Maternal Harbor Read Online Free PDF Page A

required toughness, but raising a son alone would take more.  The anticipated responsibility lay heavy.  What kept her aged partner going?  Teagan possessed plenty of the same kind of stubborn grit, worked hard and didn’t cry too much over unfairness; but she would also need a soft maternal side.  Both tenancies fought each other.  Somehow, she’d learn to join the two and not cover up with crustiness as hard as barnacles on a hull; her breast had to soften.
    After Mac loaded the crates into the long bed of her four-door pickup and covered them with a tarp, he leaned against the tailgate.  “Next time, send that ornery landlubber that works for you.  He can haul these crates.  Put some muscle back in his skinny hide.”
    “ Did I just hear you admit to needing help?”
    “ No.  You do.”  He shoved away from the pickup and lumbered back toward his trawler, with shoulders squared and head held at a cocky slant, arms swinging, daring anyone to question his ability.
    Teagan sighed.  “Pete says you’re one mean old salt, and he isn’t coming near except when I’m in the hospital.”
    “Suits me.”  His words carried over his shoulder.
    Mac was stubborn.
    Teagan worked the pickup around several stacks of unloaded containers.  Ahead, a black Blazer pulled from behind a warehouse on the right.  “Sheesh,” she muttered.  “There’s another one.”  It reminded her of the one at the clinic.  Fresh off the lot and not yet licensed.
    “ Flip, Teagan.  You’re becoming as paranoid as Pai.”
    But her senses were heightened and she tracked the Blazer until it pulled right onto Emerson and disappeared into traffic.
     
     

Chapter 3
     
     
    “ Why did I do that?”  Erica couldn’t believe how brainless it was to stay on the pier so long.  Spying on them had to stop.  “Crap, you’re not on surveillance.”  She thumped the side of her head.  Doretta, Pai, and Teagan were good people.  Nothing had popped when she ran their names through the computer.  That should be good enough.  Derek needed competition and to provide that, she needed to be outgoing, not suspicious and sneaky.  To simply stop and chat with Teagan made more sense.  Instead she ran, afraid of recognition through the Blazer’s tinted windows.
    It was their fault.  They excluded her sometimes.  Might not be on purpose, but they did.
    “Stop it.”  Erica caught her eyes in the rearview mirror.  “Don’t worry so much.”  But the anxiety didn’t let go.  Doretta or Pai were easy to get along with.  Their kids would be the same.  Good strong boys for Derek’s playmates.  The best.  They had to be the best.  Everything had to be first rate.  Nursery schools and daycare centers were already checked out; the ones with the most up-to-date programs selected.  She even checked with guys at the station about kindergartens and pee wee baseball.  Derek would play only for a team with a winning record.  Failure and second best must be avoided.
    And Teagan would not spoil the plans for Derek.  Why couldn’t she just be easy like the others? 
    Erica checked her watch, after two already.  She should grab a bite, but didn’t feel hungry enough to make the effort.  Her loss of appetite was directly linked to the captain catching her at the station, again, after she’d signed out on maternity leave.
    “ Don’t come back until after that baby is born,” He growled.
    Staying away hurt.  His detested order caused a deep sense of loss.  She accepted it only because this was the time for passing her passion to an heir – training him to be a superb police officer.  But the uniform still in her locker really needed to be cleaned and ready too.
     
     
    The sweaty locker room appeared deserted.  Glad for it, Erica crossed the tiled floor to a bank of metal lockers.  Hers was in the fourth row, down near the wall.  She paused before opening it and rested her forehead against the cool surface.  A light tremor