Chapter Four #2
Still, he’d proposed, and she’d said yes. The marriage lasted two years. He and Lenore had gone to counseling at the end. But it just wasn’t working. They divorced.
As for being a dad… Best thing that had ever happened to him. He still had his issues with his ex-wife. Their lives weren’t perfect. But Lenore loved Shane as much as he did. Their son was a happy little boy…
And now he would have a second child.
Yeah, there was a lot to work out. So what? He was up for it. He could not wait. He’d always wanted more kids, but his issues with Lenore had made him gun-shy about relationships.
With Riley, though, he didn’t worry. Next to his cousin, Joe, she was the best friend he had. Having a kid with his best friend. The more he thought about it, the more he felt certain that, one way or another, it was all going to work out great.
“What are you thinking?” Riley demanded.
He gave her a smirk. “You really want to get into that now?”
“No, I do not,” she said sternly. “I want you to put on the rest of your clothes and get down there before the kids come back up here to find out what’s taking you so long.”
“Fair point—and hold on.” He put up a hand. “I’ll check to make sure that the coast is clear and then you can dart across the hall to your room.”
She gave a little snort-laugh. “You are having far too much fun.”
“There is no such thing as too much fun—now, step back and let me look…”
He stuck his head out the door and checked up and down the hallway. Then, carefully shutting the door, he turned to face her. “Okay, all clear.”
“Thanks,” she said with more than a hint of sarcasm. He caught her arm as she tried to slip around him. She looked at him from under her lashes. “Josh. Stop messing around.”
“But messing around is so much fun…”
She just shook her head, the way she did with the boys sometimes.
“I had a nice night,” he said. “A great night.”
She gave him a tender hint of a smile. “I’m glad. And me, too—mostly. It was tough, telling you about the baby…”
“But we got through it,” he reminded her.
“Yeah,” she said. “We did.”
He wanted to kiss her so bad, but the boys were waiting. The longer he put off going down there, the more likely one of them would come running back up the stairs.
He pulled open the door again, found the upstairs hall empty and stepped out of Riley’s way. She zipped out the door and into her room across the hallway.
He waited until she disappeared inside to head downstairs.
The rest of the morning went by pretty much according to the original plan. They had breakfast. They fished in the pond for a couple of hours. He cleaned the catch and put three fish in a cooler for Riley to take home.
She and Dillon left before noon. Josh stood in the gravel driveway with Shane, both of them waving as their guests drove away.
“It was fun.” Shane looked up at him, a wistful kind of look. “Fun things are always over with too fast.”
Josh nodded. “Yes, they are.”
Then Shane grinned. “But Wednesday, I get pizza for dinner.” Wednesday, he would officially be a five-year-old. “And next Saturday, I get my party at Mom’s. I can’t wait.”
Josh put his hand on Shane’s shoulder. “You think you’re going to like being five?”
Shane’s grin turned into a great, big smile. “Yes, I am! I’m going to like it a lot.”
* * *
Now she’d finally told Josh about the baby, Riley felt better about everything. She had lunch Monday with Macy. They met up at Henry’s for sandwiches.
“I’m proud of you.” Macy raised her glass of iced tea. “Here’s to you and Josh and baby makes…five? I mean, counting the boys…”
Riley leaned across their booth and spoke in a low voice so only Macy would hear. “It’s not like we’re getting married or anything.”
Macy leaned in, too. “Did I say the M word? I don’t think so.”
“Great. Just don’t. Because we’re not.”
“So you’ll be…co-parents?”
“That’s right.”
“Got it. And again, I’m glad he knows. How about Annette? Have you told her yet?”
“No. I keep meaning to, but somehow I never get the words out.”
“Are you worried about how she’ll react?”
“A little, maybe. She’s very…traditional. But I do need to tell her what’s going on. One way or another, I’m breaking the news to her this week.”
“Don’t look so grim, Rile. Annette adores you. It’s going to be fine.”
“Yeah.” She put on a bright smile. “Annette’s one of my favorite people, and she needs to know that her grandson is getting a little sister or brother.”
Macy reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Anything I can do to help, just say the word.”
“Thank you. But I’m on it. This week, no matter what, Annette is getting the news.”
* * *
Josh called that night—just to check on her, he said. “You let me know if you need anything.”
That made her laugh. “Like what, exactly?”
“I don’t know. Lenore always needed things—gallons of Neapolitan ice cream. Endless tins of Almond Roca.”
“Not a fan of Neapolitan. I’m more a Rocky Road kind of girl. In fact, I’ve got a carton of Rocky Road in the freezer, so I’m ready any time the need strikes. And so far, no cravings for Almond Roca. But I’ll keep you posted.”
“You’d better—and by the way,” he said. “Thanks for the ultrasound pictures.”
“You’re welcome.” She’d sent him the images via email that morning. “Not that you can see much at eight weeks—like a bean with a heartbeat.”
“I’m looking at them right now,” he said. “I vaguely remember what it is I’m seeing…”
“Right. From the first pictures of Shane…”
“Yep. That’s the baby in the bubble. And the gray outer area is the, uh…wait a minute. I’ve got it. The gestational sac…”
“That’s right,” she said. “I’m impressed.”
“And the next ultrasound is…when?”
“First Monday in May.”
“I want to be there for that.”
It struck her anew. They were having a baby together. And he really must have meant what he said yesterday morning. He was going to be involved, a hands-on sort of dad.
Which was great. The baby deserved a good dad.
“Riley? Did I lose you?”
“I’m right here. And of course you should be at the ultrasound. It’ll be up at the hospital in Sheridan. I’ll text you the day and time. You can, uh, put it on your calendar.”
“Great. And by the way, I lied. I didn’t just call to check on you.”
Her stomach went swoopy. Was he going to ask to see her alone? She’d kind of assumed that as soon as she let him know about the baby, the fling would finished. She’d told herself that was for the best… But did she want it to end? Really?
No, she did not.
He said, “Wednesday is Shane’s big day…”
Okay. Well, maybe this wasn’t about the two of them and their secret affair, after all.
She piped up too brightly, “Wish him a happy birthday from me.”
“Well, that’s just it. I was wondering, can you and Dillon come over for pizza around five on Wednesday?”
“To celebrate, you mean?”
“Yeah, but it’s not a party, not a big deal. I’m serious. No presents.”
“You sound so stern when you say that,” she teased as she told herself how relieved she was that he hadn’t brought up their secret fling.
“Yeah, well. If it was up to my boy, there would be cake and new toys daily for the next month at least.”
“And you know what? There should be. We’re bringing a present Wednesday. Shane is five. It’s huge.”
“Riley, I’m trying to hold the line. I mean, he’s had his fishing weekend, and from what I hear, every kid enrolled at Bright Beginnings Daycare will be at Lenore’s on Saturday. It’s enough.”
“And yet you couldn’t refuse him a pizza on his special day…”
“You got it. He asked for pizza, and then he asked if Dillon could come over.”
“There will be a present from Dillon on Wednesday. Deal with it.”
“Sheesh,” he grumbled. “Fine.”
“And Dillon’s in bed right now, but I’ll check with him first thing in the morning, ask him if he wants to go to Shane’s for birthday pizza on Wednesday. Spoiler alert. We’ll be there.”
“Good. See you then.”
She hung up smiling, looking forward to Wednesday, when it would be like the weekend had been—Josh, Riley and the boys, like a family.
A family…
Riley closed her eyes and sank to the club chair by the window in the living room. She set her phone on the little table there and slumped back in the chair.
Josh was her very good friend. She liked him so much—in and out of bed. Their children were best friends. She was having a baby with him.
But they weren’t a family. It wasn’t like that between the two of them. And she had to be careful. With a baby coming, it would be so easy to romanticize the situation, to let herself fall and fall hard. To start hoping that Josh might fall, too.
No.
That wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t fall in love with Josh—and she wouldn’t. She’d known that all along. Her falling-in-love days were over. They were friends, they had been lovers, and now they would be co-parents. End of story.
* * *
Wednesday, she and Dillon drove out to Josh’s place as planned. Dillon presented Josh with a pair of bright green walkie-talkies, they all four had pizza and then played a rousing game of Hungry Hippos.
When the boys went upstairs to play with Shane’s new walkie-talkies, Josh asked her how she was feeling.
She looked in his eyes and thought how hard it was not to want him.
In fact, when it came to not wanting him, she was a complete and total failure.
If the boys hadn’t been there, she would already have grabbed him and dragged him up to his bed.
Would he go?
Why even ask herself that question?
“I’m feeling great,” she said, with way more enthusiasm than necessary.
“Well, all right then.” He leaned across the still-open Hungry Hippos board and whispered, “Got a free night this week? We can, er, talk about the future. Shane’s with me till Saturday, but I can wrangle a sitter no problem.”