That Man of Mine by Maria Geraci Page B

glanced up at him. “I think I was afraid if I told anyone, that they would make me…”
    â€œGet rid of it?” he finished for her.
    She nodded.
    He struggled to keep his voice calm. “Your brother says you’re giving the baby up for adoption.” At the mention of Luke, her eyes flared with a rare anger he’d never seen before. “Don’t be mad at him, he thought I knew.”
    She looked away and sighed, all trace of her anger already gone. “I’m not mad at him.”
    â€œIs it true? About the adoption?”
    â€œMy parents think it’s for the best. I can take a couple of months off after the baby is born and start school in January.”
    His throat felt thick with emotion. When he spoke, he hardly recognized his own voice. “Is it a done deal then?”
    She shrugged, and it was the only sign he needed. “What do you want, Mimi? Do you want to give up our baby?”
    She was so quiet he had to strain to hear her answer. “No. I want to keep her.”
    Her . He had a daughter. He was going to be a father. Correction: he was already a father. Now he needed to act like one.
    â€œThen you’re going to keep her. We’re going to keep her.”
    Her gaze shot straight to his. “But…how, Zeke? What can we offer her? I have a high school education and you live in a one bedroom apartment off the beach.”
    The rest of her sentence went unspoken but he didn’t have to hear the words to know what she was thinking.
    â€œI don’t smoke anymore. And I’m enrolled in the community college. I was going to join the army, but Buela isn’t as young as she used to be, so…I really need to stick around here to help out. Bert’s is just temporary. I’ll get a good job. Hell, I’ll work three jobs if I have to, to take care of you and the baby.”
    She laughed, but it was a sad laugh. “Zeke, that’s…sweet of you. But you don’t have to give up your life for me. I don’t expect you to do that.”
    â€œYou don’t expect me to do what? To take responsibility for my actions? Like it or not, Mimi, you and this baby belong to me now.” He reached out to take her hands in his. They felt small and vulnerable. “We’ll get married. I’ll take care of you. I can make you happy. You know I can.”
    The front door opened and Ann and Alex Powers walked in. “What’s going on here?” her mother demanded.
    Zeke stood, taking Mimi with him. He placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close to him. “Mr. and Mrs. Powers, I’m sorry we haven’t had the chance to meet properly before this, but I want you to know that I’ve come here to do the right thing.”
    Alex Powers looked weary. “Young man, I appreciate you coming by, but—”
    â€œMimi and I are getting married.” Her mother opened her mouth to speak but Zeke cut her off. “If I remember correctly, her birthday was two weeks ago, so she’s eighteen now. She’s legally an adult and old enough to make her own decisions. You can’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want to.”
    â€œMimi, we’ve been through this a thousand times already,” her mother pleaded. “Don’t ruin your life! We can get past this. I know it all seems incredibly sad right now, but you’ll see, a year from now this will all be some distant memory. You’ll be happy again, darling. You’ll be a Duke co-ed. You’re a beautiful, smart young woman and you’ll have the world at your feet.”
    The room went eerily still, like someone had pushed a pause button on their lives.
    For a second, Zeke thought Mimi was going to let go of his hand. He could see the indecision on her face as she went from looking at her parents to looking at him. He wanted to plead his case again. Only this time with more eloquence. He wanted to toss her over his