Riley's Baby Boy Read online

  “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.

  This time, without any hesitation at all, she reached over and touched his thigh. Her fingers on his skin were a searing heat. “Riley, I didn’t mean to suggest—”

  To his relief, Derek started fussing again. This time he was grateful and didn’t croon or rock. He wasn’t going to revisit his broken-up family life with Brenna. He wasn’t going to let her touch turn him inside out.

  When she reached for Derek, Riley let her lift the baby from his arms to walk with him.

  He was gripped by longing he didn’t begin to understand. He rose to his feet and with his best military voice, asked, “So will you stay here tonight? Stay here while you’re in Miners Bluff?”

  Brenna seemed to weigh all of her options. Finally she responded, “I’ll stay tonight, then we’ll go from there.”

  One night. He had one night to convince her he could be a proper father...one night to convince her he wasn’t and would never be like his dad.

  * * *

  Brenna had just finished fastening Derek’s diaper, when a tingle ran up her spine. Keeping one hand on Derek, she glanced over her shoulder and there was Riley, all tall and brawny and broad-shouldered...watching her. She felt hotter than she should have for May in Miners Bluff.

  He came into the room and she saw he was carrying what looked to be a dresser drawer.

  “What’s that?” She was still nervous about coming, still uncertain she’d done the right thing. The bad feelings between her family and Riley’s had caused their breakup in the past and could complicate their decisions now.

  “Derek needs a bed. You can’t just put him beside you and roll over on him.”

  “I would never—” She stopped, seeing the glint of humor in Riley’s eyes. He was trying to lighten the situation and she really did appreciate that. Why she was questioning her decision to come here, she didn’t know. Her life had been full of decisions. Leaving Riley had been heartbreaking, but it had been the right decision. Her career had been solid. One bad decision still haunted her, though. She’d become romantically involved with the wrong man—Thad Johnson—and had ended up emotionally bruised. But Thad had taught her men couldn’t be trusted...not any more than Riley, whose motives had always been in question.

  “For a bed, it’s kind of hard, don’t you think?” she asked, trying to forget the past...at least, for the moment.

  “Oh ye of little faith,” Riley said with a shake of his head. “Just watch.”

  When he exited the room again, she watched all right. She watched the straightness of his spine and the play of his muscles under his T-shirt. His jeans fit him really well. She knew what he looked like without those jeans. That was the problem with staying here.

  By the time she’d scooped Derek off the bed, Riley had returned with an armful of linens. First he took what looked like a mattress pad and folded it in half. Next he tucked a sheet around it and smoothed it out in the drawer, ensuring the surface was tight.

  “What do you think?”

  With Derek on her shoulder, she crossed to his side of the bed and stood next to him. Way too close, she decided, but that’s where the drawer was so she had no choice.

  She pushed down on the makeshift mattress. “You’re inventive.”

  “I was a marine.”

  He hadn’t said much about being in the service, but at the reunion, she’d heard chatter before he’d arrived about his tours of duty, about his Purple Heart and Bronze Star. As they’d danced he’d explained about how he’d become Clay Sullivan’s partner in his wilderness guided tour business, about how he was glad to be home with his family. But their conversation hadn’t delved deeper than the surface of their lives. His dad had been an alcoholic. Had that changed?

  She’d never really gotten to know Riley’s brothers and sister because their high school affair had been a secret. That summer after their high school graduation, Riley had wanted to go public with their relationship. But her dad and Riley’s dad had felt nothing but bitterness toward each other. She’d been torn by her feelings for Riley and her desire to leave Miners Bluff and become the independent woman she wanted to be—by her sense of loyalty to her family and her love for Riley.

  Family and independence had won and she’d gone to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York with her heart aching, her appetite gone, her nights filled with dreams of Riley and what they’d had. Yet she doubted what they’d had, too. Had Riley really fallen for her? Or had he just wanted revenge on her father for what her father had done to his?

  “Did you learn to cook in the marines?” He’d made them a quick supper of grilled burgers, oven fries and fresh green beans.

  “I learned almost everything I know as an adult in the marines.”

  That sentence carried a lot of weight and she wasn’t going to ignore its importance. She patted Derek’s back as she rocked back and forth a little, more for her sake than his.

  “When did you enlist?”

  “The November after we graduated.”

  “What made you decide? You’d never mentioned wanting to serve.”

  He smoothed the padding in the drawer again, straightened, looking uneasy. “It’s not important.”

  “It changed the course of your life and made you who you are. I think it is.”

  “I got into trouble.”

  That wouldn’t have been the first time Riley had been in trouble. Before she’d met him, before she’d dated him, she’d known he was wild. Liam O’Rourke’s kids had never had restrictions, and Riley had taken advantage of that. Sure, after his mom had left, he’d had to help with his brothers and his sister. But when he wasn’t doing that, he was raising Cain. She’d been told to stay away from him for more than one reason. But this raven-haired bad boy, with eyes as blue as the winter sky, had been temptation personified when he’d seemed interested in her.

  He and some friends had been caught stealing another school’s mascot. He’d also been caught binge drinking with those same buddies in a neighbor’s barn.

  “This time it was worse than school suspension,” he admitted finally, guessing what she was thinking. “I had a few beers. I drove Dad’s truck and crashed it into a fire hydrant.”

  He’d had no plans for the future when they’d dated. He’d had no goals as she’d had. “What happened?”

  “My case was assigned to a judge who did more than look at me as a number. He told me to shape up or die young. He advised me to visit the offices of recruiters. He told me if they accepted me and I signed up, he’d forget the fire hydrant and the damages. So I signed up.”

  “You were a marine until last year?”

  “Until a few months before the reunion. Since I’m skilled at computer intel, I did consulting work when I got back. But I was looking for something different. When I heard Clay was
searching for a partner, guiding work seemed perfect. And it is. I know this area as well as he does and my training just adds skills that I can use when I take tours fishing or riding out to Horsethief Canyon or rock climbing near Sedona. The marines made me a man of many talents.”

  “I don’t think it was just the marines. You must have been willing to learn.”

  Their gazes connected and something like old feelings zipped between them. Not only old feelings—an attraction that had lasted over fifteen years. How could that possibly be?

  “What time do you turn in?” he asked, his voice gruff.

  “Soon. I’m beat. Traveling with a little one can be a bit exhausting.” She gave Derek a tiny kiss on his ear. “I didn’t know what I was going to do if he’d cried on the plane. But he only fussed a little and no one seemed to mind. There’s just so much paraphernalia to bring along with a baby.”

  Riley glanced at the stack of diapers tipping out of her suitcase, at the box of powdered formula on her dresser, at all the little outfits and booties that were toppling over on the bedroom chair.

  “Did you fit in any of your clothes?”

  She laughed. “A few. I figured I could pick up something here. It was more important I had everything I needed for Derek, just in case I got stuck in an airport or stalled in a car or something. Being a mom has changed the way I think about everything.”

  She saw the questions in Riley’s eyes but she didn’t have any answers.

  He must have known that because he hefted up the drawer, took it to the side of the bed nearest the wall and set it on the floor. “Is that going to be all right?”

  “It will be fine. He’ll sleep for me in his car seat, but this is good until I can buy a portable crib tomorrow.”

  “I have a bath attached to my bedroom so feel free to use the hall bathroom. It has a shower.”

  “I know.”

  His cheeks grew a little ruddy and she knew he was just making conversation, trying to dispel awkwardness between them. But it was there and nothing they could say would change that. They’d broken up as teenagers, had a one night stand as adults, and now here they were...with a baby. How much more awkward could it get?

  She knew she shouldn’t ask.

  Suddenly more tired from the long day than she’d wanted to admit, she sank down onto the bed holding her son close.

  Abruptly Riley said, “I’m going out for a run.”

  “In the dark?”

  “I was a marine,” he said again.

  She suspected he just didn’t want to be in the house with her. “I’ll see you in the morning then. I’m going to drive to my parents’ after breakfast.”

  He was silent for a few moments, then offered, “If you need anything during the night...for the baby—” He added quickly, “Just give a yell. I’m a light sleeper.”

  A light sleeper? He hadn’t awakened the night of the reunion when she’d slipped out of his bed, dressed and driven away. But she didn’t bring that up. She didn’t ask him why he’d slept so soundly after they’d made love.

  But they hadn’t made love. They’d had sex, and she’d better remember that.

  When Riley left the room, she closed her eyes and held her baby even closer.

  Chapter Two

  Brenna shouldn’t be nervous. She really shouldn’t. After all, these were her parents. They’d loved her, given her anything they could and protected her. She and her dad had a particularly special bond for reasons she’d never confided in Riley. When she was little, her dad had literally saved her life. However, she’d run from her parents’ protection to find out if she could stand on her own. Now here she was, with Riley beside her, standing at their door, hoping her father didn’t blow a gasket.

  “Are you sure you want to come in with me? You don’t have to,” she told him.

  “Brenna, this is my son. I’m not going to let your father dictate what’s going to happen next.”

  “Do you think I can’t stand up to him?”

  Riley just gave her a look that said it all. She hadn’t before. She’d forgotten about him and what they’d had in order to be loyal to her family. Maybe if she’d revealed the reasons for some of that loyalty... But she’d been afraid he wouldn’t understand so she’d kept those thoughts and feelings to herself. She hadn’t wanted to give him ammunition he could use to hurt her or her dad.

  She snuggled Derek close to her shoulder, not wanting him to be a pawn, not wanting anything negative ever to touch him. In that moment, she realized why her parents had so fiercely wanted to protect her.

  Riley had insisted on coming along and she’d let him. He had rights, too, and maybe she was afraid her father would steamroll her. He’d done it all her life until she’d decided to leave.

  “Can you promise me you won’t lose your temper?” she asked, worried. Riley’s bitterness toward her father had never ebbed. She could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. It was simple, really. Her father had made a decision that had cost Liam O’Rourke his restaurant, his wife and his sobriety. But in defense of her father, he’d made a business decision. Rumors Liam had spread about her dad afterward had damaged her dad’s reputation. It had been an ugly situation for both families.

  Brenna realized no one understood her father as she and her mother did. She knew details about his childhood her parents had never wanted her to know. She’d been about twelve when she’d overheard a conversation about how her dad’s own father had physically abused him. Maybe that’s one of the reasons her dad had always tried to give her the best life possible...had showered her with every advantage he could manage.

  When the gray-haired housekeeper who had been handling household details for the past twenty-five years opened the door and saw Brenna, she burst into a grin. “Miss Brenna! How wonderful to see you. And who’s this you’re holding?”

  Then Miriam caught sight of Riley just a step behind her. Her mouth rounded in a huge O as she recognized him.

  “Are my parents home?” Since it was early, she was hoping her father hadn’t left for the department store yet, or her mother for errands.

  “Your parents are having breakfast. Are they expecting you?” Miriam again gave Riley a look up and down as if surprised by the idea they might be. The McDougalls didn’t associate with the O’Rourkes.

  “Actually, this is a surprise,” Brenna responded with high energy. “We’re just going to go right in. You don’t have to announce us.”

  Before Miriam could object, Brenna glanced over her shoulder at Riley for the go-ahead, passed the housekeeper, strolled through the beautiful marble-floored foyer and into the dining room where her father had a paper propped in front of his face. Her mother was sipping a cup of coffee catty-corner from him at the mahogany dining room table.

  Brenna’s mother looked up when she heard footsteps, but her father kept his eyes on his newspaper. Her mother’s green eyes, so like Brenna’s own, rounded in astonishment. She was a tall, slim woman with ash-blond hair that she kept perfectly maintained. Her makeup was always impeccable, too, but now her astonishment caused wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes as she quickly pushed back her chair and hurried around the table.

  “Oh my gosh, Brenna. Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? And who’s this little one?” Then she looked up at Riley. “And why is he here?”

  Brenna transferred Derek to Riley to give her mother a hug. Her father folded his paper, laid it on the table and glanced up. His gaze first targeted Riley...then the baby...then Brenna. He slowly and stiffly stood, assessing the situation.

  “You always call before you come,” he said gruffly. “You’ve never brought a baby before and you certainly never brought him. What’s going on, Brenna?”

  A chill went up Brenna’s spine at the disapproval in her father’s voice. She felt her cheeks flush
and she wanted to grab for Derek again. But she knew her son was better off in Riley’s arms. It made a point. It made a statement—one that her father obviously understood even before she explained.

  “I didn’t call first because I wasn’t sure exactly when I could get away. I also wanted to tell you my news in person, not over the phone.” She reached for Derek again and Riley transferred the baby back to her. When she brushed her finger along his cheek, she was filled with that overwhelming love that had to spill over.

  Her eyes met Riley’s and she almost shook from the charge that ran through her body. They had intimate knowledge of each other and that was potent. Then she turned to face her parents.

  “Mom and Dad, this is your grandson, Derek. Riley is his father.”

  Her mother gasped. Her father seemed to freeze before her eyes. His battle with hair loss had been going on for years. He was shorter than Riley, about five-ten, but he was husky and Brenna had always felt safe when he hugged her. She’d always felt safe because he could protect her. She’d always felt safe because he would give his life for her and she knew it.

  Mainly, Riley didn’t know the story behind that because they’d tried to not discuss their parents.

  “Oh my,” her mother said weakly, as if it were all too much for her. But then she rallied. “Why don’t we go into the living room and talk. Unless you’d like some breakfast? Miriam could make you scrambled eggs, toast, pancakes, anything you’d like.” She couldn’t seem to take her gaze from Derek.

  Her father was still frozen, but his face was turning red.

  “We ate before we came,” Brenna responded to keep the conversation going. “Derek had us up early, so we went with his schedule.”

  Afraid her father might have a coronary, she watched him closely. He blew out a draft of air and his color receded a bit. His voice was steely when he said, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us you were pregnant. And to bring him here. You know how we feel about him and his family. You’re flaunting it in our face. What were you thinking?”