Surprise Dad (11 page)

D
INNER AT
Daniel’s house always included a soccer game. Boys were everywhere, running, laughing and playing. In the middle of the commotion was the family dog, barking and running around the backyard.

Today, in addition to Mike and Brian, there were Ian, Daniel, Lilah, the foster boys and a few of their friends, Lilah’s son Jonathan, and Jesse, the elderly ex-Marine who helped care for the boys.

No wonder Allie hadn’t wanted to come. There wasn’t room.

Mike settled on the back stoop and watched the soccer game. Brian sat on his lap, apparently delighted at all the sights and sounds around him.

“He’s going to be walking in a few months,” Lilah said, sitting next to him. “Maybe sooner. And then after walking comes running.”

Mike shuddered. “I have enough trouble keeping up with him when he crawls. I can’t even think about running.”

Daniel came over and stood by his wife. “Ha, that’s nothing. Wait until he learns to drive a car.”

That was it. “Now you’re just trying to bug me,” he told Daniel.

“True.” He leaned down and took Brian from Mike. “He seems to be settling in okay.”

Mike shrugged. “I guess. I hope so. We seem to be doing fine, but I worry all the time. Like at any second something could go wrong.”

“It could,” Ian said.

“Ian!” Lilah scolded him. “Just keep an eye on him. Babies and toddlers are curious, but they don’t have a smidgen of common sense. And you have no idea how fast they can move when they’re motivated.”

Mike sighed. “That’s what I’m worried about. I tend to get to thinking about food and the restaurant and go off into my own world.”

“When you hear a loud crash, you’ll come right back into this one,” Ian said.

“Ian, you’re scaring him,” Lilah said.

“He can’t scare me,” Mike said. “I’m already scared.”

Daniel laughed. “Don’t worry. Your protective instincts will kick in, and pretty soon you’ll be able to think food and Brian at the same time.”

“You’re doing a great job, Mike,” Lilah said. “Let up on yourself.”

As if to agree, Brian waved his arms and smiled, two deep dimples forming on his face. The kid was cute, and from what he’d read in The Book, learning at a rate well above the average. Besides, he rarely cried, slept well and ate like a champ.

Maybe that was why Mike couldn’t shake the feeling that such a great kid deserved so much more than he had to offer.

“Allie’s around to help,” Daniel said. “She’ll make certain you do what you need to do.”

“Remember, Allie won’t be here long.” It was a reminder to himself as well as to Daniel. “She’ll go back to college in January.”

“You’ll find another nanny by then,” Daniel said. “There’s nobody like Allie, though, so treasure her while you can.”

Treasure Allie
. He did. He loved being around her, enjoyed talking with her and respected her opinions. He shouldn’t have kissed her, but there she’d been, so close, looking up at him and so beautiful in the sunlight…

It was the
while you can
part that made him reluctant to get any closer to her, physically or emotionally. She’d be gone in January, and he’d still be here. He’d always be here. He was aware of his own vulnerability, the longing for love to replace the love his parents hadn’t shown toward him. He loved his brothers, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t let himself get to the point that Allie’s leaving would break his heart, make him feel again like the neglected child he’d been.

Mike noticed that Brian was sagging in Daniel’s arms, fighting to keep his eyes open. He took the baby from Daniel and put him to bed in the portable crib he always had with him, stashed in the back of the wagon just in case. Brian went right to sleep, so Mike went back outside, leaving the door open so he could hear if Brian started to cry.

“My life used to be so simple,” Mike said when he sat back down on the steps. “Downstairs in the morning, upstairs at night…”

“Sounds dull,” Ian said.

“Yeah, well, now your life is interesting,” Daniel pointed out. “And an interesting life beats a dull one any day.”

Mike considered what his brother had said as he watched the soccer game. The boys were running, the dog was barking and general pandemonium reigned. Daniel’s life was way too interesting for him.

But maybe a small dose of “interesting” really was a good thing. He and Brian were getting along okay. And Allie…well, Allie added a very special kind of interesting element to his life, one he would always remember.

A
LLIE WAS TERRIFIED
, and it was her own fault. When she’d gotten home from dinner with her mother, she’d been restless. What she’d really wanted to do was go to Daniel’s house and see if she was in time for dessert. But she knew that would be foolish—and more than a little desperate—so she’d settled on the couch and put the only DVD left over from the sale into the player.

Surprisingly and unfortunately, Mrs. Langston was a horror-film buff, so now Allie was huddled in the corner of the couch, an afghan half hiding her face as she watched
The Shining
.

“You’re an idiot,” she told herself. She didn’t have to watch it. All she had to do was turn it off. But here she was, still watching it.

A car pulled up in front of her house. In any other circumstance she wouldn’t even have heard it, but now, in her state of terror, she cast her eyes wildly around the room for a suitable weapon, heavy, scary-looking, but non-lethal. When she heard footsteps coming toward the house, she stopped considering options and hoisted a yard-sale reject, Mrs. Langston’s flowered metal umbrella stand, over her head.

As she expected—a slow, ominous knocking at the door. Weapon at the ready, she peered through the peephole in the door to see in the porch light that the wicked supernatural creature she was ready to take on was, in fact, Mike, with Brian on his hip and a box in his other hand, which explained why he’d had difficulty knocking.

She was even more thrilled to see him than usual. She opened the door, feeling idiotic. “Hi,” she said lamely, ushering them in.

Mike’s gaze gravitated to the umbrella stand she still
clutched in her arms. “Rearranging the accessories?” he asked her.

“Oh. No. Things got a bit scattered after the sale. I’m just…umm, what brings you here?”

“Lilah wanted you to have some leftovers from dinner tonight. She insisted I stop by on my way home,” Mike said, carrying the box to the kitchen. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind free food? Cooked by somebody else? Who could mind?” Allie took the plastic storage containers from the box. Inside she found leftover meat loaf, potatoes and green beans.

“Wow, she must really think I need food,” Allie said as she placed the dishes in the refrigerator.

“No, it was her none-too-subtle ploy to get me to stop by and check on you,” Mike said, not looking unhappy about his fate.

“Oh, really? Now why would she want to do that?”

Mike met her gaze straight-on. “I think she’s matchmaking.”

Allie was almost holding her breath when she asked, “How do you feel about that?”

“How do
you
feel about it?”

Truthfully, Allie wasn’t sure. “It’s sweet that she’s interested. I think she just wants everybody to be as happy as she and Daniel are.”

Mike just looked at her for a moment, his gaze so intent it felt like a touch. Allie took a step toward him, but Brian, who was sleepy and fussing, flung his arms at her, so instead of her latching on to Mike, Brian latched on to her.

“I think he’s hungry,” she said when he began chewing on her shirt.

“Hungry for his fourth or fifth meal of the day. Mind if I feed him something before I leave?”

“Not at all. In fact, why don’t I put out a snack for us, too.” She hesitated. “Want some pie? You could stay for a while. I was watching a movie—” she hesitated again “—sort of. You could watch it, too.”

Mike nodded. “Sure. You were ‘sort of’ watching it? How does somebody—”

“I’ll hold him while you get the things from the car,” she said hurriedly.

While she distracted Brian, Mike went to the car and brought in the portable crib and a diaper bag. They soon had the baby changed, fed and sitting sleepily in his crib, which they put right beside the couch where they sat side-by-side, eating wedges of apple pie Allie had warmed in the oven while they were taking care of Brian.

“This is a terrific pie. Did you make it?” Mike asked her.

“Are you kidding? Mom sent the leftovers home with me. I did make one once. I could have piled the apples in a box and it would have tasted just as good.”

He laughed. “What movie were you ‘sort of’ watching?”

“
The Shining
. Want me to start it over?”

Mike shook his head. “No, I’ve seen it several times. Just start where you left off.”

While Mike carried their empty plates to the kitchen, Allie, already longing for her afghan shield, resumed playing the movie. Mike settled next to her on the couch, and soon he was engrossed in the film.

Allie was thinking that she couldn’t pull up the afghan in front of Mike, and she couldn’t suggest an
alternative entertainment option, when she noticed that Brian had fallen asleep.

“I don’t think he likes the movie,” she whispered.

Mike dimmed the table lamp near the crib. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

She hoped he never would. He was missing Jack Nicholson chasing his family, a trauma that would never happen to him. She couldn’t stand it anymore. She grabbed the afghan and turned her face to one side, where Mike’s shoulder loomed not an inch away.

“I can’t watch,” she moaned.

“Scaredy cat,” Mike said.

“I hate horror movies.” She pulled the afghan up tighter.

“Then why are you watching it?”

“It was all I had, and I needed something to distract me.”

She looked up and found Mike watching her intently. She could see desire on his face, and felt the same flame of awareness race through her.

“Distract you from what?” he said, and his voice was hoarse.

“Oh, things,” she said distractedly, “things like—”

“I should take Brian home now,” he said in that same crackly, hesitant voice.

Of course he should. The sensible side of her knew that. But she couldn’t hear her sensible voice speaking to her, only the sensual one, and she listened to it, wanting him more than she could bear.

Their eyes met and held, and gazing at him, she knew there was only one right thing to do. “Don’t leave,” she whispered, leaning up and brushing his lips with hers. “Stay here with me.”

Allie knew Mike wanted to stay, and knew he shouldn’t. She knew she shouldn’t have asked him, but she couldn’t help herself.

“All we can count on having, Mike, is
now,
” she whispered. “Time’s going fast. I’ll go back to school, and you have earthshaking decisions of your own to make. We don’t know what will happen, so we have to make the most of the time we have.”

Whether it was because she’d convinced him or because he no longer had the willpower to resist, Allie wasn’t sure, but he wordlessly gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeply.

She’d never felt so cherished, so adored, as she did with him. His kisses were slow and leisurely, his intent to please her obvious.

She broke away from him, stood and took his hand. Her gaze still locked on his, she led him to her bedroom. Once there, she turned and kissed him again. She was starving for him, but she wanted to savor this moment, wanted to remember every second of it.

Slowly she helped him with his clothes, and shivered with pleasure as he slid hers away from her. Together on the softness of the sheets, she explored his body, loving the feel of his skin, the taste of his kisses. He kissed
her softly, shifting so he could run his hands down her body, caressing every curve, making her breath catch in her throat.

“I’ve dreamed about this,” he said softly. “Since you came back, I’ve been fighting not to touch you, not to kiss you.”

“Don’t fight anymore,” she said, gasping slightly when he trailed his lips across her right breast.

He made a low moaning sound and captured her taut nipple between his lips. He slid one hand across her abdomen, settling between her legs. His touch was magic, teasing and stroking Allie until she was desperate for release. Slowly he fanned the flames of her desire until she felt ready to explode.

When she couldn’t take it any longer, she opened the drawer in her bedside nightstand and took out a condom. He shot her a quizzical look.

“I’ve been hoping my dreams would eventually turn into reality,” she said simply.

Her confession earned her a kiss, and then another. Finally, when she thought she couldn’t take the torment any longer, he joined their bodies. Nothing had ever felt so right, so perfect, as being with him. They moved as if they’d been making love for years, their bodies in tune with each other. When she was desperate for breath, he made one last thrust, bringing them both to the release they so desperately craved.

Afterward, they lay quietly, Allie cuddled within the circle of his arms, contentment filling her. Tonight had been wonderful. More than wonderful. Her last thought before she fell asleep was that even if what she had with Mike couldn’t last forever, she finally knew what it was like to love someone completely.

T
HE SOUND
of Brian whimpering woke Mike. He opened his eyes, and then wanted to close them again. Allie. He’d slept with Allie. It had been wonderful and amazing, but he also worried it had been a mistake. What if he ended up hurting her?

He would never hurt her. He had to face up to it. What he was worrying about was
her
hurting
him
. Later, when Allie woke up, he’d talk to her about never repeating what happened last night. He’d have to be very clear about that.

He climbed out of bed, got dressed and went to check on Brian. With ease, after so many weeks of practice, he soon had the baby diapered. He carried Brian on his hip as he went back to the bedroom.

Allie was awake and dressed. She smiled at him.

“Good morning,” she said brightly.

Mike opened his mouth to tell her that last night was a mistake, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he crossed the room and kissed her.

So much for making it clear.

“Good morning,” Mike said. “Sorry about—”

Allie laughed. “Don’t say it.” Her voice quieted. “It was a wonderful night. I’ll never forget it.”

Neither would he. Would he have the strength to stop at one wonderful night? He had a feeling he wouldn’t.

“We have to go home,” he said.

The brightness faded from her face.

“We don’t want to go home, but we have to.”

“But…why?”

He moved closer, looked into her eyes and said, “Because, beautiful woman, my car has been parked outside your house all night. If we leave right now, we might get away with it.”

Her eyes widened. “I never thought of that. The
telephone brigade could spread the news all over the valley by noon.”

“Right. So I’m going home, and—”

“Will you ever come back?”

“I shouldn’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did.” He smiled at her, ran his hand over her hair then cupped her chin with his hand. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I went home, improved on Brian’s and my grooming and then came back here to pick you up. For a nice day with Brian’s nanny.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You sound like a man with experience in this sort of thing.”

“Yes,” he said, “and this is it. My experience.” He tapped his forehead. “I just think fast.”

She laughed at him. “Go, then. I’ll see you later.”

Mike packed Brian’s things in the car and went back for the baby. Driving home, he knew he was the happiest he’d ever been, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he shouldn’t have let last night happen.

A
LLIE SPENT
all day Sunday with Mike and Brian. Maury and the interns ran the diner, and Mike only called three times and stopped in twice to check on them. “Taking a day off with Brian,” he’d explained to them early in the morning, “with Allie along for moral support.”

They went for a drive in the country to admire the leaves, stopped by a cold, clear stream for a picnic lunch Allie had put together from Lilah’s leftovers—meat loaf sandwiches being the main course and her mother’s pie for dessert. They listened to the water bubbling over the rocks while they ate, and spent the rest of the afternoon at her house watching Brian pull himself up on the furniture.

“He’ll be walking before you know it,” she marveled.

“Lilah already warned me,” Mike said, and his glum tone of voice made her laugh.

During these innocent pursuits, her body zinged with sexual energy. She wanted more of him, so much more, and soon. Mike cooked dinner—a simple but wonderful pasta dish with white clam sauce, and then they watched a G-rated movie on TV with Brian cuddled between them. When he fell asleep, they nestled him into his crib and moved as one body toward Allie’s bed. Being with Mike was wonderful. He made her feel sexy and empowered and alive.

He went home even earlier this time, but this time she understood, and insisted he leave Brian, his car seat and his overstocked diaper bag with her rather than waking him up. She could see the headline now—“Nanny keeps baby overnight because Dad has an exceptionally early morning.” She hoped that take on the situation would fly with the neighbors.

At the appropriate time, she took Brian directly to Mike’s apartment and settled him into his usual routine. Even as she played with him on the floor, fed him, bathed him and snuggled him, she couldn’t get her mind off Mike.

“You have a great dad,” she told Brian when he was crawling toward a covered electrical socket. He paused and turned to look at her.

“You’re a lucky boy, and I’m a lucky woman.”

“Gah,” he said, going right back for the socket.

Allie laughed and scooped him up off the floor. “Exactly. Gah.”

Just before dinner, Mike came upstairs. As soon as he walked in, she could tell something was on his mind.

“I have to go to New York next week to talk to the Abernathy company,” he said. “Stein called this morning and explained they need to start moving forward if we’re going to go through with it.”

“New York? Next week?” Allie pulled herself together. She needed to be excited for Mike. “That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to hear what they have to tell you.”

Mike didn’t seem all that thrilled. “I’ll have to leave early Tuesday morning and come back on Thursday. If they can’t explain it to me in two days, either I’m too dumb, or they’re too unorganized to franchise the diner.”

She smiled at him, hoping he couldn’t guess what she was thinking. He’d only be gone for two days, but she’d miss him every second he was away. She needed to get used to it. After all, if he accepted Abernathy’s offer and took an active role with the company, he might have to move to New York.

Surely not. He couldn’t give up the diner, could he? Wouldn’t he always be here while other people ran the franchises? He’d have to be here. He was devoted to his brothers. He must know that Maury would be devastated without him.

The valley depended on him. Mike’s Diner was their second kitchen, their spot for birthday and anniversary dinners, their caterer for even more special occasions.

And she needed him to be here when she came home for visits. If a miracle happened, he might still be here waiting for her when she’d done what she had to do.

All this went through her head in a split second before she said, “You know you don’t have to worry about anything here. In fact, I can take care of Brian either at my house or here.”

“Your house is fine,” Mike said. “I appreciate you doing this.”

“I love taking care of him,” she said, and then, because she couldn’t help herself, “You’ll keep in touch, won’t you?” Hearing the longing in her own voice, she added, trying to sound as if she cared only about the information, “I’ll be very interested to know what you’re learning.”

His gaze met hers and held it. “I’ll keep in touch.” He said it softly, and then did an abrupt change and said, “Now you’d better stop working, young lady. I can’t afford overtime.”

Allie laughed, glad the tone had lightened. “I’ll punch out on the time clock.”

“Or,” he said, sounding almost shy, “you might like to stay a while and bring Brian down for dinner.”

The look in his eyes told her he’d like her to stay for more than dinner. “Why, thank you,” she said. “On the house, I hope?”

“Oh, yes,” he said. “Definitely on the house.”

O
VER THE
next few days, Mike’s life settled into a pattern. He’d work in the diner during the day and then spend the evening with Allie and Brian. In the back of his mind, he was still worried about holding Allie back from her career plans, or hurting her by neglecting her because he was too busy, but she was so adamant that she understood the risks that he pushed aside his misgivings.

One way or another, their relationship would end in a few months. So he just had to take her word for it that they could “enjoy the moment.”

His life only improved when, a few days later, Barney returned to the diner. As was his due, he was greeted
with the same fanfare accorded to a visit from the governor. Becky and Colleen had made a handprinted sign out of white butcher’s paper to hang over the restaurant doorway.
Barney’s Back!
it shouted in huge black letters.

The waitresses hugged him. The interns stammered their names, clearly intimidated by him. A delivery from a florist arrived. It was a cactus plant, and the gift card read You’re prickly, but you make a great burger. And it was signed by Elaine Hendricks.

Well, well. This got more interesting every day.

Barney muttered, “Where the heck did they get a cactus plant in Vermont?” But his eyes twinkled even as he went on mumbling and grumbling. He was clearly pleased by the fuss everyone was making over him.

He hadn’t lost any of his skills, either. Mike watched him flipping eggs and marveled at his competence. Something settled down inside him, making him feel that life might go back to normal.

Normal plus Brian.

Normal plus Brian and an excited feeling at the mere sight of Allie.

All of which unsettled him an hour later when Allie brought Brian down to meet the legendary Barney. “Well, young man,” Barney said, “nice to meet you. Want some eggs and sausage with a biscuit?”

“No,” Mike and Allie said in chorus.

“Next year?”

“Maybe.”

Daniel’s phone call was an ugly bump in an otherwise promising day.

“Of course he’ll be fine with Allie,” his brother said firmly after Mike had confirmed the rumor that he was
going to New York, “as long as both of them go along with you.”

Mike took the portable outside, preparing for an argument. “I thought he was supposed to have a stable environment,” he reminded Daniel, feeling pretty smug, because for once, he thought he had his brother strung up in his own web.

“He is, but it’s more important for him to be with you.”

At least Daniel hadn’t used the word
bond
. Mike sighed. “You think Brian has to go to New York with me.”

“And Allie, so she can take care of him while you’re doing business.”

Mike had a suspicious feeling about Daniel’s insistence. It was one thing for his sister-in-law to be matchmaking, but his own brother? Didn’t they understand how impossible the match was on a long-term basis? Still, he couldn’t help feeling a rush of heat at the thought of being alone—well, more alone than they’d ever been—in New York with Allie.

“Allie said she’d take care of Brian here. I think that’s the best idea.”

“I think they should go with you. I bet Allie would jump at the chance. Ask her,” Daniel said.

Daniel had a point. Maybe Allie would like to come to New York. He constantly worried about taking advantage of her, and now here was something nice he could do for her. “Okay, okay, I’ll ask what she’d like to do.”

“You do that,” Daniel said, his voice stern. “Be sensitive to her feelings.”

Mike knew his brother well enough to know what he was saying. Daniel had figured out there was a change
in Mike’s relationship with Allie, and he, like everyone else in town, didn’t want to see her hurt.

Neither did Mike. “I said I’d ask if she wants to go.”

“And if she says yes?”

Mike blew out a sigh. “I’ll make sure she has a wonderful time.”

Daniel seemed appeased. “Good. Because Allie deserves to be treated well.”

“I know.” He hung up the phone and went up to the apartment. Allie was reading a book while Brian napped. When he walked in, she gave him a bright smile and said, “Hi, what brings you upstairs?”