Always a Warrior(80)
Laurie sat beside him and twisted her fingers together as she stared at the floor, convinced everything was about to fall apart. All she could think of was that he was so upset about the pregnancy she wondered if he might leave her. Anger and hurt fought inside her with no clear victor.
ALWAYS A WARRIOR Patricia Bruening
116
“Damn it,” he muttered harshly. “This isn’t easy.”
His bleak tone put an ache in her heart, but she didn’t look at him. She kept her gaze riveted to the floor. It hurt. How could he be angry and upset about any result of their love? She didn’t understand it.
“I know,” she agreed tersely, confused. “I never thought about having another baby but it’s done.”
She winced at the pain and anger that turned her voice hard and cold but did not apologize. His reaction, despite her clumsy delivery of the news, hurt.
“I never thought about having kids at all,” Damien admitted bluntly. “But I did. I married my ex-wife because she was pregnant. A year later, we had another one.”
Calm strength suddenly infused her and she turned her head, looked into his eyes. There really was no problem here. She was not trapping him into something he did not want. Anger and pain had no place here, at least not over a baby their love had produced.
“Damien,” she said serenely. “We’re already getting married.”
That gentle reminder startled him into thoughtful silence. He stared at her until, as though everything had been rearranged in his mind, his face cleared and brightened. He smiled at her with genuine warmth and love. The sparkle lit his eyes and he reached for her, drew her into his arms.
“I love you. I will marry you. I want a family.” He stopped and looked deep into her eyes.
“This family. If that means I get more than I bargained for then .…” He paused a moment then murmured. “I guess I’m luckier than most men.”
“I didn’t intend to hurt you,” she muttered as she buried her face in the curve of his neck and shoulder. “Or to bring back painful memories or make things harder for you.”
“Shhh.” Damien rocked her slowly in his arms. “It’s okay. It just surprised me.”
He stilled, put a finger under her chin and tipped her head up.
“This baby is part of you, part of us,” he said softly. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. It was knee-jerk, a part of something I thought long buried. I love you, Stacy, and our baby.”
He flattened his hand on her abdomen in a protective, tender gesture that brought more tears, of joy this time, to her eyes. Blinking rapidly, she slid her arms around his neck and snuggled closer.
“She didn’t deserve you,” Laurie commented, her lips grazing the heated skin of his throat. “Your ex-wife, I mean.”
“What makes you say that?” Damien enquired, his tone tinged with amusement.
“She let you get away, didn’t she?” Laurie teased, then pulled back a little and looked up at him. “Tell me about her. What happened?”
“You don’t really want to hear all of this,” he stated coolly, a hard glint in his eyes.
“Yes, I do.” She clasped his hand between both of hers but kept her gaze locked steady with his. “Tell me.”
“All right,” he conceded curtly. “You asked for it. I only dated her for a couple of months before she told me she was pregnant. My mother tried to talk me out of marrying her but Dad insisted I do the ‘right thing’. We got married. I was working construction for a general contractor when my son was born six months later. A year later, we had a daughter. By then the construction industry was in a major nationwide slump. I couldn’t find a job that paid decent enough to support all of us. I joined the Navy and became a SEAL.”
ALWAYS A WARRIOR Patricia Bruening
117
He stopped abruptly. Pain etched a harsh mask of suffering on his face, pain that rapidly turned to bitter anger in his eyes. The silence lasted so long Laurie wondered if he intended to finish.
“Go on,” she finally spoke, soft and low, as she squeezed his hand in a gesture of encouragement.
“I was gone a lot,” he muttered then drew in a deep breath and plunged back into his story. “I guess she didn’t like the separations. She partied. She did drugs. She cheated.”
Laurie shot him a quizzical glance. “I know you went on missions but those don’t usually last long. What about when you weren’t on a mission?”
“Then I was on a base somewhere and she was stuck at home.” Though he shrugged, sadness fought fury in his eyes. “She refused to go with me. She didn’t want to move around.