Nobody's Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips Page A

it can be more of a curse than a blessing, and I wanted a normal child. That’s why I had to be very careful in my selection.” She twisted her hands in front of her, trying to think how she could say this without angering him even more. “I needed a male with—uh—average intelligence. Sperm bank donors tend to be medical students, men like that.”
    “Not Carolina hillbillies who make their living throwing a football.”
    “I know I’ve wronged you,” she said quietly, her fingers twisting one of the brass buttons on the front of her dress, “but there’s nothing I can do at this point except apologize.”
    “You could have an abortion.”
    “No! I love this baby with all my heart, and I would never do that!”
    She waited for him to argue with her, but he said nothing. She spun away, hugging herself with her arms and moving to the side of the classroom so she could put as much distance between them as possible, protecting herself, protecting her baby.
    She heard him coming toward her, and she felt as if she were being regarded through the crosshairs of a highpowered rifle. His voice was whispery and strangely disembodied. “This is the way it’s going to be, Professor. In a few days, the two of us are taking a trip across the state line into Wisconsin, where the press won’t be likely to sniff us out. And once we’re there, we’re getting married.”
    She caught her breath at the venom in his expression.
    “Don’t plan any rose-covered cottage because this is going to be a marriage made in hell. As soon as the ceremony’s over, we’re each going our own way until after the baby’s born. Then we’ll get a divorce.”
    “What are you talking about? I’m not marrying you. You don’t understand. I’m not after your money. I don’t want anything from you.”
    “I don’t much care what you want.”
    “But why? Why are you doing this?”
    “Because I don’t believe in stray kids.”
    “This child won’t be a stray. It’s not—”
    “Shut up! I’ve got a whole ton of rights, and I’m going to make sure every one of them is spelled out, all the way down to a joint custody agreement if I decide that’s what I want.”
    She felt as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs. “Joint custody? You can’t have it. This baby is mine!”
    “I wouldn’t bet on that.”
    “I won’t let you do this!”
    “You lost any say in the matter when you came up with your nasty little scheme.”
    “I won’t marry you.”
    “Yeah, you will. And you know why? Because I’ll destroy you before I let a kid of mine be raised as a bastard.”
    “It’s not like that anymore. There are millions of single mothers. People don’t think anything of it.”
    “I think something of it. Listen to me. You put up a fight, and I’ll demand full custody of that baby. I can keep you in court until I bankrupt you.”
    “Please don’t do this. This is my baby! Nobody’s baby but mine!”
    “Tell it to the judge.”
    She couldn’t say anything. She had moved into a bitter, pain-filled place where speech was impossible.
    “I’m used to rolling around in the mud, Professor, and to tell you the truth, it doesn’t bother me all that much. I even kind of like it. So we can either do this in private and keep it clean, or we can go public and make it nasty, not to mention real expensive. One way or another, I’m calling the shots.”
    She tried to absorb what he was saying. “This isn’t right. You don’t want a child.”
    “A kid is the last thing I want, and I’ll curse you to hell until the day I die. But it’s not his fault that his mother is a lying bitch. It’s like I said; I don’t believe in strays.”
    “I can’t do this. It’s not what I want.”
    “Tough. My lawyer’ll get in touch with you tomorrow, and he’ll have a big fat prenuptial for you to sign. The way it’s written, both of us will come out of the marriage with exactly what we took in. I can’t touch your assets, and you sure as