I ignored him, clenching my fists. "I should have shoved you off Max's desk when I had a chance."

The corporal appeared in my field of vision and grasped my arm. I felt Max's hands on my shoulders and realized that as much as I wanted to rip Stefanie's hair out, the loss of dignity wasn't worth it. Not to mention a possible lawsuit, another trip to the sheriff's office, and maybe time in jail for assault.

I slammed the car door and turned to face Max. "I want to go home." Then I glared at the detective and Corporal Fletcher. "I absolutely do not want to talk to that advocate person. She's too nice to be real."

The men glanced at each other.

"Fletcher can take a fast statement right now," Detective Scott said. "I'll get details later."

For the second time that week, I sat on the edge of an examining table. This time at the hospital emergency room. Max sat in a chair in a corner.

After bandaging my head, the emergency room doctor began to scribble on his pad. "I'm going to write you a prescription for pain medication."

If he did, Max would make me take it, and I couldn't because of the baby. This wasn't exactly the place I wanted to tell him.

"Make sure it's safe for pregnant women," I whispered, hoping Max wouldn't hear me.

The doctor glanced up at me. "Did you say you're expecting?"

Max's head jerked up, and his eyes widened. "Expecting?"

The doctor glanced from me to Max. "Okay, that changes things a little." He tore up the paper he'd already written and started a new one.

"You're pregnant?" Max was frozen on his chair, staring at me.

The doctor eyed Max as he handed me a slip of paper and explained what he'd written. "And, ah, let me know if there's anything else I can do." He hurried from the room.

A nurse came in with some paperwork for me to sign. Then Max helped me off the table as if I were a china doll. I felt the prickle of tears in my eyes but kept them at bay. He guided me out of the building with his arm in the small of my back. At the car he opened the door for me, holding my arm as I got in. Then he rounded the front of the car and and slid into the driver's seat.

"I didn't want you to find out like that," I said.

"How long have you known?" he asked quietly.

"Bill called me this afternoon. This is why my stomach has been upset."

"Wow," he murmured as he started the car.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I was in bed alone. Max and I hadn't discussed the baby yet. It wasn't his fault. He'd tried, but between the kids and me avoiding him, he hadn't had a chance. I felt unreasonably cranky, out of sorts, and mad that he hadn't been ecstatic when he learned about the baby, even though his had been the same as mine.

I tossed and turned, and slumber evaded me, but when he got into bed, I pretended to be asleep.

Soft light from the street filtered through the blinds. A dog barked in the distance.

Max rolled over to face me. "I know you're awake."

"How?" I asked.

"The way you're breathing. Plus, your fists are clenched. You don't normally do that when you're sleeping."

I realized I had a death grip on the top of the covers. I immediately relaxed them and shoved my hands under the blanket, keeping my eyes closed.

"Okay, I'm asleep now."

"Come on, Trish. Neither one of us will get any rest if we don't talk."

I peeked at him.

He was on his back with his hands under his head and his ankles crossed. "I'm sorry my reaction wasn't better."

"It was about like mine was," I grumbled.

He sat up and turned on the light. Then he stuffed a pillow behind him and leaned against the headboard. "I'll admit, I was startled."

"And it wasn't exactly how I'd planned to tell you." I sat up and shoved my pillow behind my head. "I was going to tell you after the game."

He focused on his toes. "So did you tell Abbie?"

"Yes."

His expression was bland, but his right cheek muscle was twitching. "I'm your husband. Why didn't you call me and tell me first?"

He sounded so bereft, my heart feel like it had been cut in two. I hadn't expected that reaction from him. "I talked to Abbie first so I could figure out a way to break it to you. I knew you were glad the kids are growing up. I didn't want you to be upset and lose the game, which happened anyway because you guys had to come and rescue me."

"We've rescheduled." He shifted his head on the pillow and met my gaze. "A baby is such a special thing between a husband and a wife, and in our case, a miracle."

"Yes, that's what Bill said." I squeezed his fingers. "I'm sorry. What can I do to make up for this?"

He slid his arm under me and pulled me toward him. "Let me hold you."

I put my lips to his ear. "When I was in that unit, I kept thinking about how much I love you. How much I wanted to live and raise this baby."

"I love you, too. When I found out you were in danger, I thought I'd go crazy." He kissed me hard. "And even though the pregnancy is unexpected and not exactly what we'd planned, sometimes things happen for a reason. In fact, given all the odds, this baby has to be a gift from God."

A bit later, I wasn't sleeping yet, but I was content. We'd discussed baby names and decided to tell the kids the next day. Max was already breathing evenly like he does right before he falls asleep. I was happy to be next to him. I wasn't dead or shivering in Jim Bob's storage unit.

Old Jim Bob, the man everyone hated. So much so that someone killed him. Stefanie denied it, but she was certainly interested in something he kept in his secret office in one of the file cabinets. . .empty file cabinets. . . I'd forgotten to ask Max about them.

I sat up and turned the light on.

Max jumped up as if on a spring. "Are you okay?" He stared at me with wide eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine. When did the police get the stuff out of Jim Bob's unit, and why didn't you say anything? You had to have let them in. Did they have a search warrant? Did they need one? Furthermore, what was in there that Stefanie wanted so badly? Do you know?"

Max groaned and lay back down, pulling the pillow over his head.

I yanked it off his face. "No sleeping until you tell me."

He kept his eyes shut. "I guess there's no chance this can wait until tomorrow morning?"

"I won't be able to sleep for wondering."

Max sighed, rolled on his side to face me, and rested on his elbow. "Okay. Yes, Eric searched Jim Bob's unit not too long after the murder. Yes, they had a warrant. Yes, I let them in. I don't know exactly what he found, but it must have implicated Stefanie in some way because he was keeping an eye on her. However, he let everyone, including her, think that the unit was intact."

"You knew and didn't tell me?" I demanded.

He sighed. "Yes, I knew. And I didn't tell you."

"And you're mad at me for not telling you things?" I huffed.

He shook his head. "I think the situations are just a little different."

That was beside the point. "So why didn't you tell me?"

"Because Eric asked me not to."

I sat up and crossed my legs. "Is there something wrong with me? Am I untrustworthy? Did neither of you think I could keep a secret?"

"It wasn't my decision. And I assume he wanted as few people to know as possible. Police business and all. Besides, he was treating you as a suspect."

Max's words didn't pacify me.

"Can I go to sleep now?" he asked.

"No. I'm not done." I crossed my arms. "I know Jim Bob was blackmailing people. What exactly did they find inside? Copies of blackmail letters? And what did Stefanie want in there?"

Max shook his head. "I don't know."

"She's tricky enough to commit murder, but I didn't see her in the grocery store that morning. At least I don't think so. Unless she was in disguise. Do you think she killed him?"

He shrugged one shoulder.

"Who is Stefanie, anyway?" I asked. "You know her southern accent was fake, don't you?"

He said nothing, just kept staring at me.

"Do you know what she told me?" I clenched my fists. "She was sorry she didn't get a piece of you."

Max raised his eyebrow. "And that bothers you?"

I frowned. "Well, yeah, because she said she tried more than once."

He laughed. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

I scowled at him. "Besides having the morals of an alley cat, who was she really?"

He groaned. "I don't know. I don't care. I want to sleep."

I shifted positions and bounced. "How can you sleep knowing that you don't know who she really is?"

"Easy. Watch." He reached over me, turned out the light, and flopped back on the bed.

"Buta""

"Hush," he said. "Go to sleep."

Chapter Eighteen.

Ia"ama"soa"humiliated!" Karen pushed her chair from the table and jumped up. "I can't believe it, Dad. You're too old to have babies." She ran from the room.

We'd made the big announcement to the kids during a special Italian-themed Sunday lunch. Karen's reaction didn't surprise me at all.

Max put his fork down. "I'll go talk to her."

"No," I said. "Leave her alone. Don't let her ruin the meal for the rest of us."

He took a deep breath, debating his decision. "Okay," he finally said.

Sammie kept eating tiny bites of lasagna noodles and watching everyone. Charlie's mouth was stuffed full of Italian bread.

Tommy grabbed another piece of lasagna. "Don't mind her. Julie is a wreck, so Karen is a wreck. Girls can be so dramatic."

I agreed, although I'd seen my share of melodramatic men. When Karen became human again, I'd encourage her to join the drama club.

Sammie put her fork down and eyed first her father, then me. "Why?" she asked.

"Why what, sweetie?" I took a bite of salad.

"Why is Daddy too old? What happens with babies?"

Tommy snorted and covered his mouth. Max's lips twitched. I blinked and for a moment couldn't figure out what she meant. Then I got it and blushed. Max and Tommy looked at me as though answering the question was my responsibility.

Was there any way I could deflect this until she was older? "Well, uh, Sammie. . ."

Charlie interrupted me with a wave of his hand. "It's no big deal. In Sunday school this morning, we read about how that Abraham guy had kids when he was really ancient. That means Dad can have them, too."

"Oh," Sammie said. "Okay." And that took care of that.

"Old man," I mouthed at Max.