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

More cheers and hugs were passed around by everyone.

When Fay shared she was due only a couple of weeks after Laurie, the remainder of the meal was filled with talk of baby showers, ideas for names and Logan and Luke insisting that another set of twins in the family would be the coolest thing ever, even if their uncles paled at that suggestion.

It wasn’t until the table was cleared and his mother put her able-bodied grandkids in charge of kitchen cleanup and then served dessert, that Liam realized Missy was no longer in the room.

* * *

She needed a moment.

Walking out on a family celebration was rude. Missy’s well-mannered upbringing haunted her with every step, but the love and happiness overflowing in the dining room had been vastly dissimilar from her own experience. And right now it was more than she could handle.

The air was warm here on the front porch, despite it being a cloudy day. Distant rumblings coming from the dark skies overhead promised rain was on its way. A rich scent of earth and grass and trees filled her head, so unlike what she was used to at home, but familiar again after being back here for the last few days.

Seeking peace and quiet to gather her thoughts, Missy made her way to the seating area where she and Liam had talked that first night. Then she would go back inside. She’d rejoin the others and smile and be happy for them because deep in her heart, she truly felt the news of a baby’s—or babies’—arrival was wonderful.

But first she needed to deal with the memory of her family’s reaction when she’d finally found the courage to tell them...

Oh, it had been far different.

Crossing her arms, Missy lifted her face to the light breeze, her eyes closed in an attempt to hold back the tears.

Even after all this time, she could still hear the distress in their voices, see the disapproval in their eyes as she stood before them in her father’s study and confessed she was pregnant and even worse, didn’t know who the baby’s father was.

“Missy, are you all right?”

Liam calling out caused her to jump, and she hastily brushed at the wetness on her cheeks, erasing the tears that managed to escape despite her best efforts.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he said as he came closer. “It’s just that you left so abruptly—”

“I’m the one who should apologize.” She cut him off as she turned around with a pasted-on smile and a determination not to let him see the turmoil crashing around inside her. “It just got too warm—too many people—”

“What’s wrong?” His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. “Why are you upset?”

“I’m not. Not really.” Surprised at how easily the lie fell from her lips, she quickly dropped her gaze from his. “You come bearing gifts.”

Liam held a dessert plate with two forks in the same hand. “It’s one of my mother’s specialties. Her blue-ribbon-winning apple pie, complete with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream.”

“So very American.” Happy for the distraction, Missy reached for the plate, but Liam stepped back, holding the treat out of reach. “You don’t plan to share?” she asked.

“Of course I do. As soon as you share what’s bothering you.”

“I told you—”

“If anyone knows how overwhelming my family can be at times, it’s me,” Liam said, putting the dessert on a nearby table. “But I get the feeling it’s something more. Somehow related to the happy news?”

“I think your sisters-in-law being pregnant at the same time is jolly wonderful.” Missy kept her gaze low. “For them, for your brothers, for everyone.”

Bending his knees a bit, he scrunched down, trying to bring his face level with hers. When that didn’t work, he gently lifted her chin with his finger and forced her to look at him. “And the family’s reaction to that news was nothing like what you received sixteen years ago.”

She closed her eyes and turned away to look out over the yard, not surprised he had figured out the cause of her distress so easily. He’d always been able to read her.

“No, it wasn’t,” she finally admitted.

“Tell me.”

A shuddering breath escaped her lungs and she shook her head.

“Please.” He moved in behind her, so close she could almost feel his warmth. His strength. Then his hands encircled her upper arms, his touch causing a shiver to dance across her skin. “I’d like to know.”

“There’s not much to tell.” She pulled in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Picture the exact opposite reaction. My father, sitting in his chair by the fireplace, remaining stoic, even as his eyes raked over me with censure and condemnation.”

“Aw, Missy...”

“Believe it or not, that was easier to take than my mother, who didn’t even look at me. No, she just cried out and then dropped her crystal sherry glass, shattering it into a million pieces.”

“You were alone? That bastard didn’t even stand next to you—”

How had he guessed that? “I told Stanford I wanted...needed to speak to them by myself. To explain.”

A long silence filled the air before Liam said, “Because you didn’t know if the baby was his or mine.”

Missy dropped her chin, amazed that the memory of that night still lived so fresh in her mind. That it still hurt so much.

“They, of course, assumed the baby was Stanford’s, but then I told them about falling in lo—” She bit hard on her bottom lip, cutting off her words for a moment. “About meeting you. About what happened when I first returned home to London. Why it took me so long to realize...”

“What did they say?”

“Nothing. I was sent to my room. They didn’t speak to me for three days.”

His hands tightened on her. “That’s kind of harsh.”

“I’d shocked them, shocked their neat and orderly world. Now, as an adult, I can understand that. My time in America changed me. I was more independent, more vocal in my opinions. At eighteen, I was technically an adult, but in their eyes, I was still a child. Their only child.”

She turned to face him, breaking free of his hold. “Oh, this is silly. I don’t know why I’m letting this bother me now. It’s a totally different situation. Fay and Laurie are grown women, happily married. Of course the reactions would be different.”

Liam’s brows drew together in a scowl. “That’s still no reason for your parents to treat you that way.”

“How do you think Nolan would react if Abby came home one day and shared that kind of news? How would I if Casey ever does the same?”

He looked as thunderstruck as she felt, and he backed away, rubbing his hand hard across his mouth. “You wouldn’t shut her out,” he said. “You wouldn’t ignore her and then find a way to manipulate the situation to suit your own needs.”

The strength and sureness in his words warmed her. “Thank you for saying that.”

“I wish I had known.” He came back to her, his hands cupping her face, his thumbs gently brushing against her damp cheeks. “I wish you had told me you were pregnant. That the child might be mine.”

“Oh, Liam...what would you have done?”

“I don’t know. Flown to England?”

She tried to shake her head at the absurdity of his words, but he held her in place, his eyes boring into hers. “I would’ve found a way to be with you. To support you until we knew for sure—”

“And then what? My father obviously planned all along to lie about the test results when the time came.”

He closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face.

Without thinking, without considering the consequences, she gave in to the need to touch him. Her fingertips scraped the roughness of his evening beard as she touched his jaw.

“After Casey was born, you would’ve been told the same thing I had...that she wasn’t yours,” she whispered, her throat tightening as the imagined scene played out in her mind. “And I would’ve lost you all over again. I don’t know if I could’ve lived through that a second time—”

His mouth crashed down on hers, his kiss raw and unapologetic as he devoured her confession, his tongue sweeping inside.

It was as surprising as when he’d kissed her the other night, but this time she didn’t pull away. This time their mouths pushed and queried, relearning, remembering, and when a low groan filled the air, she didn’t know if it came from him or her.

The hint of apple and cinnamon on his tongue tasted sweet, the dark sweeping heat of it stroking hers almost savage. His fingers pressed hard against her jaw and then he released her.

She stumbled forward, her breasts brushing against his chest, and his grip returned as the kiss continued. He pulled her toward him until she was flush against his body. She scraped her fingers over his jaw to his hair, her arms sliding up and over his shoulders until they intertwined behind his neck.

The past and present meshed and mingled; she was a girl again in the arms of her first love, her first lover. At the same time his kiss, his touch, his body were new to her in so many ways, and a desire to know him, to be with the man he was now, raced through her.

The kiss seemed to go on forever, a rising desire that threatened to consume her, consume both of them, until she finally broke free, light-headed and breathless, sure her legs wouldn’t keep her upright if he weren’t holding her so tightly.

“Liam...”

He pulled her even closer, his arms banding around her as he tucked her head to his shoulder, his face buried into her neck. His lips grazed her skin, his breaths heavy and warm as he whispered in her ear. “Just let me hold you...for a moment.”

Knowing she couldn’t refuse him—and didn’t want to—she relaxed into his embrace and allowed her eyelids to close, the fleeting glimpse of a figure standing in the shadows near the doorway registering in her mind.

Missy gasped and opened her eyes, pushing at Liam’s shoulders. He let her go and stepped back, confusion crossing his features.

“Missy—”

“Someone is...” Her words came in a hushed whisper. “Watching us.”

“With a family as big as mine, I’m not surprised.” He squeezed her hand tightly, his smile unsteady. “This isn’t the most private place to talk...or do anything else.”

“You don’t bloody understand.” Panic raced through her veins and she yanked free and stepped away, the cool air now swirling between them. “I think it was Casey.”

Chapter Eight

M
issy had, as the Americans so often put it, chickened out when it came to asking Casey if she’d been the one who’d seen her and Liam talking—and kissing—out on the front porch a few nights ago.

She’d expected her daughter to come right out and demand an explanation, if not in front of everyone at least with her privately, when she and Liam had sneaked back inside, but the group’s attention had been on the large-screen television where old family movies were playing as they ate dessert.

Casey had been sitting next to Liam’s mother, watching the telly and listening to Elise’s stories about the boys when they were young. Missy had started to go to her when Liam grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him on a nearby love seat.

After practically landing in his lap, she’d managed to scoot to the far side of the diminutive sofa, shoving a couple of toss pillows between the two of them before Casey turned and sent a big smile her way.

Later, when the evening had ended and the two of them headed back to the boathouse, she’d waited, but again nothing. Deciding it might have been one of his brothers after all, Missy had remained silent on the subject.

In the days since, the three of them had settled into a routine where she and Casey occupied themselves in the morning, but then Liam would join them for lunch at the main house before he went back to his office. Afternoons were spent either poolside or off doing something with Liam’s mother, including today, when they had gone to Cheyenne and done touristy stuff with the twins tagging along.

And as much as Missy tried not to impose, Elise insisted they eat dinner at the main house with her and her husband every night. Liam was there, too, of course. More often than not Nolan and his kids joined them, even though at times Abby didn’t seem too pleased to have Missy and Casey at the table.

Not that the teen said anything directly to her, but Missy had picked up on the verbal jabs she and Casey tossed back and forth, usually under their breath and the radar of everyone else.

Missy had mentioned it to her daughter the first night it happened as they were heading to bed, but Casey had laughed it off as “not a bloody big deal.”

The evenings were nice, filled with watching movies, playing board games—Casey was as cutthroat at Monopoly as Liam—or spending time outside, either taking long walks, being lakeside on the dock or sitting around a fire.

The three of them were always together and often joined by others. Meaning Missy and Liam weren’t ever alone.

She’d told him on that first night there would be nothing between them, no rekindling of a long-ago flame. Missy had decided the best way to ensure that was to keep the focus of their time together on Casey, allowing her and Liam to get to know one another. Again, it was something Liam was being a perfect gentleman about.

Oh, she would catch him sending slow, appraising looks her way, his gaze not giving away what was going on inside his head. But then his hand would brush against hers during a meal, or land warm and strong at the small of her back when they walked, sending an all too familiar tingling through her.

But that was as far as it went. It was as if they’d reached an unspoken agreement of what was important. And what wasn’t.

After Missy and Casey had spent today shopping and sightseeing with Liam’s mother and the twins, Casey had received a text from Liam asking if they were going to make it back in time for dinner. They arrived at the main house in the late afternoon, the twins jumping from their grandmother’s car to sprint across the yard toward their own home.

“Where are they off to?” Elise asked.

“Something about who can win a race to the loo,” Casey said with a grin. “Uh, to the bathroom, I mean.”

Elise laughed. “I guess it’s a good thing they have more than one. Come on, let’s go inside.”

“We ought to take these back to the boathouse,” Missy said, lifting the bags filled with the clothes and trinkets she and Casey had managed to accumulate during today’s outing from Elise’s car. “Perhaps what we should have purchased was another suitcase—”

The tooting of a horn had all three of them turning around.

It was Fay in her pretty personalized van for her flower shop. She parked in an empty space and waved at them through the open window. “Hello there! I come bearing flowers and a baby. You do remember what tonight is?”

“Of course I do,” Elise said, and then turned to Missy as they walked toward the van. “She and Adam have standing date nights the second and last Friday of every month. If I’m real lucky, I get to keep my handsome grandson with us overnight.”

Missy smiled at Elise’s enthusiasm, surprised that August was almost over. She and Casey had been in Destiny a week today and it’d been almost a month since her father died.

And their world had turned upside down.

“Missy, can I ask you a favor?” Fay asked, opening the side door and reaching for her son’s car carrier in the backseat. “Would you mind taking this guy into the house and keeping an eye on him for a few minutes? Elise and I have to get the flower arrangements for the model homes.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” Handing off their bags to Casey, Missy looked down at A.J. He was waving his fists in the air, his eyes scrunched up tight against the afternoon sunshine. “Hey, there, buddy. You seem a bit cranky.”

“He just woke up from a nap and will probably want a bottle. Don’t worry, he can wait until I get into the house.”

Missy took the baby’s nappy bag from Fay, slinging the strap over one shoulder, the gesture familiar, despite the passage of time. “I think I remember how it’s done, if you trust me. Do you have a bottle made up already?”

“Great, go for it.” Fay grinned and handed over her son. “The bottles are in the side pocket and Elise has an electronic warmer on the counter. Just pop one in, wait for the ready light and you’re good to go.”

“Katie’s car is still in the lot and the boys should be nearby if you need help,” Elise said from the back of the van, where she’d opened the rear double doors. “Oh, Fay, these flowers are gorgeous. Perfect for the coming fall season.”

“I was hoping you’d like them,” Fay said, and then looked to Missy again. “If you need me, just give a shout.”

“We’ll be fine,” Missy said, hefting the baby’s carrier into the crook of her arm. “I’ve got all the help I need right here.”

“Who, me?” Casey’s eyes grew wide as she backed away, holding her hands loaded with bags up in mock surrender. “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ babies!”

Everyone laughed at her spot-on high-pitched imitation from one of the two classic films they’d watched last night.

“Birthin’ and babysitting are two different things.” The memory of what she’d said to Liam a few nights ago flashed in Missy’s head, but she pushed it away and smiled at her daughter. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk you through it.”

Elise and Fay got to work with the flowers while Missy and Casey headed for the side door that took them directly into the living room.

Missy stopped at one of the leather sofas in the main seating area in front of the fireplace and set A.J.’s carrier on the floor. She easily found a bottle in the baby’s bag. “Keep an eye on the little bugger while I warm this up, okay?”

“You better make it fast.” Casey stared at the baby with a dubious glare. “With the faces he’s making it looks like he’s about to go off his trolley.”

Bending down, Missy touched the soft brown curls on the baby’s head. His dark eyes latched onto the bottle in her hand.

She quickly straightened and tucked his afternoon treat behind her back, but it was too late. “I think you’re right. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Casey dropped the shopping bags on the couch and sat. “So, what do I do in the meantime?”

“Distract him. Try chatting him up,” Missy said, heading for the kitchen.

Finding the warming device, she followed the easy directions, wishing she’d had one of these years ago. Hmm, four to six minutes before mealtime. She peeked back into the main room as the baby’s fussing got louder. The last thing she wanted was to bother anyone in the nearby offices or send Casey to get his mother.

“Nudge the carrier gently with your foot, sweetie,” she suggested, calling out to her daughter. “The rocking motion might calm him down. It’s going to take a few minutes before his bottle is ready.”

Casey rolled her eyes, but stretched out one foot, the tip of her cowboy boot catching the hard plastic edge of the carrier and setting it into motion. “You know, I’m a bit parched myself.”

Missy smiled and then went to work preparing a tray of chocolate-chip cookies and lemonade, not wanting to spoil their appetites.

The moment she heard the clear and pure tone of her daughter’s voice raised in song, she froze.

Making her way back to the doorway, she found Casey still rocking the baby’s seat with her foot, but she also now had a guitar in her arms as she sang a favorite song of hers about blue skies, wishing on a star and bluebirds flying over a rainbow.

A warm feeling of pride filled Missy, her heart pounding so hard she had to press a hand to her chest.

Music was one of her daughter’s passions. A day rarely went by when she wasn’t singing or playing. Missy had meant to check with Liam about the piano against the far wall after noticing Casey glancing at it a few times.

She had no idea where her daughter had found the instrument she was playing now. It looked a little beat-up, much like the one Casey had back home that she’d bought last year, after spotting it in the window of a secondhand shop on Rathbone Place.

Could it be— No, she doubted Liam would still have that old thing.

The last rich, mellow notes of the simple melody lingered in the air as Casey finished and smiled down at the baby. “So, A.J., you’re a music fan. I like that. Bollocks, don’t start fussing again.”

A.J. wasn’t listening as his soft whimpers started to rise in volume.

“That was beautiful,” said a male voice. “Maybe you should try singing to him again.”

* * *

Casey whipped her head around when Liam spoke. Missy did the same, her wide eyes matching their daughter’s startled expression.

At finding him there, Liam guessed, but he’d been the one who was truly surprised.

He’d been ending a phone call when Katie popped into his office, letting him know his mother’s car had just pulled into the driveway. Missy and Casey were back. A sudden need to see them had hit him square in the chest and he realized he’d missed them.

Ever since that night on the front porch, Missy had been finding creative ways to stay away from him, or at least ensure they weren’t alone again. He could admit he’d gotten a bit carried away with that kiss, but her story—and his frustration over a past they couldn’t change—had hit him harder than he’d expected.

Shaking off the memory, Liam decided to concentrate on what was happening now between them. As much as he claimed it was all about him and Casey getting to know each other, he knew there was more to it.

More to him and Missy.

Unfinished business? Something new?

He didn’t have any idea. But he was eager to share something he’d come up with today, something he hoped Casey would be excited about.

Something that might give him more one-on-one time with Missy.

“Go on,” Liam urged when Casey continued to stare at him while the baby’s fussing grew louder. He walked to the sofa opposite where Casey sat, fisting his hands along the back cushions. “He looks like he’s about to burst into a joyful noise. Something I’m sure won’t sound anywhere near as terrific as you.”

Casey’s cheeks turned bright pink at his compliment. She dropped her chin and looked away, but the shy smile visible on her face warmed Liam’s heart.

She then pulled in a deep breath, slowly released it and started the song again. Her grip on the instrument looked steady as her fingers moved over the strings with a familiar ease. Her voice was solid and unwavering this time as she looked again at her baby cousin, who’d gone silent as soon as she began to sing.

Damn, she was good.

It was obvious she had a natural gift and some training. Much more than Liam. He’d learned to play some when he was a kid from an old cowboy turned logger who used to work for the family business. The rest he’d picked up on his own.

Glancing over his shoulder, he found that Katie and Nolan had followed him and were enjoying the impromptu concert. He then looked across the room and saw that his mom and Fay had come in as well, but it was the delight on Missy’s face as she looked at Casey that caused a hard lump to form in his throat.

This obviously wasn’t the first time she’d heard their daughter sing.

When had Casey started? Was this something new or had she begun at a much younger age? Then he wondered if someone in her life had discovered and nurtured this talent or if it had come naturally.

Perhaps it was inherited from him?

Damn.
How much had he missed out on during the years he hadn’t known about his daughter?

He wondered too how she’d known his guitars were kept in a nearby cabinet. He still played every once in a while, and a sudden eagerness to share this moment had him crossing the room and reaching for the second guitar leaning against a low shelf.

He slipped the strap over his head and easily picked up the melody she was playing as he returned to sit on the empty sofa.

She stopped mid-chorus, but Liam nodded for her to continue. Casey returned his nod and moved on to the next line of lyrics without missing a beat, her smile and the slight uptick of her chin an invitation for him to join in. He did, keeping his baritone range low, melding it easily with her sweet soprano, before backing off completely when she softened her tone on the last line, her fingertips drawing out the ending cords.

A light clapping filled the air as A.J. slapped his chubby hands together and gurgled happily.

Liam and Casey laughed; the thrill of achieving an eight-second ride on the back of a bucking bronc paled in comparison to the happiness slamming in his gut at this very moment.

More applause came, this time from everyone else as they moved farther into the room, gathering around the seating area.