“Marines.”
“What?”
“We never let a man go into battle alone, and we never leave a man behind. Or a woman.”
“You’d better be careful, Clive Forrest. You’re going to make me fall in love with you.”
This time, he laughed out loud as he gave her a wink. “That’s the plan.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I GET THAT I might not be your favorite person right now,” Ben said from the door of her real-estate office. It was now July, and she had barely seen him since April, although he had checked in frequently to see how she was doing.
He had one hand behind his back and his cowboy hat in the other, clutched over his heart. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his sinewy forearms, faded jeans and old, dirt-kicking boots.
“You’re so perceptive.” She sat back in her chair and resisted the urge to rub her spine where she had developed a mighty ache. Her children were apparently engaged in a lively game of Who Can Kick Mommy the Hardest. She didn’t want Ben to know she was uncomfortable. She still had eight weeks to go, at which point she expected to deliver a couple of full-size elephants.
“But hear me out.” He stepped inside and pulled a big bouquet of flowers from behind his back. They were multicolored roses and freesias, her favorites. She wondered who he’d been talking to. A glance through the doorway at her smiling secretary told her.
“All right, Ben. Come on in.” She accepted the flowers from him and laid them on her desk, where the sweet aroma teased her nose. Her sense of smell was more acute with pregnancy, which Gemma said wasn’t unusual, but Lisa found it disturbing that she could also smell a subtle hint of Ben’s cologne—something of which she certainly didn’t want to be aware.
He had been mostly out of town during the early summer, and she’d been busy with real estate and city issues. Now he was running the football camp Harley Morton had requested, including one for girls. Gemma said she’d been out to her parents’ old campground and had seen all the activity.
Ben had seemed to be in his element, running the kids through exercises, drills and games in the muggy heat and following each session with a swim in the Whitmires’ private lake with him acting as lifeguard.
He even ran an evening session for kids who worked at daytime summer jobs. The whole thing was a huge success. Any parent or child in Reston County who hadn’t already been in love with Ben had fallen hard now.
She had been doing absolutely fine without him, but for some reason she felt a burst of joy at seeing him now. “You don’t have football camp today?”
“Founder’s Day weekend. Gave the kids the day off. You know it’s a city holiday, right? You can take holidays off. It’s allowed.”
“And I would, too,” she answered sweetly, “if the parade and street festival weren’t tomorrow.”
He nodded and held up his hand. “I get it. You’re in charge. I’ve got something to ask you, though, and I’m not here for myself or to pressure you into giving up all you’re doing.”
“Wise choice.”
“I’m here to ask you to come with me out to my mom and dad’s place.”
“Why? They can’t possibly need to check up on me. I still talk to them every day, or one of them stops in. I’m convinced your mom is going to whip out a blood pressure cuff one of these times.”
Ben grinned as he took a seat in front of her desk. “I’m sure that’s in her plan. She’s been practicing on my dad.”
Lisa laughed and shook her head, but it warmed her heart that they were so concerned about her welfare and that of her babies. She knew they considered this their only chance to get grandchildren.
Against her better judgment, she was glad to see Ben. When he wasn’t trying to tell her his opinions on how she should take care of herself, she actually enjoyed his company.
And, darn it, she had missed him. Completely of its own will, her heart skipped a beat and her mouth curved into a happy smile. Even her babies seemed to be excited, apparently breaking into a happy dance because their father was near. She put her hands on her belly to soothe them.
“It’s not that they want to check up on you,” Ben went on. “They want you to see the room they’ve fixed up for the babies.”
She stared at him. “A room? You mean a nursery?”
“For when you let them sleep over. Mind you, they know this won’t happen for several years, but they believe in being prepared.”
“I guess so.” Lisa stared down at the flowers, trying to take this in. “They’ve made a room for the babies?”
“Yup. My old room and, from what I understand, it’s pretty spectacular. They haven’t let me see it yet. They’ve installed an air-filtering system, a new smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm.”
“Wow.” She didn’t have anything nearly that elaborate in mind. So far, she’d only cleared out a guest room. Nathan Smith and Luke Sanderson had done all the heavy lifting. She had installed two new cribs and two beautiful antique dressers that Carly had refurbished. Her friend was also refinishing a changing table she’d recovered. Gemma and Carly were planning a baby shower for next month, and refused to let her buy anything else for the babies.
“That’s...that’s really nice of them.”
“Don’t say that until you’ve seen it,” he advised. “How about it? Wanna go for a drive to the McAdamses’ homestead?”
“Sure. I can’t believe they haven’t mentioned it before.” When she stood, Ben’s gaze went to her belly then up to her face.
“It’s a surprise,” he said, smiling.
“Okay.” Self-consciously, she tugged her shirt down over her belly, even though there was no hiding it. He looked away, as if feeling guilty that she’d caught him staring, and she surreptitiously rubbed the pain in her back.
“And I’ll take care of those flowers,” Sandy volunteered, appearing in the doorway. “We don’t want to let such beautiful blooms wilt in this heat.” She beamed at Ben, who responded with a wink.
Lisa rolled her eyes at the two of them, bringing a chuckle from Ben.
Before they stepped out the door, Sandy said, “By the way, Lisa, where is the paperwork for the contract on the Fredricks’ property?”
“I gave it to you this morning.”
“No. I haven’t seen it.”
Lisa frowned, trying to remember. “I was sure I—”
“Never mind,” Sandy said brightly. “I’ll find it.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa saw Ben exchange a look with Sandy, but when she glanced back, her secretary gave her a cheery wave and bustled off to find a vase.
Ben hurried ahead to open the door for her and she headed outside to his truck, making a conscious effort to walk normally and avoid the waddle she was convinced was taking over her gait. The Oklahoma July heat and humidity hit her with full force, breaking sweat out on her brow and upper lip and reminding her how far off the cool days of autumn were.
Ben boosted her into the seat and then dashed around to get the engine started and the air-conditioning running.
As they drove through town, the few people on the street waved and she waved back. By now, everyone knew she was pregnant and that the baby was Ben’s. Also, they probably knew she was having twins. She couldn’t stop the gossip, so she simply went with it.
Lisa’s thoughts circled back to the Fredericks’ paperwork. She bit her bottom lip, thinking hard, trying to recall what she’d done with it. She was sure she’d put it where it belonged. If not, what had she done with it?
“How are things going in the mayor’s office?” Ben asked, breaking into her train of thought. “Any sign of Harley returning?”
“You probably heard he’s home and recovering well. Brenda’s back at work for Gemma, so he’s at the house, bored out of his sku
ll and chomping at the bit to get back to the mayor’s office. He calls me or one of the council members, or the county supervisors, or the water meter readers, or somebody else, every five minutes. He’s frustrated because he can’t be involved in the city or the resort development or anything. The doctor won’t release him yet, and Brenda is fighting him all the way, so I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Well, the stress can’t be good,” Ben said. “And I can’t believe it’s good for—”
“Don’t say it,” she warned, leaning forward a little and turning her head to give him a steady look. “I know my limitations.”
He cleared his throat and said, “Right.”
At the McAdamses’ place, Ben slowed to almost a crawl. When she gave him a questioning glance he said, “My mom doesn’t like anyone to drive in too fast. It stirs up the red dust and it coats her roses. She’s very particular about her roses.”
Lisa smiled, then her eyes widened when she spied the rose garden. “I can see why. The roses you brought me—did they come from here?”
“Yes.”
“Amazing,” she whispered, taking in the dramatic arrangement of bushes planted in a huge round bed in the center of the circular drive. Red roses filled the middle, then every shade of pink, peach, yellow and, finally, white blooms spiraled around. A yellow-brick walkway ran between the rows. Every bush was bursting with blossoms.
“Follow the yellow brick road,” Ben commented. “My mom is a big fan of The Wizard of Oz.”
“It’s the most beautiful rose garden I’ve ever seen.”
“Tell her that. She’ll be your slave for life. Actually, she already is since you’re providing her with grandchildren.”
She smiled. While she knew the McAdamses were excited about the babies, she hadn’t expected them to prepare a full nursery. She took it as another sign that they were committed to being fully involved grandparents.
Ben parked by the front porch and came around to help her out. She stepped down from the truck carefully, aware of how her center of gravity had changed. Ben had a firm grip on her arm, and slipped his arm around her shoulders when he appeared to think she might stumble. She looked up to give him a grateful smile. When he grinned down at her, warmth sifted through her and her heart fluttered. One of her babies brought her back to reality with a mighty kick. Lisa started and moved out of the circle of Ben’s arm.
“Thank you,” she said.
The front door flew open and Jim and Helen rushed from the house.
“Thank you so much for coming,” Helen said. “We’re so excited that you’re here. How are you feeling? The ride out here wasn’t too much, was it? What about your ankles? You said the swelling has been bothering you. Mine were so swollen when I was carrying Ben, I looked like I was walking around on a couple of tree trunks.”
“Now, Helen, don’t give the girl the third degree,” Jim chided. He turned to Lisa, his thick brows drawn together in concern. “What are your cravings like today, dear? As I told you, Helen ate cream cheese and green bean sandwiches for months before Ben came. I’ve been reading up on natural cures for that heartburn you’ve been having and they won’t hurt the babies. If you need anything, I’ve got all the information you could ever want.”
Ben glanced down. “Her ankles are perfect, Dad.”
“I’m fine today, thanks, Jim.” The babies didn’t have a whole lot of spare time to create heartburn just now. One was crowding her lungs and the other was bouncing on her bladder.
“Excellent,” Helen said, smiling at her with such joy that Lisa felt tears prickling her eyes.
“Come on in, come on in. See this room. Helen designed it and I did all the work.”
His wife cuffed him on the arm. “Not all the work. I helped with the painting and I made the curtains.”
Jim held the door for everyone to troop inside as he continued talking to Lisa. “Now, we don’t want to be pushy here, only want to have a comfortable room for the kids when you feel like you need a break.”
“And we’re available to babysit anytime,” Helen added. “But we don’t want to be pushy.”
“I understand,” Lisa said, smiling at these two people who were so desperately happy about the babies. They made the same statement every time she talked to them.
“It’s this way,” Ben said, and gave his mother a teasing look. “And I’m not even going to mention that I had the same pale blue paint and wallpaper from infancy to adulthood.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Helen said, flapping a hand at him. “If you’d wanted to change it, we would have, but interior design was never an interest of yours.”
“True,” Ben answered with a shrug.
Lisa thought of that ramshackle house he was living in now. She doubted he’d done a thing to fix it up since she’d been there in the winter.
“Okay,” Helen said, her hand on the knob of a door that was securely shut. “Close your eyes. We want you to get the full effect.”
Obediently, Lisa did so. She heard the door open and felt a rush of air, no doubt from the new air purifier, she thought with amusement.
“Okay, you can look,” Helen said.
Lisa opened her eyes and her smile froze when she came face-to-face with a life-size poster of Ben McAdams in full football gear, all six foot, four inches of him. From shoulder pads to cleats, he was fully decked out, his helmet under his arm, his smile full of good humor and confidence.
“Sheesh, Mom,” Ben grumbled. “Are you trying to scare them to death?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she answered in a snippy tone. “This is the perfect poster to have in here.” She pointed to a ruler that marched up the edge. “See? We had it printed so we can measure their heights as they grow.”
To see if they measure up to their father, Lisa thought with a sinking heart. Overwhelmed, she looked away, taking in the fact that one side of the room was done up in a pink-and-purple, princess, ruffles theme, and the other in blue-and-brown football gear. The window beside the poster was exactly in the center of the room, and they’d used it as the dividing line. One curtain panel was purple with pink ruffles and the other was printed with bunny rabbits and raccoons playing football. There were two cribs, each matching its gender theme, a changing table, a dresser and a rocker. It was so wildly jarring that she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
Jim cleared his throat. “So, Lisa, what do you think?”
She looked at Ben, who seemed as taken aback as she was. His gaze went from the poster to the ruffles to the football-and-goalpost-printed crib sheet, and back again.
“It’s...simply... There are no words—” When she caught sight of the McAdamses’ frozen expressions, she said, “Stunning. Absolutely breathtaking. I...can’t imagine anything more girlish.” She pointed to the feminine side. “And more boyish.” Her hand swung to the football side. “Completely amazing.”
“See, Jim,” Helen said, all but hugging herself in her joy. “I told you she’d love it.”
“And you were right, as usual,” Jim agreed. “Now, young lady, you’ve been on your feet long enough. Let’s go into the living room where you can relax. We’ll get you something to drink. How do you feel about lemonade? And maybe something to eat? Are you getting enough protein? The articles we’ve been reading say you need one hundred and twenty grams a day. Would you like a roast-beef sandwich?”
“And maybe a paper bag to hyperventilate into,” Ben muttered from behind her.
“What was that, son?” Jim asked.
“Nothing, Dad. Nothing. You and Mom did an amazing job on the room. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I’d love some lemonade,” Lisa said as Jim settled her into a chair and then lifted her feet onto an ottoman. “But I had a big lunch, so I’m not really hungry.”
Lisa looked arou
nd at the living room, conventionally decorated in warm earth tones. She couldn’t quite imagine where they had come up with the decorating scheme for the nursery, but after thinking about it for a minute, realized they were living their own dream.
Helen had never had the big white wedding, and she didn’t have a little girl whose room she could make into a princess haven. She was living out her fantasies, and throwing in Jim’s football glory days for good measure.
She simply couldn’t burst their bubble by letting them think it was anything less than perfect.
Their enthusiasm was touching, and brave, she decided, because they knew their son wouldn’t be involved with his own children, but they were more than willing to take on the role of grandparents. They were part of her support system, people who would love her twins, spend time with them and teach them valuable life lessons. They seemed completely prepared to overcome any awkwardness that ensued. Lisa wondered how long it would be before her children realized the giant man on the wall was actually their father.
Ben was a grown man who made his own decisions in spite of what she might think and what his parents had taught him about responsibility. It would be years before her children questioned her about why they never saw him. She had been five and in kindergarten before she’d understood and questioned why other kids had a mom and dad and she only had grandparents.
Helen brought in a tray of lemonade in frosty glasses. Lisa thanked her, took a sip and looked at Ben over the rim. He was holding his glass and gazing at her with a brooding expression, as if he trying to decipher what she was thinking.
She wasn’t going to let him know. Turning to his parents, she complimented the rose garden and they discussed flower food and watering schedules for several minutes.
Finally, Jim and Helen exchanged a glance and Helen stood. “We’ve got something we hope you’ll like.” She went into her bedroom and came back with a large gift bag, which she handed to Lisa with a nervous smile. Then she sat on the arm of Jim’s chair to watch her. “I could have brought it to the baby shower Carly and Gemma are planning, but we thought you might like to have it ahead of time.”
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