To think she’d been so worried that he’d be a disruptive element…
“Thanks, Teach,” one of the younger members of the class called to her as he filed out behind the others. “I’ll see ya around.”
“Anytime,” she called after him.
“I hope not, Ally,” a familiar voice, low and dangerous, said from behind her.
It wasn’t loud enough for the other man to hear, but she heard it.
“For heaven’s sake, why not, Danny?” she said, now that they were the only two left in the room.
“I’d hate to have to fight him,” he said simply. “He wouldn’t win.”
“And just what exactly do you feel you’d have to fight Airman Vucovich about?” she said as she picked up her laptop case.
“I’ll take that. Don’t want you to strain yourself or hurt the baby.”
Danny closed his hand over hers, sending a tingle of excitement up her arm. Then he slowly unwrapped her clenched fingers from the handle of the case and took possession of it.
“You know very well what I’d fight him for.”
Ally couldn’t ignore the thrill she felt at the touch of his hand, even if she was annoyed at what Danny had implied. She hated that she was reacting that way, but she loved it, too.
Boy, she was one seething, pregnant mass of contradictions.
She started to protest, but stopped herself. “Thank you,” she said simply.
There really hadn’t been anything condescending about his carrying her computer for her. She was pregnant, and the thing wasn’t exactly light. Maybe she should think about getting one of the newer, lighter ones that were out now, Ally mused irrelevantly.
She really didn’t mind the little courtesies Danny seemed to offer so naturally. She wondered if that meant she was softening some on the idea of having a man do things for her. She smiled in spite of herself.
“Ha,” Danny said. “I saw that.”
“So? Even a thoroughly independent woman can appreciate a courtesy from a man. After all, I’m sure that if your hands were full or something, you’d accept my holding a door for you, wouldn’t you?” To prove her point, Ally stepped ahead of him and leaned against the door to keep it from swinging shut.
“Yeah,” Danny agreed grudgingly as he passed through the doorway. “Just don’t let any of the guys on the team catch me. I’d never live it down,” he said, but he grinned next, flashing his wonderful smile, so Ally knew that he was only teasing.
Truth be told, she would miss seeing him every day, she acknowledged. It had been nice, once the tension of that first day was over and done with. She didn’t know if she should tell him that, however.
Now that she had been able to watch Danny over the past week, she regretted not having told him that she was carrying his child as soon as she herself had known. But it was too late to change that now, and apparently, it was well past time for trying to make amends.
Since that surprising, wonderful kiss the first night he was in town, when he’d confronted her at her house, he hadn’t made any more overtures toward her. Neither had he done anything to show that he was interested in anything more than the welfare of the baby.
Darn it, she couldn’t help thinking.
It bothered her. And it bothered her that she was so bothered. She was a woman perfectly capable of taking care of herself and a baby. She didn’t need a man, she reminded herself.
Ally glanced at Danny, who was carrying the computer as if it were nothing as he strode ahead of her toward her car. It galled her to admit that she wanted a man in her life.
Not just any man, but that one: TSGT Daniel Xavier Murphey.
The problem was that she had just a little too much pride to admit that to him—especially when his knowing that might give him leverage over her that she didn’t want him to have. Would give him too much of a hold on her.
She wanted Danny, but she wanted him on her terms. And not because he was willing to take responsibility for her and the baby. She didn’t want him to feel obligated. She wanted Danny in her life only if he accepted her for what and who she was, lofty principles and all.
Was it foolish for her to want that, considering she was carrying the man’s child?
Looking up, she realized that they had already crossed the parking lot. Funnily enough, Danny hadn’t interrupted her thoughts. There had been a time when he would never have let a silent moment pass.
“I’m sorry,” Ally said. “I should have had my key ready.”
Danny stood by her car and waited for her to unlock the door. He shrugged. “No big deal. I can manage to hold this another minute or so. Or three hours,” he added, flexing the muscles in his free arm.
Ally made a face. “Here it is.” She fumbled with the key in the lock and opened the passenger door. “Maybe I should look into getting a bigger car,” she muttered, thinking aloud. Maybe a minivan. The larger vehicle was sure to be safer for the baby and all the stuff Ally would have to carry.
“Can you afford the payments?”
“I can handle them, Sergeant Murphey,” she told him quickly, bristling at the implication. How could Danny have reverted so easily to his macho prejudices? Especially after their relationship had appeared to be maturing. “I can stand on my own two feet.
“I have medical insurance, savings, a pension plan, everything. Believe it or not, I don’t squander my entire salary on shoes and manicures.” One look at her chewed-off nails would confirm that statement. Of course, Danny’s unexpected appearance had been largely responsible for the shape of her nails this week.
“Dammit, Ally, I didn’t mean it that way. I just figured you’d be worrying about expenses with another mouth to feed soon,” Danny explained as he set the computer case on the back seat. “I could help,” he offered, straightening.
“I don’t need your help.”
“Oh, yeah. You are woman. Hear you roar!”
His expression hardened, and Ally got a glimpse of what he must look like when he faced an enemy. Any suggestion of the good-natured man who had contributed so much to her classes was gone. In his camouflaged battle-dress uniform, trousers bloused smartly and tucked into his high-lace combat boots, he looked downright fierce. “Forget I said anything,” he said, and turned and left Ally standing by the car.
“Danny, I’m sorry…” Her voice trailed off. There wasn’t any point in continuing. Danny was already halfway to his own vehicle. He wouldn’t be able to hear her apology anyway.
Why did she keep driving away the one man who might convince her to give up the notion of doing it all on her own?
DANNY HAD HEARD Ally begin to apologize, but he was stubborn enough not to acknowledge it. Besides, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Until he was certain he completely understood Ally’s reasons and she understood his, they would not come to any sort of meeting of the minds.
He had the entire second week of the course to turn Ally around to his way of thinking. That would be harder to do now that he wouldn’t see her every day in class, but surely it was doable. He just had to figure out the best way.
Hoping this wasn’t a permanent goodbye, Danny watched Ally’s car as she drove out of the lot. She was the most stubborn woman he had ever met. And he loved her.
Loved her?
That thought stopped him.
Yes, he did, he realized, wanting to reject the realization. In spite of two long years apart, and in spite of her deliberate attempt to keep his baby from him, he loved her. At times like this, though, he damn sure wondered why.
The car was long gone, and finally Danny swung into his own rental and headed back to the Visiting Airmen’s Quarters. He still had nine days to work on Ally; plus, he had some leave saved up, so he could probably extend his stay.
One thing he knew for sure: he would make Ally see him as more than a sperm donor if he had to throw her over his shoulder, kidnap her and spirit her away. He was not going to go to Tamahlyastan without them getting every detail worked out.
Of course, if it were up to him, they’d make their arrangement legal, justice of the peace and all. However, he’d settle for an agreement that she’d accept his help in providing for the baby.
That wasn’t his first choice, but a guy had to do what a guy had to do.
Danny swung into the lot in front of the VAQ and got out. He’d already tried out the pizza ploy, so he had to come up with something else. After slamming the door shut hurriedly, he hustled to his room to figure out Plan B.
EIGHT O’CLOCK and the other shoe had yet to fall, Ally thought as she settled in for the night. She had fully expected Danny to appear again on her doorstep with some excuse to get inside, but so far he hadn’t.
Maybe he wasn’t going to show.
Ally shook her head. Why was she so disappointed?
He hadn’t exactly stood her up, since they didn’t really have a date. But she’d already gotten used to him being there in the evening.
And as much as she hated to admit it, she loved the way his presence made her feel, as though she was part of a real family-to-be.
But Danny wasn’t here, so she might as well make the best of it. She made herself comfortable on the couch in front of the television set, with a bowl of banana chocolate ripple ice cream and the remote control. Maybe there was a movie on cable that she could watch to keep her mind off the one thing—no, person—she didn’t want to think about.
Danny, though, was the one subject she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about.
Where was he? What was he doing? And who was he doing it with?
She knew she had no right to ask those questions in her current circumstances.
The television pickings were slim, and Ally dozed off. Sometime later the doorbell ringing woke her up.
Disoriented and yawning, she stumbled to the door and opened it without asking who it was.
Danny glowered at her from the front stoop.
She should have known.
“I thought I told you not to answer the door until you found out who was on the other side,” Danny said as he marched inside, deposited something on the floor and closed the door.
“No, you didn’t,” Ally corrected. “As I recall, you expressed approval that I normally checked. That’s not the same thing. And since when do I do as you tell me—” She stopped when she finally focused on what Danny was wearing. “What are you doing in that getup?” she demanded, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“I always feel better when I’m wearing the right uniform for the project,” he said. Danny stood his ground, and the stubborn jut of his jaw challenged her to make something of it.
He was wearing what appeared to be a brand-new house-painter’s outfit, complete with white painter’s pants and white T-shirt under his denim jacket. A painter’s cap covered his red hair.
Ally had to chuckle.
“I decided I’d help you get the baby’s room ready,” he said, arms crossed over his chest in a take-charge stance.
“Who said I wanted you to?” Ally wouldn’t let him know how pleased she was that Danny was going out of his way. That he was here with her instead of hanging out, drinking with Jake Magnussen, at some sleazy juke joint on a Friday night.
Danny ignored her comment, brushed past her and headed down the hall to the small, unfurnished room that she’d planned to use for the baby once the child got big enough to sleep through the night. Ally scurried behind him, wondering just what he had in mind to do to it.
Flipping on the light, Danny paused and sized up the job at hand. “It’s a pretty small room, but it’ll do,” he said, ignoring Ally, who was standing at his elbow.
“I’m so glad you approve,” she said dryly. “May I remind you that I can do all this myself.”
“Yeah, right.” He turned around, fitted his hands to her sides and lifted her bodily out of the doorway so he could step back out. “And when did you plan to get around to it?” he demanded, his hands on his hips. “Until I bought one, you didn’t even have a bed for the baby to sleep in.”
“It wasn’t because I couldn’t afford it,” Ally snapped, still tingling from the familiar feel of Danny’s hands on her waist. And fuming at his statement. “There’s plenty of time.”
“Yeah, let me see,” he said, holding up his hand and counting on his fingers. “According to my calculations, you’ve got two or three months. So let’s just say, eight weeks. And I bet the reason you didn’t check to see who was at the door was that you had fallen asleep on the couch.” Danny paused. “You’re not exactly a bundle of energy these days,” he added gently.
Ally neither confirmed nor denied Danny’s assertions, but she couldn’t prevent herself from feeling her cheek to see if any pillow creases had given her away. “I was tired,” she said lamely. “I’d had a long day.”
“I rest my case,” he said. “Now, either get out of my way or help, but I intend to have this room painted tonight before I leave.”
Ally got out of the way.
“HOW DID YOU KNOW I was going to do it that color?” Ally wondered aloud as she stood in the doorway and admired Danny’s handiwork.
He had painted the walls a warm buttercup yellow. Ally could imagine, as a finishing touch, a band of wallpaper trim illustrated with baby animals and chicks and ducklings prancing across it. Maybe she and Kathie could add something like that one weekend before the baby arrived.
“The room looks wonderful.”
And so did he.
Danny had gotten overheated from his exertions and taken off the white painter’s tee, and now his broad, muscular chest gleamed with sweat and the occasional paint splatter. Ally had managed to push the memory of his magnificent, well-honed body to the back of her mind…until now. How could she have possibly thought she could live without this.
Without him, she corrected.
After all, the stubborn man and the man with the hard-toned physique were one and the same. Even if Danny had recently displayed a thoughtfulness that Ally hadn’t realized he possessed.
“Hey, the guy has more than one talent,” Danny said, stepping back to get the full view. “My sisters thought that yellow was the way to go for a baby…” He shrugged. “So, I figured in for a penny, in for a dollar. I might as well give the room the full treatment.” He flashed her a brilliant smile.
Ally clasped her hands to her chest. And as much as she hated to admit it, she said, “You’re right. I couldn’t have gotten all this done by myself before the baby arrived. “Thank you for taking it upon yourself to do it.”
“No thanks needed, Ally,” Danny said. “It’s part of my job…as father of the baby,” he stated as if it were really necessary to explain.
“Well, I thank you anyway.”
“Too bad I couldn’t figure out how to work the Star Wars collection into the color scheme,” Danny joked.
Ally didn’t think it could get any better than this. And oh, how she loved Danny for it. “We’ll wait till she gets older and then we’ll redecorate and work them in.”
Danny smiled then, a faraway look in his eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “That’d work.”
“We’ll do it,” Ally said. “I promise we will.”
He turned toward her, an odd expression on his face.
Ally was about to comment on it, but he touched his fingers to her lips.
“Marry me, Ally.”
Chapter Eight
“No,” Ally said simply. “And you know why.”
Danny hadn’t really expected her to say yes, but he’d figured it was worth a shot. “I’m going to keep asking,” he told her.
“Until you’re willing to change your archaic view of man and woman, I will not give up my autonomy.”
Danny stiffened, but he prudently kept any arguments to himself. No way would he do anything to send them back to where they’d been just a short week ago. “I want to take care of you,” he said finally. “And our child.”
“I do not need a keeper,” Ally said firmly, her arms crossed a
uthoritatively over her breasts. “And neither does my baby. We’d best drop this subject, or you can just leave.”
“All right, Ally.” For now, he added silently. He wasn’t about to give up on his campaign to reclaim Ally. He wanted their baby, but he wanted the whole shebang. He wanted to make a family. Sure, her refusal had been a setback, but he wasn’t finished.
Plus, he still wasn’t done here. “Okay, now, go away. I have one more thing to do to finish this.”
She glanced at him with questioning eyes. “What else could there be?” she said, admiring the room. “You seem to have thought of everything.”
“I have,” Danny said confidently. “But I haven’t shown you the pièce de résistance.” He picked up the ladder and carried it outside, leaving her to continue examining his handiwork.
“Oh, Danny, you wonderful, sweet, hardheaded man,” Ally murmured. “I just don’t know what to do about—”
“Here it is—” Danny announced as he came back in.
In his arms he carried a wooden rocker, painted white and complete with a buttercup-yellow seat cushion. “According to my mom, every new mother needs a rocking chair to settle her baby to sleep,” he said as he placed it down next to the window. “With some baby curtains, you’re good to go,” he said.
Ally stood there, one trembling hand poised at her lips; she was too overwhelmed to speak. This was the kindest, most thoughtful gesture Danny ever could have made. And the fact her big, strong, trained-to-kill man had managed to accomplish so much in so little time simply amazed her.
Tears welled in Ally’s eyes and she made no effort to stop them. She turned to Danny and flung her arms around him, pressing her face against his broad, warm, paint-splattered chest. “Oh, Danny,” she murmured. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is so wonderful.”
Danny squeezed her back, careful not to jump to conclusions. “You like it, then?” he said, gratified by her pleasure at his simple gift.
“Like it? I adore it!” she exclaimed, swinging around to survey his handiwork again. It did look good, Danny had to admit, even if he said so himself.
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