Delta's Baby Surprise (Special Forces Elite 1)
Page 36
“I’m not that guy, doc.”
“I know you’re not.” I touched his hand, feeling the warmth of his skin. “But what you’re asking is for me to take a leap of faith that scares me to death. As much as I want to believe you, it’s hard. It’s hard to trust you’re going to come back.”
He took my hands in his and rose from the bed, pulling me to my feet.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to show you I’m coming back.” His eyes blazed. “I want you to have my baby, doc.”
I gasped. “What?”
“I don’t care about a stupid diagnosis. I don’t care what your doctor told you. You’re going to have my baby.”
I felt my stomach do a somersault. I was speechless.
He kissed me on my cheek. “I’ll give you some more time, but don’t take too much. I want to work on that baby before I leave.”
He opened the door to walk out of the room, and winked.
The door closed, my knees wobbled and I reached for the bed so I didn’t fall. I didn’t know if I’d ever catch my breath again. Did he really say that? A baby? A marriage? I shook my head.
My name was announced on the intercom. “Dr. Forrest, paging Dr. Forrest.”
“Shit,” I muttered. I had to get my act together. I needed to get my head back in the game.
Nineteen
Brett
I hiked through the woods after I returned from the hospital. It was a chance to clear my head. I needed to reconnect with the land.
I didn’t know how much time I had to convince Gretchen everything between us was real. What we had was real. Standing there in the emergency room, my hands ached to hold her. My chest tightened when she walked in the room. But I forced myself to control the situation. It was more important to convince that together we could have everything..
The look in her eyes ripped through me.
The family leaders had resisted my attempts to stop the land absorption. I should have suspected. It was their excuse to take control of more land, build their fortunes, exert their force over the others in the area.
But I had another two weeks before I had to bring Gretchen to the next meeting and present her as my fiancée. They wouldn’t be able to deny me then. I stared off the cliff into the distance. She had to agree. She would. She was as deeply mine as I was hers. I closed my eyes, inhaling the cool wind.
All my life I had been searching for something. I thought I had found my calling with the Special Forces unit. I saved lives. I kept the country safe. It took all my energy and focus to lead my team, but ever since I had met Gretchen I was hungry for something else.
I threw a branch off the path and hiked forward. Gretchen had changed everything. Slowly, I was starting to think about what it would be like to stay in Havenville. What it would be like to raise kids with her. What it would be like to take my official position my family’s leader, instead of always shoving it off on someone else.
I watched an eagle soar in front of me. I always thought I used my strength as a Delta, but maybe what I did was use it as my excuse not to embrace what I always had right in front of me.
I shook my head. One thing at time. First, I had to get her back.
Gretchen
I gripped the steering wheel. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I must have lost my mind. Too many night shifts had warped my sense of reality. But I knew what I felt.
I knew I shouldn’t have been surprised when I saw him standing on the front porch. He always seemed to know when a car was in the driveway. He had a sixth sense, or just amazing Delta skills.
I slid out from behind the driver side and strolled on the sidewalk.
“Hey.” He grinned from the porch.
“Hey.” I walked to the front steps.
It was there—the pull I felt every time I saw him. Only now I knew it wasn’t because of the intense pheromones we shared. It was love linking them together, bonding us like no two other beings. It was the promise he made to give me a baby and a family. Brett looked at me as if I were whole. He never thought I was broken.