Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
GRANT
Ababy.
Holy shit.
When Georgia asked me to dinner, I didn’t think anything of it. We had a great time together. I thought we’d reconnect and that maybe we could go on a second date together.
Turns out, it wasn’t a date at all.
A baby.
Finding my phone, I tap the screen. Two in the morning.
I’ve been in a daze since I got home from the diner. I don’t think I turned on the TV when I got home. Just sat down on the couch and stared at it. Thankfully, Luke stayed in the basement. I only heard his shouts coming from whatever game he was playing.
Fuck. I have no idea how Luke is going to take this news. I’m already worried about him handling this move, and a baby?
I open my phone again, finding the old album I have from when he was a baby. Man, he was the cutest. Chubby cheeks. Happy smile. He laughed at anything I did and always lit up when I got home from work.
Night and day difference from the kid who would rather hide out in his room all day than hang out with his dad.
I loved those days with him. I’d take him to the beach. He’d come to my games and cheer me on. Sure, I don’t miss the dirty diapers or the non-stop crying in the morning when he couldn’t sleep, but holding him when he needed me?
Fuck. It makes my heart hurt thinking about it. I love those moments. Watching him grow and learn. Why wouldn’t I want to do that again?
It’s not like I’m by any means old, but I thought the days of having a baby were long behind me. Raising a teenager is all I can manage most days.
Raising a baby with a woman I barely know? That’s a completely different story.
It’s not what I planned on, but could I do it? The sleepless nights. The constant worry.
I don’t think I could live with myself if I had a kid out there that I didn’t know. Taking a deep breath, I know my mind is made up.
I go to my contacts and text Georgia. She’ll see it in the morning. I want her to know she’s not alone in this and that I’ll be there for her.
Even if it’s two in the morning and I should probably have this conversation in person.
Grant
I’m in
Georgia
You’re in?
Yes
Why are you up so late?
Couldn’t fall asleep
That makes two of us
I think we should talk in person, but I wanted to let you know
I’m in
Okay
Do you want to try the Emporium again?
Maybe get to know one another better?
That sounds good to me
You must really want to try those pancakes
You really sold me on them the other day
Does tomorrow work for you?
I have night rides with a few guests
Want to say day after? Same time?
I’ll be there
See you then
I snort laugh at the emoji. I don’t really think there’s a good one for “glad you’re stepping up for your kid.”
My mind is still spinning. There’s no chance of going to sleep, so I grab my laptop and start researching babies.
I have zero clue how to raise a kid at this point. What if things have changed? I feel like the basics are the same, but I haven’t done this in well over a decade.
I should also probably figure out how to tell Luke. I wonder if there’s an Internet search for that.
How to tell your kid who is annoyed by everything you do because you up and moved him to the middle of nowhere that you’re having a baby with a woman you barely know.
Yeah, I don’t think there’s much in the way of answers for that.
The least I can do is be prepared when Georgia and I talk. That’s the one good thing about my job. I’m always studying film. I can apply the same strategy here.
I wonder if there are baby baseball mitts.
I shouldn’t already be looking, but of course there are. And they are fucking adorable. Maybe I can get one kid to play baseball with me. Luke’s all but given it up since we moved here. If it’s not on a digital screen, he doesn’t really care.
I don’t even know if it will be a boy or a girl, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to give this kid everything.
Whatever they want, I’ll support them. I had great parents, even though they’re no longer here, that supported everything I did. Kari doesn’t show as much interest in Luke’s life as I wish she did, but at least he can talk to her about things.
I won’t be that parent. I won’t check out on either of my kids. Or Georgia.
Like I told her, I’m all in.