SEAL's Baby (Navy SEAL Secret Baby Romance) (8 page)

“Sure,” I said
unconvincingly.

“I can feel the nerves
coming off you,” Maddie pointed out.
 

I gulped. “I’m just …
psyching myself out a little. I really shouldn’t be this nervous.”

“Lizzie, you need to
breath,” Maddie said calmly. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Do you think he’s
changed much?” I asked.

“I’m sure we all have,”
Maddie answered. “But at the heart of it, I’m sure he’s the same person he’s
always been.”

“I don’t know how to
react when I see him,” I admitted. “I mean, should I hug him? Should I shake
his hand? Should I just wave from across the room?”

Maddie smiled. “Just do
whatever comes naturally.”

I glared at her. “Oh
you’re a big help, I’m so glad I brought you.”

  
Maddie laughed and instantly I realized how neurotic I must sound
to her. “I know it must seem like the only reason I’m going tonight is because
of Dylan but it’s not.”

“I know…”

“I mean I do want to see
him but … even if he wasn’t going to be there, I would still be going and I
would still have brought the lasagna.”

  
“I know, Lizzie,” Maddie said firmly. “You don’t have to tell me
that. We’ve known each other for twenty-five years. If there’s anyone who’s
willing to make food and take it to someone in need, it’s going to be you.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I’m
just a little nervous.”

Maddie glanced at me
curiously.

“What?”

“Do you think that maybe
the reason you’re so nervous is because you might still have feelings for
Dylan?”

“No,” I said before I
could even consider the question. “Definitely not.”

“You sound sure.”

  
“I am,” I said quickly. “I mean, I haven’t seen the man in eleven
years. I’m just nervous because, well, he was my high school sweetheart. Wouldn’t
you be?”

“I suppose so,” Maddie
said with a shrug that wasn’t very convincing.

  
Our conversation came to an abrupt halt as I pulled up outside
Dylan’s large driveway. There was already a parade of cars outside and I knew
the house would be packed with people. I got out and straightened my blouse,
then I got the lasagna and Maddie and I headed for the open front door.

  
We walked in and headed straight for the long table where the food
had been laid out. There was already a range of different things: fruits,
sandwiches, pies, and more. A few people nodded to us as we moved through the
room, but I was too preoccupied to have a conversation with any of them.

  
That’s when I saw Mrs. Thomas. She was sitting in one corner of
the room with a bunch of tissues in her hand. Her eyes were red from crying and
her cheeks were tear stained. I left Maddie at the food table and moved towards
Mrs. Thomas. My heart broke at the expression on her face and I realized how
much she had loved her husband.

  
I knelt down right in front of her. “Hello, Mrs. Thomas,” I said.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” The words didn’t sound right as they came out. It
was such a conventional thing to say that it seemed to me as though all meaning
had been drained from it. She looked at me in confusion for a moment and then
it clicked.

“Elizabeth?”

I smiled and nodded.

“I haven’t seen you in a
long time.”

“I know,” I replied. “I
should have dropped by to see you, it’s just—”

“I know,” she said before
I could finish my sentence. “You don’t have to explain.”

  
I reached out and took both her hands in my own. I remembered the
days when Mrs. Thomas had been a second mother to me. There were times when I
had been more comfortable talking to her than I felt with my own mother. She
had the kind of calming presence that invited you to spill your confidences.

“If there’s anything at
all I can do for you,” I said. “Please let me know.”

“Tyler told me that
you’re going to be playing the piano at the funeral,” Mrs. Thomas replied. “I
really appreciate you agreeing to do that.”

“I only wish I was
better,” I said. “So that I can do justice to Mr. Thomas.”

  
“Oh don’t worry about that dear,” Mrs. Thomas replied squeezing my
hand. “It’ll be enough for him that you’re playing at all. He was always so
fond of you.”

  
I felt a stab of sadness in my chest and I had to turn my face
down to compose myself. I didn’t want to cry in front of Mrs. Thomas; I felt as
though the person most affected should be the one to break down and everyone
else needed to be strong for her.

“Come and sit beside me,
Elizabeth,” Mrs. Thomas sat, patting the seat next to her.

  
I sat down and wrapped my arm around her. I could tell instantly
that she had lost weight, probably in the last few days alone. She had aged
considerably since I’d last met her and I wondered if that had occurred over
time or if it was a result of her husband’s sudden death.

“How have you been,
Elizabeth?”

“Oh, we don’t have to
talk about me, Mrs. Thomas,” I said, wondering if that would be insensitive.

“Please,” she said. “I’d
rather talk about you than me at this moment.”

I nodded in
understanding. “I’m fine,” I replied. “I have two jobs and they keep me busy.”

“I hope you have time
left over to enjoy your life,” she said. “It has a habit of going by faster
than you imagine.”

“I … well … I try,” I
said, but I sounded unconvincing even to myself. “I went through a divorce a
year ago.”

“I heard,” Mrs. Thomas
replied softly. “I wanted to reach out to you at the time, but I didn’t think
it was my place.”

  
I remembered a time when I was twelve and Dylan had just turned
thirteen. We had been bored in the house and we had snooped around until we’d
found Dylan’s mothers sewing kit. Dylan dared me to thread a needle and stitch
a pattern onto my palm. I challenged him to the same dare and we got out two
needles, threaded them, and got to work on our palms. The top layer of skin was
course and hard and we could stitch through it without a problem.

  
I was close to finishing when Mrs. Thomas found out and made us
stop. Then she sat us and down and gave us a lecture about doing silly things.
“If you keep doing that, you’ll damage your skin,” she had said sternly. “It
might not affect you now, but it will affect you later.”

“You can’t tell Lizzie
what to do,” Dylan had pointed out. “It’s not your place.”

  
She had fixed Dylan with a steely glare. “Elizabeth is your friend
and I care about her, which gives me every right to advise her.”

  
Dylan had been annoyed with his mother but I had been far from it.
It was nice to have someone looking out for you. It was nice to know that
someone cared about you and wanted you to be ok. I had taken it for granted at
the time that things would always be like that.

  
The door opened and Mrs. Thomas looked up searchingly, as though
she were expecting someone. She noticed my curiosity. “Tyler left a few hours
ago to collect Dylan from the airport,” she told me. “They should be here any
moment now.”

  
I felt my insides grow cold as I realized I would be seeing Dylan
soon, very soon. I gulped down my nerves and tried to maintain a calm demeanor.
“Would you like something to eat, Mrs. Thomas?” I asked. “Or something to drink
at least?”

“Nothing dear, thank
you,” Mrs. Thomas replied in a voice that was weak with grief. As other people
came to pay their condolences, I moved back into the next room where Maddie
was.

“How is she? Maddie
asked.

“She’s doing as well as
can be expected,” I replied.

  
There was something of a commotion at the entrance in the next
room. “What’s that?” Maddie wondered out loud, craning her head to see a little
better.

“I don’t know,” I
shrugged.

  
Two older gentlemen passed by us and I recognized them as Dylan
and Tyler’s uncles. “Looks like the boys are finally here,” one said to the
other as they moved passed us.

As I turned to Maddie, I
realized she was already looking right at me. “You ok?” she mouthed.

“I think I’m going to be
sick,” I replied.

Chapter Nine

Dylan

  
There was a line of cars that paraded down the driveway and I was
immediately overwhelmed. “Whoa,” I said. “The whole town’s here.”

“What did you expect?”

“An emptier house,” I
replied. “I was hoping for some time alone with mom.”

“There’ll be plenty of
time for that,” Tyler said. “I think it’s good that mom’s surrounded by people
at the moment. It gives her less time to be miserable.”

“I think she’s going to
be miserable whether there’s people around or not.”

“Still, it’ll give her
some amount of distraction.”

  
I wasn’t sure I agreed with Tyler. I wondered if he preferred
other people being around because that meant he wasn’t solely responsible for
comforting mom. A part of me didn’t blame him; being around that kind of grief
was draining, especially when you had your own to deal with.

  
We got out of the car and moved towards the house. Apart from the
crowd of people and the vehicles parked outside, it looked the same. It looked
like my childhood, painted in the fading light of day. I wanted to take a
moment and just stand there and remember, but now was not the time. Tyler went
in first and I followed after him. Immediately there were cries from relatives,
friends, and neighbors who I hadn’t seen in years.

  
I hugged some, I shook hands with others, I accepted their condolences,
and I thanked them all for their love and support. Then I excused myself and asked
where my mother was.

“She just went upstairs
dear,” Aunt Brenda said.

  
Thankful that the exchange with my mother wouldn’t be a public
one, I headed upstairs. She answered the door faster than I expected and stood
there staring at me without a word. “Mom,” I said. “I’m home.”

  
Her face broke out into a sad smile and she leaned in and grabbed
me. We stood there hugging for a long time and I was immediately comforted by
the smell of her. It transported me back twenty years in the past when I was
still a young boy and my only definition of safety was tied to my parents. Now
that dad was gone, mom was the only thing I had left.

  
She pulled back after a while and cupped my face with both her
hands. “You look like a man,” she said.

“And I didn’t before?” I
asked lightly.

She smiled. “I don’t
know,” she replied. “There’s something different about you this time.”

  
I didn’t ask her to explain that. I just let her look at me and I
felt the regret wash over me as I realized how much time I had missed with both
my parents. I didn’t say anything but Mom looked different to me as well. She
looked smaller and older which alarmed me only because she was still a young
woman. She shouldn’t have looked so defeated.

“I wish I had been here,
ma,” I said sincerely. “So that you wouldn’t have had to go through …
everything alone.”

  
“You have an important job, darling,” mom replied with
understanding. “And anyway, Tyler was with me. Your brother has been so amazing
through all of this. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

  
“Good old Tyler to the rescue, huh?” I said, surprised at the
little edge of bitterness in my tone. “It’s good that he was the one who was
here,” I continued trying to make up for it. “He was always the more
responsible one.”

“You both are,” mom said
diplomatically. “In different ways.”

  
It was just like mom to want to make us both feel like we were
equally important and equally capable. I leaned in and kissed her on the
forehead. “I’d like to stay up here for the rest of the night, but I don’t
think we’d get away with it.”

“I think you’re right,” mom
replied with a small smile. “Why don’t you go on ahead and I’ll be down in a
bit?"

  
I nodded, understanding that she needed a little time to herself
before she re-joined the crowd. I grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze.
“I love you, mom,” I said trying to keep my voice from shaking.

“I know that son,” she
replied, as tears formed in her eyes. “I love you too.”

  
I left her in the room and made my way downstairs. I spotted Tyler
out in the back on the patio and he seemed to be deep in conversation with
someone. I made my way towards him and walked out onto the patio. The moment I
turned I realized whom he was talking. My heart skipped a beat as I looked at
Lizzie Miller for the first time in eleven years.

“Lizzie,” I said, her
name escaping my tongue without my permission.

“Hello, Dylan,” she said,
her voice was soft.

  
There were things about her that were comfortingly unchanged. The
vibrant brightness of her deep-red hair, the startling blue of her eyes, the
electric brightness of her smile, and the sprinkling of freckles along the
bridge of her nose. And yet, there were just as many things that had changed.
She was no longer a girl; she had blossomed into a woman. She was fuller than
she had been in high school; her breasts and hips had rounded out a little, giving
her body some serious curves.