Chapter One
The nightmares were back.
Walter bolted upright from the mattress, shaking his head to clear away the
last horrifying remnants of his all-too-real dream. One where Paige had refused
to be raped and they'd slit her throat.
Taking a deep breath, he glanced over at her, sleeping peacefully beside
him. It was August, so it was warm and her pregnancy made her even warmer,
she'd tossed off the blanket covering them sometime in the night. She was
at seven months, her belly big and round with their son.
Sliding behind her, he slipped his arms around her, stroking her stomach
and kissing her lightly on the shoulder. He hadn't known it was possible
to love someone as much as he loved her. Before he'd met her, he hadn't believed
such a love was even possible. He'd been a moron.
Their nightmares had returned the day they had received the subpoenas to
appear as witnesses. Five members of the militia group had refused plea deals,
which Walter believed was a sign they wanted to air their grievances in a
public forum. Which meant he and Paige would be once again plunged into the
horrific ordeal they'd tried so hard to put behind them.
Tomorrow morning they were to meet the team of prosecuting federal attorneys
to go over their testimony and protocol for the trial. Walter had been in
court before, but always as a defendant. It would be a change of pace to
be on the other side for once.
Still caressing her stomach, he was rewarded with a kick against the palm
of his hand. He could feel the tiny foot through Paige's skin, terrified
by how small it was, yet impressed with its strength. It was moments like
this the weight of his impending fatherhood laid heavily upon him. He was
going to be partially responsible for the well-being of this wee human being.
What if he couldn't connect with his son, like his father had never connected
with him? What if. . .?
Paige stirred in her sleep, interrupting his troublesome thoughts, and he
froze, hoping he hadn't disturbed her. Easing away, he rolled out of the
bed and headed toward the bathroom. As he was about to step inside, he heard
a quiet voice.
"Walter?"
"Ralph." Relief he hadn't awaken Paige was short-lived as he realized he
had instead roused the boy genius. "You okay, buddy?"
"Mom's okay? I thought I heard someone shouting." Worry lined the youngster's
face. Walter knelt down and tousled the boy's hair.
"She's fine. It was. . .it was, uh, me. Bad dream." His stomach churned as
images from his nightmare flashed through his mind.
"Oh. I thought you guys were over those. And then you got those letters."
Ralph sighed with all the weariness of an adult. Walter should have been
surprised the preteen even knew about their earlier traumatic dreams, but
he wasn't. The youngster was observant, sometimes disconcertingly so
"It was a rough time for your mom. . .and me," Walter admitted reluctantly.
"‘Cause those guys did bad stuff to you and Mom?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry I woke you up," he said, wanting to change the subject.
He was going to have to spend enough time dwelling on what happened over
the course of the next few weeks. And the less Ralph knew, the better, in
his opinion.
"But it wasn't all bad," the youngster stated. "It brought you and my mom
together, and I'm going to get a baby brother." He smiled. "I've wanted a
sibling for a long time."
Walter smiled, remembering how important having a sibling had been to him.
Megan had been his lifeline growing up. This baby would be much younger than
Ralph, but hopefully the connection between them would be as strong as his
had been with his sister. She would have been so happy he'd finally let himself
love. And she would have been ecstatic to be an aunt.
Pushing aside his melancholy thoughts, he ruffled the boy's hair again. "Better
get back to bed." Walter doubted he'd be able to sleep, but he didn't want
to keep anyone else up either.
"Yeah. Okay." Ralph yawned. "See ya in the morning. Later in the morning,
I mean."
"Good night." Walter waited until the boy genius shuffled back to his bedroom
before making his way to his intended destination.
"What about Brendan?"
"Who's Brendan?" Walter took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at
her. Their morning had been the usual chaotic routine of getting ready for
the day, except today Paige kept breaking down over trivial things. Like
getting upset because Ralph threw a wet towel on the floor (a habit the boy
had unfortunately picked up from him). Yelling at him because she'd forgotten
he'd modified the toaster to work more efficiently and she'd burnt the toast.
He knew it was the stress of the trial hanging over their heads, he was feeling
it too. But he didn't recall anyone named Brendan. Maybe he was one of Ralph's
friends?
She giggled as she held up her phone. "Not who, what," she said cryptically.
"What about Declan? Or Finn? How about Liam?"
"Who are they?" He turned to look at her again as she scrolled through a
website on her cell.
Sighing, she leaned back in her seat and rubbed her belly. "Names for the
baby. We need to think about what we're going to name him."
"Oh." Walter frowned. He had to admit he hadn't given it much thought, even
though the child was due to arrive in about two months.
"We could name him after your father. Ralph is named after mine, so. . ."
"We're not naming him Sean," he stated adamantly. He ran the other names
she'd mentioned through his brain and realized they had a common theme. "Why
all the Irish names? Isn't O'Brien Irish enough?"
"Who says his last name is going to be O'Brien?" she snapped, crossing her
arms over her burgeoning belly.
Oh, shit. Walter turned into the nearest parking lot and stopped the
vehicle before glancing over at Paige. She was biting her lip, tears shimmering
in her eyes. She wasn't making an idle threat. Ralph's surname was Dineen
instead of Baker, even though she and Drew had been together when he'd been
born. She could do the same with this child.
"We're going to be late," she pointed out with a huff.
"I don't care." He ran his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean
to upset you. You're right, it's your prerogative to decide what to name
him. I just assumed. . ."
"You just assumed he'd have your last name?" Paige sighed as she reached
for his hand. "I've been doing some research. Did you know Dineen is Irish,
too? I didn't." With a shrug, she added, "I just thought we could honor our
shared heritage."
"I'm sorry," he repeated as he placed their entwined hands on her belly.
"Life is hard enough without being saddled with a name that reminds everyone
of leprechauns and the Blarney stone and all the other Irish stereotypes."
"Is that what happened to you?"
He nodded. "It was difficult for some people to take me seriously when I
first came to the States. I was a scrawny Irish lad with a 197 IQ and a brogue
everyone thought was adorable. I dropped the accent as soon as I could."
"It slips out from time to time, you know," she said with a wobbly smile.
"It does?"
"Yeah, like when we're. . .uh, intimate." Paige's cheeks flushed a bright
pink as she giggled. "And I have to agree. It's adorable."
Heat swept over him from head to toe and he had to grip the steering wheel
to get himself under control. Even after all the months they'd been together,
the physical side of their relationship still overwhelmed him. It didn't
help her ever-changing body continually aroused him, and he had begun to
wonder if he was some kind of pervert. Although, he thought with some relief,
he didn't lust after all pregnant women, just Paige. Still. . .
"We don't have to decide today, do we?" he asked after a few moments.
"No." She turned off her phone. "I was just distracting myself. I'm scared,
Walter."
"I know." He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You'll do fine. The facts
are on our side, there's nothing to worry about," he lied. He was scared,
too. The people they were testifying against thought holding the President
hostage had been a worthy plan to get their way. It was obvious logic and
critical thinking skills weren't their forte. They were bullies. And he had
enough experience with bullies to be afraid the remaining militia members
might try to retaliate against them because of their testimony.
"I wish I could believe that." She fumbled in her purse for a tissue. "And
we really are going to be late."
He reached over and slipped his arms around her, drawing her as close as
he could in the confines of the car. She laid her head on his shoulder and
he kissed her hair. "It's going to be okay, love," he reassured her before
letting go and restarting the engine.
Walter held the door open as Paige walked into the conference room they'd
been directed to inside the courthouse. It surprised him how natural it seemed,
even though he'd believed for years it was a sexist and antiquated gesture.
Maybe it had never made sense before because he'd never been in love before.
His speculation was cut short as a man in his mid thirties, came toward them.
"Ms Dineen, Mr O'Brien, thank you for coming," he said as both Walter and
Paige shook his hand. "I'm Jason Prewitt, Assistant US Attorney. I've been
assigned to your case." A frown marred the man's face for a moment as he
flicked his gaze to the bright pink t-shirt stretched tight over Paige's
distended abdomen.
"Won't you please be seated," Prewitt offered, indicating the chairs arranged
around the long table dominating the center of the room. "We can get star.
. ."
He was interrupted as a short middle-aged woman strode into the room, carrying
several folders under her arm. She came to a halt, her eyes widening. "What
the hell is that?" she asked, jabbing her finger accusingly toward Paige's
belly.
A shudder ran through Walter. Beside him Paige did the same, leading him
to believe she was remembering, as he was, Mark Collins having the same reaction
several months earlier.
The woman spun around to face Prewitt. "Why wasn't I informed she was pregnant?"
she demanded. Without waiting for a response, she turned her attention back
to Paige. "When are you due?"
"Around October 20th," replied the liaison, protectively clutching her stomach.
"October?" Walter watched as the woman did the mathematics in her head, her
sour expression intensifying as she obviously didn't like the answer. She
placed her fingers on her forehead as if she had a headache. "Please tell
you were pregnant before you were taken hostage."
Paige shook her head, biting her lip. Walter, seeing she was on the verge
of tears, placed his hand on the small of her back. Gently caressing her,
he hoped the circular motion would calm him down as well. He could see where
this line of questioning was heading, and he didn't like it.
"After?" The woman slammed the files she'd been carrying down on the table
when once again the reply was negative. "So you're telling me you engaged
in unprotected sex on the day of your captivity?" She sneered as she waved
her hand at Walter. "Is this the father? Or is it your ex-boyfriend who was
living with you at the time. Or maybe one of the mil. . ."
"Shut up!" Walter shouted, his hands and jaw clenching with rage. He ignored
Paige's gasp, too outraged by the woman's insinuation Paige was some kind
of. . .well, some kind of promiscuous slut. "Who the hell are you?" he snapped
contemptuously.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she replied icily, "I'm Molly Lee, the US Attorney
for the Central District of Southern California." Glancing down at the folders,
she rummaged through them, picking one up and flicking it open. "And you
must be Walter O'Brien. The genius with a 197 IQ. Who was apparently too
stupid to use birth control." She looked up from the file and smiled mockingly
at him.
Walter took a step toward the attorney, but his progress was impeded by Paige
clasping his face in her palms. "Walter, calm down. They're on our side,
okay?"
Anger still boiled inside him as he shook her off, turning to glare at Ms
Lee. "She can't say that about you. . . You're not. . ."
"Walter, shhh. . ." Paige placed her hands on his face again, forcing him
to look her in the eyes. Her lavender scent filled his senses, and most of
his temper fled as she lightly stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. "It's
okay. I think I know what she's doing. You can't lose your temper like this
in court."
"She's right," the attorney said smugly. "If you think that was vicious,
wait until the defense cross-examines you. They're certainly not going to
play nice." She gestured toward Paige again. "This ill-timed development
is going to be used against her reliability as a witness."
Walter stared down at his shoes, pressing his lips together. Guilt rose within
him, irrational as it was, whenever he was reminded he'd placed all the burden
of preventing a pregnancy on Paige. It had been a fluke she'd conceived at
all. They had barely been speaking to each other when the day in question
had begun. Engaging in intercourse had been the last thing on his mind. .
.until it happened. But he could never regret it, not when the result had
brought him and Paige together.
"And you, Mr O'Brien, you're quite the piece of work." Ms Lee held up a folder.
"Hacking into NASA at age eleven, truancy, reported as a runaway numerous
times, arrested several times for various offenses including charges last
year of improper operation of a motor vehicle and destruction of private
property after driving a borrowed Ferrari over the side of a cliff. Which,
by the way, cost the county thousands of dollars to rescue you.
"Any and all of that can, and most likely, will be used against your credibility."
The attorney gestured for them to sit down. "Now, before we get into your
statements, let's go over the do's and don't's.
Rage roiled up inside him. He opened his mouth, intending to tell Ms Lee
where she could stick her ‘do's and don't's', when Paige laid her hand on
his arm. "That's not going to help," she murmured, once again seemingly reading
his mind. "They're on our side, remember?"
Taking a deep breath which did nothing to relax him, Walter nodded as he
pulled out a chair for Paige before sitting down next to her.