Poppy was right. Keeping the baby would take courage and sacrifice and...well, balls. Brodie also knew her parents would have wanted her to keep the child, to care for the next generation of Stewarts as they'd planned to do.
So she'd decided to be a mommy. She needed to tell Kade he was going to be a daddy. There was no rush, Brodie thought, as she picked up a piece of driftwood and tossed it toward a bubbling wave. She had eight or so months.
Or, hell, maybe not.
Brodie recognized his stride first, long and loose. His blond hair and most of his face was covered by a black cap. Simon, Kade's huge, sloppy mutt, galloped between him and the waves, barking with joy. Then Simon recognized her and let out a yelp of elated welcome. Brodie was glad that he, at least, looked happy to see her.
Kade did not. He stopped in front of her, tipped back the rim of his cap and scowled. "Sixteen missed calls. Six messages, Stewart. Seriously?"
"I needed some time alone," Brodie replied, rubbing Simon's ears. She looked up into Kade's frustrated eyes. "Why are you here?"
The wind blew Kade's cotton shirt up and revealed the ridges of his stomach. Brodie had to stop herself from whimpering. "I'm here because you came to my loft, looking like hell on wheels, saying we needed to talk. I've spent the last two days looking for you."
Brodie picked up a small stick and threw it for Simon, who ran straight past it into a wave. "I suppose Poppy told you where I was."
"When I managed to find her," Kade muttered.
Brodie frowned. "She's not difficult to find. She lives below me."
"Not for the last two nights. She finally came home, on a Harley, with a guy who was at least fifteen years younger than her."
Brodie grinned. "Good for Poppy." At least one of them was having fun.
Brodie felt her throat tighten. She had to tell him, now.
"Kade..." Brodie met his eyes, dug deep and found a little bit of courage. "The night we were together... Do you remember how we brushed off the issue of the split condom?"
Kade frowned and his face darkened. She didn't need to say any more, she could see he'd immediately connected the dots. "You're...?" He rubbed his hands over his face.
"Pregnant," Brodie confirmed.
"But you said you were on the pill," Kade stuttered and the color drained from his face.
"I was on the pill, but apparently it fails sometimes."
Kade linked his hands behind his head. He looked shaken and, understandably, mad as hell. Brodie couldn't blame him; she'd experienced those emotions herself.
"Might I remind you," she added, "the condom you brought was faulty."
"So you're saying this is my fault?" Kade shouted, dropping his hands. Simon whined and Kade patted his head to reassure him everything was okay. Brodie wished he'd reassure her, too.
Brodie made an effort to hold on to her own slipping temper. "I'm not blaming you, I'm explaining what happened."
Kade dropped a couple of F-bombs. "I'm not ready to be a father. I don't want to be a father!"
"Being a mother wasn't in my five-year plan, either, Webb."
Kade folded his arms across his chest and glared at her. "You don't seem particularly upset about this."
Where was he the last couple of nights when she'd cried herself to sleep? The same nights she'd paced the floor? "I'm pregnant and it's not something that's going away. I have to deal with it. You, however, do not."
"What the hell do you mean?"
Brodie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged. "If you want I'll sign a release absolving you of all responsibility for this child."
Kade stared down at the sand and Brodie noticed his hands, in the pockets of his khakis shorts, were now fists. He was hanging on to his temper by a thread. "Is that my only option?"
"What else do you want? You just said you don't want to be this baby's father. Have you changed your mind? That would mean paying child support and sorting out custody arrangements. Is that what you want?"
"For crap's sake, I don't know! I'm still trying to deal with the idea you're saying you're pregnant!" Kade yelled.
"I'm saying I am pregnant?" Brodie frowned. Did he think she was making this up for kicks and giggles? "Do you doubt me?" she asked, her voice low and bitter.
"We slept together several weeks ago, how can you be sure?" Kade retorted. "Have you done a blood test? How can I be sure you're not jerking my chain?"
Brodie's mouth fell open. How could he, for one moment, think she would lie about this? Didn't he know her at all? Actually, he didn't, Brodie admitted. They'd shared their bodies but nothing of their thoughts or feelings. And now they were going to have a baby together... No, judging by his lack of enthusiasm, she was going to be walking this road solo.
Brodie slapped her hand on his chest and pushed. He didn't shift a millimeter and her temper bubbled. "I am not lying, exaggerating or jerking your chain! This isn't fun for me, either, Webb, but I'm going to be an adult and deal with it!" Her chest felt tight and her face was on fire. "I've done my part. I've informed you. I'll get my lawyer to draw up a document releasing you from your parental rights."
Brodie spun around and started toward the path leading back to the cabin. God, she was tired. Tired of stressing, tired of arguing. Just plain exhausted. Tired of dealing with the emotions Webb yanked to the surface whenever she was around him. She just wanted some peace, to retreat, to shut down.
"I don't know what I want!" Kade hurled the words and Brodie felt them bounce off the back of her head.
Brodie slowly turned and shrugged. "I can't help you with that. But accusing me of lying certainly doesn't help make sense of the situation."
Embarrassment flashed across Kade's face. He stared at the sand and then out to sea. She could see the tension on his face. "It's happened before...with two other women. They said I made them pregnant."
Brodie tipped her head. "Did you?"
His look was hot and tight and supremely pissed off. "Hell no! When my lawyers asked for DNA proof they backed down."
Of course they did. Brodie sighed and tried to ignore the growing hurt enveloping her heart. "So, naturally, I'm just another one-night stand, another woman you slept with who wants to trap you." She released a small, bitter laugh and lifted her hands in a what-was-I-thinking? gesture. "That's an example of how extraordinarily stupid I can be on occasion. Goodbye, Kade."
Brodie took a couple of steps before turning around once more. "My lawyer will contact yours. I really don't think we have much more to say to one another."
Brodie walked away and Kade didn't call her back, didn't say another word. When she hit the trail to the cottage, Brodie patted her stomach.
So it'll be you and me, babe. We'll be fine.
Of course she would. She always was.
* * *
So that wasn't what he'd been expecting, Kade thought as he sank to the sand and stared at the wild waves slapping the beach.
Brodie was pregnant? With his child? What the hell...? He scrubbed his face with his hands. What were the chances? And why was fate screwing with him?
Kade stroked Si's head and rubbed his ears. With his busy schedule, just remembering to feed and walk Si was problematic. And life was expecting him to deal with a child?
This was karma, Kade thought. Life coming back to bite him in the ass because he'd been so rude about Mac becoming a father. But Mac had Rory-patient, calm and thinking-to guide him through the process.
Kade didn't have Brodie and, judging by the final sentence she'd flung at him, he didn't need to worry about her or his child. She was prepared to go it alone.
He shouldn't have accused her of lying. Brodie wasn't another bimbo trying to drag a commitment out of him. Brodie didn't want a relationship. She didn't need a man in her life. She was independent and self-sufficient and she was strong enough to raise her child-their child-on her own.
If he wanted to he could walk away, forget about this conversation and forget he had a baby on the way. According to Brodie all he needed to do was sign a piece of paper and his life would go back to normal.
No child.
No Brodie.
Pain bloomed in the area below his sternum and he pushed his fist into the spot to relieve the burn. Could he do it? Could he walk away and not think about her, them, anymore?
Probably.
Definitely.
Not.
He couldn't keep Brodie off his mind as it was. There was something about her that was different from any other woman he'd ever known. He was, on a cellular level, attracted to her, but despite her I-can-handle-whatever-life-throws-at-me attitude, he sensed a vulnerability in her that jerked his protective instincts to life. She also had more secrets than the CIA, secrets he wanted to discover. Oh, he wasn't thinking of her with respect to the long term or a commitment. He hadn't turned that mushy and sentimental, but he couldn't dismiss her.