“Like I said, time is what’s needed. You two will figure things out. For my part, I’m thrilled to have met you.”
“I’m so glad to have met you, as well,” she returned sincerely. “I was really worried about it, earlier.”
“Why?” Mari asked.
“I thought you might...you know...judge me for being pregnant when I’m not even dating your brother,” she mumbled.
“Don’t be silly. I’m the last person on earth to judge something like that. I hadn’t seen Riley’s father—Marc—for a decade when I accidentally got pregnant. We can’t always plan life. We just have to—”
“Live it,” Faith finished for her, repeating what Ryan had said in the car earlier.
Mari squeezed her hand before she let it go. “Babies are amazing things all on their own, but what’s truly wonderful is the way they can pull people together,” Mari said meaningfully before she glanced toward the far side of the patio. Faith followed the path of her gaze and saw Ryan walking toward them, his stare directly on her. Her heart began to pound erratically.
“That definitely sounds like the case with you and your husband,” Faith said hesitantly. “It’s different for Ryan and I. Our situation is...unusual.”
“Babies also have a way of making the unusual more commonplace,” Mari assured.
Faith smiled shakily. The baby was already bringing Ryan and her closer. It excited her to be near him, to feel his admiring glances and warm touches...to feel like an attractive, desirable woman again.
But what if they got too close?
Eventually, he’d fly away from her. He’d live a life separate from her as he traveled with his charter airline. He’d sleep in strange beds...possibly with strange women? The life of a pilot’s wife was uncertain, lonely...unsecure. That was an experience she could not allow herself to repeat.
So why, Faith wondered anxiously as she watched Ryan come toward them, his gaze unwavering on her, did Ryan strike her as a veritable mountain of stability? Solid. Enduring.
When they dropped Mari off at Brigit Kavanaugh’s later, Faith saw two women swaying on the front porch swing and recognized one of them.
“Would you mind very much if I went and said hello to Brigit?” Faith asked Ryan.
“No, of course not.”
Before she got out of the car, she turned toward the backseat. “Did you by chance tell Brigit? About the baby?” she asked Mari.
Mari shook her head.
“Thank you. I’d rather not get into it right now, if that’s all right with you?” she asked Ryan.
“Fine with me,” Ryan stated. Something in his tone told Faith that he couldn’t have agreed more with her decision. She recalled what Mari had said about how she’d expected Ryan to resist going to Brigit’s house la
st Christmas Eve. It couldn’t be easy for him, spending time in the house that was once owned by the man who had killed his parents in a case of involuntary manslaughter. How did he feel about his sister marrying Marc Kavanaugh, Derry Kavanaugh’s oldest son?
Faith put her concerns on hold when Brigit came to the top of the steps to greet her a moment later, a smile on her face and her arms outstretched. The pretty older woman gave her a warm hug.
“Imagine my surprise when Mari told me this morning she was having lunch with Faith Holmes!” Brigit exclaimed.
“I thought the same thing when Ryan mentioned you,” Faith replied happily. She was glad to see Brigit looking so well. She was always attractive and well put together, but Faith had never seen her in such good spirits. She turned and saw the stunning young woman who had come to stand beside her mother, and wondered if Brigit’s glow wasn’t related to her. Brigit had mentioned once that Deidre and she had been estranged since the accident, but here they were, side by side, both of them smiling. The two women were an older and younger version of one another.
“You must be Deidre,” Faith said, holding out her hand to Brigit’s daughter. “Your mother has told me so much about you. I’m Faith.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Deidre said, glancing from Faith to Ryan with friendly curiosity.
They stayed and chatted for half an hour. When they finally stood to leave, Faith promised to keep in touch with Mari and they exchanged phone numbers.
“Let Nick know I’ll be calling him next week. I have some important news to discus with him,” Ryan told Deidre as they were leaving. Nick Malone was the CEO of DuBois Enterprises and Deidre’s husband. The Malones had contracted Eagle Air for piloting services for their multibillion-dollar company, but Faith got the impression the couple and Ryan respected and liked each other.
Deidre’s gaze flickered over Faith when Ryan took her hand as they stood on the stairs. “When do I get to hear this news?” she asked with a teasing grin.
“You know as well as I do that as soon as I tell Nick, you’ll know, as well,” Ryan grumbled dryly. “But I’ll call you next week, as well.”