Her chin tilted at a defensive angle. “We’re not talking about me. Beth will be a great mom. And Patrick will be an amazing father. He’s kind and patient and never raises his voice. And he’s talented. He can play almost any musical instrument. He teaches music at the University of Tennessee. His family is warm, welcoming, generous and tight-knit. They have family reunions every summer and get together each Christmas. His parents are amazing. This child will be very lucky to have them as grandparents.”
The flush on her cheeks when she talked about the greedy little weasel annoyed him because, without a doubt, Patrick Ryan would have taken the payout Ryan had offered if his wife hadn’t intervened. He might still be convinced to take it.
“Sounds like you should have married him instead of your sister.”
Nicole froze then paled. She focused on eating her cobbler.
He didn’t like the vibe coming his way—especially when added to the fact that her brother-in-law had been the intended father of her child.
“Is there something going on between you and Patrick Ryan?”
She gulped down a mouthful and carefully wiped her lips with a paper napkin. “What a ridiculous question. Of course not.”
“He’s ten or fifteen years older than you and your degree is from UT. Did you fall for your professor, Nicole?”
She hid her face by sipping from her cup of sweet iced tea, but her red cheeks gave him his answer. For some reason the idea of her with Professor Ryan made him want to hit something.
She finally lowered the cup. “My private life is none of your business unless it pertains to the health of this baby.”
Ryan leaned back against the railing, studying her and wondering how the professor could be dumb enough to have chosen the wrong sister. Anyone that stupid had no business fathering or parenting a child. “How did he end up with your sister?”
She pushed the thick vegetable stew around on her sectioned plate with her fork. “Tell me more about the house.”
His lips twitched at her obvious evasion. “Were you in one of his classes?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is if he makes a habit of hooking up with his students.”
She looked insulted. “Patrick has never cheated on Beth.”
She seemed determined to defend the little twerp. “Are you sure of that?”
“From the moment he laid eyes on her he never wanted anyone else.” She looked down. Her fingers clenched her fork. “We need to finish eating if we’re going to tour the house and get me back to work.”
“Answer my questions first.”
She abandoned her utensils. “Why is it relevant?”
“I’m trying to understand why you would relinquish this baby when it is tearing you apart.”
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” she almost shouted, the pain clear in her voice.
“Most women will fight to keep their kids even if they don’t want them just for the power it gives them over their ex.” Realization hit him like a falling concrete wall. “That’s it. This baby is the linchpin. It’s your connection to your brother-in-law even after he divorces your sister.”
“No!”
An uglier thought occurred to him. “Or maybe he’s leaving your sister for you. She’s a real ball breaker, and you were supposed to be having his kid. Maybe he was going to boot your sister out of that house in the suburbs, and you’re planning to take her place.”
Every speck of color fled her face. “How dare you. And you’re wrong. Even if Beth and Patrick did separate I would never take him back.” Her eyes widened and her lips slammed shut as she regretted the slip.
Being right didn’t fill him with satisfaction. “So he was yours first. Did Beth steal him?”
“Stop it.”
“What happened, Nicole? You brought him home to meet the family and big sister stole him?” He could tell from her shattered expression that he’d guessed correctly, and while he regretted acting like a prick by ripping the scab off an old wound, his rage toward the weasel who’d hurt her far surpassed courtesy.
She stood, hands fisted by her side. “Take me back. Now.”
“Does the truth make you uncomfortable?”
“If you won’t take me, I’ll hitch a ride with your real estate agent.”
“Patrick Ryan is an idiot. You’re better off without him.” She stalked out of the screened porch and up the dock toward the house. Ryan watched her go. What in the hell had gotten into him? He’d never been the type to torment a woman like that. But Nicole’s feelings for the jackass had irritated his stomach like the burn of cheap tequila.
Best to give her time to cool off and him time to get his head back on straight because losing control with her wasn’t going to get him anywhere but in trouble.
One thing was certain, he decided as he repacked the remnants of their lunch, Nicole’s bastard of a brother-in-law was not getting his hands on this baby. Ryan intended to make damned sure of it—no matter how far he had to go to guarantee success.
Nicole could practically hear the sound of children’s laughter echoing through the empty house, and her heart ached. She would never have a home like this or the family the bright, spacious rooms called out for. She wouldn’t let herself.She couldn’t marry when her heart still belonged to Patrick. She’d seen how tying yourself to the wrong person turned out. If her mother had married the man she loved instead of the one her father had chosen for her as part of a business deal, then the Hightower family would have been filled with love instead of headed by two people miserably and grudgingly doing their duty. Two people who should have divorced long ago if the hateful words they’d shouted at each other were the truth.
Nicole visually tracked Ryan’s progress across the lush green lawn from her position in the open set of double French doors leading from the huge eat-in kitchen to the brick patio that overlooked the river and boat dock.
He approached the tree house built in one corner of the backyard. Looking up, he circled the base suspended a yard above his head. Next he examined the ladder, shook it and then tested the bottom tread with his foot.
The real estate agent chuckled beside Nicole as Ryan climbed and disappeared through the wooden floor above him. “Boys will be boys.”
“I guess so.” But her brothers had never had a tree house. Planes, boats, vacation homes, yes. Nicole had taken advantage of the last two, but not the first. She’d always been interested in learning to fly, but Beth had cautioned her that unless she wanted to be an absentee mother like theirs she’d better leave piloting to the men.
And now, the irony was she wouldn’t be a mother at all.
The shutters of the simple wooden structure opened and Ryan’s face appeared. “Come on up, Nicole.”
Surprised, she startled. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s structurally sound. Don’t tell me you’re chicken.”
Chicken? Her spine snapped straight. He had no idea how often she’d heard that dare. Or how many times it had gotten her in trouble. As the youngest, she’d had a lot to prove.
“You know you want to see the kind of place your child will be playing in,” he added.
Dirty. He’d hit her in her most vulnerable spot. She approached the structure, her heels sinking into the grass with each step. At the bottom of the ladder she kicked off her shoes and climbed. Her head cleared the opening, and she gasped in delight at the miniature home. Small scaled wooden tables, chairs and even a bunk bed filled the space.
Ryan cupped her elbow and helped her stand. Even after he released her the heat of his touch lingered on her skin. Despite the vaulted ceiling complete with skylights, Ryan dwarfed the space. She turned a slow circle. “Any child would love this hideout.”
“My father and I designed a clubhouse very similar to this.”
Something in the tone of his voice caught her attention. She leaned back to study his face. “Did you build it?”
The regret in his eyes gave her the answer before he shook his head. “My parents divorced before we could start.”
Her heart ached for the confused child he must have been. She wanted her baby to have a father who would plan tree houses and fishing trips. A father like Ryan. Patrick would never be the type to risk looking silly by acting boyish. She couldn’t picture him stooping in a kid’s playhouse or scaling a homemade ladder.
Her fingers curled around Ryan’s forearm in an offer of support before she realized what she was doing.
He pressed his hand overtop hers before she could pull away and his gaze drilled hers. “I was out of line earlier when I harassed you about your brother-in-law. I apologize.”
Surprised, she stared at him. His words demonstrated yet another difference between the two men. Ryan regretted hurting her feelings. Patrick had never apologized for devastating her life. “Apology accepted.”
Her anger toward Ryan had already dissipated, anyway. She couldn’t blame him for putting the puzzle pieces of her life together, and accurately, too. It wasn’t his fault that she didn’t like the segment he’d chosen to highlight.
“It’s his loss, Nicole.” He released her hand but her reprieve was short-lived. One long finger brushed her cheek, sending a frisson of awareness over her.
She couldn’t risk another one of his devastating kisses. She backed to the open window, turned and looked out over the yard, house and river below. “This house couldn’t be more perfect if you’d drawn the plans yourself.”
He joined her, his elbows and upper arms bumping hers as he leaned on the narrow sill beside her. “It’s not bad.”
“Not bad? Ryan, every safety feature that could be added has been. The home office is amazing, and this yard and tree house are wonderful. The kitchen is made for big family dinners. Everything about this property cries out for children.”
Ryan scanned the property and then his eyes met hers. “Don’t do it.”
Confused, she frowned. “Don’t do what?”
“Relinquish.”
She gasped at the intrusion of real life. “We’ve been over this, Ryan.”
“You claim Beth and Patrick want this baby, but if that were true nothing would have kept them from that appointment today. Nothing could have kept me from being there.”
Nicole winced at the accuracy of his statement. In weak moments, she’d thought the same thing. She straightened and crossed the tiny space. “They were busy.”
The excuse was pathetic and, she suspected, untrue.
“The kid is not theirs. They’ve done nothing to help you with expenses. Break the contract, Nicole. You have two valid reasons for doing so.”
“But I—”
“Don’t drag this kid through the hell you know is coming. I’ve seen enough of my friends’ marriages end to recognize when there’s no love left, and it’s time to cut your losses. I’m sure you have, too. Beth and Patrick have reached that point. You can see it in their distance when they’re together.”