BRIAN HAD LEFT Tag’s home in the middle of the night and returned to the Lucky 7 with his tail between his legs, like the scared animal he was. Her accusations had hit far too close to home. Tag had made him take a hard look at his behavior, and he had to admit, she’d been right.
He needed to find the courage to take that test. And he needed to live with the results, whatever they were.
Brian had spent the past six weeks increasing his upper body strength to compensate for the weakness in his legs, and strengthening his left leg to compensate for the weakness in the right. He’d been eating a diet filled with protein and healthy carbohydrates and just the right amount of fat. He was as ready as he would ever be. He’d talked to the chief at the fire station and scheduled a Work Capacity Test for the first day the ground was dry after the New Year.
He missed Tag.
Night. Day. Every day. She was never out of his mind. He’d promised himself he would see her again—and thank her—as soon as he’d taken his test.
Brian had finally begun to believe that what he’d thought was impossible, when he’d woken up in the hospital and seen his damaged leg, might be achieved. He’d set up a course in the barn for all the tests he had to pass, except climbing three flights of stairs. He had only two flights and ran up and down them twice. He’d conquered each challenge, one by one.
It hadn’t been easy. He’d suffered cramps and pain in his injured leg. He’d had setbacks. He’d gotten discouraged. But he hadn’t let anything deter him. He’d remembered the look on Tag’s face the last time he’d seen her, gritted his teeth, and kept going.
The question was whether he could accomplish everything he needed to do within the required five minutes.
“Hey, Brian!” Aiden shouted up the stairs. “It’s Christmas for Christ’s sake. Give it a rest. Ten minutes till dinner is served.”
Brian had set up free weights in his bedroom and worked with them every spare moment. He dropped the weights and headed to the shower. He was in and out in five minutes, and used the other five to dress in a starched, white oxford-cloth shirt, tooled leather belt, creased Levi’s, and his Sunday best ostrich cowboy boots.
He took the stairs two at a time, stopping halfway down when he realized what he’d just done. A grin split his face. He’d trusted his leg not to buckle and hadn’t thought twice about it. He was ready for that test.
He made it to the table as Aiden was setting a turkey in front of his father to be carved. He took his place and realized both Connor and Devon were missing.
He looked at his watch. “It’s twelve o’clock. Where is everybody?”
His father glared at him. “Where do you think?”
Brian had assumed, with good reason, that his two younger brothers would show up with their wives and Connor’s kids. Christmas dinner, at precisely twelve o’clock, was a family tradition they’d observed all their lives. He turned to Aiden for an answer. “Well? Where are they?”
“Connor and Devon are celebrating the season with the Grayhawks.”
Brian’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?”
“Would I kid about a thing like that?” Aiden said. “They’ll all be here for supper tonight. By ‘all’ I mean Devon will be here with Pippa and Connor will be here with Eve and the kids.”
Brian turned to his father. “You’re on board with this?”
His father scowled. “I don’t have much choice, do I, if I want to see my sons and grandkids? Connor won’t bring my grandkids if his wife isn’t welcome, and Devon and Pippa won’t show up if Connor isn’t coming.”
“Are we having leftovers tonight, or starting over with a brand-new turkey?” Brian asked.
His father grimaced and then guffawed.
Aiden turned to Brian and said, “I’m glad you’ve got your sense of humor back. My advice is eat all the turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing you want, because we’re having ham and sweet potatoes and green beans for supper.” He lifted an amused brow and explained. “They’re Brooke’s favorite.”
I could have invited Tag, Brian thought. I still could.
But what would she think, getting an invitation like that out of the blue? He hadn’t called her in six weeks. She’d want some sort of explanation for why he was calling now.
I miss you. I love you. I need you.
He wasn’t ready to say those things yet. He wanted to show her that he’d met the challenge she’d given him. He wanted to qualify as a firefighter first. And he wanted the chance to spend time with her before they had to face his father and brothers as a couple. Better to let well enough alone.
Brian smiled at his father and said, “Are you going to carve that bird or sit there looking at it?”
Angus carved the bird.
Brian ate till he was as stuffed as the turkey and retired to the great room with Aiden to watch football. Angus disappeared into his office.
“I’m proud of you,” Aiden said during a break in play.
Brian groaned and rubbed his belly. “You should be. I think I ate half that bird.”
“You know what I mean. I knew you had it in you to beat this thing. You couldn’t have become a smoke jumper if you were the kind of man who quit when the going got tough.”
“I might have quit,” Brian admitted, “if Tag hadn’t given me a swift kick in the butt.”
“After what I saw when we found you in the wilderness, I have a lot of respect for her. Sounds like you do, too, if you made all this effort to get her approval.”
“Tag made me take a good look at myself and decide what I really wanted.”
“And that’s being a firefighter?”
Brian nodded. “And Tag. I want Tag.”
“Six months ago I would have said marrying a Grayhawk woman was a long shot. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’d never have believed the old man would agree to have a couple of Grayhawks to the house for supper.”
“Except, they’re not Grayhawks anymore, are they? They’re Flynn wives,” Brian said. “Speaking of which, is your wife coming to supper?”
Aiden hissed in a breath. “Keep your voice down.”
“There’s no one here but us. What’s happening between the two of you?”
“Nothing. Which is the problem.”
“She hasn’t forgiven you?”
“Not yet.”
“Do you think she will?”
“I’m working on it.”
“I’m really sorry, Aiden.”
“It’s water under the bridge.”
“Are you going to see her today?”
Aiden shook his head. “Drop it, okay?”
Brian held up both hands. “It’s dropped.”
The football game wasn’t over yet, and supper was still a long way off, when Brian heard a commotion in the kitchen. “Who do you suppose that is?”
“Hell if I know,” Aiden replied.
A moment later, Connor and Devon entered the great room. Connor plopped onto the couch next to Brian. Devon settled himself on the floor next to Aiden’s chair with his legs sprawled in front of him.
“Where are your wives?” Aiden asked.
“Pippa’s upstairs in my old room taking a nap,” Devon replied.
“Eve took the kids out to the barn to see that new batch of kittens,” Connor said.
Brian hadn’t taken his eyes off the screen, since the Broncos were playing, and they were still undefeated. But he had the odd feeling that he was being watched. He glanced sideways and saw Connor looking at him with something like awe. He shifted his gaze to Devon and saw confusion and disbelief. He shot a look at Aiden, whose gaze was still focused on the game.
He turned back to Devon and said, “Why are you staring at me like that?”
When Brian confronted Devon, Aiden turned and looked at his two youngest brothers with a question in his eyes.
“You don’t know, do you?” Devon said.
“I don’t think he does,” Connor said, never taking his eyes off Brian.
“Know what?” Brian said. “Stop the bullshit, and tell me what’s going on.”
Devon and Connor exchanged glances.
“Do you know what this is all about?” Brian asked Aiden.
“Beats me. What’s going on, guys? Spill.”
“You want to tell him?” Devon asked.
“Maybe you better do it,” Connor said.
“Tell me what?” Brian snapped. “Out with it! Now!”
“Taylor’s pregnant,” Devon blurted.
Brian opened his mouth to say, “That’s impossible,” and closed it again. When had it happened? In the cave? Surely he would have noticed the signs when he’d been living with her, if it had happened that long ago. She would have—
Brian thought back to the rounded belly that had been pressed against him the last night he’d spent with her.
Had she been pregnant then? Had that extra curve in her belly been a baby growing inside her? Or had she gotten pregnant, God forbid, the night he’d walked out on her?
He closed his eyes and groaned.
It dawned on him that his brothers might be mistaken. His eyes snapped open, and he focused his gaze on Connor. “How do you know Tag’s pregnant?”
“Hell, Brian. She announced it at Christmas dinner, in front of God and everybody.”
“How did she seem when she said it?” Brian asked. “Was she mad? Or sad? Or glad?”
“Hard to tell,” Connor admitted. “She was late getting there, and she didn’t say much during dinner. It happened when she was leaving. Her twin said something about being relieved that Taylor had broken up with you, because she couldn’t have stood having one more Flynn at the table—”
“And Taylor said there’d been another Flynn at the table the whole time. The one in her belly,” Devon finished.
All the blood drained from Brian’s face. He thought he might faint.
I’m going to be a father.
Why hadn’t Tag said something? Why had she told her family before she’d told him? What did it mean? And, Lord in heaven, what should he do now?