“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was shocked. And, I’ll admit, hurt. I’ve had some time to think about what you said.”
Unsure whether or not to be appeased, she finally nodded. “You can do a DNA test, you know. It’s a simple thing to prove or disprove, these days.”
“I know it is.” He paused, eyeing her sleeping son. “Tell me, does he have green eyes?”
“He’s only three months old,” she pointed out. “Babies are usually born with light-colored eyes. Around six to nine months old is when it’s easier to predict their final color. I’m hoping he gets your green eyes. But it’s too early to tell.”
“I see.” He leaned closer, resting his elbow on the edge of the bed near her knee. “Are you going to tell me what brought you here?”
She told him what had happened and what the doctor had said.
“He’s allergic to bee stings?” he repeated, his expression shocked.
“Yep. Like you were as a kid. I have to find out if I need to keep an EpiPen or something with me at all times.”
“I still am.” His voice husky, he shook his head. “Allergic to bees. Stuff like that never goes away.”
Chest tight, heart aching, she let her gaze roam over him. He had some new lines on his face, some wear and tear from whatever had happened to him in Afghanistan. He looked older, wearier, almost battle-hardened, yet he was still the tall broad-shouldered man with the bright green eyes she’d once loved.
How badly she wished they could go back in time and change some of the choices they’d made. She wouldn’t have let him join the army, for one. They should have taken a chance on the future with each other, even if they were too young and broke to know better. Getting pregnant with Jacob was something she’d never give up, not for anything in the world, but how much sweeter those nine months would have been with Kyle by her side.
Since she’d learned the hard way that dwelling on the past accomplished nothing, she forced those thoughts away and focused on the here and now.
“What happened to your husband?” he asked. “I’m sorry—I know that’s a personal question, but since sheriff’s deputies showed up at my house with a search warrant earlier, I figure I have a right to know.”
“A search warrant?” Aware her mouth had fallen open, she closed it, continuing to rock her son so he wouldn’t sense her rising agitation. “Why on earth would they think you had anything to do with Bill’s death?”
“That’s what I’m hoping you could tell me?”
Jacob stirred in her arms, making that little mewling sound he sometimes made to indicate his hunger. He opened his eyes and nuzzled her arm, seeking his meal. A rush of milk coming in made her breast tingle. She grabbed the baby blanket she’d wrapped around her son earlier and arranged it so she could nurse him.
Once little Jacob was happily drinking, she looked at Kyle and shook her head. “I’d be happy to tell you about it, but not here. Right now I just want Jacob to be released so I can take him home.”
Though he nodded, she could tell from the tightness in his jaw that he didn’t care for her response.
The nurse came in then, smiling. “Well, hello there,” she said. “I’m glad Daddy got to come in too. I just wanted to stop by and let you know that so far, everything is looking good. We should be able to discharge you soon.”
Daddy. The word brought a lump to her throat.
Nicole glanced at the clock on the wall. Ninety minutes had passed. “Thank you.”
Instead of leaving, the nurse went over to check on Jacob. Kyle pushed to his feet, moving out of the way and going to stand near the doorway. Nicole couldn’t help but notice how he filled up the room with his sheer size and masculine presence. Evidently the nurse noticed as well, rolling her eyes good-naturedly at Nicole, as if to say Men!
“I hope it’s okay that I fed him,” Nicole said. “He was hungry.”
The nurse chuckled. “I can see that. Nothing has changed as far as his vitals, so let me go round up the doctor and get him to sign the form so you can all go home.”
* * *
Watching Nicole give the baby nourishment again stirred up a rush of complicated emotions. Kyle wasn’t certain of the etiquette—should he look away—but Nicole’s quiet competence and the fact that she kept herself covered put him at ease.
Though he tried unobtrusively to study Jacob, looking for some sort of resemblance, the infant looked like an infant. He supposed three months might be too young for the baby to start showing his parents’ features.
Right now, it didn’t really matter. He believed Nicole. After all, she had no real reason to lie to him. Especially since Jacob’s parentage could be easily proven with a simple DNA test.
Which meant Kyle had a son. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that yet. Children with Nicole had always been part of his long-range plans, but her marriage to another man sent those completely out the window. She’d sworn to wait for him and damned if she hadn’t gotten married a month after he’d been erroneously declared dead. Kyle knew he could never get past that huge betrayal.
In addition, she’d apparently passed Jacob off as Bill Mabry’s child. This both infuriated him and saddened him. Clearly, he hadn’t known Nicole as well as he’d believed.
Getting Jacob released to leave took a lot longer than he’d thought. The way the nurse had talked, the doctor would sign some paper and that was that. He figured it’d take a couple of minutes, but when a half hour turned into forty-five, he could barely keep his frustration under control.
To make matters worse, someone dropped something metal out in the hall, and Kyle found himself on the floor, in full defensive cover position. While at Walter Reed hospital, they’d told him he’d need therapy to get help with his PTSD. He’d have to find someone local, once he got settled in.
Slowly, he got to his feet. Stone-faced, he hoped his expression hadn’t revealed his embarrassment, but all of Nicole’s attention was focused on her baby. As if she hadn’t even noticed. He had a sneaking suspicion she was doing this to spare his feelings, but couldn’t ask her.
Finally, after nearly an hour had passed, the nurse returned, along with the doctor. They gave Nicole instructions, what to watch for, that sort of thing, and then informed her she could go.
He followed her outside. When she reached her car, a late model shiny black BMW, she turned to face him. “I know we need to talk,” she began. “But I’m exhausted and really would like to go home and get some rest. Let’s plan on meeting up some time tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number?”
She gave it to him and he entered it into his contacts. “I’ll text you mine,” he said.
“Thank you.” She unlocked her car.
Feeling out of sorts, he watched her while she buckled little Jacob into his infant carrier. She barely looked at Kyle once she’d done that, getting into the driver’s side, starting the engine and buckling herself in. Finally, she waved before driving away.
Fool that he was, he watched her go and wondered how he could both love and hate someone at the same time.
The next morning, while he drank a cup of strong black coffee made in his new coffeepot, he texted Nicole his number. Thirty minutes later, she texted back, asking him if he had some free time to sit down and talk. She’d prefer to come to his place. When he asked why, she texted that she had a strong suspicion someone was watching her house.
He