Her heart was pounding, and she gripped the steering wheel tightly, cursing to herself. So this was it? This was why his ardor had cooled -- because of this young girl with the swollen stomach? And that stomach -- was she pregnant with Alex's child? Worse, the little toddler who was standing beside her -- was that Alex's child too?

It was too much. Christie turned the engine off and got out of the car. She slammed the door and walked straight down the middle of the street toward them. Alex turned and saw her, and his face went white. He put up his hands as if to ward her off. The girl was looking at him, and she hadn't turned to see Christie yet.

Christie was striding toward him with her fists clenched, as if she wanted to hit him. She really didn't know what she would do. For the first time in her life she was simply reacting to a situation, not thinking about it.

"Honey," Alex said, when she was still ten paces off. "I can explain this."

The girl finally turned toward Christie, and her eyes widened.

Christie strode up to Alex and swung her fist at him, hard. He caught her fist, but she brought her foot up and kicked him in the shin. He shouted in pain, and let go of her fist. Then she reared back and hit him solidly across the jaw.

RATE THIS BRANCH!