Adam couldn’t take it anymore. Ignoring Noah’s warning to leave the women alone, he got up and walked over to them.
“Hello, Faith.”
Faith squealed in fright and turned toward him, looking pale. Her blue eyes were wide and bright. “Jesus, Adam. Don’t sneak up behind me like that.”
Great, she hadn’t even noticed him sitting there? That did wonders for his ego.
She ignored him and looked back at Mrs. Garcia. It bothered him more than he thought it would. Did she forget all about him already? He didn’t like that idea.
“Thanks so much, Lucy. I hope this works,” she told Alana’s mom.
“It will.” Mrs. Garcia smiled. She looked at Adam and said something in Spanish to him. It didn’t sound very nice. She walked away and he looked at Alana. “What did she say?”
Alana giggled. “You don’t want to know. It wasn’t a compliment.”
He scowled. Was everyone against him?
He looked at the bag Faith was holding. “What’s that?”
“A home ready for nausea,” Faith answered without smiling. She wasn’t being friendly and he got the message. She was still angry with him.
She looked at Alana, ignoring him again. “Thanks for today. It was nice to have someone with me.”
Alana hugged her. “I loved it. When it’s my turn I will know what to expect.”
Faith nodded. “I better go. I’m exhausted and I have to open up tomorrow.”
She turned to Adam. Her eyes roamed over him but she didn’t smile or look friendly. She looked at him with such sorrow it was like a physical blow. “See you around, Adam.”
Adam watched her walk away and out the door. Damn, that woman knew how to hold a grudge.
He turned to Alana but she was already at the table snuggled up with her husband. They were looking at her phone screen and had sappy grins on their faces.
He walked back and sat down, picking up his fork. He lost his appetite. “What you two looking at?”
Alana turned the phone toward him, but all he saw was black and white blurry lines. He looked confused and Alana rolled her eyes.
“This is a picture of my future niece or nephew.” She grinned proudly.
He grabbed the phone and looked hard. That was his baby on the screen. His flesh and blood.
He felt sadness overwhelm him. This is how it would always be. The only thing he would know about his child was through Alana.
Alana took the phone out of his hand and sighed over the picture. “I wish we would have found out the baby’s sex, but the little bugger moved too much. The nurse said that was a sign the baby was healthy.”
Adam wanted to ask a lot of questions but Alana put her phone away and sighed. She gave Adam a glare. “I invited Faith and her sister to come to our Christmas party, but she said she didn’t want to see you. Great job, Romeo.”
Noah frowned and shook his head at Adam. “Such a shame you can’t or won’t get your head out of your ass, brother. Faith is a good woman and she is having your baby. Sticking your head in the sand won’t change that.”
“You don’t understand.” Adam felt like he stated that same statement all the time. He didn’t even like the sound of it.
Noah gave him a hard look. “I do understand. Putting your heart on the line is scary. Look what I did to Alana. It took her lying in the hospital for me to open my eyes. What will it take for you, Adam?”
Alana nodded and glared at him. She got up and walked away from him. Adam lost his appetite and pushed his plate away. Hanging on to the past was starting to suck. He had wrapped his old memories around him like a cloak to keep him warm and safe. So why did he feel like a block of ice was sitting inside of him?
Chapter 10
Adam sat around the table at the fire station, eating dinner. It had been another long, tiring day. Winter always brought a rise in fires because of electric heaters and overused outlets. Some of the guys were talking about Christmas. It was a few days away. They were talking about the toys their kids wanted. Adam thought about his unborn child. He always thought he