Page 19 of The Irish Rogue

Sure, her mother had been a horrible mother. She’d gotten pregnant too young and hadn’t wanted to be a parent. Tammy was a perfect example of what not to do when pregnant.

Immediately, her hand moved to her still-flat stomach and she thought about the pizza she’d eaten for dinner last night. No more pizza, she vowed. No more beer. No more coffee.

Okay, the coffee was an easy thing to eliminate, since even the smell made her stomach churn.

And yes, she needed to contact Sean and let him know that he was going to be a father. She didn’t want to do it, but it was the right thing to do. He deserved to know.

She didn’t have his contact information, but Tom would know how to reach Sean. The two men had been talking about something that first night. It had looked serious and Tom had been upset afterwards.

Two hours later, she tentatively knocked on Tom’s door. “Hey,” she started off, stepping into his office when he turned to look at her. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but by any chance, do you have Sean’s contact information?”

He scowled at her, steepling his fingers together. “Sean Byrne? I can probably find it for you. Why do you need to speak with him?”

Kennedi hesitated for a long moment, then shrugged. She wasn’t ready to announce her pregnancy. They’d all find out soon enough when her belly started expanding. For now, she wanted to maintain her privacy.

“Clara mentioned that he’d left something behind at the house he rented. She was going to call him to return it.”

Tom’s expression cleared and he nodded. “Clara’s a good person. I would have just tossed his stuff in the garbage.” He sifted through several file folders, then pulled one out from the bottom of the pile. “Here you go,” he said, handing her a sticky note with a phone number on it.

“Thanks,” Kennedi said, tucking the note into her pocket before backing out of Tom’s office. She felt her boss’s eyes on her as she slowly returned to her desk and she wondered if the guilt was written all over her features.

Sighing, she focused on working. After she got caught up with work, Kennedi started to plan. She lived in a one bedroom apartment, but if she was going to have a baby, she would need a second bedroom. A house would be better, but there was no way she could afford a house right now.

She’d also need to save up enough money to carry her through maternity leave. Tom would give her the time off, but he couldn’t afford to pay her through the entire three months she’d need off to bond with her baby. That was asking too much.

By the time she got home, she had the beginnings of a plan. But the first thing she needed to do was inform Sean. She didn’t expect him to be around much. He’d certainly dashed out of town as quickly as possible.

As soon as her temper started to burn, Kennedi tamped down on the emotion. She couldn’t go down that trail of resentment again. She’d already cried enough that first week after he’d abruptly left town. She refused to cry over him any longer.

Dialing the number, she waited with rising trepidation as his phone rang. And waited. And waited! Finally, his voice mail clicked on and she trembled at the memories of his deep, husky voice issuing her orders. Naughty orders. Sensuous, delicious commands that had only made their passion even more intense.

“Um, hi!” Kennedi replied, startled at the end of the recording. “This is…Kennedi. From Newnan. Georgia!” She closed her eyes, wishing she could be more articulate. “Sorry,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Anyway, I was wondering if you might…um…give me a call when you have a moment.” She wondered if she should say something more, but then dismissed the idea. “Anyway, I hope you’re doing well. And that you’re…fine. Just…call me when you have time. Thanks.”

She ended the call and closed her eyes, wishing she hadn’t rambled. But seriously, how was one supposed to deliver news of this level? It was life changing!

Pushing away from her kitchen counter, she headed into her bedroom and started pulling out clothes. Maternity clothes were something else she’d have to buy. But thrift store finds would have to suffice. If she was going to save enough money to get through her maternity leave, then she couldn’t spend money on frivolous items. Every penny was going to be needed later.

She’d need to start saving for her child’s college too. How soon was too soon? As a pregnant woman, could she put a few bucks into a college savings plan? And what about health insurance? Did her health insurance from the brewery cover maternity costs?

So many questions, and yet, Kennedi only wanted to fall asleep. “Just a few moments,” she promised herself. Curling up onto her bed, she closed her eyes, vowing to get up in a few minutes and make herself some dinner.

Sean listened to the rambling message again, sitting at the bar in “The Bastard’s Club” that most people thought was “The Billionaires’ Club”. He pressed the button to listen to the message a third time. Kennedi’s soft, sweet voice reminded him of her breathy laughter when he’d shown her something new sexually. Or when she’d asked him to do something to her. Or when she’d cried out his name when he’d brought her to pleasure. Over and over again, she’d screamed his name.

But her voicemail message wasn’t actually breathy. It was tentative. Annoyingly uncertain. What did she want from him? It had been three months since that weekend!

He muttered an expletive, his thumb hovering over the delete button.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Levi grumbled, sitting down next to him at the bar. Emily was working tonight, and she immediately poured him a draft beer, placing it in front of hm.

Sean’s finger moved away without deleting the message, then he shoved his phone into his pocket and sipped his beer. “Nothing.”

“Something is wrong.” Levi eyed him closely, but it was Matteo that understood the problem.

“It’s a woman,” he announced, sitting down on the other side of Sean.

“It’s always a woman,” Mandy, their accountant, replied as she dumped a pile of reports onto the bar counter. “I have documents I need one of you gentlemen to sign.”

She looked at each of them in turn. When none reacted, she shook her head with a chuckle. “Right,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I’ll leave these on your desk, Levi. When you men are ready to do some actual business, I can explain things to you.”

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