“I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“Well, of course you didn’t,” he said, surprised that she would believe he might think that of her. Then he realized what she really meant. He looked her straight in the eyes. “Neither did I.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“Do you really?”
“Yes, it’s just that...” She shrugged.
“It’s just that you’re feeling overwhelmed and scared and mad.”
She frowned. “I hate it that you can read my mind.”
“No, you don’t. It saves time.”
Her chin jutted up defiantly. “I can’t marry you, you know.”
“We’ll talk about it,” he said.
“I can’t.”
“I said we’ll talk about it. Right now, I’m getting you back to your place. You’re soaking wet. You’re dead on your feet, and it’s not even the middle of the day.”
“What about my classes?”
“You can skip them for once. Have you been getting any sleep at all?”
“Enough for me,” she insisted, then gave a rueful smile. “Not enough for the baby, apparently.”
That afternoon while Lizzy slept, Hank grappled with their dilemma. The woman he loved was going to have his baby. She was also determined not to let that little predicament change her plans for her career. He’d seen that famous Adams stubbornness in her eyes and in the lift of her chin. She’d practically dared him to insist on marriage.
Hank knew better. Not even God Almighty could force an Adams to do something he or she wasn’t ready to do. He was going to have to be patient. He was going to have to wear her down or think of a compromise. Not to marriage, of course. He wouldn’t compromise on that. He might be willing to adjust the timetable a bit, maybe find some alternatives to the traditional living arrangements, at least for the time being.
Unfortunately, as good as he was at reading Lizzy, there wasn’t nearly time enough to come up with answers to all the arguments she was bound to have against their future. His flight back to Texas was booked for that evening. Once again they were going to be separated, only this time he was going to be the one doing the leaving unless he made some quick arrangements so he could stay.
He called Pete first.
“No problems here,” the foreman assured him.
“No more downed fence lines? No weird accidents?”
“Nothing. It was probably just kids, nothing to worry about. You stay right where you are as long as you need to. The boys and me will keep this place humming.”
“Thanks, Pete. I’ll check in with you.”
After talking to Pete, he called the airlines and changed his flight. He scheduled it for the next day, then thought about it and made it for the end of the week. He’d never convince Lizzy to do what needed to be done in a matter of hours. It was going to take days, and that was only if she was in an amenable frame of mind.
He was pacing in the living room when her roommate came back. The girl, who appeared years younger than Lizzy though she had to be nearly the same age, blinked at him from behind her thick glasses. He recognized her as one of the students who’d been with Lizzy earlier.
“Oh, my,” she murmured. “You must be Hank.”
“I am. And you’re Kelsey.”
“Yes.”
He gestured toward a chair. “Have a seat, Kelsey. I think it’s time you and I got to know each other.”
Kelsey’s gaze snapped toward Lizzy’s room. “I’m not so sure that...”
“You and Lizzy are friends, right? And Lizzy and I are—” he searched for the right word “—close.”
Kelsey watched him silently.
“Which means we both have her best interests at heart,” he concluded.
“Sure,” she conceded.
“I imagine the two of you have talked about the baby,” he said, watching her face intently. Surprise registered at once in her eyes.
“You know?”
“I know.”
She regarded him with indignation then. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m going to marry her,” he said at once. “But that’s easier said than done. I need your help.”
“What can I do?” She shrugged. “You know how Lizzy is. Once she makes up her mind, it’s not so easy to change it.”
“No kidding,” Hank said with heartfelt agreement. “But you can tell me what she’s been thinking since she found out about the baby. If I’m going to come up with a solution, I need to know where her head is.”
“Mixed up,” Kelsey said succinctly.
Hank nodded. “Scared, too, I’ll bet.”
Kelsey seemed shocked by the very idea of that. “Lizzy scared? No way.”
“Not even of losing out on medical school?”
“Okay, yes,” she conceded. “You’re right about that. She’s really determined to finish.”
“Here, I suppose?”
“Actually, I suggested she transfer back to a school closer to home, but she does seem to be set on finishing here. It’s like some weird point of honor with her. I have no idea why. I mean, this school is good, but so are lots of others.”
Hank nodded. It was every bit as bad as he’d expected. He had his work cut out for him. “Thanks, Kelsey. You’ve been a big help.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She stood up and backed away nervously. “Well, if you’re sure everything’s okay here, I think I’ll just head off to the library to study.”
“You don’t need to leave on my account.”
“Yes, I do,” she said firmly, then grinned. “If you and Lizzy are going to discuss this, there won’t be much peace and quiet around here for studying.”
Hank grinned back, liking her better and better. “You do have a point.”
“Will you be here when I get back?”
He glanced toward Lizzy’s room and sighed. “That’s my plan,” he said. “It remains to be seen what Lizzy has in mind. She may decide to kick me out.”
Kelsey regarded him doubtfully. “You don’t look like the kind of man who’d be kicked out so easily.”
“You’re right about that. I am a very stubborn guy.”
Kelsey gave a little nod of satisfaction. “Then I’d say the two of you are a perfect match.”
After Kelsey had gone, Hank settled back in the easy chair by the window and stared out toward the medical complex. Life-and-death decisions were made there every minute, more than likely. People got well. Some died. And babies were born.
As he thought of the latter, an idea came to him. When Lizzy awoke and walked into the living room a few minutes later, he had the beginnings of a plan.
“Come here, darlin’.”
She walked toward him, her gaze every bit as wary as when she’d first seen him earlier. “What?”
He beckoned her into his lap. She hesitated for a moment, then settled into his arms with a sigh. When he held her like this, it was almost possible to believe that everything was going to be all right.
“How’re you feeling now?” he asked.
“Better.”
“Do you feel up to going for a walk?”
She stared at him in surprise. “A walk? Where?”
“You’ll see,” he said. “Are you game?”
She studied him intently, then finally nodded. “I’ll get my purse.”
Hank held her still. “Not just yet. First, we have the little matter of a proper greeting.”
She regarded him speculatively. “Proper?”
He chuckled. “Okay. Improper.” He smoothed the tendrils of hair away from her face, then ran his thumb over her lower lip. Her gaze heated. By the time he tucked his hand behind her head and drew her toward him, he could see the wanting in her eyes. His own bo
dy hummed with anticipation.
It seemed like forever since he’d held her like this, even longer since he’d tasted her. Once he’d started, he couldn’t seem to stop. The kiss set off a blazing fire that could only lead to one thing.
But even as he scooped her up and headed toward her room, he had second thoughts. Gazing into her face, he asked hesitantly, “Is this okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s okay.”
“It won’t hurt the baby?”
“No. Believe me, I’ve already read most of the prenatal books in the med-school library.”
Still, he was ever so gentle as he placed her on the bed and lay down beside her. He held back the urgency of his own desires to caress slowly and more and more intimately, until she was pleading with him for more.
“Not yet,” he whispered, taking his time removing her clothes, trailing his fingers along sensitive flesh, watching the trail of goose bumps left in his wake.
When she was naked, he studied her, looking for changes in her body, running his hand over her belly, trying to envision his child growing inside her. The image was beyond him, but oh, how he wanted to see her body swollen with his baby. And he would. She wouldn’t keep him away from sharing in this miracle.
“Hank?”
He blinked and gazed at her. “Yes?”
“Why such a fierce expression?” she asked, smoothing her hand across his brow.
“Just thinking about the months ahead,” he said.
“Don’t,” she pleaded. “Be here, be with me now.”
The longing in her voice reached him and forced aside thoughts of the future. He was here with her now and he could use this incredible connection to keep her with him always.
“I’m here,” he whispered, his voice husky.
He rose over her and, with his gaze locked with hers, he entered her slowly, sinking into slick, moist heat that was life’s most powerful lure. Ever conscious of the baby, he moved with care until Lizzy stole that option from him with a thrust of her hips that demanded more.
Control slipped away, and he was lost to sensation and need—his and hers. Their skin beaded with perspiration, making the glide of each caress exquisite torture. Their movements became more and more frenzied, until at last Lizzy cried out with release. As her body pulsed around him, he, too, exploded with a climax more shattering than any he’d ever felt before.
With a last, shuddering sigh, he rolled onto his back, carrying her with him. He gazed into her eyes. “You okay?”
“I will be when I can breathe again,” she said. She grinned. “You?”
“I’m not the one who’s pregnant.”
For the first time since the topic had first come up, wonder spread across her face. “I am, aren’t I? I am actually going to have a baby.”
“You’re not scared, are you?”
“Of being pregnant? No.”
“Just of the changes it will bring,” he guessed.
She nodded and tears sprang to her eyes. “It complicates everything.”
“And yet you never once considered ending the pregnancy, did you?”
“Never,” she said fiercely.
“Because it’s ours,” he told her, his hand once again resting across her still-flat tummy. “A part of you and me.”
“Yes.”
“Then we can work out the rest,” he promised her.
“I don’t see how.”
“One day at a time,” he told her. “When life throws us a curve, that’s the best any of us can do.”
“You’re not angry?”
“No way. I want this baby, every bit as much as I want you to be my wife.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Hank touched her lips to silence her. This was where the real test of his patience was going to come.
“Not now,” he said. “We don’t have to decide anything now.” He grinned at her. “For one thing, I’m starving. For another, I think we need to get out of here, clear our heads a bit.”
“You’re not going back tonight?”
Her mixed feelings were totally transparent. “Not tonight,” he said. “Disappointed?”
“Of course not, it’s just that...” Her voice trailed off guiltily.
“It’s just that you’re scared you’re vulnerable and that I’ll talk you into something you don’t really want to do,” he said.
She frowned. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Reading my mind.”
He winked at her. “Just think how good I’ll be at it when we’re eighty.”
12
They were going to be together when they were eighty? Lizzy couldn’t think that far ahead. She could barely envision what her life would be like in a few weeks when news of her pregnancy could no longer be concealed. If she thought Hank capable of bullying her into making a decision she would later regret, it was nothing compared to what the combined force of her father and brothers would do. She shuddered at the prospect of withstanding all that testosterone-driven pressure.
“Cold?” Hank asked at once.
She shot him an amused look. “Are you going to be this solicitous when I start pleading for pickles at 3:00 a.m.?”
“Of course,” he promised. He studied her carefully. “Am I going to be there when these cravings kick in?”
Lizzy realized belatedly the trap she’d just set for herself. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “Isn’t that what we need to talk about?”
Hank nodded. “But first food. Where should we go?”
“How about Cuban? We’re not that far from Little Havana. I think you’ll like the food.”
“If that’s what you want, it’s fine with me.”
“Great,” she said brightly. “I’ll shower and we’ll go.”
Forty-five minutes later, they were seated in a restaurant that was noisy and jam-packed with a blend of Spanish-speaking families, Anglos and tourists. Versailles on Southwest Eighth Street—Calle Ocho—was one of her favorite places. The decor was bright and featured a lot of etched mirrors on the walls.
Lizzy explained the dishes on the menu, but Hank couldn’t seem to focus. She knew exactly what his mind was on. His gaze kept straying to the babies at nearby tables. The expression on his face was a touching blend of awe and fascination.
“Why don’t I order?” she said finally.
“Fine.”
After the Cuban waitress had taken their order, Lizzy met Hank’s gaze. “Okay, what’s going on in that head of yours? You’re watching those babies as if you’ve never seen one before.”
“Knowing you’re going to be a father changes things. I was looking at those babies and wondering if their dads are as terrified of doing the wrong things as I am.”
“Hank, you’re going to be a wonderful father. You are kind and patient and strong. No man could set a better example for a child.”
His jaw set in a way that was all too familiar. “And I will be there to set the example,” he said quietly.
“Of course you will.”
“I won’t settle for being a part-time dad, Lizzy. If things between you and me were different, if we weren’t suited at all, then maybe our child would be better off if we weren’t together, but that’s not the case here, is it?”
“No,” she admitted slowly. “We get along great. What’s your point?”
“Then there is no reason on earth for us not to get married and give this child the two-parent home he or she deserves,” he said, looking directly into her eyes. “Is there?”
Lizzy flinched under that unwavering look. “Hank, it’s not that simple.”
“Okay, then, let’s reduce it to the basics. You love me. I love you. We’re having a baby. I want more than anything in this world for that baby to be born with my name, for us to make a home for
him or her.”
Lizzy regarded him with mounting frustration. “But what about me? What about my dreams?”
“We’ll work it out.”
“Until you can tell me how, I’m not going to marry you just because it’s the easy thing to do.”
“What about it being the right thing to do?” he asked quietly. “For one thing, try to imagine what my life expectancy is going to be once Cody and Luke and Jordan find out about the baby.”
“Is that what this is all about?” She forced a grin. “No need to panic. I’ll protect you.”
Hank clearly was not amused. “How? With reason? Your brothers are not reasonable men. They act first and think later. I can’t say that I’d blame them in this instance. If you were my sister, I’d kill the man who got you into this fix.”
“Nobody is going to get killed, and you did not get me into this ‘fix,’ as you call it. I had a choice in the matter. What happened between us when I was home was my doing as much as yours.”
“But I’m supposed to be the responsible, sensible one,” he pointed out.
Lizzy’s hackles rose. “And what am I?” she argued indignantly. “The airhead?”
“No, of course not.”
“Drop it, Hank. You’re just digging a very deep hole for yourself here.”
“I’m just saying that I should have answers, but the only one I come up with you seem to be rejecting out of hand.”
“Which is?”
“Get married.”
“No,” she said again.
“Dammit, Lizzy, I love you. You say you love me. We’re going to have a baby. We damned well ought to be married,” he said with evident frustration.
Lizzy flinched at the mounting anger in his voice. “Be reasonable,” she pleaded.
“Me? It seems to me that I am the only one around here who is being reasonable.”
That did it. Lizzy stood up. “I knew it,” she said, scowling at him. “I knew you were going to try to bully me into marrying you. Well, I’m not going to do it, so you can just get that idea out of your head once and for all.”
White Pines Summer Page 32