14. Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
“I feel so special.”
Abe awoke with a start. It had taken a while to fall asleep, but once he did, he’d slept soundly. What the hell was that sound? He rolled toward the sound. Kai was standing in the crib, bouncing up and down while holding onto the side, clearly enjoying the creak, creak, creak. He gave Abe a smile.
“Papa.”
“I much prefer Dad, if I have any say in the matter.” After a few more moments of Kai bouncing, Abe got up and went to him.
“I suppose you need your diaper changed or something.” Kai held out his arms, and Abe picked him up.
“This would be a really good time for Grandma to show up.” He’d managed to make it through the first day without changing Kai’s diaper.
He sighed. “You’re going to help me out, right? You must be an expert by now.”
He picked up a diaper and the container of wipes.
“We’ll bring these just in case.” He looked at Kai.
“You wouldn’t do that to me on my first change, though, would you?
” He laid Kai down on the bed and unsnapped his full-body pajamas.
“These are pretty cool. I might need to get myself a set of them.” He looked at the diaper for a moment.
“Okay. If I can rebuild an engine, I can do this.”
Abe successfully changed the diaper, then smiled at Kai.
“Just like I knew what I was doing.” He put the pajamas back on.
“I don’t suppose you’d go back to sleep for a little while.
It’s kind of early.” He picked Kai up, grabbed the stuffed cat from the crib, then returned to the bed.
“Let’s put you between me and the wall. No escaping to the floor or falling off the bed. Are you good with that?”
Kai grabbed his cat and lay down.
“Good boy.” Abe lay next to him. “Sleepy time?” He put a hand on Kai’s back and patted it. “You’re alright, kid.”
Kai snuggled the stuffed cat and whispered. “Dog.”
When Abe woke again, it was to the sound of his mother’s voice. “Honey?”
“Oh, hey.” He turned to Kai, who was sitting next to him, talking nonsense to the toy cat.
Allie smiled. “Did you change him?”
“Yeah. I’m quite proud of myself, actually.”
“I’ll take him to the kitchen and give him breakfast.” She held up a glass vial with a cotton swab in it. “But first, let's get this out of the way. I’ll take it to the lab at the clinic today.”
Abe looked at the vial for a moment, then at Kai. “What if we don’t do it?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if we just…assume he’s mine and screw the paternity test?”
Allie sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you afraid it’s going to come back negative?”
Abe rubbed his face. “I don’t know.”
“Honey, legally, you need to know. You’d want him to be an official Buchanan, right?”
“Um…yeah. Of course.”
She patted his arm. “I’m sure it’s going to come back positive. But if it doesn’t, this boy still needs a family. Would we love him any less if he wasn’t yours?”
“You love him already?”
She watched Kai for a moment. “How could I not?” She laughed. “You used to do that.”
“What?”
“Talk to your animals.”
“Did I know the difference between a cat and a dog?” Abe looked at Kai again. “Give me the damn swab.”
Maggie sat in her car in front of Rocco’s for several minutes after parking the truck.
She didn’t see Abe’s motorcycle, but maybe it was too badly damaged to drive after the accident.
Maybe he came in with Gentry. He wouldn’t have called her for a ride.
Not after standing her up last night. How could he do that? Why did he do that?
She opened her door. “You’re not going to find out sitting out here in the parking lot.” She left the truck and headed for the front door. Gentry was in the kitchen, prepping dough, while Abe was nowhere to be seen.
Gentry smiled at her. “Morning.”
“Hi.” She hung up her purse and put on her apron. Just be cool. Don’t sound judgmental. “Abe’s not in yet?”
“Um…no. He’s taking a day or two off.”
Maggie’s hurt feelings turned into concern. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah. He’s just dealing with some personal stuff.”
Like me? Like freaking out about dating me? “Oh. But he’s okay? He’s not hurt from the accident?”
Gentry looked up at her. “Accident?”
She covered her mouth. “Oh. He still hasn’t told you.”
“Told me what?”
She leaned against the counter. “He asked me not to say anything. He didn’t want you to worry. He said he was fine.”
“What accident?”
“Tuesday night he was run off the road when he went to the bank to make the deposit.”
“Well, I talked to him last night, and he didn’t mention it, so he must be fine.”
“And you won’t tell me what this personal stuff is?”
“It’s not my place.”
“Of course.” She hesitated a moment, then pushed away from the counter and headed for the restaurant area.
“Are you okay?”
She stopped and looked at him. “I’m fine.”
“Maggie?”
She turned back and took a few steps toward Gentry. “We were supposed to go out last night.”
“Out? Like out, out?”
“On a date, out.”
“Oh.” He shook his head. “Oh. You think he stood you up?”
“I don’t think it. I know it.”
Gentry went over to her. “Trust me, once you hear why, you’ll understand.”
“I’m dying here, Gentry.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Have you tried calling him?”
“Yes. When he was an hour late last night, I texted, then called. He never responded. I tried a few more times, then gave up.”
Gentry took out his phone and called Abe. After a few unanswered rings, he ended the call. “Maybe it’s dead. Maybe it got broken during his secret accident.”
“At least he’s not only ignoring me.”
“He’s not ignoring you. I’m sure he just forgot?”
“About our first date? I feel so special.” Gentry cocked his head, and she sighed. “I know. Apparently, he has a really good excuse.”
“You should probably get the dining room ready. It’s you and me until around two. Luke will be here to give us a break and help with dinner.”
“Will we be busy with the rodeo in town?”
“It’s different every year. Be ready for anything.”
Allie took Kai with her to town, giving Abe a little time to breathe and sort through his feelings. He’d been a father for twenty-four hours now.
Mama pig came over to the fence Abe was leaning against and snorted at him.
Her ten babies followed, hoping she would lie down and give them a mid-morning meal.
Abe scratched the pig behind her ears. “I guess you’re a new parent too, Mabel.
” The baby pigs squealed as they ran around her, bumping into her and tripping over each other. “Only you really have your hands full.”
Abe stopped rubbing Mabel’s ears and straightened. “Oh crap. Maggie.” How could he have forgotten about Maggie? He looked at Mabel. “I need to call her.” He pointed at the pig. “I’m not going to tell her I was looking at you when I thought about her, though.”
She’d probably been trying to call him and wondering where the hell he was.
She must hate me. He jogged to the house and went into the kitchen to use the landline.
He picked up the receiver, then stared at the numbers on the phone.
“Dammit.” He had no idea what her number was.
“Rocco’s. She’ll be at work.” He dialed the restaurant.
“Rocco’s. This is Maggie. How can I help you?”
Abe felt a hitch in his throat at the sound of her voice. “Maggie.”
“Abe?”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I was worried.”
“I’ve had…I can explain.”
“We’re getting slammed here, and I can’t really talk. I’ll call you back once Luke comes in.”
“Okay. I don’t have my cell. Call my parents’ house. The landline. Gentry can give you the number.”
“Okay. Just tell me again that you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
“I’ll talk to you soon.”
Abe hung up the phone. At least she didn’t hang up on him. He went to the refrigerator and got a beer, then grabbed a container of fresh Buchanan almonds and sat at the table.
When John came through the kitchen door, he went to the sink and washed his hands, then turned to Abe and nodded toward the beer. “A little bit early for that, son.”
Abe picked up the bottle. “Actually, it’s kind of late. I should’ve started drinking yesterday.”
John sat down across the table from him. “Do you want to talk about this?”
“No, Dad. I’m kidding. I’m fine.”
“I doubt that. Not many people would be fine in your situation.”
Abe drank some beer. “I’m as fine as I can be.”
“I’m going to tell you a story.”
“Okay.”
“Your mother and I knew we wanted kids, but we never really sat down and talked about when or how many.”
Abe smiled. “You probably should’ve had that conversation, Dad.”
“When she told me she was pregnant with Wes six months after we got married, I had a bit of a meltdown.”
Abe leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Really? You?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t the fact that we were going to have a baby. It was fear. Crippling fear. I just knew I was going to mess the child up somehow.”
Abe sighed. “I know that feeling.”
John nodded. “It never really completely goes away. But you learn to trust yourself a little more as each day passes, and the child keeps thriving and growing. That’s when pride starts to overpower the fear.”
“Are you proud of us, Dad?”
“Every damn one of you.”
“Some more than others?”
“No.”
“Hmm. I guess if you and Mom can successfully raise six boys into adulthood, I can manage to keep Kai alive and happy.”
“I have no doubt of that, son.”