New Arrivals: Surprise Baby for Him: The Cattleman's Adopted Family / The Soldier's Homecoming / Marriage for Baby. Melissa McClone
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and time crawled as he stood there staring at her, while she stared back at him.
Eventually, his expression relaxed, and the next time he spoke his voice held no menace. ‘Give me a break, Amy. I’m not used to playing these games. All I want is the truth. Why did you come here?’
‘Because I need to talk to you.’ Her eyes dropped to the moth, which now lay burned and dying on the bare floorboards. ‘I have something very important to tell you.’
Even though Seth hadn’t moved, she sensed the tension run through him, like a fault line in a wall of rock. She knew his mind was working at a million miles a minute and any second now he would put two and two together.
‘If we’re going to have this conversation, Seth, could you please sit down?’
He looked surprised, but to her relief he relented and resumed his seat, one long, jeans-clad leg crossed over the other, hands plunged deep in his pockets.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘I’m sorry, too,’ Amy admitted. ‘I came here to do the right thing, but I’ve made rather a mess of it.’
Seth shot her a sharp glance, and she knew he was waiting for her to explain.
So this was it. The moment she’d feared.
‘I’m not Bella’s mother,’ she said.
It was ages before he spoke, and in the stillness the rain continued to fall, needle-fine and shiny and silent.
‘Is she Rachel’s child?’ he asked at last.
‘Yes.’
Yes…
The word hung in the air, quivering like the vibrations of a tuning fork.
Amy wished she could feel relieved now that it was out, but she was too shocked by Seth’s reaction.
Even in the subdued light, she could see the colour drain from his face. Then, silently, he slumped forward, elbows propped on his knees as he covered his face with his hands.
Shocked, she sat completely still, two fingers pressed against her lips, wishing she could recall the single word that had revealed so much.
Too much?
Yes. One little syllable had told him everything. There was no need to add that Bella was his daughter.
The fact that Amy had brought Bella all this way pointed to it, and a few simple calculations confirmed the facts. Seth only had to count back to know that Bella’s conception had occurred during the time Rachel had spent at Serenity.
With him.
And, clearly, it was the worst possible news.
A cool breeze whipped onto the veranda, spraying fine rain over them.
Amy shivered and rubbed at her arms. ‘Seth,’ she said gently. ‘I’m sorry. I know this is a shock.’
He didn’t respond at first, then slowly he lowered his hands and let them hang loosely between his knees. He didn’t look at her and he didn’t speak, but Amy saw the movement of his throat as he swallowed.
‘I came here, because I—I thought you should know,’ she said. ‘I thought it was important. Not because I want money from you, but because—well, because Bella’s such a sweetheart.’
The thin, cold pricks of rain continued as she waited for a response from him. When it didn’t come, she went on, desperate now to make her point. ‘I think Bella’s the cutest thing on two legs, you see. And, to me, it seemed unfair that you didn’t know about her.’
At last Seth turned to her and she was shocked by the banked despair she saw in his eyes and in the deep lines that bracketed his mouth.
His eyes were bleak, but to her surprise he almost smiled. ‘Don’t feel bad. You’ve done the right thing.’
It was reassuring to hear this, but she wished he looked happier.
‘I’m not planning to offload Bella,’ she felt compelled to explain. ‘You don’t have to worry about that, Seth. I’m totally prepared to keep her with me and to take care of her.’
‘I’m sure that’s best,’ he said quietly.
She let out her breath on a sigh. This was awful, so different from how she’d imagined everything before she’d set out on this journey. She’d anticipated the possibility of fierce anger, or disdainful disbelief. She’d been worried that Seth might try to take Bella away from her, but the last thing she’d expected was this shocked and horrified acceptance.
When his gaze met hers again, his eyes warmed just a little. ‘So what’s your relationship to Bella? Are you her guardian?’
Amy nodded. ‘Rachel had no other family.’
‘Really? No one at all?’
Amy was surprised he knew so little. ‘She was an only child,’ she told him. ‘Her father has passed away, and her mother’s in an aged care facility, and she’s not at all well. Her parents were in their fifties when she was born. Apparently, they’d never expected to have a child, and Rachel was a huge surprise.’
After a bit, he said quietly, ‘That might explain why Rachel was…different.’
‘She was different, wasn’t she?’ Amy’s mouth twisted in a wistful smile as she remembered her friend. ‘She was brilliant, a ton of fun, but—yes—different.’
Seth nodded and looked away quickly, and she wondered if he’d been deeply in love with Rachel. The thought caused an unhappy pang.
‘You’re doing a great job with Bella,’ he said.
‘It’s no hardship. I love her.’
His piercing blue gaze swung back to study her for a heart-stopping stretch of time, and then he rose abruptly.
‘Thank you,’ he said simply, and she knew their conversation was over.
They went back inside the house and Amy shivered as breeze from a ceiling fan chilled her damp skin. She felt miserable as she stood outside her bedroom door.
‘Goodnight,’ Seth said. ‘I hope you’ll be comfortable.’
‘I’m sure I will.’ Then she remembered. ‘Just a minute, Seth. I have something you might like to see.’ She went into the room and fetched a photo album that she’d brought with her, especially for him. As she gave it to him his hands brushed hers and her breath caught as she felt the heat of his skin.
‘Thanks,’ he murmured, gripping the album tightly.
The house was silent, listening.
He seemed to remember his manners as a host. ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like something to drink before you turn in?’
‘Could I make myself a cup of tea?’
‘I can get it for you.’
‘No, it’s OK, honestly. I can find my way around the kitchen.’
‘Be my guest,’ he said, gesturing down the hallway to the kitchen, and with a curt nod he left her.
Amy’s sense of anticlimax was overwhelming, and a warm shower and a brisk rub down with a luxuriously thick bath towel didn’t help her to feel any better. Standing in her nightgown between the twin beds, she looked down at Bella, sound asleep and blameless, hugging her plush pink pig, her mouth slightly ajar as she slept.
She felt an urge to climb into the bed and to cuddle the little girl close, seeking comfort and reassurance from her small, warm weight in her arms.
Have I done the right thing, baby?
She padded on bare feet down the darkened hall to the