Welcome Home, Daddy

by Carrie Weaver

  “Drew?”

  “Yes?”

  “Orion was an excellent judge of character. He could size up a soldier in a way that I swear saw right down to the man’s soul. He told me you had what it took. Are you going to call him a liar?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Then do me a favor. Where do you keep photos of your tour?”

  “I’ve got them in a digital file on my laptop.”

  “Print out a few. Place them where you can see them every day. Make it a point to look at the faces first thing when you get up in the morning and before you go to bed at night. I suspect you’ll soon have your answer.”

  Drew squeezed his eyes shut. “You don’t fight fair.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  He opened his eyes. “I’ll do it for you.”

  “No, you’ll do it for yourself. And for the people who need you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He waited for her to fill the silence, but she didn’t. In her own way, she was as good a counselor as her husband had been.

  “Beth?”

  “Yes?”

  “I found out I have a son.”

  She studied him for a moment. “This is happy news?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “Then congratulations.” She hugged him, her clean scent washing over him. “You’ll make a wonderful father.”

  “I hope so. But it changes everything.”

  “Are you sure?”

  The past couple of days, he’d incessantly turned it over in his mind and come to the conclusion that he believed Annie. It was a gut instinct based on what little he knew of her. She didn’t seem to hesitate to take responsibility for her mistakes. And he couldn’t see her trying to palm off her son on him if it wasn’t true. Besides, he had been the one to initiate contact.

  “I’m pretty sure he’s mine. I’ve asked for a paternity test, though.”

  Beth chuckled. “No, I mean are you sure that it changes anything?”

  “Of course it does. I’ve already missed almost the first two years of Micah’s life. There’s nothing I can do to get that time back. I can only make sure I’m here for him now.”

  “You’ve a difficult choice to make. It’s never easy when children are involved.”

  “Did Orion…ever regret it? Missing so much of his kids’ lives?”

  “Yes…many times.”

  “But he did it anyway.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m not half the man he was.” He hadn’t dared voice his greatest doubt before.

  “You can be, Drew. Follow your heart. Look at those pictures. Pray.”

  That’s exactly what he’d been afraid she would suggest.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ANNIE STARTED THE DVD in the hope that she and Kat could have twenty minutes of semi-uninterrupted time to talk. With an energetic toddler around, it was highly unlikely.

  She held her breath as she waited for Bob the Builder to work his magic.

  Sure enough, Micah scooted closer to the screen.

  “I owe my last scrap of sanity to Bob,” she commented.

  Kat handed her a bottled beer. “To Bob. At least he’s better than The Wiggles.”

  “You’ve got that right. To best friends.” She clinked her bottle against Kat’s.

  “Best friends,” Kat echoed. “How long till the pizza gets here? I’m starving.”

  Gesturing for Kat to follow, she went to the breakfast bar and sat on a stool. “You’re always starving. It’s not fair that you can eat anything and not gain an ounce.”

  “I’m blessed with a fast metabolism. You’ve got curves I would kill for.”

  “The remaining five pounds of baby weight.”

  “All in your boobs. Not fair.”

  “So get pregnant.”

  Kat sighed. “Dillon isn’t ready. He wants me all to himself.”

  Annie made a noncommittal noise. Dillon had Peter Pan written all over him. But a friend didn’t point out glaring faults in someone’s fiancé.

  “Besides, I have so much fun with Micah, then I can give him back when you get home. It’s a win-win.”

  “I owe you big time, Kat.”

  “You’d do the same for me.”

  “Absolutely.” Annie figured she’d pretty much lay down her life for Kat. Well, she would’ve before Micah, that is. Now that she had him to consider, she’d simply stop a speeding bullet with her teeth. Motherhood necessitated heroics.

  The doorbell rang and Annie paid the delivery guy, returning to the family room with the pizza.

  “Pizza!” Micah squealed, clapping his chubby hands as she placed it on the coffee table.

  “Second only to macaroni and cheese.”

  “Me, Mac.”

  Kat chuckled. “Don’t even go there. It’s like a bad session of ‘Who’s on First?’”

  “You learn quickly.”

  “When I have to.”

  Annie pulled an old blanket from the coat closet and spread it on the floor in front of the TV as Kat cut up a slice of pizza for Micah. “There you go, sweetie,” Kat said. “Try to keep it on the plate.”

  Micah giggled.

  “I don’t know if it’s the movie that made him laugh,” Annie said, “or the absurd idea that he keep the food on his plate.”

  “Knowing him, it’s a coin toss. The kid loves to make a mess.”

  “Help yourself while I get his juice.”

  “I already did.”

  Annie raised an eyebrow at Kat’s huge slice as she returned with Micah’s favorite sippy cup.

  Taking a smaller piece herself, she settled back against the couch, paper plate balanced on her lap.

  Kat’s tone was nonchalant when she asked around a mouthful, “Details, woman. You said Drew mentioned an attorney?”

  Annie swallowed hard. The pizza dough was suddenly tough to get down. “Yes. But I called Drew last night and convinced him to give Micah a little time to get used to him. He’s, um, going to meet us at the park tomorrow after work. Just a quick, casual visit. I was afraid he might want to take Micah overnight or something, and I don’t think I could handle that. It’s going to be a huge adjustment.”

  “Yeah. Micah seems to like him, but…”

  “What do we really know about him? I need to find out what kind of person he is. Do you remember any important details you learned when you dated him? Did anything strike you as…odd?”

  Kat tangled a hand through her long curls, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. “Seeing him again, I think it’s odd I didn’t appreciate how incredibly hot he was.”

  “Be serious. This is important.”

  Sighing, Kat said, “Okay. We only went out twice. I remember he was polite, great sense of humor, nice-looking. The buns of steel thing was definitely an attention getter.”

  “You claimed you didn’t notice.” Annie eyed her friend suspiciously. “Are you sure you didn’t sleep with him?”

  “I’m kidding. Geez, you’re usually not this literal.”

  “You said you’d be serious. Anything about his character that might be…suspect?”

  Kat crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, he was a gentleman. Not even Dillon was that…thoughtful. And I loved him.”

  Annie wondered if her use of the past tense was meaningful. Was Kat having second thoughts about Dillon? Annie prayed her friend came to her senses and dumped the guy before she got hurt too badly.

  But Annie knew better than to voice her opinion. She’d learned that lesson her senior year when Kat had been dating Manny Porter. Her friend hadn’t spoken to her for weeks after Annie expressed concern. Until Manny was caught under the bleachers with a cheerleader, to the dismay of Kat and her Chess Club crowd.

  Besides, Annie was on a mission. “So I guess Drew never let anything slip about his medical history or credit rating, huh?”

  “Nope.” Her face brightened. “No mention of an arrest record, either.”

  “Oh, that’s comforting.
”

  “Great. I shouldn’t have said anything. I forgot you worry about every little thing now that you’re a mother.”

  Micah stood and squealed, dancing in time with the show’s theme song, pizza in his hand.

  Annie smiled at his enthusiasm. Sometimes her love for the child took her by surprise. She hadn’t known it was possible to love another human being as much as she did her son.

  Nodding toward Micah, she said, “Someday you’ll understand.” Annie picked up a throw pillow and fingered the fringe.

  “I suppose.” Kat flipped open the pizza box and selected another slice.

  Annie was too busy worrying to eat much. “I wonder if I can find out online if he has a record. I mean, he seems normal. What if he’s trying to lull me into a false sense of security?”

  Kat patted her hand. “Hey, I’m a pretty good judge of character. I wouldn’t have set you up if I thought he was an ax murderer.”

  “I could do without your reassurances. Your choices in men are sometimes lousy.”

  “I’d be offended if I thought I had a leg to stand on. I’ve picked a few winners over the years.”

  Annie made a noncommittal noise.

  Kat snatched the throw pillow and smacked her lightly upside the head. “Then do a background check on him. For twenty bucks online you can find out almost anything.”

  “It’s tempting. I would hate to invade his privacy like that…. But Micah’s safety has to be my first priority.”

  “Exactly. If nothing else, you can check the county court records for free. Find out if he’s been married and divorced six times or has a felony conviction. And you could do an Internet search on him.”

  “I suppose.”

  “We’ll do it together after the squirt goes to bed. We can be like Nancy Drew.”

  “There’s only one of her,” Annie pointed out.

  “Scooby and Shaggy?”

  “I think not.”

  “Okay, Velma and Daphne?”

  “Only if you’re Velma and I’m Daphne.”

  Kat shook her head. “No way. Just because I’m an accountant doesn’t mean I have to be the nerd queen.”

  “Once a nerd queen, always a nerd queen. I bow to your great prowess in the chess club.”

  “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”

  Annie bumped her with her shoulder. “Nope. Never. Funny how life turns out and our roles are reversed. Now you’re the outgoing one and I’m sidelined from the dance.”

  “Only because you’ve chosen to sideline yourself.”

  “I’m a single mom.”

  “Who are you kidding? You sidelined yourself way before that. What I want to know is if you’re ever going to tell me what happened to cause all this caution? I trace it back to that year I traveled so much for my job.”

  Annie avoided her gaze. “It was more of a slow evolution as I gained knowledge and maturity,” she lied. For some reason, she’d never been able to confide in even her best friend about the catalyst. Maybe because Kat would have handled the episode much differently.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Anyway, I need to be mature, responsible and stable for Micah.”

  Kat’s smile faded. “Yeah, I can’t argue with that. Anybody could tell he means the world to you. Let’s just hope Drew understands.”

  Her words stayed with Annie long after their fruitless Internet search for any deep, dark secrets the man might have hidden away.

  She was reluctant to let Drew disturb the cozy world she’d built around Micah. They were safe; their future looked bright. And Drew was a big, fat unknown.

  In Annie’s experience, unknowns were rarely a good thing.

  DREW WHISTLED AS HE set his car alarm and headed up the walkway toward the playground.

  He stopped a few feet away from the designated play area, watching Annie scooting slowly down the slide with Micah on her lap. Speed obviously wasn’t the objective. Micah’s smile was wide, though, so Drew figured the kid was enjoying himself.

  The sand crunched beneath his running shoes as he walked over to meet them at the bottom. “Hey.”

  Annie shielded her eyes from the late-afternoon sun with her hand, glancing up at him. “Hey, thanks for meeting us. For some reason, there doesn’t seem to be another kid in sight and we could use the diversion.”

  She stood, balancing Micah on her hip. He struggled to get down, but she held him tightly. Her voice was overly bright when she said, “Micah, Drew’s here to play with us.”

  Drew raised an eyebrow and grinned, trying unsuccessfully to avoid imagining the ways he could play with her.

  She must have followed his train of thought because her cheeks grew pink. “I mean, he’s here to play with you,” Annie amended.

  Not for the first time, he felt a stab of nostalgia, a wistfulness that his days of casual sex were in the past.

  “Yeah, kid.” He tousled the boy’s hair. It was silky to the touch. “What do you want to do?”

  “Swing!”

  “Okay.” They made their way to the swing set, where Annie wedged Micah into a baby seat that seemed too small for the toddler.

  Shrugging, Drew decided not to make a big deal out of it.

  “Push,” Micah commanded.

  “Yes, sir.” Chuckling, Drew positioned himself behind the swing and pushed gently. The sun was warm on his face and a slight breeze kept the temperature pleasant.

  “Higher.”

  “That’s high enough,” Annie warned.

  “Your mom says this is high enough.”

  Micah kicked his feet in a futile effort to propel the swing himself.

  “Let’s start off slow, big guy.”

  In more ways than one. Although Drew wanted to jump in and make up for all the milestones he’d missed. As if he could cram almost two years’ worth of experiences into one short afternoon.

  “Thank you for understanding,” Annie said softly beside him.

  If it hadn’t felt like she was hovering, he might have enjoyed her presence. Or if he was under the impression she wanted to spend time with him. But he had no such illusions.

  He noticed the sheen of perspiration on her upper lip. “You can go sit in the shade if you’d like. It’s turning out to be a warm day.”

  She hesitated.

  “We’ll be fine. You’ll still be close.”

  Annie seemed to gauge the distance between the bench and the swing. Finally, she nodded and trudged the few yards away. Letting go seemed difficult for her.

  Drew shook his head, reminding himself that he’d only been a father for a week. She’d been a mother for almost two years.

  The boy chattered about everything and anything as Drew continued to push him: the sky, a mockingbird in the nearby eucalyptus tree, an airplane. Airplanes seemed to capture his attention the longest. He watched one until it was a tiny speck in the distance.

  “You like planes?”

  The boy held his arms out at his sides as if he were flying.

  Laughing, Drew marveled at the kid’s joy.

  “You gonna be a pilot? Should I start saving for the academy?”

  “Most certainly not.”

  He thought Annie was joking until he glanced over his shoulder and saw her tight expression. She was ticked off at him.

  “Well, the army is superior. Maybe he’ll take after his dad and stay on the ground.”

  “Don’t go putting those ideas in his head. He’s just a baby. Besides, he already knows a few of his numbers, so I figure he’s going to be an accountant like his aunt Kat.”

  “That’s a stretch at his age.”

  “No more so than your army propaganda.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re a pacifist?”

  “My political views are none of your business. Just stick to the safe topics with Micah, okay?”

  “And those are?”

  Her expression relaxed and she actually smiled. “Potty training is at the top of the list. If you
can convince him to wear big-boy pants and go in the potty, I’ll love you forever.”

  “Hmm. That’s all it would take?”

  “You have no idea. Most boys don’t potty train till they’re around three. And this child is already showing signs of being more stubborn than most.”

  “He must get the stubbornness from you, then, because I’m very flexible.”

  “Humph.”

  Micah kicked his feet. “Higher!” he screeched.

  Drew stepped in front of the swing. “Is this baby contraption too small for you, big guy? Hey, I’ve got an idea.”

  He lifted Micah out and moved to a regular swing, where he sat down, plopping Micah on his lap.

  The boy grasped the chains and looked expectantly over his shoulder at Drew.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Annie called.

  He was so intent on sharing the moment with Micah, he barely heard her. Pushing off, he stretched out his legs.

  Micah’s responding giggle was all the encouragement he needed. With one arm wrapped securely around the boy and the other hand gripping the chain, he pushed even higher. The breeze felt wonderful on his face. He almost felt free. Freer than he’d felt in years.

  Micah held out his arms. “Flying.”

  “We are flying. Feels good, huh?”

  They picked up speed, the trees blurring as they arced higher.

  “More!” Micah shouted.

  “Your wish is my command.”

  “No!” Annie’s scream finally caught his attention.

  Over his shoulder he was perplexed to see her racing toward them.

  She dodged around to the front of the swing.

  “Stop!” She held out her hand like a traffic cop.

  Micah protested as Drew dragged his feet in the sand to slow them down. When he realized how pale Annie was, he stopped them completely.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Are you trying to kill him?” Annie wrenched Micah from Drew’s grasp. The toddler wiggled, but couldn’t break her hold.

  “He’s okay, Annie. Nothing happened.”

  “No thanks to you.”

  He noticed her wet face. “You’re crying.”

  “Damn right I’m crying. I trusted you to take care of him. I should have known better.”