by Kay Lyons
Time had flown since he’d introduced Amelia to the twins, and even though it didn’t seem possible, the twins would be leaving for school in a matter of days. He’d rented a cargo van to haul their stuff north and help them settle in and hoped he didn’t make a fool of himself when he had to leave them there.
He’d heard little from Amelia since their date because Amelia was required on set during filming.
“There he goes again. Dad, you’ve got it bad,” Brendan said.
Lincoln inhaled and resigned himself to an interrogation. He just wished he had more answers. “Should we call Breanne down from her room to hear this so I don’t have to repeat myself about how much I enjoy Amelia’s company?”
“She’s gone.” Brendan grabbed a soda from the cooler and popped the top. “She left an hour or so ago. I thought you knew.”
He hadn’t. And seeing as how this was supposed to be a family dinner… “Any idea where she went?”
“No. Maybe Jo’s house. Or Kari’s. Bree’s been acting weird lately.”
Lincoln exchanged a glance with Carter, and the two of them turned in unison to face Brendan. “Weird how?” Lincoln said. “Is she worried about going away to school?”
“The breakup with Jax?” Carter asked.
“I don’t know. I guess. The whole breakup thing is definitely part of it. She and Jax talked a little at the pier a few weeks ago when we fished, but she didn’t seem any better afterwards.”
“Daddy, look,” Piper said from her kids’ table.
His niece lifted the picture she’d drawn.
“Is that us?” Carter asked.
“Uh-huh. All of us. And the lady you said Uncle Linc is dating. They’re gonna get married.”
Carter started chuckling while Brendan looked at the drawing and pointed at Lincoln.
“Is that why my dad has hearts for eyes?”
Lincoln cleared his throat. “Don’t rush things, sweetheart. We’re dating. Friends. That’s all. I only introduced her to my kids because they’re leaving for college and I wanted them to meet before they left.”
The words seemed to satisfy Brendan, and his son asked Piper why his feet were so big.
Brendan moved to the table and folded his long legs down to sit on one of the tiny chairs, and Lincoln snuck a photo of them. Bren resembled a praying mantis folded up as he was, but the image of the cousins was too sweet to pass up as Brendan grabbed a sheet of paper and began his own drawing.
“Want me to talk to Bree?” Carter asked in a low voice meant not to carry. “Might be easier to talk to someone who isn’t her old man.”
Lincoln shoved himself to his feet to go inside to get the burger fixings and check on the sweet potato fries in the oven. “We’ll both give it a try. Hopefully she’ll talk to one of us. Keep an eye on the kids after dinner, though, would you? Amelia said she had to work late and was going to stop and get some groceries on her way home. I want to surprise her and at least walk her to the door before she collapses from exhaustion.”
“That bad, huh?” Carter asked.
“I never knew filming could be so rough. She’s starting to get shadows under her eyes from the stress of getting it all prepped for today. She says it’s normal due to the schedule, but I feel like there’s something else bothering her.”
“And you think showing up at her house after a long day will help?”
“I just want to see her. Kiss her good-night and see if she’ll talk to me.”
Carter shook his head and released a low whistle.
“Man, you do have it bad.”
* * *
Amelia parked outside the store on the way home and walked inside. Filming weeks were always difficult, but the last couple had been especially exhausting as the set-prep took some unusual turns.
Normally she was better prepared for filming to begin with groceries stocked and all the essentials in place, but her focus had been so skewed because of dating Lincoln that she’d neglected to do any of it. And since she hated going to the big-box stores, the pharmacy closest to her condo would have to do for now.
She grabbed a cart and went to the makeup aisle first for mascara since she’d dropped her wand in the toilet this morning while trying to blacken her lashes. Thankfully she’d had a backup in her beach bag to finish the job. She definitely liked being prepared, because she never knew when her schedule might change, so she tried to keep two of everything when possible, especially things like grooming essentials.
Shampoo and conditioner were next, along with new razors. She checked the Post-it note of scribbled items written during her break earlier on set and headed toward food. A couple cans of soup, an emergency bag of Milanos, some juice, and much-needed coffee. And wine. She couldn’t forget the wine.
Amelia hurried through the aisles, eager to get home and out of her uncomfortable clothes to crash on her couch with a rerun of Friends and a chocolate bar. Maybe Lincoln would call. Maybe she would call him? She’d been hesitant to initiate contact today, mostly because she had yet to work up the courage to speak honestly about her desire for kids. How did you broach something like that?
Her thoughts crashed like a wave against the sand when she spotted Breanne standing at the far end of the aisle staring wide-eyed at the… birth control?
Oh, no.
Amelia froze even though her mind went crazy with potential disasters. She desperately wanted to turn the cart around and head the other way, but she needed a package of crackers to go with the soup, and those were at the end of her current aisle. Closer to Breanne.
Amelia tucked her chin to her chest and had just snagged the cracker box and was ready to make her sharp right turn for a clean getaway when she heard Breanne gasp.
“Am-melia. Hi. Um…”
Amelia held up a hand before the girl could go any further. “Hi. Yeah. I’m not sure what the protocol is for this situation given where you’re standing so… I’m going to go with stay safe and… goodbye.”
Amelia took a step, pushing the cart, when she heard Breanne’s bitter response.
“Too late for that now.”
Amelia stopped, shock rolling through her and gathering speed like an avalanche. She couldn’t just leave after that statement, could she? “Breanne…?”
The girl burst into tears there in the store, and Amelia gaped, unsure of what to do. A second passed before she put her feet in motion and left the cart in the break between the aisles, rushing toward the girl and enveloping Lincoln’s daughter in her arms. “Shh. Shhhh. Hey. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
“It won’t,” the girl sobbed against Amelia’s shoulder. “What if I am? I left the island and drove all the way here so no one would see me and now you’re here and what am I going to do when I tell my dad and he explodes and school is starting and my life is over because I was stupid enough to think Jaxon loved me and wouldn’t leave me?”
That was one long sentence in one equally long gush of breath. Amelia realized then that the birth control was positioned directly beside the pregnancy tests and that was what Breanne had been staring at with such panic. Amelia squeezed the girl tight again before she purposely but gently pushed her away. “Okay. Hey, look at me. Here’s the plan. You are going to take my keys and go wait in my car. I’m the black Mercedes parked beside the handicapped spot as soon as you walk out the door. On the left. Okay? While you do that, I am going to buy a test for you along with my groceries. Then we’ll… go back to my place and you’ll have some privacy and an answer. One way or another. But you won’t be alone. Okay?”
Lincoln’s beautiful daughter blinked at her, silent tears still streaming down her face.
“Why are you helping me?”
Amelia tilted her head to one side and brushed the girl’s tear-sodden hair away from her face. “Because if I’m ever blessed with a daughter and she needs help, I hope someone would step up for her. Right now? It’s my turn to do this for you. Now get going. I’ll be right there.”
Breanne
wiped her eyes, accepted Amelia’s key fob. Amelia watched Breanne simply stand there, frozen by her fear.
“God, what am I going to do?” Breanne breathed softly, head down as she turned and walked away.
Amelia grabbed the pregnancy test on her trek toward the front of the store. She quickly pondered what Lincoln had told her about his twins and what she’d gleaned from their coffee date with them, remembering Breanne had mentioned her like of dark chocolate. This kind of situation called for emergency chocolate on a grand scale, so she grabbed several bars on her approach to the checkout along with a miniature dog stuffie that was cute and just seemed like the thing to get to help with a bad day.
Minutes later, she and Breanne were on their way toward her condo.
“What about my car?”
“I’ll drive you back later,” Amelia said.
“Dad said you’re working a lot. I’m sorry to be so much trouble.”
“It’s no trouble,” she said, even as her body dragged with fatigue and the need for sleep, the restful kind that came on rainy days when she had nowhere to be and could lie in bed dozing for hours past her wake-up time.
“So you want kids?”
Amelia stopped at a red light, her grip tight on the steering wheel. “What?”
“You said if you ever had a daughter… back in the store.”
“Oh. Yeah, I do, actually. Very badly.”
“Does that mean you want kids with my dad?”
Oh, that made for one touchy subject. “I… don’t know yet. We haven’t reached that stage in our relationship, but it’s important to me, so I suppose it’s something we need to discuss very soon due to my… age.”
“You’re almost forty, like Dad, right?”
Amelia nodded and tried not to cringe. “Yup. It’s not uncommon for women my age to get pregnant, but it can be more difficult, especially if there are issues. I have endometriosis. Have you heard of that?”
“I remember that from biology class. It’s gunk that keeps you from getting pregnant, right?”
“Right. So even though I want to get pregnant, it might not happen for me.” Regardless of whether it was with Lincoln… or a sperm-bank baby as Izzy liked to say.
“Yeah, well, if I am, I’ll trade you,” Breanne muttered.
The car behind her honked when Amelia missed the light turning green, and she stepped on the gas. “Children are blessings, Breanne. I know you’re scared and hurting right now, but I don’t believe any child is a mistake. Ever.”
The girl went quiet at Amelia’s statement, and she wondered if she’d said too much.
“I heard Uncle Carter teasing Dad about hiring a matchmaker. Did you hire her hoping you’d meet someone and get pregnant?”
Amelia had to remind herself of two things: Breanne was Lincoln’s child and concerned about her father… and she was an eighteen-year-old woman facing the future with potential pregnancy hormones. “I… didn’t hire Marsali, actually. My friend did.”
“Because?”
“Breanne, I’m not sure we should be discussing—”
“I’m about to pee on a stick with you outside the door. I think we can pretty much discuss anything at this point.”
True. Definitely true. “Fine. I’m serious about having a baby, so I was researching alternative ways of making it happen. Izzy—my best friend—thinks I shouldn’t give up on romance and finding someone, so she hired Marsali, and your father and I met.”
“That is seriously cool.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. But if you’re okay with being with Dad now, why did you break up in high school?”
Another red light. Great. More time to get grilled by the teenager. “It’s complicated.”
“More complicated than getting knocked up at eighteen even though you used protection but it broke?”
A huff of a laugh left her chest. “Okay, you win. Back then, your father asked me to marry him because he wanted to settle down and make a home for Carter. I wasn’t ready. I wanted to travel and go to college— Hey, you wanted to know,” she said when the girl flinched. “I know it’s tricky to think about right now, but just hang tight until you take that test and have a definitive answer, okay?”
Breanne nodded and Amelia got the car moving again when the light changed.
“Does my dad want more kids?” Breanne asked.
Amelia inhaled. “I honestly don’t know. That’s something we have yet to discuss but I hope so. Would that bother you?” She made the turn into her condo complex along the river.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Especially if I’m… Oh, no. No, no, no, this can’t be happening.”
“What?” Amelia asked, slowing the vehicle to glance at Breanne. “What is it?”
“Is that my Dad?”
Chapter 13
Lincoln blinked at the sight of Breanne sitting beside Amelia in her SUV. He waited for them to park in Amelia’s appointed spot and stood from the bench where he’d sat waiting. “Hey. What’s going on here?”
Amelia looked a little wide-eyed and flushed, but it was nothing compared to Breanne’s pale-as-death complexion.
“I, um, saw Breanne in a store and she was upset over her breakup, so I offered some company and chocolate therapy,” Amelia told him, tilting her head to the side to give him better access to the cheek she offered.
“Is that really it?” he murmured as he brushed his lips over her face.
“Of course. What are you doing here?”
“You said you were working late and stopping by the store, so I thought I’d come help carry in your groceries and kiss you good-night.”
“Lincoln… that’s sweet.”
Lincoln greeted his quiet daughter as he opened the rear access to gather the plastic bags.
“Oh, we can get those,” Amelia said.
“Yeah. I’ll do it, Dad. G-go with Amelia.”
He gathered up the bags in one hand and pressed the button to close the door with his free hand. “I’ve got them. Let’s go have some chocolate,” he said, inviting himself along in the hopes that Breanne might open up a bit more about what was going on with her with Amelia around.
The ladies exchanged a long look Lincoln couldn’t interpret, but Amelia turned and urged Breanne toward the walkway leading to the elevator. The ride up was suspiciously silent and Lincoln’s unease grew. “You two seem… distracted.”
“We’re fine,” they said in unison.
Okay. Nothing strange about that, he mused.
The elevator door opened and Breanne bolted out of the enclosure. Amelia led the way to her door and unlocked it with hands that trembled slightly.
Lincoln carried the bags into the kitchen.
“I’m going out on the balcony. Okay?” Breanne asked, sounding urgent and looking a little pale.
“Sure,” Amelia said. “Lincoln, thank you. I’ll put everything away later. There’s nothing perishable. Just leave it.”
“Okay. But we can’t forget the chocolate,” he said, opening the bag most likely to contain it. His lungs seized at what he found inside, and he couldn’t get air in or out.
Amelia’s body suddenly slammed against his chest, trapping his arm between them. She pressed her hand over his mouth, hard.
“Take a breath and don’t say a word until you can do so without yelling.”
His gaze locked on hers and his nostrils flared as he inhaled. After a long moment, she slowly removed her hand but didn’t move away. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. “As much as I can’t stand the thought of you with another man, please tell me this test is for you,” he begged, his voice emerging husky and low.
“I wish it was but no,” she said. “It’s not.”
The ground under his feet shifted, and he found himself shoved backward into a hastily pulled out chair. Breanne was— Amelia wanted— “You want kids?”
Amelia blinked at him, her expression one of hurt and disappointment.
“This is not the time for th
at discussion, but yes, I do. Now, Breanne is going to come out of that bathroom soon, and when she does, you need to be ready.”
“How did this… I’m going to kill him.”
“No, you’re not. They used protection. It didn’t work,” she informed him.
Yeah, that was way more information than he ever wanted to know about his daughter’s sex life.
“I found her sobbing in the middle of a store because she’s terrified her life is over. Lincoln? Lincoln.”
“What?”
“You have to be here for Breanne no matter how much you want to shout at the world right now. Okay?”
He wiped a shaking hand over his face and stared up at her, trying to process her words and make them make sense. “You can’t want kids, Amelia. This is what they do to you. They make you fall in love with them, and then they grow up and rip your heart out.” He pressed a hand to his chest and rubbed the tightness there. “I think I’m having a heart attack.”
Standing beside the chair, Amelia wrapped her arms around him with a soft laugh and cradled his head against her. He felt her kiss his head, and he nuzzled against the softness she offered, well aware of the way she shivered at his touch.
“I think you’re having an anxiety attack. Breathe, Lincoln. It’ll be okay, because whether she is or isn’t, you love her. Right?”
He wrapped his arms around her frame and squeezed, wishing he could dive into her warmth and love and not surface for days, weeks. He had to talk to Amelia about her thoughts on children, but she was right about one thing—now wasn’t the time.
“Dad?”
Lincoln opened his eyes to find Breanne standing six feet away eyeing him like a cobra about to strike. “Hey, kiddo.”
Breanne’s gaze shifted to the test lying out in the open on the counter.
“Daddy, I’m sorry,” she said, unable to make eye contact.
Lincoln released Amelia and stood, up and out of the chair in a second flat. He drew Breanne into his arms and held her while she cried, head buried in his chest like she had her whole life. “I know. It’ll be okay. How about we take that test and know for sure, eh?”
