Having Adam's Baby (Harlequin Special Edition) (11 page)

“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.

“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Maybe not physically, but Adam had become more withdrawn from the moment they’d arrived.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

“O
kay, 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 time 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.”

“You’ve been home less than a month.” Liam pointed out the obvious. “How far along is Fay?”

“Almost three months.”

“How is that possible, Uncle Adam?” Logan asked.

“Yeah, the math doesn’t work,” Luke added.

Silence filled the room. Adam felt the eyes of ten people on him, waiting to hear how he was going to explain this. He’d wondered about having the kids here, but they were teenagers now, or would be soon, and gossip didn’t have an age limit.

“Fay and I spent some time together when I was home for a quick visit back in April. You three were in Boston visiting your mother at the time.”

His nephews seemed to mull over his explanation before matching shrugs told of their easy acceptance.

“So the baby is due in January?” Abby asked. “That’ll make him either a Capricorn or an Aquarius like me. The goat is usually very ambitious and practical, but us water bearers are intelligent, mysterious and march to the beat of our own drum.”

“And here I thought you were all that because you were a teenager,” Nolan said, then smiled at his daughter.

She rolled her eyes. “Very funny, Dad. Anyway, if you ever need a babysitter, Uncle Adam, let me know. I’m signed up for a first-aid course in school come fall.”

“Thanks, Abby, but we really haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“So, how long has Fay been staying with you?” Laurie asked.

Adam saw the long glance exchanged between his sister-in-law and his mother, but he had no idea what it meant. “She moved in last night.”

“So where do things go from here, son?”

Both of Adam’s parents had cornered him on two separate occasions to ask about Fay and his plans. He didn’t have any answers for either of them at the time. He could tell by the looks on their faces right now, they weren’t exactly pleased with what he’d just shared.

Old-school and family-oriented, his parents had expected an engagement announcement, but Adam wasn’t about to share how Fay had refused him. Not that surprising her with a marriage proposal first thing in the morning had been the best time for it.

“We don’t know yet, Dad. Right now we’re taking things one step at a time.”

His father nodded, a half frown settling between his brows. “Well, I think you did the right thing. Living in her apartment, with those outside stairs, would’ve been dangerous for her to deal with come winter.”

Adam was sure his father had more to say, but his practical response was so like Alistair Murphy. The fact that he’d thought the same thing made him realize he was more like his father than he thought.

He liked that.

“You know, the smallest of your three bedrooms would make a charming nursery.” His mother came to stand beside Adam, placing a hand on his arm. “A crib, dresser and changing table would fit easily in there. Not to mention how nice the rocking chair would look sitting by the window.”

“Oh, I saw the cutest fabric in a store last week. Baby zoo animals all done in soft rainbow colors,” Laurie added. “Perfect for a boy or a girl.”

“What were you doing looking at baby fabric?” Bryant asked his wife, his eyes wide.

“Just browsing, sweetie.” Laurie leaned down and gave him a kiss. “Nothing for you to get excited about.”

Adam suddenly knew exactly where his mother was heading. She’d been a long-distance grandmother when Nolan’s kids were born as he and his ex were living in New England at the time. Even then, she’d been heavily involved via the phone and the internet. Who knew what she’d be like in person?

“Slow down, Mom. Like I said, Fay and I still have a lot to talk about when it comes to the baby.”

Hell, he’d barely remembered what they talked about over breakfast.

Considering how little sleep he’d gotten last night, waking to the smell of freshly brewed coffee had been a nice surprise. He figured Fay must’ve set the automatic timer last night, a trick he hadn’t figured out yet.

By the time he’d gotten out of the shower, dressed and entered the kitchen, she was serving up bacon and eggs.

Not a morning person—he barely spoke to anyone until his second cup of coffee—Adam tried to listen as Fay bustled around the room chatting about things like food shopping and laundry duties.

“Your child is going to need a room of his or her own. Besides, Fay doesn’t have any family in town except us.”

His mother words yanked Adam from his thoughts. He opened his mouth, but she wasn’t done.

“And don’t even think of telling me she’s not family. She’s the mother of my grandchild. That makes her as much a part of this family as anyone else.”

His father walked across the room and placed his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Well said, dear.” He then stuck out his hand. “Congratulations, son. Welcome to fatherhood.”

Adam shook his father’s hand, and then accepted best wishes from everyone as they crowded around him. Relieved that they seemed to take the news so well, he really wished Fay was here. She needed to know how excited his family was about the baby.

They then moved into the dining room and took seats around the large table. Adam hung back, popping Devlin lightly with a fist to the shoulder. “Thanks a lot.”

Dev grinned and dodged when Adam cocked his arm to deliver another blow. “Hey, how was I supposed to know you only got halfway to the goal line?”

Deciding his brother had already done enough damage, Adam let the comment slide as he took a seat. He couldn’t hear what his mom and Laurie were talking about at the opposite end of the table, but he’d bet money it was about the newest member of the Murphy family. Something told him he needed to warn Fay about the whirlwind that was his mother.

“Well, not to steal my big brother’s thunder, but since we’re all here, I’d like to make an announcement myself.” Ric waited until he had everyone’s attention. “I’ve decided against going to graduate school in the fall and instead joined the Air Force. Full time. I report to Officer’s Training School in Alabama next month.”

Stunned silence met Ric’s announcement for a moment and then the Murphys did what they did best. Talk over one another with questions and comments flying through the air while sharing a family meal.

Adam smiled at his youngest brother, not really surprised by Ric’s plans as the kid had corresponded with him about joining the military for the last six months or so.

“Gee, it’s a good thing you’re retired, Sarge.” Dev looked at Adam and winked. “Otherwise, you’d have to salute our baby brother.”

“With pride,” Adam shot back.

The discussion switched to Ric’s career decision and the job specialty of military intelligence while they ate. After dinner was over, Adam begged off dessert and said his goodbyes. He headed for the back entrance with Shadow at his heels, a plastic dish filled with leftover lasagna and garlic bread for Fay.

“Hey, where you going?” Dev jogged up behind Adam as they headed outside.

“Home.”

“Not yet. Come on, it’s time to get you up in the air. We’ve still got plenty of daylight left. That is, if you think the
wife
won’t object.”

Adam pocketed his phone. He’d thought about calling, but had sent Fay a text message instead telling her he was heading home. “Very funny. I thought you were having issues with the helo.”

“Naw, it’s fine. I know you’ve been visiting the job sites recently, but there’s nothing like seeing it from the air.” Dev matched Adam’s quick stride. “Don’t tell me you’ve never flown in a chopper before?”

Adam hummed the opening strains of “Into the Wild Blue Yonder,” the Air Force theme song.

“Okay, okay. I get it,” Dev said, then grinned. “I’m not talking about those oversize birds like the Pave Hawk, even thought I’ll admit the MH-60Gs do give a sweet ride.”

“Hold up a minute.” Adam stopped. “When have you ever flown in a Pave Hawk?”

“A while back I dated a captain in the Reserves who flew helos. Geez, I can’t even remember her name. It was back during my ‘party like a rock star’ days. Anyway, she took me for a ride one time.” Dev paused and his eyes got a faraway look in them. “Yeah, I remember…great wingspan.”