Something inside her melted as she realized that. Most men would just as soon leave a girl than be stuck with the responsibility of supporting a child, even just financially, much less being an actual father. But David had offered to adopt a baby that didn't even exist yet.

It was at that moment that she realized her mistake. Despite her keen intelligence and years of advanced education, despite her warnings to herself that she would keep her distance from David, despite the fact that his career and her principles could never mesh, Noelle had done the most stupid thing in her life.

She'd fallen in love with David.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

David sat on the steps in front of the cabin the next morning, drinking coffee with Caleb and Grant in order to give Noelle time to work in peace. She'd said she was close to a solution and he prayed she was right.

The ari was cold and crisp with frost and smelted faintly of pine and fallen leaves. There was littlebreeze and only the tops of the trees swayed as they were brushed by cold wind.

"I keep forgetting how much I love this place," said Caleb.

"Sure as hell beats the desert," replied Grant. "There's nothing worse than getting sand in your shorts."

David eyed Caleb, taking in his solemn face. Something about Caleb had changed since they had worked together two years ago. He was more serious than he used to be. Quieter.

David thought about what Grant had said about Caleb taking too many chances with his life. "Have you thought about a change of career? You're one hell of a carpenter. Why don't you take up cabinetmaking or something and make this place your permanent home?"

"That's an idea," said Grant, his eyes glittering with excitement. "We could help you expand the place. Put on a real bathroom and maybe a bedroom. We could even see about getting power lines run up here so you don't have to use the generator."

Caleb didn't even blink. He sat there, coffee cradled in his huge hands, staring at the forest in that patient manner of his that made David want to shake him to see if he even knew they were talking to him.

"I bet you could get satellite TV up here," continued Grant. "Between that and a fridge full of food and beer, what more could a man want?"

One side of Caleb's jaw twitched, but he remained silent.

David knew Caleb well enough to see he was suffering, but from what, David had no idea. Whatever it was, the conversation was hard on Caleb, so it was time for a change in topic. Caleb would talk about whatever was on his mind if and when it suited him, which David hoped would be soon.

"One of us is going to need to make a trip mto town tomorrow," said David.

"I'll go," said Caleb.

"I'll go with you," offered Grant, a little too quickly to be casual.

David frowned at Grant, who gave him an apologetic stare.

"I'm not suicidal," said Caleb. His mouth pressed flat into an irritated line. "Stop acting like I can't take care of myself."

"I know you can take care of yourself," argued Grant. "I also know that Monroe has labeled you as a man with limited self-preservation instincts."

Caleb's black brows rose at this news. "Has he? Huh."

David looked at Grant to see if this was one of the lean man's jokes. Grant had a wicked sense of humor, but right now, he was dead serious. "What the hell happened?" asked David.

Caleb turned his head and studied the forest. Grant's face darkened with anger. Neither man said a word.

A low buzzing sound came from Grant's pants, and he reached into his pocket to pull out a phone. Looking at the display, he let out a resigned sigh. "It's Colonel Monroe," he said as he pressed the button to receive the call.

"Lieutenant Kent speaking."

Grant listened, then winced. "Yes, sir. The desert is damn hot. Sandy, too, sir."

David could hear the faint rumble of Monroe's voice.

"No, sir. Were we expecting Captain Wolfe on this op, sir?"

Grant shot David a frustrated look. "Yes, sir. If I see him, I'll make sure to pass on that you are looking for him."

The rumble coming from the phone got louder.

"No, sir. I'm fairly sure your boot will not fit that far up my—" Grant lifted the phone away from his ear and all three men could hear Monroe's deep, enraged voice booming out of the tiny speaker.

There was a vile string of curses followed by the command, "Hand Wolfe the goddamn phone, Kent!"

"It's for you," said Grant.

David took the phone and started talking before Monroe got the first word in. "Don't blame Caleb and Grant for coming here; I ordered them to leave their posts and give me a hand."

Monroe's voice was low and pissed. "The hell you did. I know those two men and neither one of them had to be ordered to give you a hand. The only reason they got away with leaving is because I wanted them to track you down. I knew they'd find you no matter how deeply you'd buried yourself. It worked, too."

"Yes, sir. I suppose it did."

"Why the hell haven't you been answering the sat phone?"

"I didn't want to be tracked. I don't like using this one either, so make it quick."

"Don't push your luck, son. You're still under my command for as long as she's with you."

David bit back a disrespectful phrase, just barely. "What do you want, sir?"

"We found the informant. It was one of the CIA agents. The Swarm has his son held hostage in exchange for information, though by now, I'm sure the boy is dead. We've had the agent under interrogation for forty-eight hours and I don't think he knows anything. He's just the Swarm's tool."

Shit. David couldn't bring himself to ask who it was for fear it would be someone he knew. Someone he liked.

Maybe he'd even met the man's son. The thought was more than he could take right now. "Are there others?"

"Don't know. We were hoping to get the current locations of the Swarm out of him, but it doesn't look hopeful.

We'll resort to more extreme tactics in a few hours just to make sure he's not lying, but I just wanted you to know that it should be safe to come back."

"We're staying put for now. It's safer here."

"You sure?"

"Yes, sir. I'd really like to be off this line, though. Who knows what sort of locating equipment they have."

"I understand. Is she making progress?"

"Yes, sir. She is. I don't think it will be long now."

"Check in again within two days, Captain."

"Yes, sir." David ended the conversation and powered the phone off. "Keep this off while you're here. I don't want to take any chances."

"Right. Will do. So, how fucked are we?" asked Grant.

David felt himself smile. "Not too bad. Monroe was hoping you'd come find me."

"That sneaky bastard." Grant grinned.

Caleb's eyes went hard and cold. He apparently wasn't fond of being manipulated like that. "If we're going to stay, we should plan that trip into town."

David heard Noelle's low mumble of incoherent phrases coming from the cabin. His heart warmed at the thought of having a little time alone with her again. Soon she'd be finished with her work, and they'd go their separate ways. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could before that happened. "Why don't both of you go into town. Noelle and I will be fine here alone."

"I'm sure you will," muttered Grant with a grin.

"Jealous?" asked Caleb with a completely serious expression.

"Hell, yes. David went and got himself a brainy woman who's too cute for words while I haven't gotten laid in weeks."

"Weeks?" said David with mock horror, thinking of his two-year celibacy. "Poor baby."

"Fuck you, Wolfe. I don't have to take this abuse." Grant stood and headed for the tree line. "I'm going to go walk the perimeter and think about the woman I'm going to pick up while we're in town tomorrow."

"He will, too," grumbled Caleb when Grant was gone.

"Will what?" asked David.

"Find some woman willing to go for a quickie in a hotel with him. Or maybe just a public restroom. I swear the man can sense an easy target from a quarter mile. He'll be off getting his jollies and leave me to do the grocery shopping."

David laughed. He couldn't help it. He'd missed his buddies too much not to enjoy their quirks. "Since you'll be doing the shopping, I need to add a few things to your list."

"Like what?"

David felt his face heat. He was a grown man, but he couldn't help being a little weirded out about his relationship with Noelle. It was still new and uncertain and part of him still felt like he was being unfaithful to Mary's memory. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn't help it.

David took a deep breath and just spit it out. "I need you to pick up a pregnancy test."

Caleb's expression remained neutral, unsurprised. "I thought you looked like you were starting to show. I didn't want to say anything in case you'd just gotten fat."

David laughed and damn, it felt good. "Don't be an ass. This is serious."

"Okay. I'll see what I can do."

"I wouldn't bother if I knew how much longer we were going to be here, but we don't know and if we're here for a few more weeks . .. I just thought she might like to know. The idea really freaked her out."

"So, what are you hoping for? Negative or positive results?"

David knew what he wanted, but it involved a lot more than just a blue line on some test. In a perfect world, he'd have it all. A wife, kids, a nice, quiet life where he didn't have to worry about someone wanting to kill him or his family. In a perfect world, he'd forgive himself for Mary's death and be able to move on. But this was far from perfect and he had to face reality. "What I want is for Noelle to live long enough that the results of a pregnancy test matter."

"So, do you want me to pick up some prenatal vitamins, just in case? My mom always took those when she was pregnant."

"Good idea. She's either going to need them or feminine hygiene products."

"Damn" said Caleb, looking a little uncomfortable for the first time since he arrived. "I don't know anything about that."

"You have a sister, don't you?"

"Yeah, but she was still a kid when I left home. It wasn't really an issue. You were the one with a wife. Shouldn't you know about these things?"

"Mary always took care of that stuff herself. I never had to learn how to buy those... things."

They leaned forward, bracing their elbows on their knees for a strategy session. "So, what do we do?" asked Caleb.

"I don't want to ask Noelle what she needs. She's concentrating, and if I bring up the subject of whether or not she's going to need... feminine hygiene products, she might lose it."

"Right. We'll figure it out without her. We've planned missions that were harder than this, right?"

David gave Caleb a disbelieving look. "I don't remember any." He pushed out a breath. "Okay. I think Mary used tampons. Why don't you get those?"

"Don't they come in different sizes?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"I think they do. She looks like a small. What do you think?"