Having Adam's Baby (Harlequin Special Edition) (7 page)

“Isn’t the shop closed today?”

“Yes, but Sunday is when I get caught up on paperwork, check orders, tackle bookkeeping and…other stuff.” Her appetite suddenly gone, she stopped and placed the doughnut and her mug on the kitchen table. “I know you probably want to talk, but I told you yesterday I need more time.”

“Fay, please. I just need to know…to ask you one thing.”

The soft, almost pleading tone of his voice caught her off guard. His easygoing manner had disappeared and now he sounded almost…afraid.

That couldn’t be right. What could possibly frighten him?

“I need—” His fingers clenched the coffee cup, indenting the sides almost to the point of crushing it. He walked to where she stood, set the cup down and took a deep breath. “I need to know what your decision is. About the baby.”

“My decision?”

Fay had no idea what he was talking about. There were a thousand and one decisions facing her, from picking out a name, to how she planned to turn the smaller of the two bedrooms into a nursery, to figuring out a schedule as a working mother. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yesterday you said the baby was yours.” Adam removed his hat, one hand rubbing hard at the back of his neck. “But I told you the baby was ours.”

She ignored the quick fluttering in her belly. “Yes, I remember.”

“I took your words to mean that you don’t plan to— Well, that you want…the baby.”

“Of course I want the baby. What else could you…”

Her voice trailed off as she understood what he was asking. Tears stung the back of her eyes. She pressed a hand low over her belly and blinked hard.

“Oh, Adam, how could you think that?” She looked into his eyes, wanting him to see the truth in hers. “Despite the situation we’ve found ourselves in, a lot of years have passed since we were fr-friends. You might think you don’t know me very well anymore, but it never crossed my mind to do anything but have this baby.”

He reached out then, his palm warm against her cheek. She jerked at his touch, but didn’t back away as his fingers moved to thread into her hair. Then he closed the space between them, dropped his head and gently pressed his forehead to hers.

“I’m sorry, Fay. That was unfair.” His words came out a rough whisper. “I have no right to measure what’s happening now against the past.”

“Whose past?” Bewilderment swamped her, and she didn’t know if her confusion was from his words or his touch. “I don’t understand.”

He straightened then, his hand dropping away as he looked down at her. “It doesn’t matter.”

But it did; she could see the pain and hurt reflected in his gaze. Had there been another child? Maybe with his ex? She hadn’t gotten to know his wife during his short-lived marriage. Everyone had been surprised when one day she’d packed up and left town, left Adam.

“I think it does matter.”

“I apologize again.” This time he stepped away from her, his gaze now centered on the hat he held in his hands. “I never should’ve thought that way. Weren’t you heading off to get dressed?”

Fay wanted to ask him more questions, but standing there wearing nothing but a robe left her feeling even more open and exposed.

She gave a quick nod and hurried to her bedroom. The bath could wait. As she pulled on a bra, T-shirt and jeans, her cheek still burned from the heated imprint of his hand.

She should be angry that he’d shown up here unannounced. Even more so for thinking she might do harm to the child she carried, but the fury and pain toward Adam that she’d lived with for months was hard to find.

Especially after witnessing the anguish in his eyes.

Yes, she’d been overwhelmed at the news of being pregnant. And the fact that the father was the same man she’d blamed for her husband’s death only added to the craziness of the situation.

But over the last week she’d found herself more and more feeling hope and joy for the future, for the tiny life growing inside her. Joy mixed with a bit of uncertainty, but that was to be expected.

Not that she’d made a conscious decision to let go of all her feelings, but finding out about the baby had changed her world completely.

Fay again laid a hand over her still flat stomach. Now that Adam knew for sure she planned to go through with the pregnancy she faced even more questions about the future.

For all of them.

Shoving her feet into well worn sneakers, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, her riotous curls barely held in place by her makeshift ponytail. “Oh, yikes! Here’s hoping you don’t take after your mother in the hair department.”

Maybe the baby would have hair the color of dark chocolate, thick and wavy like its father’s when he didn’t wear it in a close-cropped military style.

Fay stilled and just like that, the simple reminder of Adam’s connection to Scott fanned the simmer of resentment.

Pulling in a deep breath, she pushed the thought out of her mind before it could catch hold, fixed her hair and headed back to the kitchen.

There she found Adam looking around the apartment. She tried to see it through his eyes, the space barely one third the size of his log house, but after all the hard work she’d put into turning the former storage space into a home, all she saw was eight hundred square feet that was all hers.

Free and clear.

She’d given up everything in order to keep this century-old building. Stan Luden had hired her to work in the flower shop when she was in high school, not long after his wife died. Fay soon fell in love with all things about flowers. She took classes at a local community college and found herself practically running the place before Stan passed away eight years ago, leaving her the entire building in his will.

It had taken a lot of hard work and elbow grease, but after decorating it in a shabby-chic style of muted greens, pale yellows and off-white, Fay felt more comfortable here in this tiny space than she had the sixteen years she’d lived in her former home.

“It’s actually bigger on the inside that it looks,” Adam said, looking around. “You’ve done it up nice.”

“Thanks. It was a real mess up here when I started. I refinished all the hardwood floors myself, including the oak planking in the living room,” she said, reaching for her now cool mug of tea. Dumping the contents in the sink, she turned and leaned against the counter. “Down the hall are two small bedrooms and the bath, which has a wonderful clawfoot tub that’s still in amazing condition. It must be original to the building. I swear, there’s nothing better after a long day than sinking up to my nose in bubbles—”

Fay captured her bottom lip with her teeth, cutting off her own words. “Sorry. I tend to get carried away talking about this place.”

Adam’s dark gaze held her for a long moment before he spoke. “It’s a lot different than your old home.”

Here it comes.

She’d been so caught up in showing off the warm and comfy space she’d almost forgotten who she was talking to.

She lifted her chin and returned Adam’s direct stare. “Yes, it is. I guess I prefer cozy to grand.”

“It suits you, but I was surprised to find out you sold…” His voice trailed off as his gaze shifted to the refrigerator, eyes narrowing. “You have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Friday?”

Fay found herself thankful that he’d spotted her calendar and the bold letters she’d printed in red and enclosed in a big heart. She was sure Adam was moments away from asking her why she’d sold her old home and that conversation was one she wasn’t prepared to have with him.

Not yet.

So she went with her first instinct to distract him. “Yes, for me and the baby. Would you like to join us?”

Chapter Six

“S
o, that’s it?” Still trying to come to terms with how fast his life had changed over the last few days, Adam leaned back in the chair where he sat at the large conference room table. The smiles on his brothers’ faces eased the tightness in his chest. “That’s all I have to do?”

He’d gotten up first thing this morning, drove to Murphy Mountain Log Homes and asked to speak to his brothers, at least the ones present, privately.

Then he asked for his old job back.

Even though his degree was in Farm and Ranch Management, Adam had worked for the family business from the moment the doors had opened his sophomore year in college. He preferred the outdoor side of things and worked his way up to construction manager until he’d finally led the crew that built his log home.

The plan had been to start his own ranch after that, but the failure of his marriage had soured him on that dream. His increased tours overseas meant leaving his job with the family business behind as well. His specialty while serving in the Air Force reserves had been as a pavements and construction equipment operator. Not much pavement in building log homes, but his expertise with operating and maintaining heavy equipment meant it’d be easy for him to slide back into his old position.

Man, he never thought he’d be back as a full-time employee with two of his younger brothers as his bosses.

“What were you expecting?” Liam asked, breaking into Adam’s thoughts. He stood, his dark eyes focused on the cell phone in his grip. “A blood oath like when we were kids?”

“Blood oaths?” Ric tipped his chair back, balancing it on two legs. Ric was working for the family business for a few months before continuing his studies at graduate school in the fall. “I don’t remember any blood oaths.”

Nolan walked behind their little brother and pushed the chair back to the floor. “That’s because you’re the baby. By the time you came along, Mom had already warned us against marring her youngest boy’s skin or she’d tan our hides.”

“No fair. I missed out on all the fun stuff,” Ric groused.

“You want fun?” Bryant asked from where he sat at the head of the table. “Head out to the Camp Diamond job site and report in. You’re late.”

“Hey, I’m a Murphy!”

“Yeah, a Murphy who needs to get to his job,” Liam added, walking out of the room. Seconds later, he popped his head back around the corner and pointed at Adam. “That includes you, too, big brother. Get to work.”

Adam responded with a finger gesture that would’ve summoned the evil eye from his mom, but thankfully it was just him and the guys in the room.

And a dog.

Yeah, somehow the mangy mutt that latched onto him outside Fay’s place had hitched a ride home yesterday in the bed of Adam’s pickup without him knowing.

Once he realized he had company, a call to the local vet and animal shelter proved futile. No one was looking for a dog matching its description. At least the darn thing looked a lot cleaner after an outdoor bath revealed a coat of white. With no dog food in the house, he’d thrown two steaks on the grill.

After that, Adam pretty much forgot about his uninvited guest. Instead he got to thinking about how Fay’s offer to go to her doctor’s appointment, and quick ushering of him out the door, had made him forget his plan to ask about her finances.

That led to him mulling over his own money issues.

Despite his quarterly checks as shareholder in the family business and what he’d saved from his military pay, he needed a steady income to provide for his child and Fay. He wasn’t eligible for his military retired pay until he reached the age of sixty.

Damn, his kid would be graduating from college by then.

“I guess turning your land into a working ranch is on hold?” Bryan stood and gathered his reports. “Despite all you said on Saturday?”

For the moment, Adam thought. His gaze caught with Nolan’s, who hovered out in the hall conferring with his secretary, Katie. “Yeah, the place needs a lot of work.”

“You bet it does, just ask me and Dev,” Ric chimed in as the group walked out to the main room, the dog right by Adam’s side. “We showed up yesterday hoping to watch a ball game. Instead, Dev and I ended up busting our butts on that sorry excuse for a barn.”

The thought of giving up his plans for the ranch had Adam marching straight to the old barn yesterday afternoon. The wooden structure looked even worse up close. After yanking on a pair of work gloves he was soon tearing the walls apart piece by piece, some of the strips of wood coming off without any struggle at all. Two hours later he was still at it when Dev and Ric had shown up. Between the three of them they’d managed to get the place down to bare studs. The foundation of the hundred-year-old structure was sound.

Now it just needed four walls. And a new roof.

“Well, look at you.” Nolan and Liam joined them, Nolan punching Adam lightly in the upper arm. “Home less than a week and you’ve got yourself a job, a dog and a—”

“I don’t have a dog,” Adam sent his brother a hard stare, hoping the others hadn’t noticed his slip, but the remaining three Murphys had picked up on the silent communication.

And the four-legged male in the group barked in protest.

“All evidence to the contrary,” Bryant said. “I’d say you definitely have a dog, even if he is nameless. But what else have you got?”

“It’s nothing,” Adam said quickly. Too quickly he realized as his brothers crowded around him. “Hey, we all have jobs to get to. And no one ever said where Devlin was this morning.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll know when Dev arrives.” Liam pocketed his phone. “But don’t think you’re getting off that easy. What was Nolan talking about?”

“Yeah, come on. Spill.” Ric offered a wide grin. “You two are hiding something.”

Adam hesitated, not exactly sure why he wasn’t ready for everyone to know about the child Fay was carrying.

He needed more time to figure how everything was going to work out with her for one thing. Going to the doctor’s was a good first step even if Fay had blurted out the suggestion just to throw him off track.

“A date,” he finally said, offering the first thought that popped into his head. “I’ve got a date.”

Bryant gave a low whistle. “That was fast.”

“Like we Murphys know any other speed,” Liam chimed in.

The men laughed and then Bryant and Nolan were called away to individual teleconferences leaving just Liam and Ric behind.

“So, who’s the lucky girl?”

“Fay.”

“Fay Coggen?” Liam asked.

“Yes, Fay Coggen.” Adam read the surprise in his brothers’ eyes, but he quickly warmed to the idea of having Fay in his home again. Maybe then he could get some answers. “I’m making her dinner. At my place. Friday night. A thank-you for all the work she did.”

“Wasn’t her husband the guy from your unit who died a year ago?” Ric asked.

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Adam asked, his tone hard. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be, little brother? I think I saw your truck parked next to mine. Out back.”

“Yeah, I can take a hint. I’m leaving.” Ric headed for the rear exit. “You know, you guys suck sometimes.”

Adam waited until Ric left before he turned back to Liam, who returned his stare with a steady gaze from behind the black square-framed glasses he sometimes wore.

“He didn’t mean anything by that,” Liam said.

Adam sighed and dropped his head. Yeah, he knew that.

“You sure you don’t want to take some time off before coming back to work?” Liam pushed. “You’ve earned it, you know.”

The offer was tempting, but Adam wanted Fay to know that she could count on his financial assistance right away. “No, I’m ready to work.”

“Okay, then. I’ll follow you to the off-site construction offices and introduce you to your crew.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

Liam pocketed his glasses. “Yeah, I do. One of the perks of being company president.” He gestured toward the stray. “Taking him along?”

Adam looked down at the dog. “I guess so. Let’s go.”

They left the building and headed for the parking lot. Nolan’s twin boys were tossing a baseball back and forth in the backyard and the dog raced over to join them.

Adam spotted Ric pulling out of his parking space. “Hang on,” he said to Liam, who stopped to answer his phone. “I’ll be right back.”

He waved down his brother, glad when Ric slowed his vehicle and rolled down the driver’s-side window.

“Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to snap at you back there,” Adam said. “My fuse seems to be a bit short lately.”

“Hey, no worries. Your life has taken a one-eighty turn in the last few days.” Ric grinned in an easygoing way. “Less than a week ago you were pounding sand. Look at you now.”

Adam only nodded, his brother’s words closer to the truth than he knew. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

He stepped back and Ric drove away. Hands braced on his hips, Adam scanned the area.

Yeah, look at him now. Working for the family business was the last place he thought he’d be all those nights he’d lain in his rack overseas and planned out his future.

Of course, being a father was also the last thing he’d envisioned, too.

A distant chopping noise caught his attention. His posture straightened and he immediately searched the skies. Adam knew what the small dot was before it had a chance to take shape. His eyes stayed glued to the small helicopter as it drew closer, the whirl of its rotors filling his ears.

He reached for the sound protection he always had on hand, but his was gone. The dirt beneath his boots was replaced with miles of poured concrete that became the flight line. The surrounding trees disappeared as hangars, support buildings and the control tower shimmered in the hot desert sun.

The bird came closer and a fine sweat broke out across his skin. He wanted to move back as the machine hovered overhead, but his feet felt glued to the ground as he tipped his face to the sky. They had incoming, but there were none on the schedule.

Who was arriving? Were there injuries? Where was the ground crew?

The questions swirled in his head as the bird started its descent. He watched the smooth approach noting the small four-seater helicopter looked out of place among the massive rotary-wing aircraft already on the ground.

The set down was gentle, with only the slightest bump that jostled Adam around his knees even from a distance.

“Pretty impressive, huh?”

He blinked hard as the machine’s engines shut down.

“Adam?”

A hand landed on his shoulder and he stiffened, but didn’t pull away. Dropping his head, he wiped the sweat from his brow and closed eyes. A deep breath brought the familiar scents of cool morning air and the biting sharpness of the nearby forest into his nose.

“Hey, bro. You okay?” Liam asked.

Home. Destiny, Wyoming. Outside his family’s business, his brother standing next to him.

Not sure what it was he just experienced, Adam was glad it was over. He opened his eyes and found the gaze of his new friend looking up at him, the animal’s body solid and warm against his leg.

“Ah, yeah, I’m fine.” He reached down and gave the dog a quick pat on the head. “Just didn’t expect to see a helo coming at us this morning.”

“I don’t think your dog liked it too much. He was chasing after the boy’s baseball, but then he raced to your side. Anyway, I’m glad he finally got here.”

Avoiding his brother’s direct gaze, Adam focused on the mutt. “Who? The dog?”

“No. Devlin.” Liam pointed across the parking lot to the clearing on the other side.

Adam looked up and found his brother standing outside the bird, talking with their excited nephews. He hadn’t even noticed the concrete pad before now.

“Katie called him as soon as you showed up this morning,” Liam continued. “We got that baby just a few months ago. It works great in checking out both the land and our current work projects.”

“And Devlin’s flying?” Adam forced a smile, finally turning his gaze to his brother. “You all trust him that much?”

Liam laughed then said, “He was the only one of us crazy enough to sign on as the pilot. Dad is now talking about taking flight training, but Mom’s determined to keep him on the ground. Of course, you might find it helpful in your new position.”

Adam silently digested that idea as Devlin headed across the parking lot toward them. Logan and Luke went back to their ball throwing. The dog let out a low whimper that Adam took for a request to join them.

“Go on, go play.”

The dog raced across the yard.

“So, you’ve changed your mind and decided to come back into the family fold, huh?” Dev stopped in front of him, smiling from behind his mirrored sunglasses. “Thought you had other plans.”

“Plans change.”

“Hey, Uncle Adam, your dog stole our ball,” Logan yelled.

“And he won’t give it back,” Luke added.

“Give the ball back.” Adam turned and looked at the dog. “Now.”

Seconds later, the ball was dropped at the feet of the closest boy.