Page 45 of Surprise Baby for the Enemy

“Oh my god- Herbie! March!” Derrick’s mother calls, but it’s Derrick’s sharp whistle that gets them all to back off. “I’m so sorry for them,” his mother says. “They’re not used to visitors at all.”

“I’m not either,” I say, trying to sound like I’m joking. Derrick’s mother takes it in stride.

“Mom, this is Raleigh,” Derrick says. “Raleigh, this is my mom, Beth.” He puts his arm around her shoulder, and it only strengthens their resemblance.

“Pleasure to meet you, Raleigh,” Beth says, shaking my hand with both of hers. Her smile is warm as the sun, and it’s left lines in her face that make it clear she does it all the time. “My god, look at your eyes. You’re as gorgeous as a TV star!”

Before I can even recover from the compliment, she turns to her son. “I wish I’d known you were coming, Derrick, I would’ve made you both breakfast!”

“I’llmake us breakfast, since we dropped in on you without warning,” Derrick tells her firmly, steering her up the drive and toward the house. “And I’ll tell you at least half of why we’re here.”

“It had better be the true half, Derrick James Lindman” his mother warns, startling a smile out of me as I follow.

The inside of the ranch house is all bare, warm wood and colorful patterns in the fabric, throw pillows, and rugs. There are pictures all over the wall- all of Derrick at various stages of his life, and several of the two of them together. None with a man I can assume is his father, though.

Beth leads us into an open kitchen with an enormous island, and Derrick immediately starts bustling through the cupboards and fridge for food. I hover by the entry to the kitchen, watching how familiar and comfortable Derrick is with the place and feeling the exact opposite. Beth notices me standing on the sidelines and beckons to me.

“Oh, come in, honey. You can walk anywhere you want so long as you take off your shoes.”

I immediately obey, leaving my shoes by the door and hesitantly approaching the kitchen island, wringing my fingers in Derrick’s too-long sleeves. Beth sits on a stool across from me, already happy to leave the cooking to her son.

“So why are there a dozen bullet holes in your car, my dear child?” she asks Derrick. She’s still smiling, but there’s strain around her eyes now.

“I was part of a high speed chase before we came here,” Derrick admits simply, whisking milk and eggs together in a bowl. “It got a bit heated, but no one was hurt.”

“I hope you caught the crazies,” Beth says, alarmed.

“Of course,” Derrick grins.

He says it with such confidence and pride that I almost don’t realize he’s lying- and I was part of the fucking high speed chase!

“And then you drove your swiss cheese car all the way here becauuuse?” Beth presses.

“My car’s in the shop,” Derrick says easily. “Besides, it looks bad but it still runs. Perk of being the sheriff, mom.”

I’m pretty sure it’s not, not at all, but Beth doesn’t question this. Instead, she turns to me.

“And are you training in the Academy, sweetheart?” she asks.

Maybe she took in my lack of a uniform and assumed the only way I could be on a ride along is if I’m training to be a cop. Is it easier to confirm or deny? Should I also be lying to Derrick’s mother, or is that a crime only Derrick is allowed to commit? I chicken out at the last second and go with the truth.

“Oh, no, I’m not. I’m a…”

Unfortunately, I don’t have an easy explanation for my presence at the ready- because meeting Derrick’s mother after escaping a high speed chase and then letting slip that I’m pregnant with Derrick’s child is so far outside my anticipated activities for the day that I just… can’t think of anything.

Luckily, Derrick is apparently used to lying through his teeth to his own mother, because he says with a laugh, “Raleigh’s not a cadet, mom. She’s my girlfriend.”

That stuns meandhis mother, but at the last second I turn my wide eyes and slack jaw into a look of crazed joy instead ofshock. Beth leaps up from her chair and smacks her son on the arm.

“Well why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?!” she demands, but she’s clearly ecstatic. She hugs Derrick, almost making him drop the mixing bowl in his hands, then comes around the island to hugme. “Oh, it really is a pleasure to meet you, honey,” she gushes. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything, Derrick! Tell me everything! How long have you been dating? Where did you meet?”

For a moment I don’t care that what she thinks of me is a lie. She smells like strawberries and sun-soaked hay, and her hug is unashamedly warm. My chest aches, but I manage to hug her back. She squeezes me all the tighter before letting me go. The loss makes my eyes sting, and I quickly blink away the emotion.

I… never got the chance to be hugged by my mother.

“We met at a fancy bar,” I manage to say. “Three months ago. We hadinstantchemistry.”

Beth clearly wants me to elaborate, but my mind is drawing nothing but blanks. I don’t want to lie to this woman any more than is absolutely necessary. I just smile like I’m too bashful to go on.

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