“Baby care books.” She looked at the titles that covered the first year of life, good parenting, and child care. “I’ve heard of Dr. Spock.” She reached for Your Baby’s First Year For Dummies. “This is so me.” She added the book to her purchase.
“We have baby name books, too, if you need one,” suggested Katie.
“He sorta has a name.” Baby John Doe. She wrinkled her nose. “His dad calls him John or John Aaron. That’s what he plans to name him.”
“John Aaron. That has a nice ring to it.”
“Yeah.” Lia didn’t disagree. The name was a good, solid name. She touched her locket. “I like the name Cole.”
“Me, too.”
She matched it with her last name. “Cole Montgomery.”
“I love that!” Katie gushed. “That kinda sounds—”
“Sexy?” Lia filled in. She toyed with the name and pictured the baby in thirty years: a tall, dark-haired guy standing at the bar, black riding boots, and a Stetson. Cole Montgomery. It was enough to make you swoon. “You know, that’s an awesome name.”
Katie agreed as Lia handed her a credit card. “I would so name him Cole Montgomery.”
Chapter 8
“Dear God, she’s out of control.” Aaron stood in the dining room where a major transformation had taken place over the past week, starting with the cleanup crews that Aaron had brought in to move things along because he was getting impatient. The wood cleaning crew had tackled the interior log walls, beams, cabinets, stairs, and trim work while he and Stevie finished painting the nursery.
After all the old furniture was hauled off, the floor cleaning service came in and made the hardwood floors, tile, and carpet all look new. While the floors were being polished, the window washers arrived. Using scaffolding, they had cleaned the ornamental plate-glass windows in the eaves of the house before washing the regular windows.
With the floors shiny and windows sparkling, new furniture had been delivered yesterday. The new furnishings included a large oval dining room table with six chairs and a matching sideboard that Lia and the sales clerk insisted he buy. For some reason, a dining room needed one of those and a mirror to hang over it.
He liked the sturdy blond oak and the traditional style, but at the moment, Aaron couldn’t see the top of the table or the sideboard. Both pieces of furniture were covered in baby stuff. Plus, there were boxed items on the chairs.
“I told you, bro.” Stevie motioned to the dining room table. “Heroin for women.”
“Damn.” Aaron shook his head. Over the past few days, he had intentionally kept himself busy and was doing his best to ignore Lia’s presence in his home. He knew she was shopping for the baby and storing the shopping bags in the bedroom, but he had no idea what she had bought until this morning when she decided she needed to spread everything out so she could see what she had before she went shopping again. “This is enough for ten babies.”
He picked up a newborn bubble suit with a sailor collar. His jaw dropped when he saw the price tag. “Sixty-five dollars. Unbelievable.”
“It costs a fortune to raise a kid nowadays.” Stevie never cracked a smile.
Aaron turned to his brother, who was wearing a new polo shirt and shorts. He had his duffel bag hung over his shoulder. “Are you going somewhere?”
“TGIF! Man, this is the Fourth of July weekend. Long weekend, right?”
“Yeah.” All the staff at the pediatric clinic where Aaron worked had been overjoyed when he and his partners had decided to close the clinic on Friday and Monday. As of today, he was on a three-week leave except for consults and emergency calls.
“I’m heading south to Panama City Beach with a couple of chicks. Weekend on the beach. That’s the good life.”
“Stevie,” Aaron began, “you stay out of trouble.”
“Boys.” Frank strode into the dining room. He wore his khaki fishing hat, adorned with brightly colored lures, and his new fishing vest that had pockets galore and a built-in rod holder. Along with a handful of fishing rods, he towed a rolling canvas bag. “I’m ready to head out to Covington Lake.”
Aaron glanced at his father in surprise. “You’re going to the lake?”
“Yeah. Ralph got us a good deal on a cabin. Four days for the price of two. So me, Ralph, Jerry, and Earl are gonna do some serious fishing. We’ve got some bottle rockets for this weekend.” Frank looked at the baby attire covering the dining table. “Lord have mercy.”
“Tell me about it.” Aaron shrugged. “We could open a store.”
“Nothing wrong with having a rich aunt,” Stevie put in. “Just like having a rich uncle, except she looks really good.” He bracketed his eyes with his fingers and opened them wide. “Open your eyes, bro.”
Aaron stuck up his middle finger, and Frank intervened. “Come on, Stevie, we need to get going.” He spoke to Aaron. “I left some instructions on the fridge for Lia about the garden.”
“Okay.” Besides all the shopping, Lia had taken up gardening, thanks to Frank’s encouragement. At dusk, when the temperature cooled, Frank took her to his garden where he was teaching her the basics of cultivation, especially of good tomato plants.
At the door that led to the deck, Frank and Stevie gave Aaron a wave good-bye. “See you Tuesday.”
Outside, Frank followed Stevie across the deck. “I don’t know about this.”
“Dad, nothing is going to happen between them as long as we’re around.” Stevie went down the deck steps. “Two’s company, and four’s a crowd. By the time we get back, I guarantee you Aaron won’t be sleeping upstairs alone. If he is, I give up.”
“Maybe nothing should happen. I can’t see it ending well,” Frank said as the wheels of his bag rolled over the grass.
“Aaron likes her. You’ve seen how he watches her,” Stevie reminded Frank. “And how she looks at him. Got that laser thing going on between them.”
“I don’t know about no laser, but she seems like a sweet girl, and she’s trying really hard to do right by her sister’s baby.” Frank sighed. “You know your brother.”
“Listen, he moved her into the house, and that’s not about the baby. That’s about him,” Stevie said. “You’re gonna have to trust me on this.”
Lia’s red Jaguar whipped into the driveway and pulled to a stop beside Stevie’s truck. While Frank loaded his bag into his SUV, Stevie went to greet Lia, who climbed out of the Jag with a huge white teddy bear in tow.
“Whoa!” Stevie grinned as he looked at the five-foot white bear. “That’s a polar bear.”
“I drove all the way to Memphis to get him.” She wrestled with the bear. “Isn’t he beautiful? I’m going to put him in the corner beside the window in the nursery.”
She noticed his duffel bag. “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah. Dad and I are taking off for the long weekend. Dad’s heading to the lake with his pals, and I’m going to Atlanta to see my brother Greg.” He grinned. “You and Aaron have the place to yourselves for a few days.” Make the most of it.
“We definitely need to get the crib put together.”
Did she and Aaron think about nothing but that baby?
Frank backed his SUV out and waved at them as he drove past. Lia lifted the big bear’s arm and waved back.
Stevie put on his sad face and lowered his voice. “While we’re gone, would you keep an eye on Aaron? I’m a little worried about him.”
She shifted the bear so she was looking over its shoulder. “Is something wrong with him?”
“This is just between us.” Women loved secrets as much as shopping. “Okay?”
“Of course,” she promised.
“This is a bad time of year for him. He would never say anything—no way—but I know him because I’m his brother, and we’re tight,” Stevie said. “This is the anniversary week of Mom’s death.”
“I am so sorry,” she gasped.
Stevie held up his hand. “Mom’s been gone a long time, and we still miss her, but we have to
carry on. I’m sure it’s the same thing with you and your family.” She nodded, and he continued, “Mom and Aaron were close, and he’s so sensitive.”
Stevie sighed. “Dad and I tried to get him out of the house this weekend, but he didn’t want to go fishing or come with me. I’m thinking he’s going to sit around depressed.”
“I hope not.”
“Me, too. But Aaron has his moods, so just keep an eye on him. And try to cheer him up, but don’t say anything about Mom. He might break down on you.” Stevie ran his finger along his bottom lip. “Maybe get him out of the house. It’s Friday, so it’s good night to go out to eat. Restaurants always have seafood specials on Friday night, and Aaron loves seafood.”
“I do, too, and I am starving.”
“There you go.” The Love Doctor working his magic. “Shrimp and oysters coming up.”
“I hope you have a good trip.”
“See you Tuesday.”
As Lia headed toward the house with her white polar bear, Stevie climbed inside his pickup. He started the vehicle and let down the window. “Hey, Lia. Fireworks this weekend.” He stuck up this thumb. Make it happen, girl.
* * *
In the nursery, which had a new coat of blue paint on the walls, polished hardwood floors, and a spotless window, Aaron withdrew the parts of the golden oak baby crib from the shipping crate. He and Stevie had put together a matching changing table last night, and the new furniture that had been delivered yesterday included an oak chest of drawers, where Big Bird now sat, and an armoire for the nursery. It would take both pieces of furniture along with the closet to store all the stuff Lia had bought.
After removing the plastic wrap and foam padding, he propped the headboard, front panel, and side panels against the wall and continued to dig pieces out of the box. Legs, rails, mattress support. He put the sack of hardware and instructions on top of the new chest of drawers. “Now to figure this out.” He spread out the small plastic bags containing various parts. He had the tools required: a Phillips screwdriver, an Allen wrench, and a rubber mallet.
“I hope you’re planning on using the instructions. Most men don’t.”
He turned to see Lia in the doorway. She was almost eclipsed by a gigantic white bear. “What is that?”
“It’s a polar bear for the corner in the nursery. Remember, I told you I wanted to get a big bear for the nursery, and you said that would be great.”
He watched as she put the bear in the corner and adjusted its limbs. She wore a white knit pullover and red canvas shorts with navy sneakers. Red, white, and blue. But it wasn’t patriotism that Aaron felt as he looked at her. He longed for her the way someone longs for the impossible, even when they know it’s full of risk. Maybe that was what made her so attractive. Chance equaled excitement. But he had already experienced the painful outcome of loving someone whose heart was taken.
She turned to him. “I’ll help you put the crib together. Where’re the instructions?”
“I have the instructions. Thank you.” He waved them in the air.
“Let me have them.”
He held onto the assembly directions. “I can read.”
She grinned. “Whatever you say. Where do we start?”
He made a point to look at the directions, and he heard her chuckle. “It says to start with the headboard. You find the right hardware.” He handed her the directions, which she studied.
“You’ll need the top rail and two legs. Bolts and dowels.” She searched the hardware packages for the correct pieces. “I think this crib is going to be beautiful. Katie at Bundle of Joy said she should have the Sesame Street lamp and crib mobile in next week.”
“Good.” Aaron used the mallet and dowels to attach the top railing to the curved crib headboard. Sesame Street had been his choice as far as accessories and nursery décor. Actually, he didn’t know what else was available, and Sesame Street seemed a logical choice. “I’m going to need the long bolts.”
She handed him a couple of long bolts, and he knelt on the floor to attach the legs. “Speaking of stuff for the baby, you don’t really need to buy anything else. From the looks of the dining room, I think John Aaron has plenty of everything.” Aaron had estimated there were more than a hundred outfits on the dining room table.
“I did buy different sizes,” she pointed out. “You said babies grow fast, so I bought newborn and then the zero-to-three-months and some three-to-six-months, too.”
“That should be enough for a while.” On his knees, Aaron attached the legs to the side panels. “Okay. Let me see the instructions again.”
“I think there’s hope for you.”
“Yeah, right.” As he looked at the instructions, she sat on the floor with her hands filled with bolts and washers. He fumbled with the Allen wrench as her knee grazed his thigh. The proximity of an attractive female did a number on him. Her body radiated warmth and enticing pheromones that were stronger than the breezy cologne she wore. Everything that was soft, lush, and womanly about her tugged at him. If he could only touch her. Run his greedy hands over every curve. Taste her flesh and listen to her sighs as they made love.
He glanced her way, and her dark lashes fluttered as she looked up from her stack of bolts and washers on the floor. “What do you need?”
I need you. I need my bed back, and I need you in it. I need you to ride me as if there is no tomorrow and nothing matters except us.
“Aaron?” she prompted and then reached for the instruction sheet. “Where are we?”
He knew where he was—headed for trouble. He took a moment to remind himself that he’d promised to respect her relationship with Dallas. That was the right thing to do.
Reaching for one of the side panels, he positioned it between the two of them. “Hold this.”
She pushed her long hair out of the way and gripped the side panel. He swore as he picked through the bolts on the floor. She grinned at him through the bars of the side panel.
“Why do men always swear when they put things together?”
“I don’t know,” he muttered. His swearing had nothing to do with assembling the crib.
As he started to attach the side panel to the headboard, she said, “If you’d like, we could go out to eat this evening. We could find a restaurant that has seafood. If you feel up to it,” she added.
I feel up to a lot of things, babe. That’s the problem. He looked through the bars at her, taking in her remarkable body and vibrant face. He reached for the other side panel. While she held it in place, he attached it to the headboard.
“You can go home for the holiday weekend if you want,” he said. The drive to Nashville took about an hour and fifteen minutes tops, so it wasn’t like she had to stay in Lafayette Falls or that he should suffer through a dinner date with her. “I’ll call you if anything comes up with John Aaron.”
“Will you be okay alone?” she asked.
“Yeah. I can handle being alone.” He wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of sitting around the house by himself all weekend, but he had plenty to do.
He got to his feet and reached for the mattress support. She stood, too, and held the crib frame steady as he placed the metal mattress support inside the frame and secured it in place.
“I could go home,” she said. “But there’s no one there.”
He let her statement hang in the air. He thought of the evenings they had spent together. Played basketball. Investigated the forest that edged his property. Worked on the house. Washed the cars and shopped for furniture together. He had helped her water his father’s garden, and Frank had put them both to shucking corn late one evening. He had even settled in with her and Frank to watch Lonesome Dove. Never once had she spoken of the home and the life she shared with Dallas Peyton.
Aaron hadn’t asked her anything because it was easier not to know. He placed the front panel between the side panels of the crib. He had kept his head in the sand when it came to Molly, too. Look how that turned out. “I need the short b
olts.”
As she handed him the bolts, he asked, “You said there’s no one at your house.” Thanks to the internet, he knew that she shared a Nashville mansion as well as a ranch in Colorado with the singer. “Where’s Dallas?”
She looked up, her green eyes wide with surprise. He’d never asked about Dallas before. Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Dallas is on vacation. He has to rest his voice every so often.”
“He went on vacation without you?” Aaron toyed with the bolts, and she didn’t answer. He told himself he should let it go, but he couldn’t. “Why would he go on vacation without you?”
She moved away from the crib as Aaron attached the front panel. While she looked out the window, he put the last bolt in the crib. “That’s done.”
She turned from the window and shot him a brief smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Maybe going home for the weekend isn’t a bad idea.”
She started out of the nursery, and he stepped into the doorway. Bracketing his arm against the doorjamb, he blocked her retreat. “Lia, why isn’t he here with you?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“I don’t understand why he’s off on vacation and you’re here alone. You just lost your sister, and she left behind a baby. You shouldn’t have to deal with that by yourself. I don’t care how big a star Dallas is, he should be here with you,” Aaron insisted. “You’ve been with him for years. In all respects, you’re his wife.”
“I am not his wife. I’m never going to be his wife.” She shrank back from the door. Absently, she began to pick up the plastic wrap and foam pieces scattered across the floor where Aaron had discarded them when he started assembling the crib.
“I don’t get it,” Aaron said.
“I told you you wouldn’t.”
She stuffed a piece of foam in the empty shipping carton, and Aaron walked over to the crib. He tried lowering and raising the front panel. “It works.”
Not Through Loving You Page 11