“You probably want some privacy to dress,” he said, after she finished talking. “I’ll wait out in the hall.”
She put a hand on his arm—his skin was warm to her touch—and stopped him from leaving. “Thank you, Adam. For bringing me here. For being so calm and patient with me.”
Adam cupped the back of her head with one hand, leaned down and placed a quick kiss at her temple. “You have no idea… .” His voice was rough as he spoke, his lips moving in her hair. “I’m just glad that nothing happened…to either of you.”
Unable to respond verbally, Fay could only nod. He released her and walked away. Watching him leave the room, she forced herself not to touch the spot where he’d kissed her.
After dressing quickly, she exited the room to find Adam and Liz off to one side in a deep conversation. Fay refused to admit how disconcerting it was to see them standing there together, and focused on signing her release papers.
“All set?”
She turned and only Adam was there. “Yes. Let’s go home.”
They walked out to the parking lot together, Adam’s hand warm and solid against her lower back. She climbed into the passenger side of the vehicle and soon they pulled out of the hospital’s parking lot.
Silence filled the van’s interior as she watched Adam drive, noticing how his hands clenched the steering wheel so tight the ridge of his knuckles were white.
He turned to look at her just then, saw she was staring at his hands and relaxed his fingers.
“I guess we both need to learn not to be so uptight,” he said.
Fay tensed, waiting for the lecture, sure that Liz had shared her list of “not-to-do’s” with Adam.
All her life, that’s what men did, lecture.
First her father, who never said anything in a few words, not when he believed the more he spoke, the more he drove his point home. A trait he’d passed on to his sons as the twins had often preached to her while growing up. There were even times when Scott had a hard time letting go of a topic, even after making his opinion clear.
Despite Liz’s assurances, Fay was still trying to convince herself she wasn’t to blame for what happened today. Did Adam believe that as well?
“Fay, I was… I’d like you to think—to consider—” Adam paused and pulled in a deep breath before he continued. “What would you say if I asked you to move into my place?”
Stunned, Fay could only stare as Adam kept his focus on the turnoff. They crossed into the outskirts of Destiny.
“I’m not talking marriage. I know that topic is closed,” he added quickly, “but we both know you need to take it easy for the baby’s sake. I’m sure you’re already thinking of ways to do that around the shop, but my concern is you being home alone at night. In case something happens again. I’d offer the master bedroom, but I know you won’t take it. The guest room is a good size and it’s all done up, you know, with matching curtains and blankets and stuff.”
That got her to smile. “I know. I’m the one who decorated it. All you had was a naked bed and your desk.”
His gaze shot in her direction for a quick moment. “Ah, yeah, well, I can move my desk into the third room and you can bring anything you want with you. Heck, I’ll move your bed if you want.”
“Adam—”
“I’ve been putting in long days at work, coming home to basically shower, grab some food and fall into bed. You’d have the place to yourself.” Adam pulled into the parking area behind her shop, taking the space reserved for her van, and shut off the engine.
His hands gripped the wheel again. “We both know what Destiny is like when it comes to gossip, but I’m worried about you, about the baby. I personally don’t give a damn about what people will say or think.”
Fay’s throat swelled. “That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t been the topic of whispered conversations and pitying looks.”
“You know what I think?” Adam turned in the seat and faced her. “You never deserved any of what happened to you in the last year. Instead of blaming someone else or running away, you stepped up and made things right, things that weren’t your fault. That’s something to be proud of.”
But she had blamed someone.
She’d blamed Adam for convincing Scott to follow in his hero’s footsteps and join the military. At least that’s what she’d always believed, what she’d clung to during those terrifying months. How wrong she’d been to lay the blame for Scott’s behavior squarely on Adam’s shoulders.
“You’ve kept your business sound and God only knows what would’ve happened to the Coggens if you weren’t here for them. It’s time for someone to step up and take care of you. Please, I’m asking you to let me do that.”
Fay wanted to be resentful of his take charge attitude, but how could she when, despite his persuasive argument, Adam was allowing her to make the final decision?
* * *
Tying the waistband string that kept her pajama pants resting just below her hip bones, Fay turned to the left, then the right, studying herself in the mirror. She lifted the cotton top higher to just below her breasts, the fingers of her other hand dancing lightly over her stomach.
Yep, Liz had been right.
Her once flat belly was gone, replaced with a tiny mound. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed until her friend mentioned the transformation at the hospital tonight. “Well, little one, I hope your mama hasn’t just done the craziest thing.”
“Maybe so, but it’s the right thing.”
Fay looked up, and yanked down her top after seeing Adam’s reflection in the mirror from where he stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom.
He’d made himself scarce as soon as they’d arrived and he placed her suitcases on the queen-size bed.
After she’d told him yes while still sitting in her van outside her apartment, it’d taken a few minutes to convince him she could climb the stairs on her own power. What worked in her favor was saying she wanted to pack a few things in order to move into his place tonight.
Following behind, he’d made sure she got inside before he headed to Doucette’s to pick up a couple of sandwiches for dinner. While he was gone, she’d packed some clothes and toiletries, added a few books and a couple of treasured mementos, including the ultrasound image of the baby she’d placed in a simple silver frame. A box of plants had gone down to her shop on their way out after they’d finished eating. It’d been dark by the time they pulled into his driveway.
“You getting settled?” he asked.
Fay suddenly remembered what she’d discovered just before he’d appeared. She hurried to his side, grabbed his hand and placed it over her belly.
Adam froze, but allowed her to move his hand back and forth. She shivered at his calloused touch against her skin. “Do you feel that little bump? Isn’t that neat? I’m showing!”
“Ah, yeah, that’s…neat.” He pulled free and took a step back into the hall. “I just wanted to tell you I’m going out to work on the barn a bit.”
“Now? Isn’t it too dark?”
“I’m planning on getting power out there for lights, but for the time being I’m using a lantern. Shadow will probably come with me… .”
His voice trailed off when Fay gestured over her shoulder at the dog lying on the bed. “He’s been keeping me company while I put my things away.”
Adam sighed. “Come on, Shadow. Get down from there.”
The only response the dog gave was a shake of his head that caused the tags on the collar to jingle.
“It’s okay if he wants to stay,” Fay said, then smiled. “I don’t mind having him in here.”
“You do know you’re not sleeping there, right?” Adam directed his comment to the dog that then closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh.
&
nbsp; “If you need…anything, just yell. I’m not that far away.”
Maybe not physically, but Adam had become more withdrawn from the moment they’d arrived.
She nodded. “Okay.”
His gaze moved once more to her belly. A powerful longing flicked in his eyes before it vanished. He turned on his heel and walked away. Seconds later, the front door opened, then closed again.
A half hour went by and she was all moved in. She should get some rest, it’d been such a long day. Crawling beneath the covers, she felt Shadow circle a few times down near her feet before he lay down. She closed her eyes, but after a few minutes she knew sleep wouldn’t come.
Not with Adam still outside.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that his disappearing had something to do with her.
“Come on, boy. Let’s go find him.”
Grabbing a flashlight from a kitchen drawer, she stepped out onto the front porch, Shadow taking off into the darkness.
The area between the house and the barn was grassy, but she made sure to aim the beam of light in front of her slippered feet. Thankfully a full moon hung low in the sky and acted as a natural spotlight, allowing her to easily make out the skeletal framework of the old barn.
And Adam’s silhouette where he leaned against a large stack of lumber.
Shadow got to him first, surprising him. He straightened, scrubbing a hand across his face as the flashlight beam arrived ahead of her.
She switched it off when she stepped into the glow of the gas lantern that sat nearby on the barn floor. “Hope we’re not interrupting.”
“What are you doing out here, Fay?”
His abrupt tone caught her off guard. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe this whole moving in thing was a bad idea. “N-nothing. I was worried about you.”
“I’m fine.”
He wasn’t, and she didn’t have any idea why.
She stepped in front of him, but Adam turned his face to the shadows. “What’s wrong? I can tell you’re upset. Have I done something—”
“God, no.” He cut off her question, his voice ragged, as a deep shuddering breath racked his chest. “It’s not you. It’s me. It’s today. You being in pain and not knowing why, the fear the baby was in trouble…”
The anguish in his voice drove her closer to him, to offer what comfort she could. Laying a hand on his chest, she felt the wild pounding of his heart. “Tell me, Adam.”
“Tell you what?”
“About your other child, the baby you lost.”
He closed his eyes and tears stung hers as she watched an array of emotions cross his face.
“I don’t think she ever wanted the baby,” Adam finally said, his hands covering where she’d fisted hers in his shirt. “Instead of talking…trying to understand what she was feeling, I argued with her, begged her to reconsider what she planned—maybe it was my fault she had a miscarriage.” The words came slow and he often paused to tip his head back as if he needed a steadying breath to tell the heartbreaking story.
“No, Adam, you can’t think that way.” Fay freed her hands in order to cradle his stubble-covered jaw, making him look at her. “You loved and wanted that child. I hear it in your voice. It’s as strong as what I hear when you talk about our child.”
He dropped his chin, trying to pull from her touch. Releasing him, she flung her arms around his neck, clinging to his shoulders. “I’m so sorry. I can’t explain why she felt that way. I don’t understand.”
Fay searched for the words to comfort him, but there was nothing she could say that would ease his pain. “That’s not me. Please, believe me. I’d never—I want this baby, Adam. I have from the moment I found out.”
His hands held tight to her hips for a moment before they slipped around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. Then he turned his head, his mouth slanting over hers with a bone-melting, soul stealing kiss.
There was a tiny moment of shock, then she plunged her fingers into his hair, pressing upward on her tiptoes to align her curves to his hard, muscular body as she opened her mouth to him. He pressed her even closer, his hands moving up beneath her top, holding her with a gentle strength. His kiss was hurried and raw, hers the same.
Thorough and possessive and wanted.
Then just as quickly as it started, Adam broke their connection and set her away from him. His hands gripped her shoulders when she swayed, her legs barely able to hold her upright.
“I, ah… That wasn’t—” Adam’s voice came out a broken whisper. “I didn’t want that to happen.”
Fay didn’t know which to believe, his words or the longing she could still see in his gaze.
He released his hold on her and bent to pick up the flashlight she hadn’t realized she’d dropped. “Here, you should probably go back inside now.”
“Adam, I—”
“It’s okay, Fay.” He cut her off. “Neither one of us expected that. And, believe me, I have no intention of it happening again.”
Chapter Ten
“Okay, you’ve got us all here, just like you asked.” Alastair Murphy beamed as he looked around the room. “I’m guessing you have a reason for gathering the family like this?”
His father was obviously expecting something much different than what Adam was about to say. He hated to disappoint him, but he had to tell the family everything that was going on between him and Fay.
Well, not everything.
Less than twenty-four hours ago he’d screwed up and used her sympathy over his past to do what he’d dreamed of since he’d returned home.
Hell, what’d he’d dreamed of since that night he and Fay made love back in April.
Having her in his arms again, kissing her, had been incredible.
Incredibly stupid.
He’d wanted his home to be a place where she and their baby would be safe and taken care of. But after promising her that his marriage idea was off the table, he’d practically attacked her.
She’d attacked him right back, too.
He wasn’t so far gone not to know when a woman was kissing him back. But when he’d told her nothing like that would happen again, she’d pulled from his touch and agreed. She’d even pointed out it’d been an emotional day for both of them and that keeping things strictly platonic between them was for the best.
Yeah, right.
“Uncle Dev is missing,” Abby said, her attention on the book in her lap as she curled up on the far end of the couch. “So we’re not all here yet.”
“Wasn’t he supposed to be back an hour ago?” Bryant asked from where he sat near the oversize fireplace, Laurie perched next to him on the arm of the chair.
“He called. He’s having some trouble with the helo.” Liam took a long pull from his beer, his attention on his cell phone. “He’s going to stop by Zachery Aviation down in Laramie before heading back.”
“Is he okay?” Elise walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands with a dish towel, a simple cotton apron around her waist. “We can hold off putting dinner on the table until he gets home.”
“He’s fine, mama hen,” Liam said with a grin, ducking when his mother flipped the towel at his head. “We’ll be nice and save some leftovers for him.”
Adam glanced at his watch. He wanted to get this over with so they could eat and he could get home.
Fay had been worried his family might hear about her moving into his place from someone else and be upset at the news. He’d tried to convince her to come with him, reminding her both his folks and Nolan already knew about the baby, but she’d had a client consultation scheduled for this afternoon, so he’d agreed to do this alone.
But the longer he waited, the more his nerves ate at him.
And there was no ti
me like the present. “Dev pretty much knows what’s going on anyway, so—”
“Hey, don’t start the family meeting without me.” Dev walked in, pushing his shades up onto his head. “Whew, what a flight. Logan, I could sure use an ice-cold root beer.”
“Sure!” The kid jumped up and raced into the kitchen.
“You know, I can never get them to do that for me,” Nolan said.
“You’re their dad. I’m their favorite uncle.”
“Hey, Dad,” Luke chimed in as if to prove him wrong. “I can get you a soda if you want.”
Nolan looked at his son. “That’d be great, thanks.”
“See? I’m getting them trained for you.” Dev hitched one hip against the back of the oversize leather sofa. “So, why are we all here?”
Adam cleared his throat, but waited until the boys came back into the room, made their deliveries and plopped down next to their sister again, Shadow sitting contentedly between them.
“I was about to tell them about Fay—”
“Hey, that’s great! You changed her mind!” Devlin pointed his soda in Nolan’s direction. “I know you’re next in line agewise, but I’ve already called shotgun on being the best man. And boy, have I got ideas for the bachelor party…”
Dev’s voice faded and he stared at the stunned looks on everyone’s faces. “What? What’d I say?”
Adam shook his head at his brother’s innocent expression as the questions came at him from everywhere. He held up his hands to try and ward them off, but it was only when Liam let loose with a piercing whistle that everyone quieted down.
“Fay is pregnant.” Adam made the announcement quickly, before anyone spoke. “The baby is mine and she’s moved into my place.”
Deciding to stick to the important facts, he didn’t go into details of the hospital visit that led to this decision. What was important was that Fay, and the baby, were safe and he could take care of her.
Yeah, like you took care of her out by that stack of wood?
“But we’re not, I repeat, not involved. So there’s no need for a best man as there’s not going to be a wedding.” He leveled a hard stare at his brother with the big mouth. “As you all know, gossip spreads faster than wildfire in this town, so I wanted everyone to hear this from me before you found out another way.”
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