He sighed. “The only responsible thing for you to do is put it up for adoption.

*   *   *

Ashley waited anxiously as Dare opened his front door, then she stepped into the foyer, Dare and Adam behind her. Dare had taken the three of them out to a nice dinner, but had refused to talk about his conversation with Helen until they returned to the house. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch, her stomach fluttering. Dare sat down beside her.

“So how did it go with Helen?” Adam asked as he sat down on the other side of Dare.

Dare sighed. “She’d been drinking and she did it to try and keep me in her life.”

“That girl is truly screwed up,” Adam said.

Dare nodded. “At least she’s agreed to go into rehab again.”

“Thank heavens,” Ashley said.

A heavy silence hung between them, until finally Adam said, “So you’re going to be a father.”

Ashley’s stomach clenched. Since Dare was the father, would he stick by Helen, even after what she’d done? Would he … could he even consider actually moving Helen in with him?

Dare pursed his lips. “Well, not really.”

Ashley rested her hand on Dare’s. “What do you mean?”

“She’s putting the baby up for adoption.” Dare’s expression was strained. “She still has a lot of issues to work out and, especially given her drinking problem, it seemed the best choice.”

Ashley curled her fingers around his hand. “Did she want to keep it?”

Had Dare talked her into adoption? Ashley couldn’t imagine giving up a baby if she were pregnant. But as Dare said, with Helen’s issues, it probably was for the best. But that didn’t mean she would be happy about it.

“At first. But more because her father walked out on her and her mother and she didn’t want to do the same. I explained that with adoption, the baby would go to a family that really wanted it. In the end, Helen’s main concern is that the baby have a good home. It’ll be hard on her, but it’s for the best.”

“It’ll be hard on you, too, won’t it?” Ashley asked, gazing into his sad blue eyes.

“It’ll be hard to watch her go through the pregnancy, then have to give up the baby. To never see it again. And for the baby to never know her mother.”

Or her father. But Dare probably didn’t want to think about that.

“You know, the three of us want to have a baby,” Adam said. “And we would be a great home.”

Dare’s gaze darted to Adam’s. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that maybe the three of us could adopt the baby.”

Ashley’s eyes widened at the suggestion and her heart thumped loudly.

“But you want to have a baby that’s yours,” Dare said.

“I want a baby that’s ours. And this baby is part of you.”