Page 27 of Bewitched

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Saturday Evening

Paige sat on the couch with Blake and dreaded answering the question. “I wasn’t trying to keep it from you.”

“Just tell me, Paige. We’re you planning on telling me about the baby?”

Straightening up, she crossed her legs. “I was going to tell you after she was born. I planned on asking my friend Ivy’s fiancé to look you up.” Lifting her eyes, she saw a thunderous expression cross his face. “There’s nothing for you to do before she gets here.” She heard him count to ten, and then he counted to twenty. “I had no reason to believe that you would want to be involved.”

He held up his hand and closed his eyes. “Please, don’t say any more. It’s just making it worse.”

“It was one night!” she yelled. Realizing her mistake, she took a deep breath and tried to slow her galloping heartbeat. Stress wasn’t good for the baby, so she needed to remain calm. Blake stood, gave her a lethal glare, and then picked her up. “What are you doing?” she squeaked.

“I need to have my hands on you so that I can calm down.” He collapsed back onto the couch and held her gently. “The last op I was on in Syria wasn’t a lot of fun. I can’t give you any details, but suffice it to say my platoon was going after some bad guys. It was as brutal and bloody as any battle I’ve ever been in.”

Running her hand along his arm, she rested her head against his chest. “What happened?”

He slid his hands through her hair for several moments before speaking. “There was a moment that I thought I lost my humanity. We were in the middle of a village and had just come out of a vicious gunfight. Adrenaline was pumping and I was primed for battle. I heard footsteps and spun around with my gun raised and the safety off, ready to shoot. I almost shot a woman holding a baby. I don’t know what stopped me—women and children have been used in this war more times than I can count. Somehow, I pulled myself out of the moment of battle, and I didn’t kill her and the child.” Shaking his head, he raked his fingers through his hair. “I’ve had a lot of challenging moments, but that one has stuck with me.”

“I’m so sorry, Blake.”

“It’s part of my job description. Making difficult choices minute by minute is what I’ve been trained to do. It’s hard to define the collision between an individual and the experience. Some things stick and others slip away.” Matching their hands together, he shook his head. “Do you know what I’ve held on to?”

“No, I can’t imagine.”

“The night we had together.” Tightening his hold, he kissed her head.

“Why?” She slid her hand under his shirt and rested it against his heart.

“It might have been one night, but you touched a part of me that I didn’t even know existed. I told you that night that you owned me, and it was the truth.”

“Blake, I’m sorry I was a coward.” Running her hand up and down his chest, she felt his heart beat solidly against her palm. “I didn’t think you would remember me.”

“Honey, you are the thing I held on to. Syria was a goat fuck, and I got hit a couple of times. When I was leaking and losing consciousness, I remembered our night together and thought…well, at least I had that.”

The clock on the bookcase ticked away, and she felt like it was marking the seconds before she accepted reality. Since coming home, she’d hidden from almost everything…the nightmares, her career, the pregnancy. It was time to deal with what was, and Blake was one of the many things she needed to deal with. No more hiding.

Sliding out of his hold, she swung her leg over his hip and faced him. “I’m so glad that you came home.” Framing his face in her hands, she ran her finger over his cheek. “Maybe one of the reasons you survived is that our daughter is going to need some protection from all those boys who are going to be interested.”

Groaning, he threw back his head. “That’s the first thing you’ve said that has me officially scared shitless. I have thirty years to dread the moment.”

“Sixteen. She can go on her first date at sixteen.”

His head snapped up and he frowned. “Over my dead, cold body,” he said firmly.

“Maybe we should table that for a later time.”

“Thirty,” he repeated firmly.

“Sixteen,” she answered. “Let’s talk about something more relevant. What are your plans?”

“After we get naked or before?”

“After.”

“I was planning on staying in Dallas for a couple of days, then heading over to Lubbock to see my family. I’ll call them and let them know that I won’t be there for a couple of weeks. You can come with me when I go and meet everyone, and they can get to know you. My mama is going to be excited about another grandbaby.”

“Oh, my gosh, I’m going to meet your parents…What if they don’t like me?”

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