The Pregnancy Secret (Harlequin Romance Large Print) Read Online Free

him. “I’ll call someone.”
    She didn’t need him. She didn’t! Why was she giving him this mixed message: “I need you. I don’t need you.” She had the stunning realization she was not as clear of her soon-to-be ex-husband as she thought she was!
    “I’ll look after it,” he said.
    She should have protested harder, but there was no denying what a relief it was to have Kade Brennan, her husband for a little while longer, say that he would look after things.

CHAPTER THREE
    J ESSICA WAS WHEELED out to the ambulance, and Kade prowled through her shop looking for items to repair her door. Finally, in a back drawer in a tiny kitchen area he found a hammer and regarded it thoughtfully.
    “This isn’t really a hammer,” he muttered to himself. “It’s more like a toy, a prop for one of her fake nurseries.”
    In a dank cellar, he found some old boards. Thankfully, they had nails in them that he could pull and reuse. Why did women never have the essentials? Nails, screwdrivers, hammers, duct tape?
    He boarded up the broken front door and found a square of thick wood to write a few words on.
    He had to nail it up over the broken window because of the lack of duct tape. A determined thief could still get in, but the repair, though not pretty, actually looked quite a bit more secure than her old door with its paned glass.
    He surveyed his work briefly, and recognized it as temporary but passable. Then he called his personal assistant, Patty, to tell her he would be very late today, if he made it in at all. “I need you to find me a simple surveillance system. I think there’s a kind that alerts to your phone. And then could you find a handyman? I need a door fixed, a window replaced and that surveillance system installed. Have him call me for the details.
    “And also if you could have my car dropped at Holy Cross Hospital? Whoever brings it can just give me a call when they get there, I’ll meet them for keys.” He listened for a moment. “No, everything is fine. No need for concern.”
    Kade walked out to Memorial Drive and was able to flag a cab to take him to the hospital.
    He found Jessica in a wheelchair, in a waiting room in the X-ray department.
    “How are you doing?”
    It was obvious she was not doing well. Her face was pale, and she looked as if she was going to cry.
    He could not handle Jessica crying. There was nothing he hated more than the helplessness that made him feel. To his detriment, he had not reacted well to her tears in the past.
    He felt ashamed of the fact that she felt it necessary to suck in a deep, steadying breath before she spoke to him.
    “They’ve done an X-ray. I’m just waiting for the doctor. It is broken. I’m not sure if they can set it, or if it will need surgery.” She looked perilously close to tears.
    Kade fought an urge to wrap his arms around her and let her cry. But he’d never been good with tears, and it felt way too late now to try to be a sensitive guy. It would require him to be a way better and braver man than he knew how to be.
    She knew his weaknesses, because she set her shoulders and tilted her chin. “You didn’t have to come.”
    He shrugged. “Your store is secure,” he told her. “I put up a sign.”
    The struggle—whether to be gracious or belligerent—was evident in her eyes. Graciousness won, as he had known it would. “Thank you. What did it say?”
    “Baby bummer, temporarily closed due to break-in.”
    A reluctant smile tickled her lips, and then she surrendered and laughed. “That’s pretty good. Even though it’s a major bummer, not a baby one.”
    Kade was pretty pleased with himself that he had made her laugh instead of cry.
    “It could have been a much more major bummer than it was,” he said sternly. “Tell me what happened.”
    * * *
    Jessica couldn’t help but shiver at the faintly dangerous note in Kade’s voice. She could not be intimidated by it!
    “Isn’t it fairly obvious what happened?” she asked coolly. “I