A Baby in the House

by Pamela Bauer

  “Because it makes me feel indebted to you.”

  “Why should it? I’m the reason you need to move. It’s my child you’re carrying which makes me responsible for both of you.”

  “No, you’re not responsible for me,” she stated adamantly.

  The outburst of emotion surprised him. “What’s with your attitude anyway? Do you realize how many women in your situation would be grateful to have the fathers of their babies behave in a responsible way?”

  “I am grateful,” she insisted. “It’s just that I’m used to taking care of myself and if I let you pay half of the rent even though we’re not…” She paused, as if searching for the right words. “Involved in any type of relationship, it wouldn’t be right.”

  “We have a child together. Isn’t that a relationship?” he asked.

  “Yes, but…”

  “And aren’t we equally responsible for that child?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “So you agree it’s a fifty-fifty deal.”

  “Yes, but…”

  “Then I’ll pay half of the rent and you’ll pay the other half.” It was said with an authority that dared her to challenge it. He expected she would and he wasn’t wrong.

  “I can’t let you do that. You’d be paying rent on two places,” she protested with indignation on his behalf.

  “Not if I sublet my apartment and move into the house I won’t be.” It was an argument he had been prepared to use should the need arise. He was fairly certain she didn’t want him to pay double rent. “I know you don’t want to be married for the baby’s sake, but we could be roommates—for the baby’s sake, of course.” She didn’t have a response to that suggestion and he wasn’t sure if it was because she was shocked or if she was trying to think of a way to tell him what an awful idea she thought it was.

  He decided to use the silence to argue the advantages of such an arrangement. “Carly backing out of the deal could be the solution we’ve been looking for when it comes to figuring out how we’re going to share parenting duties. You know I hate the thought of being a part-time parent and, with the hours I work, it’s going to be difficult to arrange a visiting schedule. If I were living in the same house as you and the baby, it would mean I’d get to see her every day instead of whenever our schedules would allow it.”

  She still didn’t say anything, which was unusual for Krystal. She normally reacted immediately and emotionally to everything he said.

  “Was Carly wrong? Didn’t you like the house?” he prodded.

  Finally she spoke. “Yeah. I liked it a lot. But are you sure this is what you want?”

  “I wouldn’t be suggesting it if it wasn’t,” he answered.

  “You told me you didn’t believe in couples living together outside of marriage,” she reminded him. “That it wouldn’t be a good example for a child to see.”

  “We wouldn’t be a couple, Krystal. We’d be roommates.”

  That brought more color to her cheeks. “Oh.”

  She appeared to give his suggestion some consideration, chewing on her lower lip as she mulled it over. “We’d have to agree to some things.”

  “Like what?”

  “How we handle our private lives. Whether guests can stay the night. That type of thing.”

  Was she referring to her having men friends over? He didn’t think she’d been dating. “We can say no overnight guests without consulting each other.”

  She nodded. “What about special friends?”

  “Are you talking about me wanting to bring women home?”

  “You don’t think it’ll happen?”

  “No. I told you. I’m not seeing anyone. Are you seeing anyone?”

  Her hand pointed to her tummy. “With this?”

  “You’re every bit as beautiful pregnant as you are when you’re not.” It was the truth. He’d hoped that his physical attraction to her would wane with time, but it only grew stronger. “Actually, I think you’re more beautiful now than I’ve ever seen you.”

  That caused her to blush and she looked away from his gaze. “I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it—” she glanced around the room as if looking for the words “—it’s distracting us from the issue here. We’re talking about rules for being roommates. Having guests can be a serious problem.”

  “Not for me it won’t be. I’m not having any.”

  “Me neither,” she said, then quickly added, “—unless my sister or my mom come for a visit.”

  “Relatives aren’t a problem. In case you haven’t noticed, I have a few myself.” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

  Her brows drew together and she asked, “What about your mom? Do you think she’ll object to us living in the same house?”

  “Does it matter if she does?”

  She hesitated only a moment before shaking her head.

  “We have to do what we think is best for the baby, Krystal.” He paused a moment, then said, “I’m not suggesting a lifetime arrangement here. Just one year until we get the hang of this parenting stuff.”

  She hesitated only a second longer, then said, “Okay. We’ll give it a shot and see what happens.”

  He smiled and thought surprises weren’t so bad after all.

  “SO ARE YOU ALL SETTLED in your new place?” Most of Krystal’s regular clients knew she’d moved out of 14 Valentine Place so the question came as no surprise to her.

  “I’m getting there.”

  “And how do you like it?”

  “It’s great having so much room,” she said as she applied color to the woman’s hair.

  “Then you don’t miss the boardinghouse?”

  “I miss having people around all the time. It’s so quiet.”

  “What about your guy? He must make some noise, doesn’t he?”

  Garret wasn’t her guy, but she didn’t correct her client’s mistake. She knew it was impossible to hide the fact that she was pregnant and single, but she didn’t need to divulge the details of her relationship with Garret.

  “I hardly ever see him. I think he works even more than I do.” She didn’t realize how many hours he did put in until he’d moved in with her.

  “Last time I was in you said you’d signed up for the prenatal classes. Is he going with you for that?”

  “He said he would, but last night was our first one and he had an emergency so Shannon went with me. Not that it matters. Being a doctor, he probably knows all the information they give at those classes anyway.”

  “It’s still nice that he wants to go with you,” she remarked.

  It was nice and Krystal appreciated that he’d made the effort to enroll in the classes. She only wished he was doing it for a different reason. Last night there’d been several couples in the course who were obviously very much in love and happy to be having a baby. For Krystal it had almost been a relief not to have Garret there. She didn’t want anyone to see that he wasn’t in love with her.

  “Have you picked out any names?” her customer wanted to know.

  “We both like Emma.”

  “What if it’s a boy?”

  “We haven’t been able to agree on a boy’s name. He’s convinced it’s a girl.”

  “Show me your hands,” the client demanded.

  Krystal set down the color and brush on the counter, then shoved her hands out in front of her.

  “He’s right. It’s a girl,” she declared on a note of glee.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “You showed me your hands with your palms up. If you’d had palms down, it would have meant you’re having a boy.”

  Krystal chuckled. “I have a client who’s convinced it’s a boy because when I drink my tea I lift my mug by the handle.”

  “I haven’t heard that one before, but I know the palm test works. It’s been right twenty-three times in a row so far. You’ll see,” she said with a knowing nod of her head.

>   “So you’re saying I don’t need to worry that I haven’t a boy’s name picked out?” Krystal asked with a dubious grin.

  “Nope, you won’t need it. You’re lucky your guy wants a girl. Most men want a son the first time around,” she remarked.

  It was true that Garret often referred to the baby as she, but Krystal honestly didn’t know if he was truly hoping it was a girl, because he hadn’t told her his preference. Garret kept most of his thoughts about the baby to himself. Unless she asked him specific questions, he seemed content to go about daily life without much conversation at all.

  Being a people person, she found it frustrating to live with someone who was perfectly content to keep to himself. She could have been living alone. When they were home together Garret closeted himself in his room with the door shut. Krystal wasn’t sure what he did in there at night. Judging by the number of bookcases he owned, she figured he was probably reading.

  That’s why she was surprised when she arrived home from work one evening and found him in the kitchen cooking. She didn’t think he did cook. He seldom left dirty dishes in the kitchen.

  “Something smells good,” she commented.

  “It’s chili.”

  Noticing the size of the pot, she asked, “Are you having guests?”

  “As a matter of fact I am. I hope you don’t mind?”

  She shook her head. “No, go ahead,” she told him, wondering whether they were male or female. “I’ll make myself scarce.”

  “You don’t have to do that. It’s only Shane and Mickey.”

  “Not Jennifer?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No, they’re still separated.” He lifted the lid on the pot and stirred the contents.

  “So you invited your brother and nephew over for supper. That was nice of you,” she remarked.

  “I have an ulterior motive,” he admitted with a sheepish grin.

  “And what would that be?” She rose to the bait.

  “Look in the nursery.”

  She hung up her coat in the closet before walking down the hallway to the small bedroom connected to hers. It had been empty ever since she’d moved in, but now there was a bookcase filled with children’s books along one of the walls. It was what was in the middle of the room, however, that had her mouth gaping. Scattered on the floor were various parts of what appeared to be a crib. She went back to the kitchen.

  “Where did that come from?”

  “I thought it was time we got that room ready. You never know when a baby’s going to decide to arrive early.” He clanked a lid onto a pan and faced her, a wooden spoon in his hand. “Bookcases I know how to put together. Cribs are another thing, which is why I called Shane. He knows his way around nuts and bolts much better than I do.”

  They hadn’t talked about buying a crib yet. Although she and Shannon had looked at nursery furniture when they’d been at the mall, it was a purchase she thought she could delay until she was closer to her due date. It was also something she wanted to buy for her baby. Once more she had the feeling that he was making decisions and taking control of things that were her responsibility.

  “I wish you had told me you were going to buy it,” she stated as evenly as she could and trying not to sound unhappy.

  “I thought I did tell you. It’s been on my mind for quite some time.”

  “But that’s just it. It was on your mind. You didn’t tell me because you don’t tell me anything!” To her dismay her voice rose, making it sound more like an accusation than a plea for understanding. It was exactly what she didn’t want to have happen.

  He put the spoon down and looked at her. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” he stated calmly. He didn’t speak immediately and she could see that he was carefully measuring his words before he did tell her what was on his mind. “We’re in a situation that is new to both of us and, naturally, it’ll take some time to adjust.”

  At that moment Mickey burst through the door like a whirlwind of energy. “We brought something for my cousin!” he boasted, his cheeks red from the brisk November wind.

  Following behind him was Shane carrying a wooden cradle. “Since you’re getting the baby’s room ready I thought I might as well bring this over.”

  He set the cradle down in the middle of the kitchen floor and looked at Krystal. “This thing has been in the Donovan family for generations. Mickey here left his mark on it with a few crayons, but I sanded off his artwork and refinished it,” he said, mussing his son’s hair affectionately.

  “Didn’t Great-Grandpa Donovan carve this himself?” Garret asked, admiring the antique. “I thought Mom said you were going to ship it over to Dylan?”

  He shook his head. “Maddie didn’t want to risk anything happening to it in transit so Mom said I should give it to you and Krystal.” He looked at her then and said, “I know Jennifer liked having it because she could keep it next to the bed at night.”

  When she didn’t comment immediately, Garret said, “If you don’t want it, I’ll put it in my room.”

  It was an awkward moment and Krystal wished she had worked late instead of coming home. She wondered if she would ever stop feeling uncomfortable about her relationship with Garret.

  “We probably don’t need to decide what to do with it tonight, do we?” she said weakly, then added, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got things to do.”

  “Aren’t you going to have supper with us?” Shane wanted to know. “Garret makes a pretty mean chili…but you probably already know that. You live here.”

  She didn’t know about the chili, but she was learning a lot about Garret that she hadn’t known until she’d become his housemate. Like the fact that he worked the crossword puzzle every day in the paper while he ate his breakfast, which usually consisted of cold cereal and fruit. And he occasionally sang in the shower and he left his shoes in the same spot next to the door every night. And he did his own ironing and often forgot to take his clean clothes out of the dryer.

  She’d always known he’d be a good doctor, but until she’d overheard him returning a phone call to one of his patients after hours she hadn’t realized just how good he would be. He was dedicated to his work and passionate about helping people. It was why he was so solicitous of her health, so concerned for her well-being. He had a good heart, which was why she was living with him and not in a tiny apartment barely big enough for one person let alone a mother and child. It only made her feelings toward him grow stronger each day and wish that his actions weren’t motivated out a sense of duty.

  “You’re welcome to join us,” Garret seconded his brother’s invitation.

  Welcome to join us. Krystal noticed he didn’t say, Please stay. I want you, too. She tried not to let her emotions get the better of her, but she couldn’t stop the self-pity. She felt like a big albatross around the Donovan family’s neck. They tolerated her because they were good people and they wanted to do what they could to make everything go smoothly for the Donovan baby she carried.

  But as she stood there in the kitchen looking at the Donovan heirloom cradle and thinking about the crib in the other room the two brothers were about to tackle, she didn’t want him doing all those things for her because she was the mother of his child. She wanted him to do them because he loved her.

  Mentally she shook herself. She stared at Garret and saw the same face, the same eyes, the same smile she’d seen every time she’d looked at him in the past three years. Only something was very different. Before, when she’d stared into those dark eyes, she’d seen a friend. Now she saw the man she loved.

  It was an overwhelming realization, one that had her staring at him in bewilderment, wondering when it had happened. How could she have fallen in love with him and not been aware of it?

  “Krystal, are you okay?” Garret asked.

  She swallowed nervously. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she mumbled, then excused herself and hurried to her room before either he or his brother saw on her face what was in her heart.

  WHEN
GARRET ARRIVED at the nursing home, he found Dolly Anderson in the solarium seated in a chair next to the window. She looked perfectly content as she gazed at the snow falling at a steady pace.

  “So this is where you are,” he said, walking into the glass-enclosed room.

  “Isn’t it lovely, Dr. G.?” she said, referring to the scene outdoors. “I know it’s early to be getting this heavy a snowfall, but it’s so beautiful.” Her sigh was one of contentment. “They told me you might not be coming today. I should have known a little snow wouldn’t stop you from doing your work.”

  “It’s a little sloppy out there, but the road crews are doing their job and keeping the streets clear,” he told her. “You ought to know by now, Dolly, that nothing can keep me away from you.” He produced a box of gingersnaps from his bag.

  Her eyes twinkled. “That is so sweet of you,” she cooed. “I suppose now you want to take me back to my room so you can get me out of my clothes.”

  “The thought did cross my mind,” he said with a flirtatious grin.

  She giggled and struggled to her feet with his assistance. “A handsome doctor like you… I can’t believe you’re still single. Have I told you about my little gal who does my hair?”

  “I believe you have,” he said, helping her as she navigated toward the door using her cane.

  “She’s the sweetest thing,” she said, her tone one of amazement. “And other people think so, too. I’m not the only one who thinks she’s a gem.”

  “I’m sure she’s very nice.”

  “Oh, she is. She listens to what you have to say. I mean really listens. I think you’d like her if you met her.”

  “I’m sure I would,” he said with an indulgent grin.

  “It’s too bad you weren’t here earlier this morning. She was here. You two could have met.”

  Sometimes being behind schedule wasn’t such a bad thing, he thought as he helped her back to her room. “You said she’s pretty. She probably has a boyfriend.”

  “Uh-uh. She likes this one fella, but she said he’s all wrong for her. Who knows? Maybe you’d be the right one, now that you’re not going to the Doctors Without Borders program.”

  “I still don’t have time for women, however,” he told her.