1. Alex
1
ALEX
I thanked the ride-share driver, shouldered my duffel bag, and dug my house keys from the pocket of my BDUs. God, I was glad to be home. As I stood in front of the old McCallister place—the house that had basically been mine for the past few months—I tried to let the tension roll off me. It wouldn’t go. I needed solitude and time to recover from my last mission, the worst of my career—and not for any of the usual reasons.
I headed for the door, pausing to listen when I heard a dog barking. Maybe one of my neighbors had gotten a dog while I’d been gone, or maybe I had new neighbors. I’d have to check that out—it was always smart to be aware of one’s surroundings—but that could wait for a bit. After eight long months in the Middle East, I could at least take the rest of the day off before rechecking the surrounding area.
I shrugged off the barking and put my key in the lock, ready to get started on the R&R I’d promised myself, which would include some decision making about my future.
I shoved the door open and instantly sensed that something was off. I let the duffel drop to the floor as I scanned my surroundings. A woman’s purse hung from a hook near the door. There was something very familiar about the distinctive bag, navy blue with a small hot-air balloon embroidered on the flap. Soledad. I’d last seen it slung over her shoulder the day we broke up, before I left for my mission.
A book on a side table caught my attention next. What to Expect When You’re— What the hell?
Despite my reeling mind, my body reacted to the flash of movement to my right. With an iron grip I seized an arm, stopping its progress before it slammed something down on my head.
“Soledad?” I asked.
“Alex?” she whispered.
We’d spoken at the same time, eyes locked. Hers were deep brown with gold flecks. They were what had attracted me to her in the first place. She’d held me mesmerized when I’d been buying a new pair of jeans at the department store where she worked. She’d waited on me, flirting a bit, and I’d asked her out before my credit card even processed.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded breathlessly, lowering her arm and the weapon, which I now saw was a ceramic pot containing an Easter cactus.
“It’s my house,” I said, controlling my tone. “What are you doing here?” Before she could answer, my gaze slid from her face down her long neck to her breasts. How had I forgotten their fullness? Forgotten the valley between them and how I liked to…
A wave of lust rolled through me as I remembered the last time we’d made love, just up those stairs in the master bedroom. It had been bittersweet, both of us knowing the relationship was ending. The following morning she’d been gone from my life. But we’d been good together while it lasted, which had been way longer than any of my previous entanglements.
Maybe she’d agree to some “nice to see you again” sex. Nothing serious. I’d never wanted that, which is what had split us apart. But a hot fling might take my mind off my troubles.
Her eyes widened, and her face flushed. Was she reading my mind?
“Oh,” Soledad grunted, doubling over, her hands going to her stomach.
“Jesus,” I muttered, my eyes now glued to the large bump under her shirt. My lust disappeared. There was only one reason for that kind of belly on a woman who’d had the body of an athlete just months ago. My thoughts leaped back to the title of the book on the side table, the words processing in my head. What to Expect When You’re Expecting .
“Are you pregnant?” I got the question out despite the rushing noise in my head. Pregnant. Soledad was pregnant and living in my house. What the hell?
“No,” she gasped, still bent over. “I just swallowed…a basketball whole. Look at me. Of course I’m pregnant.”
Okay. Now what did I do? I was a decorated and highly trained SEAL. I could handle a pregnant woman, right? Because she seemed to need something. This couldn’t be normal behavior. I shoved aside the million questions in my brain and took her arm.
“You should sit down,” I said, trying to lead her toward the couch.
“No. Can’t.” She didn’t budge, shaking off my hand on her arm. “I think… oh, my gosh.” We both looked down to see fluid run down her legs from under the hem of her dress.
“Shit,” I said, temporarily stunned into inaction.
“My water broke,” she said as streams of liquid reached her knees.
Yeah, I’d figured that out. I shook myself, jarring my mind to think and my body to act. What was a rational question at that moment? Intel. I needed intel. “When are you due?”
“Last week. I’m overdue by eight days,” she explained, straightening a little and sounding far calmer than I felt. “You startled me. Maybe that spurred labor on. I don’t know, but I think this baby is coming. Now.”
“Don’t move,” I commanded, leaving her in the entryway and heading for the kitchen, where I’d left the keys to my truck on a hook when I deployed. I hoped like hell there was enough gas in the tank to get to the hospital—and that the battery wasn’t dead.
“Whoa, who are you?” Alex asked a knee-high brown-and-black dog that tucked its tail between its legs and backed away from me with a sharp bark.
“That’s Frankie,” Soledad called. “Come here, girl.”
I snagged the keys and returned to Soledad, who leaned over as best she could to stroke the dog’s ears.
“She’s yours?” I questioned, eyeing the animal. Soledad hadn’t had a pet while we’d dated.
“Yep. Frankie, meet Alex. Alex, this is Frankie.” Soledad spoke as though this was just a meet and greet and she wasn’t about to have a baby in the entry of my house.
“Later,” I said. “We need to get you to the hospital. Do you have a bag packed?” Wasn’t that what women did to prepare for the birth? It seemed logical.
“In the hall closet,” she said, holding on to her stomach again. “Light blue. On the floor.”
I went to the closet and retrieved a Nike athletic bag. Frankie followed my every move, pushing her nose against my leg, and I realized she posed a problem that had to be solved in the next two minutes. “Can we leave Frankie alone? Is she trained?”
“I already arranged for Gina to watch her when the baby came. Just go knock on her door.” Soledad reached for the bag, but I swung it over my shoulder.
“Who’s Gina?” I asked.
“Your neighbor,” Soledad said, shooting me a quizzical look. “Don’t you know her?”
I shrugged. “Never bothered much with the neighbors.” The house wasn’t technically mine. It belonged to the McCallisters—my cousins. They’d grown up here, but after their dad died and they’d inherited the place, they’d realized they didn’t really need it. It so happened that that was right around when my oldest brother, Zach, left the Navy and was looking for a place to stay in the area. Our cousins offered it up to him to stay in—rent free—for as long as he liked. He lived here for a stretch before moving in with his now-wife. My middle brother, Colin, also used it for a while when he left the Navy after adopting a baby—but it wasn’t long before he decided that he and his daughter needed somewhere new. After that, the only one staying here was me, when I wasn’t deployed. It wasn’t fancy, but it felt like home, and I liked having a place that was just mine.
Well, mine and Soledad’s, apparently. Just how long had she been living here? Long enough to know my neighbors better than I did.
“Which side?” I needed to meet my neighbor and dump the dog on her pronto if I was reading this situation correctly.
“I’ve got it.” Soledad pulled out her phone and dialed. “Hi, Gina. My water broke, so I’m going to the hospital. Can you come get Frankie?”
Soledad listened for a few seconds before speaking again. “No, I’m fine. Alex just arrived home, so he’ll take me. I appreciate it.” She clicked off and turned to me.
For a brief moment, I wondered if I’d suffered some sort of memory loss. Had I known about all this? The pregnancy? The dog? Had my relationship with Soledad ended differently than I remembered? Had I somehow suppressed vital information about us during my last mission?
“Oh, God. Another one.” Soledad doubled over with a contraction, bringing my thoughts back to the immediate issue.
“Hospital. Now.” I took her arm when she was able to stand up, calculating that I had a few minutes to get her in the truck before another contraction hit her. An older woman I supposed was Gina was striding across the lawn toward us when I got Soledad outside. “Dog’s in the house.”
“I’ll get her and lock up. Good luck, sweetie,” Gina said to Soledad.
I didn’t take time for the niceties. I could formally meet and thank my neighbor later. I keyed in the code for the garage door and got Soledad into the truck, reaching around to buckle her in before going to the driver’s side.
Thankfully, the truck started right up. As I backed out of the driveway and planned the fastest route to the hospital, my mind spun with another concern. The one I hadn’t let myself fully acknowledge until then. Was this baby my child? I did some quick math. Highly likely, I decided, considering Soledad and I had dated exclusively for several months prior to my last deployment.
Later I’d ask the questions and figure it out. For now, I sped toward the hospital, hoping for light traffic and a string of green lights. Soledad made a call to her obstetrician’s office to let them know she was in labor. Other than that, she said nothing on the drive, but I could hear her trying to manage the pain by breathing through the contractions. She was making the sounds I associated with birth scenes in movies, but this wasn’t a movie. This appeared to be my life.
With the ruthless concentration I’d learned as a SEAL, I controlled my emotions and focused on the task at hand. After the ten-minute drive, I whipped into the driveway of the red brick structure and pulled up to the emergency room entrance. An orderly came out with a wheelchair for Soledad. By the time I parked and jogged in, she was at a reception window. Her face was covered with a sheen of sweat as she huffed out rapid breaths, but she was safely at the hospital. My job, at least for now, was done.
I glanced toward the waiting room, expecting to remain there, but the nurse talking to Soledad waved me over and soon let me know that she had a different idea.
“That’s right. Just breathe. You’re doing great.” The steely-haired woman with a name tag that read “Marge” turned to me. “I have a few questions. What was she dilated to at her last appointment, and when was that?”
I stared at the woman, wishing I knew the answers, but this was a language I didn’t speak.
“Three,” Soledad grunted, “and it was on Tuesday.”
“History of high blood pressure?”
“No,” Soledad said.
“Complications with the pregnancy?” Marge asked, checking off boxes on a clipboard.
What is it with the questions? I wanted to demand. Just take her to a room before she has the baby right there.
“No. Totally normal.”
“We’ll get you upstairs right away. Dr. Shaffer called to say he was on the way. You come up with us.” Marge assessed my uniform. “Looks like you just made it. You’re the father, I assume.”
What could I answer? Maybe? I don’t know? Christ, I hated being out of the loop and out of my comfort zone. Everything about this situation made me feel lost, but I had to respond.
“He is.” Soledad spoke before I could and held out her hand to me.
I didn’t hesitate to take it. As I gripped her fingers like a lifeline, everything else drained away for a moment. I was going to be a father. Today. Something I never expected to be, something I was scared shitless of being.
What the hell did I know about being a dad? My own had been no example.
Soledad gave me a tiny smile, and I put away the worry, replacing it with determination. Whatever happened, I’d be there for my kid and Soledad.