His Secret Child Read Online Free PDF Page A

existence. And damn him for unwittingly putting Danny's security at risk.
    "Hello," he said. "Have you got time for me?"
    She wanted to scream no loud and clear. She wanted to tell him to go away and leave her alone, to stop sending her into turmoil with his nearness. But she couldn't say or do anything to alert him that she was afraid of him, that his presence in her life was a danger to both her and her son.
    "Sure. What do you need?" She whirled the swivel chair around, shoved it back and stood to face him.
    I need you, honey, he wanted to say, but didn't. I need to set you up on that old desk of yours, spread your legs, unzip my jeans and … His thoughts wreaked havoc on his body. His sex enlarged and tightened uncomfortably.
    He removed his cap and fiddled with it in his large hands. "I, er, I thought maybe you and Mike could find me an old hot rod to restore. I couldn't do all the work myself—" he raised his limp right arm "—but I thought I might keep the car here and y'all could help me fix it up. It'd give me something to do to pass the time."
    "What's the matter? Have you gotten tired of holing up at the farm and feeling sorry for yourself?"
    He grinned, that devastatingly cocky grin that countless female fans swooned over. Sheila wanted to shout to the world that he had bestowed that special smile on her years before he'd become a baseball star.
    "Yeah, something like that." He took several tentative steps into her office. "So, do you think you can find me a car?"
    "I'm sure Mike can, if you tell him what you're looking for. He's working on a van right now. Why don't you go on out to the garage and talk to him?"
    "Do you still tinker around on cars yourself?" he asked. "I remember you were almost as good a mechanic as Tallie."
    "Occasionally I get my hands greasy," she said. "If Mike needs my help. But mostly I handle the office and take part of the tow truck calls."
    "I remember when Gramps and Dan first went into business together. It was right after Gramps's first heart attack and the doctor told him he couldn't work at the factory any longer. Dan had been recently widowed and left his job in Chattanooga to come home to Crooked Oak and put his life back together. Sure never thought he'd wind up marrying one of Tallie's friends."
    "Dan was a good man and we had a good marriage, despite the difference in our ages. I still miss him terribly."
    "Yeah, I guess you do." Caleb's body relaxed enough that he felt comfortable moving in a little closer to Sheila. "But at least he left you with a child. I imagine having Dan's son makes living without him easier."
    Myriad emotions tightened Sheila's chest. For one brief moment she couldn't breathe. Her instant reaction to Caleb's comment was fury. She wanted to pound his chest with her fists and tell him that her child was his son, not Daniel's.
    A long, seemingly endless moment of silence strung out between them. Say something, Sheila told herself. Say something before he wonders why you're reacting this way. But before she could think of an appropriate response, a woman's soft voice called from the doorway.
    "Hi." Smiling directly at Sheila, Donna Fields curled her small hand and waved her fingers in greeting. "I stopped by to see if my car's ready."
    Glad for any interruption, Sheila breathed a sigh of relief.
    "Oh, Donna, come on in."
    The elegantly slender woman, a mane of mahogany red hair falling around her shoulders, entered the small office. She halted beside Caleb, who had turned and openly admired the woman's physical beauty.
    "Hello," Donna said. "I don't think we've met. Are you a customer or a friend?"
    Caleb reached out and took Donna's hand, gave it a lingering squeeze, then grinned devilishly, flirtatiously. And the Green-eyed Monster soared inside Sheila like a jet plane in flight. Did the man have to try to charm every woman he met?
    "I'm an old friend and a potential customer," Caleb replied. "Caleb Bishop, at your service, pretty lady."
    "Caleb