An Officer, a Baby and a Bride

And she hadn’t communicated with Seth since. She’d even changed cell phone providers and accepted a new phone number so he couldn’t contact her by telephone.

“I couldn’t be more prepared than I already am. I really am okay.” And most of the time, she was. Even if she felt horrible for her lie. Even if she continually questioned her decision to hide her pregnancy from Seth. “Seriously, Mom. I can do this.”

“You can do anything you set your mind to, but that won’t stop me from worrying. Or from wishing you had a partner to support you.” Allison glanced around the nursery. “What did you need my help with? Everything looks perfect.”

Rebecca’s eyes welled with tears. She rubbed her cheeks when they dripped down. Darn pregnancy hormones. “Honestly? I just wanted a few minutes alone with my mother.”

“I’m here.” Allison stepped over and kissed her on the cheek. “I know you agreed to this shower for your sister, but try to enjoy yourself. You deserve to celebrate your child’s life.”

“You’re right.” Rebecca smiled through her tears. “Let’s celebrate.”

Almost two hours later, Rebecca was enjoying herself. True, her living room was stuffed with an assorted mesh of family and friends, but the atmosphere held support, love and a fair amount of hilarity—much of which was due to Jocelyn’s creative baby shower games.

They’d started with a round of “Who can suck the fastest?” where each guest had a baby bottle half-filled with punch and whoever emptied the bottle first won the prize. Rebecca’s best friend, Felicia, won, which tickled Rebecca to no end.

Next was a relay race type of game. Guests were put into teams, and each team member had to quickly blow up a balloon, stuff the balloon under their shirt and then pop their balloon. Stuffing anything under Rebecca’s shirt proved impossible, so her team had lost.

Now, they were in the beginning stages of playing “Pin the Sperm on the Egg,” and Rebecca had decided to sit this one out. She’d already successfully matched sperm with egg about seven-and-a-half months ago. In her opinion, that made her the clear winner.

“Okay, ladies. I need you to line up,” Jocelyn instructed in a loud voice. “When it’s your turn, I’ll blindfold you, hand you one of these—” Jocelyn displayed one of the cutout sperms, which elicited another blast of laughter “—and spin you in circles. Whoever gets their sperm closest to the center of the egg wins!”

Everyone except Rebecca formed a line that snaked through the living room and into the dining room. She couldn’t see well where she was—and oh, she very much wanted to see her mother holding a giant sperm—so she moved to a chair that gave her an unobstructed view.

When Allison reached the front of the line, Rebecca’s lips twitched. Maybe it was juvenile to find this so humorous, but she couldn’t help it.

The sudden peal of the doorbell stopped Allison’s hand in midmotion. Rebecca struggled to stand since she was closest to the door. “Someone get a picture of my mother, please. It will make a great addition to the baby book.”

Jocelyn giggled. “You got it, sis.”

“Oh, stop. You’re not taking a picture of me like this,” Allison said, her tone a good three octaves higher than normal. “My granddaughter will not see me…”

Her mother’s indignant voice followed Rebecca to the door. Assuming her visitor was a late-arriving guest, she swung open the door without any hesitation.

The first thing she saw was a set of ridiculously broad shoulders. Next was the firm, hard line of a clean-shaven, angled jaw. Her eyes widened and a tremor of shocked awareness whipped through her, nearly causing her legs to buckle.

No. Oh, God. No!

A tiny, barely heard moan escaped from her lips. This was bad. Really, really, bad. This was trouble with a capital T.

Seth Foster. Here. And she had nowhere to hide.

Chapter Two

“Hello, Rebecca.” Seth, looking far too austere in his dress blues, dipped his head in appraisal. “I would’ve called, but you ruled out that basic courtesy by changing your number.”

Rebecca had been wrong earlier. The world hadn’t stopped spinning on its axis then, but it surely had now. Grasping the doorframe, she willed herself to hold it together. She blinked, hoping she was experiencing some type of a weird, hormone-induced hallucination.

If so, he looked good. Tall and strong. Fierce and confident. Black hair in a military cut that highlighted the chiseled, almost exotic features of his face. And those eyes. Far too dark to be described as brown, but a smidgen off from being pure black. The color reminded her of strong, rich coffee lightened with the smallest dollop of cream.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” she whispered. “Why are you here?”

His intense gaze dropped to her stomach. “I’d say I’m the one who should be asking the questions. I have several in mind. I hope you’re prepared to answer them.”

“You need to leave. I’m not prepared for an unexpected visit.”

“I’m not leaving, Rebecca.” His lips curved at the corners in a grin that didn’t meet his eyes. Even so, her knees weakened another fraction. Just as they had the first time he smiled at her. “You owe me a conversation, along with a few explanations.”

“This… isn’t a good time,” she somehow managed to say. “I’m having a… um… a get-together. There are a lot of people here. You really have to go.”

Seth narrowed his eyes. “Let me make myself very clear,” he said slowly, carefully. “It does not matter how often you ask, I am not moving so much as an inch until we talk.”

“You can’t show up and expect me to drop everything at your whim.” She pushed out the words with the intent of sounding firm and decisive. Unfortunately, her shaking voice didn’t lend itself to strength as much as it gave credence to her anxiety.

“Oh, but I do expect that. Given your obvious distress at my presence, it seems clear that I have rights here. Rights that you have chosen to ignore.”

He knew. She allowed herself ten seconds of panic before she lifted her chin. He couldn’t know. Okay, her condition was obvious. Nothing she could do about that. But if she stuck with her story, maybe she’d be able to bluff her way out of this. She opened her mouth with every intention of doing so when her mother and sister appeared, crowding in on either side of her.

Great. It seemed their timing was as impeccable as always.

“What’s going on?” Jocelyn asked from Rebecca’s right side. “Who is this?”

One brow shot up and a dash of genuine amusement sifted over Seth’s appearance. “Yes, Rebecca. I’m as interested in your response as they are. Who am I?”

She gave him the evil eye. “A friend… of sorts. One of the military personnel I write to.” Addressing her mother and sister, she said, “He—Seth—didn’t have my phone number, so he thought it would be appropriate to stop by and say hi in person. He was about to leave.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Seth,” Jocelyn said curiously. “I’m Jocelyn, Rebecca’s sister, and this is our mom, Allison.”

Seth stared at Rebecca as if her sister hadn’t spoken. “Don’t you mean ‘used’ to write to? The last time I heard from you was about a month after my leave, after the weekend we spent together. Do you remember that weekend, Rebecca?”

She didn’t bother trying to speak. What could she say to that, anyway? Of course she remembered that weekend. Every scorching second was engraved in her memory.

“Humor me for a minute, while I ascertain my timing is correct.” Seth angled his arms over his chest and leaned against the porch railing, looking for all the world as a man completely at ease. “We saw each other in mid-October. We corresponded as normal until the second week in November, which was when you ceased all contact. Would you say that was accurate?”

Allison gasped from Rebecca’s left, probably doing the math.

“I’ve been a little busy.” Hey, why bother pretending there wasn’t a giant-size pink elephant hovering between them? “As you can plainly see.”

“When is your due date?” He paused for a good fifteen seconds, as if to let the question—the insinuation—settle in. “If I’m right, I’d say you’re due in what… about six weeks?”

“You’re wrong,” she said out of desperation. Her mother tensed beside her. “I’m due in August. The fourteenth. Ten weeks from now.”

“Really? I heard something different,” Seth drawled. “You’re sure about that date?”

“I know when I’m due,” Rebecca said, keeping her voice level and her gaze steady.

Allison clasped her arm. “Sweetheart, is there a problem here I should know about?”

“We should go inside, Mom,” Jocelyn said. “We still have guests here.”

“Hold on a minute.” Seth’s jaw hardened as he looked from Allison to Jocelyn. “Maybe I should be asking you two these questions. Is Rebecca due in August?”

“No,” her mother said clearly, if quietly. “She’s due in July, but I’m sure she has an excellent reason for saying August. You do, Rebecca, don’t you?”

“This doesn’t concern us, Mother,” Jocelyn hissed. “You have to learn to butt out.”

“It’s fine, Jocelyn.” Rebecca closed her eyes for a brief second and attempted to regain her balance. She wasn’t upset with her mother for being honest—no one should have to lie for her—but now she had to decide what to do about it. Could she salvage this? More to the point, should she? “My mother is correct. I’m due on July fourteenth.”

Anger and disbelief, along with another emotion that Rebecca couldn’t identify, washed over Seth. “Six weeks, then, just as I said. Not ten. Why the lie?”

“Because I knew you’d jump to the wrong conclusion and I didn’t feel like explaining the personal details of my life.” Swallowing heavily, she shrugged. “It seemed simpler and more expedient to fudge the dates a little.”

“I don’t believe you,” Seth said flatly. “Stop with the lying, already. Were you ever going to contact me?” A pained expression darkened his face. “I was worried when I didn’t hear from you. I even sent my brother here to check on you.”

He had. She shouldn’t have been surprised by the gesture. Seth was an honorable man, and she should have anticipated that he’d go out of his way to assure himself of her well-being.

But she had been surprised. Disarmed, too. Enough of both that she nearly wrote Seth about the baby after Jace had left. An impulse she might have followed through with if not for the framed photograph that, at the time, sat next to her monitor. The very same photo she and Jesse had planned on using when they announced their engagement.

As it turned out, they never had the chance to share that information with anyone but their families. The photograph had been used, though, along with many other snapshots of Jesse. At the funeral home, on a table filled with memories of Jesse’s life.

Recently, Rebecca had packed away her memorabilia of Jesse. She was having a baby. It was time to focus on the future. Right now, though, she was more concerned with the present.

“I told Jace I was fine,” she said to Seth. “You did get that message, didn’t you?”

“I got it. But he tuned in to what you didn’t tell him,” Seth said, his voice etched with ice. “You tried to hide your pregnancy, but he noticed the signs. And yesterday, he told me everything. Granted, I would’ve appreciated being made aware of your condition earlier, but at least someone had the decency to fill me in.”

“Rebecca? Who is this young man?” Allison broke in, apparently ready for an explanation. “Is he alluding to what I think—”

“Give me a minute here, Mom. What signs?” Rebecca asked Seth, bringing that day to the forefront of her memory. “We had a cup of coffee, talked and he left.”

“You had juice, not coffee. You were wearing what looked like a maternity shirt. The kicker was the bottle of prenatal vitamins in your kitchen.” Now, Seth’s eyes were filled with steely anger. “How could you keep this from me? I have the right to know about my child!”

A choked-sounding sob emerged. She tried to process everything that was happening but failed. What should she do now? Spontaneous decisions were not her strong suit. She needed time to reflect on every possible course of action. But Seth wasn’t going to give her that time.

“Look, mister,” Jocelyn said, taking the heat for Rebecca. “My sister used a sperm bank to get pregnant. So I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you’re upsetting her.” Jocelyn pushed herself to the front, shielding Rebecca. “I think you should leave.”

“A sperm bank? Is that what you told them, Becca?” Seth leaned over, picked her itty-bitty sister up by the waist and gently moved her to the side. “Or is your sister lying for you?”

“Jocelyn isn’t lying.” Rebecca folded her arms across her chest in defense of Seth’s endless questions. “And yes, that’s what I told them.”

Every part of him grew still and silent, reminding her of those odd, bleak seconds before a storm blew in. When he spoke, it was with a quiet determination that made her heart pound even more furiously. “Tell them the truth. Before I do it for you.”

“What’s the truth?” her mother and sister demanded in near-perfect unison.

“Um… well.” The baby kicked, as if voicing the same question. Rebecca looked at her mother, then her sister and then at Seth. He wasn’t going to give up. He wasn’t going to buy into a story she had zero way of proving. He’d likely bring in attorneys and DNA tests and create all sorts of havoc until he learned the truth.

If she continued to deny what he already knew, he might even try to take her child away from her. He might even succeed.

“Tell them,” Seth pushed, his tone insistent and hard. “Tell me.”

“Okay! I—I lied. To you, to my family, to everyone. Is that what you want to hear? This baby is ours,” Rebecca admitted in a tremor-filled voice. “And yes, you have the right to know.”

Her mother’s relieved statement of “Thank you, God” barely registered in Rebecca’s numbed brain. Everything in her was focused on Seth. On his response. On what this moment would mean for her and for her child.

But he didn’t speak. His reaction was a sharp intake of breath while he continued to stare at her in shock and disbelief. In anger, too, she was sure.

She couldn’t blame him for any of those feelings. “I’m… sorry. But—” Tears sprang from her eyes, dripped down her cheeks, but she didn’t wipe them away. “I had reasons. I… I should explain. So you’ll understand why I made the decision I did.”

This wasn’t about forgiveness. In truth, it would probably be best if Seth never forgave her. She needed to keep as much distance between them as possible, and if he disliked her, doing so would be a heck of a lot easier.

She had no need for a man in her life. Especially a man who made everything inside of her melt when she so much as glanced in his direction. She’d felt the same for Jesse. Who’d then served their country and left her with a hole in her heart that had yet to completely heal.

Seth Foster was far too much of a risk. A military man through and through, he’d already committed himself to his job and, like Jesse, to their country. Getting too close to him spelled danger and possible heartache. For both her and her daughter.

“I will explain,” she said again. “And then we can figure out the rest.”

“I’m not interested in explanations.” Seth swallowed hard enough that his Adam’s apple jerked in his throat. “My only concern is fixing this.”

Shivers of foreboding trailed down Rebecca’s spine. “How do you expect us to do that?”

His eyes, now so dark they were pools of black, locked on to hers. In one fluid motion, he dropped to his knees and pulled a small jewelry box out of his pocket.

Allison half squealed, half gasped from her place next to Rebecca.

Jocelyn whispered, “Oh, my God.”

Rebecca slouched against her mother, needing the support. “Wh-what are you d-doing?” she stammered. “Because it can’t be what I think you’re doing.”

“It seems that you and I are having a baby.” Seth spoke calmly enough, but Rebecca heard the weight of his determination in each and every word. Her apprehension increased. “The appropriate action to this type of dilemma is a wedding.”

“A wedding?” Rebecca blinked. “You’re ordering me to marry you? Is this a joke?”

“I don’t joke about my family.” Seth opened the velvet box. The diamond ring sparkled in the afternoon light. “Go pack your bags, Becca. We’re driving to Vegas.”

This, Rebecca decided, was—at once—the most surreal and ludicrous moment of her life. “Wow. I am in awe of your romantic proposal. But I think I’ll have to decline.”

“Perhaps,” Seth said with the faintest edge of disappointment, “I’d feel more romantic if you’d been honest with me from the start. You chose another path, so this will have to do well enough. I’m sure you can understand.”

“What I understand is that you’ve lost your mind. Get up, Seth.” Goose bumps dotted Rebecca’s arms and she found it difficult to breathe. “Let me be very clear in this. I am not driving to Vegas with you. I am not marrying you. Not now. Not ever.”

“There isn’t any point in arguing, Becca.” Seth stood and pressed the ring box into her hands. The heat of his touch swept through her, electrifying every cell in her body. “One way or another, we are doing this. Tonight.”

Seth’s heart stuttered in surprised relief when Rebecca’s hand squeezed around the ring box. Nothing had gone as planned. His goals had been simple: remain calm, extract the truth and once she admitted he was the father, convince her that the only logical action was to marry him.

That plan disintegrated the second she opened the door. Time seemed to stop as her crystalline blue-green eyes widened in shock, as one hand came to rest on her basketball-shaped stomach and the other smoothed her chin-length, strawberry-blond hair.

She looked different than he remembered. The contours of her oval-shaped face were softer, rounder. There were now freckles scattered along her nose, cheeks and forehead. Purplish smudges covered the fragile area beneath her eyes. He fleetingly wondered if she was getting enough sleep or if there was cause for concern. And the square-necked, summery dress she wore—a long, flowing concoction of brown and cream—highlighted not only the impressive swell of her stomach, but her decidedly fuller breasts.

The lithe, petite woman he’d spent the weekend with close to eight months ago was gone, replaced by a swollen, puffed-up version of that same woman. But somehow, and damn if he could explain it, she was radiant. And beautiful in such a refreshing, real way that it stole Seth’s ability to think, to reason, to behave in an expected manner.

A rush of contradictory emotions took control, overriding all else. How could he be disillusioned and angry by her behavior, yet still want to protect her. Care for her, even?

Unable to comprehend how such opposing factors could exist at the same time, his carefully thought-out plan fell to the wayside. Instead, he’d reacted with the instinctive, primal urge of a caveman, his only objective to claim what was his.

No. Nothing had gone as planned, but somehow, he’d managed to succeed. He glanced at Rebecca’s fingers, which were still wrapped securely around the jewelry box, and the tight, frantic pressure in his chest evaporated. The pumped-up caveman inside went back into hiding.

Seth’s sanity returned.

“This is logical, Rebecca.” He attempted a smile. Unfortunately, his lips refused to budge from the severe, straight line he’d imposed on them earlier. He settled for nodding toward the house. “So if you’ll go get your things, we can be off.”

Those gorgeous green-blue eyes of hers narrowed into slits, giving him the impression of a cat about to pounce. That didn’t bode well. Tilting her head downward, she looked at the ring he’d purchased that morning. A simple solitaire that had seemed the perfect choice.

“If it doesn’t fit, we can have it resized,” he offered. “Or if you’d like to exchange it for another ring, that’s fine with me. Whatever you want.”

She pried the ring out of its box with the tip of her pinkie finger, wrinkled her nose as if the diamond had a rank odor and then tossed the ring into the prickly, thorny rosebushes that framed her front porch. The box quickly followed the same path.

With that, she turned on her heel and escaped into the house, leaving him alone with her sister and mother. Both of whom looked ready to kill first and ask questions later.

Tossing a wary glance toward Allison and Jocelyn, he said, “That… ah… didn’t go nearly as well as I’d hoped.”

“Brilliant deduction, Sherlock,” Jocelyn said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. “Did you really think she’d run off and marry you because you told her to?”

“Jocelyn, don’t,” Allison said quietly. “Go inside and take care of your sister. Keep the baby shower going, and it would probably be best if we kept this quiet for the moment.”

“My guess is it’s too late for that, but I’ll do what I can.” Jocelyn touched her mother’s shoulder lightly. “What are you doing? Rebecca wouldn’t want you talking to him.”

“I’m going to help this young man find his ring.” Allison patted her daughter’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll be along shortly.”

Jocelyn let out a sigh before trailing in Rebecca’s footsteps. Seth peered in after her, hoping to catch sight of Rebecca. No such luck.

He considered following her. Surely, given enough time, he could convince Rebecca to talk with him. Except Allison had said they were in the midst of a baby shower. Baby showers meant female guests. Females who were family members and friends of Rebecca, and therefore, would likely view him as the enemy.

And hell, he’d rather drop down into a pit of poisonous snakes than take his chances with a houseful of protective females.

“I wouldn’t go in there,” Allison said, as if she’d read his thoughts. “Those women have been forced to sit in a crowded room playing far too many baby shower games without a drop of alcohol to dull their senses. They’re high on sugar, low on patience and will view you as the perfect outlet for all of their pent-up energy.”

Yeah, poisonous snakes sounded considerably safer. Friendlier, too.

Giving Allison what he hoped was an irresistible grin, he said, “Perhaps you could bring Rebecca to me?”

His smile apparently missed the mark, because after bestowing him with what could only be described as a pitying glance, Allison stepped outside and closed the door firmly behind her. “How well do you know my daughter, Mr….?”

“Foster,” he filled in, working hard not to snap. “But please, call me Seth. And seeing as your daughter tried to keep me from being a part of my child’s life, not as well as I thought.”

“I have two thoughts on that, one of which I won’t share because it isn’t my place.” Allison moved around him to sit on the top porch step. “The other, however, concerns me.”

“And that would be what?” Could he have screwed this up more? Doubtful. As angry as he was with Rebecca, he was equally so with himself. Losing control was unacceptable.

Allison gestured for him to join her. Once he had, she asked, “Are you a good man?”

A blunt question. Even in his current state, he could appreciate that. “A bad man who desired your approval would assure you that he was good and decent. A good man, having nothing to hide, would do the same. So, no matter how I answer, you’ll remain unsure.”

“True, but that’s the case with anything I might ask.” Allison folded her hands on her lap. “For the moment, I’ll trust your answer. Are you a good man?”

“I don’t think people can be so easily defined.”

“It’s a simple question.”

“Not really, but I’ll play along.” The need to do something coiled tightly in Seth’s muscles. This conversation might prove important, but sitting here when Rebecca was hiding made it impossible to concentrate. “I love my family, respect my elders. I’ve never cheated on a woman and I can’t imagine ever doing so. I don’t kick puppies, kittens or any other small, furry animal. But I’m not a saint. I’m not perfect.”