The Texan's Surprise Baby (3 page)

Automatically, she rested a hand on her stomach.

“I guess Aaron told you I was pregnant.” She’d known that was inevitable from the moment she’d seen Aaron with Shelby.

Andrew nodded. “It slipped into our conversation earlier today. Needless to say, it threw me for a loop. I—well, I guess the precautions we took that night weren’t enough. I know there’s always a chance, but still...”

The awkwardness was unlike him, merely another sign of how shaken he’d been. “You didn’t say anything to Aaron about—”

He quickly shook his head. “I just threw some things in a bag and headed this way.”

Normally it was a four-hour drive from Dallas to the resort. Hannah suspected Andrew had made it in less today.

She twisted her fingers more tightly together. “You’re coming to the resort?”

“Yes.”

“Would you—could we not say anything to the family just yet? About your being the father, I mean. We’ll tell them,” she added quickly, when he started to frown, “just not until we’ve had more time to talk privately about...things.”

To her relief, he nodded to concede that she had a valid point. “We will need to talk.”

“Yes.” And she dreaded it. Everything was so complicated. “But it’s going to take a while. And I can’t do it now, the family will be wondering where I am. The way I rushed off without an explanation, they’ll be worried if I don’t go back soon.”

He didn’t look particularly pleased with the delay, but he didn’t try to argue. “So how are we playing this?”

“We’ll show up at the resort at different times so they won’t know we’ve already seen each other. You can go ahead, I need to stop by the store anyway.”

“And I suppose you’ll be completely surprised to find me at the resort when you get back.”

She shrugged, intending to play it exactly that way.

Andrew sighed and ran a hand over his hair. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I’ll keep your secret. For now. But somehow or another we’ll have to find opportunities to talk, and soon.”

She nodded grimly, knowing his patience would last only so long. “We’ll talk.”

She turned toward her car, only to be stopped by his hand on her arm. “Hannah.”

Looking up at him, she whispered, “What?”

“It’s going to be okay.”

She moistened her lips. “I know.”

He smoothed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I’ll see you at the resort.”

Nodding, she hurried toward her car, resisting an impulse to lay a hand on her cheek where his fingers had touched.

She drove straight to the grocery store. She had forgotten to bring a list and she was still so rattled from her brief meeting with Andrew that she could hardly think about what she needed. She drifted down the aisles of the store fifteen minutes after parting from him, staring blankly at the shelves and trying to focus on the task at hand rather than the challenges that lay ahead. With yogurt, fresh fruit and a bag of cookies in her cart, she turned a corner only to have her day take yet another downturn as she came face-to-face with her former in-laws, Justine and Chuck Cavender. It was the first time she had seen them since their son had been arrested for embezzlement and attempted extortion against Hannah’s family.

“Hannah!” Justine’s first startled reaction was pleasure. She and Hannah had gotten along well enough before the acrimonious divorce. But then her gaze lowered and her smile was replaced with a stricken expression. “Oh. You’re—”

Chuck had never been particularly fond of Hannah to start with—primarily, Hannah suspected, because he’d believed every lie Wade had told about what a terrible wife she’d been. Chuck had enabled, apologized for and deflected blame for his son for all of Wade’s life, which Hannah believed was part of the reason Wade sat in jail now. Wade could be charming, convincing and manipulative—her marriage to him was proof enough of that—but the streak of meanness that lay beneath his amiable mask came straight from his father.

Chuck snarled at Hannah, “Get out of our way.”

She scooted her cart as far to one side as she could. She almost apologized for being in his path, but she bit her tongue. She’d apologized too many times to both Wade and his father for things that had not been her fault. She was not sliding back into that pattern now. Chuck shoved his cart forward, almost slamming into hers despite the room she had left him.

Falling into step behind her husband, Justine gave Hannah a mournful look. “I’d always hoped you and Wade would give us grandchildren,” she murmured.

“Instead, she sent our boy to prison,” Chuck snapped over his shoulder, discounting Wade’s part in his fate. “And then went slutting around and got herself knocked up when she’s not even married. Personally, I’m glad she isn’t a mother to any grandchildren of ours.”

Miserably aware of a few gawkers within hearing range, Hannah held her chin high with an effort, moved toward the front of the store with her few purchases, paid as quickly as possible and left with as much dignity as she could scrape together. Her day had gone from bad to worse, but maybe she had needed that awful encounter. It would serve as a painful reminder that her track record with men was not good.

In the past, she’d seen what she wanted to see, trusted when she shouldn’t have, believed when she should have delved more deeply. She wasn’t that naive, sheltered, starry-eyed girl now. Nor was she the lonely, vulnerable woman who’d been swept into a reckless night of passion by a sexy smile and a gleaming pair of dark eyes. She knew now who she was, where she belonged and what she wanted—and she would do well to keep those things in mind during the coming days.

* * *

At half past six, the day was still sunny and warm, the sprawling blue lake still busy with boaters, skiers and swimmers. This time of year, the resort would bustle every day of the week with families taking vacations from jobs and school, and the Bell family would be kept hopping, though Andrew hadn’t heard them complain during the two weeks he’d spent here last summer. With the exception of Shelby’s brother, Steven, they all seemed to love the jobs they’d chosen. Steven had grown restless and would be leaving soon to try his hand at his boyhood dream of firefighting, but Andrew figured there was a chance he’d be back someday to take his place in the family business.

After passing through the manned entry gate, he took a right on the circular main road through the resort. A two-story lakeside building held the reception office, convenience store and diner, with the private business offices upstairs, and the marina at the back. He parked in front and climbed out of his car. To his right lay the public swimming pool, the sixteen-room lakeside motel and three of the eight cabins. Turning left, he saw the pavilion and playground often occupied by family reunions, corporate gatherings or other events. Beyond the pavilion lay the day-use area, five more stand-alone cabins, RV pads with hookups and tent camping grounds.

A steady stream of resort guests flowed both ways through the big double glass doors, some in swimwear and cover-ups, most in shorts and tank tops or T-shirts, some carrying bags of purchases as they exited. The marina, store and grill would be open until seven, and Andrew figured the diner would be full now with customers hungry after a day of water sports. The air carried whiffs of boat motor exhaust from the lake and burning charcoal from the campgrounds, scents that had become very familiar to him during his almost-two-week stay last summer.

He still remembered the first time he’d entered this building after having been hired by the family last year. That was the day he’d met Hannah, who was twenty-seventy then, the eldest of the Bell cousins by a few months. Chagrined that her ex-husband had caused her family so much trouble and anxiety, she’d held her chin high, her emerald eyes glittering with anger and determination. Andrew had taken one look at her and almost swallowed his tongue, his first thought being that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

He’d managed to keep his distance from her for the most part during the next two weeks only by constantly reminding himself that he was on a job, and that it would be unprofessional of him to get involved with a client. He’d told himself she was too vulnerable, having been so recently divorced and dealing with the painful repercussions of her unfortunate choice of a spouse. They had been surrounded almost constantly by her caring and inquisitive family. Not to mention that he and Hannah had seemed an unlikely couple, with both of them committed to family businesses four hours apart, and with her announcing to all and sundry that she had no intention of getting married or even seriously involved with anyone again for a long time, if ever. Not even thirty himself then, he’d thought that sounded like a wise plan.

And then she’d shown up at his office in December, and he’d foolishly decided he’d been given an early Christmas gift. Maybe the holiday should have been April Fool’s Day instead, considering the situation he found himself in now.

“Hey, Aaron. What are you doing standing out here in a daze? Come on inside and—wait.” Maggie Bell skidded to a stop on the pavement nearby, studying him with a frown. “Okay, either you’ve cut your hair in the past hour or you aren’t Aaron. Andrew?”

He smiled at her. “Hello, Maggie. Nice to see you again.”

“Wow.” She shook her head, tucking a strand of silky brown hair behind her left ear. “Now that I’ve spent a few days with your brother, it’s even more startling that you look so exactly alike. I’m sure you get tired of hearing that.”

He shrugged good-naturedly. “Part of the identical-twins thing. We don’t mind.”

“We didn’t even know you had an identical twin until Aaron showed up here,” she pointed out. “I’m not sure Pop believes even now that there are two of you.”

He chuckled. Having met her unconventional grandfather, he wasn’t surprised. The man everyone, even those who weren’t related, called Pop was renowned for both his practical jokes and his twisted logic, making it hard to tell when he was kidding and when he was serious. “Maybe he’ll believe it when he sees us standing side by side.”

Maggie looped a hand beneath his arm and laughed as she led him toward the door. “I wouldn’t even bet on that. Come on in, I’m sure we’ll find some of the family in the grill at this hour.”

Big double glass doors led into the main building. Stepping out of the hot summer day into the air-conditioned lobby, Andrew noted that nothing had changed since he’d last been here. Colorful mounted fish and antique lures displayed on wooden plaques decorated the walls, and lush greenery brought a touch of the outdoors inside. The reception desk faced the entrance, with the private upstairs offices accessible by a stairway and elevator behind the desk.

The Chimes Grill, decorated in retro ’50s red vinyl and chrome, opened to the right of the entryway of the building. As he’d expected, he saw that the diner was busy, most of the tables and bar stools filled with customers. Opposite the grill, a small convenience store was lined with shelves of groceries, souvenirs and camping and fishing supplies. At the back of the building lay the marina, where C. J. Bell—father to Steven, Shelby and Lori—sold bait, fuel, motor oil and other marine supplies; rented out fishing boats, ski boats, pontoon boats and personal watercraft; and kept an eye on the boat slips and fishing pier. Part-time employees helped the family with the various aspects of the resort, but the Bells were most definitely in charge, the responsibilities divided by personal interests.

Shelby’s younger sister Lori manned the reception desk at the moment. Andrew remembered her as being somewhat offbeat, with a penchant for trendy haircuts and colors and floaty smoke-colored clothing. Her hair was shaped in an asymmetrical wedge now, dyed black with bright blue streaks, and her clothes were charcoal- and dove-gray, proving her tastes hadn’t changed since he’d last seen her. She looked surprised when Maggie led him in, her dark-lined eyes darting from him to the diner and then back again, making him suspect his brother was inside.

“Look who’s here,” Maggie said. “It’s Andrew.”

Andrew would have stopped then to check for an availability in the motel, but Maggie almost dragged him into the diner before he and Lori had time to do much more than exchange nods of greeting.

“There’s your brother,” Maggie said, pointing to a table at the far side of the room. “I thought he might be in here. He usually comes in after work for a cold iced tea or lemonade before dinner.”

Aaron sat at a big table with Shelby, her brother, their uncle and Maggie’s father, Bryan Bell, and the oldest members of the Bell clan, “Pop” and “Mimi.” Shelby’s mother, Sarah, worked the grill. Her dad, C.J., was probably still back at the marina, which was his personal domain. Andrew suspected some of the others had offered to help Sarah, but as he recalled, she was as proprietary about her work space as the others were with their chosen roles. She kept the menu simple and limited so she could handle the demand herself under most circumstances.

Aaron spotted Andrew and Maggie before the others did. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he gave a little salute of recognition, making the others turn to look. Andrew was inundated with a babble of excited greetings, drawn to the table for a barrage of questions and welcomes.

“Would you look at the two of you standing side by side,” Mimi marveled with a shake of her silver head when Aaron rose to greet him. “I could tell you apart, of course, even if your hair was the same because I have a knack for that sort of thing, but I’m sure most people would have a difficult time.”

Blonde, curly-haired, blue-eyed and girl-next-door-cute, Shelby wrinkled her nose in response to her grandmother’s unlikely boast, sharing a smile with Aaron before holding out her right hand to Andrew. The hand-shaped bruise on her cheek was a solemn reminder of the ordeal she had survived. Andrew felt a wave of fury at the thought of someone hitting her; he could only imagine how his brother must feel every time he saw that mark.

“It’s good to see you,” she said, her characteristically cheerful spirit not notably dampened. “Did Aaron tell you I gave him a big hug the first time I saw him, thinking he was you?”

“No, he didn’t,” he replied with a laugh, tugging at her hand. “But I’ll take my hug now.”