Soldier's Women (4 page)

Before Irene could find a way to put things tactfully, Nigel took it upon
himself to make the introductions and leaned forward from his seat on the couch.
Smiling at Sera, he extended his hand to her.

“Hi! I’m Nigel. I’m Irene’s oldest.”

Sera almost fainted at Nigel’s words. She didn’t think she’d misunderstood
him. He was the oldest son? That wasn’t right, he couldn’t be Nigel. Nigel was
gone. Irene had told her so, told her about how awful the funeral had been.
She’d seen Irene cry every time she’d looked at the flag they had given her at
the funeral. What was going on? Had this all been some kind of twisted plot?
Were they playing some sick joke? That couldn’t be. That wasn’t like Irene at
all. Sure she’d been a stranger to her at first, but in the last few months,
she’d gotten to know her. They’d become quite close. It just wasn’t in her
nature to deceive. Then she recalled how upset Irene had been when she’d seen
her son in the store, her face had been ashen as if she’d seen a ghost.

That was why, she had. She had seen a ghost. The son she had believed to be
dead, the one whose body had never been located, was here . . . alive. Then the
gravity of the situation hit her like a ton of boulders.

What was she going to do now? This wasn’t part of the plan. She had decided
to have a baby because there was no man involved, no man to cause trouble, no
man to tell her what to do or how to raise her child, no man to get attached to
so that he could leave one day and rip a hole in her family. Men messed
everything up. And the women who put their faith in them were always left
holding an empty bag. It had all made perfect sense. Irene wanted grandchildren.
She wanted babies. It was the perfect arrangement. There was no man in the
picture . . . until now. The careful plan that she and Irene had constructed was
beginning to slowly crumble. Strangely enough, the world around her seemed to
also be slowly careening.

Both Irene and Nigel leapt up from the couch to catch Sera. Nigel caught Sera
in his arms before she could melt onto the floor. He lifted her off of her feet
effortlessly, as if she was a child instead of a pregnant woman, and carried her
the short distance to the couch where he laid her down.

Irene stood over her, fanning her face, fussing over her, and then went to
get her a glass of cold water from the kitchen. When she got back, she found
both Nigel and Sera looking at her and decided then and there that there wasn’t
much point in putting off the inevitable. She was going to have to tell them and
now.

“Nigel, this is Sera, the mother of your children! You know I always wanted
grandbabies . . . .”

Nigel didn’t hear anything else his mother said. It was like her voice became
some strange sort of droning in his ears. He knew she was rambling on about the
situation, probably trying to maintain the calm, but the words weren’t
registering. All he could think about was Sera and . . . his child. She was
carrying his child. He looked down at the beautiful woman he’d been holding,
shock evident in his features. He looked further down her body that he’d been
admiring so much before to her belly where his child was. His child. She was
carrying his child. But wait, his mother had said children. Was it possible that
she was carrying more than one?

Gingerly, as if worried that just the sheer force of his touch might eject
the baby, he put a hand on her stomach. It was small, but it was a bump, just
big enough to fit in his hand.

Nigel looked at Sera again, a warm smile spreading over his face.

Sera couldn’t reciprocate the sentiment. It was all she could do not to throw
up at the moment, and she felt the blood drain from her face. She just hoped she
wasn’t going to pass out. Or worse, puke and then pass out.

“No. This can’t be right,” she said in denial then looked over at Irene
accusingly. “It was just supposed to be you, me, and my babies!”

“Your babies?” Nigel said a little irritably, his dark brow
furrowing.

Sera looked back at Nigel.

“Yes, my babies. You weren’t there for conception, even if it was your
sperm. These are my babies.”

“Look, those babies are just as much mine as they are yours. So, since that’s
settled, the only thing left is when we’re going to set the date.”

Sera looked at him quizzically. “What date? The doctor already told me when
the babies were due . . . .”

“No, not that date, the babies will come when they’re ready. What I mean is,
where I come from, when a man and a woman are going to have a baby, they get
married. It’s the right thing to do. I’m not going to insist on it right away,
but we need to make arrangements.”

“Well, that’s mighty gracious of you. I suppose next you’ll tell me I have no
choice in the matter. Did it occur to you to ask? Or are you just used to
imposing your iron will? ”

“I just did,” he said with a smile, a dimple in his cheek coming out to
play.

“Well, I’ve never had a man propose, but I’m pretty sure a question starts
with who, what, where, why, or when.”

“I guess that means you want me to be old-fashioned and get down on one knee?
I know how you women like that kind of show, I can oblige you.”

He slid her off of his lap and made a move to get down on one knee before
her, taking her now very pale hand in his.

“Sera,” he paused, smiling at her with a smile that made her kegels clap,
“what’s your last name?”

Sera huffed in irritation, irritated at her body’s traitorous attraction to
him, irritated at his blithe disregard for the fact that she didn’t want a
proposal. “Anderson.”

“Sera Anderson,” he said, his face all mock-seriousness, “will you be my
wife?”

Sera tapped a finger on her cheek, a contemplative look on her face. “Let me
think. Right now I have a normal life in which I plan to raise my children on my
own, without interference. On the other hand, I could marry a total stranger.”
She pretended to think it over.

“I know, it’s not that hard a decision. But if you feel uncomfortable saying
yes in front of my mother I completely understand.” His smile widened and he
wriggled his brows at her.

Sera looked at him open-mouthed in awe of his audacity. He perfectly expected
her to jump at the opportunity to become Mrs. Savage and this was their first
conversation. They were complete strangers for god’s sake! She had known when
she saw him that he was the kind of man that go exactly what he wanted. Well, he
was in for a surprise. “Actually, you’re right. I was thinking that it was an
easy decision. It’s very easy for me to say no thank you. I don’t need a
man to raise a baby.”

A week later, Sera arrived at Irene’s house for her next doctor’s
appointment. She always enjoyed the walks over to Irene’s, the scenery was
beautiful, and the exercise and fresh air made her feel great. A few months ago,
Irene had started taking her to her doctor’s appointments. She considered it
very thoughtful of Irene. They had talked at length about the severe morning
sickness and motion sickness Sera was dealing with that was so bad that it had
become extremely hard for her to drive through her bouts of illness. She could
make it, but she was always running late because she had to make so many stops
along the way.

As she walked the last few steps to Irene’s front door, she sincerely hoped
that the seemingly constant nausea wouldn’t last the entire pregnancy, she was
getting sick of crackers and soda, but at least she wasn’t gaining any weight.
Of course, she’d much rather gain weight than be sick.

She wasn’t too worried about weight gain. She didn’t have anyone to impress.
She didn’t want to become a cow though, that would make it hard to keep up with
her babies. However, she got plenty of exercise on the long walks to Irene’s
house. It was the exercise she needed to keep in decent shape, which was really
important. In fact, since her and Irene had gotten to be such good friends, she
had started walking over to Irene’s several times a week just to visit, since
her rental home was located just a few streets away.

Sera rang the doorbell on Irene’s house and waited.

Nigel answered the door.

Sera couldn’t help the look of surprise that stole over her face. She really
hadn’t expected to see Nigel again, wishful thinking, especially not so
soon. She really hadn’t known what he would do once he arrived, but she supposed
it was only natural that he would want to spend time with his family after what
he had endured. She knew she would have. She had to admit, even though she
wasn’t happy to see him, he looked amazing. Even after a near death experience,
he still had a healthy glow to him. His long lean muscles were very hard to
miss, especially in the tank top he was wearing, which showcased his broad
shoulders and defined arms. It would be great if the babies were as fit and
strong as their daddy. She couldn’t wish for any more than that.

But as she finished her examination of him from his strong thighs exposed in
his mid-thigh shorts to his strong well built chest to his angular face, she
couldn’t help the catch in her breath. It was probably just the hormones talking
but the long black hair around his face next to a few days of black stubble on
his jaw was looking seriously hot. Too bad he was so damn aggravating and
stubborn. He hadn’t stopped saying that the babies were his since he’d found out
about them. The world was stock full of men who could care less about the
children they’d fathered. She just happened to get the donation from the one man
in the world that actually wanted to be involved. Her brow furrowed in
irritation at that thought. She sincerely hoped the babies didn’t inherit
extreme hardheadedness from their father.

“Come in,” Nigel said, holding the door open wide for Sera to enter.

As Sera entered the house, Nigel followed her with his gaze. She was wearing
a light t-shirt without a bra. His gaze had been riveted to her nipples tenting
the fabric when he’d opened the door. Thankfully she hadn’t been looking at his
face when he’d noticed.

As she entered the house, he shut the door behind him and followed her in. He
couldn’t help but watch the gentle sway of her hips as she walked. There was
something so sultry and seductive about it. He could just imagine clutching
those hips in his grasp and putting his seed in her himself.

Feeling the sneaking suspicion that Nigel was watching her every move, Sera
stepped inside, confused by him and his behavior. He’d been downright possessive
of the children-which was down-right amazing because he hadn’t know about them
for five minutes when he had started feeling that way. But, for some odd reason,
she was a little disappointed that he wasn’t as interested in her as the mother.
She couldn’t imagine why though. She tried to put it down to irrational thoughts
driven haywire by hormones. That was surely it.

“My mother is in the living room,” he informed her.

When he spoke he had surprised her. He was much closer than she’d thought and
his voice had sounded husky to her ears. Perhaps it was just her imagination.

Trying to brush off the strange electric currents that Nigel seemed to ignite
in her, Sera went in search of Irene. But before Irene was even in sight,
though, she could hear her.

“Oh, oh. Oh, my head hurts so bad,” Irene gushed.

Sera walked into the living room to find Irene holding her head and talking
in a die away air. She couldn’t help but feel that Irene was displaying some
poor acting skills. The question was, why.

“It appears my mother has come down with a terrible headache,” Nigel said,
trying ineffectually to hide a half-smile behind a hand.

He was so close to Sera and she was so focused on the noise Irene was making,
that when he spoke he surprised her, and she jumped a little.

He didn’t try to hide his enjoyment at her reaction. Had he surprised her or
was he affecting her more than she’d like to admit?

Sera looked at Nigel a little irritably. What did he think was so humorous
about their situation? His mother wasn’t feeling well, apparently, and she had a
doctor’s appointment. Now she would have to walk all the way back home and drive
herself, and she was going to be terribly late. And that meant she would have to
wait forever in the doctor’s office to get seen. She was not the least bit
pleased by the turn of events.

Nigel noticed that Sera looked acutely displeased by his smile. Perversely,
it pleased him. Normally, it would have bothered him that a woman didn’t
reciprocate his feelings. But for some reason, he liked it when she got angry
with him. Perhaps it was because it really brought out a light in her pretty sea
green eyes, or perhaps it was the way it made her cheeks flush lightly, but,
either way, it was very attractive.

“Nigel, sweetheart, can you drive Sera to her appointment?” Irene said,
clutching her head as if each syllable in each word caused her more agony.

“Of course, mother. It would be no trouble at all. You just stay laying down
and get some rest.”

He would be more than happy to drive the little hot-headed independent woman
to her appointment. He had a lot of unanswered questions that his mother hadn’t
addressed satisfactorily. And he wanted to get to know the mother of his child.
The drive to the doctor’s office posed the perfect opportunity to push the idea
of marriage to Sera as well.

Sera knew she looked crestfallen, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want
him to take her. She didn’t really know him and she was a little uncomfortable
with the idea of him accompanying her to the doctor since it was so personal,
and Irene was always her pillar of strength at her appointments. She also didn’t
want him to take her because she usually ended up puking several times before
they actually made it there.

Who wanted to throw up in front of complete stranger, especially when that
stranger just happened to be the one who unknowingly donated the sperm that got
you pregnant and also happened to be an extremely hot guy who also happened to
want the baby and her? Well, take that back. He only wanted to marry her because
he was old-fashioned. She didn’t want to get married and she definitely wouldn’t
say yes to someone who was only proposing because it was the right thing to do.
She didn’t feel that men should propose if they weren’t truly in love with the
woman. They damn well shouldn’t if they felt pressured to or if the woman
inconveniently got pregnant.

Talk about a tense situation. She didn’t like conflict. She didn’t like
drama, another reason to avoid all types of relationships. Things would be much
easier if she just stayed the independent person she was and did things by
herself from here on out.

“Really, Irene, that isn’t necessary. I don’t want to put anyone out. I’m
sure Nigel has better things to do than accompany me to a routine doctor’s
appointment. I’ll just go back home and drive myself. It’ll be just fine.”

Irene looked really worried by that comment and stopped moaning for a
minute.

The comment only deepened Nigel’s desire to take her himself. Stubborn woman,
if he didn’t know any better, he might get the impression that she was trying to
avoid him.

Taking Sera by surprise yet again, he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arm
around her waist and pulling her against his solid build. His member jumped to
attention as he felt the swell of her breast against his chest through the thin
material of his tank top. He gritted his teeth and inhaled deeply for a moment,
trying to will it down, to no avail, because when he’d taken a deep breath, her
sweet scent had filled his nostrils and it was intoxicating his senses. It took
him a second to collect himself enough to talk without giving himself away.

“I’ll make sure she gets there in one piece. You just lay still like I said
and get to feeling better. We’ll be back before you know it, and we’ll let you
know how it went.”

Sera wasn’t sure how she felt about having Nigel behave so intimately with
her, about having him so close. It made it hard for her to focus on the fact
that she didn’t want him around. That he was butting his way into her life where
she’d already said she didn’t need or want him. His making the decisions without
consulting her was exactly the kind of male behavior she had been looking to
avoid.

He turned her away from the living room, and she quickly stepped out of his
grasp.

He couldn’t help but smile as she snatched herself away from him. He could
only hope that the contact between them was as much a firebrand for her as it
was for him. He walked behind her, thoroughly examining her all the way to the
car.

He opened the passenger side door for her and shut it behind her once she had
seated herself. Going over to the driver’s side, he got in.

“What doctor are you seeing?” he asked, not looking at her as he backed out
of the driveway and took off down the road.

“Dr. Yules,” she said. “Do you know where his office is?”

“Yes,” he said, and took off in the direction of the doctor’s office. The
drive to the doctor’s office was a good fifteen minutes. This was the perfect
opportunity to press her about marriage so that his boys could have his name he
decided.

Just as they rounded the first turn in the trip, Nigel prepared to ask some
really tough questions, but he never got the chance.

Sera began to wave a hand in the air.

Nigel, trying to focus on the road and figure out what she was doing at the
same time, turned his head to look at Sera. Her cheeks were puffed out like a
chipmunk that had gotten too greedy.

“Pull over, pull over now!” she said through gritted teeth, trying
desperately not to throw up all over the dash board in front of her.

Nigel pulled the car over so fast that the tires squealed, rocking Sera
violently in her seat. She was thankful she hadn’t unbuckled yet.

Before the car was even stopped good, she had the door open, her seatbelt
off, and she was clutching onto the door like it was her only lifeline as she
spilled her guts onto the pavement below.

Nigel leaned over and pulled Sera’s hair back so that it wouldn’t get dirty.
He rubbed her back in what he hoped felt like a reassuring gesture.

“I’m sorry I didn’t understand what you wanted back there. Are you okay?”

Through fits of heaving, Sera said, “Do . . . I . . . look . . . like . . .
I’m . . . okay!”

That put Nigel in his place. He only vaguely remembered his mother being
pregnant with his youngest brother, but he knew from experience that pregnant
women were not to be taken lightly.

After Sera thought she’d puked her brains out, she decided there was nothing
left to throw up but her stomach and that it would be safe to resume the rest of
the ride to the doctor’s office. However, they wound up making four more ‘pit’
stops before they finally made it to their destination.

Nigel had never been more thankful to get to a doctor’s office in his life,
not even when he’d been recovering from a bayonet wound to the stomach a few
years before. Nothing could compare to hearing a pregnant woman get sick over
and over again.

Weakened from the constant upheaval process, Sera had trouble getting out of
the car.

Nigel, ready to get her inside to see the doctor, swept her up in his arms
and carried her inside as if she weighed no more than a feather.

If she had felt well, she might have appreciated the gesture more, but as it
was, she could hardly acknowledge it. Of course, if she had felt better, she
probably would have resented him treating her like a child. As it was, she felt
bad about having put him through it, but surely he would understand. But the
damned stubborn ass had asked for it by insisting on taking her. It served him
right. She supposed she was glad now, though, that he hadn’t given her a choice
on driving. After the brief trip, she was hardly in any condition to see the
doctor, let alone do anything else. She supposed, just this once, she needed
him.

He sat her down gently in a chair in the waiting room.

“I’ll go sign you in,” he informed her.

He went to the front desk and noticed that all the nurses stationed behind
the counter were smiling at him.

“That was so romantic,” one nurse told him. “It’s so nice to see a couple so
in love. I wish my man had treated me like that when I was carrying our
children.”

Nigel realized she was talking about how he had carried Sera in. If only she
had known the torment he had just endured driving the woman to the office, she
wouldn’t have thought anything about why he’d been in such a hurry for her to
get some medical attention. Or if she knew how much Sera resented his company,
she wouldn’t have thought it was so sweet.