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button nose and miniature, drool-slicked ruby lips. If someone took him from her, Chelsea was sure that she would die.
    “No, I don’t think he would. Look, I might not know him that well, but what I do know is…well, the past year hasn’t been a good one for him. I bet the last thing on his mind was what he discovered here.” She spoke with the wisdom far beyond her twenty-seven years and Hannah moved her hands through Chelsea’s hair in a continuous and comforting motion. Though only three years her senior, Chelsea often thought of Hannah as the prefect mother figure.
    “Tensions are high and tempers are flaring. News like this is…well, it can be hard to take. Why don’t we all go inside, have some iced tea and maybe a nice slice of lemon glaze cake while we talk things through. How does that sound?”
    The question was out of her head and past her lips before she fully understood what she was asking. “Will you help me though, if he does try to take him from me?”
    “Of course I will. You are an amazing mother to Ruan and I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure you get to stay together. Come on. Kayla, you bring little R inside, okay? I’ll give you your driving lesson later, I promise.”
    “Sure, Hannah,” the teen replied, carefully guiding the stroller into the house.
    Oh man, she’d gone and ruined everyone’s day today, without even trying. Some days, Chelsea wondered why she even got out of bed. If it wasn’t for Ruan, she’d most likely just give up. There wasn’t anything else or anyone else to live for.
    Inside, Hannah led Chelsea to the kitchen where Mac, Kayla and Tiaan were already seated around the large, round oak table. She slipped into a chair beside Mac when he motioned for her to and did her best to keep her gaze away from the father of her child. As usual, Hannah flitted around the kitchen, relishing in her job as hostess, setting out glasses and a large frosty jug of homemade raspberry and lemon iced tea. She returned a few seconds later with plates and slices of her lemon glazed cake.
    Everyone except for herself and Tiaan took a slice. Chelsea didn’t gamble, but she would bet that he didn’t have much of an appetite either. He was busy staring at Ruan so she took the opportunity to look him over. The exciting and carefree man she met in the elevator had vanished, leaving in his place someone cagey and irritated. That mouth of his, the one always grinning, now turned down in a permanent scowl. How could one man change so much in twelve months?
    His frame seemed a little thinner as well, though still quite bulky and muscular. Hannah mentioned that he’d been through, well, the exact word she used was something . Chelsea didn’t know what he did for a living, but again, if she was to wager, she’d guess he did something with the military.
    Mac and Hannah both ran a foundation called Help for Heroes and if they hadn’t met him through that, then he must have known Mackenzie from before. What little she managed to find out about Mac was that he used to belong to a covert section of the US government and recently received a pardon from them in order to obtain his Canadian citizenship. Now he did freelance security consulting which he was taking some time off from at the moment to stay at home with Kayla and Erik.
    Jeez, sitting here, so close to the man who haunted her mind – awake and asleep – for the past year…she could only describe it as surreal. A quick glance over to Ruan and her heart stuttered in her chest.
    What did he see when he looked at their child? He did say he didn’t want any kids, making it abundantly clear that he especially didn’t want this child. Just the thought caused her heart to ache. All anyone had to do was spend a little time with Ruan and they fell madly in love with him.
    If Tiaan just held his son, maybe he might feel a connection to him. A sob nearly choked her. Chelsea pressed her hand to her still not completely flat abdomen