“Right. Of course, you’re a busy man. I can tell by the size of your muscles. You do a lot of work with those arms. I can only imagine what your hands have done.”
I cleared my throat uncomfortably, kicking myself for not having delegated this job sooner.
“I just need a rusty pipe replaced under the sink.”
“Alright, I’ll take a look at it and see if I have what I need in the truck.”
She led me back to the kitchen and picked up a pipe on the counter. “I picked up this pipe at the hardware store. They told me this was what I needed.”
The way she gripped it and almost stroked it was just creepy. I tried really hard not to look creeped out, but it took all my effort.
“Right. Let me take a look.”
I opened the cabinet door under the sink and laid down on the ground, checking what exactly the problem was. Upon closer inspection, I saw this was a simple fix. I just had to grab a few tools and I would have this fixed in no time. I heard a click and ducked out front the cabinet to see what the noise was, but all I saw was Mrs. Cranston sitting at the table, playing on her phone.
“I need to grab some tools and I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”
“No rush, Eric. Oh, and don’t forget about my pie before you leave.” She ran her hand along her collarbone, playing lightly with the pearls around her neck. “I made you French Silk.”
I turned to leave, but did a double take when I thought I saw her lick her bottom lip. I swallowed hard and quickly made my way to the door, storming out to my truck. I just wanted to get this pipe fixed and then I would get the fuck out of here. This woman was giving me the creeps. I took a deep breath and started to grab my tools when my phone rang. It was Rex.
“Yeah?”
“Heard you had a date with Mrs. Cranston this morning.”
“It’s not a date.”
“Sure,” he chuckled. “Do you really think her pipes needed to be fixed?”
“I saw it. The pipe was rusted.”
He barked out a laugh. “Under the kitchen sink?”
“Yeah, when you sent me out there last year, it was to replace the same fucking pipe.”
“Are you saying she rusted her pipes to get me out here?”
“I’m saying she was disappointed when I showed up last year. Why do you think no one else will take those jobs?”
“So, this woman is hitting on me and you’re just allowing it?”
“Hey, I’m not the boss. You run the company.”
Damn, he had me there. “Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do?”
“Don’t bend over,” he suggested.
“Kinda hard when I have to fix a pipe.”
“Look, I’m gonna give you a little advice.”
“Alright, let me hear it.”
“Don’t take her calls in the future.”
“And how the fuck does that help me now?”
“It doesn’t. I never said I had a solution for right now.”
“You prick. I swear to God, I’m giving you the shit jobs for the next two weeks.”
He laughed out loud, not giving a shit at all. “It’ll all be worth it later tonight.”
He hung up, leaving me wondering what the fuck that was supposed to mean. How would this be worth it to him later tonight? I grabbed my tools and headed inside. Fuck, I was never doing these jobs again.
Katherine
“Shit,” I said as I looked down at the little pee stick in my hand. Positive. That wasn’t good. I had only been with one man in the past few months and he didn’t really seem like the guy that wanted to be saddled with a kid that was from a one night stand. He seemed totally disgusted that he had even had a one night stand. What the hell was I going to do now? I had to get to work, so I’d think about it later.
I threw my stuff in my backpack and got in my Jeep that had seen better days and headed off to work. The one thing about working at a children’s hospital was that it always gave me a new lease on life. Those kids were so young and dealing with some of the most horrible diseases, yet they were still so brave and optimistic.
I checked in at the desk with one of my fellow nurses and one of my best friends, Chrissy. There was a reason that we got along so well. We had similar interests, but we also both knew the demands of the job and had similar feelings on how to let go of the tension of working in the children’s ward.
“How are the kiddos today?”
“Good. Casey’s back.”
My face fell. Casey was a little girl that had been battling cancer for two years now. She was seven years old and one of the strongest little girls I had ever known. If she was back in the hospital, that meant that either something had gone wrong with her treatments or she was no longer responding. My job was to take care of her and make sure she was comfortable and had everything she needed, but I was also there to care for her parents and guide them through this. They were scared for their little girl and though they wanted to be strong, it was hard to do after so much stress and frustration.
“That little girl is such a fighter. What went wrong this time?”
“Breathing problems. Her mother checked on her in the middle of the night and she was hardly breathing. They called 9-1-1 and rushed her to the local hospital, but she was transferred here once they had her stabilized. Doctor Wesley has been running tests since she got in.”
“That poor family. They’ve been through so much already. I can’t imagine being a parent and dealing with something like that,” I said, absent-mindedly touching my stomach. When I looked back at Chrissy, her eyes were wide with shock.
“No.”
I shook my head slowly.
“Don’t do that. You tell me right now,” she demanded. I swallowed hard and felt tears prick at my eyes.
“I’m two weeks late.”
“Did you take a test?”
I nodded and sniffled. “Pregnant.”
“Do you know who the father is?”
I slapped her on the arm and shook my head. “Of course I know who the father is. I’m not a slut.”
“Sorry, it’s just, you went through that whole ‘I don’t need a boyfriend’ phase. I didn’t know how many men you slept with.”
“I slept with one and unfortunately, I was drunk and there’s a lot I don’t remember.”
“Do you at least remember the good stuff?”
“I remember that he was the best I’d ever had. At least, I think so. Do you think when you’re drunk sex just seems better, or it actually is?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had drunken sex.”
“Really?” She had been married to a man named Tom for three years now and I had to hear multiple times a week about the wild monkey sex they had.
“What? Don’t judge me. Tom says that he wants to be fully aware of everything he’s doing to me.”
That made sense. They didn’t exactly have a conventional sex life. When the Fifty Shades movie came out, they decided to see if it spiced up their sex life. Apparently it had, and now I had to hear about their new found kink practically every week. Being a single girl, I really hated to hear about all that. It’s not like I had anyone to try it out with. Not that I wanted to. I was all about the normal sex. Normal was good.
“So, who was he?”
“A guy I met at a bar. I thought I was meeting a blind date and so did he. We didn’t find out until the next morning that we weren’t even supposed to be meeting each other.”
“Have you seen him since?”
I snorted. “Not this guy. Very stiff. Not exactly the type to go for one night stands.”
“There are actually guys like that?” she asked, her mouth dropped open.
“I guess,” I shrugged. “He drove me back to my car and made it very clear that he didn’t normally do that stuff and we wouldn’t be repeating it. He’s definitely the family man type.”
“Well, that could be good or bad. Good, because he’s a family man, but bad if he doesn’t want a family
with you.”
“I know. I haven’t even thought about how I’m going to break it to him.”
“Just rip the bandaid off.”
I leaned on the counter and tapped my fingernails on my teeth as I thought about it. “Maybe I could send him an e-card or a bouquet of chocolates.”
“Like, a congratulations?”
“Something like that. You know, if I get him chocolate, maybe it would soften the blow.”
“I think that would only work for a woman. You would need to try something that would better suit him. What does he do?”
“I have no clue.”
“You could send him a big box of condoms,” she suggested. I narrowed my eyes at her and waited for her to connect the dots. “Right. Not really necessary anymore.”
“Well, that’s assuming we ever had sex again. He might not want any part of it. Or, he could want the baby, but not want anything to do with me.”
“Well, then the condoms could be like a reminder. ‘Don’t knock up the next girl you sleep with’ sort of thing.”
“Yeah, because I’m sure as soon as I tell him I’m pregnant, he’s going to go out and look for another woman to screw.”
“You never know. You don’t want to end up as one of the many carrying his child.”
“You know, I really wonder about the way your mind works sometimes. I think I’ll stick with the good old surprise factor. You know, show up at his house and say, Surprise! I’m having your baby.”
“I still think you should get him a box of condoms.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I’m going to start my rounds.”
I got started on checking on patients and by the time I made it to Casey’s room, I had fully prepared myself to face the little girl. She was looking out the window, but when I entered, her face lit up.
“Kiki! I was hoping I would see you.”
I smiled and walked over to the sink, washing my hands as I spoke to her over my shoulder. Her parents were standing by her bed, giving me a smile as I carried on with Casey.
“I was just telling Chrissy that I thought you came here just to see me. How are you feeling?”
She glanced over at her parents who were now talking in the corner. “Good. I think I just scared Mommy and Daddy a little.”
I crinkled my nose and nodded. “Yeah, mommies and daddies tend to get scared easily. But you know what?”
“What?”
“I think we should make them feel better and wait to see what the doctor says. What do you think?”
“I guess. I don’t want Mommy and Daddy to be scared.”
“Me neither. Besides, if we wait to hear from the doctor, I get to spend some more time with you.”
“Don’t you have other kids to check on?”
“I already checked on all of them and I have my phone on me, so I’ll get a call if someone needs me.”
I got up from the bed and went over to the closet that held the games and got out Shoots and Ladders.
“You’re going to play a game with me?” Her eyes grew wide as I sat down on the bed with her.
“Of course.”
I nodded to her parents, letting them know that I would stay with Casey for a while. It was hard on parents to bring their child in and then wait around for answers. Sometimes they just needed a few minutes to talk to one another without worrying about being overheard by their child. Sometimes, they just needed a break from the stress of it all. That’s what I loved about my job. I loved knowing that I was not only helping the child, but the parents also in whatever battle they were fighting.
When I got off of work, I still hadn’t figured out how I was going to tell Eric about our little surprise. I had thought about waiting, but it would drive me crazy if I had to keep this secret to myself for another day. Besides, I wouldn’t want to be kept in the dark if the situation was reversed. I stopped at the pharmacy on the way to his house and picked up a large box of condoms as a joke. Maybe Chrissy was right and it would break the ice.
I pulled down his long drive about ten miles outside the town limits and got a look at the house in the light of day. The last time I had been out here, I was hung over and wasn’t paying attention too much. The house was old, but well kept. It looked like it had just been painted in the past year or two. There was a beautiful porch with a swing that I desperately wanted to sit out on with a cup of tea in the morning. I could watch the trees swaying in the breeze and watch the sunsets at night. I sighed because that wasn’t my life and it wouldn’t be. If I was lucky, my child would get to spend time out here with his or her father and get to experience the beauty of all this.
I parked in the back and got out of my truck with the bag of condoms. This was so stupid. Eric opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch in jeans and t-shirt that clung to his perfect body. I may have been drunk the night we slept together, but one thing I remembered was his body. It was perfect in every way and the girl that snagged him would be one very lucky woman.
My eyes roamed over the muscles stretching his shirt sleeves and the slight sweat stain around his neck line. Some women might find that gross, but it was such a turn on to me. He was a working man, and it showed on every inch of his gorgeous body. And the way he walked out on the porch, his thigh muscles moving beneath his jeans had me licking my lips in anticipation.
“Katherine?”
“Yeah. Hi,” I said awkwardly, as I pulled myself out of staring at his amazing body. I refrained from fanning myself and cleared my throat, reminding myself why I was here. I walked toward him and I could see the unease in his stance. He obviously thought I was here for more, something he already told me he couldn’t give.
“What are you doing here?”
“Um, can we talk?”
The screen door swung open and one of his brothers walked out. He was obviously younger because he dressed like today’s version of a hippie. He had this weird haircut that looked like the barber forgot to cut half his head. He wore tight jeans that were around the ankles, but baggy around the thighs, which I just didn’t understand. And his shirt…It was like watching some crazy time warp.
“Hey, quiche girl!” The brother grinned, pulling his earbuds out of his ears. “Came back for seconds, huh?”
Eric narrowed his eyes, obviously wondering the same thing.
“Um, no. I didn’t come back for seconds. I just wanted to talk for a minute and then I’ll be on my way.”
“You knocked her up?” the brother shouted.
Eric’s head whipped around to his brother and he looked at him in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“She just came to talk? It’s been, what, a month since she was here? Do the math, bro.”
Eric slowly looked back at me and raised an eyebrow. I thrust the bag forward into his hands.
“Here, I got this for you. Kind of a joke present or whatever.”
He opened the bag and pulled out the box of condoms. The brother started laughing hysterically, slapping Eric on the back as he bent over in laughter.
“That’s woke AF. I bet you’re turnt, man.”
Eric stood there staring at me, totally spacing out as to what I had told him and the nonsense his brother was babbling on about. I watched Eric carefully, the color was slowly draining from his face and his right eye was twitching like crazy. He was losing it.
“Eric?” I asked softly, staring at his soft, blue eyes, wondering if he could actually see me.
His eyes glazed over as he stared off somewhere over my shoulder. I didn’t know what was happening, but I had the feeling I had to move closer to him in case he didn’t stay upright. I moved just in time.
“Catch him!”
His brother turned and caught him under the arms right before he collapsed to the ground. I knelt down beside him and checked his pulse, satisfied that I hadn’t killed him with my news.
“That could have gone better,” I muttered.
“Just give him a minute. I’m sure onc
e he thinks it over, he’ll be turnt.”
“I’m not sure what that means.”
The brother rolled his eyes. “He’ll be excited.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”
“Andrew.”
“Nice to see you again, Andrew. I’m Kiki.”
“Kiks. It’s nice to see you again too. Especially now that you’re going to be his bae.”
“Bae?”
“His girl.”
“Doesn’t bae mean poop?” I asked.
“Only if you’re Danish. This is so cool. I’m gonna be an uncle. I’m gonna have a little dude to teach things to. I can’t even,” he said as he stared off in the distance.
I stared at him, waiting for him to finish his thought, but when he didn’t, I had to ask. “You can’t even what?”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t finish your sentence. You started to say something.”
He smirked and winked at me. “Listen, I gotta bounce. Are you going to be okay with him?”
“Uh, sure. Maybe you could help me get him inside first?”
“Nah. I got this.” He walked inside and returned a minute later with a bucket and upended it over Eric’s head. He jerked and spluttered as the water poured over his face and sat up quickly.
“What the fuck happened?”
“Your brother informed you that I was pregnant and you passed out.”
He started to sway again, but his brother held him up.
“Maybe I came at a bad time,” I said standing. Eric shook his head.
“No, wait. We need to talk…figure out how this happened.”
I tilted my head slightly, a smirk growing on my face. “There’s not really much to figure out. We had drunken sex and now I’m pregnant. Mystery solved.”
“Let’s go inside and talk,” he said, turning and opening the door for me. He was very much the gentleman, holding the door for me.
“Would you like a drink?”
“Water, please.”
He nodded and got a glass of water for me, handing it over as his eyes flicked to my stomach. Self-consciously, I placed my hand there and then pulled on my shirt, like I could cover it or something.
Maintenance Required: A small town romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 1) Page 4