She raised her eyebrows. “Well, I’m a good listener and I don’t blab. But I understand if you want to keep things to yourself.”
Oddly, he didn’t. Even more shocking, he trusted her not to spread the news. “Let’s sit,” he said, wanting her off her feet.
He lowered himself onto her couch, which he found more comfortable than the one in his house. “Cara thinks she’s pregnant,” he said, when they were settled in. “I spoke to her when we came back from Sara’s, and she was going to take the test and talk to Mike. But he hasn’t said anything, so I was wondering if she worked up the courage.”
Confusion crossed Nicole’s face. “Does Mike not want kids?”
Sam shrugged. “I’m pretty sure he wants the whole nine yards with Cara, but apparently any conversation they had about it involved it happening some time in the future. And they had a rough road getting together, so she was worried about how he’d take it.”
“Umm, I didn’t live here, so I don’t know what happened.”
“Right.” For some reason, he felt so connected to her, it was as if he’d had her in his life much longer. “Mike’s father isn’t Simon.” He’d already told her the bare-bones story but wanted to tell her more now. “Ultimately he left town. It was more complicated than that, but I’ll save those details for another day. Suffice it to say, Simon had always been in love with Mom and off
ered to marry her. We always knew Mike was Simon’s adopted son, but he never treated him any differently. Still, Mike had . . . I guess a shrink would call it abandonment issues, always felt different from us, like he didn’t live up. Until Dad got cancer last year, Mike was rarely home. Even when he came back as temporary chief, he didn’t plan to stay.”
A soft smile played around Nicole’s lips. “Until Cara.”
Sam inclined his head. “Until Serendipity got a hold of him, and Cara too. But he fought it the whole way. So she’s worried the baby will scare him off. Which will not happen.”
Nicole leaned against the sofa cushion and pulled her knees to her chest, her gaze never leaving Sam’s. “For two men raised in a loving home, you two sure go out of your way not to believe in the notion.”
Well, that was a fast turnaround, Sam thought, and squirmed being under the spotlight. But she had a fair point. “I guess it’s your own personal experience that defines a person more.”
“And what about your mom? She married Simon for security. Did she fight the whole love thing because she’d been hurt and abandoned by Mike’s real father?”
Sam’s head began to pound. “Not according to the legend of Ella and Simon,” he muttered, trying like hell to find a way out of this conversation.
“Interesting.” Nicole eyed him with curiosity but didn’t utter another word.
He decided conversation was preferable to this silent scrutiny. “Are you hungry?”
She laughed and rose to her feet. “Might as well eat. I told Aunt Lulu I’d be in this afternoon if I was up to it. But we aren’t getting deliveries until Monday, so I should be okay to rest up today.”
Subject dropped, just like that. Damn woman confused and confounded him. She told him, in so many words, she was in love with him; she asked pointed questions about his family and how he ended up not trusting in the notion, and then she left him alone with his thoughts.
“Crafty,” he muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He followed her to the kitchen, but the doorbell rang, interrupting her chance to eat. Again.
“Expecting anyone?” he asked.
She shook her head.
He made it to the door first and looked out. “Stanton,” he muttered, letting him in.
“Tyler! What are you doing here?” Nicole asked, coming up behind Sam.
Tyler pushed past Sam and headed straight for Nicole. “His brother called asking questions,” he said, glancing at Sam. “Mike told me you were in a car accident and they needed to rule out foul play.”
Nicole took a step back. “I’m okay. You didn’t need to drive all the way here to ask me that!”
“I also needed to come here and tell you that I’m going to wear the wire with my old man. Not you.”
“What wire?” Nicole asked, still in the dark because Sam hadn’t thought it was the right time to tell her yet.
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose and wondered if he’d go to jail if he decked Nicole’s ex. It might just be worth it.