Womb For Rent Part 4

"Okay gang, time for bed." Talli stood, all four dogs followed suit. George pushed himself up groggily, yawning widely. Jack and Mary wagged their tails in unison.

Minutes later, they settled down on Talli's bedroom floor. Talli watched George flop his body on the carpet, snoring loudly in seconds. She shook her head and reached up to turn off the light on the bedside table. Through her window, she could see the stars lighting up the night sky. She propped herself up on one elbow and watched the twinkling orbs.

Whispering an age-old nursery rhyme to herself, Talli lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes, knowing morning would come quickly.

Derek rubbed the towel briskly across his chest. Droplets of water flew from his hair to land on his bare skin. Staring hard at himself in the bathroom mirror, he ran a finger through the light dusting of silver that streaked his temples. He was still in good shape. But would he be able to keep up with a child? When his son was ten, he would be forty, when twenty, he a ripe old age of fifty. Would he be able to throw a baseball and catch a twenty-yard pa.s.s without ending up bruised and aching the next morning?

Turning sideways, he sucked in his stomach and looked again. Letting out his breath in a slow steady exhale, he grinned. h.e.l.l, he was in perfect shape to have a child. And the sooner he got started, the sooner he could be outside throwing pa.s.ses with his son. His son. He thought about those two little words.

He could see himself saying, "My son, why yes, he's a quarterback for the Detroit Lions. Bid out Dallas for him, that they did." Or even, "My son, why yes, he's the Tiger's star pitcher. Pitched a no- hitter three games running. Best average in the league." Then he stopped and looked at himself in the mirror. What if the child was a girl? A little girl, all ribbons and frills. He could picture her having tea parties and sleep-overs. He imagined her all grown up and ready for the prom, her date escorting her off into the night.

Derek gripped the edge of the bathroom counter. Boys, pint-size bundles of raging male testosterone picking up his little girl. Derek could see it now as some pimple-faced, leather jacketed p.u.b.erty-bound punk leered at his daughter in his psychedelic conversion van, complete with a mattress in the back. No way, he knew all about what boys wanted these days. Another notch in their belt buckle and one for the road.

Not with his daughter! Mentally collecting himself, he smiled. Here he was creating a grown-up image of a child not yet conceived. Derek tossed the damp towel on the bathroom counter and headed into his bedroom. Sitting on the edge of his king-size bed, he reached for the phone and hit the speed dial, settling back against the headboard to wait.

"Anthony, Derek here. Sorry, I know it's early. Cancel the advertis.e.m.e.nt." Pausing for a moment, he listened. "Right, no more applicants. I want you to call Miss Paxton and tell her she's got the job."

Derek smiled as he proceeded. "Draft the agreement. I want everything covered. Medical, dental, all expenses pertaining to the pregnancy. Also, make the arrangements for a car to be at her disposal. When you're finished, present them to her and let me know when we can go ahead with a final contract. Great. Thanks, I'll talk to you then."

Dropping the receiver back down, he let out a sigh. His plan was going exactly as planned. Thank G.o.d for Tallulah Jayne Paxton. Hopefully a little over nine months from now, he would be holding his son in his arms.

Talli dropped the papers back on Anthony's desk and grimaced. "Does it really have to be this many pages and so explicit?"

Anthony peered over the top of his wire frames at the woman seated before him. "Talli, in order for the agreement to be legal, everything has to be spelled out in as thorough a manner as possible. Down to the last T crossed and I's dotted. For the safety of both parties involved, it's imperative to cover all bases."

"All right, I understand. But there is one section I have a problem with." Reaching forward, she picked up the doc.u.ment again.

"What would that be?" Anthony reached for his own copy of the agreement.

"Page six, about half way down the page. He wants artificial insemination. Nope, it's got to be natural or nothing." She smiled saucily at the aging lawyer across the table from her.

"You would prefer natural conception? As in the old fashioned way, I a.s.sume?" Anthony questioned, surprised, but not adverse to the turn things were taking.

"Anthony, it's bad enough that Derek has to go to all the trouble of getting a surrogate mother to have a child, but to then make it artificial? A child is a wonderful living and breathing being. A baby is the most precious gift on Earth. It's not like purchasing a package of sea monkeys in the toy store and then adding water to watch them grow. No, I want natural. At least then, he can tell the baby how he or she was conceived when they get older and want to hear the story. All kids long to hear tales of how they came to be. I know I did."

"You're a sucker for romance, aren't you?" Anthony asked gently.

She sighed wistfully. "Yup, I believe in all of it. Flowers, candy, opening doors. I want the knight in shining armor, the white stead, the whole enchilada. Every last detail," Talli replied, smiling to herself.

"Well then, it looks like I have a few adjustments to make. Anything else?"

"Yes, there is one more thing I would like covered. When I was growing up, we didn't have a lot in the way of material possessions, but we had love. My father was home every night for dinner. He kissed my mother h.e.l.lo and goodbye, he held her hand all the time. They never spent a night apart until...until he died," she finished softly.

Talli looked up at Anthony. "I would like something in writing for my own benefit showing that the baby inherits everything Derek has in the event that anything should ever happen to him before the child is eighteen. I want it to state that I have the option of stepping in and raising the child. It's not that I'm wishing Derek dead or anything, but it is important to me."

Talli paused, then continued. "Money is something I've worked hard for, and I've saved a decent amount since I started to work for Derek. But..."

"But," Anthony prompted.

"I don't want to sound selfish or anything, but I want to be sure my child, I mean Derek's child never wants for a thing." Talli finished quietly.

Anthony nodded. "I understand, and I don't see a problem with any of the changes you wish to inst.i.tute. Let me put this together, present it to Derek, then I'll get back to you." Just wait till Derek saw the newly-amended contract, he would flip.

"Anything else?"

"Nope, that should do it." With a glance at her watch, Talli leaped up from the chair. "Sorry, I've got to run. Time to pick up Gracie and George at the vets. If there's anything else you need, you know where to find me." She paused in the doorway and looked back at Anthony seated behind the paper strewn desk.

"Derek is very lucky to have you in his life. You care a lot about him, don't you?" With a wave she disappeared through the door.

Anthony rested his head against the back of the chair. Talli was really something. Derek was going to have his hands full with her.

"What?" Derek bellowed. "She wants natural conception? Are you nuts?"

"Those were the only amendments she requested in the contract."

Derek dropped the doc.u.ment on the kitchen counter as if it were on fire and shoved his fingers through his hair. "The only amendments. Natural, I never thought about natural conception. I thought this was going to be a test-tube type of pregnancy. What do you think?"

Anthony feigned nonchalance. "I don't see a problem. Both parties are agreeing to a clean bill of health. She's willing to undergo any tests you deem necessary, with you doing the same of course."

"Humph." Maimie set the coffee cups down before Derek with a bang. "Artificial, huh? Sure wouldn't want any child of mine born that way. What's wrong with the natural way? That's the way G.o.d's been working things forever, why change it now? Sounds pretty cold to me."

Anthony groaned. "No one asked your opinion, woman."

Derek tried to keep his face devoid of any expression, as his lips twitched at the pair bickering before him.

"Mr. Cameron values my opinion. I tell you, it's unnatural. What are you going to tell that poor little baby? It was born in a pee-pee dish?"

Derek squeezed the bridge of his nose between two fingers and grimaced, feeling the intense pressure of an on-coming headache. "I believe the correct terminology is petrie dish Maimie, not..."

She cut him off. "I don't care what the fancy-schmansy words are. It isn't right. I think it's down right unhealthy."

With a defeated sigh, Derek looked to Anthony for support.

Anthony put his hands up in the air in front of him in mock surrender. "Sorry, I happen to agree with the old battle ax on this issue."

"Battle ax, my foot. Mr. City-Slicker-Legal-Beagle here knows I'm right."

Anthony groaned and rolled his eyes. "You meddlesome bag. I never said you were right. I simply hope to make Derek realize the consequences of becoming involved on such a personal level with a complete stranger. It would seem to me it would be very difficult to say the least, for someone to remain totally unemotional when put in such, shall we say, close quarters."

Derek looked down at the coffee cup in front of him, lazily rolling it back and forth between his hands. "I had hoped to avoid any emotional entanglements." His words were spoken very quietly.

"The king of the one night stands now wants to avoid his feelings. That's a laugh," Maimie mumbled sarcastically.

"Enough." Derek slammed his hand down on the counter, causing the coffee cup to crash against the saucer. "All right. I accept the changes. Anything else?"

"No, that's all," Anthony acknowledged.

"Fine, draft a final copy and set up a meeting. Let's do it before I change my mind."

Anthony nodded his head in agreement. His gaze met Maimie's briefly, as he saw a satisfied look settle across her features.

"I wish I could have been there to see the look on his face," Talli mused.

"Child, his jaw just about hit my clean kitchen floor," Maimie declared cackling.

"So, now all I do is wait until Anthony calls, then go from there."

"Yup, that's right." Maimie stooped to take a freshly baked apple pie out of the oven.

Talli's nose twitched in appreciation. "Smells wonderful. Dessert tonight?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure is, so don't you go getting no ideas about helping yourself to a piece ahead of time. If you're hungry, there's cookies in the cookie jar."

"Yes ma'am, drill sergeant." Talli aimed a mock salute in Maimie's direction, before hoping off the stool to raid the cookie jar.

The kitchen door swung inward as Derek walked into the room.

"My, don't you look happy tonight," Maimie remarked.

"Uh huh," Derek replied, as he reached around Talli to pluck a handful of cookies from the jar.

She could smell his aftershave, the warm woodsy aroma wafting past her nose as his shoulder leaned companionably against her in his quest for cookies.

"Hey there, boy. Get out of that jar. Dinner will be served soon enough. Both of you, out now," Maimie admonished. "Lordy, how is a body to get anything done around here if every time I turn around you all are eating."

Derek grinned at Talli and flashed an exaggerated wink in her direction as he moved to Maimie's side. "Maimie, what would you do without me to boss around in your life?" Planting a loud smack on her cheek, he left the kitchen as quickly as he had entered.

Talli's eyes followed his retreating form and sighed. "He's going to kill me when he finds out what I've done."

"Now you listen here, missy. You haven't done anything wrong. He wanted a good, respectable woman to have his child and you fit the bill. What's so wrong with that?"

"Because he strictly forbade me to apply and wouldn't even consider my application when I asked him about it the other day. I'm dead." Talli dropped back down onto the stool and rested her chin on her crossed arms. She looked up at Maimie and posed a more serious question. "You think he'll fire me when he finds out what I've done?"

"Don't you fret a thing. n.o.body's going to get fired as long as I have anything to say about it. The good Lord knows I have plenty of things I'd like to say to that boy right about now."

Maimie reached out a time-lined hand to press against Talli's cheek. "Everything will be just fine. You leave it to Mr. Legal Beagle and me. We'll take care of everything. You just wait and see." Maimie nodded, muttering more to herself than Talli with her last few words.

(BM) CHAPTER 4.

Derek motioned for Talli and Anthony to take a seat at the ma.s.sive oval shaped mahogany conference table. As she lowered herself slowly down into the cushy, dark green leather chair, Talli observed for the first time the plush surroundings of Derek's office. Done all in black and dark-toned wood, the room conveyed a sense of importance and wealth. To her right, floor to ceiling gla.s.s shelves were filled with paperweights. Row upon row of uniquely shaped and colored paperweights graced the gla.s.s.

Several of the weights were embedded with semi-precious gemstones. The afternoon sun filtered through the green vertical blinds and glittered off the shelves, to encompa.s.s the room in a swirl of multi-colored hues of light.

Concluding her visual tour of Derek's office, her gaze landed on Anthony, seated across from her. He sported a rea.s.suring smile and flashed a quick thumbs-up. He looked so calm, unlike herself.

Talli's heart pounded relentlessly in her chest, her fingers reaching up to tug nervously on the brim of her hat. She looked to her left and covertly studied the man before her. Her eyes hidden behind oversized gray tinted gla.s.ses and a floppy hat containing her curls, she allowed herself the luxury of watching the enigmatic Derek Cameron at work. He paced like a caged tiger behind his desk, the movements causing his Armani suit to hug his muscular chest.

Derek strode back and forth, the phone cord stretched to its limit, as he relayed a crisp message to the voice at the other end of the receiver. His ebony gaze paused briefly, and touched on her face as he flashed a dazzling smile in her direction.

Minutes later, he dropped the receiver back into its cradle and approached them.

"I apologize for the hold-up. Anthony, are you ready to begin?"

Anthony picked up the file folder and took out three copies, handing one to Talli and the other to Derek, retaining a copy for himself.

"All set. Before each of you is the formalized contract for surrogacy. I would like to have us proceed one page at a time over the contents, so there will be no misunderstanding of any of the terms contained within. Now for the record, Miss Paxton has waived the privilege of having her own attorney present and has been advised of all legal ramifications in doing so."

Pausing, he looked up, first at Talli, then to Derek. "Fine, now if you will please turn to page one."

Talli opened the folder and let out a soft sigh. Well, here goes nothing, she thought. Only half listening to Anthony's words, she tried to quell her nervousness. Her thoughts were like a runaway freight train, headed for a crash course with doom.

When she had first proposed her plan to Anthony, she was full of hopes and desires for the future. The money Derek offered was more than enough to get her own business off the ground. She would finally be able to give herself the stability and pride of knowing that she had reached her life-long dream. But now, she wasn't so sure. Physically, she was ready and willing to carry this baby, but emotionally, suddenly a million doubts started to filter through her mind.

A lull in the conversation drew her attention to the present. Talli watched the feather-like laugh lines crinkle the corners of Derek's eyes. His features so sure and positive, so unlike her own. He knew what he wanted out of this agreement, did she?

"Miss Paxton has agreed to the terms listed within, as has Mr. Cameron. Both parties have offered a medical certificate stating a clean bill of health."

His own thoughts a million miles away, Derek focused on Anthony and nodded. He was once again thinking about his son or daughter. Derek smiled and spoke up confidently.

"I'm sure you covered everything perfectly, Anthony."

Anthony cleared his throat and looked at the two seated before him. His eyes bounced back and forth between the pair, as if viewing a tennis match.

"If either of you has any reservations, now's the time to say so."

Talli shook her head, her heart still pounding out of control.

Derek's eyebrows pulled together, his look somber. "I have no reservations whatsoever. Let's proceed."

"All right then. Now Derek, if you would be so kind as to sign here and here." Anthony's finger pointed out the appropriate lines. When Derek had finished, Anthony turned to Talli.

"Now Miss Paxton, if you would place your signature here and once more here please." Again, he pointed out the required lines.

Talli dropped her gaze to her lap and willed her heart to stop hammering. She brought her gaze back up as Anthony started to speak.