Expecting the SEAL’s Baby by Katie Knight
Eleven
Jeremy arranged Gina’s blankets and made a bed for himself on the floor near her. His movements were methodical, and his face pensive. What was he thinking?
“Angelica left some tea on the stove for us. Do you want a cup?” he asked when he finished with his task.
“That would be nice,” she said. “Join me?”
He nodded, and a minute later returned with two earthenware mugs filled with the sweetened tea they’d had with dinner. He pulled the chair closer to the couch, which she took as a good sign.
“I wonder if she’s right about it being a girl,” Gina ventured, wanting to talk more about what had just happened. She also desperately wanted to know his thoughts.
“Fifty-fifty shot on that one,” Jeremy said. “She couldn’t possibly know for sure.”
“She knew I was pregnant without us telling her,” Gina countered. “Don’t you think that’s pretty amazing?”
He took a drink of his tea, hiding his expression from her for several seconds. “Yeah, I’ve got to admit that is. You sure you didn’t say something about it?”
She could see why he asked. She and Angelica had conversed in Spanish, leaving Jeremy out of the conversation, but she’d said nothing about the baby. Not a word. “I’m sure.” And then she braved the next question. “Would you like to have a daughter?”
He didn’t answer immediately, and then a slow grin spread on his face. “Yes, I think I would. A little girl would be great as long as she looks like you. Would you be happy with a girl?”
“Definitely. I’m excited about the baby,” she said, wanting to share her enthusiasm since he seemed excited as well. “The more I think about it, the more real and wonderful it gets. I hope you feel the same.”
“I do,” he said, and she knew he was telling her the truth, which sent another thrill through her. “You’ll be a great mother, strong and wise, like your mom. Just what every kid needs.”
Gina was warmed and flattered by his words. “You’ll be a good dad, too.”
He shook his head, but the smile didn’t leave his face. She knew enough of his family situation that she wasn’t surprised at the shake of his head. Despite the family’s wealth and political power, they were highly dysfunctional, at least when it came to Jeremy. Blake had filled in some details for her over the years, so she had the impression that his family viewed him as the black sheep.
But that didn’t have to impact their situation. She was feeling good that things could work between them, at least enough to raise a happy, healthy child. So they were fortunate as Angelica had said—or at least they could be.
“Time for bed,” he said, and took her tea mug from her. He returned those to the kitchen, washed up quickly, and put out the gas lantern in the living room before returning to her side where he pulled the blankets up to her chest. It was very dark in the room, but she could sense his nearness. She felt a soft kiss on her forehead and then heard a rustle when he got into his makeshift bed.
“Good night, Jeremy,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re happy about the baby.”
“Night, Gina. I’m very happy,” he said and then she felt the brush of his hand against hers in the darkness. “We’ve got a lot to figure out between us, and I…I don’t know what the future holds, but the baby is worth the effort.”
Hearing him say those words meant so much to her. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I think so, too.”
* * *
Jeremy woke before it was light outside and began to quietly move around the room, packing up their things. They needed to cover some ground today, but he hoped to learn more from the villagers before they set out. The clock was ticking on this mission. Every day that passed made him more concerned about Blake’s chances of survival. How long would the gun smugglers hang onto the American sailor, and what was their plan for him?
Jeremy had left the number for the satellite phone with Gina and Blake’s mother so she could contact them if she heard anything about Blake, though he doubted she’d have any good news to share. Most likely if she heard something, it would be that his body had been found and identified. Jeremy was out of the loop when it came to any efforts the government was making to locate and extract Blake. If they were making any efforts at all.
Percy and Mason had heard nothing, and it pissed Jeremy off. He was still angry with the powers that be about his own forced retirement, but the fact that they left a good man, a faithful serviceman, out to hang in the wind, incensed Jeremy. All the more reason to get moving today.
“Good morning,” Gina said and swung her feet to the floor.
“Go easy.” He cautioned as he went to help her.
“My leg feels better.” She stretched it out, turning the limb side to side. “The swelling is down and there’s not much pain at all. Let’s give this a try.” She got to her feet, testing the leg as he hovered nearby. She took a few steps around the small room. “Way better. Wow.”
Angelica came from her bedroom at that moment and spoke to Gina in Spanish. Jeremy caught some of it. She was asking after Gina’s injury. They conversed for a minute more.
“She says the herbs and salve she used are analgesics, which explains why the swelling is down so much,” Gina translated for him. “Her methods may work better than some of the therapies my practice uses.”
“I’m glad for your sake,” he said. In truth, he’d never been a fan of homemade remedies, assuming that most of them were just placebos. If Angelica’s treatment had helped Gina, though, he wasn’t going to complain.
“Me too,” Gina said.
“How can we thank Angelica?” he asked quietly when the older woman had gone to the kitchen area to make breakfast. She’d given them shelter and food plus cared for Gina.
“I doubt she’ll accept any payment,” Gina said. “That’s the way of many of the people in this region, but if we make her village safe from the smugglers, she’ll be pleased.”
He nodded, hoping that they could do that and find Blake. “Will she introduce us to others here? They might have more or different information than she has.”
Over breakfast, Gina asked about that, and as soon as they were done eating, Angelica took them next door to where two brothers lived. They were men in their forties, who welcomed the American visitors into their home after Angelica’s introduction.
Gina translated while Jeremy asked questions about the movement of the trucks and SUV’s through their village. They had a lot of information to offer. One man even pulled out a map of the area and showed them in greater detail where he’d seen the convoys going. Based on what Jeremy could see, it was still a substantial distance from where they were, and the terrain in between wasn’t going to be easy to traverse. Still, it was more than he’d known when he’d risen that morning, and Jeremy was grateful for the locals’ assistance.
“They want to know if you can stop the bad men,” Gina said when they got up to leave the brothers’ home.
“Tell them I’ll try.” After he extracted Blake, he planned to give over any intelligence he had to the right channels. If the smugglers were really using this area as a relay station for weapons moved from the Middle East to the United States, more than one government agency would be interested in shutting the operation down. “We better get underway.”
Gina thanked the brothers, and they returned to Angelica’s house to get their packs. Angelica handed Gina a wrapped package containing the same herbs and salve that she’d used on Gina’s leg along with food and other supplies they might find useful.
After taking their leave, he and Gina began the trek into the jungle in the direction that the men had indicated.
“What did she say at the end? I didn’t catch it,” Jeremy asked. Angelica had touched Gina’s arm and spoken in a low voice just as they departed.
Gina glanced at him with a smile that warmed his heart. “She said to take care of our baby girl.”
“Will do,” he said, feeling a little overwhelmed by all of it. They were in an unusual situation here, but he had to appreciate the fact that he was going to be a father. He was going to have a child—boy or girl, he didn’t care which—with Gina.
Only one thing held him back from complete contentment. Gina had a low opinion of military men as being unreliable and untrustworthy. Blake had told Jeremy about his sister’s grudge and how it had its roots in what their father had done. None of what Blake had shared boded well for Gina being able to trust that Jeremy would be a co-parent and be there for their kid.