help you perpetuate this myth of yours," Susan said. "We'll claim that you told us all about it just as soon as you came home from your trip last August."
"Thank goodness I have friends who are willing to lie for me." Donna paused briefly, blushed again and said, "He … that is, J.B. took precautions. We didn't have unprotected sex. I suppose one of the condoms was defective or … Oh, God, Susan, I've never done anything so foolish in my entire life! Ron was my only lover and I was a virgin when I married him."
"You really want this child, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," Donna admitted. "Despite the circumstances of my baby's conception, I want her or him very much. I know you can't begin to understand. You're so lucky that the child you're carrying is Lowell's. You won't have to figure out how someday you're going to explain why your child has no father and you can't even give her or him the man's name."
"Oh, Donna, if you only knew." Susan sighed.
"What do you mean, if I only knew?"
"You aren't the only one who did something foolish and is now reaping the consequences."
"What are you talking about?" Donna asked.
"No one else knows," Susan said. "Besides the doctors, that is. Only Sheila and Caleb."
"Only Sheila and Caleb know what?"
"Lowell was sterile. This baby—" Susan laid her hand over her tummy "—was conceived by artificial insemination."
Donna gasped. "You're kidding me? Are you saying that you agreed to be impregnated with sperm from some anonymous donor?"
"Not exactly."
"You know who the donor is?"
"Yes." Susan realized that she should have shared this information with Donna when she'd confided in Sheila, but she and Sheila had been friends since childhood and she'd thought it wise that as few people as possible know the truth. "Lowell asked Hank Bishop to … donate … his sperm."
"Hank Bishop! Oh, my God! Hank Bishop, who's living in your garage apartment? Hank Bishop whom you once had a mad crush on when you were a teenager?"
"Yes, that Hank Bishop."
Donna giggled. Once. Twice. And then she burst into full-fledged laughter. She laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. For a couple of minutes Susan sat there and stared at her friend in a she's-lost-her-mind way, then suddenly Susan, too, burst into laughter.
And that's how Sheila Bishop found them when she flew into Susan's office. Susan wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at Sheila, but one look at Sheila's solemn face told Susan that something was terribly wrong.
"What's wrong?" Susan asked. "What's happened?"
"It's Hank," Sheila said. "He and his deputies captured Carl Bates this morning. Bates had come back to Marshall County and was hiding in a shack out in Kingsley Woods. He didn't surrender without a struggle. There was a gunfight and—"
Susan jumped up off the sofa, grabbed Sheila by the shoulders and demanded, "What happened? Is Hank all right?"
"He was shot," Sheila said.
"Oh, dear Lord," Susan cried as the painful reality struck her. "Is he … is he—"
"He's alive. That's all I know. They took him straight to County General. The minute we got word, Caleb left straight for the hospital and I came to get you."
"He can't die," Susan said. "I can't lose Hank, too."
Deputy Holman met them at the emergency room door. Susan thought he looked like a man who'd been to hell and back. His uniform was stained with dried blood. His hair was disheveled and his face lined with worry.
"Caleb asked me to wait down here for y'all," Richard Holman said.
"Where's Hank?" Susan demanded as she rushed past Sheila and Donna.
"He's in surgery, Mrs. Redman," Richard explained. "Caleb's upstairs in the waiting room. Come with me and I'll take y'all straight on up."
The three women fell into step alongside the deputy as he made his way to the elevators.
"How seriously was Hank wounded?" Susan asked as the elevator doors closed behind them.
"He took a bullet in the side," Richard said. "One of his lungs collapsed."
"Oh, no." Susan
"Thank goodness I have friends who are willing to lie for me." Donna paused briefly, blushed again and said, "He … that is, J.B. took precautions. We didn't have unprotected sex. I suppose one of the condoms was defective or … Oh, God, Susan, I've never done anything so foolish in my entire life! Ron was my only lover and I was a virgin when I married him."
"You really want this child, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," Donna admitted. "Despite the circumstances of my baby's conception, I want her or him very much. I know you can't begin to understand. You're so lucky that the child you're carrying is Lowell's. You won't have to figure out how someday you're going to explain why your child has no father and you can't even give her or him the man's name."
"Oh, Donna, if you only knew." Susan sighed.
"What do you mean, if I only knew?"
"You aren't the only one who did something foolish and is now reaping the consequences."
"What are you talking about?" Donna asked.
"No one else knows," Susan said. "Besides the doctors, that is. Only Sheila and Caleb."
"Only Sheila and Caleb know what?"
"Lowell was sterile. This baby—" Susan laid her hand over her tummy "—was conceived by artificial insemination."
Donna gasped. "You're kidding me? Are you saying that you agreed to be impregnated with sperm from some anonymous donor?"
"Not exactly."
"You know who the donor is?"
"Yes." Susan realized that she should have shared this information with Donna when she'd confided in Sheila, but she and Sheila had been friends since childhood and she'd thought it wise that as few people as possible know the truth. "Lowell asked Hank Bishop to … donate … his sperm."
"Hank Bishop! Oh, my God! Hank Bishop, who's living in your garage apartment? Hank Bishop whom you once had a mad crush on when you were a teenager?"
"Yes, that Hank Bishop."
Donna giggled. Once. Twice. And then she burst into full-fledged laughter. She laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. For a couple of minutes Susan sat there and stared at her friend in a she's-lost-her-mind way, then suddenly Susan, too, burst into laughter.
And that's how Sheila Bishop found them when she flew into Susan's office. Susan wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at Sheila, but one look at Sheila's solemn face told Susan that something was terribly wrong.
"What's wrong?" Susan asked. "What's happened?"
"It's Hank," Sheila said. "He and his deputies captured Carl Bates this morning. Bates had come back to Marshall County and was hiding in a shack out in Kingsley Woods. He didn't surrender without a struggle. There was a gunfight and—"
Susan jumped up off the sofa, grabbed Sheila by the shoulders and demanded, "What happened? Is Hank all right?"
"He was shot," Sheila said.
"Oh, dear Lord," Susan cried as the painful reality struck her. "Is he … is he—"
"He's alive. That's all I know. They took him straight to County General. The minute we got word, Caleb left straight for the hospital and I came to get you."
"He can't die," Susan said. "I can't lose Hank, too."
Deputy Holman met them at the emergency room door. Susan thought he looked like a man who'd been to hell and back. His uniform was stained with dried blood. His hair was disheveled and his face lined with worry.
"Caleb asked me to wait down here for y'all," Richard Holman said.
"Where's Hank?" Susan demanded as she rushed past Sheila and Donna.
"He's in surgery, Mrs. Redman," Richard explained. "Caleb's upstairs in the waiting room. Come with me and I'll take y'all straight on up."
The three women fell into step alongside the deputy as he made his way to the elevators.
"How seriously was Hank wounded?" Susan asked as the elevator doors closed behind them.
"He took a bullet in the side," Richard said. "One of his lungs collapsed."
"Oh, no." Susan
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