Baby on Board. Lisa Ruff

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СКАЧАТЬ and Ian looked at each other, then back at Patrick. “No,” they said in stereo.

      “He knocked her up,” Ian volunteered.

      Evan’s mouth dropped open and he looked at Patrick over the rim of his sunglasses again. Then he pushed them back up and started to laugh, loud and long. Patrick took a deep drink of his beer, emptying it. He went back down and got another. When he returned, Evan was still laughing, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. Patrick glared at Ian, who shrugged innocently.

      Finally, Evan got control of himself. “Damn, that’s perfect,” he said on a final gurgle. “Here’s to you, Dad,” he added, raising his drink.

      “That’s the tricky part—” Ian began.

      “Whose mess is this anyway?” Patrick interrupted.

      “Yours, Patty,” Ian said. “So, tell him.”

      Evan looked back and forth between them. “What rest? She’s knocked up. You get married, live happily ever after until you don’t. End of story.”

      “That’s the problem,” Patrick began reluctantly. “She doesn’t want to get married—”

      “That’s perfect!” Evan crowed.

      “She doesn’t want to get married to me.”

      “Why not?”

      “Kate doesn’t think Patrick is father material,” Ian said. “He’s gone too often racing.”

      Evan snorted. “What difference does it make if he’s here or not? He’s the father.”

      “Tell that to Kate.” Patrick popped the tab on his beer and took a long swallow.

      “She’s going to find a guy who’s more qualified for the position,” Ian elaborated when Patrick fell silent.

      “Wow!” Evan swore. “That’s hard-core.”

      “She wants me to give it up,” Patrick added grimly.

      “What? Racing?”

      Patrick nodded.

      “That’s ridiculous. You’re a world-class skipper!” Evan straightened from his slumped position. “She might as well ask you to stop breathing. What’s she got against sailors anyway?”

      Patrick shrugged. “Search me. She’s never even been sailing.”

      “Well, you can fix that easily enough.” Evan patted Aphrodite’s hull.

      “So what are you going to do?” Ian asked.

      “Somehow, I have to change her mind. I have to show her that I can be a good father.”

      “Hey, I know! Just borrow one of Jeannie’s kids for a few days to cart around with you. Kate’ll get the idea.” Evan chortled at his own joke.

      “Knock it off, Evan.” Patrick glared at his friend. “I’m serious.”

      “Oh, come on. It’s not like she has guys lined up to marry her,” Evan scoffed. “She’s pregnant.”

      “She has at least one,” Patrick countered. “She’s meeting him tomorrow.”

      Evan shook his head and took another swig of beer. “I don’t believe it.”

      “I do,” Ian said quietly.

      Evan looked at him.

      Ian shrugged. “She’s beautiful and vivacious. She’s an artist. Smart, too. And she runs her own business. The fact that she’s pregnant wouldn’t be that much of a deterrent for some guys.”

      “It would be for me.”

      “No one’s asking you to step up to the plate, McKenzie,” Patrick said.

      “Sounds like no one’s asking you to, either, Berzani,” he shot back.

      “Shut up, both of you,” Ian interjected. “So, how are you going to change her mind, Patty?”

      “Go see her tomorrow, before she meets this other guy. If I can talk to her, I think I can make her see it could work.”

      Ian nodded while Evan shook his head. “It’s going to take more than fancy talk.”

      “Maybe I should take your advice, then,” Patrick said slowly.

      “My advice?” Evan asked, surprised.

      “Yeah.” Patrick nodded as he thought through the idea. “I should take her sailing. She’ll understand everything then.”

      Evan grinned. “Brilliant!”

      “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Patty,” Ian said, frowning. “She’s never sailed and—”

      “That’s why I should do it,” Patrick interrupted. “I’ll surprise her and show her how great it really is.”

      “But what if she hates it?” Ian asked.

      “Never happen,” Evan said. “I’ll go along to do the work and Patrick can play skipper.”

      “I am a skipper,” Patrick said drily.

      “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

      “Guys, I really don’t think you should do this.” Ian looked back and forth between them. His dark eyes were worried. “At least don’t spring it on her.”

      “No, Patrick’s right,” Evan said. “It works better if he surprises her. She’ll love it!”

      Patrick ignored his brother and Evan. He wasn’t sure how he felt about becoming a father, but he wasn’t going to let Kate push him aside before he figured it out. He had to change her mind. Taking her sailing was the perfect first step. Perfect.

      Chapter Three

      Kate carried her cup of tea out onto the brick patio behind her house. The early-morning air was cool and fresh after the heat and humidity of the previous day. Later, it would be hot, but now the temperature was perfect. She sat on a deck chair and looked at the garden.

      Peeking out from behind the daisies, peonies and petunias were fantastical ceramic creatures sprung from Molly’s fertile imagination. Some of the beasts sported smooth, shining skin in ocher, sienna and russet. Their eyes glinted slyly. Others were rough-hewn and mossy, features grumpy and fierce. Between them, shining spires of red, green, blue and yellow glass—creations from Kate’s studio—spiked skyward. Delicate orbs of lustrous silver and gold glass hung from the branches of the wisteria, catching the light and reflecting it back to the house.

      At the edge of the patio stood several large ceramic pots, also Molly’s handiwork. Crimson geraniums spilled over their sides, spicing the air with scent. Kate took a sip of her tea and savored the morning СКАЧАТЬ