Page 61 of One Unexpected Gift

“It’s not your fault. None of this is.”

“It takes two, Skylar. I could have stopped when we realized we didn’t have a condom.”

Skylar snorted. “I wouldn’t have let you.”

Damn, if the woman didn’t have him on his toes. She went from insult to compliment as quickly as an avalanche took out the most experienced skiers. Now wasn’t the time for the stirring below his belt. Leaving the compliment alone, he powered back to her litany of insults. They needed to hash out their feelings before moving on to sex.

“You’re right about almost everything you’ve said, but you’re wrong about one. My daughter does need me, and I’m going to be there for her. All the time.”

***

Sky swallowed the lump in her throat. Damn postpartum hormones. One moment she was clamoring with excitement that Nick was here, walking side-by-side with her and Gabby, and then the next minute she was ripping at his throat accusing him of... what, she wasn’t sure.

There were too many emotions stirring inside, and she should take more time to process them before speaking. When Nick mentioned his mother meeting Gabby, well, she panicked. What if his family looked down on her as many did unwed single mothers? Or worse, what if they fought to take Gabby away from her?

From everything Nick has said about his family, they were a united front. She didn’t know if they had the means to financially fight her for custody, but she sure the hell didn’t. And what judge would grant her full custody when she was a flight risk? Literally? The US Army owned her. Her career had to come first, and then family. What kind of mother would she be for her daughter?

She was afraid, very afraid that she could lose her daughter.

“What do you plan on doing?” she asked Nick, hoping the fear in her voice wasn’t evident.

“Doing?”

“About Gabby.”

“I don’t know. This is pretty new to me.”

Sky continued to push the stroller down the road in silence. It was eating her up inside. She didn’t have time to wonder what his plans were, or if he’d fight her for custody. Better to have it out now when she still had a month of maternity leave to get her ducks in a row than to be sideswiped when she was back to work.

“Are you going to fight me for custody?” She held her head high and didn’t break stride.

“Am I what?” Nick snorted a sarcastic laugh. “Why would I do that?”

“You said you were going to be there with her. Unless you plan on moving to Virginia, I don’t know what you mean by that.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat of the tears that threatened to spill.

“Skylar.” He squeezed her shoulder and stopped her. “I have no plans to take Gabriella away from you. I don’t know the first thing about raising a child. Especially a newborn. I plan on learning from you and helping you in whatever way I can. I want to get to know my daughter, and I want her to get to know me. I’ll follow your lead on this, just don’t shut me out.”

The way he said Gabriella’s name made her heart turn all squishy inside. When he was in a teasing mood, his Texas drawl came out, and when they’d been intimate, he’d purred her name with a sexy accent. It was how he rolled the R in her name that had her undone. The reason she couldn’t stop, even when they’d learned they both didn’t have a condom.

He squeezed her shoulder again bringing her attention to his last comment. He didn’t want to take Gabby from her. She blinked back the tears of relief that threatened to spill. “What will your family think?”

Nick’s dimple deepened as his smile grew wide. “They’re going to eat her up. My mother’s been begging for grandchildren for years. Granted, she figured Holden would be the first to settle down.”

“Why Holden?”

“Good question. He was the troublemaker growing up. Once he hit twenty-five he settled a little. He owns an auto body shop in Acadia Falls. Sleepy town ten months of the year, just as he likes it.”

“Does he have a girlfriend?” They’d continued walking again. Learning more about his family would help her not worry so much about losing Gabby.

“Holden? He has lots of girlfriends.”

“Another player in the family, huh?”

Nick slapped his hand across his chest. “Are you insinuating that I’m a player?”

“You have all the right words,” she teased, enjoying the shift in conversation.

“And all the right moves.” He draped his arm across her shoulder before hip nudging her to the side. “My turn to push.”

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