Karen Smith - Riley's Baby Boy

“I have to think of Derek first.”

He must have seen that she meant it. He must have seen that everything was about their baby.

Rubbing his hand over his face, he decided, “We’re going to pick out everything Derek needs together.” Then he opened the refrigerator again, pulled out cheese and a quart of milk. “Let’s eat lunch. We’re both going to have to keep our strength up for whatever happens next.”

Did he mean possibly running into her father? Or did he mean living under the same roof with her?

Brenna sat in Riley’s guest bedroom and checked the alarm clock. It was after midnight and it wasn’t Derek’s soft baby sounds that were keeping her awake. She loved hearing those. She loved putting her hand on his little heart, making sure it was beating. No, what was keeping her awake was the way the whole afternoon had played out. Riley really didn’t trust her any more than she trusted him. When he’d made that appointment with the pediatrician for tomorrow, she had to ask herself—did he really think she’d slept around? Did he really think she’d gone home to New York after the reunion and slept with someone else?

He was already acting like a dad, so maybe he did believe Derek was his. After they’d gotten home with all the supplies, and Derek had been fussy because he was overtired, Riley had taken him into his arms, rocked him, walked him, talked to him like a dad would. Every time he did, her heart broke a little bit because she’d be going back to New York and he’d be staying here. They hadn’t talked about that in detail yet. That would be a humdinger of a conversation. It would be a few weeks until the DNA results came back, so maybe they’d put off the discussion until then.

With the windows open Brenna heard night sounds she’d forgotten. She was used to lights and sirens blaring, and horns honking and trucks rumbling even at night. She wasn’t used to the silence any more, the call of the owls, the rustling of branches, the sometimes utter stillness. Scents of sage and pine drifted in the window as she heard Riley moving about in his room, heard the creak of his bed, the sound of the light switching on and off. Was he as restless as she was?

Maybe a bowl of cereal would help. That is, if Riley had cereal. She could always just have a glass of milk. The small crib on wheels they’d bought was set up beside the bed now. A mobile dangled on one side. She stood by it, looking down at her sleeping son. He was practically her whole world. Overnight she’d gone from a self-absorbed career woman to a mom. Derek had changed everything about her life.

But the career woman in her still had a to-do list. She’d have to check in with her store manager tomorrow, then with her fabric supplier, not to mention her PR consultant.

Time to get that cereal , she decided, stopping the racing thoughts.

Rubbing her hand in a full circle over Derek’s back, she finally left him and went to the kitchen.

After opening two of the upper cupboards, she found what she was looking for and she had to smile. This was the same kind of cereal Riley liked in high school—sweet and sticky. Old times were the best times? Maybe that was true for her and Riley.

She was pouring cereal into a bowl when he entered the kitchen. She looked up and her breath practically stopped. He was shirtless and the waist button of his jeans was unsnapped. She couldn’t seem to pull her gaze from all that black hair running a route down his chest.

“Want some company?” he asked.

“Can’t sleep, either?” she might as well just ask.

“My head’s too full of everything that’s going on, about Derek and things I should do for him.”

“And about me being under your roof? My parents not liking that idea one little bit?”

When he approached her and stopped right beside her, she wished she’d stayed in her room. He was all man, all temptation, all Riley, and he was close enough to touch.

“Having you under my roof is keeping me awake, too. Add that to your list.” Desire was in his eyes and she could feel an answering response to it in her belly. So he wouldn’t see it, she turned away, went to the refrigerator and pulled out the milk.

“You’re running, Brenna.”

“I’m not running. I’m turning away from what shouldn’t happen. I’m getting a midnight snack. Do you want one or not?” She knew she was being defensive and that she wasn’t handling the attraction between them very well. But she had to put some kind of barrier between them or they wouldn’t only tumble into bed, they’d tumble into heartache.

He caught her arm and she stopped moving. Gazing up into his so-blue eyes, she felt her resistance melting away, and that wasn’t good.

“Exactly how long are you going to stay in Miners Bluff?”

So that’s what was bothering him. “A month. I have to get back to be ready for my fall show.”

He looked somewhat relieved as if he’d expected her to say she’d be leaving at the end of the week.

She asked a question that had been in her mind all afternoon. “When are you going to tell your dad and the rest of your family about Derek?”

“I have to figure out the best way to do it.”

“Best way?”

“My father’s sober now. He has been for the past five years. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to rock that boat.”

“My father never meant to destroy your dad’s life. You’ve got to know that.”

He appeared to measure his words carefully as he said, “No, I don’t know that. I know your father was a ruthless businessman. All he cared about was expanding his department store. When my dad couldn’t pay rent to him, your father took advantage of that. He stepped right in, and kicked him out.”

“It was a business decision!”

Now Riley’s composure cracked a little as bitterness seeped out. “Maybe he should have looked behind the business of it. My dad was already sinking financially and that made sure he sank. Then my mom didn’t stick around because she was tired of four kids pulling on her, tired of hardly making ends meet, tired of being with a man who couldn’t get back on his feet. After she left, Jack Daniels became Dad’s best friend. Sometimes, I swear, he didn’t even know we were around. If I hadn’t worked at the grocery store and gotten day-old bread and expired meat, I’m not sure what would have happened.”

Brenna had never known that things were that bad for the O’Rourkes. Oh, yes, she’d known her father had pushed Liam O’Rourke out of the restaurant so he could expand his department store. But she’d never known the rest.

“Riley, I’m sorry. I never knew. Even in high school, you never said.”

“Back then, I was afraid of your opinion. I was afraid of anyone’s opinion. The O’Rourkes stood on their own. They made do. They got by. Now we’re all on our feet, even Dad. I don’t want to do anything that might make him pick up that bottle again.”

Maybe so. But Riley was forgetting something. “We went to my father’s department store together and stopped for gas. Tomorrow we’re going to the pediatrician. You know Miners Bluff. If your dad doesn’t hear it from you , he’s going to hear it from someone else very soon.”

Riley’s gaze told her he’d already thought of that, and he was worried about it.

Brenna stepped back to the cupboard and took out another cereal bowl, but Riley shook his head.

“Never mind. I think I’m going to go outside on the porch for a bit. Enjoy your snack.”

She wanted to tell him he needed a shirt. She wanted to tell him the temperature had dipped like it always did at night here. But she didn’t get the chance to tell him anything because he left the kitchen and went out the front door.