“Pipe and I are having a baby, too.” Tag said. Aaron pulled his friend in for a hug. He was so happy for Tag and Piper—he knew that his friends would make wonderful parents.
“That’s fantastic news, Tag. I’m so happy for you all.” He helped Lorna and Sawyer with the last of their packages, putting them into the trunk of their car. Lorna still seemed nervous.
“Well, we’re off.” She went up on her tiptoes to hug and kiss Tag and then Aaron on their cheeks. Sawyer shook both of their hands and ushered his new bride into the car. Aaron felt a pang of jealousy and tried to shake it off. He had no business having those desires.
“Well, might as well head in. Pipe will be glad to see you, and Sunny is still here.” Aaron froze at Tag’s words, not sure how he felt about seeing Sunny after waving the happy couple off.
“I need to grab something from my truck, man. I’ll be right behind you, just give me a minute.” Tag nodded and headed back into his cabin. Honestly, Aaron didn’t need anything from his truck; he just needed a minute. Seeing everyone again was stirring up emotions in him that he didn’t plan on. He needed to get his head together before he faced Sunny. He hid in his truck for ten minutes before he decided to stop being a chicken. Sunny was just a woman that he had sex with—once. One fucking time, and that was all she was to him—just a one-night stand. He actually said those words out loud, laughing at how ridiculous they sounded. He couldn’t even fool himself that he meant whathe said, so how would he be able to convince everyone else that he had moved on? How would he be able to tell Sunny that she meant nothing to him when he felt so much? Aaron slammed his truck door shut and made his way to the cabin. He always loved the way Tag’s cabin felt so warm and homey. Now that Tag had Piper and a baby on the way, it seemed like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.Someday. Yeah, that thought was probably a lie, too.
He pulled the front door open and stepped into the warm cabin to find Piper crowding Sunny, shouting her name. Both Tag and Pipe looked worried as Sunny started to fall. Aaron’s protective instincts kicked in, and he darted over to Sunny and pulled her into his arms before her body hit the floor, and God, she felt so good in his arms. He couldn’t get enough of her body snuggled up against him.
“Oh God, Aaron, I’m so sorry,” Piper croaked. He looked at Piper, who was staring at Sunny’s swollen belly. How had he missed that when he first walked in? Sunny was pregnant.
Aaron couldn’t take his eyes off Sunny as he cradled her against his chest. She was pregnant, and if he had to guess, the baby was his. Judging from the size of her belly, she was due any minute, and that just about gutted him. Why didn’t she tell him about the baby—possibly his baby? He should have been given the chance to be there for them both, but Sunny never told him—never gave him the option to do the right thing.
He carried her into Tag and Piper’s spare room and laid her on the bed. Piper was hot on his heels. He didn’t want to talk to her; he wanted to talk to Sunny. He needed to know if the babywas his, although he felt deep down in his gut that it was. He sat down next to Sunny and pulled her into his arms.
“Do you think we should call an ambulance?” Piper asked. She looked down at her best friend, worried.
“I think she just fainted. She’ll be fine. I caught her before she hit the floor,” Aaron assured her. He rested his palm on her belly and felt the baby kick. He wanted to pull his hand away, feeling like he was intruding on something personal, but he was mesmerized by the little person inside her.
“Is the baby mine?” He didn’t mean to growl his question, but damn it, his emotions were in overdrive at the thought of his baby growing inside of Sunny.
“Aaron,” Piper stuttered, “I think that might be a question you should ask Sunny.” Aaron groaned, knowing that Piper’s answer was all he needed. The baby was his, but Piper didn’t want to be the one to tell him. Still, he needed to have a little chat with Sunny. Why would she keep his baby from him?
“Fine. Help me wake her up so that she can confirm that she’s been pregnant with my child for the past eight months and didn’t bother to tell me.” He saw Piper’s expression and the pity that she felt for him. He didn’t need her fucking pity—he needed to be told the truth.
“I’ll go and get some cold compresses and see if we have any smelling salts.” Piper left the room, leaving him alone with Sunny and his baby. God, Sunny was beautiful. She always reminded him of a fairy or sprite. Her dark hair was cut short again. He liked her hair short; she called it her pixie cut, and it would make him laugh because that was exactly what she was—a pixie. It was almost impossible to believe that her tiny frame could carry such a big belly. At 4 feet 11, he couldn’t imagine her pregnancy had been an easy one—she was so little. He pulled her in closer, loving the feel of having her in his arms again. They spent one perfect night together during a freak April blizzard.He lost a piece of his heart that night, and he left it with her the entire time he was gone. It appeared that he left a little more than a piece of his heart with Sunny. He wrapped his arms around her belly, resting his palms against the squirming baby inside her womb. He loved the little kicks and tugs. He could see little feet and elbows poke Sunny’s skin, and he was sure that the little one was going to rip her in two.
“Sunny, you need to wake up, honey.” He kissed the top of her head, inhaling her scent and loving the way her hair always smelled like peaches. Aaron rubbed her belly and couldn’t help but chuckle at how the baby seemed to follow his hands, kicking and stretching Sunny’s skin.
“Baby, you need to wake up and talk to me.” She stirred this time, almost turning over to face him. She sat up with a start as if not realizing where she was. Aaron pulled her back down onto his body. “Easy, honey. You fainted, and you need to take it slowly.” Sunny snuggled into his hold as if she were settling in to take another nap. “Oh no! We talk before you sleep.” Sunny’s whole body stiffened in his arms. He rubbed his hand down her back and rested his other hand on her belly. “Maybe we can talk later, you know—like when the wedding is over.” Sunny was stalling, and he wasn’t about to let her off so easily.
“The wedding is over, and we can talk now. I think we should start with this little guy.” He palmed her belly and felt another kick. “Is he mine, Sunny?” She sighed against his chest.
“It’s a she, and yes. She is yours.” Sunny sobbed, and he tightened his arms around her. He always hated seeing Sunny cry since she was usually so happy. He liked to tease her, calling her “His little ray of sunshine”. She never seemed to mind the nickname, but now, she was more like a storm cloud.
“Aw, Sunny, don’t cry, baby.” He kissed the top of her head again, and she stilled in his arms.
“No, Aaron, don’t.” She tried to free herself from his hold, but he didn’t allow that. He worried that if he let her go, she would disappear before he got his answers. “You have no right to hold me or kiss my head. You need to stop touching me and calling me your little pet names. You left, Aaron, with no word to anyone but Tag. You just left.” Her tears ran freely down her cheeks, and he didn’t know what to do.
“You could have sent word, Sunny. I would have helped you.” Aaron let her move to the other side of the bed, giving her some space. Every fiber of his being wanted to pull her back into his arms and never let her go, but wasn’t that why he left in the first place? Wanting Sunny was never his problem. He wasn’t good for her. Hell, he wasn’t good for anyone. He would be a horrible husband and probably a shitty father. But that didn’t make him want to walk away—this baby was his responsibility. He wanted to help Sunny, and he wanted to try to be a father to their daughter. The thought of having a little girl left a lump of emotion lodged in his throat; he had no clue what to do with a daughter.
“Sure, I could have forced Tag to tell you, but he didn’t want to get involved. And what would you have done when you found out? Would you have come back into town and taken care of me? Would you have taken care of this baby?” She barked out her laugh as if mocking him with her words.
“Yes, I would have fucking taken care of you both, but I wasn’t given the chance. You kept our baby a secret from me. Why, Sunny? Were you afraid that I couldn’t handle being a father or that I’d be a shitty one?” Sunny gasped as if he slapped her.
“Oh, Aaron, is that what you think? I know that you are going to be a fantastic dad. I just didn’t want to be your obligation. I was a one-night stand, and then she happened.” Sunny rubbed her belly, and God, he wanted to touch her again. “You don’thave to worry about us, Aaron. We’ve done just fine without you, and we will continue to be fine once you leave again. That’s the plan, right? You’re going to leave again?”
Aaron knew that Sunny was right. She was fine without him, but dammit, he wanted her to need him just a little bit. He planned on going back out to California. He was training future firefighters, and at last, he felt important, like he was finally fulfilling his purpose. Five years ago, he almost quit, but Tag convinced him to keep going. Aaron knew that he had done everything that he could to save his team, but the guilt of losing so many men stayed with him. Tag was the one to help him through all the painful goodbyes. His best friend went to all fifteen funerals with him, standing by his side, helping him through it all. Tag was also the reason why he stayed in Harvest Ridge and tried to lay down roots. But then Sunny happened, and when a California station called to ask him to train some of their forest fighters, he jumped at the chance. Finding Sunny pregnant with his child threw a monkey wrench in his plans to go back to training firefighters in California. He knew that he couldn’t just leave his child and move on as if she didn’t exist; it was just not who he was. He wanted his little girl to have her father around; he at least owed Sunny that.
“No, Sunny. I’m not leaving again. I’ve decided to stick around, and the station said that they could add me back to the team.” It wasn’t a total lie—his captain called him just about every week to ask him to come back to Harvest Ridge. “So, I’m not going anywhere.” She squinted at him as if she didn’t quite believe what he was saying.
“And when did you decide to stick around, Aaron? Was it before or after you found out I’m carrying your baby?” Geez, Sunny looked downright pissed. She was never like this before, crying one minute and angry as hell the next.
“I’m sticking around, isn’t that what you want to hear? Or do you still feel that I’m not good enough to be a father?” Her anger fizzled to pity, and he almost wanted her to be mad again. Angry Sunny, he could handle. The woman who sat before him now, pitying him, just plain threw him off.
“You know what, do what you want to do. Just know that I don’t need you to stick around for our sake.” Sunny rubbed her huge belly, driving home her point. “We’ve gotten this far without your help, and we’ll be fine for whatever life throws our way, won’t we, baby girl?” Aaron didn’t answer her—he wasn’t sure what to say. A part of him was jealous that she had already bonded with their daughter and was even talking to her, and he didn’t even know that she existed.
