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He strode back into the house, fear and anger and something else entirely all tangled up inside him. He threw open the door to the guest bedroom. “If this is my baby—”
“Oh my God!” Hope screeched.
Daniel froze. Hope was sitting on the futon in her T-shirt and only a pair of underwear, her legs stretched out in front of her. The right was just as perfect as it had always been, but that wasn’t what drew his gaze. He focused on her scarred leg, on the pocked flesh and scars running from several inches down her thigh all the way to her shin. “Hope—”
“Get out!” She grabbed the blanket off the back of the futon and tossed it over the lower half of her body. “I know this is your house and all, but you don’t get to just walk in here.” Her voice was shrill and her movements jerky. If he hadn’t known how messed up over this she was, that would have more than shown him.
And I let her just close herself away so she could stew.
Idiot.
He forced himself to take a mental step back and breathe. Yelling at her wasn’t going to do anything but piss them both off, and a screaming match wasn’t going to do either of them any good. “The baby.”
“The theoretical baby.”
“Darling, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t think pretty conclusively that there was a baby.” Every time he said those words, his gut lurched, and for the life of him he couldn’t say if it was a good thing or a bad thing. “You can’t take it away from me.”
“If it’s a baby, it’s not an it.” She clutched the blanket to her chest, glaring at him like he’d just personally insulted her.
He chose not to comment on the fact she was flip-flopping wildly right now about what she wanted. Daniel figured she was entitled. Actually, the more freaked out she acted, the calmer he felt. He could do this. It might not be planned, but he wasn’t going to spit on the chance to make amends that fate had given him.
He just needed to bring Hope around to the idea of it. Tentative plan solidifying in his mind, he crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you need from me?”
“How about some goddamn privacy?”
“If I leave, you’re just going to sit there and your mind is going to run in circles all night.” The same thing he’d be doing. He motioned. “Come on. I think I have some tea stashed around here.” As soon as he said it, he realized she couldn’t just up and follow him. Guilt rose up and punched him in the gut. The baby thing had him so turned around, he’d actually forgotten that her leg had irreparable damage because of him. Goddamn it. It was almost enough to make him retreat, but he powered on. “If your knee is bothering you, I can carry you.”
“No.” The word came out sharp enough to cut. Hope shook her head. “You will not be carrying me anywhere, so get that idea out of your head right now. I’m more than capable of moving around on my own.”
He waited, but she didn’t move. “Did you want me to turn my back or some shit?” What if she fell over? He went cold. What if in falling she hurt the baby? Daniel took a step forward. “It’s no trouble to carry you, darling. I’ve done it enough times.”
“Touch me and lose your hand.” She still didn’t move from her place beneath the blanket, though her dark eyes were fierce. “I’m not an invalid, Daniel. I’m not some broken toy that you can cart around until it feels loved again. I’ve been like this almost longer than I was the other way. This is my reality, and I don’t need your help, and I sure as hell don’t need your pity.”
Her reality.
Again, guilt tried to choke him. He fought it down, but only barely. He couldn’t afford to let her drive him away, not when there might be a baby. “Would you like some tea or not?”
Hope shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”
Because he’d gone and fucked this up.
It struck him that he’d spent so much time fighting to distance himself from the people around him that he didn’t know how to interact with people anymore. He’d pissed Hope off when he’d only been trying to help, because he was so damn clumsy with his attempts to comfort her. It used to be second nature to reach out and pull her close. Then again, she’d been in love with him back then.
A lot had changed.
Daniel backed out of the room and closed the door behind him, deciding that he needed to figure out what the fuck his plan was, because blundering through this was just going to ensure that Hope would drive back to Dallas at the first available opportunity and take his baby with her.
