Rachel Lee - Thanksgiving Daddy

“I never considered it. I got a lot of pressure from friends to have an abortion. It’s just not in me.” Why she felt she needed to say that, she wasn’t certain. Maybe because she suspected he might be wondering why she hadn’t just dumped this “little problem.” So many of her friends had wondered.

“I’m glad you decided against it.”

“You’d never have known. And it’s too soon for you to be glad about anything.”

“Perhaps.” He studied her as if she were a puzzle. She probably was to him. “How soon do you have to go back?”

She was tempted to lie, but she never lied. So she told him the truth, even though it might be a mistake. “I just started a month’s leave.”

“Then, if I can persuade you to hang around, we have time to talk and work out some things.”

“What things? Just what, Seth? I can take care of this baby.”

“I believe you. But have you considered the baby could have a father around, at least once in a while? If you judge me fit, anyway. I’ve never tried my hand at it, and as you know, my background isn’t exactly preparation for fatherhood.”

An odd thing happened then. It was as if a new picture overlaid an old one. Somehow Seth went from being a SEAL—rough, rugged, tough and hard to the bone—to a man who felt some uncertainty and vulnerability.

“Oh, crap,” she said. She didn’t want to see him that way. The other version had been safer for her.

“What?” he asked.

She couldn’t answer him. She might be mistaken anyway. That was something only time would prove or disprove. “Nothing,” she said. “Look, I don’t want any pressure. Not for me, not for you. If you can promise me that if I stay I won’t get any arm-twisting, I guess I can stay for a few days.” She owed that to the baby. At least that’s what she told herself.

“I can promise I won’t,” he said. “As for my mother, I’ll do my best.”

In spite of herself, Edie smiled faintly. “She was ready to adopt me.”

“That’s her, all right. I’ll tell Dad to keep her at bay, and I’ll do my best. She has a huge heart, though. It’s not always easy for her to put it on a leash.”

“I could see that.” She liked Marge, but she didn’t want the woman trying to decide her life. “I’ve already had enough arm-twisting. From friends, from superiors who warned me I was killing my career.”

“Superior officers said that?” He looked disturbed.

“They pussyfooted around it, but the message was there. Take care of this little problem and stay on track.”

“That was out of line. But I guess they wanted to see you succeed.”

“Evidently. But as I’ve been coming to realize, there are other kinds of success. When my maternity leave is over, I’ll probably move to a training position.”

“Well, you have those all-important theater ribbons,” he said. “Probably a stack of medals, too. They might keep you going. I’ve seen a few guys go far on a lot less, because of their connections.”

“Yeah. I’m short on the connection department. And I’m not a man.”

That still made a difference. She was bucking a system weighted against her and she knew it. Making full colonel was probably her limit.

She looked down and realized her hand cradled her stomach. “I’ve lost my waist,” she remarked. “I still don’t show a whole lot, though.”

“You don’t show at all in those cammies. Boy or girl?”

“Boy.”

He smiled. “Well, I should at least know how to talk to a boy.”

“You can say that with six sisters?”

He laughed. “I’m still learning.”

She felt her lips twitch, and laughed, too. This hadn’t turned heavy or ugly as she had feared. He was trying so hard to put her at ease, and he was succeeding. She felt herself uncoiling, relaxing, no longer poised to defend herself. Amazing.

She felt a need to change the conversation, too. The baby had been obsessing her in so many ways for so long that she needed a break. The worst was over, at least for the moment. Time for a breather. “So you’re renovating a house?”

“Remodeling, really. The couple who lived there before owned it for forty years, and at some point they stopped keeping up. It’s outdated, but sound.”

“I take it then that you retired?”

“You bet. No desk for me.”

“How’s that working out?”

He laughed. “I can’t seem to stay busy enough. I’m used to go-go-go. Work hard, play hard and work some more. It’s a change. I could work as a deputy, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Or even that it’s what I want. I’m kind of up in the air a bit.”

She could get that. She still had her job, yet often felt that way. Somebody had picked up the jacks of her life and tossed them in the air.

Well, to be fair, she had done the tossing and she couldn’t even blame a couple of drinks too many. She had been neither drunk nor hungover when she’d had sex with Seth. She’d rolled the dice and lost, with nobody to blame but herself.

Getting used to the idea that this loss might turn into a win had taken months. She certainly couldn’t expect him to decide that any more quickly. But he was trying. An honorable man, if she could say little else about him yet. Honorable and respectful and sexy as hell. She wished she could remove that latter from the equation, but awareness kept insisting on tingling along her nerve endings. Damn, she could repeat her mistake.

She sighed.

“What?” he asked her.

“Just thinking.”

“You look tired.”

“I seem to tire more easily these days.”

“Want me to see if Mom got that room ready? You could take a nap before dinner.”

It was tempting, but she didn’t feel ready to get that relaxed or comfortable here. “Maybe later. I do need to get my feet up, though. I spent too long in the car and I can feel my boots getting tight.”

He was up and out of his chair like a shot, and pulled a hassock over for her. She raised her feet and rested them on it. “Thanks.”

“Want me to unlace your boots? To improve circulation?”

Damn, thoughtful, too. “If you do that my ankles might explode to grapefruits. Then what?”

He grinned. “You go around in your socks. No big deal.” His smile faded. “I can’t imagine the adjustments. I’d like to hear about them, when you feel like it.”

“Sure.” Dang, she was getting sleepy. It was as if the release of tension had released all her energy, as well.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Milk, please.”

He headed for the kitchen, giving her a few blessed minutes by herself. She needed them, needed to adjust to all that had happened, most of it unexpected. Space. Just a little space.

* * *

When Seth returned, he found her asleep. He stood in the door of the living room, tall glass of milk in hand, and studied her.

She was indeed as beautiful as he remembered. The creamy skin of her face had covered her entire body, and even now his hands remembered its silken feel. She had surprisingly delicate features, too, something you didn’t notice about her when she was acting, but only now, in repose. With her had returned all the memories of the night he had spent with her. She was fun, and she was hot. Very hot. One-night stands weren’t his style, either, although he’d probably indulged more than he should have over the years.

But damn, he’d never expected this. Not in a million years. Conflicting feelings roiled in him. He had to do the right thing, whatever that was, but a baby? A son? Nothing had prepared him for that, and right now he felt like a fish utterly out of water, a feeling he wasn’t at all used to.

There would have to be some adjustments, of course. He knew that for sure. Support. Visitation. He wasn’t going to remove himself from the life of a child he had helped create. No way. But how much would Edie allow? How good would he be? Shouldn’t a guy have some time to answer these questions before discovering that he had four months before the new arrival?