Riley's Baby Boy

Brenna’s throat grew thick as she saw the disappointment and betrayal on her father’s face.

Her dad picked up steam and his voice grew louder. “Babies change your life. This one’s surely going to change yours. How do you expect to keep the hours you do, the nonstop schedule, the traveling for the custom appointments? Are you going to tell me this was planned, Brenna? Did you and …” He stopped a moment, “Did you and O’Rourke want this to happen? Out of anybody in the whole world you could have chosen to have a baby with, I don’t understand why you chose him.”

This meeting would set the tone for everything that would happen from now on between her, Riley and her parents. And Derek would be in the thick of it. She had to stand her ground and somehow convince her parents that she knew what was best for their grandson or there would be constant bickering and arguing and her dad would try to cut Riley out of Derek’s life.

When Riley took a step closer to her as if to support her effort, she bumped her elbow against his for the contact. “Dad, isn’t it time you put any hard feelings you have to rest? What happened years ago shouldn’t still keep affecting us now. Can’t we move on?”

“What do you want to move on to, Brenna? O’Rourke?” Her father snorted as if that idea was beneath them all. He shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell us about your pregnancy at Christmas when we came to New York?”

Just why hadn’t she? “Riley didn’t know yet. I didn’t think it was right that you knew if he didn’t. I also needed time to get used to the idea of being pregnant, to figure out how it fit in with my career, to decide whether I wanted to move back to Miners Bluff.”

At that bit of news Riley gave her a sharp glance.

She quickly went on. “I decided I don’t want to move back here. My life is in New York now—my business, my friends, everything. That’s where I want to raise Derek. I knew you’d want to convince me to come back. I suspected Riley would, too. I had to be able to withstand the pressure and know exactly what I wanted. So I waited.”

Her father wasn’t pleased with that explanation. His scowl cut even deeper. “So exactly why are you here, Brenna? To tell us you had a baby and you’re going back to New York?”

She stepped closer to her father. “Daddy, I’m here to introduce you to your grandson. I want to stay awhile so you can get to know each other. And the same is true for Riley. He deserved to meet his son.”

Looking as if he wanted to argue with her, her dad obviously wasn’t giving Riley any standing … in his mind or in his house.

“Do you have your things with you?” he asked curtly. “We can move you into your old room, pull out your old cradle. You can have everything you need—”

“Mr. McDougall, that’s not going to happen.”

For the first time Riley broke the silence and Brenna heard the hard determination in his voice. His military demeanor was obvious in the straightness of his posture. He didn’t look ruffled or disturbed. He was just standing firm.

“What do you mean that’s not going to happen?” her dad demanded hotly. “She’s my daughter. This is my grandson. She needs a place where she’ll be comfortable and have everything she needs. This is her home.”

Brenna’s mom came up beside him and put her hand on his arm. He went quiet.

Riley didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. Everything about him shouted controlled power. “What you say is true. Brenna and Derek need to be comfortable and have what they need. They will at my house. I’d like Brenna to stay with me while she’s here. We have a lot to settle. Under the same roof we can’t ignore the important questions. I’m going to get to know Derek and take care of him the way a father should.”

Brenna’s mother intervened in the highly charged atmosphere. “Brenna, what do you want to do? Stay with Riley? Or stay with us?”

Caught off guard by the question, Brenna knew she had to do what was best for Derek.

“Derek needs to know his dad, and Riley and I have details to iron out on how we’re going to manage parenting from two different sides of the country.”

When her father began to protest, she assured him, “Don’t worry, Daddy. I promise you’ll get to see Derek while I’m here. I rented a car and you’re only ten minutes away from Riley’s. I’m going to be working while I’m in Miners Bluff, but I’ll make sure you can see Derek as often as you want. I know this is a huge shock, but I hope a happy shock. I love this little boy with all my heart. I’m going to always try to do what’s best for him like you did for me.” Her gaze met her dad’s and held. “So if I make a decision you don’t agree with, please try to keep that in mind.”

“You made a decision I don’t agree with, all right,” her father muttered. “Just when did this happen?”

“Daddy!” Brenna was shocked that he’d ask this way.

“Angus, that’s none of our business,” his wife murmured.

“It was the night of the reunion, wasn’t it?” her dad decided. “You two got tangled up in talking about the past and—”

Riley cut in. “Mr. McDougall, what happened between Brenna and me is our business, not yours.”

Brenna had been about to say something like that, only not exactly in that way. Maybe not as bluntly. But she could easily see Riley wasn’t going to back down. She admired that but she also knew his attitude would make everything harder. She knew how to negotiate with her dad. Riley didn’t.

Brenna’s mom must have sensed the same thing because she came over to her daughter and broke the direction of the conversation. “Can I hold him?”

“Of course you can hold him.”

Her mother took Derek and gazed down at him with a grandmother’s love. “I guess you wouldn’t think about leaving him with us now.”

“I just got in last evening, Mom. Riley wants to spend some time with him and we also have to shop and buy supplies for him while I’m here. I’m breastfeeding for now so it’s better if Derek stays with me.”

Her mother looked deflated.

“I’m going to try using a bottle with him soon, though. I promise, I’ll bring him over for a few hours after we’re settled in.”

After her mother held Derek a few more minutes, she reluctantly handed him back. “Are you sure you can’t stay for breakfast … or something?”

“I think it’s better if we leave now, Mom.”

After a few more minutes of small talk where Riley became remote and her dad scowled, her mother said, “I’ll walk you to the door.”

Riley walked a few paces ahead.

Brenna’s mother came up to her left shoulder and said in a low voice, “Don’t hesitate to come back here if anything gets too hard. Some men don’t like babies around. Riley can think he wants to be a dad, but doing it is something else. This is your home, honey. Always remember that.”

“I will.”

She was sure Riley had overheard her mom.

Once outside he turned to her. “I’m going to be a dad, Brenna. Don’t doubt that. Whatever I don’t know how to do, I’ll learn. And as far as liking having babies around, I like my son already. That won’t be a problem.”

“Riley, she just wants me to know—”

“That you can come running home. I get that. I get it all too well.”

Then he walked to the SUV and opened the back door, ready to put Derek in his car seat. Brenna guessed he was ready to do whatever was necessary to claim his son. That scared her.

When they returned to Riley’s house, Brenna was rattled. She concentrated on Derek—changing him, feeding him, rocking him to sleep. Riley didn’t peek his head in to find out what she was doing. She heard him on the phone, though, his deep baritone carrying as he made an appointment for their DNA test the following day.

She knew why she felt shaken up. It was starting all over again, that torn-apart feeling. She loved her parents and they loved her, and she’d always tried to be the loyal daughter. She’d given up Riley back then, partly because of them, partly because she hadn’t known what to do. Now she understood that they wanted to spend time with their grandson, which was only natural. She wanted them to. She’d like nothing better than to have one big happy family. But she could still see the bitterness and resentment in Riley’s eyes when he looked at her dad, his standoffishness toward her mom. She could easily see her parents’ reaction to Riley, even though they didn’t know the man he’d become.

And here she was, staying in enemy camp.

With Derek asleep, Brenna went to look for Riley. They had to buy supplies. She found him in the kitchen, standing in front of the open refrigerator peering inside. Actually he seemed to be staring into space, but what did she know?

“Is he asleep?” Riley asked, closing the door without pulling anything out.

“Yes, he is. He’s really such a good baby.”