Daddy Wanted

“I don’t think less of you,” he said.

“Somehow, I knew you wouldn’t. That’s why I wanted to tell you.”

“Now you just have to tell your parents.”

Jennifer stiffened slightly as she turned back to stare at the pool. “And how do you think I should do that?” She sat up. “‘Mamá and Papi, I’ve got a bun in the oven,’” she said in a firm voice, emphasizing the statement with a sweep of her arms. “‘I’m knocked up,’” she said a little louder. “‘I’m expecting,’” she said, her voice carrying in the still night air. “‘Surprise, surprise, I’m going to have a baby!’”

“Any one of those would probably do the trick,” Ryan said. “And if you shout any louder, you’ll wake up the entire household. Now, what am I supposed to say?”

“You don’t have to say anything,” she said.

“But it takes two to make a baby, Jen. Don’t you think they’ll want some type of explanation…or apology…or a nice pound of flesh? After all, I’m the one who put the bun in the oven—or at least that’s what we want them to believe. Your father doesn’t own any guns, does he?”

“You’re a man. According to my mother, it’s part of your nature to seduce every woman in your path. At least that’s what she’s been telling me since the moment I started noticing the opposite sex. Too bad I didn’t listen. I might not have ended up in this predicament.”

“And what happens after we tell them?”

“We’ll say we want to wait to get married until after the baby’s born. After a couple of months I’ll explain that we broke up. Maybe we had an argument about my job. Or how to raise the baby. It doesn’t really matter.”

“They’re not going to like me much,” he murmured. “That’s too bad, because I kind of like them.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. Your family is great. I mean, they’re so…real. So big—their laughter, their love. It’s different from what I’m used to. My parents always seemed so proper, as if they followed some manual on how to be the perfect parents.” He smiled. “When I was a kid, I used to ask my mother and father for a brother. All my friends had siblings and I wanted one of my own. I remember once when I asked my mom got all teary-eyed and ran out of the room. My dad said she had a cold, but I knew she was crying. I guess that wasn’t in the manual. After that, I didn’t ask anymore.”

“Was it hard? Growing up an only child?”

“I didn’t know any differently.”

She placed her hand on her stomach. “I hope that my baby has brothers and sisters.”

“I’m sure someday you’ll find someone. Someone who’ll be a wonderful father to your baby and give you a huge and happy family.”

“Do you think so?”

Ryan nuzzled his face into her hair, so gently she didn’t even notice. “You’re a beautiful, intriguing woman. A man would be lucky to spend his life with you.”

Jennifer sighed softly and leaned back against him. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her, and as they sat staring up into the night sky, the truth of his feelings drew into sharp focus.

Though he wanted to believe that Jennifer’s happiness was foremost in his heart, he couldn’t ignore his own selfish motives. If Jennifer’s baby needed brothers and sisters, he wanted to be the one to provide them. And if Jennifer spent the rest of her life with just one man, then he was going to make sure that man was him.

Now he just had to figure out how to make it all happen.

CHAPTER THREE

“WAKE UP, wake up! Today is my quinceañera!”

Jennifer groaned, then grabbed her pillow and pulled it over her head. “Go away,” she muttered. “It’s too early.”

“It’s nearly ten,” Maria countered. “Mamá says to come down. Everyone is here for almuerzo and Mamá won’t let us eat until you come down.”

More food, Jennifer mused as she rolled over. This time, a late breakfast.

Maria tugged on the pillow. “Your sweetie is up. He and Papi are standing in front of the garage having a very serious talk.”

She bolted upright, tossing the pillow aside. How could he already be up? They’d stayed outside talking into the wee hours before dawn. It was only after she’d fallen asleep in Ryan’s arms that he’d insisted she go to bed, tucking her in before he disappeared to his own room. “What are they talking about?”

“How should I know?” Maria said, scrambling from the bed. She stood in front of the dresser mirror and piled her shoulder-length hair on top of her head. “How do you think I should wear my hair? Mamá told me I have to wear it down, but I think I should wear it up. What do you think?”

“I think I’m way too intelligent to get in the middle of an argument between you and Mamá,” Jennifer replied, searching her garment bag for a dress that wasn’t too wrinkled.

Maria put on a pretty pout. “But you have a way with Mamá. She listens to you.”

Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. “What? Mamá doesn’t listen to me.”

“Yes, she does. She thinks you’re very independent and very together. She’s constantly telling me I should be more like you. That I should take my life more seriously and think about my future.”

Stunned by the revelation, Jennifer didn’t know what to say. She gnawed on her bottom lip. Her mother had always been so disapproving of her choices—at least on the surface. What would she have to say about the very independent notion of a single mother in the family? Jennifer certainly wasn’t setting a good example for her younger sisters on that score.

“I think you should follow your own path,” Jennifer said, crossing the room to stand beside Maria at the mirror. “And if you want to wear your hair up, then that’s what you should do.”

“Yes, I think I will.”

Jennifer slipped her arm around Maria’s shoulders and smiled. “Feliz cumpleaños, hermanita. Happy, happy birthday.”

Maria kissed her cheek, then ran out of the room, her mind already on other, more important events of the day. Before the late-afternoon mass, she’d be primped and pampered, her hair coiffed, her nails and toes buffed. For today, Maria was the center of the universe. Jennifer tugged her dress over her head. Was it fair to disrupt the celebration with her own news? She glanced at the engagement ring Ryan had given her. Maybe she could wait until right before they left tomorrow morning. That way if things got too heated they could just drive away.

She washed her face quickly and ran a brush through her hair, dabbed on a bit of lipstick and grabbed her shoes before running downstairs barefoot. Following Maria’s direction, she found her father and Ryan standing in front of the garage, deep in conversation. She hurried over. “Good morning!”

Her father grinned and opened his arms. “¡Buenos días, niña! Did you sleep well?”

Jennifer smiled at Ryan. “Very well, Papi.”

As an afterthought, Ryan brushed a nervous kiss on her cheek. “Morning,” he murmured. He reached down and wove his fingers through hers. “Your father and I were just having a nice talk.”

“Ryan was telling me all about his business. And I was telling him all about mine. This young man has a very bright future. Fifty-nine oil wells. Don’t let him get away, niña, or he’ll make a fine husband for some other girl.”

“I—I won’t, Papi,” Jennifer said. “Maria says brunch is almost ready. Everyone is gathered on the terrace.”

“Well, then we better hurry. Your mamá has a strict schedule for today. We wouldn’t want to do anything to upset it, now, would we?”

“No, Papi.”

Diego set off for the backyard and Jennifer and Ryan followed. “How did you really sleep?” Ryan whispered.

“I didn’t,” Jennifer replied. “Just a few hours. I couldn’t stop thinking about my announcement. I’ve decided we should at least wait until late tonight, after the party. That way, my parents will be so exhausted, they won’t have the energy to argue. What do you think of that plan?”

“Whatever you decide,” Ryan said.