Susan Mallery - Under Her Skin

“Hi,” she whispered.

Kathy saw her and smiled. “Hello. You’re back. This is Max. Someone bought him as a pet, but can’t keep him, so he’s here. Poor Max. It’s hard not to be wanted, isn’t it?”

The bird seemed to be staring at Kathy. It fluttered its wings, but didn’t shift away.

“You’re going to be safe here with me,” Kathy continued. “I’ll find you the right home. You’ll see. It may take a while. Bird people are special, just like you. We have to wait until we find where you belong.”

The bird continued to stare at her. Lexi would swear it actually nodded, which was impossible. But its head seemed to bob slightly. That or she was really going to have to cut back on her morning lattes.

Kathy slipped the bird into its cage and shut the door. “How are you doing with your kitten?”

“Great. C.C. is growing every day. He’s into everything. I wasn’t sure about him. I’d never thought about getting a cat. But he’s…” Lexi couldn’t figure out how to explain the place C.C. filled in her heart. “He’s good to have around,” she finished.

“I know,” Kathy told her. “That makes me happy. C.C. will be good for you. He’ll keep you company and love you, no matter what. Isn’t that the best?”

“It is.” She hesitated, not sure how to bring up Garth. Kathy was warm and friendly, but there was something slightly off about her. Would talking about Garth upset her?

“I think I know someone you know,” she said, hesitantly. “Garth Duncan?”

Kathy’s whole face lit up. “Garth? You know Garth? I do, too. I love him. He’s wonderful. Don’t you think he’s wonderful? He bought me this store. He says I can work here as long as I want.”

“He is very nice,” Lexi lied. “How do you know him?”

Kathy reached for a broom and began to sweep the floor. “He used to be my son.” She frowned. “Something happened and I’m not sure what. It was a long time ago.” She touched her head. “I have a scar. It doesn’t hurt. But sometimes I’m not sure…”

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Lexi said, knowing she would never be a very good spy. Just as well she’d gone into the day spa business.

“Did Garth say something about me?” Kathy asked eagerly. “He likes me. He’s very nice.”

“Do you know when you changed?” Lexi asked, ignoring the knot in her stomach. “When you got your scar?”

Kathy shook her head. “It was a long time ago,” she repeated. “It was…It was before. Now it’s after.”

“You have a lovely store,” Lexi told her.

Kathy beamed. “I know. I love working here. Sometimes Garth comes by to see me.”

Lexi made a mental note of the information, not sure if it would help or not. “I need to get back to work,” she said. “I just wanted to stop by and thank you for C.C.”

“You’ll be happy with your cat,” Kathy said. “Garth calls me. Do you want me to tell him anything?”

“No, thank you.”

“Okay.”

Kathy returned to sweeping the floor. Lexi walked out and headed for her car.

What had happened to Kathy Duncan? Obviously it had been after Garth had been born. In her current condition, Jed would never have been interested in her. Besides, the state might have had a problem with Kathy as a mother.

So when had she changed? And why? Worst of all, did Jed have anything to do with it?

As Lexi walked to her car, she realized she didn’t want to hear the answer to the last question.

LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Lexi drove home. She normally worked later, but she was bone tired and couldn’t say why. She’d been sleeping, maybe more than ever. She just couldn’t seem to shake her lethargy.

It was probably the stress, she thought as she stopped at a red light. Too much going on in her life. Too many confusing questions. Not to mention a constant minor stomach upset. It came in waves and while she never actually threw up, she felt like she was going to. It was almost as if-

The light turned green. Lexi accelerated automatically, but her mind wasn’t on her driving. Two blocks later she pulled into a drugstore parking lot.

Thoughts chased each other, moving so fast it was impossible to catch just one. But there was no escaping the feeling of dread.

When she’d first moved in with Cruz, she’d gone off her birth control pills so she would get her period and have an excuse not to sleep with him. She’d gone back on the birth control, but what about those days before the pills kicked in? What about the first time they’d made love…and the second?

She gripped the steering wheel so tightly her muscles cramped but she didn’t let go. She couldn’t be pregnant. Not now. Not with Cruz. He didn’t want children-she wasn’t sure he wanted to be married at all. He believed that caring made him weak.

Okay, she was in love with him, but so what? That didn’t make him any better at relationships or a safer bet. He was absolutely the last person she needed to be involved with, and having a child would mean being involved forever. She would be tied to a man who was only using her to gain a place in society. He’d already abandoned one child. She couldn’t be having his baby.

She went into the drugstore and bought three different pregnancy tests. The female clerk gave her a sympathetic smile, then called out, “Good luck,” as she left.

Thirty minutes later she stood in the master bath of her condo-the only place she could think to go where no one would find her. She stared at the various plastic sticks, all giving the same message in different ways.

She was pregnant.

JEANNIE WAS A BEAUTIFUL woman in her midthirties, with perfect skin and long blond hair. If they’d been the same age, Lexi would have considered her the ideal and herself a cautionary tale. As it was, the five years separating them didn’t make Jeannie any less impressive, but Lexi made it a point to never let her employees know they were so physically perfect as to nearly intimidate her.

“I’ve been worried,” Jeannie said, her voice soft and thick with suppressed tears. “I don’t understand how this happened. I’m careful, Lexi. You know that. I’m careful and I give each client my full attention. I want everything about the experience to be perfect.”

Lexi smiled at her. “You don’t have to convince me. You get raves all the time. You’re booked weeks in advance. I don’t believe this lawsuit is about the facial.”

“What do you mean?”

She’d decided not to spread the word about Garth being her half brother. It was personal information that no one needed to know. But she also didn’t want Jeannie to worry.

“In my opinion, the lawsuit is personal,” she said, wanting to stay as close to the truth as possible. “It’s about getting at me through the business. This isn’t about your work.”

“You’re not going to fire me?”

“Of course not.”

Tears filled Jeannie’s wide blue eyes. “Thank goodness. I haven’t been sleeping much because I’ve been so worried. I love working here, Lexi. I love the clients and the environment. You’re so easy to work for. I didn’t want to have to leave, especially with people talking about me like that.”

“No one’s talking. At least not anyone who knows you. It’s a nuisance suit. We have insurance for this sort of thing, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to get very far.” Lexi suspected Ann was having second thoughts about her illegal behavior. Having a crush on the boss was one thing, but going to jail for him was another.

“You think she’ll drop the lawsuit?”

“I’m hoping she will. In the meantime, I want you to do your job the way you always have. We’re going to work this out.”

She and Jeannie stood. Jeannie hugged her.

“Thank you,” the other woman said. “Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t want to lose you. If the stress starts to get to you, please come talk to me.”

Jeannie nodded. “I promise.”

“Good.”

The other woman left. Lexi checked her messages, then walked down the hall to the reception area of the spa.

There were several clients paying their bill or shopping. From there she went into the relaxation area, where two women sat in robes, sipping tea and chatting after a massage.

In the back, every salon chair was filled, while the nail area buzzed with conversation.

Jed would never approve of this, she thought, picturing the lobby of Titan World Enterprises. This wasn’t a monument to success that would hold generations in awe. It wasn’t global or worth billions. It was a small business that grew every month and made her happy.

She returned to her office and walked to the window. The parking lot was below and nearly every slot was filled.

She’d gone to work for her father to prove something and had left because she couldn’t be successful there. Expanding the spa, being greedy, had also been about showing off for Jed. She’d nearly lost everything for that. If not for Cruz, she would have. So what did she want now?

She touched her stomach. Life grew there. She could think the words, but they had no meaning. Not yet. She couldn’t take it all in. A baby? Her? How was that going to change things?

What would Cruz think? That she’d tried to trap him? That she’d done it on purpose? She couldn’t be sure he would believe it was an accident, which didn’t speak very highly of their relationship.

She wanted to think he would be excited and happy. That he would admit he was desperately in love with her and wanted them to be together always. But that was just fantasy. Men never used words like “desperately.” They just ran.

What had Kathy Duncan thought when she’d found out she was pregnant with Jed Titan’s child? Had she been innocent enough to believe he would marry her? Had she known it was over? Without knowing what she’d been like before, it was hard to say. She’d taken the money, but that didn’t make her a bad person. She’d had a baby to support.