Jordan had lain awake with worry. She had texted over and over begging him to call or text, just so she knew he was okay. She hadn’t heard anything and it had been 5 hours already.

She had no idea what revelation had made him run out so quickly, and so angrily. She had just known whoever was on the receiving end of that wrath was in for trouble. She couldn’t give two shits about them. If they had caused this mess, they deserved the mighty force of hell rained down up on them. But she didn’t want to see Carter bringing himself down with them.

Finally, he had responded.

And that was it. She stared at the phone. At least he wasn’t dead, and presumably not in jail.

She was anxiously curious to know what had happened, but the fact that he had simply texted instead of calling meant he didn’t want to talk about it. She’d let him be.

At least she could rest easy tonight, somewhat.

* * *

One day later, she was woken up by the knocking on her bedroom door.

April burst in without waiting for a response.

Okay, we’re like that now are we? Jordan thought irritably.

She looked at her friend with sleepy annoyance, tempered only by the mild curiosity of seeing the laptop in her hands.

“Holy shit, Jordan!” April gushed. “Have you seen this?”

Jordan wanted to remind her that just moments ago she’d been sleeping, so no, she hadn’t seen “this.” But now her curiosity was piqued and she was very alert.

April boldly sat on the edge of the bed next to Jordan and swiveled the laptop so they could both see it.

“They were talking about it on the radio this morning, so I went online to see,” April said.

Her eyes snapped wide open as she re-read the headline then scanned the article. So Carter was innocent. And his own father had done this to him? Her heart both leapt for joy at his cleared name, and clenched tight, realizing what a toxic relationship he with his own father. She thought of how wonderful her own dad was, a dad who would lie down in traffic before ever hurting her. Poor Carter.

“Jeez,” April said looking at the screen. “And I thought my family was nuts.”

Based on what she read in the article, the Sluggers were rapidly doing damage control. Their number one player was once again the Golden Boy. In fact, the story was so salacious they were going overboard, cashing in on the family drama aspect: boy somehow makes it big in the major leagues despite having an asshole for a father. Jordan had no doubt that the rest of the week would be dedicated to the Fox Family Saga.

She didn’t care. All she knew was her Carter was back; maybe a bit emotionally bruised and battered, but nothing time and the love and care of a woman couldn’t fix. She’d bring him back.

She thought back to when he left. It had been in the heat of the moment, but he’d said it: he loved her. She smiled thinking about it. Carter loved her. She felt like a silly teenager all over again.

She thought about the baby. Now was probably not the time—or at least not the best time—to tell him. She’d give him a few days to recover, then send him on yet another emotional spiral. Would he be happy? Mad? Supportive? Would he abandon her?

The thought sent her heart straight down to her stomach.

“So, I guess you two are back on again?” April asked.

Jordan snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her roommate. She shrugged, “I guess? It was a…revealing night.”

April gave a sly smile. “Revealing good or revealing bad?” she asked.

Jordan rolled her eyes. “I don’t know,” she said with exasperation, not wanting to give too much away. “But I’ve got at least another hour of sleep before I have to get up for class so, thanks for the 411 but I’m going back to bed!”

She took a pillow and hit April on the side with it. Her roommate laughed and jumped off the bed, grabbing her laptop. “So that’s the thanks I get for showing you the news about your boyfriend?” she laughed.

“Go away!” Jordan said falling back down on the mattress.

April left, closing the door behind her.

Jordan stared at the ceiling thinking. She had no more excuses. She had to tell him.

After he’d recovered a bit.

* * *

It was late afternoon, a few days after learning the good news about Carter. Her plan had been to drive all the way out to Houston that weekend and break the news to him. Classes were done for the day. She’d finished up a hand-holding session with a second year, who’d been a bit sloppy with her cite-checking for a law review article. Now she just wanted to go home and nap. She was so tired lately, and Jim Straton’s aftershave next to her in her seminar class was literally making her want to hurl. She’d have to see about switching seats.

She turned the corner to her street…and saw her. Carter’s mom. Jordan had no problem remembering her: those sharp features; that flaming red hair; that permanent look of disapproval.

What in the world was she doing here? How in the world had she found her? Did Carter send her? What did she want?

Jordan slowed her pace, warily eyeing the woman who was finishing up a cigarette, leaning against the hood of her white Mercedes-Benz. As she dropped the butt to the ground, twisting into it with one high-heeled shoe she caught Jordan looking in her direction and stopped.

Having both caught sight of one another, Jordan figured she might as well approach the woman. She slowly made her way toward Carter’s mother, her senses on high alert for trouble.

“Hello,” Jordan said guardedly. “Carter’s mother, right?”

Madison made an attempt at giving a smile, but it never reached the eyes, which were watching Jordan like a predator. Finally, she closed her eyes, shaking her head a bit.

The eyes flew open again as she began. “I suppose there’s no point in beating around the bush,” she said, squinting in Jordan’s direction. “Are you pregnant?”

Jordan gasped and her eyes grew wide. Instinctively she placed a hand on her belly.

Madison’s eyes flicked to the hand movement and she pursed her lips. “I guess that answers that.”

Jordan fixed her face, a curtain of impassivity hiding her emotions. “How did you know?”

Madison gave her a look of disdain. “Do you think I don’t keep tabs on everything in my son’s life? Of course, I know. It didn’t take a calculator to put two and two together. The number of times my guy saw you heading to the free clinic and then the gyno’s office. Either you’ve got a super case of the clap, or...” She waved a hand down towards Jordan’s abdomen.

Madison gave her a speculative look. “Are you planning on getting rid of it?”

“What? No!” Jordan said shocked. Honestly, the thought hadn’t ever crossed her mind. “They do other things at the clinic, besides…” She stopped herself. Why in the world was she spilling everything to this woman? She certainly wasn’t about to reveal that she now had every intention of keeping it.

Madison gave a heavy sigh, then began digging around in her purse. “I’m guessing Carter doesn’t know. I would have heard something by now, even if he still isn’t talking to me,” she said, giving Jordan a hateful look.

Jordan just stared at her, revealing nothing.

Madison snorted, pulling out a cigarette and sticking it in her mouth.

Jordan gave her a quick look of contempt as she took two steps back, her hand flying down to her stomach again.

There was a brief flash of maternal empathy as Madison’s eyes followed Jordan’s hand. Then she gave an exaggerated sigh and took the cigarette out, placing it back in the carton in her purse. “I should give these things up anyway,” she muttered.

Madison looked back up at Jordan. “So then you’re going to have it?” Without waiting for an answer she continued. “If you think this is the way to keep him, you’re mistaken. You aren’t the first little butter tart to try, you know?”

Jordan’s poker face melted into pure disdain, but Madison continued on, ignoring her.

“Carter is 100% baseball. It doesn’t leave room for the next flavor of the week, no matter how long she’s managed to hold on.” Her eyes gave Jordan a once-over. “And certainly no room for a baby.”

Jordan thought back to the night the condom broke. She wanted to believe it was the shock of the moment that had caused his reaction. Heaven knew she had been just as terrified.

Having a baby meant coming home at night, not out to a club. It meant being good, being a role model. It meant birthday parties with balloons and clowns, not booze and club girls.

It meant being tied to a woman for at least 18 years.

Sure he seemed like he was ready and willing to forget his playboy past and make it work with her, but was he really? Especially with a two-for-one deal?

“You have no idea how hard it is to raise a kid do you?” Madison gave a brief laugh. “The constant worry. The pressure you put on yourself to make sure they come out okay, or at least better than you did. The fierce desire to protect them from anyone who might want to hurt them,” She looked Jordan square in the eye as she said this.

Jordan wasn’t sure if it was her irritation that was starting to kick in or the firm knowledge that she would never—ever—do anything to hurt Carter but she gave it right back to the woman. Her eyes didn’t fall even when Carter’s mother began talking again.

“Besides,” Madison continued, noting that she had managed to get a hook into Jordan’s subconscious. “do you really want to bring a mixed kid into the world?”

Jordan was shocked out of her confidence.

“I mean, just think how hard they’ll have it. White? Black? And don’t you want a child who...looks like you? Doesn’t everyone?” Madison dug the last point in, eyeing Jordan with the unspoken meaning: Carter Fox would want a child that looked like him.

Jordan pressed her lips together hard to keep from saying something she’d regret. She had figured out Madison was trouble from the first day she’d met her, now it was coming at her full force.

“I’m having this baby,” she said firmly. “What Carter and I decide to do after that is between us…no one else. Not even you.” She gave Madison her own meaningful look.

She walked away before she could listen to another hateful word from the woman. Her steps quickened as the panic set in. By the time she made it through the front door of her apartment, she was shaking.

She fell back against the door, making sure it was securely closed. Her bags slid down her arms in a heap to the floor. She balled her hands into fists and began hitting them against her thighs.

Finally, she let out an ear-piercing scream. “Aaaaaaaarghhh!”

Good Lord, was everyone in Carter Fox’s family crazy?

First, his father turns out to be some sort of sick psychopath, who would happily throw his son under the bus for a measly $5000.

Now his lunatic, racist mother was spying on her. Madison showing up that morning at Carter’s place back in January all made sense now. She’d probably had Jordan on her radar ever since.

She shivered against the door, still recovering. What the hell kind of family was she getting herself involved with?

She had a little over a month until graduation. Then she’d be back in Houston. She could wait until then, tell Carter face to face, and see how he really felt about this. Besides, she needed time to process this new development. Having been raised by a mom like that, she wondered how he really would feel about having a child that wasn’t a blond haired, green eyed replica of himself. She had to remind herself that his little declaration of love had been in the heat of the moment. Right before he picked her up to move her out of the way as he walked out the door to deal with his father.

What difference would one month make?