Chapter 4

 

Patrick tossed the football to Evan on the beach that afternoon, watching it spiral through the air. The kids ran and shrieked in the surf beside him, the sun beating down on the sand and glistening off the sparkling water. A gust of wind blew in from the ocean, and he grinned, enjoying the spray of salt water as another wave crashed onto the shore. His gaze drifted toward the dry sand fifty feet away, landing on Rebecca and Alison resting on beach chairs under a striped beach umbrella.

Rebecca waved when she spotted him watching her and blew him a kiss.

“You’re in a damn good mood,” Evan commented.

Patrick’s gaze flicked back toward his buddy. “Hell of a day,” he said as he easily caught the pass Evan tossed back at him. He gripped the football, lining up his fingers on the laces without a second thought and spiraling it back toward his teammate.

“You tell the kids?” Evan asked as he caught Patrick’s pass.

“Nah. Too soon.”

“Dad!” Logan shrieked from the water a few feet away as he jumped up and down. “I saw a fish! A fish!”

Patrick chuckled at the tiny school of fish jumping out of the water as another wave rolled in, glistening in the sunlight. He’d have to take Logan fishing again soon. Abby, too, although she hadn’t seemed interested at all whenever he’d mentioned the idea.

The sand shifted beneath his feet as the cool water rushed back out into the ocean, and he squinted up at the afternoon sun. Nothing better than an afternoon at the beach, enjoying the salt water, sand, and sun.

The team would probably be deploying again soon. Their CO had contacted him after lunch to let him know he had an important briefing to update the team on first thing Monday morning. It felt different knowing he’d have to leave Rebecca and the kids now that she was pregnant.

It was a bigger deal now. Harder to go.

He’d given his life to the Navy, but that didn’t mean his own family didn’t come first. And hell, Rebecca was family now. They hadn’t been in a rush before, but he needed to get down on one knee. Get things settled and taken care of before the baby arrived. Move Rebecca and Abby into the house with him and Logan—and most importantly?

Make her his wife.

Evan jogged over to him as Patrick abandoned their game and helped the kids haul heavy pails of water toward the sand castles they were building.

“Mine needs a moat around it,” Abby said, admiring her crumbling castle.

“A moat, huh?”

“Yes. To protect the princess inside.”

“One moat coming up,” Patrick said with sideways glance at Evan.

“I can do it! I’ll get more water,” Logan said, grabbing a pail and running back down to the ocean.

Patrick stood there, arms crossed as he watched the kids. “I’m thinking of buying a ring,” he said quietly to Evan.

“A ring as in an engagement ring?”

“Yep,” Patrick affirmed. “That’s the one.”

Evan let out a low whistle. “Because of the baby? I gotta tell you, Ali was shocked as hell when you texted me this morning. I sure wasn’t exactly expecting to run out and pick up pregnancy tests either, truth be told.”

Patrick chuffed out a laugh. “I suppose not since you already have a kid on the way. It wasn’t exactly in the plans at the moment, but life happens. As soon as Rebecca got sick this morning, it’s like she knew right away what was going on. It took me a few minutes to catch up, but hell. After that I wanted to know as badly as she did.”

“Is she feeling any better?” Evan glanced toward Rebecca and Alison on the beach, who were currently laughing over a magazine they were holding.

“For the moment. Although she assures me morning sickness can happen any time, not just in the morning. Apparently, it wasn’t too bad when she was pregnant with Abby, so she’s hoping this pregnancy will be easy as well. I imagine it’ll be hard to be arguing in court with a trash can in one hand.”

“Yeah, Ali had a hell of a time at work for a while. When patients arrive in the ER, they don’t expect the nurses to be sick.”

“I can imagine.”

“Does Rebecca know you’re planning to propose?”

“No. I’ve been thinking for a while that I wanted us to live together. We’ve been dating a year, and going back and forth between houses is hard. Even on the kids. But there’s no sense in moving in together and not making it official.”

“Hoorah,” Evan said.

“It’s kinda hard to believe we’ll be having a baby just a few months behind you two,” Patrick said with a wry smile. “And here I thought my diaper changing days were over.”

“Hell, you can practice on our kid any time you want,” Evan said. “I’m not too sure how I feel about diaper duty.”

Patrick chuffed out a laugh. “Believe me—some things you never forget. Thanks for the offer though.”

“At the rate we’re going, in another year we’ll have an entire junior SEAL team running around.”

Patrick smirked and glanced over at his son calling him. “Dad, I’m hungry! I want something to eat.”

“I’m hungry, too!” Abby chimed in.

“Let’s go have a snack then,” Patrick said. Rebecca usually packed enough to feed an army when they came down to the beach, but with her sick this morning, he’d said he’d just buy some food here like he used to do with Logan. Might as well make use of the endless stretch of boardwalk that ran along the beach. “Who wants to get ice cream?”

“Me, me!” both kids shouted, jumping up and abandoning their shovels and pails.

Patrick cast a quick glance toward Evan. “See what you’re in for?”

Evan laughed. “Aw, hell, that’s all going to be Ali. I’m clueless about kids.”

 

***

 

Rebecca watched Abby and Logan jumping up and down by the water, their face beaming. Patrick said something, and they grew even more excited. The four of them began walking up the beach toward where she and Alison were sitting, Patrick carrying the kids’ sand toys.

Rebecca smiled.

Nothing like seeing a six-foot-three Navy SEAL in navy blue swimming trunks, his broad, muscular chest and rippling muscles on display for everyone to admire, carrying a little girl’s hot pink plastic bucket.

It was sweet watching him holding Abby and Logan’s things. And somewhat ironic to know a man as powerful as him—a muscular, assertive Navy SEAL—could enjoy everyday things with his kids.

Their kids.

Funny, she’d never really thought of it that way before. Patrick was Logan’s dad, and she was Abby’s mom. But now, with a baby of their own on the way?

It was like they were a little family unit.

No wonder Patrick was eager to move them in together.

In a matter of a single day, her entire life had been turned upside down.

“I seriously can’t believe you’re pregnant,” Alison said beside her, absentmindedly rubbing her own stomach.

“I was just thinking the same thing. I wouldn’t have believed it either until I threw up in my own kitchen this morning,” Rebecca said.

“When Evan told me Patrick texted him asking about a pregnancy test, I thought he was joking.”

“It kind of feels like a dream at the moment—a good dream. Where are you guys headed?” she asked as Patrick, Evan, and the kids walked up.

“Mommy, we’re getting ice cream!” Abby said. “Do you want any?”

“No, I better not have any since I wasn’t feeling well this morning.”

“Oh, okay,” Abby said with a shrug. “Is it okay if I have some? Patrick said he’d take us.”

“Sure, sweetie. Let me get you some money.”

“I got it,” Patrick said easily.

“Ali, do you want anything?” Evan asked. “The kids told me you have to get ice cream at the beach—it’s some kind of rule or something.”

“It is,” Logan said. “We always do, so that’s the rule.”

“God, yes, I’ll have some ice cream, I’m starving,” Alison said as the rest of them burst into laughter. She told Evan what she wanted, and the rest of the group headed to the boardwalk.

“You guys are coming tomorrow, right?” Rebecca asked, taking a sip of her bottled water. “To the barbeque?”

“Yes, we wouldn’t miss it. Don’t forget, Evan and I met at one of Patrick’s barbeques.”

Rebecca laughed. “How could I? Evan was chasing after you like a lost puppy dog.”

Alison snorted. “He’d love hearing that.”

“It’s been a crazy year. You weren’t even interested in Evan at first, and now you live together and are having a baby.”

“In my defense, I thought he was younger than he is.”

“He does have boyish good looks,” Rebecca agreed. “The guys on the team still rib him like crazy. And Patrick loves throwing barbeques. I wonder how many we’ll be having next summer with a new baby?”

“My guess is none,” Alison said as Rebecca burst into laughter.

“Probably not many,” Rebecca agreed. “I just hope I don’t get sick in front of everyone tomorrow night. We’re not really planning to announce it to the world just yet.”

“You can always claim it’s Patrick’s grilling making you ill,” Alison teased.

“Yeah, that would work maybe one time. Everyone will catch on pretty quickly if I get sick at every barbeque we have this summer. Either that or they’ll think Patrick is the worst cook ever.”

“Well, it’ll buy you a little time. God, Abby is going to flip whenever you decide to tell her.”

“I know, she really will. She’s obsessed with your baby. And she’d love to have a younger sister.”

“She was a little disappointed that I’m having a boy,” Alison said with a grin.

“She’ll get over it as soon as the baby is born,” Rebecca said. “She’ll be begging you to let her feed him, hold him, play with him—”

“Hey, I’ll take all the help I can get,” Alison said, brushing a strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear as a breeze blew in from the ocean. “God knows I’m clueless around kids. Maybe she’ll have better instincts than me.”

“She’ll make a great big sister,” Rebecca said wistfully.

“Can’t believe it’s really happening, can you?” Alison asked.

“Nope.”

The two women burst into laughter.

She heard the kids coming back before she saw them, and a moment later they were running by to sit on their towels and enjoy the rest of their ice cream. Patrick crouched down beside her in the sand.
“I got you another bottle of water,” he said.

Their fingers brushed against one another as she took it from him, and for some reason she flushed. Seriously, anytime she was around Patrick her heart started beating faster. That short, cropped hair, chiseled jaw, and muscular physique got her every time. Not to mention the fact that he swept her off her feet—both figuratively and literally.

His eyes met hers, a hint of humor in them. “Abby asked if she could have extra whipped cream on hers,” he said huskily.

Her face flamed as Alison laughed at her reaction. “Do I even want to know this story?” she asked, taking the milkshake Evan handed her.

Patrick and Rebecca simultaneously said, “No,” which made Alison laugh even harder.

Evan took a sip of his own milkshake as he sprawled out in the sand beside Alison and grinned. “Man, this story has gotta be good. Rebecca’s blushing like crazy, and Patrick looks like the cat that ate the canary.”

“Thanks a helluva lot, Flip,” Patrick said, calling him by his nickname.

“A cat isn’t how I’d ever describe Patrick,” Alison said. “More like a prowling predator.”

“It’s an expression, babe,” Evan said with a chuckle.

“What story?” Abby asked from her towel, ice cream covering her mouth. “I want to hear a story!”

“There’s no story,” Rebecca said. “Finish eating your ice cream before it melts.”

Patrick leaned closer, speaking low in her ear as conversation continued on around them. “The next time I deploy, I’m going to be remembering that every single night. Hell, I’ll probably be dreaming of whipped cream. Imagining coming home to you.”

She shivered in delight, and he took hold of her hand. “I might have to spend the night again tonight,” he quipped. “Just to make sure it’s forever seared in my memory.”

Evan and Alison watched them in amusement as the kids obliviously continued eating their ice cream.

“This explains the text we got this morning, Ali,” Evan said with a grin. “Those two can’t keep their hands off one another.”