LITMIR.BIZ

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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?

      Well, he’d done a stupid thing, and now it had caught up with him. No input any longer about whether, now it was only how and how much. Choices had narrowed because of the reality of a new life.

      He quietly returned to the kitchen to put the glass of milk in the refrigerator. “She’s napping.”

      He should have guessed he would get cornered.

      “What are you going to do?” Marge demanded.

      “The right thing, Mom.”

      “I hope you do more than that.”

      Nate interrupted. “Marge, sometimes you start at the right thing because it’s the only place to start.”

      Marge tightened her mouth. “I can’t believe you got that girl pregnant.”

      “I’m no saint, Mom. The SEALs don’t make saints.”

      She shook her head while her husband frowned at her. “That’s not an issue anymore, Marge. Let it go.”

      “How can I let it go? Everything in Seth’s life turned into a mess. I can understand Darlene. He warned her she wouldn’t be able to take it. But Maria, too? Why do things keep going wrong?”

      “She couldn’t help being killed in an auto accident,” Seth said tautly. “And frankly, I don’t like being reminded of just how painful that was. Right now there’s only one thing I’m concerned about.”

      He slid onto a bar stool beside his father and stared at his mother. “You don’t know what it’s like out there, and I hope you never know. But sometimes things happen. Fueled by adrenaline. Fueled by a relief that you’re still alive. Edie pulled my butt out of the fire, I went to thank her, and...well, here we are. That’s enough. We’re here.”

      “We certainly are,” Marge said tartly. “And you had better do the right thing because I don’t want to lose a grandchild.”

      “And I don’t want to lose a son. Maybe the only one I’ll ever have. But how much of a part I’ll have in his life is up to Edie. You need to understand that. This is first and foremost about Edie and the baby. I’ve messed her up enough already.”

      “We shouldn’t talk about a baby as if it’s a mess.”

      “Oh, boy,” Nate said quietly beside him.

      Seth felt anger start to surge. “You think not? I messed up her life. Her career. She had goals and all that’s changed because she’s pregnant. They’re going to reassign her, maybe to training, maybe to a desk, but either way her dreams of rising high are gone now. The military might have accepted women in combat roles, but they’re far from accepting the limitations on a woman who won’t give up her baby or give it into someone else’s care. She’s refusing to do either.”

      “Well, of course! Giving up a baby...” Marge trailed off.

      All of a sudden Seth understood what was going on here. Marge was reliving giving him up, trying to rewrite her own perceived mistake by fighting for this baby. That was going to make this hell. Not just one woman’s problems and a baby’s needs, but his mother’s need to correct a wrong in her own past.

      He looked at his father and saw the understanding there. “Maybe I should have Edie stay at my place.”

      “Mebbe so,” Nate said. “Mebbe so.”

      “She’s welcome here,” Marge argued.

      “She’s already told me she wants no pressuring and no arm-twisting. Are you going to be able to promise that, Mom?”

      Marge stared at him, then suddenly sagged against the counter and closed her eyes. The kitchen was filling with the savory aroma of roasting chicken. A minute or two ticked by in silence before she spoke again. “I’m sorry, I’m not helping at all.”

      Nate rose and went to embrace his wife. “It’s all right, honey. It’s all right.”

      “It’s okay, Mom.” Seth said. “Times have changed. Edie has options you didn’t, and because of that, so have I. Just let us work it out in the way that’s best for both of us.”

      Marge nodded, her cheek against her husband’s shoulder. She looked at her son. “It’s just that I was so glad you came back to us. I’ll never forget the joy and relief.”

      “And the mess.” Seth gave her a crooked smile. “I messed up your life twice. So yes, a baby can be a mess until everything’s sorted out.”

      At that Marge gave him a wan smile. “I guess so.”

      He rose and returned to the living room, settling in to watch Edie sleep and to think about the grenade that had

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