Sea of Suspicion by Toni Anderson Page A

bit of political blood she could out of your pain. I know she’s your mom, but I wouldn’t vote for her if she were running against Paris Hilton.”
    Leanne and Darcy Cooper had despised each other on sight. And it felt good to have someone standing so firmly on Susie’s side, even if Leanne didn’t know the whole story.
    “I’m over it. Really I am. And that’s precisely why I’m not getting involved with Nick Archer.” Susie pulled a tissue from her purse and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m looking for something serious, something like you and Dougie share.”
    “Nick is a good man,” Leanne said quietly.
    “Pah—”
    “But he was a fabulous kisser, wasn’t he?” Leanne’s eyes sparkled. “And I spoke to Patricia on the phone this morning and it seemed you weren’t the only one who got a goodnight kiss. Although I think Patty got the extended version.” Her eyebrows bobbled and Susie laughed.
    “Aren’t you the little matchmaker?” Susie stood to pour the coffee.
    Leanne went over and pulled a bottle of whisky out of the cabinet. “This is Dougie’s best stuff.” She held up a Bowmore single malt. “Don’t tell him we put it in the coffee.”
    There was a pause as they stared at each other, sadness tightening the edges of Leanne’s eyes. “I’m not pregnant. I took a test,” she explained. “I must have bought out the entire drugstore over the last six months.”
    “I’m sorry.” Susie didn’t know what else to say. “I didn’t know you guys were trying for a baby.”
    “I didn’t want to say anything, I was afraid of jinxing it. But now I think there might be something wrong with me.” The petite brunette caught her lip in her teeth. She looked tired and pale. “My old sins catching up with me.”
    Susie boosted her smile. “Now who’s holding on to adolescent drama?”
    Leanne smiled but her eyes remained far away.
    “Have you talked to a doctor?” Susie threw a spoonful of sugar into each mug before carrying them over to the table, where Leanne added a shot of whisky.
    “Not yet, but it’s been six months.” Anxiety tugged at the corners of Leanne’s lips.
    “Six months isn’t that long to try for a baby.”
    “But some people get pregnant the first time they have sex. It is so unfair.”
    Susie’s hands shook. Her best friend, the super-smart psychologist, didn’t even notice.
    “Just give it time.” Susie was surprised at the strength in her voice. The control. She’d never told anyone she’d given up her baby, signed him away without even holding him. The secret was like a vacuum sucking up her self-worth, and she didn’t know if she’d ever get it back. “Have you tried taking your temperature and pinpointing the exact day of ovulation?”
    “No, we’ve just been going at it like rabbits.” She sat up straighter in her chair, stretched her arms above her head. “Tell me about the temperature thing.”
    “Well, I only know this because I worked with a woman in Brisbane who’d been trying for years.” Susie sipped her coffee and sighed at the fabulous aroma. “Eventually she started tracking her temperature, found out exactly when she ovulated and jumped her husband frequently over the next twenty-four hours.”
    It sounded so easy. All you needed was a man who wanted to make babies.
    “Oh God. I can see it now.” Leanne’s eyes lit up. “Phoning Dougie in the middle of a lecture to come home and take me —” she dropped her voice to a husky whisper, “—right now.”
    Gales of laughter drowned out the arrival of Dougie and Nick’s big hairy dog, who did a brisk lap of the downstairs before dropping his muzzle into Susie’s crotch.
    “Rocket.” Dougie shook his head solemnly. “Men have been murdered for less.”
    He whistled and the dog raced back to him, wagging his tail. Dougie took one look at their faces and jammed his brows together at the sight of his whisky bottle. “I dinnae ken what you’ve been gossiping about and