After that, Adam pretty much forgot about his uninvited guest. Instead he got to thinking about how Fay’s offer to go to her doctor’s appointment, and quick ushering of him out the door, had made him forget his plan to ask about her finances.
That led to him mulling over his own money issues.
Despite his quarterly checks as shareholder in the family business and what he’d saved from his military pay, he needed a steady income to provide for his child and Fay. He wasn’t eligible for his military retired pay until he reached the age of sixty.
Damn, his kid would be graduating from college by then.
“I guess turning your land into a working ranch is on hold?” Bryan stood and gathered his reports. “Despite all you said on Saturday?”
For the moment, Adam thought. His gaze caught with Nolan’s, who hovered out in the hall conferring with his secretary, Katie. “Yeah, the place needs a lot of work.”
“You bet it does, just ask me and Dev,” Ric chimed in as the group walked out to the main room, the dog right by Adam’s side. “We showed up yesterday hoping to watch a ball game. Instead, Dev and I ended up busting our butts on that sorry excuse for a barn.”
The thought of giving up his plans for the ranch had Adam marching straight to the old barn yesterday afternoon. The wooden structure looked even worse up close. After yanking on a pair of work gloves he was soon tearing the walls apart piece by piece, some of the strips of wood coming off without any struggle at all. Two hours later he was still at it when Dev and Ric had shown up. Between the three of them they’d managed to get the place down to bare studs. The foundation of the hundred-year-old structure was sound.
Now it just needed four walls. And a new roof.
“Well, look at you.” Nolan and Liam joined them, Nolan punching Adam lightly in the upper arm. “Home less than a week and you’ve got yourself a job, a dog and a—”
“I don’t have a dog,” Adam sent his brother a hard stare, hoping the others hadn’t noticed his slip, but the remaining three Murphys had picked up on the silent communication.
And the four-legged male in the group barked in protest.
“All evidence to the contrary,” Bryant said. “I’d say you definitely have a dog, even if he is nameless. But what else have you got?”
“It’s nothing,” Adam said quickly. Too quickly he realized as his brothers crowded around him. “Hey, we all have jobs to get to. And no one ever said where Devlin was this morning.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll know when Dev arrives.” Liam pocketed his phone. “But don’t think you’re getting off that easy. What was Nolan talking about?”
“Yeah, come on. Spill.” Ric offered a wide grin. “You two are hiding something.”
Adam hesitated, not exactly sure why he wasn’t ready for everyone to know about the child Fay was carrying.
He needed more time to figure how everything was going to work out with her for one thing. Going to the doctor’s was a good first step even if Fay had blurted out the suggestion just to throw him off track.
“A date,” he finally said, offering the first thought that popped into his head. “I’ve got a date.”
Bryant gave a low whistle. “That was fast.”
“Like we Murphys know any other speed,” Liam chimed in.
The men laughed and then Bryant and Nolan were called away to individual teleconferences leaving just Liam and Ric behind.
“So, who’s the lucky girl?”
“Fay.”
“Fay Coggen?” Liam asked.
“Yes, Fay Coggen.” Adam read the surprise in his brothers’ eyes, but he quickly warmed to the idea of having Fay in his home again. Maybe then he could get some answers. “I’m making her dinner. At my place. Friday night. A thank-you for all the work she did.”
“Wasn’t her husband the guy from your unit who died a year ago?” Ric asked.
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Adam asked, his tone hard. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be, little brother? I think I saw your truck parked next to mine. Out back.”
“Yeah, I can take a hint. I’m leaving.” Ric headed for the rear exit. “You know, you guys suck sometimes.”
Adam waited until Ric left before he turned back to Liam, who returned his stare with a steady gaze from behind the black square-framed glasses he sometimes wore.
“He didn’t mean anything by that,” Liam said.
Adam sighed and dropped his head. Yeah, he knew that.
“You sure you don’t want to take some time off before coming back to work?” Liam pushed. “You’ve earned it, you know.”
The offer was tempting, but Adam wanted Fay to know that she could count on his financial assistance right away. “No, I’m ready to work.”
“Okay, then. I’ll follow you to the off-site construction offices and introduce you to your crew.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
Liam pocketed his glasses. “Yeah, I do. One of the perks of being company president.” He gestured toward the stray. “Taking him along?”
Adam looked down at the dog. “I guess so. Let’s go.”
They left the building and headed for the parking lot. Nolan’s twin boys were tossing a baseball back and forth in the backyard and the dog raced over to join them.
Adam spotted Ric pulling out of his parking space. “Hang on,” he said to Liam, who stopped to answer his phone. “I’ll be right back.”
He waved down his brother, glad when Ric slowed his vehicle and rolled down the driver’s-side window.
“Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to snap at you back there,” Adam said. “My fuse seems to be a bit short lately.”
“Hey, no worries. Your life has taken a one-eighty turn in the last few days.” Ric grinned in an easygoing way. “Less than a week ago you were pounding sand. Look at you now.”
Adam only nodded, his brother’s words closer to the truth than he knew. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
He stepped back and Ric drove away. Hands braced on his hips, Adam scanned the area.
Yeah, look at him now. Working for the family business was the last place he thought he’d be all those nights he’d lain in his rack overseas and planned out his future.
Of course, being a father was also the last thing he’d envisioned, too.
A distant chopping noise caught his attention. His posture straightened and he immediately searched the skies. Adam knew what the small dot was before it had a chance to take shape. His eyes stayed glued to the small helicopter as it drew closer, the whirl of its rotors filling his ears.
He reached for the sound protection he always had on hand, but his was gone. The dirt beneath his boots was replaced with miles of poured concrete that became the flight line. The surrounding trees disappeared as hangars, support buildings and the control tower shimmered in the hot desert sun.
The bird came closer and a fine sweat broke out across his skin. He wanted to move back as the machine hovered overhead, but his feet felt glued to the ground as he tipped his face to the sky. They had incoming, but there were none on the schedule.
Who was arriving? Were there injuries? Where was the ground crew?
The questions swirled in his head as the bird started its descent. He watched the smooth approach noting the small four-seater helicopter looked out of place among the massive rotary-wing aircraft already on the ground.
The set down was gentle, with only the slightest bump that jostled Adam around his knees even from a distance.
“Pretty impressive, huh?”
He blinked hard as the machine’s engines shut down.
“Adam?”
A hand landed on his shoulder and he stiffened, but didn’t pull away. Droppin
g his head, he wiped the sweat from his brow and closed eyes. A deep breath brought the familiar scents of cool morning air and the biting sharpness of the nearby forest into his nose.
“Hey, bro. You okay?” Liam asked.
Home. Destiny, Wyoming. Outside his family’s business, his brother standing next to him.
Not sure what it was he just experienced, Adam was glad it was over. He opened his eyes and found the gaze of his new friend looking up at him, the animal’s body solid and warm against his leg.
“Ah, yeah, I’m fine.” He reached down and gave the dog a quick pat on the head. “Just didn’t expect to see a helo coming at us this morning.”
“I don’t think your dog liked it too much. He was chasing after the boy’s baseball, but then he raced to your side. Anyway, I’m glad he finally got here.”
Avoiding his brother’s direct gaze, Adam focused on the mutt. “Who? The dog?”
“No. Devlin.” Liam pointed across the parking lot to the clearing on the other side.
Adam looked up and found his brother standing outside the bird, talking with their excited nephews. He hadn’t even noticed the concrete pad before now.
“Katie called him as soon as you showed up this morning,” Liam continued. “We got that baby just a few months ago. It works great in checking out both the land and our current work projects.”
“And Devlin’s flying?” Adam forced a smile, finally turning his gaze to his brother. “You all trust him that much?”
Liam laughed then said, “He was the only one of us crazy enough to sign on as the pilot. Dad is now talking about taking flight training, but Mom’s determined to keep him on the ground. Of course, you might find it helpful in your new position.”
Adam silently digested that idea as Devlin headed across the parking lot toward them. Logan and Luke went back to their ball throwing. The dog let out a low whimper that Adam took for a request to join them.
“Go on, go play.”
The dog raced across the yard.
“So, you’ve changed your mind and decided to come back into the family fold, huh?” Dev stopped in front of him, smiling from behind his mirrored sunglasses. “Thought you had other plans.”
“Plans change.”
“Hey, Uncle Adam, your dog stole our ball,” Logan yelled.
“And he won’t give it back,” Luke added.
“Give the ball back.” Adam turned and looked at the dog. “Now.”
Seconds later, the ball was dropped at the feet of the closest boy.
“You said yesterday you weren’t keeping him.” Dev removed his glasses.
“Are you kidding? That pup’s been his shadow since he showed up this morning,” Liam said.
“Like I said,” Adam looked back at his brothers. “Plans change.”
* * *
“She is such a happy bride.”
Fay watched through the shop’s front window as Gina Steele shared a quick hug with her mother, Sandy, and sister-in-law, Racy Steele, before the three women parted ways.
They had just ended an appointment where the flowers—garden roses in varying shades of yellow, white mums, deep burgundy ranunculuses, and orange-colored rose hips—were discussed for Gina’s late-September wedding to her fiancé, Justin Dillon, Racy’s brother.
Despite wearing a beautiful diamond for months, Gina and Justin had only made their engagement official last New Year’s Eve during the wedding reception for Bobby Winslow and Leeann Harris.
Fay had done the flowers for that wedding as well, a small intimate ceremony at Bobby’s log mansion. She’d decorated with clusters of miniature white calla lilies and hyacinths mixed with tiny pinecones and evergreen sprigs, a perfect fit for the winter season.
Being the only florist in Destiny did have its perks.
“All brides are happy,” Fay said, brushing away the now familiar wetness on her cheeks before she turned and joined Peggy at the work counter in the back of the shop.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Peggy added. “Adam Murphy stopped by and took the van. He said Mason’s promised to have it back here by five o’clock.”
Shocked, Fay could only stare at her employee as she continued to add delicate sprigs of white baby’s breath to the floral arrangement in front of her. “He did what?”
“I gave Adam Murphy the keys to the van,” Peggy repeated, pausing to step back and take a critical look at her work. “He said he was taking it in for service. You said something about an appointment yesterday so I figured it was okay.”
The headache that threatened to erupt all day hovered at the back of Fay’s eyes. It had been a long week, and the closer Friday afternoon got, the more nervous she became.
She’d gone back and forth a dozen times about retracting her invite to Adam for this afternoon’s doctor’s appointment, but the surprise and delight in his eyes last Sunday stopped her every time she reached for the phone.
She’d finally called him this morning and was oddly relieved when she got his voice mail. Leaving a quick message with the time of her appointment at her doctor’s office in Laramie, she said she’d meet him there.
Now she had no ride.
“The appointment was for me.” Fay sighed. “Not the van.”
“For you?” Peggy turned to look at her, eyes wide. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. You were busy upstairs with the consult and asked not to be disturbed. Goodness knows that poor van could use some TLC, so when that hunky cowboy of yours—”
“It’s all right, Peg.” Fay cut her off. “And he’s not my hunky cowboy.”
“This is the same guy who’s stopped by twice this week, once with fresh sandwiches from Doucette’s and the other time dropping off the order from the print shop, right?”
Fay nodded. She also suspected Adam was responsible for the beautiful wildflowers stuck in an old Mason jar she’d found on her doorstep two mornings ago.
Three visits in four days, and each time Fay had been busy or out of the shop. Or not even awake yet, in the case of the flowers, which looked beautiful on her dining table.
“Well, he’s certainly coming by often enough,” Peggy said. “Then again, we’ve had a regular run on Murphys popping in this week. First, Elise to pay for the work you did at their offices on Monday, and then her husband came in the next day to buy flowers for his wife.”
Fay turned away and busied herself with cleaning up the adjacent counter that separated the sales from the work area.
She’d been surprised when both of Adam’s parents came by this week. Neither had mentioned the pregnancy, but she’d been touched at how each of them made a point of asking her how she was feeling.
“Oh, and Dev came by earlier today, too. He wanted to know why I skipped out on the Fireman’s Bingo on Wednesday. Can you believe he noticed I wasn’t there?”
That got Fay to turn back. “Peg, about Dev.”
“Oh, you don’t have to warn me about Devlin Murphy.” Peggy waved a stalk of the tiny flowers at her, but kept her gaze on the arrangement. “He’s just a friend.”
“He’s a charmer, and you said yourself you’re still nursing a bruised heart from your divorce.”
“I am, which is why flirting with Dev, and nothing but flirting, is good for my ego.”
Fay wanted to believe in Peggy’s smile, but she could see the pain was still there from the way her eight-year marriage had ended so suddenly last year. It had left her a single mother to an adorable six-year-old boy after her ex-husband moved in with a female coworker.
“Back to the more important issue. What are you going to do about a car? Do you want to borrow mine?”
Fay glanced at the clock over the shop’s door. She needed to head out soon and Peggy needed to get over to the school to pi
ck up her son.
“I can’t. Besides, you need to pick up Curtis now.”
Peggy looked at her watch. “Oh, you’re right. Okay, I’ll go get my little guy and when I get back you can take the car then. How’s that?”
Fay nodded. Peggy grabbed her purse, promised not to get tangled up in talking to the teachers or the other parents and headed out the rear door. Grabbing the arrangement that still needed the finishing touch of a pretty bow, Fay placed it in the cooler.
The bell over her front door tinkled. Fay brushed off her hands and turned. “Hi, how can I help…”
Her voice trailed off as Adam closed the door behind him. Dressed in a pressed denim shirt, jeans and shined boots, his familiar dark cowboy hat in his hands, he looked out of place among the delicate flowers, plants and gift items that decorated the glass shelving units in the front of her shop.
A clean, masculine scent floated on the air, above the ever-present floral fragrances. Damp hair and a freshly shaved jaw told her he’d left work early to clean up. Elise had told her during her visit how excited everyone was about Adam working for the family business again. Another surprise as Fay was sure he’d focus on his land instead.
“Adam. What—why are you here?”
“I’m at your service, ma’am. You ready to go?”
Fay shook her head. No, she wasn’t ready.
He moved farther into the shop, stopping when he reached the counter. “You said the doctor’s appointment was at three. We should head out pretty soon.”
So he had listened to her voice mail this morning. “I also said I’d meet you there.”
He laid his hat on the counter and moved around the end to where she stood. “Why take two vehicles? Especially since you don’t have one at the moment.”
He’d done it on purpose. She should’ve known. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m borrowing Peggy’s car when she gets back.”
“Fay, please. Let me drive you.”
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