logic in her thinking. But he joined her there, logical or not He placed an arm around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“When I was a child, I’d sit on the floor in our kitchen sometimes just so I could be alone to think. Now that I have children of my own, I sometimes sit out here with one of them to have a serious talk or to find out what they’re struggling with. We usually end up praying about whatever the problem is and then having a snack…right here on the floor. Strange, huh?” she added with a gentle laugh and placed her hand on the front of his shirt much more leisurely than she had done in the parking lot after the cookout.
“We all have our idiosyncrasies,” he commented. His hand moved easily to cover hers where it rested against his chest.
“Tell me one of yours,” she prompted.
“I’ll let you discover mine over time,” he replied without smiling.
Time. That was what she wanted with Adam. Lots of it. Was it too soon to feel this way? Probably. But she couldn’t help it. She just did.
“Your father asked me some important questionstoday,” he stated, a solemn look stealing over his expression. “Questions it would have been all right for you to ask, you know.”
“With a dad like mine, I don’t need to ask. He’s quite a detective, and his prices are very reasonable.” She smiled. “So, you’ve been married,” she stated softly. She had not been surprised. She’d felt certain there was a specific woman, a special love lost, or some other heartache she might not be able to ease.
Adam’s hand closed a little tighter around hers as he pulled it away from his chest and placed it on the floor, his hand still resting snugly against hers. Angela watched his restless movement and wondered what he was thinking…remembering.
“Who is it I need to know about?” she asked, waiting for the name she didn’t really want to hear.
“Patty,” he said and squeezed her hand. “I was in love with her for a long time. We married when we were in college.”
“And…?”
“It didn’t last. We’d only been married about a year when she found out she was pregnant.” He paused, collecting his thoughts. This was only the beginning of what he needed her to know. “Patty didn’t want to have the baby, but…the idea of an abortion just because this child was coming at an inconvenient time in our lives didn’t feel right to me. I wasn’t a particularly moral person then; I wasn’t raised that way. But an abortion didn’t seem fair to the baby, and that’s what it was to me—a baby.” He hesitated again, remembering. “So I talked her out of it.”
“And you stayed together? She had the baby?”
“Yes. We stayed together and adjusted to the idea of being parents. We even went through the childbirth classes. By the time he was born, I actually felt like a father.”
“A little boy,” Angela commented and thought of the birth of her first son. Nothing she could think of was as wonderful, as frightening, as overwhelming as having the doctor hand that tiny infant to her in the delivery room. And never before had she felt such a wave of love wash over her. She was linked to her children in a way that she never would be free of—nor would she want to be. She looked at Adam’s grim expression and suspected it was much the same for him.
“Brandon,” he quietly stated. “He was healthy and strong and beautiful.” He looked down at Angela’s hand as he continued. “The first six months were rough. We had classes, jobs, studying to do…and a baby to care for. Patty and I pretty much divided up the time with Brandon so we could each meet our other obligations.” He stopped talking for what seemed an eternity.
She studied Adam’s profile as he continued to look down. “Those early months can be difficult,” she commented needlessly, rather than enduring the silence.
Adam laughed gently. “There was never enough sleep, Patty and I had no time for each
“When I was a child, I’d sit on the floor in our kitchen sometimes just so I could be alone to think. Now that I have children of my own, I sometimes sit out here with one of them to have a serious talk or to find out what they’re struggling with. We usually end up praying about whatever the problem is and then having a snack…right here on the floor. Strange, huh?” she added with a gentle laugh and placed her hand on the front of his shirt much more leisurely than she had done in the parking lot after the cookout.
“We all have our idiosyncrasies,” he commented. His hand moved easily to cover hers where it rested against his chest.
“Tell me one of yours,” she prompted.
“I’ll let you discover mine over time,” he replied without smiling.
Time. That was what she wanted with Adam. Lots of it. Was it too soon to feel this way? Probably. But she couldn’t help it. She just did.
“Your father asked me some important questionstoday,” he stated, a solemn look stealing over his expression. “Questions it would have been all right for you to ask, you know.”
“With a dad like mine, I don’t need to ask. He’s quite a detective, and his prices are very reasonable.” She smiled. “So, you’ve been married,” she stated softly. She had not been surprised. She’d felt certain there was a specific woman, a special love lost, or some other heartache she might not be able to ease.
Adam’s hand closed a little tighter around hers as he pulled it away from his chest and placed it on the floor, his hand still resting snugly against hers. Angela watched his restless movement and wondered what he was thinking…remembering.
“Who is it I need to know about?” she asked, waiting for the name she didn’t really want to hear.
“Patty,” he said and squeezed her hand. “I was in love with her for a long time. We married when we were in college.”
“And…?”
“It didn’t last. We’d only been married about a year when she found out she was pregnant.” He paused, collecting his thoughts. This was only the beginning of what he needed her to know. “Patty didn’t want to have the baby, but…the idea of an abortion just because this child was coming at an inconvenient time in our lives didn’t feel right to me. I wasn’t a particularly moral person then; I wasn’t raised that way. But an abortion didn’t seem fair to the baby, and that’s what it was to me—a baby.” He hesitated again, remembering. “So I talked her out of it.”
“And you stayed together? She had the baby?”
“Yes. We stayed together and adjusted to the idea of being parents. We even went through the childbirth classes. By the time he was born, I actually felt like a father.”
“A little boy,” Angela commented and thought of the birth of her first son. Nothing she could think of was as wonderful, as frightening, as overwhelming as having the doctor hand that tiny infant to her in the delivery room. And never before had she felt such a wave of love wash over her. She was linked to her children in a way that she never would be free of—nor would she want to be. She looked at Adam’s grim expression and suspected it was much the same for him.
“Brandon,” he quietly stated. “He was healthy and strong and beautiful.” He looked down at Angela’s hand as he continued. “The first six months were rough. We had classes, jobs, studying to do…and a baby to care for. Patty and I pretty much divided up the time with Brandon so we could each meet our other obligations.” He stopped talking for what seemed an eternity.
She studied Adam’s profile as he continued to look down. “Those early months can be difficult,” she commented needlessly, rather than enduring the silence.
Adam laughed gently. “There was never enough sleep, Patty and I had no time for each
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