Military Daddy. Patricia Davids

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      Annie Delmar watched the soldier’s eyes widen as the meaning of her words sank in. To his credit, he didn’t make any smart remarks. She had heard plenty of them in her time, but she never got used to the hurt.

      This was so much harder than she had imagined. She wanted to sink through the floor. Maybe she should just leave. That would be the easiest thing to do.

      She needed a drink.

      No, I don’t. I want a sober life. I deserve a sober life. God, if You are listening, lend me Your strength. Help me do the right thing for once.

      Drawing a deep breath, she launched into the speech she had worked on for the past week. There was a lot this man needed to understand. “I can tell by your expression that you get my drift. I used to live a very destructive lifestyle, but I’m in recovery now. I had been clean and sober for almost a year when I had a setback. That is no excuse. I made a choice to drink and to spend the night with you when I knew it was wrong.”

      “What kind of setback?”

      His concern wasn’t something that she’d expected. “You mean, what caused me to fall off the wagon? It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

      “It must have.”

      “Okay, maybe it did, but I’ve been sober since I left you at that motel. That’s what’s important. I’m getting the help I need and I’m getting my life back on track.”

      There was a joke if she’d ever uttered one. Her life was closer to being derailed than on track, but she didn’t want this man to think she couldn’t handle herself. She would handle this and she would do it the right way, with God’s help and the help of others like herself in AA. Still, she found it hard to meet his frank gaze.

      “That’s good,” he said at last. “I hope it wasn’t something that I said or did.”

      She relaxed for the first time in days. “No. You and your buddies came along afterward. You were all so happy about something. You were all laughing.”

      He had a nice laugh. She remembered that about him even if other parts of that evening were fuzzy.

      He pulled his hat out from beneath his arm. She watched him fold and unfold the red ball cap that matched the T-shirt he wore under his army jacket. She had no clue what he was thinking.

      “Our unit had just returned from riding in the inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., and our sergeant had just gotten engaged. She’d be mad if she knew we went out drinking to celebrate. I don’t mean to sound like a prude, but I don’t normally drink.”

      “I could tell that, too.”

      It had been his cheerful smile and his happy laughter that had drawn Annie to him that night. She had craved being a part of that happiness as much as she had craved the liquor.

      She cleared her mind of the memory. “Look, I need to make it plain that I don’t want anything from you. I want you to know that. I don’t want anything from you. Do you get that?”

      He stopped scrunching his hat and looked at her. “You don’t want anything from me. I get that, but I’m sort of hazy on all the rest. Amy, why are you here? How did you find me?”

      “My name is Annie.”

      “Annie. I’m sorry.”

      She thought she was done feeling like this. Cheap and disposable. Crossing her arms again, she looked down at the floor. “Don’t be. The music was loud. We were…”

      Why does this have to be so hard? I’m trying to do the right thing, Lord. Please help me.

      Shane looked down and began folding his hat again. “I never was good with names. I forget my own sometimes.”

      Annie saw his discomfort and took pity on him. The man was six feet tall and as good-looking as the day was long—if a woman liked the blue-eyed cowboy type with a Texas drawl that made every word in the English language sound as soft as a cotton ball. And he was embarrassed because he didn’t remember her name.

      “It’s okay. It’s not like we had any intention of becoming best friends.”

      Looking up, a slight grin pulled at the corner of his mouth. “My list of friends is pretty short. I’d be honored to add you.”

      Oh, yes, he was as sweet and kind as she remembered—and she was about to drop a bomb on his life.

      “As for finding you,” she continued, “that wasn’t hard. It’s a big Army base, but how many stables are there here?”

      “One.”

      “Right. I called and spoke to your captain yesterday and he told me when you would be here today.”

      Annie glanced at her watch. She couldn’t stay much longer. It was time to get it over with.

      This is my step number nine: I need to make amends for the harm I caused. I need to admit the truth.

      Was she doing the right thing? She wasn’t sure she should burden this man with her news. Telling him wouldn’t change anything, but Marge believed that he had a right to know, and Annie believed in Marge’s wisdom. She had seen it in action time and time again.

      Annie raised her head. She had come a long way in the last year even if she had slipped up one night. She could be proud of what she had accomplished since she’d turned her life over to God. Something good would come of this because it had to be part of His plan.

      “Corporal Ross—”

      “Call me Shane.”

      “Okay, Shane, I’ll get to the point. I’m here because I’m pregnant.”

      Chapter Two

      Shane blinked once, not certain he had heard Annie correctly. He opened his mouth but closed it quickly without posing the question that dangled on the tip of his tongue.

      “Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m sure it’s yours?” she demanded.

      The mixture of defiance and pain in her voice made him glad he hadn’t spoken that thought aloud.

      “I don’t think you would have gone to the trouble of finding me if you weren’t sure.”

      Her attitude softened slightly but not completely. “That’s right.”

      She shot to her feet, clutching the strap of her scuffed black vinyl purse. “Okay, then, I guess we’re done.”

      He stood in surprise. “Whoa! You can’t just СКАЧАТЬ