Melissa McClone – New Arrivals: Surprise Baby for Him: The Cattleman's Adopted Family / The Soldier's Homecoming / Marriage for Baby (страница 8)

She stepped outside quickly, and through the open doorway he sent a silent glance to the bed where Bella slept.

‘Yes, she’s out to it,’ Amy said quietly and she let out a huff of breath, hoping it would settle her nerves.

‘Would you like coffee?’ he asked. ‘Or something stronger?’

‘Not especially,’ she said, wanting a clear head, although she suspected she would benefit from a stiff drink right now.

He gave a curt nod towards the back veranda. ‘Perhaps we should go out there, if it’s not too wet. We shouldn’t disturb Bella, but you’ll still be able to hear her if she cries.’

‘All right.’

Leaving a single bed lamp on, she closed the door softly and followed him, and she felt nervous, as if she were going to a job interview she hadn’t prepared for.

On the veranda, a wall light cast a soft glow over a trio of potted plants and two deeply cushioned cane chairs beside a wicker table.

Amy took a seat and she peered out at the curtain of rain, which was falling more softly now. She wondered what Seth wanted to ‘chat’ about. Avoiding that thought, she asked, ‘How long will this rain last?’

‘Hard to say.’ He shrugged. ‘In some wet seasons it rains non-stop for weeks.’

‘That sounds depressing.’

‘It can be. Most of us try to get away for at least part of the wet.’

‘I’ve read about roads being cut off by floods.’

‘That’s why I have a plane,’ Seth said in a dry, matter-of-fact tone.

A plane? Before Amy could register her astonishment, he said, ‘So you’ve never been in the tropics before?’

‘No, never.’

‘You’re not seeing it at its best. You should have come in winter.’

‘But that would have been too late to help Rachel’s book launch.’

‘Ah, yes.’ Seth looked out to the black and silent night, with only his profile showing to Amy. ‘I was hoping we could talk about Rachel’s book.’

Goosebumps broke out on Amy’s arms. At least Seth hadn’t guessed about Bella, but she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or alarmed. What else could she tell him about the book?

If he realised that she’d come all this way, and imposed on his hospitality, on the pretext of promoting a book she knew next to nothing about, he would be justified in thinking she was crazy, and bad mannered.

She studied the dark lines of his brow and his nose and the angular jut of his jaw, but they gave her no clue to his thoughts.

He spoke without looking at her. ‘You said you were Rachel Tyler’s best friend.’

‘Yes, I did, because it’s true.’

‘You’ve known her since you were fifteen.’

‘Yes.’

‘You’ve gossiped together.’

‘I wouldn’t call it gossip.’ Amy sounded more prudish than she’d meant to. ‘But sure, we talked a lot.’

‘And yet she never talked to you about her book?’

‘Not in any kind of detail.’ Amy watched a moth dance into the pool of light. ‘I—I think Rachel was superstitious. The book was terribly important to her, and I think she might have been afraid that it wouldn’t be a success if she talked too much about it.’

‘Did she tell you about her time at Serenity?’

‘Very little,’ Amy admitted with a sigh. Rachel had been totally absorbed by the aftermath of her trip north—her pregnancy and the birth of her baby.

‘But she told you about me,’ Seth said coldly. ‘You knew how to find me.’

‘Yes.’

Feeling hopelessly cornered, Amy closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to tell Seth the whole story tonight. She’d wanted to wait till she’d been refreshed by a good night’s sleep. She’d wanted to feel calm and composed, able to take her time and to choose her words carefully.

More importantly, she’d wanted to retain the upper hand in this, but Seth was pushing her, giving her no choice. She had to speak now. If he dragged the truth out of her, she would lose every ounce of credibility in his eyes.

And that mattered perhaps more than it should.

As she sat there, eyes closed, gathering courage, she heard the flutter of the moth’s wings against the light globe and the sound of Seth’s chair scraping on the wooden veranda boards. Her eyes flew open.

Seth was standing directly in front of her, towering over her. ‘There’s something you’re not telling me, Amy.’

His voice was hard and as cutting as a sabre. He was trying to intimidate her, which was one thing Amy wouldn’t tolerate. She’d learned in her own backyard to stand up to her brothers.

Bravely, she glared up at him. ‘I don’t like your tone.’

For a moment, he looked taken aback. ‘I’m being very civil.’

He ran tense fingers through his hair, and time crawled as he stood there staring at her, while she stared back at him.

Eventually, his expression relaxed, and the next time he spoke his voice held no menace. ‘Give me a break, Amy. I’m not used to playing these games. All I want is the truth. Why did you come here?’

‘Because I need to talk to you.’ Her eyes dropped to the moth, which now lay burned and dying on the bare floorboards. ‘I have something very important to tell you.’

Even though Seth hadn’t moved, she sensed the tension run through him, like a fault line in a wall of rock. She knew his mind was working at a million miles a minute and any second now he would put two and two together.

‘If we’re going to have this conversation, Seth, could you please sit down?’

He looked surprised, but to her relief he relented and resumed his seat, one long, jeans-clad leg crossed over the other, hands plunged deep in his pockets.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘I’m sorry, too,’ Amy admitted. ‘I came here to do the right thing, but I’ve made rather a mess of it.’

Seth shot her a sharp glance, and she knew he was waiting for her to explain.

So this was it. The moment she’d feared.

‘I’m not Bella’s mother,’ she said.

It was ages before he spoke, and in the stillness the rain continued to fall, needle-fine and shiny and silent.

‘Is she Rachel’s child?’ he asked at last.

‘Yes.’

Yes…

The word hung in the air, quivering like the vibrations of a tuning fork.

Amy wished she could feel relieved now that it was out, but she was too shocked by Seth’s reaction.

Even in the subdued light, she could see the colour drain from his face. Then, silently, he slumped forward, elbows propped on his knees as he covered his face with his hands.

Shocked, she sat completely still, two fingers pressed against her lips, wishing she could recall the single word that had revealed so much.

Too much?

Yes. One little syllable had told him everything. There was no need to add that Bella was his daughter.

The fact that Amy had brought Bella all this way pointed to it, and a few simple calculations confirmed the facts. Seth only had to count back to know that Bella’s conception had occurred during the time Rachel had spent at Serenity.

With him.