Destined To Be A Dad (Welcome To Destiny Book 9) (11 page)

How would she survive—

No! Missy blinked back the surprise sting of tears, refusing to allow her thoughts to even stray in that direction. She busied herself at the sink so as not to let Liam see her silly reaction.

This—none of this—was about her. Her and Liam.

There was no her and Liam.

He got to his feet and seconds later was at her side, leaning against the counter. “You know, spending twelve or fourteen hours buried in my work is the norm for me. Ever since I started working for the company full-time out of college. Especially after my dad semiretired and I moved into his job.”

Thankful he hadn’t picked up on her warring emotions, Missy could only nod, not trusting her voice yet.

“The last couple of weeks aside, I’ve gotten used to taking a lunch break every day, ending the workday in time for dinner.”

Missy grabbed a towel and dried her hands. “Spoken like a man thinking with his stomach.”

He leaned over and bumped her shoulder with his. “I was thinking about the people I’ve been sharing those meals with, and the times spent together afterward. I like having the two of you around.”

And they liked being around him. More than they should.

“I think it’s time we head outside to the deck so I can meet this young man,” Missy said. “We wouldn’t want Casey to sneak off on us.”

“Would she do that?”

Missy grinned at him and, walking backward, headed for the door. “What were you doing when you were a teenager?”

Liam frowned, following her. “Yeah, that’s what worries me.”

The night air was warm as they stepped outside, even with the sun gone and twilight casting a glow over the yard. Casey was heading back toward them along the pathway, when a red pickup truck pulled into the lot.

“They’re going in a truck. To the drive-in.”

Missy looked at Liam, not surprised to find his arms crossed over his chest and a frown creasing his brow. “How did you think they were getting to the drive-in?” she asked. “On a bicycle?”

He remained silent, but at least he dropped his arms when the lad got out of the truck and headed toward them, nervously smoothing his hand down the front of his shirt as he approached the deck.

He smiled at Casey, but then turned to Missy and said, “Hi, you must be Casey’s mother. I’m Nathan Lawson.”

She took his outstretched hand, impressed that he’d spoken first. “Hi, Nathan. It’s nice to meet you. I’m guessing you already know Casey’s—”

The widening of her daughter’s eyes conveyed an unspoken panic.

“Uh, Liam Murphy.” Missy quickly amended the introduction, surprised that she’d been about to introduce him as Casey’s father.

Casey had yet to call him that in front of her—in front of anyone—so Missy made the effort not to do so as well.

“Yes, ma’am, my father has worked for the Murphys for years.” Nathan released her, and then held out his hand toward Liam. “It’s good to see you again, sir.”

Liam’s shoulders relaxed a bit as he took the boy’s hand. “You, too. What are your plans for the night?”

Casey sputtered, but Nathan shot her a quick smile and said, “We’re meeting some friends at Sherry’s Diner in town and then caravanning to the drive-in. There’s about ten of us going in three cars.”

“What time do you plan to have her home?”

“Crikey!” Casey managed to find her voice, and it was edgy. “It’s a double feature! We’ll be back after the movie ends.”

“Well, actually, Coach has the entire team on a curfew, so we’ll have to leave before the end of the second movie. She’ll be home by midnight.” Nathan looked at his date again. “Hope that’s okay with you.”

Casey’s blustering vanished and she smiled shyly. “That’s fine.” She then turned imploring eyes to Missy. “We should go. Like Nathan said, there are others waiting for us.”

Missy glanced at Liam, who seemed ready to say something else, but she placed a hand on his arm and turned back to her daughter. “Have fun.”

The two kids nodded and headed for Nathan’s truck. Missy couldn’t hear what her daughter was saying—probably apologizing for putting him through that—but the lad only laughed. He walked Casey to the passenger side, held the door for her as she climbed in and then jogged around the front and got in behind the wheel. Nice touch.

“I wasn’t done with him yet.”

“I’m sure. What were you going to do next?” She could feel his muscles clenching beneath her fingers and she dropped her hand away. “Ask to see the lad’s driver’s license?”

When Liam remained silent, Missy turned to face him, but he was watching the pickup as it left the parking lot. She could see the worry on his face and found his concern for their daughter endearing.

“She’s going to be fine.”

“She’s in a truck. With a teenage boy.”

“So?”

“So I—we—that used to be me. Used to be us.” Liam looked at her, his expression different now, his eyes taking on a darker emotion. “Please tell me you remember what we were doing in my pickup when we were seventeen.”

A heated flush stole over her cheeks. Of course she remembered. “That was different.”

“How so?”

“For one, Casey isn’t seventeen, and this is a first date.” Missy fought against the flood of memories filling her head. Her heart. “You and I had been together for a while before things got...involved.”

“A couple of months.” Liam reached for her then, putting one hand at her waist and cupping her cheek with the other as he stepped closer. “If memory serves, we couldn’t seem to keep our hands off each other.”

“Hey, don’t mind us,” came a male voice, the words laced with laughter.

Missy sprang back from Liam’s touch, surprised to find Adam and Fay heading toward them, smiles on their faces. “Oh! Hello...we didn’t know you two were here.”

“Yeah, we can see that.”

Fay swatted at her husband. “We just dropped off A.J. and we saw you two out here and wondered if you have plans for the evening.”

“I think we’re going to the drive-in,” Liam said.

“We are not,” Missy countered, knowing Casey would be horrified to find them spying on her. “We most certainly are not.”

Adam threw them a questioning look before saying, “Okay, then come with us. Bobby and Leeann Winslow are officially closing the camp tonight with a bonfire.” He glanced at Missy. “Leeann said we should invite the two of you. Do you remember her? She was Leeann Harris back then. She graduated with you and Liam.”

“Yes, of course, I remember her.”

Missy had run into a few former classmates over the last weeks: Racy Dillon, now married to the local sheriff, who owned the Blue Creek Saloon, and Maggie—whose last name Missy couldn’t remember. Maggie had happily introduced the handsome cowboy with her as her husband, Landon Cartwright.

As for tonight, Missy had planned to get some work done while waiting up for Casey, but now she thought a distraction for Liam, one that involved other people, was probably a good idea.

“I think a bonfire sounds like jolly fun,” she said with a smile. “I haven’t been to one since...well, since I was a teenager.”

“Well, I guess that’s settled.” Liam stepped in close again, one hand to the small of her back, his words a low whisper in her ear. “I, for one, am all for reliving
our
youthful past. Each and every moment of it.”

Chapter Ten

“A
re you having fun?” Liam asked.

Missy peeked at him over the rim of her red plastic cup, the glow from the roaring campfire highlighting the mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

“I’ve asked you that before.”

She lowered the cup, a soft smile on her beautiful lips. “A few times, and the answer is still the same. Yes, I’m having fun.”

Liam returned her grin, feeling foolish and happy at the same time. Unbelievably happy. Despite the nagging irritation over Casey being out with that boy tonight, he was finally alone on a date himself, with Missy.

Well, as alone as one could be in this crowd.

He looked around at the group sitting around the outdoor fire pit at Camp Diamond, the kids’ camp his friends Bobby and Leeann Winslow had opened this summer. Liam and his family had been contracted to construct all of the buildings, and from what he’d heard tonight, the camp’s inaugural season had been a big success.

With the sun long gone, there was a hint of fall crispness in the air as the dark sky put on a show with an abundance of stars and a full moon shining overhead. Except for the office, the rest of the camp buildings were dark, allowing the fire to create a warm beacon that gave off just enough light to see the water lapping at the edge of the lake a few feet away.

There’d been quite a crowd here already when Liam, Missy, Adam and Fay showed up. Maggie and Racy, Leeann’s close friends, sat in folding chairs next to Missy, along with their husbands, while Gina and Justin Dillon were beside him.

Family and friends, gathered together. Just as it should be. And somehow it felt right having Missy here with him.

Bobby and Leeann had seats on the opposite side of the fire pit with Dean Zippenella and Priscilla Lennox next to them, but at the moment Bobby’s best friend, Dean, was chasing after a couple of four-legged guests. The camp’s official mascots were dogs that belonged to Dean and Priscilla, who’d come to town this past summer to help with fund-raising for the camp. Last month’s bachelor auction had been Priscilla’s idea.

The funds raised that night hadn’t been substantial, less than five thousand dollars, and a good chunk of that had been from Priscilla bidding two grand to win a date with Dean. She’d been competing with her own sister, no less. The important thing was the event had brought the town together to support the camp—and had brought Dean and Priscilla together, too, as they were now living in Dean’s log home along with their pups.

In fact, Liam noticed all the couples here tonight were married, except for Dean and Priscilla.

And him and Missy.

Leaning forward, he propped his elbows on his knees and poked at the fire with a long stick, sending a shower of fiery sparks into the air. He looked at Missy, enjoying the view of her profile and how her hair and skin glowed in the firelight as she talked with Maggie and Landon. He wondered if she too had noticed how everyone sat boy-girl-boy-girl around the fire. It hadn’t started out that way.

When they’d first arrived, Leeann had taken her on a quick tour of the camp, most of the ladies tagging along while the men argued good-naturally over the best way to get the fire going. But once everyone gathered at the fire pit, they naturally paired off and Missy had come to sit beside him, accepting the cup of wine he’d poured for her and the old plaid blanket he draped across both their laps to ward off the night’s chill.

“Hey, how about some music?” Racy asked. “I bullied Gage into bringing his guitar, as he only seems to serenade our babies nowadays.”

“That’s not true,” Gage protested with a wide grin, reaching for the instrument stowed beneath his chair. “I sang you an Elvis tune in the shower just this morning.”

“Which I had to listen to over the baby monitor while changing a pair of stinky diapers. So romantic!”

Everyone laughed as Dean and Priscilla came back to join them, along with their worn-out pups, a wiry terrier mutt and a Chihuahua wearing a bright red sweater, both of whom curled up beneath their chairs.

Liam set aside the stick to grab his own guitar, glad he’d thought to bring it along as well. But doing so had his thoughts turning to Casey.

Maybe getting her enrolled at the local high school hadn’t been his best idea. He’d wanted her to have fun during her stay and get to know some people her own age, and yeah, he’d hoped for some alone time with Missy.

That hadn’t worked out so well due to one work crisis after another, until tonight, but even that was only because Casey was out on a date.

With a boy.

Correction, with a group, much like the crowd here, but had those kids paired off as easily as the adults? What exactly was going on at the drive-in?

If personal experience served, he knew exactly what was going on.

Damn.
He rubbed at his chest.

The heaviness that had settled there as he’d watched that boy’s pickup truck drive off now seemed to have doubled in weight. It wasn’t painful, but definitely unfamiliar.

He wasn’t used to...well, worrying about someone.

He had a normal concern for his folks, especially when they took off on one of their cross-country adventures in their tricked-out RV, and caring about his brothers and their families was as natural to him as breathing, but this wasn’t the same.

Not nearly the same.

“I’m glad you brought your guitar, too.” Missy gave his knee a nudge with her own beneath the blanket. “It’d be nice to hear you sing again.”

Liam grinned, her words pulling him from his thoughts. “I’m afraid I’m not much better than I was years ago. Which we both know wasn’t that good.”

“You were great with Casey.”

“That was all her. I just tried to keep up.”

“Your daughter plays?” Racy asked, and when Missy nodded, she continued, “I guess she gets that from Liam, huh?”

“Yes, she does,” Missy said. “My creativity begins and ends with my design work, I fear. I have zero talent when it comes to music.”

Liam managed to keep his gaze on Gage, joining in when the man started strumming a classic Johnny Cash tune, but inside he was bursting with pride at Missy’s words.

Not just over the connection she’d made between him and Casey, but the ease with which she’d spoken about their daughter. He’d figured there’d be questions. Missy had told him the ladies had asked about Casey when they first arrived. Nothing invasive, just a natural curiosity over an unusual situation, especially for a town the size of Destiny.

They’d somehow managed to keep the whole truth from everyone, including his family. Things were going well and the last thing he wanted was any upheaval when he was making so much headway with Casey and Missy.

The sound of applause yanked Liam from his thoughts and he found the first song was over. The sheriff gave him a quick nod that meant it was his turn to pick the next one. He went with another classic, this time one from the Fab Four, earning a big smile from Missy, who joined in as they sang about welcoming the sun after a long winter. After that they went through a half dozen tunes until he and Gage begged off, insisting they needed some liquid refreshment.

“I was wondering something,” Missy said to Liam after he refilled her cup. “How did the camp get its name?”

“Ask those two.” Liam pointed across the fire as he called out to Bobby, “Hey, Missy wants to know about Camp Diamond’s name.”

“It’s all Leeann’s fault,” Bobby said.

“It is not!” Leeann protested. “Who told you to toss it in the lake?”

Bobby barked out a quick laugh and then turned sober. “Okay, that was all me. It’s amazing to hear us joke about it now. You see, I’d asked Leeann to marry me during our senior year.”

“Really?” Missy looked surprised. “I don’t remember that.”

“We tried to keep it a secret. Our parents weren’t happy about us being together back then,” Leeann said. “But just before graduation I panicked and broke things off. I gave the ring back—”

Bobby cut her off. “More like chucked it at my head. But she’s right, I was the one who heaved the ring into the lake on my way out of town. It wasn’t much, barely a chip, but after that, I always called this place Diamond Lake.”

“And the ring is still down there?”

Leeann nodded. “As far as we know. After Bobby told me what he’d done all those years ago, I gave him the lake, and the land around it, for the camp. Before I even knew if he’d decided to go ahead with building it.”

“What a wonderful story.”

“Yeah, just not one we share around the fire with the campers,” Bobby added, with a grin. “No need to give them any ideas.”

“Well, you’ve done good here, Winslow,” Liam said to his friend. “This camp was just what the town needed.”

Everyone joined in while Bobby tried to wave off the praise. Then he placed a hand over Leeann’s rounded belly and cradled her on his lap. “If it wasn’t for the love of my life coming back
into
my life, none of this would have happened.”

“Let’s hear it for the ladies,” Justin Dillon said, coming up behind Gina, wrapping one arm around his wife’s waist while raising his beer in the air with the other. “If it wasn’t for them, we’d all be lost and lonely bums.”

Everyone joined in on the toast and then Gina said, “Looks like the town is going to have one less bum running around. Or one less bachelor.”

Liam wasn’t sure what she meant, until Landon pointed toward the water’s edge in time for everyone to watch Dean drop to one knee before what appeared to be a very surprised Priscilla.

Moments later, she was in his arms with Dean shouting at them, “She said yes!”

There were more cheers, congratulatory hugs and handshakes when the couple returned to the fire and Priscilla showed off a large diamond solitaire on her finger. Liam placed a quick kiss on her cheek and then shook Dean’s hand, offering his best wishes.

“I thought they’d only just met.”

Missy’s words were quiet, meant only for his ears as Liam returned to the bench and sat next to her.

“Priscilla came to town just after July Fourth, so yeah, it’s only been a couple of months.” He turned to her, threading his fingers through hers, noticing how warm, how right, it felt to hold her hand. “When it’s the right person, why wait?”

* * *

The party broke up an hour later. Liam glanced at the clock on the dashboard as he drove back to the ranch. It was almost eleven thirty. Missy hadn’t said anything, but he guessed she wanted to be home before Casey got back from her date.

Hell, he wanted to be there as well to make sure their daughter arrived home safely.

On the other hand, he hated to see this night end.

Being with Missy tonight was like old times. Familiar, comfortable. But at the same time a thread of a new awareness, a new excitement, coursed through him every time he looked at her. Touched her. When she’d rested her head against his shoulder and looked up at him with a riot of emotions reflected in her eyes, he’d almost said the words aloud.

She was the first girl he’d fallen in love with. She was a woman he desperately wanted now in his bed. In his home. In his life in every way possible.

She was breaking his heart all over again.

Not really, not yet, but tonight made him realize his time with her and Casey was quickly coming to an end. Or was it? He had to admit the crazy idea of the two of them making the move to Destiny a permanent one had been gaining traction for the last week.

He just wasn’t sure how to make the suggestion, how Missy would react or if she was even battling the same needs and wants as he was.

“You made a comment back at the fire tonight that has me wondering about something.”

Missy’s quiet words filled the silence of the SUV, and he immediately started to mentally backtrack.

They’d talked about a lot of things. Memories from high school. How the town had changed over the years. The bachelor auction. Liam had made it clear his date had ended with nothing more than a simple kiss—

“When you said time didn’t matter. Is that what you felt before?”

Okay, he was totally lost. “Before?”

“When you proposed? I guess you believed those women were right for you...at the time.”

Her question floored him. They hadn’t talked about his previous marriages at all after the first night she’d arrived. And it wasn’t exactly a topic he wanted to bring up now, but since she’d asked, he said, “I honestly don’t remember. The first time was a crazy, stupid, alcohol-laced quickie in Vegas. I figured out not long afterward how unfair our marriage was...to her and to me.”

“Unfair?”

He glanced at her. “I was trying to get over losing you. And failing miserably.”

She gasped softly and the glow from the dashboard allowed him to see her press her fingers to her lips.

He focused again on the road as he turned onto the lane that led to the compound. “When I decided to marry for the second time,” he continued, “it was right out of college. Nicole and I had dated for a couple of years, so marriage seemed like the next step after we graduated.”

“What happened?”

“After a year we finally admitted we wanted different things.” Pulling into his usual parking spot, he turned off the engine and cut the lights, his hands gripping hard at the steering wheel. “She hated the fact that I chose to stay in Destiny and work for the family business. She wanted bigger and better things. So she left to find them.”

Making him a loser twice over. Three times, actually, counting Missy.

He dropped his hands, curling his keys into his fist as silence again stretched between them. For such an intimate setting, it felt as if she was now farther away from him than just the next seat.

Almost as if there was an ocean between them.

“And you never found the right person after that?”

The dull ache in the center of his chest returned, but he refused to acknowledge it, no matter how desperately he wanted to rub the pain away.

“Nope. There was no need.” He opened his door. “I’d already found the right girl, but I wasn’t smart enough to hold onto her.”

He got out of the truck before she had the chance to say anything.

By the time he made it around the back end to Missy’s door, she was already standing outside. She remained silent as they started walking along the pathway through the yard, passing by the gazebo.