The Baby They Both Loved

Turning away, she grabbed the handle of a freshly brewed pot of coffee and a couple of packets of creamer. She tossed the packets on the counter and tipped the pot to fill Simon’s mug.

At the same instant, Nathan let out a mighty squall of discontent, signaling that he’d had just about as much time in the playpen as he could handle. Startled, Kit splashed hot coffee on the counter, barely missing Simon’s hand. A moment of silence settled over the diner, followed by a ripple of laughter among the customers still left there, most of whom were used to Nathan’s occasional and understandable demands for attention.

“Sorry,” Kit murmured, taking a damp cloth from under the counter.

As she mopped up the mess she’d made, she watched Simon surreptitiously from under her lowered lashes. He had been as startled as she by the child’s cry, and quite naturally he had looked over at the playpen, seeming to notice it for the first time since he’d sat at the counter.

Initially, the expression on his face was one of curiosity. But then his features shifted, reflecting surprise, and then genuine confusion.

It was one thing to see a little boy standing in a playpen, in a place where you’d never seen one in the past, waving a teddy bear at you. It was something else altogether to see a little boy with silky black curls and brilliant blue eyes—a little boy who was, obviously and undeniably, a much smaller, much younger image of your very own self.

Kit clutched the coffee-soaked cloth in both hands, now staring openly at Simon as the color drained from his face. He made a sound, low in his throat and unintelligible to her ears. Finally he shifted his gaze to her once again. Still seemingly bewildered, he stared at her wordlessly for several interminable seconds.

To Kit, the resemblance between father and son was impossible to miss. Yet Simon didn’t seem to get the connection. Or maybe he just didn’t want to get it, she thought with a hot flash of anger.

“So, Kit, you’ve had a new addition to your family?” he asked at last, an odd croak in his voice as he gestured in Nathan’s general direction.

“In a way, yes,” Kit replied, barely managing to hide her annoyance.

He had to be in deep denial to think Nathan was her biological child. That kiss on the lips he’d given her a few minutes ago was the closest she had ever gotten to having sex with him. How could he possibly think she’d produced a child who looked just like him?

“The little boy in the playpen is your son, then,” he said, visibly relaxing as he sat back on his stool.

“He is now.”

“What do you mean by that? Is he your son or isn’t he?” Again, Simon seemed confused and just a little exasperated.

Her anger flaring once more, Kit directed a hard look Simon’s way. He just didn’t get it—more likely didn’t want to get it. But eventually he would, now that he was back in town.

Though Lucy had never broadcast the identity of Nathan’s father, once Nathan had begun to develop distinctive features it was clear that the baby could, in fact, be Simon’s. It wouldn’t take long for someone to yank Simon out of his blissful, self-indulgent ignorance. Disgusted as she was with him, Kit didn’t see any reason why she shouldn’t be that someone.

“Nathan is my son now,” she said again. “But Lucy Kane was his birth mother. Unfortunately, she was killed in an automobile accident at the end of February. I’m his legal guardian and I’ve been taking care of him ever since.” She took a deep breath, trying to shake the nervous quiver from her voice. “I’ve also taken the necessary steps to adopt him, and according to my attorney, Isaac Woodrow, the court will likely approve my petition within the next few weeks.”

“That little boy is Lucy Kane’s son?” Simon repeated slowly.

His astonishment was more than evident as his gaze shifted from Kit to Nathan, then back to Kit again. She doubted he had heard what she’d said about the adoption.

“Yes, he’s Lucy’s son.”

“But Lucy was killed in an automobile accident in February?”

Simon repeated her words yet again, appearing to be even more stunned.

“She was out late at night, heading home from a party at a house on Flat Head Lake. Her car hit a patch of black ice. She skidded off the road and hit a tree.

Simon looked as if he’d been dealt a physical blow. His face paled even more as he gripped the counter with both hands. Undeniable anguish shadowed his vivid blue eyes. He seemed to be not only stunned, but also badly shaken as his gaze shifted to Nathan yet again.

He tried to speak and failed. Then, without another word to Kit, he pushed away from the counter, turned on his heel and strode to the front door of the diner. He paused there, head bent and shoulders slumped, his hand on the knob. Finally, he glanced back at Nathan one last time. Then he opened the door and walked out.

Kit wasn’t sure how she had expected Simon to respond to her revelations. Listening to the echo of the door slamming shut, she knew only that the pain shadowing his gaze in those last moments before he’d left hadn’t been feigned. In fact, the honesty of his anguish had taken her totally and completely by surprise.

She had already acknowledged the possibility that he hadn’t heard about Lucy’s death. And considering his past history with her, Kit had assumed the news would cause him at least a small measure of dismay. But the look on his face had revealed a much deeper torment.

How could that possibly be when he had abandoned Lucy almost three years ago, then hadn’t shown the least bit of interest in her welfare or that of his child any time since?

In fact, Simon’s reaction had been more in line with that of a man who had not only just discovered that he had a son, but also that the love of his life had died. That level of devastation didn’t make the least bit of sense to Kit. She knew that Lucy had told Simon she was pregnant. Lucy had said as much to Kit three years ago. And instead of providing for Lucy and the baby, Simon had left her to cope alone.

How could he now act like the injured party? It just didn’t make any sense.

And, of course, he would walk away without a single word of explanation. Although that particular response wasn’t quite as surprising to Kit as it could have been. He had walked away from his responsibilities once already, and he had stayed away three long years.

Only this time Kit had a feeling Simon Gilmore wasn’t going to disappear completely. There had been something about the look in his eyes before he’d finally left the diner that had warned her he would be back again. He would want to think before he acted, but when he acted—

“So the prodigal son has come back to town, and about time, too,” Winifred Averill said as she stepped up to the counter. “Can’t say I’m surprised. ’Course, he didn’t stick around here very long once he caught sight of the youngster, did he?”

“Not very long at all,” Kit agreed.

Drawn from her reverie, she tossed the damp cloth into the sink under the counter and crossed to the cash register to ring up the elderly woman’s bill.

“Sorry I never got back to your table with the coffeepot.”

“I didn’t really need any more caffeine. I’m jittery enough as it is. Anyway, you had your hands full.” Mrs. Averill chuckled as she dug her coin purse from the pocket of her denim jacket.

“Yes, actually I did.”

“I expect he’ll be back soon enough. Best you be prepared,” the elderly woman advised with a knowing look, as she paid her bill.

The ding of the bell over the diner’s front door as Winifred turned away from the counter had Kit looking up with apprehension. She knew she would have to face Simon again eventually, but she had hoped it wouldn’t be quite so soon.

To her relief, it was Bonnie Lennox, her friend and part-time waitress, who sailed into the diner, her blond curls bouncing on her shoulders, her brown eyes bright and cheerful.

“Hello, all,” Bonnie called out.

The few remaining customers sent out a chorus of greetings, while Mrs. Averill gave her a friendly pat on the arm as she passed by on her way out. Kit shot her friend a grateful smile, then crossed to the playpen, scooped Nathan into her arms and gave him a hug.

“Busy morning?” Bonnie asked as she grabbed a red apron from the hook just inside the kitchen doorway and tied it over her denim skirt and navy T-shirt.

“Not too bad. How was Allison’s graduation?”

“She looked so cute in her little cap and gown, and she won an award for best artwork.” Bonnie’s grin couldn’t have been any prouder, but then a worried frown creased her forehead as her expression turned serious. “I thought I saw Simon Gilmore sitting in a black SUV parked at the curb half a block down the street. Were my eyes deceiving me, or has he dared to show his handsome face in town again?”

“Oh, he’s definitely back in town. In fact, he was just in the Dinner Belle a few minutes ago,” Kit said.

“And?” Bonnie prompted, eyeing Kit with obvious dismay.

“He didn’t know about Lucy.”

“Did he see Nathan?”