I can. And I’ll write to you.”

“That’s not enough. I love you. That’s why we got married. So we could be together, remember?”

He’d pulled away from her then, his immature feelings evident. “Look, Jessica, we’ve been over this a hundred times. I can’t pass up this opportunity.”

“But ...”

“No. It’s settled. I’m only going for training this time. A month or so at the most. Then, my assignments will depend upon where the company needs my skills. Why can’t you be happy for me?”

“Maybe because it feels like you’re shutting me out of your life. I’m your wife, Greg. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Of course it does.” He’d smiled at her then, pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately.

“I love you,” she’d whispered through tears of impending loss. “I’ll be waiting.”

“That’s my girl. Just see you don’t change your mind.”

“I won’t. I swear it.”

Greg swung her into his arms and started for their bedroom. As he placed her on the coverlet he asked, “You’re still on the pill, right?”

She looked away. “Yes.”

“Good. The last thing we need is for you to get pregnant.”

“Would that be so bad? At least I wouldn’t be all by myself.” She held her breath.

Greg froze as if she’d jabbed him. “Bad? Are you crazy, Jess? What would we do with a baby? You’re still a kid, yourself, and I’m not much older. That has to be the stupidest idea you’ve ever had!”

Tears filled her eyes as the image of Greg at twenty-two began to fade with the passing of the dream.

Eyelids shut tight, she curled her body into a ball and hugged herself, waiting to drift into the deeper sleep that would blanket the bittersweet memories swirling unchecked in her subconscious. John Michael had been the result of that last night. Of all the mistakes she’d made in her life that was the only one she wouldn’t change, even if she could.

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