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Military Daddy
Patricia Davids
A brash military man like Corporal Shane Ross was not the kind of father Annie Delmar had ever imagined having for her children. But they'd made a mistake that led to an unexpected blessing: Annie was pregnant. Shane wanted to be part of his child's life… and part of Annie's. He said he wanted to give his unborn child the family he never had.Annie didn't know what to make of it, but everyone deserved a second chance. And maybe a military man with strong values would make a great daddy after all….
“Look, I need to make it plain that
I don’t want anything from you.
Right off the bat, I want you to
know that,” Annie said.
Shane stopped scrunching his hat in his hands and looked at her. “You don’t want anything from me. I get that, but I’m fuzzy on the rest. Why are you here? How did you find me?”
Annie crossed her arms and looked at the floor. Why does this have to be so hard? she thought. I’m trying to do the right thing.
Shane looked down, too. Annie felt his discomfort. The man was six feet tall and as good-looking as the day was long, if a woman liked the blue-eyed cowboy type with a Texas drawl that made every word in the English language sound as soft as a cotton ball.
Oh, yes, he was as sweet and kind as she remembered. And she was about to drop a bomb in his life.
PATRICIA DAVIDS
Patricia Davids continues to work as a part-time nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit while writing full-time. She enjoys researching new stories, traveling to new locations and meeting fans along the way. She and her husband of thirty-two years live in Wichita, Kansas, along with the newest addition to the household, a stray cat named Spooky. Pat always enjoys hearing from her readers. You can contact her by mail at P.O. Box 16714 Wichita, Kansas 67216, or visit her on the Web at www.patriciadavids.com.
Military Daddy
Patricia Davids
So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
—Matthew 14:29–30
This book is dedicated to Pam Hopkins. If you
don’t know how much your belief in my talent
meant to me all those years ago, let me tell you
now. It meant the world to me then and it still does.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Oh, and please continue to baby me
when I whine about how hard this is.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Dear Reader
Questions for Discussion
Chapter One
“Well? Are you going to tell him or not?”
Annie Delmar chose to ignore the question from her roommate, Crystal Mally. Instead she continued folding the freshly laundered clothes in the white plastic hamper on the foot of her twin bed. The smell of hot cotton vied with the dryer sheet’s mountain-floral scent.
Hoping to change the subject, Annie asked, “Are you going out with Jake again tonight?”
“Jake and I broke up,” Crystal said with an indifferent shrug as she continued to buff her bright red fingernail.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Annie carried a stack of knit tops to the chest of drawers in the corner. She didn’t want to talk about her current problem. It was too soon. It still didn’t seem real. Why had God done this to her?
No, it isn’t right to blame God. I did this to myself.
Crystal said, “Jake’s a loser, like all the guys I date, and don’t change the subject. Are you going to tell the guy?”
“I haven’t decided.” With a weary sigh, Annie closed the top drawer of the blue painted dresser and stood for a moment with her hands on the chipped and scratched surface.
Crystal plopped down on Annie’s bed and leaned back against the headboard. Her short bleached-blond hair framed a face that was pale and too thin. The lacy black top she wore was too tight and, as usual, she had splashed on too much of her cheap perfume. “I don’t think he needs to know. Besides, I thought you said he was being transferred overseas in a few months.”
“That’s what he told me.”
“So if you don’t tell him soon, how are you going to find him later?”
The door to the room swung inward as their housemother came in with a second hamper of laundry. “That’s a good question, Crystal. I’d like to hear your answer, Annie.”
Moving back to her bed, Annie began folding her jeans. “If he moves away and I don’t know where he went, then I can’t tell him anything, can I?”
She glanced at the woman who had taken her in when she had been at the lowest point of her life. Marge Lilly stood with the laundry basket balanced against her hip. On the far side of fifty and slightly plump, Marge managed to look both motherly and formidable at the same time. Her eyes seemed to see right through Annie, but she didn’t say anything. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Annie felt compelled to answer the unspoken censure.
“My lack of action would be an excuse to pretend the decision is out of my hands.”
“Is that true?”
“No,” she admitted with quiet resignation.
“So why not make a decision?” Marge asked gently.
Annie pressed a hand to her stomach to calm her queasiness. “Because I’m afraid I’ll make the wrong one.”
“And?” Marge prompted.
“And it’s easier to do nothing.”
“Doing nothing is a choice, Annie.”
“But not a good one. I need to make good choices.” Annie had tried to add conviction to her voice, but she’d failed miserably.
“You are in charge of your life, Annie. Just remember, God is always with you, and your friends are here to help.”
Annie nodded, but she still felt very much alone and frightened of what the future held.
“Shane, the captain wants to see you on the double.”
Corporal Shane Ross tapped the last nail into Jasper’s shoe before he dropped the horse’s leg, then straightened and looked over the animal’s back at his friend and fellow soldier, Private Avery Barnes. “Did he say why?”
“No, but he had that tone in his voice that he usually reserves for me.”
Shane grinned. Mentally running over his duties list, he couldn’t think of anything he had done wrong or missed. “I wonder what’s up.”
“It might have something to do with the pretty woman who came in looking for you. If she’s your sister, can I ask her out?”
“If I had a sister, I wouldn’t let you within fifty miles of her.”
“That’s not nice.”
“But it’s the truth.” Shane patted the horse’s rump and moved to put his tools on the bench at the rear of the farrier shed. He pulled off the heavy leather apron he used to protect his clothing and hung it on a peg. Lifting his coat from the next hook, he slipped it on.
The fire in the forge popped and hissed, adding a smoky aroma to the cold air inside the small stone building. The calendar might say it was the middle of April, but the chilly, damp wind outside made it feel more like winter than spring.
Avery stepped up to stroke Jasper’s forehead. “Now that your stint in this unit is almost over, will you be glad to get back to fixing helicopters instead of saddles and horseshoes?”
“I’ll admit I’m looking forward to spending a year in Germany, but I’ll miss the horses.”
“And me?”
“No. You, I won’t miss.” He would miss Avery and all the men in the unit, but he was more comfortable trading friendly jibes than revealing his true sentiments.
Avery fell into step beside Shane as the two of them left the farrier building. They paused at the edge of the road as three green-and-tan camouflage jeeps sped past. The Army base at Fort Riley, Kansas, bustled with constant activity. When the way was clear, they crossed the street.
The Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard had its main office just south of the large, historic stone-and-timber stable that housed the unit’s horses and gear. At the door Avery smiled and said, “Your visitor is a real hottie. If you aren’t interested, could you get her phone number for me?”
Shane gave his buddy a friendly shove toward the stable. “Make sure the wagon wheels get greased today. Our first exhibition is a week from Saturday, and you know the captain wants everything in tip-top shape.”
Avery sketched a salute and sauntered away. Inside the tiny office building Shane pulled off his cap and tucked it under his arm, then knocked on the captain’s door. When he heard Captain Watson bid him enter, he opened it and stepped inside.
Captain Jeffery Watson was seated behind his large gray desk. The walls of the room were painted the same drab Army-issue color. An assortment of photographs and commendations in plain gold frames added the only touch of color. A faint frown marred the captain’s brow above his keen, dark eyes, and Shane wondered again what he had done wrong.
A woman sat in front of the captain’s desk, but she had her back to Shane. He couldn’t tell if she was pretty or not, but there was something familiar about her.
“Have a seat, Corporal Ross. I understand you know Miss Delmar.” He indicated with a wave of his hand the woman sitting quietly before him.
The name didn’t mean anything to Shane. She had her back to him, but he could see her dark hair was drawn into a tight braid that reached the center of her back. She was wearing a light gray jacket over a pair of faded jeans. Her shoulders were slightly hunched and she kept her head down.
Shane took a seat in the chair beside her. Glancing over, he saw her hands were clenched together so tightly in her lap that her knuckles stood out white. He leaned forward to get a glimpse of her bowed face. Recognition hit him like a mule kick to the stomach.
She was the woman from the nightclub. He had spent weeks trying to find her, without success. His satisfaction at seeing her again was quickly tempered with curiosity.
Captain Watson cleared his throat. “I’ll be in the stable. You are free to use my office for as long as you need, Miss Delmar. Corporal Ross will let me know when you are finished with this conversation.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Her soft voice held a definite edge of nervousness.
Captain Watson nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind him.
Shane unbuttoned his jacket. The room seemed hot and stuffy after the coolness of the farrier’s shed. He took a moment to study the profile of the woman he had searched for fruitlessly. Now, after almost three months, she was here. Why?
Whatever she wanted, she seemed to be having trouble finding the courage to speak. He decided to get the ball rolling. “Delmar is it? I might have had an easier time finding you if I had known your last name.”
Her head snapped up and she met his gaze. “Did you look for me?”
