LITMIR.BIZ

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Liz placed the folder she was holding in her lap and reached out, laying a comforting hand on her arm. “You don’t have the flu. You’re pregnant.”

      Her friend’s words echoed in Fay’s ears, each time becoming more muted and garbled.

      She hadn’t heard her friend correctly.

      There was no way she’d heard correctly.

      “You must be wrong.” Fay shook her head. “I only have one working ovary, remember? An ovary that works at a reduced capacity making it impossible for me to get preg—” She bit off the word, unable to say it aloud. “You said so yourself.”

      “I told you years ago that pregnancy was improbable, especially when Scott refused to have any testing done. As you know, your inability to conceive for all those years could have been just as much him.” Liz tightened her fingers in a gentle squeeze. “The test results are positive. You are pregnant.”

      A baby. After years of wanting, desperately wanting a child and now …

      “We can discuss your options. Out of the office if that would be better.”

      Fay’s hands automatically flattened low over her belly. “Options?”

      “You just said you aren’t involved with anyone. Did something … happen?”

      “Something?”

      Liz’s gaze filled with concern. “Honey, were you hurt or forced—”

      “No, no, of course not.” Fay’s protest came swiftly, just like the eight-week-old memories from those passion-filled, guilt-ridden hours spent in Adam’s arms. “I was—I mean, it was unplanned and impulsive, but I knew what I was doing.”

      Yes, she certainly had.

      Sleeping with her dead husband’s best friend, someone who was once her good friend as well, was the real reason Fay no longer wore her rings.

      Not after the way she’d straddled Adam’s lap and helped him yank her sweater over her head. Eagerness had her bracing her hands on his wide shoulders, leaning forward to take his mouth again only to have the twin gold bands, one with a marquise-shaped diamond, dangle between them.

      They’d brushed against Adam’s jaw and he’d fisted them, asking in that deep, guttural tone of his if she was sure about what they were doing.

      If she knew who she was with.

       You, Adam. I want you.

      A heated blush raced up Fay’s neck until it reached her cheeks. The memory of that night, and the way she’d run out on him the next morning after learning Adam was heading back overseas, back to his Air Force reserve unit, the same unit her husband had served with until his death, was as fresh and real as if it had happened only last night.

      Of course, in her dreams it had.

      “This is a shock, I realize that.” Liz offered a warm smile, her words forcing Fay to push away the memories. “Take your time to think about your next step.”

      “I’m having this baby.”

      The words were soft, but spoken with a sense of purpose Fay hadn’t felt in a long time. No hesitation, no question about right or wrong, no reason for her to think about this at all.

      She squared her shoulders and righted her posture. “I want this—my baby. I’m keeping my baby.”

      “And the father?”

      A wave of dizziness washed over her. Fay swallowed hard to maintain her equilibrium as her heart pounded in her chest and a rush of heat again stole over her body.

      Adam Murphy was due to return to Destiny from his last tour in Afghanistan in a couple of weeks. How was she going to tell the man she blamed for her husband’s death he was going to be the father of her child?

      “Hey, soldier, don’t I know you from somewhere?”

      Master Sergeant Adam Murphy squared his shoulders and stood a bit taller, but he didn’t turn around.

      He knew that voice.

      There were only six possible people it could belong to. People who, according to his mother, all shared the same low masculine growl that could soothe a skittish horse or sweet-talk a girl out of her better judgment.

      It had to be one of his five younger brothers or their dad.

      Which one had spotted him standing here, in front of the beer cooler at a convenience mart on the outskirts of Cheyenne of all places, he didn’t know. He hoped it was Devlin, the brother he was closest to despite there being one other between them in ages. Or maybe it was Ric, the youngest, whom Adam had bossed around like a second father. He’d been fourteen when the kid was born.

      Geez, he felt old.

      He turned, bracing himself, and found Dev grinning at him.

      “Hey, bro.”

      “What the hell are you doing here?” Adam asked.

      “Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”

      Dev lunged, pulling him into a bear hug that Adam returned with ease. He blinked hard against the sudden sting in his eyes, giving his brother a few extra hardy thumps to the back before they broke apart.

      “Damn, it’s good to see you,” Dev said. “What are you doing in Cheyenne? You weren’t due back from Afghanistan for another ten days or so.”

      “The entire unit is coming back sooner than scheduled, in less than a week, but I was able to catch an earlier ride home.”

      Dev arched one eyebrow. “And you didn’t bother to let anyone in the family know?”

      “It was last-minute, and I could’ve gotten bumped off the flight anywhere along the way.” Adam had hoped to slip back into town without anyone finding out. He didn’t want to explain how he’d finagled avoiding the pageantry of his unit’s arrival at the air base after being overseas for the past year and a half. “The plane finally landed at Camp Guernsey a few hours ago. I caught a ride with a retired vet who was heading toward Destiny.”

      His brother peered around Adam’s shoulder at the rows of ice-cold beers in the refrigerated unit behind him. “And the two of you decided to stop and pick up a few brews?”

      “He decided,” Adam said. “I was just admiring the view.”

      Dev smiled and seconds later had a twelve-pack tucked under his arm. “Come on, I think you’ve earned this.”

      “You sure?” Dev had walked away from booze years ago after finally admitting his nightly partying led to nothing but sleepovers at the local jail and finally AA meetings. Adam didn’t want to tempt him.

      “Hey, this is all for you, bro.” Dev offered an easy smile. “Come on, let’s find your Good Samaritan and let him know you’ve got a new taxi service.”

      Knowing it was useless to argue with a Murphy, Adam only nodded. He thanked the old man as he pulled his duffel from the back of his pickup and tossed it into his brother’s Jeep.

      The ride home took almost an hour and Adam was grateful when Dev used that time to do what he did best. Talk. He jumped from subject to subject, mostly getting Adam caught up on all he’d missed while serving his last tour.

      Yes, he’d been home two months ago, once again as an escort bringing home a deceased member of his command at the request of a grieving family in Cheyenne. He’d managed to add two days in Destiny, long enough to share a couple of meals with the family.

      And an amazing night with the one woman he’d always wanted.

      And could never have.

      But he did have her. And she’d had him. For a few incredible hours on a makeshift bed in his living room in front of a blazing fire. They’d had each other.

      Adam

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