Read Online In Broad Daylight by Marie Ferrarella - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Marie Ferrarella
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around to be anyone's favorite."
Because she was one, she'd pictured him as an only child. "How many is too many?"
Dax paused, doing a head count. "Eleven, counting me."
Brenda was aware that her mouth had dropped open. "Your mother had eleven children?"
At least she got a chance to go home at night. Being responsible for that many little souls
twenty-four hours a day seemed like the surest path to early burn-out to her. "That poor
woman. She probably didn't have time to eveneatan apple, much less—"
Dax held up his hand, laughing. "No, after four kids Mom told Dad that if he wanted any
more, he was going to find a way to push them out himself because she wasn't going to
have to go through morning sickness again."
Morning sickness.
God, could she certainly identify with that, Brenda thought. But at least his mother had
had his father to lean on. Someone who was there, who wanted to have children with her.
She and Wade had never really discussed having children, something else he kept putting
off talking about. She'd discovered that she was pregnant and that Wade had been
accidentally killed during maneuvers all in the same day.
Getting pregnant had been an accident as well. She and Wade had been separated for
almost four months when he'd come to her, asking her if she'd be willing to try to make a
go of their marriage again. She'd felt so guilty over marrying him in the first place just to
get away from home that she felt she owed it to him. So she had said yes.
Wade put in for a three-day pass and they went down toSan Diego. They'd stayed at a
little bed and breakfast inn just off the beach. She could hear the seagulls calling to one
another.
The long weekend had gone by without anything being resolved. Wade went back to his
world and she to hers, their future still up in the air.
She'd been sick almost from the start, but had been afraid to take a pregnancy test,
afraid to put her suspicions into words. She fervently prayed that if she ignored it,
somehow, it would all go away.
But it hadn't, and there was life growing inside of her now. A life that she vowed to love
and protect the way she had never been herself. The way she hadn't for Annie.
She looked at Dax. "Then where did the eleven come from?"
"Cousins as well as siblings."
He took it for granted that everyone knew. It was such a way of life, such a given for him
that at times he forgot that not everyone was aware of the fact that he had cousins and
brothers who liberally populated various departments within the Aurora police force. That
his Uncle Andrew had once been the police chief of the city before he retired and that his
father, Brian, was now the current chief of detectives.
He grinned. "I've got tons of cousins."
Cousins. A big family, all there for one another if she was interpreting his expression
correctly. "And you're all close."
He heard the wistful note in her voice. "Sometimes too close," he told her. "There's always someone looking over your shoulder."
"Always someone looking out for you," she countered. When he didn't try to correct her, she knew she was right. What would that have been like, to have someone to turn to when
things got tough? "You have no idea how lucky you are."
His grin widened. "If I forget, there's always someone around to tell me." When he was a kid, he saw a downside to that. "And I never got to get away with anything. There was
always someone who saw or found out about it and word would always get back to my
parents."
She heard the affection in his voice. She would have given anything to have had his life.
"You're close to them, too? Your parents?"
He thought of his father. Other than a few years of typical teenager rebellion, he'd
always been able to talk to the man. Like the old joke went, the older he got, the smarter
his father became.
"Yeah, I guess. To my dad. My mom died a little over five years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But at least you had her for a
Because she was one, she'd pictured him as an only child. "How many is too many?"
Dax paused, doing a head count. "Eleven, counting me."
Brenda was aware that her mouth had dropped open. "Your mother had eleven children?"
At least she got a chance to go home at night. Being responsible for that many little souls
twenty-four hours a day seemed like the surest path to early burn-out to her. "That poor
woman. She probably didn't have time to eveneatan apple, much less—"
Dax held up his hand, laughing. "No, after four kids Mom told Dad that if he wanted any
more, he was going to find a way to push them out himself because she wasn't going to
have to go through morning sickness again."
Morning sickness.
God, could she certainly identify with that, Brenda thought. But at least his mother had
had his father to lean on. Someone who was there, who wanted to have children with her.
She and Wade had never really discussed having children, something else he kept putting
off talking about. She'd discovered that she was pregnant and that Wade had been
accidentally killed during maneuvers all in the same day.
Getting pregnant had been an accident as well. She and Wade had been separated for
almost four months when he'd come to her, asking her if she'd be willing to try to make a
go of their marriage again. She'd felt so guilty over marrying him in the first place just to
get away from home that she felt she owed it to him. So she had said yes.
Wade put in for a three-day pass and they went down toSan Diego. They'd stayed at a
little bed and breakfast inn just off the beach. She could hear the seagulls calling to one
another.
The long weekend had gone by without anything being resolved. Wade went back to his
world and she to hers, their future still up in the air.
She'd been sick almost from the start, but had been afraid to take a pregnancy test,
afraid to put her suspicions into words. She fervently prayed that if she ignored it,
somehow, it would all go away.
But it hadn't, and there was life growing inside of her now. A life that she vowed to love
and protect the way she had never been herself. The way she hadn't for Annie.
She looked at Dax. "Then where did the eleven come from?"
"Cousins as well as siblings."
He took it for granted that everyone knew. It was such a way of life, such a given for him
that at times he forgot that not everyone was aware of the fact that he had cousins and
brothers who liberally populated various departments within the Aurora police force. That
his Uncle Andrew had once been the police chief of the city before he retired and that his
father, Brian, was now the current chief of detectives.
He grinned. "I've got tons of cousins."
Cousins. A big family, all there for one another if she was interpreting his expression
correctly. "And you're all close."
He heard the wistful note in her voice. "Sometimes too close," he told her. "There's always someone looking over your shoulder."
"Always someone looking out for you," she countered. When he didn't try to correct her, she knew she was right. What would that have been like, to have someone to turn to when
things got tough? "You have no idea how lucky you are."
His grin widened. "If I forget, there's always someone around to tell me." When he was a kid, he saw a downside to that. "And I never got to get away with anything. There was
always someone who saw or found out about it and word would always get back to my
parents."
She heard the affection in his voice. She would have given anything to have had his life.
"You're close to them, too? Your parents?"
He thought of his father. Other than a few years of typical teenager rebellion, he'd
always been able to talk to the man. Like the old joke went, the older he got, the smarter
his father became.
"Yeah, I guess. To my dad. My mom died a little over five years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But at least you had her for a
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