Declan

by Chris Keniston

When Dorothy said nothing Ruth Ann volunteered, "Someone left a baby at the station,"

  "Actually," Dorothy paused, her brows creased in thought, "DJ called Becky over the dog."

  "See!" Eileen sat back, excitement bubbling inside her. Feast or famine. One day a bunch of bachelors with no next generation babies in sight and now two married men, one more well on his way, and DJ falling fast with a plethora of the next generation about. "And we don't have to do a thing."

  "No. I don't see." Ruth Ann seemed to be losing brain cells with each new gray hair, or maybe her ponytail was too tight.

  "The dog showed up on the stationhouse door." Eileen enunciated clearly. "DJ called Becky over the dog."

  "Oh my God." Dorothy smiled. "The dog brought them together."

  "Yep." Eileen crossed her arms and nodded. "Now we just have to let them, and the baby, work things out."

  Ruth Ann shook her head. "I think y'all are crazy expecting a dog to play matchmaker."

  "We'll see." Eileen smiled. "We'll see."

  ***

  All the color drained from DJ’s face and Becky knew whatever he'd been told it had to do with Ethan. She'd seen DJ deal with Meg's crazy former fiancé, Toni's abusive husband and mentally struggle with the Jake Thomas situation. Right now, DJ was rattled and that was a new sight for Becky.

  Whatever the person on the other end had said, DJ bobbed his head in response and Becky mouthed Ethan to him. When his eyes closed and his chin dropped in a single curt motion, she wished to God Ethan had grown up loving cattle and horses like Connor and Finn. Without giving it any thought, her hand slipped into DJ’s and she squeezed, surprised at the comfort coursing through her when he squeezed back.

  Standing in the hall was no way to find out what was going on. She turned to face the front desk, caught Kelly's attention and whispered, "We'll be in Adam's office. Send him in when he's done."

  Kelly nodded and Becky tugged DJ into the room and closed the door behind them.

  "I see," DJ said. "Right." Some color seemed to return to his face.

  She couldn't determine how bad any of it was. Though rattled, DJ was still one of the strongest men she knew. A bloody Rock of Gibraltar. Nothing in his stance gave her any hint to what was going on.

  "Thanks. Let me know if you hear anything else." The phone beeped and DJ slipped it into his pocket.

  "Are you okay?" she asked him softly, her hand still in his.

  Eyes filled with tenderness and concern studied her. A fist tightened around her heart, convinced he was going to tell her Ethan was gone. At the same moment, her heart beat stronger at the realization that all the sadness in his gaze seemed directed at her.

  "There may be a situation," he said.

  Wanting to give him a big old fashioned comforting hug, she inched forward slightly, not daring to actually wrap her arms around him. "You know whatever it is, I'm here for you. All of you."

  DJ blinked and narrow eyes focused on hers. For a second she wondered if he wasn't trying to read her mind. "You really are amazing."

  It was her turn to blink with surprise. "Thank you."

  "My brother is an idiot."

  "Excuse me?"

  "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything, it's just…" He blew out a sigh and lifted his gaze to some distant point over her shoulder and back. "We were right. Ethan was the ride on a recent mission."

  She swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and waited for DJ to finish.

  "Nothing is confirmed. All Brooklyn knows is a helo went down. We have no way of confirming if it was Ethan's, but since he's not in touch, we can safely presume it's his."

  Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for more.

  "The only thing we know is all souls are accounted for."

  "Souls? Meaning they're all alive?"

  DJ nodded. "From what little Brooklyn's source could tell him, There are injuries. No word that any are life threatening. And we have no idea if Ethan is among them."

  "Why don't we know more? Why won't his superiors tell you more?" As much as she wanted to be sure Ethan was all right, she hated his siblings not knowing. His father. "Oh God, Aunt Eileen."

  "We probably won't tell her until we know for sure." Once again his gaze searched her eyes with a curious intensity that made her want to shift her weight, but at the same time, like gravitational pull, his eyes kept her rooted in place.

  "What?" she asked softly.

  "I thought you'd be more upset."

  "You said he's alive right?"

  DJ nodded.

  "Whether he's injured or not, Aunt Eileen is going to freak."

  "You're more worried about her than yourself?"

  "And you." The words came out very softly. Once she heard herself, she quickly added, "And your brothers and Grace, of course."

  Slowly, DJ lifted his thumb and brushed the roughened pad across her bottom lip. The gentle touch sent a zap of electricity all the way to her toes. Balance wasn't an option, she was pretty sure she swayed back, or forward. She wasn’t sure. All she knew was his free hand skimmed down her cheek and slipping around her neck, held her steady.

  "Rebecca," he said so softly she wasn't completely sure she hadn't imagined hearing her name.

  "Uh huh," she mumbled.

  "Do you mind if I kiss you?"

  "Uh uh," she managed to mutter a second before his mouth came down on hers. The tenderness in the careful touch shattered the tension inside her. Sparks and heat spread like a lit match on dry kindling. All with a sweet, gentle, barely there kiss that ended all too soon.

  The warmth of DJ's breath fanned her face, and she sucked in a deep calming breath. Not that it was doing any good. Her heart raced, her blood was pumping and she wanted very much to pull him in for another longer, deeper and delicious kiss.

  "About Ethan." DJ pulled back to look at her. "Though technically the family of an injured marine should be notified within 24 hours, in reality there's no telling how long it will be before Dad is officially notified of Ethan's status. If he's hurt and what he'll want to do."

  "If he's hurt. Bad." She almost choked on her own words. "Are you still going to tell him right away about Brittany?"

  DJ hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't know. I honestly don't know."

  Becky nodded. She had to think of Ethan as perfectly okay. For everyone's sake, she had to. "While you were outside with Ms. Baxter, Aunt Eileen wanted to take Brittany to the ranch." DJ opened his mouth to speak, and she held up a hand. "Adam suggested it was better for Brittany to stay with a routine she's growing used to. Brooks concurred if it was okay with me."

  "Is it? Okay with you?"

  Again, Becky bobbed her head. "But I'll still need help."

  A smile lifted at one side of his mouth. "I think something can be arranged."

  "I was hoping you would say that." She was hoping he'd say a lot more. Do more. Then again, every once in a while a girl had to stand up for herself. Pushing up on her toes and winding both arms around his neck, she didn't give him any time to consider. She tugged his head toward hers and this time threw tender and delicate to the wind.

  DJ didn't hesitate in his response. For as many days as they'd been thrown together, he'd been fighting the need to do just this, hold Becky in his arms, see firsthand if she tasted as sweet as he thought. He didn't care about old history. About who she loved as a child. All he cared about was the passion and fire passing between them. Winding an arm around her waist, he pulled her in closer. He needed to feel every slender curve against him the way he needed air to breathe.

  "What's so all fired…ookaay." Adam stopped in his tracks and cleared his throat. Twice.

  When DJ broke away from Becky, his brother was rubbing his brows, staring at the floor and smiling.

  Taking a step back, DJ held onto Becky with one hand, and turned to face his brother. "I have news."

  "Yeah. I can see that." Adam looked up, his smile broader. "Shall I call Aunt Eileen?"

  "No!" DJ and
Becky echoed.

  The smile slipped from Adam's face. "What's the news?"

  DJ couldn't bring himself to let go of Becky's hand. Now that he'd felt her warmth against him, he couldn't stand to lose the connection. "Ethan's helo went down during a mission. We believe the team made it safely out, but there are injuries."

  "Ethan?"

  "We don't know. But it doesn't appear any of the injuries are life threatening."

  "And you know this how?" Adam asked.

  "Brooklyn."

  "I need to meet this guy someday." Adam spun around, his hand roughly rubbing the back of his neck. "We can't tell Aunt Eileen. Not yet."

  "Agreed," DJ said quickly.

  "But Dad needs to know."

  "Also agreed."

  Becky shook her head. "Don't we get to tell the poor lady anything? She's a pretty strong woman. I think she can take it."

  Adam and DJ stared at her.

  "What? I'd want that woman in my corner any day."

  DJ shifted his attention to his brother. Adam shrugged and waved his hands. "Family meeting. Let Dad decide."

  DJ nodded. "Where?"

  "We can't do the ranch, or Aunt Eileen will figure it out for sure," Adam said. "We could use our place but then you'd both have to bring the baby."

  "I don't have to—" Becky started.

  "Yes." DJ squeezed the hand he still held. "You're the smart one today." His lips came down on her temple and even though they were all worried about Ethan, making this connection with Becky had him grinning from the inside out.

  "Can we meet at your place?" Adam asked Becky.

  Smiling up at DJ, she dragged her gaze away and nodded at Adam. "Sure."

  Now the only thing DJ had to work out was how to get through the rest of the day without letting go of Becky.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Like it or not, DJ couldn't spend the entire afternoon holding hands with Becky. They both had work to do. Instead, he spent the remainder of the day grinning like a teen after his first slide into second base.

  No matter who cared for the baby until Ethan could come home or what arrangements were made for the future, Brittany would need more than a portable crib and carrier. DJ wasn't going to go crazy buying out Sisters, especially since he suspected his aunt would want that pleasure, but that first day shopping, Becky had returned more than once to look at the bouncy thing for babies to sit in. Tonight, he'd decided a few minutes detour to pick it up was in order.

  With every step up to Becky's apartment, trepidation and anticipation battled each other deep in his gut. In only a few hours, his entire world had just turned on a dime. This morning he was convinced the nicest girl he knew was in love with his younger brother, he was unsure if he had a niece, and he hadn't a clue if his brother was alive or dead. Now, DJ knew his brother was alive, he had a niece, Becky—Rebecca—Wilson was most definitely not in love with his brother, and if this afternoon was any sign, he just might have a shot at the happiness his older brothers had recently found.

  Through the front door at the top of the stairs, he could hear Becky singing. He liked the sound and how it made him feel. As a matter of fact, despite all the crazy crap that had gone down over the last few days, he'd looked forward every night to coming home to Becky. Coming home. He really liked the sound of that. "Patience Romeo," he whispered out loud and pushed open the front door.

  "Hey." Becky spun around, waving a wooden spoon. "Since Toni was nice enough to bring pizza last time, I thought I could do spaghetti tonight. Your family should be here any minute."

  And why did that let all the air out of his tires. He'd been looking forward to a chance to visit alone. To test the waters so to speak. See where things were going to go after this afternoon's kiss. He'd tried not to dwell on it too much, but from the second he'd parked out front, pulling her into his arms for a big sloppy kiss was front and center on his mind.

  "Oh, my." Her gaze fell on the large plastic bag at his side. "What's that?"

  Setting the package on the kitchen table, he slid the baby bouncer out for her to see.

  Turning off the burner, Becky set the spoon down and glided the short distance to the table. "You didn't."

  "I did." For a split second he thought perhaps he'd done the wrong thing. Until she spun around and threw her arms around his neck.

  "You, Mr. Declan James Farraday, are one hell of a nice guy."

  "Think so?" He tried to hold back the huge grin threatening to spread across his face.

  Blushing, she nodded and stepped back.

  Instantly, DJ wished he'd trapped her in his arms, but he had to be patient. Just because he already knew she was the one for him didn't mean he didn't have to be careful not to push too hard too soon. Patience, Romeo. "Are you busy Friday night?"

  "No."

  First step, hopefully hadn't gotten everything wrong. "Would you like to join me for dinner?"

  "That would be nice."

  Elation shot up inside him. "I'm sure one of my brothers would be willing to babysit."

  A slow, easy smile settled at her lips. "Don't we sound like the old married couple?" Instantly, her eyes rounded and both her hands slapped over her mouth as she mumbled, "Oh my God" and took a step back.

  "Hey." He stepped forward reaching out to her.

  Taking another step back and squeezing her eyes shut for a long few seconds, she shook her head. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound…to imply… I mean." Her hands fell by her side. "I'd better check the sauce."

  "Hang on." DJ curled a hand around her elbow as she walked past him and swung her around in front of him. "Please don't run away from me."

  "I wasn't running, I need to…" Her gaze darted up to meet his and she blew out a sigh. "Sorry."

  "Why?"

  "Why?" she repeated.

  "Yes. Why are you running away from me?" He seriously didn't understand what just happened. Everything seemed perfectly normal. Nice even. No awkward transitions from this afternoon's really amazing kiss to another night sharing custody of Brittany. What Becky just said was true. They did behave like an old married couple. They'd fallen into a routine with the ease of two people meant to be together. He knew that. Or was that the problem? "Scrap that. New question. Is the idea of being married to a man like me so awful?"

  "Oh, God no." Imploring eyes looked up at him. "It's just that…" She sighed again. "I've already made a fool of myself in front of this town. I'd rather not do it again."

  "Fool? How?"

  "That stupid one-sided schoolgirl crush on Ethan. I don't need the whole town talking about me again." Her gaze darted away from his.

  Schoolgirl crush. Again. When it came to understanding feminine logic, DJ wasn't much better than any other guy, but right now the picture was beginning to come into focus. A light bulb suddenly brightened over his head. "Wait. Do you mean us?"

  Becky nodded.

  "The town thinking you have a stupid one-sided schoolgirl crush on me?"

  Closing her eyes, she nodded again.

  DJ placed a finger under her chin and raised her face. "Look at me."

  Her eyes popped open.

  "If this afternoon wasn't already perfectly clear, allow me to elaborate. I do not go around kissing women just for the hell of it. If the town is going to say anyone has a silly one-sided crush, it's going to be me."

  "You?" Becky's mouth didn't quite close, making him want to kiss away her surprise. "But…"

  He put a finger over her lips. "And I'd very much like a chance to see if it can become two-sided."

  Wrapping her fingers around his wrist, she shook her head. "Aren't we the pair? Declan James Farraday, it already is two-sided."

  A smile pulled at his cheeks. "I like the way you say that."

  "It's a beautiful name."

  "No," he kissed the tip of her nose, "the two-sided part."

  "Oh, that." She smiled up at him. "So what do we do now?"

  "We take care of Brittany until her father comes home and whe
n he does, if you don't want to string me up for leaving my dirty socks on the bathroom floor, maybe we can revisit that old married couple thing."

  "I like the sound of that already."

  He wasn't sure whose arms wound around the other first, but pulling her tightly against him, he poured all the emotion and promise into the kiss. Everything about her was so right. The feel of her hair in his fingers, her lips on his, her delicate curves against his hard planes. So perfect.

  Footsteps pounding nearby came to a halt, followed by a loud, course, clearing of a man's throat. "They did that this afternoon too."

  "Really," Meg said softly.

  DJ broke contact and rested his forehead against Becky's, softly whispering, "Their timing sucks."

  "Mm," Becky hummed back, making him want to swallow her whole all over again.

  "Geez. You guys go from zero to sixty in ten seconds," this voice belonged to Brooks.

  DJ looked up to see his two siblings and their wives lined up in front of them. "That would be the pot calling the kettle black, don't ya think?"

  Toni stood beside a new stroller, Brittany in her arms, and faced her husband. "He's got you there, dear."

  Brooks moved forward. "Not the same at all. We had more than…"

  "Four days," Adam tossed out.

  Brooks frowned at his brother, then muffling a burst of laughter turned to Becky. "Welcome to the family."

  Chapter Twenty - Epilogue

  Ethan swallowed another pain pill dry. The walls of his hospital room were closing in on him. When he finally got to the good doctors in country, they'd patched him up as best they could and the next day shipped him off to Germany. In Landstuhl, he'd undergone a second surgery and three days after that, he'd been on a C-17 back to the States and Walter Reed. More efficient than a Ford assembly line.

  No longer on a morphine drip, Ethan had sputtered back to life from yet another surgery. At least they'd saved the leg. Now the question at hand—was it enough to save his career?

  "No matter what, you can still fly as a civilian." Carter Jameson had been his roommate since arriving at Uncle Sam's five star medical facility.