A Mommy for His Baby

by Molly Evans

  He pulled back and looked down at her body. He frowned.

  “What?” She looked down and couldn’t see anything wrong.

  “You simply can’t wear that shirt inside. It’s all wet. And dripping.”

  “I see.” Aurora liked this sexy, playful side of Beau. “What do you suppose we should do about that?”

  “It needs to go, for sure.”

  He clasped the hem of it, which was hanging around her knees, and pulled it up over her head. She shivered once, the cool air chilling her, raising goosebumps on her skin. It was a strange sensation, having the air teasing her body and Beau’s gaze stirring it further.

  “I think we’d better get you inside and dried off.”

  “If you’ll help me get down from here.”

  A zing of fear hit her. How would he react to her scars? The pulse pounded in her throat and she swallowed. There was only one way to know—one way to move forward. If they were going to have any chance at a relationship she had to bare herself to him, scars and all.

  “I can arrange something.”

  He returned to his former position between her knees and clasped her hips, bringing them against his. He lifted her against him and let her slide down the length of his body. The soft cloth of his sweats didn’t hide the hard arousal within. She ached to touch him, to feel his skin sliding against hers and join their bodies together.

  Once they entered the house and closed the door to the patio everything changed. The intensity of Beau was almost overwhelming as his hands clasped her by the hips and brought her against him.

  Any sane thought went out the window as Aurora allowed herself to breathe in his scent, to savor the sensations he created in her, knowing he was feeling the same.

  “This is so good...so wonderful to touch you, to have you against me.” Aurora tunneled her hands beneath his shirt and drew it upward.

  He flung it to the floor. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”

  That made her pull back a little from him to look into green eyes that were filled with need for her. “Hurt me?”

  “Your back.” He stroked her face and pressed a kiss to her nose, breathed in her scent again.

  “I have an idea about that,” she said. “Why don’t you lead the way?”

  She grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter and followed him. In just a few seconds they entered his bedroom, and he led her to a large four-poster. The sheets were warm against her skin, and together they tangled themselves up in the covers and each other.

  Aurora leaned into Beau, and then lay him back, draped over the top of his chest. “This is my idea...”

  “I see.”

  Kisses and breaths mingled as they learned each other’s bodies for the first time. A stroke here, a lingering kiss there, licking, sucking, touching, tasting, all bringing them closer to each other.

  Aurora was ready, and moisture filled her feminine sheath. She tugged on his pants and he swiftly removed them, leaving nothing but skin between them.

  “Lie back,” she said, and moved over on top of him, straddling his hips. She clutched his erection in her hand and feminine power pulsed deep within her. This was the moment she’d been waiting for.

  “I don’t have a—”

  “I do.”

  “Really?” Beau’s eyebrows twitched upward and a Cheshire cat smile covered his face.

  “Really.”

  She dug a condom from her purse and tore the cellophane package open with her teeth. Keeping her eyes on his, she removed the condom, then slid it down over his erection. Watching his eyes close at the pleasure of her touch thrilled her. This was so beautiful. So right.

  Rising up further on her knees, she lowered herself onto him. Though she hadn’t made love in a long time, her body was ready. As they joined together for the first time new and beautiful sensations overwhelmed her as her body accommodated his.

  “Oh...” A moan stirred from her throat as she took him in all the way.

  Beau’s hands clasped her hips and he began to rock her in rhythm to the movements of his own hips. “You feel incredible, Aurora. Incredible.” One hand strayed upward to caress her breast and stir her nipple.

  Drawing herself upright, she placed her hands beside his knees and allowed herself to take in sensation after sensation, to feel the power of him inside her, to be a woman fully for the first time in way too long.

  Beau slid his hands up her thighs, his fingers lightly grazing her skin and sending a thrill through her. He delved one thumb into her folds, searching for the center of her pleasure zone, and teased it softly.

  Her breath caught in her throat as his hips, his touch, his body sent her over the edge and she shattered, clutching the bedding in her hands and crying out her pleasure. Wave after wave pulsed through her.

  Sensing a change in Beau’s breathing, she lifted her head and focused on him. She moved his hands to her hips to help her keep the pace that would satisfy him, bring him to his peak. Digging his fingers into her hips he rocked her and plunged into her sheath. Faster and harder. Then he clutched her tightly as he found his release.

  She draped her torso forward, allowing her chest to touch his, then released her weight with a sigh.

  “This was beautiful, Beau.”

  * * *

  “Absolutely.”

  Her words and the sound of her voice drew him in and pushed him away at the same time. Being with another woman, loving another woman, was hard. He’d never dreamed life would turn out this way. He’d never dreamed he’d lose himself in the arms of a woman again and that that woman would be Aurora.

  “Where are you?” she asked, drawing his attention to her mouth again.

  “Lost in space, I guess.”

  She placed a hand on his face and moved in for a long, slow kiss. “What are we going to do about this, Beau?”

  “About what? Us?” He eased his hands up her back, drawing his hands across her smooth, silky skin until an irregularity stopped him. “What’s this?”

  “A scar. I had a chest tube for a few days after the crash. It’s ugly. Don’t look at it.”

  “It saved your life.” Just as she was saving his right now. “About your question... I don’t know what we’re going to do. I just know I don’t want you to leave.”

  That made her drop her gaze away from his again. “Do you mean tonight, or what?”

  “I mean I don’t want you to leave Brush Valley.” With one hand, he curved her hair behind her ear and cupped her face. “It’s only been a few weeks, but we’ve connected in a way I never imagined, and I don’t want to let go of that any time soon.”

  “Me, either. It’s too soon for either of us to be making promises, though, don’t you think?” Closing her eyes for a second, she savored the sensation of his hand, warm against her face.

  “I know. I don’t want either of us to make any promises we can’t keep or will feel guilty about if things change.” He raised his face to hers and encouraged her to press another kiss to his lips. “I want a chance with you, Aurora. That’s all. I just want to give us a chance. Be my partner, be a mother to Chloe? Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to stay, to work with me in the office and see if we can make it work?”

  The intensity of him was overwhelming. “I know we can make it work in the office. It’s the other stuff, the personal stuff, I’m not sure about.”

  “Is it because of Chloe?”

  He had to ask. Not every woman was prepared to take on a child and a new relationship.

  The shock on her face was his answer.

  “No! Absolutely not. She’s a delight, and I would be happy to be part of her life.” She sighed and pulled away, then sat up on the edge of the bed. “But what if we don’t work out? It’s not fair to Chloe to think I’m going to be around a
nd then for me not to be here.”

  “There are no guarantees in life.” He snorted out a bitter laugh. “My life is certainly evidence of that.”

  “I’m not asking for a guarantee, Beau.”

  “Yes, you are. You aren’t saying it in so many words, but that’s what it is—and I don’t know. I just don’t know.” He tugged on his sweats and a shirt while she wrapped the sheet around herself. “This is not the conversation I envisioned us having after making love the first time.”

  “Me, either.” One side of her mouth lifted in a half-hearted smile. “How about we go back a few minutes and agree to see how things go? I’d like that.”

  She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his chest. The heat of it moved through him, warming his heart.

  “I’d like that, too.”

  Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he brought her up against him for a few minutes and just held on as emotions threatened to swamp him.

  What if she was right? What if their relationship didn’t work out? Then what? Was it really fair to Chloe to present her with a new mother, then watch her walk away?

  * * *

  The next day dawned bright and shiny. Aurora was slow to get moving, enjoying the peace of the quiet morning, the chirping of birds in the field beside the office as they foraged for seeds and insects trapped by the morning dew.

  She turned on the light switch, but nothing happened. The power was still out.

  Though Beau had asked her to stay the night with him, she’d declined. She wasn’t ready for that yet, and she didn’t think he was either. It was too much, too fast. Making love had been wonderful, but now she wondered if that had been a mistake, too.

  Were they just two lonely, damaged people who’d sought a moment of comfort in each other’s arms? It had been known to happen. Were they really a relationship in the making?

  Her phone rang, ending her peaceful moment.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s your mother.”

  “Hi, Mom. What’s up? Everything okay?”

  “Sure. Can’t I call my daughter without there being a crisis?”

  Aurora wondered, and suppressed a snort of amusement. “Well, when I was living in Virginia you only called when someone died or there was a disaster.”

  “Yes, well, today’s different. I wanted to see if you wanted to go to Smicksburg with me today.” There was hope and eagerness in her mother’s voice. “If you don’t have anything else planned, I mean.”

  “No. I don’t have any plans.”

  Nothing that couldn’t wait anyway, like laundry and bills. With no power in the apartment, she wasn’t going to do much else. “Sounds like fun.”

  “Good. I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes, then.”

  “Make it an hour. I’m just waking up.” She needed to do her exercises and get something to eat.

  “Oh, I suppose... I’ll pack us some lunch and it’ll be a fun day.”

  “Great. See you soon.”

  Aurora threw the covers off and got moving. As she packed her purse with necessary supplies she hesitated over whether to take her pain medications with her, but she grabbed the bottle and tossed them in. She locked up and waited for her mother in front of the building.

  The parking lot had been really torn up by the car crash last evening. It was definitely going to need some professional work done, not just a few shovels full of dirt.

  Pulling out her phone, she made a call to a friend to see if he could help out. Just as she finished the call she spied her mother’s little SUV.

  “Thanks, Tim. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Right on time,” her mother said as she got into the car. “I don’t like to wait on anyone, you know.”

  “I know. So let’s get going and have a great day.”

  This could be an opportunity to repair her relationship with her mother, which had always been a bit tense.

  “Who were you talking to?”

  “Tim. An old high school buddy. I wanted to see if he could bring his grader and smooth out the parking lot for Beau.”

  “He’s the owner. Shouldn’t he be doing that?”

  “Oh, sure he could, but as his office nurse I can make a call and get it done for him. He’s got Chloe all day today, and if I can take one thing off his plate then I’m happy to do it.”

  “You are?” Sally nodded.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Aurora cast a suspicious glance at her mother.

  “Nothing.” There was an upward inflection to her voice, solidifying Aurora’s suspicions.

  “Mom, with you there’s never ‘nothing.’” There was always something behind any comment her mother made.

  “Oh, I was just thinking that since you’re so involved in the office, and Beau, you might think about staying for a while.” The last sentence was all said in a rush.

  This was it. This was the reason for the “spontaneous” trip. Even though Aurora had promised to go on a day trip with her mother, there was definitely a mission behind this one today. Her mother was pumping her for information.

  Before answering, Aurora took a breath and centered herself, as she’d learned to do in rehab. “It’s hard to say at this point, Mom.” Facts—just facts at this point. “Beau has a nurse who has simply gone on maternity leave. We don’t know if she’s coming back or not.”

  “Doesn’t he have room for more than one nurse? Seems like business is booming.”

  “At this point, no—but that could change in the future.”

  “Every time I drive by someone’s always coming in or going out. So it’s getting busier, right? That’s good.”

  “Yes, it is getting busier, and we have some plans for promotion—like at Brush Valley Day and at the fair.”

  “Wonderful. Maybe there will be enough business to keep you here full-time, then.”

  “That’s a whole lot of speculation right now. For today, how about we just forget about work, plans, the future, and just have a nice day together? The leaves will be starting to turn, so we’ll have to plan another trip for that, too.”

  After a moment’s hesitation her mother agreed. Though Aurora sensed her mother wanted to push her point and drag this conversation on.

  “Okay,” she said finally. “Today is just about us having a good time.” She cast a quick sideways glance at Aurora. “And eating. We can’t forget that part.”

  A warmth filled her chest, and Aurora laughed. Maybe there was hope for healing the relationship with her mother after all. “Definitely not—especially if you’re the one who’s cooking.”

  They spent the day together, wandering through the Amish village, shopping, talking and thoroughly enjoying themselves. But with all the walking, getting in and out of the SUV, the bumpy roads and sitting for too long, Aurora’s pain soon sprang up from her hips, spreading like wildfire through a dry forest with nothing to stop it.

  By the time her mother dropped her at the office seven hours later she didn’t think she would be able to make it up the stairs. Though she’d taken one of her pain medications an hour ago, it hadn’t helped.

  Dammit. Things had been going so well. Until now.

  With hands that trembled, she called Beau.

  “Aurora?”

  The sound of his voice saying her name in her ear was immediately reassuring. He would help her. No matter what happened between them, she knew she could count on him.

  “Beau.” Tears filled her eyes as she let herself go, let herself need someone—need Beau. “I need you. Can you meet me at the office?”

  “Yes. What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  There was immediate focus in his voice, which reassured her further.

  “I need you to come as soon as you can.”

  In th
e background she heard rustling, and Chloe’s happy baby sounds. Though she hated to disturb him, there was no help for it. She couldn’t drive to meet him.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Hang on, darling. I’ll be there. Don’t worry.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered into the disconnected line.

  She unlocked the office, dropped her purse and the bags with her purchases just inside the door. She flipped on the light switch and the lights responded. Power had been restored while she was gone.

  Within fifteen minutes she heard the crunching of tires on the gravel and knew relief was just moments away. The door opened and Daisy bounded in, rushing over to greet her, then Beau, looking casual and handsome with his arms full of baby girl. The concern on his face made her wish she hadn’t put it there.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “I KNOW YOU’RE in pain. What happened?”

  He set Chloe’s bouncy chair on the floor and placed her in it. Though he paid attention to what he was doing, he spoke to Aurora. When Chloe was strapped in, he turned to her, and his expression changed from concern to empathy as he read her posture and her face. He knew. He knew just what she needed.

  Opening his arms wide, he walked toward her and placed those strong arms around her, holding her for just a moment.

  The tears she’d been holding back could no longer be contained. This was where she needed to be—here, in this man’s arms. “I’m so sorry to drag you to the office on a Saturday, but my back is on fire.”

  “You were fine last night.” He pulled back to look at her face and used his thumbs to wipe away the trails of tears on her cheeks. “What did you do? Go rock climbing today or something?”

  That made her laugh, and a smile won its way onto her face. “No. I took a long car ride with Mom to Smicksburg, walked all over creation, up and down stairs, in and out of the car. Now I’m paying the price. I don’t think I can even get upstairs to the apartment right now.”

  He glanced down at his daughter, happily bouncing in her chair, trying to make her way toward Daisy. “She’ll be okay for a while. How about I see what I can do to get you straightened out again?”