Riley's Baby Boy

by Karen Rose Smith

  “Let’s see the ring,” one of Silas’s friends called out.

  He laughed, took something from the pocket of his jeans and slipped it onto Anna’s finger. She held it up for all to see.

  Brenna caught a glimpse of a wonderfully huge solitaire wrapped in a circle of rubies. It suited Anna perfectly.

  The Deckers’ guests crowded all around to congratulate the couple and Brenna joined the makeshift receiving line. She sensed Riley’s approach before she saw him, but then he was beside her looking very surprised.

  “Did you know about this?” she asked him.

  “Silas and Aunt Anna have been dating since last Thanksgiving, but no, I didn’t see this coming. I wonder what she’ll do with the Purple Pansy.”

  “Any chance Mikala would run it?”

  “I doubt it. She’ll be tied up with a baby soon. With a new marriage, becoming a mother to Luke and keeping up with her practice, I’m not sure she’ll want to take that on. Since Mikala married, I think Aunt Anna has hired someone to help her, but I don’t know if she’ll be capable of running the place for her.”

  Brenna realized how much she wanted some things to stay the same. “The Purple Pansy has been part of Miners Bluff for decades. I hate to think of it not being open.”

  “I know, but Aunt Anna has to do what’s best for her now.” Brenna supposed that was a decision everyone had to make at some point.

  After the announcement, Anna waved to Brenna. She apparently had something very important on her mind. Together Brenna and Riley approached the patio and Brenna hugged Anna. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “I’m happy for me, too! That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Will you design a gown for me?”

  “Of course I will.”

  “Spare no expense,” Silas added, gazing at Anna with so much love, Brenna felt her eyes growing misty.

  “I know you need plenty of notice,” Anna added. “We’re thinking of getting married around Christmas. Is six months enough?”

  “I’ll make it enough. Why don’t I give you a call next week and we can get together.”

  “That sounds wonderful. And just to give you an idea, I want it in pale pink with a little bit of lace and a few pearls. It can even be a little old-fashioned, or a little bit Western. Let your imagination run wild.”

  Brenna laughed. “I’ll do that. Just your description makes me want to start sketching.”

  Silas gave Riley and Brenna a considering look. “Now I think its time for a little fun. Jenny’s going to put on some music and I want to see the two of you out there on the dance floor...well, dance patio...tonight.”

  Brenna wasn’t sure what to say. What if Riley didn’t want to dance?

  Just then music blared through the speakers, a ballad made for romance. Silas gave a little bow to Anna and then offered her his hand.

  Brenna didn’t turn toward Riley...didn’t meet his gaze. She could take off and mingle if he wanted nothing to do with the dancing on the patio.

  But then she felt his hand on her shoulder. “Could I have this dance?”

  She automatically filled in the rest of the line from the country ballad. “For the rest of my life.” She scolded herself for even thinking it.

  This is a barbecue. You’re just being social. Having Riley’s arm around you is the way people dance. That common sense advice didn’t keep her heart from pounding so loud that she could hardly hear herself think.

  She let him lead her to a corner of the patio where, once in his arms, they moved in time with the music. Neither of them said anything for several beats, then Riley asked, “Is six months pushing it for a custom-made gown?”

  Brenna thought about the process. “I’ll make it a priority.”

  “Silas won’t quibble on the price. This could be one of the most expensive gowns you’ve ever made.”

  “No, it won’t, because I’m not going to charge her.”

  Riley stopped and stared at her with a puzzled expression. “You’re kidding.”

  “No, I’m not. Aunt Anna has always been like a favorite aunt. I didn’t hang around her as much as Jenny and Celeste and Mikala did, but there were a few times when she was just there when I needed her.”

  “Like?”

  “Like when I was dating you, and didn’t know if I should be or not.”

  “You told her about us?”

  “Not exactly. Aunt Anna has this gift of seeing more than we give her credit for. I don’t know if you remember, but one day after school, you picked me up in back of the library. She was coming around the corner and she saw us. I ran into her in the department store about a week later. I was worried she’d tell my family. She was always so honest about everything. Taking me aside, she just mentioned she saw me with you, and that was my business. Then she added that I should follow my heart, no matter what anybody else thought.”

  Riley looked troubled for a moment as if he wanted to ask her something. Yet he didn’t. She had followed her heart that year, but maybe she hadn’t followed it far enough.

  She thought about their son and Riley’s place in Derek’s life. Her mom was babysitting tonight. When she’d arrived at Riley’s house, he’d been warmer to her than previously. So Brenna said, “Thanks for being friendlier to my mom tonight. She appreciated it. I could tell.”

  “She’s good with Derek. And I...well...” He hesitated then said with the determination she knew so well, “Things have to change. I had a phone call with Dad this afternoon. He’s going to invite your parents to the restaurant for our celebration next weekend. So maybe you can soften up your dad and encourage him to come.”

  “And you think he’ll listen to me?”

  “I think you have influence. I also think he’ll do anything you want him to do if he has the right motivation.”

  “You want me to use his grandson to get him there?”

  “I just think if we all put Derek first, our families will have something to build on.”

  Could today be a milestone? As they danced Riley eased her closer to him. His pressure was subtle on her back. His hand held hers a little tighter as he brought it into his chest. The music drifted around them, and Brenna knew in his arms was where she wanted to be. Darkness had begun to fall and the shadows were thick at the edge of the patio. That’s where they stayed as one dance segued into the next, as Brenna’s pulse raced, as she felt Riley become aroused, as neither of them moved away.

  As she felt his lips at her temple, she became afraid...afraid to love and lose, but more afraid to not even love at all.

  * * *

  It was almost eleven when Brenna settled Derek in his crib. After she and Riley had returned from the barbecue, he’d insisted on following her mom home to make sure she arrived safely. Brenna was grateful for that and grateful his attitude seemed to be changing.

  She still wasn’t used to the night silence after living so many years in New York. The barbecue at the Deckers had brought back memories of the days she’d gone riding there, of her senior year with Riley. When they’d danced together tonight—

  She put the thoughts aside. Instead she considered Anna’s wedding gown. Maybe she’d sketch tonight if she couldn’t sleep. Thinking about style and adornment and material, she decided to get ready for bed.

  She shut her door as she normally did at night, then undressed. She was in her bra and panties when a design idea came to her that just couldn’t wait. Picking up her sketchbook on the dresser, she flipped to a blank page and began drawing before she forgot the lines, the neck, the length of the sleeves. This was the way creativity happened sometimes.

  She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she wasn’t aware that Riley had come home until there was a quick rap on her door and then it opened. Riley had done the same thing many times before. She usually took her robe
to the bathroom with her, showered and undressed and wrapped herself in that. She’d taken care never to be naked when he was around. But tonight, well—

  When the door opened and he stepped inside, fully expecting her to still be clothed, she froze and so did he. He didn’t say he was sorry. He didn’t close the door and leave. Rather he stepped inside and just stood there, canvassing her body as if he’d never seen it before.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, as if they were going to have a conversation with her in her bra and panties and him fully clothed.

  “Riley—” She supposed his name was a warning. She supposed she should grab her robe and cover herself.

  “Is that your uniform for working late at night?” he joked, his voice husky.

  “Riley,” she said again in exasperation, setting her sketchbook on the dresser, setting her pencil beside it. She should cover herself, she really should. She should feel awkward and self-conscious. She really should.

  But she didn’t, and the way his blue eyes were darkening, she felt flattered.

  He nodded to the lacy pink bra and high-cut panties she was wearing. “Is that what you wore tonight?”

  “Yes.”

  “If you had told me that, or shown me before we left, I never would have gotten through the night.”

  Her mouth went dry. But somehow she managed to ask, “What would you have done?”

  “I would have dragged you into one of the stalls in the barn and made love to you. And don’t say my name again as if you want to prevent what’s going to happen next.”

  She couldn’t let this happen. She had to make a dash for that robe. The problem was, she’d have to slide around him to get it.

  With a quick decision, she made a valiant try. But it wasn’t quite valiant enough. He didn’t let her slip past him. He wrapped his arm around her and brought her up close.

  “Maybe we should dance with you dressed like this.” His voice was low and as seductive as all get out. He moved with her as if they might have been dancing to music of their own, music only they could hear. She gave in to the sway of his thighs against hers until she felt his hand at her back unhook her bra. Before she could say his name again, he kissed her.

  Tonight she followed Riley where he was trying to lead her. Maybe it had been their conversation after they’d arrived at the barbecue. Maybe it had been their sensual dance there. Maybe it had been his care in making sure her mom got home okay. Maybe it was just Riley himself. She couldn’t resist this pull toward him any longer. He’d always been irresistible to her, so she might as well stop denying it.

  When he scooped her up to carry her to his bedroom, she began unfastening the snaps on his shirt.

  “You have too many clothes on,” she murmured right before she kissed his neck.

  “I’m going to remedy that really fast,” he muttered, walking quickly to the bed and laying her on his mattress. He stared down at her and asked, “You aren’t going to change your mind, are you?”

  “No,” she said, meaning it. Even if they only had tonight, she wanted it. She wanted him.

  He didn’t bother turning on the light. The glow from the hall barely reached inside the room. She heard the rustle of fabric and she imagined he was taking off his shirt. There was silence until his belt clanked against the wooden chair. When she heard the rasp of the zipper, she became even more excited than she already was.

  She slipped her bra from her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. She felt his weight on the bed, heard a drawer open and close, then knew he was barely a foot away. When she turned toward him, he reached for her, tipped her chin up, then kissed her long and hard and deep.

  After that Riley didn’t give her time to breathe. His tongue darted between her lips hungrily. She accepted his hunger and returned it with her own. There was fierceness about his passion tonight, as if he needed to convince her of something. Convince her they were good together in bed? Convince her they could be good parents? Convince her to stay?

  Each kiss carried more heat. Each touch brought their intimacy to a new level. She filled her hands with him, ran them over his back as he held on and so did she. She didn’t even realize she was still wearing her panties until he kissed first one breast then the other, heading toward her navel. Her lingerie was a guilty pleasure and these pink filmy dress bikinis were one of her favorite pair. But they soon became a means of torture as Riley rimmed his thumb around the material at her leg, as his teeth nipped at the fabric right below her navel, as his fingers pressed through the pink froth right where she needed his touch most.

  “Riley,” she cried.

  He stopped what he was doing. “Do you want to leave them on, or do you want to take them off?”

  “Off,” she said, breathlessly, and he chuckled. It was such a deep, sexy chuckle.

  After he skimmed the fabric down her legs and she kicked them off, he came back to her again but not to her lips. His lips moved to her navel. She and Riley had shared intimacy before, but it had been pretty traditional. Now he was doing something he’d never done before, something she had no control over, something that made her feel so vulnerable. He kissed his way to her most intimate place, nibbled, licked, touched and brought her to such a frenzied arousal she thought she’d come apart. She grabbed at his shoulders, needing so much from him...needing things she couldn’t name. But he didn’t move, he didn’t raise his head, he just kept revving up the sensations until an orgasm rocked her so hard, she could hardly gasp air into her lungs.

  But he didn’t give her any time to absorb what had happened. He prepared himself, rose above her, and said, “We’re not finished yet.”

  She opened her arms and raised her legs to accept him fully. He pressed into her quickly while sensations still tingled throughout her body, as if he’d planned it that way. They rocked together, their groans and moans building in a crescendo as their skin glistened with their desire, as their need became all encompassing, as Riley sought his release but only if he took her with him again.

  So many primitive sensations barraged Brenna. She felt as if she were involved in an elemental mating she’d never known before. Before, they’d both kept their guard up. Before, their families were walls that couldn’t be beaten down. Before, they hadn’t had a son who meant the world to both of them. Something beyond them now bound them together. Something beyond them transformed this into lovemaking they’d never experienced before. She couldn’t stop stroking his hair, raking her nails down his back, arching into him to give him more. She wanted to give him her love. So much love. But could he accept her love? Could he accept her? Could he accept change?

  Passion burned away the smoky questions and doubts and took them to a new meeting of bodies...maybe even souls. When Brenna’s second orgasm began, she accepted each of Riley’s thrusts, eager for his climax, too. It happened simultaneously, shaking them and the bed and their whole world.

  Afterward they lay there, stunned, without breath, exhausted and spent. Brenna knew Riley would want to talk about it, but she didn’t. She just wanted to hold on to the moment and hold on to him.

  He rolled to his side and asked, “How do you feel?”

  She wanted to say, So in love with you I could cry, but she didn’t. “I feel good, how about you?”

  “The best. You’re the best, Brenna. You always were.”

  She could take that so many ways, and maybe she did need to talk about what had happened, too. “Why am I the best, Riley?”

  “Because you respond and you react and you go with your passion.”

  That wasn’t exactly what she’d expected to hear. Another question might clarify more, but—

  Riley wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. They both turned, facing the same direction and she nestled in his arms. He kissed her behind her ear lobe and with that kiss, she knew he was tellin
g her that he cared.

  But just how much?

  Chapter Eleven

  Every time Riley stepped into McDougall’s Department Store he cringed. But he knew he had to get over it. His son could inherit this someday. That was the strangest thought he’d had yet, and he’d had a lot of them the past week, as Brenna had shared his bed. They’d always had great physical chemistry, but now... Something more shook him up whenever they had sex. Maybe it was just that Derek was across the hall. This morning Riley had gotten the call that confirmed his paternity. Brenna didn’t even know the results yet. Then again, that was stupid thinking, because she’d known the results all along and he should have known them, too.

  Had he really had any doubt? Or had the mistrust he’d felt about women all his life convinced him to go through with that DNA test? The rustle and noise of customers taking advantage of McDougall’s wedding extravaganza’s sales bombarded Riley as he moved deeper into the store. He had two reasons to be here. The first, to tell Brenna about the DNA results and to also tell her he was sorry for asking for the test. And the second—he was just curious about this production and how she’d been a part of it. He wanted to see the end result.

  He saw how different the store looked right away. A huge, flower-covered arch with a sign on top announced, Bridal Extravaganza—Storewide.

  The extent of the theme was easy to see with tulle and glitter and boxes wrapped in silver and gold standing on counters and on displays. Silvery wedding bells hung from the ceiling. The shoe department had a huge display of brides’ and bridesmaids’ shoes. A beautiful doll in a white gown front and center on the perfume counter stood next to what he assumed was one of the most expensive bottles of perfume in the store and a tall fresh flower arrangement. As he stepped under the arch and walked down the main aisle, he spotted customers lining up in rows around the stairway. The bridal show was at 11:00 a.m. and he should be just in time for it. If he could merely pull Brenna aside for a few minutes—