But, his conscience had to point out, had she been responsible for his pain or her father?
He pulled up to the home that’d been in Eve’s family practically since Florida had gained statehood. The place was as imposing as the men who’d built it and once lived within.
Garrett wasn’t a man who easily caved under intimidation, but this house represented everything he wasn’t. If Eve was looking for monetary power, Garrett would never be her man. If she wanted integrity, a man who never gave up, he’d be the perfect guy for her, but judging by the ease with which she’d not only forgotten him, but went on with her life to the tune of marrying another man? Well, that proved how low Garrett rated.
Just as he was climbing from his car, Eve bounded out the front door, cheeks flushed as if she’d been rushing. As usual, her simple grace knocked the breath from him and derailed his resolve to forever free himself from her unwitting hold. With her long hair streaming down her back and pale yellow dress clinging to her curves, his mouth went dry and his pulse raced.
Before he could help her with the passenger door, she opened it herself. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Not at all,” he said from back behind the wheel. “Ready for this?”
She shook her head. “How was telling your mom?”
He started the car. “As awkward as you might think. She wanted to tag along—bad.”
“Did you explain to her how rough this is going to be even for us?”
“Sure.” he pulled out of the drive and onto the street. “But once Mom gets hold of something, she doesn’t let go. You’ve been fortunate not to see that side of her.”
Eve coughed before turning on the AC and pointing it toward her still-flushed face.
“You all right?”
“Fine.”
The knot in Garrett’s gut told him nothing would ever again be truly fine.
Chapter Fourteen
Eve had learned all too well how determined Dina could be when it came to having her way. The woman had been relentless in her gentle urging to tell Garrett about the pregnancy, but the timing hadn’t seemed right.
Every light in the Henry home seemed to be on, and judging by the muted sounds of laughter and silverware clinking from the backyard, the soccer-club party Dawn had offered to host was in full swing. The base from pop music pulsed through uncomfortably muggy night air.
“Still blows my mind,” Garrett said on the endless walk from where they’d parked on the street to the house’s front steps, “how Dawn’s husband only knows they adopted their son from us, but he’s clueless about the affair.”
“Hal strikes again…”
“No kidding.” He rang the bell. “Sure you’re up for this?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
He shrugged. “No specific reason, I guess. You’ve seemed distracted for a while.”
“I’m good.” She forced a smile. How long had she dreamed of having a child, and now she had one and another coming? In a weird way, Eve identified with Dawn. She knew all too well the empty heartache stemming from being unable to conceive. The fact that she had so easily with Garrett for a second time hadn’t escaped her notice. Did the man have super SEAL sperm?
The silly question brought much-needed levity to the impossibly difficult night.
“What’s so funny?” Garrett rang the bell again.
Nothing I can tell you.
Eve was saved from answering by Dawn opening the door. “Hi, come in. Steve knows who you are, but I hope you don’t mind, Eve, but since you’re practically Coral Ridge royalty, I told everyone else Barnesworth Industries is presenting the soccer team with an award. It’s just a silly certificate. I’ve already printed it out. All you have to do is hand it to the team captain.”
“That sounds good.” Eve appreciated Garrett’s hand warming the small of her back, securely guiding her through the maze of unfamiliar faces. How could she have lived in the town practically her whole life, yet there were still so many people she’d never before seen? Worse yet, it seemed everyone aside from Boyd wanted to talk. Share their condolences or memories of her father.
“This is nuts,” Garrett said in her ear once they’d stolen a moment alone. His warm breath made her shiver. “I’ve only caught two glimpses of Boyd all night.”
“I know. Do you want this?” She nodded to her plate. “I’m too nervous to eat.”
He took her remaining chopped brisket, slaw and deviled eggs. “Hell, I’m too nervous to do anything but eat.”
“I suppose, in a way, it’s good we’re obviously such outsiders.”
“How so?” He’d already cleared half the plate.
“It’s certainly squelched any lingering delusions I might’ve had about Boyd suddenly recognizing us, running up to us with his arms outstretched for a Hollywood-style epic hug.”
Shaking his head, Garrett’s smile was bittersweet. “Gotta admit, I had the same thought. And since we’re already feeling like crashers at our own party, can I just say I hate the name Boyd. Who does that to a kid?”
“Me, too. It’s horrible.” On autopilot, she used her napkin to wipe a smudge of barbecue sauce from Garrett’s chin.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He’d always been passionate about his food. How many times when they’d been in the high-school cafeteria had Eve adoringly cleaned him? She used to feel proprietary where he was concerned. As if he’d always belong to her and only her. Being around him again had ignited so many old instinctive feelings where he was concerned, but he’d soon be leaving and by night’s end, the whole reason behind Garrett even still being in town would be gone. The search for their son would’ve come full circle in a poignant ending neither had wanted but feared from the start.
The night wound on with more small talk than Eve had patience for. Her whole life, she’d been schooled in the art of talking while essentially saying nothing at all. Whether happy about it or not, she could go on for hours more, but what was the point? When would she finally speak with the one little boy who mattered?
When the time came for Eve to present her pretend award, she’d added a large check from her personal account.
Upon accepting the money, the team captain asked, “Is this real? I’ve never seen that many zeros in my life!”
The adults clapped and whistled and all was well except in Eve’s lonely heart. Garrett still stood beside her, but she knew that, too, would soon come to an end. Eventually Dawn brought Boyd to Eve, telling the boy to thank her.
“Thanks, Ms. Barnesworth,” he said with an achingly formal handshake. “Now, we can go to nationals.”
“That sounds fun.” Eve knelt to his eye level. “Y-you all must be pretty good?”
“Yeah! Last year we were undefeated. We haven’t started this year, but pretty soon.”
“H-how exciting.” Eve hadn’t wanted to release her son’s hand. Her son.
Garrett asked, “What position do you play?”
“Goalie!”
“Wow. I’m impressed. Ever get hurt?”
“Nah.” Boyd looked to his mom. “Have I been nice long enough? Can I go back to my tree house?”
Tears lodged in Eve’s throat, clawing like barbed wire.
She thought she’d previously known pain, but nothing could’ve prepared her for this—for being an unwanted duty in her own son’s life.
To Dawn, Eve managed to say, “Thank you. He’s, um,
obviously a happy child. Garrett…” She locked gazes with him, silently begging for him to help free them both from this hellish situation.
Garrett said, “We should get going.”
“You’re welcome to stay.” Dawn’s gaze followed Boyd across the yard. “Steve’s making a fire for s’mores.”
“Thanks, but we can’t.” I can’t. This is too hard.
Dawn crushed her in a hug. “Promise, I’ll tell Boyd you’re his birth parents soon. Just let me find the right time. Steve and I knew we’d eventually tell him he’s adopted once he gets older, but now that you’re both in the picture, we’ll move up our schedule.”
“We’d appreciate it,” Eve said.
“Until then,” Dawn reassured them, “Steve and I will look for more opportunities to ease you into Boyd’s life. We want him to see that far from this being upsetting for him, all it really amounts to is him having more people in his life who love and care about him.” Her words might’ve been brave, but her eyes shone with emotion.
“Thank you. We’ll be in touch.” Eve was never more relieved than when Garrett slipped his arm about her waist, guiding her toward the front door.
She quietly sobbed the whole ride home, and when she asked Garrett to come in, he politely declined.
Hands in his pockets as he stood beside her at her front door, he said, “Before tonight, I thought for Mom I might stick around a few more days, but I can’t. Tonight—this whole fruitless search has been too hard. I mean, yeah, we’ll eventually be part of Boyd’s life, but it’s not going to be the reunion I’d prayed for. I’ve got to get back to something real, you know? I’m heading back to base first thing in the morning.”
More tears welled in a tearful, never-ending loop. Damn you, Garrett Solomon. What the two of us share is real. For whatever reason, you just don’t want to see. But then in all fairness, did she? They were different in so many ways. It’d be impossible to erase their past to start over anew.
When he wrapped his arms around her, yet again lending his support, Eve clung to him for dear life. She wasn’t sure how, but in the time since he’d been back to Coral Ridge, he’d once again become her life. For all of her brave thoughts just moments ago, she now shamefully begged, “Please don’t go.”
“You’ll be fine,” he assured her, stroking her back, kissing the top of her head. “Tonight cost both of us. It was awful letting our son go. But tomorrow, you’ll see that just like leaving him with his family was the right thing, so is my departure.”
“What if it wasn’t? What if I’m having second thoughts about not telling Boyd we’re his parents right now? Not only that, what if I need you?” she confessed, and truthfully had only just wholly realized. How would she make it through her pregnancy without him? Let alone raising their child on her own?
“If Dawn still hasn’t told him, we’ll revisit the idea of telling Boyd he’s really our son in a couple months. As for you needing me? No, you don’t.” Releasing their hug only to grip her upper arms, he said, “Eve Barnesworth, you are one of the smartest, toughest women I know. Sure, lately, things have been rough, but that’ll change. Every day you’re getting stronger and you’ve got the good parts of your father in you. Hell, maybe one day you’ll even run for mayor?”
She laughed through a fresh sob. “That’s the last thing I want.” But what did she want? To be Garrett’s wife? In light of his cruelly polite exit, she’d essentially been nothing more to him than a holiday diversion. “Would you stay if I told you I was pregnant?”
For never-ending seconds, he searched her face. “Are you?”
Tell him! her conscience screamed, but why, logic questioned. He obviously didn’t want to be with her long-term. Was she prepared to spend the rest of her life clinging to a man who didn’t see her as part of his future? Had grief for her father and stolen son pushed her to that pathetic state? No.
“Eve? Are you or are you not pregnant with my child?”
Raising her chin, demanding her tears once and for all stop, Eve summoned every trace of her Barnesworth strength. “Sorry. I’m not sure why I even asked the question. Our meeting with Boyd was truly awful and I’m not myself.”
“Sure. I understand.” He noticeably exhaled. Relieved he wasn’t going to be a father? She wanted so badly to tell him everything, but this realization hurt worse than the combined pain of what she’d already been through. She didn’t know where to start in defining what she felt for him, but she knew he didn’t want to be a part of her life again, and that made her feel vulnerable. Naked to her core. “All right, then, so I guess this is it? Keep me posted on any more meetings you get with Boyd, then we’ll set something up for us to see him together when I’m in for Easter?”
“Sure. Sounds perfect.”
“Great.” He flashed her the smile that never failed to stir butterflies in her stomach. “If that meeting’s as tough as tonight, we’ll share a drink, too.”
Not likely. By then she’d be big as a house.
“Okay,” she said with a wobbly nod. “That’ll be nice.”
Nice and torturous.
“Great.” He tossed his keys up and down on his palm. “I’ll call to set up a time.”
* * *
WOULD YOU STAY IF I TOLD you I was pregnant?
Packing his gear at 5:00 a.m., Garrett couldn’t get Eve’s question from his mind. Would he? Stay? Would he have honestly been prepared to give up the only part of his life that made sense? Being a SEAL wasn’t just a job. In the navy, he’d figured out how to once again feel whole without her. He could do good for others, while at the same time forgetting the damage done to him—both tasks he’d accomplished all too well up until recently.
His mind’s eye returned to their time in the pool. To the feel of losing himself inside her—not just how he’d physically felt, but the emotional attraction he feared he’d always have for her. And why fear that? Because it got him nowhere he needed to be. Someday, he’d very much like to be a father. Settle down with a good woman who made him whole. But that woman wasn’t Eve. Could never be Eve. Too much had transpired between them.
“I made you sandwiches and cookies and a thermos of coffee.” Dina stood teary-eyed at his bedroom door, holding a grocery bag.
“Thanks, Mom.” He pulled her into a hug. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” she sniffed, “but I have to do something. Every time you leave it gets harder.”
“Mom, I’ll be fine. Promise.”
That only brought more tears. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Your dad promised to be home early the day he died. We were supposed to play bridge at the Andersons’ that night.”
“Mom…” Garrett knew his job was dangerous, but being a SEAL was the only job he knew.
“You never told me how last night went. Did little Boyd seem to sense any connection with you and Eve?”
Back to shoving socks in his gunnysack, Garrett laughed. “The kid was in his own world—which I get. It was hard, though. Dawn and Steve promised to tell him about his biological family soon. Until then, we’ll get to know him as family friends.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “How did you and Eve end things?”
“All right, I guess. It was a little awkward, but that’s to be expected.” He hefted the bag over his left shoulder.
“She didn’t have anything special to tell you?”
“Not that I can remember.”
“Hmm.” She led t
he way out of his room.
“Give me one more hug, then I’ve gotta hit the road.” Holding his mom felt extra sweet. He’d enjoyed his time with her. He used to worry about her being on her own, but he now knew she’d grown a new life brimming with good friends.
“I love you.” She kissed his cheek at the front door. It was still dark outside and light fog made streetlights fuzzy.
“Love you, too, Mom.” He gave her another hug. “Please stop crying. I’ll be home soon.”
She nodded before waving him on his way.
* * *
WHEN EVE PASSED DARCIE’S DESK, her supposed friend said, “You look like death warmed over.”
Eve gave her a dark glare. “Trust me, I know. Could you do me a huge favor and cancel my meetings?”
“You only have two. The Rodgers acquisition and a legal update for progress on the immigration issues. Want me to sit in for you and take notes?”
“Perfect. I owe you.” In her office, Eve tossed the light sweater she’d worn with her fawn-colored blouse and pencil skirt over the nearest chair. Her eyes were swollen and stinging from crying and her feet had ballooned from too much standing in heels the night before. The moment she settled into her desk chair, she kicked off her black pumps.
“So?” Darcie had shut the door and now occupied a guest chair. “How was your meeting with Boyd? Love at first sight?”
“Not exactly.” Eve started her computer. “After what couldn’t have amounted to more than a minute’s worth of meaningless conversation, he dashed off on his merry way. Garrett and I made our departure, and that was that. The Henrys promised we’ll see more of him soon, but after all we’ve been through to find Boyd, a promise doesn’t seem like enough. I understand, but I want my son. Now.”
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