Matt's Family. Lynnette Kent

true, Erin,” she said. “Even—even before you were born.” Was that the right thing to say?

      “Mommy, did you know Daddy Matt before I was born?”

      “Of course, love. I knew…all the Brennans then, and for a long time before.” Matt had gone still as a stone beside her.

      “But—” Erin stopped and seemed to reconsider her question.

      “I’m hungry,” Jenny announced with a five-year-old’s directness.

      “Of course, Jennifer, dear.” Mrs. Brennan placed a smooth, pale hand on Jenny’s shoulder. “Let your grandfather say grace, and I’ll make you a plate.”

      During the prayer, Matt’s stiffness subsided. He didn’t draw away from Kristin, but he didn’t press her close again, either. Had she disappointed him? Should she have told the whole story right then, to everyone?

      What, in God’s name, could she say?

      With dinner finished and cleaned up—a task for which Mrs. Brennan refused to accept any help—the adults sat on the deck finishing coffee while the girls splashed in the pool. Matt seemed preoccupied—Kristin could guess with what.

      After a pause, Luke sat forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “Sarah and I wanted to run something by you, Kristin.” He glanced at his brother. “And Matt. We’re spending a couple of weeks in the mountains in June and we’d like the girls to come with us. What do you think?”

      Kristin couldn’t think at all, for a moment, couldn’t decide what her reaction should be.

      “You’ll be back for our annual Independence Day party, of course,” Mrs. Brennan stated firmly. It was not a question.

      Luke flashed his mother a grin. “Definitely.”

      “We’re renting a condo with two bedrooms and a kitchen,” Sarah said, putting a hand on Kristin’s arm. “They’ll have lots of room.”

      Kristin’s doubts had nothing to do with the accommodations. Before she could quite grasp her reasons, Matt stirred.

      “I think it sounds great,” he said. “They’ll have a good time.”

      Luke sat back in his chair. Obviously, he hadn’t missed the hint of reluctance in Matt’s comment. Just as obviously, he’d decided to ignore it. “Okay, then. We’ll be away the last two weeks of June—I’ll wait a while to tell them or they won’t sleep between now and then.”

      “Good idea.” Matt stood up and held out his cup. “Anybody else want a refill?” Everyone shook their heads. He looked at Luke’s wife. “Sarah, you sure you don’t want some coffee?”

      She smiled—more brightly than the question called for, Kristin thought. “No, thanks. I’m cutting out caffeine.”

      Kristin watched Sarah and Luke smile at each other in the soft light of sunset. “Um…do you two have something else you want to mention?” she asked.

      Luke’s grin widened. Sarah looked over. “It’s that obvious?”

      Kristin smiled back, though her insides felt as if she’d taken the first hill on a roller coaster. “Now that I think about it, yes.”

      The Colonel drew on his pipe. “What’s obvious? What’s going on?”

      “A minor detail, Dad. We’re having a baby.”

      “Congratulations, son.” Colonel Brennan got up to shake Luke’s hand and give Sarah a hug. “Maybe we’ll get us a boy this time.”

      “Another little girl would be wonderful,” Matt’s mother said firmly, still seated in her chair. “When are you due, Sarah?”

      “Around the first of December.”

      Elena Brennan sighed softly. “A Christmas baby. How lovely.”

      Babies were lovely at any time of year, Kristin thought. But she couldn’t help worrying about Erin and Jenny. What would a new baby do to the precarious balance they were reaching for, after a divorce and two new marriages?

      Especially if she rocked their world at the same time with the announcement that Matt was Erin’s father?

      Matt had stepped over to shake his brother’s hand. He bent to give Sarah a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s hope, boy or girl, the baby gets your looks, not his.” He nodded sideways at Luke.

      “Thanks, bro.”

      “Anytime.”

      Kristin knew she had to say something. “I’m so happy for you both. You’ll love having a baby. Who’s your doctor?”

      The question led them into a discussion of symptoms and signs and preparations. The men dropped out—Luke went into the pool to play with the girls while Matt and the Colonel talked basketball. Mrs. Brennan unbent—babies had an amazing way of softening her up. The Brennans had lost a daughter, before Luke was born. Kristin tried to remember that tragedy when her mother-in-law became a challenge.

      Like now. Mrs. Brennan broke into a short silence. After a moment, she said, “You know, Kristin, you and Matt have been married longer than Sarah and Luke. Don’t you think it’s about time we heard the same good news from you?”

      “Maybe not just yet, Mom.” Answering his mother, Matt felt Kristin’s stare as she turned in her seat to face him. “My career is kinda up in the air—if I take a transfer back to Special Forces, we may need to move. Two little girls is plenty family for us.” He cleared his throat. “For now.”

      “But surely, Matt—”

      “So you are thinking about going back in. I knew it!” His father pounded the arm of his chair at the same time, drowning out his wife’s argument. “Good man!”

      Kristin didn’t say a word. Matt felt her gaze leave him, felt her withdrawal like a drop in air temperature. He should have kept his mouth shut. Hadn’t he learned long ago to let his mother assume whatever she wanted, just to avoid the hassle of a discussion?

      But he couldn’t imagine a baby in their house, especially after today. Erin and Jenny hadn’t come close to accepting him as their dad. How would they feel about having another child—especially his child—in the family?

      Late that evening, as he made the drive home from his parents’ house with the girls asleep in the back seat and Kristin silent beside him, Matt laughed at himself.

      Family—us?

      Not by a long shot.

      CHAPTER TWO

      LUKE AND SARAH had the girls over for dinner on the Wednesday before their trip and broke the news about the mountain vacation. Erin and Jenny came home that night dancing on the air.

      “We get to go to the mountains!” Erin gave Buster a hug and then flopped down on the floor beside him, her chin on her hands and her legs bouncing off the floor in alternate arcs. “Isn’t that neat, Mommy?”

      “An’ Daddy says there’s a castle we can see.” Jenny had climbed into her mother’s lap. “We get to see a real castle.”

      “It sounds just wonderful.” Kristin smiled but Matt didn’t think the effort quite worked. He could see the sadness behind her eyes. “I know you’ll have a lovely time.”

      “You could come, too, Mommy.” Erin cast a guilty glance in Matt’s direction. “I mean you and Daddy Matt. We could all go to the mountains.”

      Matt set his jaw, waiting for Kristin’s response. When she didn’t seem to have one, he figured he’d better say something. “I think you and Jenny will have fun with your…with Luke and Sarah by yourselves. We’ll stay home, and then the four of us can take a trip later. Two vacations in one summer. How does that sound?”

      Jenny