Natural Born Daddy (24 page)
Read Natural Born Daddy Online
Authors: Sherryl Woods
“You sure about all that?” she taunted.
“I'd like to claim total credit, but believe me, Ginger never lets me forget. She says there are certain things that are inviolate in a good marriage and special occasions top the list. She puts every important date on my calendar and circles it in red.”
“A wise woman,” Kelly enthused.
“You still haven't said what's going on.”
“It's a surprise.”
Her reticence was making Jordan extremely nervous. Every once in a while, Kelly devised some scheme that threw the wonderful, quiet routine of their marriage into chaos. He had a hunch this was going to be one of those times. He was still reeling from the discovery that in seeking serenity, he'd found a woman filled with surprises.
“Does Dani know?” he inquired innocently.
Kelly chuckled. “Absolutely not. I know she can't keep a secret, especially from you. Do you bribe that child or what?”
“Never.”
“Are you calling your parents or not?”
He sighed. “I'll call them. What time and where?”
“DiPasquali's at seven.”
Jordan spent the rest of the day surreptitiously observing his wife and trying to figure out what was going on in her head. The predictability he'd once cherished in Kelly had obviously vanished sometime after puberty without his noticing. She'd become a totally perplexing, complicatedâokay, fascinatingâwoman. There wasn't a day that passed that he didn't thank his lucky stars that he'd been smart enough to marry her.
When they arrived at the Italian restaurant that night, Gina and Anthony had already pushed several tables together for them in the middle of the room. Jordan had the distinct impression that they, too, were in on this hush-hush secret.
In fact, only the men in the family seemed to be left out. Luke and his father seemed as bemused by
all the fuss as he was. The women were all smiling conspiratoriallyâeven his motherâwhich only added to his nervousness. He was tempted to run out and call Ginger just to make sure a special occasion hadn't slipped his mind, after all.
Kelly seemed inclined to prolong his agony, too. Not a word about what had drawn them together was spoken all during the noisy, laughter-filled dinner. Only after they'd finished the pizza did he glance at the other end of the table where Kelly was seated next to Jessie and her almost-two-year-old daughter, Angela. Kelly was whispering to Gina, who smiled broadly and nodded.
“I will get dessert now,” the restaurant owner said.
“Bring me some of that Italian ice cream,” Harlan said. “What's it called? Spumoni?”
“Not tonight,” Kelly said. “I've arranged for something special.”
Jordan's gaze shot to hers. Her expression was unreadable and she refused to meet his eyes.
“Anyone like coffee?” Gina DiPasquali asked.
“Another beer for me,” Harlan said.
“I'll take the coffee,” Luke told her. He leaned over and kissed Jessie's cheek. “What about you? Coffee?”
Jessie nodded.
As soon as the order was complete, Gina vanished into the kitchen. A moment later she returned, dispensing cups and filling them with coffee. She brought Harlan's beer from the bar, then disappeared again.
A few minutes after that the restaurant lights inexplicably dimmed. Jordan started to get to his feet, but his father stopped him with a firm grasp of his
arm and a gesture toward the kitchen. He looked up and saw Gina carrying a cake ablaze with candles. Once again, his heart climbed into his throat. Whose birthday was it? And why the hell hadn't Kelly or Ginger, either one, just told him? He felt like an idiot.
To his complete consternation, Gina seemed to be heading his way. She lowered the cake to the table in front of him.
His startled gaze sought out his wife. “It's not my birthday,” he said.
“Read the inscription,” she suggested.
He glanced down at the huge white cake with its pink roses and blue writing. Happy Father's Day, Jordan, it read. Love Kelly, Dani And ???
Father's Day? Wasn't that one of the ones Ginger was supposed to remind him about? And shouldn't this cake be for Harlan?
He looked around the table and saw everyone grinning expectantly.
Father's Day?
Question marks? His name, not his father's on the cake? The implication finally sank in. All of the breath whooshed out of him.
His gaze shot up. “Is thisâ¦Are you⦔
Kelly's head bobbed up and down. “We're going to have a baby,” she confirmed as the entire table erupted into applause.
Jordan's pulse raced. His eyes locked with his wife's and stayed there as he moved from his chair and headed straight for her. A baby? They were going to have a baby! Suddenly he was afraid his heart might burst from sheer joy.
Kelly stood and hurried into his arms.
“I love you,” he whispered against her soft, fragrant hair. “More every single day.”
“I love you.”
“Me, too, Mommy. Me, too,” Dani said, tugging on their shirtsleeves.
Jordan reached down and hefted her into his arms. “You, too, munchkin. We love you, too.” He glanced around at the others and a smile spread across his face. “Happy Father's Day, everyone!”
He saw his mother reach for his father's hand and squeeze it. Tears glistened in his father's eyes as he looked from his wife to his two sons and back again. Luke's hand had settled possessively on Angela's tiny shoulder. Jessie rested her hand on top of his. Angela's birth had brought them together. Today they were happier than ever.
During his entire life, Father's Day had been one of those occasions that Jordan acknowledged dutifully but without much thought or emotion. Ginger usually picked out the card and gift for his father, often sending it without even getting his signature. It had happened just that way this year, he was sure.
He doubted that he would ever treat the occasion so cavalierly after today, though. From now on, he knew that being a father would give him the kind of emotional fulfillment he had once despaired of ever feeling. Maybe it was true what Kelly had once said to him, maybe he really was a natural born daddy.
In the midst of their celebration, he happened to glance across the restaurant. Melissa Horton was sitting in a booth all alone, her expression forlorn as she watched the family she had once wanted so badly to be a part of. Even across the room, he could detect the tears shimmering in her eyes.
Jordan was about to go and ask her to join them when she hurriedly stood, then bent over to retrieve
something from the booth. To his astonishment, he saw that it was a baby carrier.
Stunned, he was drawn across the room despite himself. Perhaps he was thinking of the news he'd just received. Perhaps he was thinking of his brother, settled now on a ranch in Wyoming and determined never to set foot in Texas again because of this woman.
“Melissa,” Jordan acknowledged, stopping her in her tracks with the quiet command in his voice.
She blinked hard, fighting those unmistakable tears, then finally faced him, her chin tilted defiantly. “Hello, Jordan.”
He automatically glanced at her hand, wondering why he'd never heard that she had married. It would have been the kind of news that his family would surely have been aware of. Her ring finger was bare.
He turned his attention to the carrier. “May I see? I just found out that I'm going to be a father in a few months. When I saw you had a baby, I couldn't resist.”
She looked as if she'd rather sink straight through the floor, but she eventually nodded and put the carrier onto the table. By this time Kelly had wandered over to join him, tucking her hand into his.
“She's darling,” Kelly said when Jordan stood there in stunned silence, unable to form a single word.
He didn't know much about babies. He'd heard they all looked the same, but he was absolutely certain that the infant with the huge brown eyes and dark tuft of hair looked exactly like an Adams. Except for the pink bow tied around the hair, she was a dead ringer for pictures he'd seen of Cody, chubby little cheeks and all.
Alarm darkened Melissa's eyes as she watched his reaction.
“She's Cody's, isn't she?” he said more harshly than he'd intended. Kelly stared at him in shock, then looked again at the baby.
Tears spilled down Melissa's cheeks. “Don't tell him. Please. He'll just hate me. Promise you won't tell him.”
Jordan couldn't make any such promise. Nor, from the expression he saw in Kelly's eyes, was she willing to guarantee her silence, either.
“Not without talking to you,” Kelly said quietly, giving the young woman a hug. “I'll be in touch.”
Apparently satisfied with the answer, Melissa picked up her baby and fled.
“We have to tell him,” Jordan said, keeping his voice hushed so the others wouldn't hear. Harlan would have a fit, if he ever found out.
He glanced back toward the table, where no one else seemed to have taken much notice of the exchange. They'd all taken Cody's side against Melissa and obviously considered her presence here tonight not worthy of their attention. “What do we tell them?”
“Nothing until we've had a chance to think about all of the ramifications,” Kelly said sensibly. “Now let's go back to the others and celebrate our news, okay? I don't want anything spoiling this moment.”
Jordan forced his anxieties about his brother and this baby Cody knew nothing about from his mind. He leaned down and kissed his wife. Whatever they decided to do about Melissa and Cody, they would decide it together.
“I love you,” he said again, thinking how incredibly lucky he was. “Love me?”
“Always.” She touched her hand to his cheek and met his eyes. “Always.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from
WILLOW BROOK ROAD
by Sherryl Woods.
“Sherryl Woods writes emotionally satisfying novels about family, friendship and home. Truly feel-great reads!”
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