Jamison’s eyes widened ever so slightly before he nodded, as if this wasn’t the most awful news ever. “I see.”
“It’s his,” Faith said, thinking Jamison must not be getting the point. “They’re going to have a baby together.”
Jamison’s eyes narrowed. “Well, they made a baby together, and they’re each going to have to do their part to raise it, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be doing any of it together.”
“What are you saying?” Faith said, frowning. “Of course it does. She’ll be in his life forever. That’s it. Everything we planned is over.”
Jamison lifted one shoulder in a gesture so casual it made Faith want to scream. “She’ll be in his life, and I can’t imagine that will be fun for you or Mick if she’s as bad as you say, but it’s nothing other couples haven’t dealt with. It doesn’t have to be over unless you or Mick decide for it to be over.”
Faith shook her head. “You don’t understand. I can’t be a stepmom, Jamison. I’m not cut out for it. I have no frame of reference for how to give a kid a normal life, and I know this woman is going to do everything she can to make things difficult. It will be more drama and more drama, just like with my mom growing up and—”
“So you want to break up with Mick,” Jamison supplied, making Faith blink in surprise.
“No, I don’t,” she said in a wounded voice. “That’s the last thing I want.”
“You really love him?” Jamison asked with enough empathy that Faith felt safe nodding yes.
“Well, then,” Jamison continued, giving her arm a soft punch. “I suggest you woman up, Miller, and prove you’re as tough as you’re always telling everybody you are.”
Faith crossed her arms at her chest, glaring up at Jamison, but before she could respond Jamison pushed on.
“Put yourself in his place—Mick just found out he’s going to be a dad. He’s got to be scared to death. But instead of offering your support, you’re out here crying.” Jamison paused, meeting Faith’s glare with a smile. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, Faith, but this isn’t like you. You save lives; you put yourself in danger for other people all the time without a second thought. You’re a hero; you’re not the girl who goes running off to cry in her hankie when things get tough.”
Hero. The word sparked something inside Faith’s memory.
The fortuneteller in New Orleans…the adversity she’d mentioned and the card that had symbolized someone would be called upon to stand strong in a time of trial. Someone, who would need to be a hero.
“But I’m scared,” Faith said softly, knowing she must be in a dark place if she was willing to admit fear to Jamison.
Jamison stepped closer, brushing his thumb across her damp cheek. “That’s okay. We all get scared when the stakes are high, and there are no higher stakes than knowing you might lose the person you love.”
He took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh more morose than anything she’d heard out of Jamison in all the years she’d known the relentlessly upbeat, youngest Hansen. “But if you run away without a fight, you’ll regret it. Take it from someone who knows from experience.”
Faith looked up at him, surprised. As far as she knew, Jamison hadn’t been in a serious relationship aside from his Mustang in years. “Who was she?”
He shrugged, eyes dropping to the concrete. “Someone it would have been hard to be with. There were a lot of things standing between us. She got scared and walked away and I…let her. I let her go when I should have done everything I could to convince her we were worth fighting for. I’ve missed her every day since.”
“I’m sorry,” Faith said.
A wry smile curved one side of his mouth. “Yeah, well, don’t be sorry. Be smart and learn from my mistakes.”
Faith opened her mouth to promise she would try, but before she could speak, a voice called her name from across the street. Even before she turned to look, she knew it was Mick coming to convince her they were worth fighting for.
Thankfully Jamison had spared him the trouble.
On impulse, Faith threw her arms around Jamison’s neck, giving him a fierce hug.
He laughed. “You’re welcome. Now get in there and fight.”
“I will,” Faith promised as she pulled away, turning to see Mick jogging across the street.
As soon as Mick’s eyes met hers, she knew fighting was the right call. All she wanted to do was take him home and show him how much she loved him, to prove to him that she was prepared to be his port in the storm, his hero when the chips were down, and the person who would stand by him no matter how hard things got or how scared she was.
Because being scared was okay, as long as she didn’t let fear make her run away from the best thing that had happened to her since the day she received a job offer from the SFD.
Faith jogged across the parking lot, meeting Mick near the picnic table where they’d shared lunch the day before, every step making her feel lighter.
“Don’t go,” Mick said, coming to a stop in the gently greening grass. “I’m so sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry.” Faith stepped closer, not missing the flash of relief in his blue eyes. “I should have stayed, or waited outside the door. Next time, I promise I will. I promise I’ll be there when you need me, no matter what.”
Mick swallowed, eyes searching hers for a long moment before his arms closed around her, hugging her so tight Faith could barely breathe. But she didn’t miss oxygen. Who needed air when she had the arms of the person she loved wrapped so tight around her she knew he would never let her go?
Never. No matter what.
“Thank you,” Mick said, his voice rough with emotion as he pulled back to look her in the eye. “I love you. So much.”
“And I love you.” Faith ran a gentle hand through his hair, which was even wilder than it had been a few minutes ago, giving her a clue the rest of his meeting hadn’t gone well.
“Even though my dumb mistake is going to change everything?” he asked, uncertainly creeping into his expression. “I know this isn’t what you signed up for. Shared custody of a baby is going to be hard, and I can promise you Bridget will do everything she can to make it even harder.”
“And it will be a lot of work,” Faith added. “And scary, and I’m sure we’ll both make mistakes, and I can’t promise I won’t freak out every now and then, but…” She leaned into him, loving the feel of his warm, strong body pressed against hers. “But I love you. You having a baby with someone else complicates things, and I can’t pretend I’m happy about it, but it doesn’t change the way I feel.”
Mick shook his head, obviously still not completely convinced. “Are you sure? I won’t be as free as I am now. There won’t be time for Kilimanjaro or a lot of the other things we planned.”
“I don’t need Kilimanjaro,” Faith said, laying her hand on his slightly scruffy cheek. “All I need is you.”
Mick blinked, a pained expression flitting across his face that Faith understood completely. After years of being so certain, so sure, so convinced that love was never going to find its way into her lonely corner of the world, sometimes the happiness she’d found with Mick was almost painful. It was like medicine applied to a wound, hurting as it healed, but a blessing, no doubt about it.
“You feel like a miracle right now,” Mick said, running his hand through her hair, letting his fingers play through the strands.
“You feel like the man I want to be naked with in the next twenty minutes,” Faith whispered, smiling at the surprise in Mick’s eyes.
“I’m not going to let your ex ruin a single night of our life together,” she continued, threading her fingers together behind Mick’s neck. “And that starts tonight.”
Mick’s lips curved at the edges. “I keep thinking I can’t love you any more, and then…” He took a deep breath. “What did I do to deserve you?”
“You survived,” Faith said, nodding toward Mick’s apartment. “And didn’t let her turn your heart into a nasty little
lump of coal.” She reached down, taking his hand in hers. “Now let’s get out of here.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more,” Mick said, squeezing her fingers as they turned toward her truck.
Five minutes later they were parked in front of Faith’s apartment. Three minutes after that, they were through the front door, shedding clothes as they kissed their way back to Faith’s bedroom, pausing just long enough to gather Captain Snugglepants from where he was napping at the foot of the bed, set the cat out in the hall, and close the door behind him before coming back together again.
And then they were falling on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs, mouths meeting with a hunger that left no doubt in Faith’s mind that Mick was every bit as desperate for this moment as she was.
Faith’s bra vanished and Mick’s undershirt followed not long after, and then his mouth was on her bare skin, his tongue teasing her nipples until she writhed beneath him and reached down to cup his jaw in her hands, pulling him up for another kiss, her tongue swirling against his with a frenzied desire that was unlike anything she’d ever felt before—even with him.
“I want you so much,” Faith said between kisses.
“I can’t wait to be inside you,” Mick breathed, teeth raking gently over the delicate skin at her neck as his fingers found the button on her jeans and slipped it free.
Faith’s pulse accelerated with a whoosh that made stars flicker at the edge of her vision, leaving her speechless, breathless. Her entire body felt like one exposed nerve that sparked and sizzled and hummed as Mick tugged her jeans down her legs before bringing his mouth back to her belly and capturing the top of her white lace panties in his teeth.
Faith moaned, hips lifting as she realized Mick was playing out part of her fantasy. His breath was hot against her skin as he tugged her underwear down, baring her inch by inch, until her panties were slipping off one ankle, exposing where she was already slick with wanting him.
Mick’s fingers hooked behind her knees, spreading her wide, while Faith clutched handfuls of the bedspread, fighting the urge to slide her legs back together. Mick had done this once before—and Faith was pretty sure she’d had an out of body experience from the thrill of it—but she still felt shy knowing Mick was looking at her so intimately.
The shyness lasted until Mick’s tongue found where she was already aching for his attention and began to circle her with a perfect, teasing pressure, sending electric shockwaves of desire spreading through her entire body.
Faith moaned, arching closer to his mouth, his teeth, his tongue that flicked back and forth until she was dizzy with need and so close to release she could feel it building inside of her like a wave coming to sweep her under.
“Come for me,” Mick said, intensifying his efforts between her legs, even as he reached up and found her bare breasts, rolling her nipples between his fingers and thumbs.
A moment later, Faith came with a ragged cry, bliss spreading from between her legs to every inch of her body, things low in her body clutching tight as pleasure scalded through her veins and more slick heat gathered between her thighs.
She had never been so wet, so ready, and not even a blinding orgasm could completely take the edge off. She needed more than pleasure, she needed to be joined to the man she loved, to feel him filling every aching inch of her, finally as close as she needed him to be.
“Now,” she said, tugging at his arms, hands shaking as she helped him dispose of his jeans and boxers and freed the beautiful, long length of him.
He was beautiful. She loved feeling him hot in the palm of her hand, loved seeing how thick and hard she made him, but she knew she was going to love feeling him inside her even more.
“Tell me if it hurts,” Mick said, burying his fingers in her hair, capturing her face and gazing deep into her eyes as the blunt head of his cock found her opening and began to push inside.
Faith’s breath rushed out, pleasure and a slight stinging sensation warring within her for a moment. But then Mick was pushing deeper, deeper and his blue eyes were staring right into her soul and the pain was banished in a rush of desire and love and contentment so intense Faith didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
In the end, she simply wrapped her arms around Mick and held on, holding his gaze as they learned how to move together, answering his whispered words of love with things she wouldn’t remember later, but that felt perfect and true and right.
Because this was right; they were right. Nothing had ever been more right.
As Mick’s rhythm grew faster, Faith matched him thrust for thrust, muscles straining as she neared the edge again. But this time, she wasn’t alone, this time Mick was there with her, calling her name as they found release within seconds of each other, their mouths meeting in a kiss that blew through Faith like a sweet wind, throwing open all the windows and doors, letting Mick’s love rush in to banish the last of the darkness lingering in the corners of her heart.
There was nothing to be afraid of. No matter what hardships they faced, she and Mick would get through them. Together. She was so sure of it that hours later—after a shower, dinner from the freezer, and a second time that put even their beautiful first time to shame—Faith drifted off to sleep without a care plaguing her heart.
She slept like a stone and dreamed only lovely dreams until three in the morning, when the phone rang and her and Mick’s cozy shelter from the world came crashing down.
Chapter Fifteen
There was a wreck on the highway, a drunk driver who had flipped his Camaro and shut down traffic for almost half an hour. By the time Mick and Faith got to the hospital, Naomi and Jake were already in the beige and yellow labor and delivery waiting room, and Mick’s baby—a little girl—had been born.
“She’s in the NICU,” Naomi said, pulling Mick into a hug. “And she’s doing fine.”
“NICU,” Mick repeated the acronym, heart pounding as he stepped back and reclaimed Faith’s hand.
She’d been a rock the entire way here, talking him back from the edge when he’d wanted to get out and start running toward the hospital, assuring him that everything was going to be all right and they’d be there before he knew it.
“That’s where they take the babies who have problems, right?” Mick added, fighting to swallow past the lump forming in his throat.
“It is,” Naomi said before adding in a reassuring tone, “but the baby is going to be fine. She’s at least eight weeks premature and having some trouble breathing on her own, but the nurse I talked to was very encouraging.”
Mick ran a clawed hand through his hair. “So she’s going to be okay?”
“As far as we know,” Jake said, resting a calming hand on Mick’s back for a moment. “The doctors were worried at first because the labor was trauma-induced, but the baby seems to be fine and Bridget’s going to come out on the other side with nothing more than a few bumps and bruises.”
Mick heaved a sigh, relief and anger coursing through him simultaneously, leaving him feeling at odds with his own body. He couldn’t believe Bridget had fallen down the stairs at her hotel at two-thirty in the morning. What the hell had she been doing walking around in the dark at that hour? She should have been asleep, taking care of herself. She had an innocent life depending on her, for God’s sake.
“But she’s not up for visitors, even extended family,” Naomi said, casting a glance around the empty waiting room before adding in a whisper, “I told them we were relatives so the nurse would give me all the dirt. Apparently they had to sedate Bridget. A few minutes ago we could hear her melting down all the way out here.”
Mick shook his head, feeling awful for his harsh thoughts. “She’s in a lot of pain?”
“She’s in a lot of…distress,” Jake said diplomatically.
“She’s out of her damned mind, is what she is,” Naomi added, obviously not in the mood to exercise diplomacy. “Any woman who would throw herself down a flight of stairs to induce labor isn’t playing with a f
ull—”
“What? Wait a second,” Faith cut in, squeezing Mick’s hand tighter. “They think she did this on purpose?”
Naomi’s eyes went wide. “She said she did it on purpose. After the baby went into distress, she started crying, saying she didn’t mean to hurt anyone, she was just trying to make sure the baby came on time.”
Mick frowned. “But you said…” He trailed off as the importance of Naomi’s earlier words hit with full force. He’d been too upset to register the truth immediately, but now…
Eight weeks early. The little girl was at least eight weeks early, which meant…
“The baby isn’t mine,” Mick said, wondering why that didn’t make him feel more relieved.
“No.” Jake put an arm around Naomi. “But Bridget wanted you to believe it was.”
“But it’s obvious the baby is premature,” Naomi said, eyes welling with tears. “The poor thing is so tiny. We saw her as she was wheeled down the hall, so little but with a full head of hair and the most beautiful little hands.”
Jake hugged Naomi to his chest, silently offering her comfort. Mick knew this had to be hell for Naomi. Her own daughter had been born premature, but too premature for Grace to have a hope of survival. Naomi had rebounded from her grief, but her expression left no doubt this night was hitting her hard.
“I’m so sorry,” Mick said. “I’m sorry to drag all of you into this, and out of your beds in the middle of the night and—”
“Oh, stop it,” Naomi said, sniffing as she blinked her tears away. “We’re happy to be here. And I’m glad this is off your plate, but I have to admit I’m worried about the baby. That woman isn’t ready to be a mother. I shudder to think what’s going to happen to that sweet little girl.”
Mick nodded. “I’m not nearly as relieved as I thought I’d be.”
“It’s scary,” Faith agreed. “I mean, I’m guessing the real father wants nothing to do with the baby or Bridget wouldn’t have come looking for you, so…”
A moment of silence fell, during which all of them looked helplessly at each other. This was a terrible situation, but there was nothing any of them could do. Bridget was the birth mother and Mick had no legal rights now that it was clear the baby wasn’t his. It had been just over nine months since he and Bridget slept together. The only way he could possibly have been the father was if the baby had been delivered full-term.
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