The Captain's Baby Bargain

by Merline Lovelace

  His hand slid from her cheek to her chin. Curling his knuckles under her chin, he brushed his thumb across her lower lip. The touch was soft, sensual, but the look in his eyes was dead serious.

  “It’s not going to work if either one of us makes unilateral decisions on major issues like this one. We have to keep the comm lines open and humming.”

  She started to respond but his thumb pressed against her lips, halting her reply.

  “We talk, Susie Q. About the baby. Our jobs. The price of a half gallon of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Air Force regulations allowed Suze to request separation from active duty no earlier than ninety days and no later than thirty days prior to her expected delivery day. That meant she’d have six months yet at Luke AFB to train her replacement, apply for transition to the Reserves and get ready for another move. None of which, she insisted, was any big deal.

  Nevertheless, Gabe requested a six-month leave of absence from his teaching and mayoral duties to accompany her. The school board was thrilled that he intended to return for the spring semester instead of quitting outright and happily approved the temporary absence. The members of Cedar Creek Town Council were just as accommodating. They approved Joanna Hicks as mayor pro tem but extracted a promise from Gabe to be immediately reachable by phone or computer if necessary.

  When Suze tried one last time to suggest he wait for her here in Cedar Creek, Gabe shut her down. “We’re not going through any more separations than we have to. Especially when you also have that uterine fibroid to take care of.”

  “Kathy says it’s a simple outpatient laparoscopic procedure.”

  “Simple or not, I intend to be there. Besides, Doofus and I could use a break, right pal?”

  The wire-haired griffon woofed his agreement.

  “Ooooh boy,” Suze laughed. “It’s gonna be fun driving halfway across the country with Doofus occupying the back seat of my convertible, going crazy every time we pass a car or a truck.”

  “Ole Blue’s got a trailer hitch. We’ll tow the convertible and let Doofus reign supreme in the truck’s jump seat.”

  “Like I said,” Suze drawled, “it’s gonna be fun.”

  * * *

  Surprisingly, it was.

  Before departing on their odyssey, they helped Donna Osborne, her mom and her oldest boy settle into the house. Donna still hadn’t decided whether to remain in Cedar Creek or move closer to her parents. She had to put off thinking about that until her youngest had recovered and she’d sorted through the bewildering business of insurance claims for her home and her husband’s death. The offer to live rent-free in Gabe’s house for the next six months relieved her of one crushing problem.

  They showed Donna through the house and gave her the keys late on a Thursday afternoon. The next morning they loaded up Ole Blue. Gabe had stashed most of his personal effects at Penny’s house, so all he had to toss in the truck’s lockable storage container was one duffle containing his clothes, the weekender roller bag Suzanne had brought for what she’d thought would be a short visit and a thirty-pound sack of dry dog food.

  He stuffed his laptop and a thick wad of folders in a soft-sided briefcase. The case joined Suze’s tote in the truck’s air-conditioned cab. So did Doofus. Deliriously happy at the prospect of an outing, he left nose smears all over the narrow windows on both sides of the jump seat. As Suze had predicted, he took vocal exception to every moving object as they cruised down Main Street and headed for the interstate. Gabe finally shot him an evil look in the rearview mirror and warned of dire consequences—up to and including a visit to the vet for a too-long delayed snip—if he didn’t lie down and shut up.

  They hit I-40 and headed west. With each mile of undulating prairie, another boulder seemed to roll off their shoulders. Gabe, because this was his first hiatus from work since his election. Suze, because each passing moment confirmed the rightness of her decision.

  They stopped to let Doofus do his thing in the dog-walking area at the rest stop just over the line into Texas. They stopped again for lunch in Amarillo. Since they couldn’t leave the dog in a hot car, they drove through a Taco Bell and took their lunch to another highway rest stop. Two tacos each for Suze and Gabe, one as a treat for Doofus mixed in with his healthy-bones Purina chow. While they were stopped, Suze asked Gabe if he’d mind making a brief detour in Albuquerque.

  “To visit Ben Kincaid and his wife?”

  Suze nodded. “Ben wasn’t there when I went through on the way out. I know he’d like to see us both.”

  Gabe readily agreed. Divorce, he’d discovered, tended to strain loyalties. He’d found it even more difficult to keep up with friends and acquaintances after he’d separated from the Air Force. Major Ben Kincaid was one of the few who’d made an effort to at least stay in touch.

  “Yeah, sure, we can stop if they’re going to be home.” His grin slipped out. “I have to admit, I’d like to meet the woman who brought Love-’em-and-leave-’em-happy Ben Kincaid to his knees.”

  * * *

  Alex Kincaid not only confirmed that they’d be home, the busy entrepreneur was thrilled to hear Suze was a bride. Again.

  “Omigosh! You and your ex? Back together again? Wait until I tell Ben! He was bummed that he missed you on your way out to Oklahoma, and he said then that he wouldn’t be surprised if the two of you hooked up again. He’ll be so smug when he hears he was right.”

  “Are you sure it’s convenient for us to stop by? I would’ve called earlier but...well...it’s been kind of hectic. We just made the decision to pack up and head west two days ago.”

  “Heck, yes, it’s convenient. You have to stay with us tonight. I want to hear every detail, Swish.”

  After almost ten days in her hometown, surrounded by family and friends who knew her only as Suzanne or Suze, hearing her military call sign again gave her a little jolt.

  “We can’t stay the night, Alex. We have a very large, very noisy hound accompanying us, so we booked a room at a pet-friendly hotel west of Albuquerque.”

  “At least stay for dinner,” Alex pleaded. “Ben can throw some steaks on the grill and share his latest war stories with you while I get acquainted with the guy who’s so hot you married him twice.”

  Suze had to laugh. “And he’s looking forward to meeting the gal who shot Cowboy down in flames.”

  “Great! Call us when you hit the outskirts of town and we’ll fire up the grill. Oh, and bring the dog in with you. Our backyard isn’t all that big but it’s enclosed. Maria will love playing with him.”

  “But her cat probably not so much.”

  “So Sox can stay inside. See you soon.”

  * * *

  The evening was one of the most relaxing Suze had spent in months. Make that years. She and her husband, together again, seated at a table with a view through French doors of a backyard landscaped in gorgeous high-desert style, sharing laughter and lusciously marinated steaks and the company of another couple obviously devoted to each other. Cowboy had stopped on his way home to buy a couple of bottles of nonalcoholic sparkling cider to celebrate both the remarriage and the baby. The four of them lingered at the table, enjoying the bubbly, long after the dishes were cleared.

  Outside, Maria shrieked in delight as Doofus frolicked with her in the sprinkler Ben had set up for them. Delirious with joy, the dog barked his fool head off and did a leaping, contorted jig as he tried to plant his huge paws over the water spouts. Maria’s cat was not amused. She sat on a windowsill in the kitchen, her tail twitching back and forth and her eyes narrowed to slits as she monitored the outdoor activities.

  The adults had kept the conversation general while Maria was with them. Once the girl went outside, Cowboy turned the talk back to Suze’s surprise announcement that she intended to separate from active duty, move back to her hometown and go into the Reserves. Not unexpectedly, his reaction was mixed. He was still Special Ops. Still gung-ho.
But marriage and a ready-made family had given him a decidedly different perspective on the demands of a military career. After some back and forth, he reluctantly admitted that being a full-time Air Reserve Technician and member of an Air Guard unit with a distinguished combat record like that of the 137th would make use of Swish’s training, experience and leadership skills.

  Alex endorsed his opinion. “Looks like a win-win situation to me,” she said as she grimaced and shifted on her cushioned chair. When she caught Swish’s glance, she laughed. “I thought the second trimester was a pain in the you know what. It’s got nothing on the third.”

  “Bad, huh?”

  “Just your average backaches from hell, spider veins, swollen ankles and heartburn. Which is exactly what I tried to tell Chelsea.”

  “Has she been up to visit lately?”

  “No, but I talk to her at least once a week.”

  “Who’s Chelsea?” Gabe wanted to know.

  “Oh, sorry. She was my roommate when I lived in Vegas,” Alex explained. “I forgot you weren’t at the last Badger Bash. You would’ve met her there. She’s a dancer. A good one, although she’s currently between gigs.”

  “She won’t be unemployed long.” Her husband grinned. “The woman is five nine, most of it leg, and built like the proverbial brick...”

  “Care...ful!”

  “Let’s just says she’s built.”

  “She’s the one who’s got a sort of on-again, off-again going with Dingo,” Suze put in.

  “Okay, got it,” Gabe said. “I remember you mentioning something about that. So is it on now or off?”

  “We’re not sure. Chelsea hasn’t said, and no one’s heard from Dingo.”

  Suze and the lively dancer hadn’t spent all that much time together at the Bash but she’d admired her liveliness and outspoken personality. Chelsea Howard was out there, literally and figuratively.

  “So, what’s she up to if she’s not working?” she asked between sips of sweetened iced tea.

  Alex threw a quick glance at her still-splashing daughter, then heaved a sigh. “She’s decided to have a baby.”

  Suze snorted into her tea. “Good grief! This baby thing is spreading like a virus!”

  “She read some article about inherited genetic traits in Scientific American,” Cowboy said with another grin.

  “Scientific American? Really?”

  “Hey, she’s not all hair and long legs,” Alex put in loyally.

  Cowboy picked up the narrative again. “She figures with her talent and undeniably spectacular looks, she could mate her DNA with that of a certified genius and hit the baby jackpot.”

  “Is that all she wants to mate? Their DNA?”

  “Apparently.” Cowboy’s blue eyes glinted with laughter. “She’s drawn up a list of candidates and plans to start interviewing them between auditions for another gig.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “As a mortar attack.”

  “I need to meet this woman,” Gabe commented to no one in particular.

  “She’s going to fly up for a visit when she narrows the list to the final three. To get Alex’s input.”

  “Is she talking artificial insemination?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m almost afraid to... Oh!”

  She sat up, her eyes wide, and flattened both palms on her belly. Stiffening, Cowboy went on full alert until Alex slumped against her chair again.

  “Whew! That was a good one. Braxton Hicks contractions,” she explained to her startled guests. “I’ve had them intermittently for a while but they’re getting more frequent. My doc says that’s common in pre-labor. The cervix is preparing for delivery.”

  Her husband was already on his feet and cupping his wife’s arm. “Let’s you into a more comfortable chair. Swish, how about you keep Alex company in the other room while Gabe and I pull kitchen duty, then get Maria and the hound dried off?”

  She was only too happy to agree. After her own scares with spotting, she intended to pump Alex for any and all information she wanted to share about this life-altering condition.

  * * *

  She and Gabe and Doofus said goodbye just a little more than an hour later. They weren’t about to overstay their welcome in the face of their hostess’s obvious discomfort and the hissing hostility of Maria’s cat to the canine invasion of her territory.

  Before they left, Alex presented Swish with another of her personally designed tees. This one was done in camouflage colors and featured a glittering American eagle with wings folded to shelter its chick. Its talons clutched a banner with a fierce warning: Don’t Mess with an Air Force Mom.

  “I’ve designed one for each branch of the service,” Alex related. “I put the designs up on my website two days ago and we’re already swamped with orders.”

  “I love it! But you have to let me pay for it.”

  “Just wear it around your base. We’ll consider the free advertising as payment in kind.”

  “You got it.”

  Doofus, who’d bonded with Maria, vociferously protested being herded into Ole Blue. Over his mournful howls at being separated from his new best pal, Swish gave Alex a final hug and a strict order.

  “Call us if those fake contractions turn real and you guys need babysitting or hand-holding service. Gabe or I or both can jump a plane and be here in a few hours.”

  “Thanks. I’ll remember that. And same goes for you, Warrior Mom. One call, and either Ben or I will be there.”

  * * *

  It took close to forty minutes to navigate Albuquerque’s traffic, pick up I-40 again and reach the hotel situated just across the Rio Grande. By then, Doofus couldn’t wait to get out and explore the empty acres behind the hotel. Gabe kept him on a long, retractable leash, which he strenuously objected to. So much so that they were both hot and bothered when they returned to the hotel room.

  “I’ve already hit the shower,” Swish said while the hound slurped water from his dish.

  She stretched out on the bed and was half dozing when Gabe emerged. He’d wrapped a towel around his hips, giving her a bird’s-eye view of several interesting inches of pale belly below his tan line. His dark-brown hair still glistened with damp, and the glint in his hazel eyes started her heart humming in her throat.

  Oh, God, he was gorgeous. Not the GQ kind of gorgeous, all suave and slick and styled. Or the muscled-up Navy SEAL kind. Just your average lean, tanned, smart, funny, thoughtful, kind type of gorgeous.

  She wanted him so bad she hurt with it. But they’d decided to take it slow and careful until she consulted her doc. That decision was now slapping smack up against the desire coiling in her belly.

  “Here’s the deal,” she told him, her voice husky. “You can drop that towel and make cautious, careful love to your wife. Or...”

  “Or?”

  “Or you can drop the towel and let me make wild, crazy love to my husband.”

  “There’s a third option.” He waggled his brows in an exaggerated leer. “How about you lie back, close your eyes and let me demonstrate the various ways a husband can pleasure his wife using only his hands, his tongue and his imagination?”

  She wasn’t going to argue with that!

  Her pulse kicking into overdrive, she threw aside the light comforter she’d drawn over herself after the shower. The abrupt movement sent an unmistakable signal to Doofus. He’d been snoozing in a corner but now, sensing action, he charged across the room. Snagging a corner of the comforter, he dragged it completely off. His tail slashed back and forth. His teeth showed in a goofy grin as he waited for his humans to initiate his favorite game. When they ignored him, he whined once. Twice. Raked the mattress with an insistent paw.

  He rocked back on his haunches, preparing to join the fun on the bed, but Gabe sensed what was coming and paused in his imaginative efforts long enough to bellow a warning.

  “No! Do not even think about it!”

  Deterred but not completely cowed, the hound circled a few times,
pawed the comforter into an acceptable nest, settled in and glared at his humans from the floor.

  Suze was totally oblivious to their audience of one. True to his word, Gabe had exercised his very inventive imagination. She was writhing. Panting. Gripping the pillow with both hands. As the exquisite sensations rose and fell and rose again, she tried to hold back. Tried to spin them out. But the high, wild waves crested. One after another. Then came crashing down.

  When her mind reinhabited her body, Gabe had eased up beside her. His right arm snaked under her shoulders. His left palm flattened on her belly.

  “Wonder what Peanut thinks just happened?” he mused.

  “Please,” she groaned. “Don’t go there. I won’t be ready to explain what just happened until the kid is in his or her teens.”

  “Better not wait that long. My crush on you went from bashful to excruciating the first week I hit puberty. I spent that entire damned school year trying to disguise my hard-on every time you sashayed by.”

  “Ha! You wouldn’t know bashful if it hit you in the face. But since we’re being honest here, I’ll come clean, too.” She curved a palm against his cheek and answered his questioning look with a sly smile. “Why do you think my hip swing kicked into fourth gear every time I caught you watching me?”

  “C’mon. You couldn’t have known the agonies I was going through. Not at that age.”

  “Shows what you know. That bulge in your jeans fueled more erotic fantasies than any of the steamy novels I snuck out of the library.”

  “Christ, Suze.” He curled his arm, drawing her closer. “With two oversexed parents like us, Peanut doesn’t have a chance.”

  Laughing, she laid her hand atop the one resting on her belly. After all the months and years apart, after all the loneliness and regrets and stress, she and Gabe were right where they were supposed to be. Wrapped in each other’s arms. His breath warm on her heated skin. Her hand coupled with his.

  Whatever happened, whatever bumps and detours they had to face in the years ahead, this was exactly where they would stay.