Sympathy Pains Read Online Free Page A

condition or about the man who was responsible. One day she’d just shown up in a maternity top, her eyes brimming with unshed tears and her head held high. No one had asked and she hadn’t offered an explanation. After a few days it became a matter of course. They now knew the baby was due around the last of July or the first part of August and that Marilee was saving every penny of her tip money to pay for the upcoming hospitalization. Beyond that it was all a mystery.
    And while Calvin was keeping his personal thoughts to himself, he had a real good idea who the father might be. Justin Wheeler had been a weekly regular until the night of the snowstormwhen he’d gone home with Marilee. They hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since.
    â€œWorthless cowboy,” he muttered, and went back to his grill as Marilee carried the orders to her customers.
    â€œChicken-fried steaks all around,” she said as she laid the plates in front of four hungry men.
    â€œThanks, honey,” one of them said, and then smiled. “I can see you’re packin’. Is it a boy or a girl?”
    She sighed. “Best guess is a boy.”
    â€œYou mean you ain’t had one of them pictures took of your belly? My wife did with every kid we got. She don’t like surprises.”
    Yes, surprises can be a bitch, Marilee thought, and then said, “Had one, but they couldn’t be sure. How many children do you have?”
    â€œFour,” he said, and then grinned a little wider. “All boys. She wants a girl—but not enough to take another chance.”
    â€œI sympathize with her decision,” Marilee said. “Will there be anything else?”
    â€œGot any Tabasco sauce?”
    â€œComing right up,” Marilee said, and turned away, glancing toward the entrance as she headed for the kitchen.
    At that moment, she knew the rest of her day wasn’t going to go as smoothly as it had started,because Justin Wheeler was walking in the door. Her thoughts went from shock, to panic, to anger and then numb. But it was the anger that finally resurfaced. She lifted her chin, snatched a bottle of Tabasco sauce from beneath the counter and put it on the table.
    â€œEnjoy your meal,” she said, and then hissed at her friend Dellie as she passed her by.
    â€œDellie, do me a favor, please?”
    â€œName it, honey,” the waitress said.
    â€œTake that man’s order.”
    Dellie turned, looking in the direction that Marilee was pointing, and then frowned.
    â€œBut he’s sitting at your table, honey. Are you sure you—”
    â€œIf he came in here to eat, then someone else is going to have to serve him,” Marilee snapped. “I’ll catch this couple for you instead,” and went to get menus for a couple who’d just sat down.
    Realization hit as Dellie turned to stare. She didn’t know his name, but she would bet a week’s worth of tips that he was the man who’d put that baby in Marilee’s belly. She snatched up a menu from the end of the bar and then stomped across the room.
    * * *
    Justin Wheeler was a little antsy. It had been a long time since he’d been to the Roadrunner.Long enough that whatever panic or embarrassment he might have felt at seeing Marilee again had been replaced by pure shame. He’d known within minutes of leaving her house that morning that he should have awakened her first. And all the way to Lubbock he’d told himself he would call. Only, he hadn’t. Then, when Christmas drew near, he’d started to send her flowers, just as a thank-you, of course, for the shelter from the storm, but that good thought had come and gone without any action, either.
    One thing had led to another and the weeks had turned into months. The excuses he’d made to himself as to why he was circumventing Amarillo on his way home from Dallas had begun sounding lame, even to him. Finally, on this fine spring day,