Karen Smith - Riley's Baby Boy

Old times’ sake. She’d hit that nail on its proverbial head.

The night of the reunion they’d fallen into the past and hadn’t cared about the future. But now here she was, sitting on his sofa with his son.

His son .

Some of the shock was wearing off now, and as he approached the sofa and sat beside Brenna, the scent of her perfume, the curves of her body, the glossiness of her blond hair aroused him, just as they had when they’d danced the night of the reunion.

He steeled himself against the attraction that had begun when they were teenagers. “Can I hold him?”

Her eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected that. A reluctance seemed to come over her and he wondered what that was about. If he didn’t put her at ease, she could walk out that door and fly back to New York.

“I won’t drop him,” he said, with his own attempt at a smile, although it didn’t come easy. “Whenever I was home on leave, I handled my brothers’ and sister’s kids.”

Brenna smoothed Derek’s wavy black hair, then lifted him, warning, “You have to support his head.”

“I know.”

Those two words, I know , had an underlying message. As their gazes met, video flashed through his mind of himself and Brenna exploring each other. Their cravings when they were teenagers had defied their families’ hostility. Rebellion and defiance at work?

How stupid they’d been as teenagers. How reckless as adults.

As he took his son into his arms, Riley’s heart almost stopped. A protective urge he’d never felt before washed over him as he supported Derek’s head and then cradled his son in his arms.

He was a father!

Or was he? He had to ask the question, especially since Brenna had said she’d gone into labor early.

“Are you sure he’s mine?”

There was a look on Brenna’s face that he couldn’t decipher. He wasn’t sure if it was indignation or hurt. When she blinked, it disappeared and she lifted her chin. He knew that gesture. She was going to defend herself for all she was worth.

“I gave birth to Derek two weeks before my due date. I haven’t slept with anyone but you for a very long time.”

A very long time. Exactly what did she mean by that? Months? A year? Two? And why not? Brenna was even more beautiful now than she’d been in high school, with long golden hair, green eyes, a face that could have rivaled Helen of Troy’s. Oh, Lord, he was turning poetic. Brenna had always done that to him and he’d felt like a fool because of it. Yet as he sat next to her, realized her breasts were a little fuller, her hips a little rounder, an instinctive primal reaction he’d always had to her threatened to override any good thoughts or sense.

“But if you want a DNA test, no problem.” She glanced at him again and then added, “Maybe you don’t want a DNA test. Maybe you don’t want any part of …” She took a breath then motioned to her son. “Derek.”

Brenna had come from money, was beautiful, intelligent and always self-assured. But today there was an air of uncertainty about her. Because she hadn’t known what his reaction would be?

“I haven’t heard the roof blow off your parents’ house. Did you tell them who you think the father is?”

“I don’t think . I know .” She reached over and touched Derek’s little hand. Her arm grazed his and the awareness between them was instantaneous and potent, as it had been from the beginning.

His gaze drifted from her eyes to the pulse at her throat and it was fluttering rapidly. So was his. He waited.

“They don’t know about Derek.”

Riley felt suddenly confused. “They don’t know he’s a boy? They don’t know you’ve had him? They don’t know I’m the father?”

“All of the above.” Her voice faltered and he saw that she was tired from the trip and filled with anxiety.

“You didn’t tell them you were pregnant? How could they not know? Didn’t you see them at Christmas?” After all, the McDougalls were a close-knit family. They celebrated holidays. They kept traditions. They did everything right. Except Angus McDougall wasn’t always so right when it came to business.

“I didn’t really start showing until my sixth month. When they came to New York for Christmas, I wore heavy sweaters. They didn’t notice and I didn’t let on.”

“Because?” he prompted.

“Because I didn’t want any interference. When I left Miners Bluff, it was for a reason. You know that. I had trunk shows planned for winter and a collection to get out.”

“Trunk shows?”

He hadn’t been able to keep the real amusement from his voice. She gave in and shot him a half-smile. That smile was like a kick to the gut.

“I bring other designers’ gowns into my store and they show mine. It’s a great sales tool.”

She’d learned all about sales from wandering after her father in his department store downtown. The idea of that department store and of what Angus McDougall had done to his father could always make Riley see red.

As if Brenna knew that and didn’t want to get in to it, she hurried on. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, if I was going to come back here.”

“If you were going to tell me?”

Derek suddenly became restless, fretful, and Riley knew his son had probably caught that edge of anger in his voice. Careful once again to support the baby’s head, Riley picked him up, his hand practically spanning from Derek’s hair to midway down his back. He spoke to him softly and then nestled him in his arm once again. The baby quieted under his care.

“You’re good with him.” Brenna seemed really surprised.

“Brenna, you’re going to have to start trusting me.” He saw the look in her eyes that said she didn’t, the look that told him old insecurities die hard. She’d never really known if he’d dated her and bedded her in high school to get revenge on her father. It might have started that way, but in the end, he’d been tied up in knots over her. And what had she done? She’d been loyal to her family and she’d left.

How could they ever raise a child together when they didn’t trust each other?

“Trust goes two ways, Riley,” she said. “We’ll get that DNA test.”

“I know a good pediatrician my sister uses. I can probably make an appointment for tomorrow.”

“Next day maybe?”

He was about to make a comment about postponing the inevitable when she held up her hand. “I don’t think I can face my parents tonight. I called The Purple Pansy Bed and Breakfast and Mikala’s aunt, Anna Conti, has a suite free. I’m going to take Derek there for tonight. I’ll go to see my parents in the morning.” Mikala had been one of their high school classmates.

“Wait a minute.” Riley held the baby a little tighter. “You just got here. I don’t know how long you’re going to stay, and I deserve a chance to be with my son. You don’t even have the supplies you need, do you? Diapers? Formula?”

“I packed enough diapers and I’m breastfeeding. I do have some formula, too. I came prepared.”

Brenna was that type, usually always prepared. He could see how that would be a good trait as a mom. “All right, so you have what you need. But I need time with him. Stay here tonight until we figure things out.”

She went completely still and he could see she was trying to gauge his level of sincerity. “You want to change diapers, too?”

“That’s part of being a dad, isn’t it?”

“It is, though a part a lot of parents like to skip.”

“Some parents skip out altogether. We both know that. That’s not going to happen here.” There was a very good reason he didn’t trust women. His mother had left Miners Bluff for the “good” life. Essentially Brenna had done the same. She wouldn’t go public with what they’d felt when they were young. She wouldn’t defy her parents and admit her feelings about him. She’d felt leaving was better than staying. He wondered if she knew that’s what had eventually led to him joining the marines.