Riley's Baby Boy

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“Not even over a grandson?”

After a moment of letting that question sit, Zack asked, “So, what’s his name?”

“His name’s Derek.”

“Don’t think Derek is going to solve all your problems. Especially not the ones between you and Brenna.”

“How do you know we have problems?”

“You hooked up the night of the reunion. She went back to New York and you were here. Did you have contact with her afterward?”

“No,” Riley said tersely.

“Like I said, problems. What are you going to do?”

“Let it play out a little. Then I have to decide if I’m ready to make any changes. Derek is important to me, Zack. More important than anything ever has been.”

“Then you’ll figure it out.”

The sound of a Suburban’s engine signaled the arrival of Riley’s businessmen. This morning he was going to try to forget about Brenna and Derek. He was going to focus on the trail and his clients and appreciating everything this beautiful country had to offer.

Riley turned into the lane leading to his house. A quarter of a mile and a curve later he saw the truck parked in his driveway and he stomped on the accelerator, leaving a rooster tail of gravel behind him. His father’s truck. His dad was in his house with Brenna and the baby. He could only imagine what might be going on in there.

Leaving his trail gear exactly where it was, not even grabbing his hat, he climbed out of the vehicle, slammed the door and rushed up the front walk. After he pushed open the door and stepped inside … he froze.

Brenna was hovering by the sofa, looking worried. His father was sitting on the couch, holding Derek carefully in the crook of his arm. He’d been running his finger over his grandson’s chin when Riley opened the door.

Now he stopped and turned toward his son. “Just when were you going to tell me about this?” he demanded.

Riley hated the fact that this had happened to Brenna, that she’d had to deal with his dad all on her own. He just wished he knew what she’d said and how she’d explained it all. He just wished he’d picked up the phone yesterday.

Brenna looked upset, maybe a little tense, but not angry. Another woman in this spot might have been furious this had happened to her.

Score another point for Brenna.

“Brenna just arrived a few days ago,” Riley said, knowing that was a lame explanation. He felt grimy, as if he’d ridden through a dust bowl—and he practically had.

His father shifted Derek a little, still looking down at him. Then he turned his attention to Riley again. “Brenna told me the two of you told her parents and then you went to the doc to get a DNA test yesterday.”

Riley’s gaze shot to hers.

She gave a little shrug.

“You don’t think you’re the dad?” Liam asked, now staring straight at him.

Riley stroked his hand down over his face. “This is private business between me and Brenna.”

His father studied him. “Maybe. Maybe not. Tell me when you were planning to notify me I had a grandson.”

“Today, Pop. I was going to call you when I got back from a trail ride this morning.”

Liam looked at Riley for a long moment and then nodded. “You don’t lie. I know that. I just feel a little … out of the loop. Do your brothers and sister know?”

“They will now,” Riley muttered.

“Mr. O’Rourke, can I get you something to drink?” Brenna asked. “I have iced tea, soda—”

Again Liam looked at Riley, giving him a half smile, as if to say, She’s acting as mistress of the house. Riley was a little surprised at that, too, but maybe she just wanted to escape the room. Maybe she was really angry but not showing it. Maybe a lot of things.

“Do you have any coffee?” Liam asked. “I’m working the supper shift and will be at the restaurant till late. Some caffeine roaring through my veins would be great.”

“Is the coffee in the canister, Riley?” Brenna asked.

“You don’t drink coffee?” Liam asked.

“Not while I’m breastfeeding.”

Liam had black hair shot with silver, blue eyes and a ruddy complexion that just grew ruddier. “I see. Never thought of that. I admire women who put their baby’s welfare first.”

Riley and Brenna both knew exactly why that was. Shawna O’Rourke hadn’t had the fortitude, or the compassion, or the love a mother should have for her children, to stay.

His father shifted toward Brenna now. “So, what did your parents have to say? I’ll bet your dad popped a blood vessel.”

To Riley’s relief, Brenna retained her composure. “I’ve been living in New York ever since I left after high school, so I’m on my own. I make my own decisions, Mr. O’Rourke. Now I don’t depend on my parents for anything. Not even their opinion of what I should or shouldn’t do.”

“But you did once.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I knew you and Riley were an item, even if they didn’t. But Riley wanted to keep it a secret, so I pretended I didn’t know. My gut tells me Miners Bluff was just a little too small for you.”

“I wanted a career Miners Bluff couldn’t give me.”

“And you got it. Do you think your life’s a lot different than it would have been if you’d stayed?”

“Pop! Stop with the questions,” Riley erupted.

“I’m just trying to figure out what’s happening now. How are you going to be a father to your son when he’s in New York and you’re here?”

That was the question they were all asking.

“I’ll get that coffee.” Brenna didn’t move right away. Rather, she went to Derek first to make sure he was safe in Liam’s arms.

“I held four kids at one time or another,” he assured her. “I never dropped one of them. And I’m sober. Have been for five years.”

“I didn’t mean to suggest anything otherwise. He’s just so small. Even when Riley holds him, I feel I want to put a safety net underneath him.”

His dad chuckled at that and really looked at Brenna. “We didn’t get to know each other when you were in high school.”

“No, sir. We didn’t.”

“You really are an honest woman, aren’t you?”

“I hope so. I picked up a box of cookies that aren’t home-baked, but they’re good. Be right back.”

Riley couldn’t look away from her for a couple of moments. She’d tied her hair back in a ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a beaded T-shirt. Her belted waist showed her slimness. Her legs were long and curvy. Her feet were bare.

While his father played with Derek’s fingers and toes, Riley followed Brenna to the kitchen. At the doorway, he lowered his voice. “I never expected this to happen.”

“When your dad first arrived, he was throwing questions at me. He was really upset, Riley.”

Riley studied her face, so temptingly pretty. “And what about you?”

She looked up at him, her gaze hiding nothing. “I’m okay.”

Riley sighed. “Best laid plans. I shouldn’t have waited. So why didn’t you just make small talk until I got here? Geez, Brenna, telling him about the DNA test.”

“Do you know your father?”

There was a note in her tone that warned him to be cautious. “I probably know him better than anyone. Why?”

She practically whispered, “Your father asked me detailed questions. What time I got in on Wednesday. What we did that night, then yesterday. ‘Oh, you went to the doctor’s. Just to get him checked?’ Was I supposed to lie? He would have seen it. He’s a great lie detector. I can tell.”

Riley almost smiled at that. “We all used to think that, before he started the heavy drinking. Now that he’s not drinking again, I guess you could say he’s more perceptive.”

“Yes, well, he guessed it wasn’t just a regular doctor’s appointment, so I had to tell him the truth.”

“You’re an open book,” Riley said, meaning it as a compliment.

But she shook her head. “No, I’m not. Not anymore.”

“You got hurt?”

“Oh, I got hurt.”

The idea of Brenna hurt disturbed something deep in Riley. He dropped his arm around her shoulder and guided her deeper into the kitchen. “Come on, let’s give him a little alone time with his grandson. I doubt if he’s going to get much of that. As soon as Shannon knows, she’ll be here wanting to hold him, too.”

“And how about your brothers?”

Riley’s expression must have hinted at trouble there.

“Tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell. I don’t know how they’ll feel.”

“But you have an inkling.”

“We’re the O’Rourkes. You’re the McDougalls. My brothers consider our two families to have a feud going on. So I don’t know what will happen when they hear.”

After Riley found the coffee, Brenna quickly made a pot. As the coffee brewed, the two of them just stared at each other, wondering what came next. When Brenna finally asked if he had a tray, he looked at her as if she were crazy.

“A tray, Riley, to carry in his mug and some sugar and creamer. Surely there’s something like that somewhere.”

They looked and looked until she found a flat platter that would suffice. When she carried it out to Liam and set it on the coffee table, he looked at it as if it were foreign. “Just the mug would have been fine.”

“Do you take cream or sugar?”

“Just a spot of cream.”

She’d laid a spoon on the tray, too. “Would you like me to take Derek now?”

“I get it. You don’t trust me holding him with a cup of coffee in my other hand.”

“I think he needs to be changed and then maybe a little nap. He gets cranky when he doesn’t get enough sleep. Sort of like your son.”

Liam practically roared at that, his first real laugh. “So you know that about him, do you?”

“I haven’t been around him for a while, but I do remember that. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like. I can wheel his crib in here if you’d like to watch him sleep.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Liam asked.

“Sure. Babies sleep so much of the time at this age. If you want to capture their expressions and just be around them, it’s easier that way.”

“You’ve been around babies a lot?”

“Oh, no. But I have read a lot of articles, blogs and books. They all help.”

“Is there anything in your books about a situation like this, where one side of the family thinks the other side of the family sucks?”

“All right, Dad. We’re not going to get into it. I don’t want you all riled up.”