a father would provide the extra incentive.
But one week without Sheila? Ashley mused waspishly. She couldn’t imagine how either Cord or his stepmother would survive that long without each other.
Yet he obviously felt he needed help or he wouldn’t have checked in to the hospital. But a couples program?
She’d heard smoking was a very difficult habit to break, and she admired anyone who was successful. Certainly a program like the one run at the hospital sounded as if it might work because it was attempting to deal with a person’s whole psyche.
She moistened her dry lips. “It would never have occurred to me that you were a smoker.”
“I put it behind me when I went to work for the forest service and thought I’d licked it.” There was a distant pause. “Evidently I haven’t. Now that you know the truth, I wouldn’t blame you if you walked away.”
She took a shaky breath. “If I do that, then you won’t be able to participate.”
“It doesn’t matter, Ashley. I can afford to get the help I need through individual therapy. But when I heard about the clinic, the idea of couples working on the problem together made a lot of sense.”
She hated to admit that she agreed, but she had serious reservations. “I don’t feel comfortable about taking the place of another couple who wouldn’t otherwise have the funds to get this kind of help.”
Cord’s jaw tautened. “That was one of my concerns, too. I’ve already told Dr. Drake that if you did join me, I would insist on paying for our stay and the therapy involved.
His admission didn’t surprise her. In all areas but one, Cord was the most honest, decent human being she’d ever known.
“It was a mistake to have called you,” he muttered darkly. “If you’re ready, I’ll walk you out to your car.”
He cupped her elbow to usher her toward the elevator, but she pulled back. His dark brows furrowed in question.
“Cord—since you’ve gone to this much trouble, I have to assume you’re intent on quitting smoking. I’ll stay through your first meeting with the therapist, but beyond that, I can’t promise anything.”
His body stilled. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I—I came this morning, Cord, and I’ll see it through that far at least.”
“But your job?”
“The person who was going to replace me when I went into labor is with Mrs. Bromwell now. Early this morning I made the decision that no matter what happened between you and me, I wouldn’t be going back there. It’s not going to be a problem since we all agreed that anything could have happened during these last four weeks.”
“You’re right. Our baby might decide to come early.”
“It’s possible,” she admitted, “but the doctor says there’s no sign of that yet.”
“Frankly, I’m glad you’re quitting work.”
Ashley looked away, nervous and apprehensive over what she’d done, but she’d made a commitment and couldn’t back out on it. “Excuse me while I make that call.”
She turned to the desk clerk who allowed Ashley the use of the phone. All the time she talked to Mrs. Bromwell’s daughter, she felt Cord’s presence and it prevented her from concentrating. After promising to keep in touch with the family, Ashley hung up the receiver. “Shall we go to the auditorium?”
His gaze swept over her, concerned and reminiscently possessive. “Are you all right? Do you need anything first?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“If you should feel any discomfort, I want to know about it.” The one thing she knew about Cord was that he would take perfect care of her.
“I promise,” she said in an effort to reassure him.
When they went inside, Dr. Drake was speaking at the podium, using an overhead projector to put some points across. Cord shifted his arm to her shoulders and guided her down the aisle to a vacant row where they took the first two seats. He placed her suitcase and bag in the aisle next to his.
Another surprise awaited her when he reached for her left hand. She could feel him brailling her rings, no doubt to ascertain that they were still there.
When she attempted to put her arm back in her lap, he exerted the slightest pressure which served as a warning not to try to free herself.
She had been afraid of this happening. Now that he knew he was about to become a father, he was feeling proprietorial of her. He might not be in love with her any longer, but he would love their child. She had no doubts about that. Because she was going to be the mother, he would do everything in his power to help and protect her.
Once they were alone again, she’d remind him that they were getting a divorce. He couldn’t go on touching her, holding her whenever he felt like it.
Somehow she had to make him see that the only reason she was here was to provide an additional impetus to help him conquer the problem which had beset him.
“...After this general meeting, which should only take another ten minutes, we’ll assign each couple a room and ask you to go there and get settled. Breakfast will be served at seven-thirty in the conference room next door.
“At eight o’clock, a psychologist will visit each couple in their rooms to begin the treatment and therapy sessions.
“Lunch will be at twelve, followed by a getting-acquainted session for everyone back in here at twelve-thirty.
“I believe that’s as much as I need announce at this time. Right now, I’d like to introduce Mack and Barbara, a couple who were involved in our pilot program ten years ago.
“Mack was a heavy smoker who’d tried dozens of times to quit without success.
“Mack? Tell us what happened when you came in here.”
Ashley tried to listen while the man explained how City Creek’s program had turned his life around and made a new man of him. But with Cord sitting next to her, his lower thigh brushing against her nylon-clad leg, she couldn’t possibly concentrate.
While he held her hand, he absently rubbed his thumb over her palm. Every motion sent her pulse skyrocketing, rekindling old desires which had been lying dormant over the last eight months.
She could hardly breathe as she felt his gaze wander over the pregnant line of her body. He was studying her, most likely comparing what he saw to his last memory of her. It shamed her now to remember how she’d molded herself to him after a rapturous night of lovemaking. But the second she’d fallen asleep, he’d stolen from the bedroom she was using, and had gone back to his own room.
When she’d awakened and had discovered him missing, she went to find him, needing to talk about what had happened.
During the night he’d begged her to believe him, that there had been no affair with Sheila. After what they’d just shared, she’d wanted to have faith in him and thought maybe this could be a new beginning.
But the conversation she had in mind never took place because when she reached the door of his room, she heard Sheila’s voice. She was talking to Cord.
Though Ashley felt like she was going to faint from the pain, she peered inside. What she saw turned out to be the blackest moment of her life.
Within ten minutes she’d packed a suitcase and had left the house in the compact car he’d bought her. Since that hellish morning, she hadn’t stepped over the threshold of the McKnight house. She never would again.
“Ashley? It’s time to go to our room. The others have already filed out.”
Cord’s low voice brought her back to the present with a jolt. Her head jerked around.