by Emily Camp
“We have an excellent daycare program, as well as football and academics,” Alan said, bringing Bree’s attention back to him. “I know you said on the phone that you want to commute to stay with your little one. I’m not sure if I mentioned the family housing we’ve been talking about bringing in next year.”
Though that did pique Bree’s interest, her attention went back to the building and the students and everything about it. If Garrett didn’t go here, he was crazy.
“That’s good to know,” Randy chimed in, nodding toward Garrett.
Bailey jabbered and smacked her rattle on the tray.
Alan knelt down to her level. “You like that idea.”
Bree couldn’t help but think how silly this seemed, a grown suited up man talking in a squeaky voice. Bailey cooed in response.
“You’re definitely a cute little one.”
More coos came from the stroller.
Alan stood. “Okay,’ all professional now. “Shall we start the tour?”
“Sure.” Garrett said.
They followed Alan as he walked down the hall, pointing out everything and talking about all the great things the school had to offer. Bree found her mind drifting as they strolled, imagining what it would be like to go here. She’d love to have the opportunity to come. She didn’t want to sway Garrett either way, though. It was his decision.
Bree chose to stay in the building while Garrett went to the field to talk to the football coach, his parents meeting with the financial advisor at the same time.
She pushed Bailey back and forth down the long lobby.
“Dadada,” Bailey rattled from her seat. She seemed to like this place as much as Bree did. The walls of the long hall entirely made of windows left the school bright and sunny with a great view of the football stadium.
“Yes, dada’s down there.” Bree pushed her stroller to the window and sat on the bench beside it.
“Mamama,” Bailey giggled, grabbing for Bree as she leaned her face toward her.
“Bail, Bail, Bail,” she said, kissing Bailey’s tiny hand that was reaching for her nose.
“Bree?”
Her heart jumped at the voice behind her. Bree turned around slowly. Standing there, right behind her, was none other than Spencer. Unlike the other college students, he wasn’t in pajamas or sweats, but in a pair of dark denim and a button up shirt, his blond hair spiked.
“Spencer?”
“What are you doing here?” They spoke at the same time.
Bree wanted to get up and hug him, but she resisted the urge, staying glued to her spot, Bailey still jabbering, “Dadadada,” from her perch.
Spencer glanced down at the books he carried at his side. “Came back to school. I’m on academic probation, but I’m here.”
“I didn’t realize this was where you went.”
“Yeah,” he leaned around, peeking his head into the stroller. “Hey there Bails.”
“Dadada.”
“Still not dada,” he laughed and looked back up at Bree. “What are you doing here?”
She pointed toward the football field. “Garrett’s thinking of coming. We’re along for the ride.” She tried to ignore the face Spencer made when she mentioned Garrett’s name.
“That’s good. You back together?”
“Not really, but kind of. If that makes sense.” She turned back toward the field.
“You should give the guy another chance.”
It was like he knocked the air out of her, though she knew it was true. She did care about Spencer and maybe it had been a silly little crush because hanging out with him was simple, like it should be at her age. The truth was, she was tied to Garrett and forever would be now, and even if she had an inkling of feelings for him, she should at least consider it.
“I know.”
“Dadada,” Bailey reached up for Spencer.
Bree had wondered how long the stroller was going to last.
“Do you care?” Spencer nodded toward the stroller.
“I don’t care. She likes you.” Though she wasn’t sure if Garrett cared, she couldn’t say no. Bailey wanted to see him.
When he lifted Bailey from her stroller, she squealed and kicked her legs fast.
“Somebody’s happy to see you,” Bree laughed.
Spencer perched her on his hip. “Everybody’s always happy to see me.” He looked down at Bailey.
“Here we go again,” Bree smirked.
“You know it.” Then his smiled turned serious, Bailey jabbering and grabbing for his face. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“You are?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t say bye. Things got a little heavy for me, and I know you and the kid should be with baby daddy.”
“Everybody seems to think that.”
“Maybe that should tell you something.”
She glanced back at the field, like she could see Garrett from here. “Probably.” She thought about the advice she’d given Maggie about boys the other night. “But I think, right now I don’t need a relationship.”
Spencer didn’t respond to this, but Bailey continued to fill the silence with her chatter.
“I have to get to class, but it was good seeing you and the little one.” He leaned in just enough to pass Bailey over, the smell of spicy cologne wafting off him.
“Yeah, you, too.”
“Mamama,” Bailey patted Bree’s chest as she adjusted her on her hip.
Spencer smiled and reached over and nudged Bailey’s cheek. “Bye, little one.”
Bailey giggled, waving her hand goodbye.
***
Bree shoved the last of the baby items in her bag. This was weird, though she wasn’t going far it seemed like she was moving across the country.
Parker nodded at the posters Maggie hung. “I think Carly likes those guys.”
Bree opened her mouth to say something, taking one quick look around the room. It was already becoming Maggie’s, a boyband poster on the wall, a bright tie-dyed comforter draped over the bed. Bree was happy for her.
“You ready?” Parker turned to her.
Another chapter of her life closed, the future looking brighter. “Yeah.”
She followed Parker outside, without saying much. She hoped this was the last time she moved for a while.
“Do you think Mindy will be able to get the kids back?”
Parker opened the Jeep, tossed in the bag he had over his shoulder then turned to Bree, taking hers. “It’s not your worry. You just worry about Bailey and you right now, okay?”
Bree folded herself in the front seat. “You’re not concerned?”
“I can’t control anything.” Parker climbed in the driver’s side. “I have good lawyers, thanks to my dad, and we can only hope they do their job.”
Bree stared out the window. She’d taken this route so many times, the leaves now barely hanging on the trees, the wind rustling them free. Moving in with the Lights, she was sure they wouldn’t let her slack where God was concerned. She smiled to herself, the faint reflection a watermark on the window. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
***
When she walked inside, with her bag over her shoulder, she felt like she was home. Garrett stood in the doorway with Bailey jabbering on his hip, a smile so wide you’d think he was a little kid on Christmas morning.
Robin greeted her with a hug. “We’re so happy you decided to take us up on this.”
Bree blinked back the tears forming, not sad tears, but happy, even if she and Garrett were just going to be friends.
“Here, let me take that.” Robin pulled a bag from her then started down the hall to her new room. The walls were tan and a large bed and dresser, along with Bailey’s crib, were already there. “We want to paint it for you, but wanted to let you pick out the colors.”
“I love it.” Bree looked around at everything. When the Light’s said something was hers, they meant it. This stuff really belonged to her.
“Mama
mama.” Bailey clapped her hands.
“Like Mama’s new room?” Garrett bounced Bailey on his hip.
“Same rules apply from when you didn’t live here,” Randy said, stepping around Garrett. “Whenever you’re in each other’s rooms, doors stay open.” He turned toward Garrett, “No late nights in here, unless you’re up with Bailey.”
Even though Robin and Randy had this discussion with them before, she never could keep herself from blushing when he talked about it. It wasn’t like she was going to be kissing him for a long time, if ever again.
“I know, I know.” Garrett strode through the room.
Bailey lunged from his arms toward Bree. “Mamama.”
“I believe we’re making a good move here, even if it is an unpopular one. Don’t make us regret it.” Randy patted Garrett on the shoulder. Bree’s face warmed again, and she looked down at Bailey, who grabbed at her nose.
“Okay,” Robin had her hands clasped together, “you get settled in and I’ll start supper.”
“Sure.”
“Great. The dresser’s empty, go ahead and make it home.”
The truth was, Bree didn’t have to. Filled with people who loved her, it already was home.
Acknowledgements
I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped me out in the difficult time I went through while writing this book. Most of you know part way through writing the final draft, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Despite my life being flipped upside down, I kept writing, slower than I wanted to, with doctor’s visits and taking care of my husband. If it wouldn’t have been for my church, friends, and family who reached out I don’t think this would be finished.
I also like to thank all my beta readers, Jess Gussman, Dianne Wolfenden, Tori Jo Carlson, MA Scott, and Shannon Van Sach.
Another thank you to Amanda Delancey for answering my questions about teen moms and college seeking.
Sneak Peek of
Worth Fighting For
Worth Fighting For
There are few sentences a person hears that fills them with immediate dread.
For Declan that morning, it was a phrase that left his wife’s mouth. Two little words changed his entire life.
“I’m pregnant!”
The coffee smell brewing from the kitchen didn’t even have time to reach his brain.
He slipped his feet out of bed and ran his hand over his unruly hair.
She stood by the open bathroom door. Her hair in a messy knot, her sweats all twisted as if she couldn’t get them pulled up quick enough. She held the white pregnancy test fisted in one hand like a magical wand. The other hand rested on her belly as she beamed at smile at him.
He knew he needed to speak, but he couldn’t form the words as he tried to process what it meant. He just stared like a deer stuck in headlights as her smile melted away.
If she would have waited until he downed a cup or two of coffee, he could’ve perhaps had a more Miley appropriate response. But all he could think about was the money that little bean in her belly was going to cost him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want kids. He just wanted to wait until they were established. They were both in their senior years at college and it wasn’t a good time for babies.
When Miley’s face wrinkled up in a snarl, he knew he waited way too long. “What is wrong with you?”
“Uh…” all he could think about were his nieces and diapers and chasing. Miley loved it when they visited with his brother and his girls. She cooed at the babies and carried them around. He thought that would hold her over. “Didn’t you take your pill?”
Both hands flew to the hips. Her fingers splayed on the sliver of skin between her tight tank top and pants.
Her mouth opened and her head bobbed from side to side as she began her rant, but his mind registered none of it. He stared at that plastic stick pressed under her long, bubble gum pink nails.
All he heard was a baby screaming.
His brother, Garrett, was sixteen when his first daughter was born. Declan being only a year older, they were both still living at home at the time.
His mom said baby Bailey had colic. Whatever it was, it was perfect birth control for Declan. Every other night was Garrett’s turn with Bailey, she screamed from eight in the evening until six in the morning give or take an hour or two. Declan had the unfortunate pleasure of sleeping in the room across the hall. The walls and the doors were no match for Bailey’s set of lungs.
“D,” Miley’s cries brought him out of his thoughts of doom.
He knew he’d taken it too far when he spotted the tears rolling down her face.
“Hey,” he hurried to close the distance between them. His wife’s tears were one of his weaknesses. He wrapped his arms around her taking her in completely. She sobbed into his chest. Now that he thought about it, she’d been crying a lot the last few weeks. A lot more than normal anyway.
“This is huge, and it’s … like you don’t even care. It’s our first baby, D.” Miley always was one for making things big.
“I know.” It was better sometimes just to go with it. And she was right about it being big for them. But that didn’t take away his fear of having to provide for a helpless little human.
He kissed the top of her head, despite the fact his nose being attacked by wild hair. Her shoulders shook against him. He hated seeing her like this, but that coffee she put on just for him teased his nostrils.
“I’m sorry, “he whispered. Hoping she’d get it out of her system soon and he needed his caffeine. “It’s just…I just woke up and we weren’t expecting this. And we…we talked about our plan, Miley.”
“Our plan?” She whined as she pressed her palms against his chest.
Uh oh.
Miley wiped her tears away with the tips of her fingers. The stick of doom still clenched in her right hand. Baby cries rung through his mind again.
“What about God’s plans, D? He obviously wants us to have a baby now, not twenty years down the road.”
Delcan flinched as her arms flapped around like a flightless bird.
“I never said we had to wait twenty years. Ten maybe.” He wrapped his hand around her tiny wrist, pulling it out of the air. Not the wrist holding the test. He didn’t say anything to her, but he was kind of grossed out by the fact she’d just peed on the thing and still had a firm grip around it.
Miley’s shoulders jumped as she sniffed and pouted her lower lip out, looking up at him with doe-like smoky eyes. “I just want you to be happy about this now.”
Declan inhaled, the deep aroma seeping under the door made his mouth water. “I am.” He knew it was better to just go with this if he was ever going to get to his morning brew. That was one of the many things that made his wife wonderful, her thoughtfulness. She didn’t like coffee, but if she was up before him, she always started up a pot.
Now she was the only thing standing in his way to complete function, and she was the reason he needed to be alert.
“Let’s get some breakfast.” He nodded toward the door.
Miley went straight for the laptop. She opened it as she gabbed on about doctor’s appointments and baby names.
The dark liquid spilled into the big round mug that Miley bought him for his last birthday, it was twice the size of the one he’d been using so he didn’t have to go back for as many refills. He still couldn’t understand why her birth control pill malfunctioned. After dumping sugar into the cup and stirring with his spoon, he took his first drink. Miley continued to chatter. Declan turned toward her, leaning against the counter. The cup cradled in his hands. When she finally stopped for a second he opened his mouth and maybe it wasn’t the lack of coffee earlier because he did it again. “Can’t we sue your doctor for malpractice?”
The apartment went silent. Miley straightened her back, sitting at the bar across from him. Her hands curled around the computer screen. “What do you mean?” Her eyes blinked rapidly. Another sign he said too much. He need
ed to cover, and fast, because now his stomach wasn’t just satisfied with coffee, it needed food as well.
“I don’t know.” He lifted his mug to his mouth, pretending like he was in one of those chocolate commercials where after you shove the candy bar in your mouth all is well again.
It didn’t work.
“You know what.” She waved her hand in the air like a ghetto-girl singing ‘talk to the hand.’ “I’m not doing this right now.” That was a first. Miley never minded drama before. Some would say she was a bit of a drama queen. She pushed herself out of the chair stalked to the door. She shoved her feet in her little canvas shoes. Declan stared. Miley never left the house without her hair brushed, let alone in sweats. When she slipped her large Coach purse over her shoulder, he realized she was serious. He didn’t know whether to just let her go or run after her at this point.
She opened the door and glared back at him, her hand curled around the strap of her bag. “I’ll be back later, hopefully you deal with whatever it is you’re dealing with.”
Laughing would only make it worse, but she couldn’t see her from his eyes. He had to pull his lips into his mouth to keep himself from smirking or making a comment about how cute she was when she was angry.
About thirty seconds after the door slammed behind her he sat his mug down on the tile counter top. Making his way to the door, he opened it and she was gone. She hadn’t been bluffing.
The longer he stared at the empty hall way and down the bare stairwell, the more irritated he became. She’d never left in the middle of a fight before. He wasn’t even sure it was a fight as it was happening.
His stomach grumbled alerting him again he needed to fuel up. She was gone, well, he wasn’t going to be there when she got back. His mother’s homemade breakfasts beckoned him and his empty stomach from across town.
Chapter 2
The little cries made Declan’s gut twist when he opened the screen door. His mom bounced his niece, Bailey, as she wailed with her whole fist in her mouth. The reminder of what was coming his way.