Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Lachlan
“I promise you have nothing to worry about,” I tell Maggie. We’re on our way to my parents’ house to tell them about the baby.
“Are you not the least bit embarrassed to show up with me in tow and tell them, oh, by the way, we had a one-night stand, and now we’re having a baby?”
She’s telling me more than she thinks from that line of questioning. Reaching over, I lace my fingers with hers. “No. I’m not the least bit embarrassed to be having a baby with you. I’m not worried about my parents thinking less of me or you. You have nothing to worry about. What about you? Are you nervous about telling your grandma tomorrow?”
“No. She’s always telling me her biggest worry is her leaving me in this world alone. She’ll be happy to know I’ll have family once she’s gone.” Her voice cracks. “I can’t even think about her not being here anymore. I know that’s a part of life, but I’m not ready for that. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that.”
“Yeah,” I agree. I don’t know what else to say. She’s right, death is a part of life, but that doesn’t make it suck any less. “You have me and our baby forever, Maggie. You will never be alone. That’s a promise I can make to you, your grandmother, and our baby. I’ll always be right here.”
“You’re going to meet someone someday, and how you’re feeling right now could change.”
“Never. You are the mother of my child, Maggie. We shared an incredible night together, and now we’re going to have a permanent reminder of that night. Whoever may or may not come into my life will have to understand that. There is no in between. I will always be there for both of you.”
What I want to tell her is that we could be a family. I want to tell her that I couldn’t stop thinking about her before I found out about the baby, but I know Maggie well enough to understand she’ll assume my sudden interest in us being together is solely for the baby. That’s not true, but only time and my actions will prove that to her. She’s still dealing with some insecurities from her cocksucker of an ex-boyfriend.
All I need is time.
The remainder of the short drive is silent, and when I pull into my parents’ driveway, I feel the atmosphere shift inside the truck. “Maggie, please don’t worry. They’re going to embrace you and this baby with open arms. I told you about my dad, right? About how he adopted me? Family is what you make it, Mags, and you and that baby are mine. They’re going to love you.”
She exhales and squares her shoulders. “Okay. Let’s do it.” She nods and reaches for her seat belt, and that’s my cue to hop out of the truck to rush around and help her. “I can get in and out of this monstrosity on my own for now.” She laughs.
“I know, but I want to help you. Pregnant or not, I’d be helping you. That’s just how I was raised.”
She eyes me suspiciously but doesn’t say anything. Once she’s out of the truck, I offer her my hand. She doesn’t hesitate to take it, allowing me to twine our fingers together. I lead her up the porch and to the front door. I knock a few times, then push it open.
“Honey, I’m home!” I call out, and I hear my dad’s deep chuckle coming from the kitchen.
“In here!” he calls back.
With Maggie’s hand still locked with mine, I lead her down the hallway and into the kitchen. “Smells great,” I tell my parents, who are standing side by side at the kitchen island.
“Stop.” Mom laughs as she swats Dad’s hands away from the garlic bread she just took out of the oven.
“See what I have to deal with?” Dad acts as though he’s offended. “Maggie, it’s good to see you.”
“Yes, please ignore Rodney. I promise you he has better manners than that and he’s not putting his fingers all over the food.” Mom chuckles. “It’s nice to see you,” she tells Maggie. “I hope you two are hungry. I made lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. I even made Lachlan’s favorite oatmeal and raisin cookies for dessert.”
“You had me at cookie,” I tell Mom, making them all laugh.
“How you stay so fit with all the sweets that you eat, I’ll never know,” Maggie says.
“He’s always been that way,” Dad tells us. “I eat one, and the doctor threatens to put me on cholesterol medicine.”
“It smells delicious. Thank you for having me,” Maggie says politely.
“Of course. Lachlan, grab us some drinks, and your dad and I will bring this to the table.”
“What can I do to help?” Maggie asks.
“You’re our guest. Supervise that one.” Mom points at me. “He can be a handful,” she jokes. Her eyes flash to our joined hands, but quickly avert back to our faces. Her smile says more than her words ever could.
“Don’t I know it.” Maggie chortles.
“Watch it,” I say, tickling her side, which makes her squeal and take a few steps away from me. I wink at her, and she smiles. It’s a genuine smile, not just one she uses to try and reassure me. My shoulders relax as relief washes over me. Everything is going to be okay.
“That was delicious. Thank you. It’s the most I’ve eaten in weeks.”
“You’re welcome. There are plenty of leftovers. I’ll send you home with some. We’ve been eating a more heart-healthy diet recently, so this is a treat for us too.”
“Yes, kids, thank you for coming so I can eat yummy food for once.”
“Kids? I’m thirty-three, old man,” I quip.
“And you’ll always be a kid to me,” Dad fires back.
“Yeah, you’ll understand one day when you have one or a few of your own. They’ll always be kids in your eyes, even when they are adults.”
Reaching under the table, I reach for Maggie’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “About that,” I say, sitting back in my seat. “Maggie and I are having a baby.”
My parents freeze, and then suddenly, they’re both out of their chairs and rounding the table toward us. I stand and open my arms for my mom, but she ducks underneath and goes to Maggie, who is also barely standing before she’s ambushed.
“Really? I’m going to be a grandma?” Mom asks, her voice cracking. “Lachlan Noble, this better not be a joke,” she says, releasing Maggie and swatting my shoulder.
“Son?” Dad asks.
I step back and place my arm around Maggie’s waist. “It’s not a joke. We’re thirteen and a half weeks. Maggie and I aren’t together, but we are going to raise this baby together.” I smile down at her, to find her already looking up at me. “Co-parents,” I say, and she nods.
“Tell me more. Over thirteen weeks, have you heard the heartbeat?” Mom asks.
“We have. I even bought us a doppler to keep at Maggie’s place so we can listen anytime we want.”
“I, um, I brought it,” Maggie says, her face flushing. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to hear.”
“Yes. Yes. Yes!” Mom exclaims.
“Congratulations, son, Maggie. Being a parent is one of life’s greatest joys. It’s also one of the hardest jobs you will ever do.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, my emotions getting the better of me.
“I’ll run out to the car to get the doppler,” Maggie says.
“I’ll go. Where is it?”
“In my purse. I left it on the floorboard.”
“I’m on it.” I squeeze her hip, a silent thank-you, before rushing out to my truck to grab the doppler. I’m excited about my parents getting to hear our baby’s heartbeat, but if I’m being honest, I’m stoked I get to hear it again as well. I heard it Wednesday night, but that was a few days ago.
When I got home from work on Wednesday, the box was on my front porch, and I went straight to Maggie’s so we could try it out. We sat on her couch for almost an hour, listening to our son or daughter.
“Mags!” I call out as I enter the house. “Get comfy on the couch,” I tell her, walking into the living room.
She smiles and moves to sit on the couch. I lift up her shirt just a little, and put the doppler on her belly, mindful that my dad is also in the room. Not that it’s nothing he wouldn’t see if she were in a bathing suit. Even so, I want to keep her as covered as I can.
I kneel before her on the floor, turn on the machine, and move the wand around a little and there it is. The fast whooshing sound of our baby’s heartbeat.
“Oh my goodness,” Mom says, and I can hear the tears in the sound of her voice.
“That’s really something,” Dad says, who I can tell is trying not to let his emotions get the best of him.
“We made that,” I whisper to Maggie.
“Bragging rights,” she teases before Mom starts talking her head off about the nursery theme, if she’s registered anywhere, and if she can help with the baby shower.
Dad and I are content to sit and listen to the women talk, and by the time we leave, Maggie and I both have to-go containers full of leftovers, and Maggie has set up a date to go window shopping with my mom to start looking at baby items.
With a round of hugs and the promise to do dinner again soon, we’re headed back to her place.
“You were right,” Maggie tells me.
“Say what?” I pick up my phone from the cupholder and hand it to her. “Can you bring up the voice recording app and say that again?”
“Stop.” She laughs, swatting my hand away. “I mean it. Your parents are incredible, and your mom, she’s offered to help so much.”
“I hope you let her. This is her first and maybe only grandchild. I’d hate for her not to be able to be involved.”
“When I found out I was pregnant, I just kept thinking that this baby won’t have grandparents. Before you say anything, this was before I told you, and I was worried that you wouldn’t want anything to do with this baby.”
Her words affect me more than they should. I know she was scared, and that asshole ex of hers made her think all men are douche canoes, but I’d hoped she knew me better than that.
“Finding out made me miss my parents so much, but my mom, she was supposed to be here to take me shopping and to help me register, and to know that I have your mom who wants to do those things with me, that means more to me than you will ever know, Lachlan.”
I pull into her driveway and leave the truck running but make no move to get out. “This baby makes us family. That means my parents included. They both gave you their numbers tonight for a reason. Not just so you can go shopping with Mom, but in case you need anything. Anything at all, don’t hesitate to reach out to them or me. We’re in this, Maggie. All the way in.”
She nods. “I know you are. You’ve never wavered, and I’m sorry that I ever thought you would turn me away. I had a pregnancy scare with Eric. I was a week late and freaking out, and when I told him, he told me to handle it. I guess I just had flashbacks of that moment. Thankfully, my period came the next day, but I knew then that he and I would never work out. That very next weekend is when I walked into his apartment and found him naked on the couch with someone else.”
If I ever see the guy, it’s going to take a hell of a lot of effort not to kick his ass for treating her that way. I keep my face neutral, letting my anger for her simmer on the inside, because I don’t want her to stop opening up to me.
“I’m sorry. You’re not him, and I know that. I knew it then, but I let my past and fears take hold. Thank you for being an incredible man. Thank you for sharing your family with me. I meant what I said. If this was going to happen, I’m really glad it happened with you.”
I’ve never wanted to kiss someone more in my life than I do at this moment. I want to, but I know that I can’t. Instead, I lean over the console and press my lips to her cheek. “Me too, Mags. Me too.”
“Anyway. I guess I should let you go.”
“I’ve got nowhere to be.” What I don’t say is that there is nowhere I’d rather be than with her.
“Oh, well, I was going to run into town and grab some ice cream. You’re welcome to come with me if you want.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you wanted ice cream? I could have taken you straight there.”
“I didn’t want to burden you with my ice cream craving.”
I smack lightly at my chest. “I’m the daddy. You’re doing all the hard work, so it’s my job to satisfy the cravings.”
“Fine, I’m really craving some butter pecan ice cream. The homemade kind that they sell at Pastry Heaven.”
“Mags, you know they’re closed, right?”
“I do, but did you know that Dough Daddies sells cartons?”
“What?” My mouth drops open. “How did I not know this? How, woman? You’ve been holding out on me.”
“Do you not look at the menu?”
“No. I mean, not anymore. We’ve been there so much, I have it memorized. Besides, it’s pizza. I always order my favorite. Who needs a menu for pizza?”
She’s laughing so hard her body is shaking and those perfect tits of hers bounce, which is very fucking distracting. “Maybe you should start.”
“Starting right now.” I put the truck in Reverse and pull out of her driveway. “What kind of flavors are we talking about here?”
“Does it matter?”
“No, but I’m planning on what I need to order when we get there.”
“I think it changes. They always have chocolate and vanilla. I hope they have butter pecan, but honestly, the homemade ice cream is so good, I’d settle for any of them.”
“I wonder if the guys know this?”
“I’m pretty sure Forrest does. I saw a carton in their freezer when I got ice last weekend.”
“And they didn’t tell me either? This is a travesty, I tell you.”
“You’re too much.” She giggles.
“I take my sweet consumption seriously, and do you know that I, too, have had a hankering for Pastry Heaven ice cream later in the day or night, and they close at like two in the afternoon, and I couldn’t get it? I had to settle for the store-bought stuff. Store-bought , Maggie.”
“The horror!” she gasps.
“Right?” I say. While I’m being serious, and I’m pissed that I didn’t know this about my hometown, I’m also enjoying seeing her smile. Seeing her happy makes me happy, and that’s just another reason I know we can be more. The more time I spend with her, the more of her time I want.
It’s not just the baby, although it would be awkward if I wanted her and there was some other woman having my kid. Eww, no. Just no. The thought of anyone else carrying my baby, being a mother to my child, doesn’t sit right with me.
It has to be Maggie.
It is Maggie.
Now, I just take my time and show her with actions that we are meant to be a family. I know we are. I can feel it in my bones and in my heart every time I have to go home without her.
At first, I thought it was just a good night of great sex; it’s why I couldn’t stop thinking about her, but I was wrong. It’s Maggie. She makes everything better.
We make it to Dough Daddies and go straight to the takeout counter and ask for a menu. Sure enough, there is a bright pink piece of paper that lists the flavors of Pastry Heaven ice cream available.
“What kind are you going to get?” Maggie asks me, while I stare down at the list.
“They only have four flavors, and we’re getting them all.”
“What? We don’t need four cartons of ice cream.”
“Oh yes, we do. This will be our emergency supply.” The server stops, and I order a half-gallon carton of butter pecan, cookies and cream, chocolate, and vanilla to go.
“The butter pecan stays with me,” she says, reaching for her purse.
“You are not paying for your ice cream. And I already planned to leave them all with you. That way, if you get a craving for it, you’ll have some on hand.”
“I can’t eat that much on my own. I’d be sick.”
“Good thing your baby daddy will be there often to help. It’ll be our thing. We can listen to peanut and eat ice cream, then maybe watch a movie or something.”
“You don’t have better things do to than watch movies and eat ice cream with me?”
“Nothing. There is nothing I can think of that I’d rather be doing than that.” Okay, that might be a tiny lie, but I can’t tell her that being inside her again sounds like a damn good time.
We’re not there yet.
But we will be.