Before dawn, she stirred and climbed back into bed. Pressing her body against Doug's, she cuddled him close and draped her arm across his waist.
When she woke again, Doug was cuddling her. "Are you awake?" he whispered.
"I am now." She groaned and rolled onto her back.
"What time did you come to bed?"
"I don't know, I didn't look."
He nibbled on her ear. "Do you feel better?"
She managed a soft smile. "Yes."
"Good."
She could hear coffee brewing in the background. "Is it time to get up already?"
"I'm afraid so."
She struggled into a sitting position and offered Doug a tired smile.
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he asked.
He told her in a thousand different ways. "Yup," she said in the middle of a loud yawn.
"This is a very important day, you know," Doug said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I do know," Carol whispered. This was the day she'd welcome Doug's child into her womb.
CHAPTER 21
ALIX TOWNSEND
A lix stepped outside the video store and lit up a cigarette. She was cutting back, but giving up smoking was difficult. Taking a long drag, she savored the immediate soothing effect and exhaled, tilting her head upward. It was when she started to take a second puff that she noticed Jordan Turner walking down the opposite side of the street. A sense of dread filled her; she didn't want to talk to him.
What was the point? He obviously wasn't interested in her. Oh sure, she amused him, but he saw her as a leftover challenge from the sixth grade - the girl he wanted to save. Another notch in his ministerial belt. Preachers couldn't accept that Alix wasn't looking for salvation. Oh, sure she'd ridden the church bus to Sunday School. Her parents would've been willing to let her go anywhere if it meant she was out of their hair for an hour or two. She'd done the Jesus thing at ten and eleven, but it hadn't gotten her anywhere. Been there, done that, and been awarded the prize Bible for memorizing scripture.
She'd been on her own since she was sixteen and one of the hardest lessons life had taught her was that the only person she could rely on was herself. It wasn't a lesson she was likely to forget.
Crushing out her half-smoked cigarette, Alix went back inside the store, hoping Jordan would take the hint and leave her alone.
"That was quick," Laurel muttered as Alix joined her behind the counter.
"I'm going into the back room."
Laurel frowned. "Why?"
"If you-know-who comes in, tell him I'm not working tonight."
"Are you still avoiding Jordan?"
"Just do it," Alix snapped and hurried to the back of the store before the preacher man caught up with her. It'd been two weeks since they'd bumped into each other at Starbucks and he'd dropped his bomb. The explosion still reverberated in her ears. Jordan was a minister - and she wanted nothing to do with him or his God.
No more than a minute later, Laurel appeared, and she didn't look any too pleased. "He saw you."
Alix whirled around. "Then tell him I'm busy."
"I already tried that."
This was getting irritating. "So tell him something else. I don't want to talk to him."
"You can't hide forever."
"I'm not hiding," Alix insisted, which was a pretty weak argument.
"Do what you want," Laurel said. "But he told me he was going to wait until you came out." With that, her roommate and supposed friend returned to the front of the store.
Alix waited an agonizing ten minutes and figured that by then Jordan would've given up on her. No such luck. Arms crossed, he stood by the microwave popcorn display next to the cash register. His eyes narrowed when he saw her.
Rather than try to avoid him anymore, she strolled purposely toward Jordan. "You don't take a hint, do you?" she asked bluntly.
"Not easily," he admitted. "Let's talk."
"I can't." She'd already squandered her fifteen-minute break and that was her last of the evening. The video store wasn't doing a robust business, but they were busy enough.
"Meet me after work."
Alix shrugged. She might as well get this over with. "All right."
"Your word is good?"
The challenge in his voice offended her sense of pride. "Damn straight it is! I'll be at Starbucks ten minutes after closing."
"Make it Annie's Cafe."
"Fine, Annie's."
"I'll be waiting."
It could've been Alix's imagination, but she thought she saw Jordan wink at Laurel on his way out the door. She wondered what the hell that was about and then decided it didn't matter. If