“Skinned knees. She broke the toddler’s arm.”
Lucca winced, then blabbered a platitude that was especially stupid considering that it came from him. “Accidents happen.”
“That they do.” She set Roxy on the floor. “And sometimes they change lives forever, don’t they?”
He thought of bus wrecks and mangled bodies and wanted to weep right along with Hope. But then the image of a beaming Cam and glowing Sarah Murphy as they presented their little Michael for his christening flashed in his mind. “One lesson I’ve learned from my time here in Eternity Springs—and it’s a lesson you’ve taught me, Hope—is that if we focus on loss, we dishonor living. Life is a gift.”
“Some gifts aren’t returnable.”
For the first time since he arrived, she met his gaze. She looked scared and uncertain, and his heart twisted. “Lucca, I’m pregnant.”
Whoa. Even though he’d expected it, hearing it made him flinch. He exhaled a heavy breath. “I thought that might be it, but I needed to hear you say it. I guess it happened our first time?”
“I don’t know. Probably. Neither of us was really thinking about …”
“No, we weren’t. But … there’s no blame. It just happened. Maybe it happened for a reason.”
She rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. “I haven’t seen a doctor yet. I haven’t even taken a test. But I know. I think I’ve known for a couple of weeks now, but I couldn’t face it. The brussels sprouts clinched it. There were certain smells …”
He licked his lips. “Have you thought … ah …”
Her expression grew fierce. “I won’t have an abortion, Lucca.”
“I was going to ask about making a doctor’s appointment. But … I’m glad.”
She gave a desperate little laugh. “About the abortion or about the baby?”
“Both.”
She sprang to her feet and began to pace the room. “I’m scared to death. I can’t do this, Lucca. I can’t be a mother again. Look at how it turned out last time. No telling what disaster would befall this child. I’d probably smother her, if not literally then figuratively. She’d grow up smothered and neurotic and unhappy and hating to read.”
“Hating to read? That’s sort of random, isn’t it?” Lucca rose and shoved his trembling hands into his pockets.
“I’m a teacher. Reading is important to me.”
He rocked back on his heels. “Maybe if he doesn’t like to read, he’ll like B horror movies.”
She stopped abruptly and buried her face in her hands. Now, he judged, was the time to touch her. Reaching out, he folded her into his arms. “It’s okay, honey. Honestly, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get this figured out. I want you to know that I’m a little scared myself, but I’m not unhappy about this baby. I’m honestly a little excited.”
She shook with silent sobs. Lucca pressed a kiss against her hair and murmured, “I won’t ask you to marry me right now because these aren’t the circumstances such a question deserves. But I want you to know that you can count on me to be there for you and for the baby. Always.”
Against his shirt, she said, “Mark asked me to marry him when I told him I was pregnant.”
“I’m not Mark Montgomery.”
“But I’m still me. I’ve put the cart before the horse a second time. My mother-in-law said I trap men. Your family is worried about Richard taking advantage of the family. Look at me.”
“You’re shell-shocked and irrational.”
“Lucca …” she protested.
“Listen to me, Hope. I am in this for the long haul. I am not Mark Montgomery. I will love this baby. My family will be crazy happy about this pregnancy, and you know that’s true. Look, I am not perfect, but I will be the best father I can be for this baby. But when I ask you to marry me, Hope, you will know I’m asking because of you. Not because you are carrying my child, but because you have my heart. I will ask you to marry me because I’m in love with you.”
When she started crying harder, Lucca wondered if he’d taken the wrong tack. He was at a loss, speaking from his heart, acting on his instincts. Whether he’d planned it or not, he had his little family right there in his arms. He had to do what was best for it.
“Lucca, I’m so afraid,” she said. “I don’t deserve a second chance. I don’t know if I can do it.”
He trailed his hand up and down her back soothingly. “Sure you can. And everyone deserves second chances.”
“What are we going to do, Lucca? What do you want to do?”
Her mouth trembled. “Celebrate? Really?”
“Really.”
“Oh, Lucca.” She looked up at him, a world of hope in her luminous brown eyes as a shaky smile bloomed across her face. “I was so caught up in my reaction, I didn’t think about yours.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it before today, which was stupid of me. I was surprised.”
“But a good surprise?”
“Definitely a good surprise.”
She sagged a bit in relief. He cared. He had faith in her. He wasn’t Mark. “I think I’d like to see your mother’s albums. Baby pictures of you …”
He groaned. “I have to warn you. It’s not just pictures. She has baby porn.”
“What!”
“Naked babies in the bathtub. Naked kids running through the water sprinkler. What possesses a parent to take pictures of their naked kids? I swear, if she tried that nonsense today, social services would come knocking on the door. I don’t want you to do that to the peanut, Hope. I won’t have him being fourteen and having his brothers pull out the photo album as evidence for who has the bigger prick. I’m going to put my foot down about that.” He waited a beat, then added, “Of course, I always won.”
“Of course,” she said seriously. But then she smiled and it made Lucca feel ten inch … ten feet tall. “Lucca?”
His gaze had focused on her mouth. “Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
Emotion welled up inside him. “Thank you, Hope. I am thankful for you. We’ll make this work. I promise. Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Happy Thanksgiving.”
SEVENTEEN
“Power is nothing without control,” Hope said as she walked away from the school bus parked on a track on the wide-open plain of west Texas. “That’s a lesson we can apply to many aspects of life.”
Lucca nodded. “I’ll need to use that one with the Grizzlies.”
“I’ve noticed you often use inspirational quotes with the team.”
“They listen to me. I love that about this team. Half the guys at Landry thought they were too good to listen to what I had to say. The more talent a kid has, the more potential, the more likely he is to fall into the believing- his-press camp. They go from being kids who play for the love of the game to egomaniacs.”
“How did you avoid that trap with your players?”
“I have a system. The players have to buy into my system. But the young and dumb ones do that, achieve
