Series Starter : Firsts in Series Collection

by Kaylee Ryan

  The corner of his lips twitch in amusement, but it’s not the megawatt smile I’m used to.

  “Bad day?” I ask hesitantly. I know he has a lot going on with the baby and Misty. Last I heard, he was still trying to track her down to meet with his attorney and sign the custody papers.

  “Yes and no.” He climbs the last step and takes the seat beside me. Leaning over, he glances at my computer screen. “You’re really good.”

  I can feel the blush coat my cheeks. “How do you know these are mine?”

  He gives me that look, the one that says I’m not an idiot.

  “Aren’t they?”

  I look down at the screen, averting my gaze. My face is on fire. I’ve displayed my work hundreds of times in college, and I’ve never had this kind of reaction to a compliment.

  It’s Evan.

  “Thank you,” I say, finding my voice. We’re both silent and I breathe a sigh of relief as I get myself under control. Finally, I turn to look at him. “You want to talk about it?”

  Closing his eyes, he rests his head back against the chair. “I just left my attorney’s office. Misty signed the papers.”

  I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. I can’t even begin to imagine how he’s feeling. He’s going to be a father---a single father. This isn’t how anyone plans to join the ranks of parenthood.

  My eyes stay glued to him. I wish there was something I could do or say, but there’s nothing. This is a bad situation all around. The only good is the miracle of a new life, his baby.

  Turning his head, he opens his eyes and the brown pools stare into me. “It didn’t even faze her, Kinley. She waltzed in there and made sure it was known she wants no part of this kid’s life and signed on the fucking dotted line.”

  Instinctively, I reach over and place my hand on top of his. It’s a lame attempt to comfort him.

  “It’s like she’s not even the same person. How…” he stops and swallows hard. “What if I can’t do this?” he asks. His voice is soft and pained. He grimaces. “What if I screw this kid up? What if I can’t be what he or she needs?”

  Before I can answer him, my mom opens the front door and steps out. “Oh, Evan, I didn’t know you were here. It’s good to see you.” She takes the chair on the opposite side of me and leans forward. “How have you been?” Her eyes flash to my hand still clutching his. Reluctantly, I let go and place my hands back in my lap.

  “Hey, Mom.” Evan spent as much time here growing up as Aaron and I. He’s always called my parents mom and dad. He looks at me to gauge if she knows. I shake my head no. Releasing a heavy sigh, he drops the bomb. “I’m good, a lot going on.” He swallows hard. “I found out about a week and a half ago that I’m going to be a dad.”

  Mom’s eyes widen and she glances back and forth between the two of us.

  “Today’s been a…bittersweet one.” He goes on to explain. “Misty, she doesn’t want the baby. I had to plead with her to keep it.” The last part is choked out. “This morning we signed custody papers over to me. They still have to be filed with the court, but by the time the baby is here, I will be the sole custodial parent. Misty will have no rights whatsoever.”

  “Oh my.” Mom stands and walks over to Evan. Leaning over, she places her hand on his cheek. “You’re an amazing young man, Evan Chamberlin. This baby is lucky to have you.” She taps his cheek and goes back to her chair.

  “So, what’s next?” I ask him.

  “I don’t know. I’m out of my element here. I mean, I’m excited about the baby. I’m scared as hell and it’s not how I envisioned it, but I want it—him or her. I hate calling my baby it.”

  Mom chuckles. “Well, why don’t you try something else like peanut?” she asks.

  Evan smiles fondly at her. “Is that what you did?”

  She grins. “Yep. We didn’t find out with either of them. We wanted to be surprised.”

  I look at Evan. “Do you want to know?” I ask him.

  He doesn’t answer at first, and I can tell he’s never really thought about it. “I don’t know.” Leaning his elbows on his knees, he buries his face in his hands. “I just always pictured having ‘the one’ by my side during all of this.”

  “The one?” Mom asks.

  Evan turns his head to look at her. “Yeah, the one woman who makes my heart race, who consumes my thoughts. The one I spend the rest of my life with. I never pictured this scenario, and I’m at a loss,” he confesses.

  My heart melts and aches at the same time. Evan is such a great guy; any woman would be lucky to have him. I hate that this is happening. Not the fact he’s having a baby out of wedlock, or even the fact Misty is not ‘the one,’ but the fact he’s having to do this alone. His parents are in Alabama as his dad battles cancer for the third time and both sets of grandparents are getting up there in age.

  “Well, for us, we wanted to be surprised. Of course, it was hard to shop. We had lots of yellows and greens,” Mom laughs. “I assume you will be there for all her appointments?”

  “Yeah, I don’t want to miss any of it. I already heard the heartbeat.” The dazzling smile I’m used to lights up his face.

  “Well, how far along is she?” Mom asks.

  “Nine weeks or so. Everything happens in weeks,” he mumbles.

  Mom and I chuckle at that. “Yes, certain weeks are markers. Usually, it’s about halfway—so twenty weeks—when they do an ultrasound and determine the sex of the baby,” Mom explains.

  “Hey, what’s going on out here?” my dad says as he and Aaron come walking up from the barn.

  “Just enjoying the day,” Mom says, not missing a beat.

  Aaron and Evan bump fists, and Dad nods in greeting. “So, what are you getting into?” Aaron asks Evan.

  “Just got back from the attorney’s office.”

  “She sign?” Aaron asks.

  “Yeah,” Evan sighs.

  “Good. Give me ten to shower and we can go grab a bite to eat.” Aaron doesn’t wait for an answer. He races into the house and flies up the stairs.

  Mom and Dad both just shake their heads and grin. Aaron and I are twenty-two and twenty-four years old, both old enough to be living on our own. Aaron loves the farm and one day in the near future it will all be his . He’s in no rush to live on his own. He’s content. It helps that our parents are awesome. At least I have the excuse I just graduated from college.

  “Shower’s calling my name too.” Dad leans down and kisses Mom quickly.

  “I’ve got a meatloaf in the oven.” She stands and looks at Evan. “I’m proud of you. You need anything at all, you let me know.”

  Evan nods and we watch as my dad holds the door open for her and they disappear into the house.

  And then there were two.

  “That goes for me too,” I tell him.

  “Yeah?” he asks. His voice is soft and his brown eyes are watching me intently.

  “Yeah.” I bump my knee into his.

  Aaron comes barreling out of the house, having taken the quickest shower ever, hair still wet, pulling his t-shirt over his head. “Ready?”

  Evan stands but doesn’t take his eyes off me. “See you around, Kinley.”

  I wave and watch as the two of them climb into Evan’s old truck and head down the drive.

  Chapter 5

  Evan

  As we drive to town, I catch Aaron up on the day’s events.

  “It just goes to show, you never really know someone,” he says.

  “I agree to an extent. But really, I can only blame myself. I didn’t try to get to know Misty. We were exclusive, but it was just fun for us. We both knew that’s what it was and we were okay with that.”

  “Yeah, you two did seem sort of an odd couple. Especially with her always saying she was leaving and this was just a detour in the road for her.”

  “Even though I knew that, I never would have imagined her being so indifferent toward her unborn child.”

  “It’s all good now, my man. She s
igned the papers and that’s what matters. You got a kid to think about now.”

  “Your mom and Kinley both said they would help,” I tell him as we pull into the local diner.

  We slide into a booth near the back and the waitress is there as soon as we sit, so we go ahead and order. We have the menu memorized.

  “You know they would love to. Hell, Mom keeps telling me I need to settle down and give her some grandkids. She’s going to go nuts over your baby, man.”

  “True. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

  “Kinley too. Women just have a knack for that shit. She wouldn’t have offered if she didn’t want to help. She’s slow right now while she gets her studio ready. I say take her up on it.”

  The waitress brings our food, and just as I’m about to bite into my cheeseburger, the diner door opens and in walks Misty with Tom fucking Harris. He’s bad fucking news and everyone knows that, including Misty. “Motherfucker!” I say, placing my cheeseburger back on the plate, my appetite suddenly gone.

  Aaron looks over his shoulder to follow my stare. “Shit, what’s she doing with that jackass?”

  “I have no fucking clue.” I close my eyes, willing them to be a figment of my imagination. I count slowly to ten and then open them---no such luck. Misty and Tom are being seated in a booth on the opposite side of the diner. She sits first and instead of sitting across from her, Tom slides in next to her, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

  “Fuck, man, she needs to keep better company.”

  No shit! “Yeah, when she’s carrying my baby she damn well needs to. I better not find out her ass is taking anything,” I seethe.

  “Is she trying to make you jealous?” Aaron asks.

  I shake my head. “No, not once since she told me she was pregnant has she indicated she wants us to be together. I offered, man. She turned me down cold.”

  Aaron studies me, trying to see if her rejection bothers me.

  It doesn’t.

  He’s not going to find any remorse in me for her, only my unborn child she’s carrying. There’s a fucking cigarette behind his ear. She does not need to be around that shit. Without thinking, I’m standing and striding toward them. I reach their booth and Misty’s eyes lock on mine.

  “Evan,” she greets me. She’s not being mean or hateful. She greets me as if I’m just some guy she knows.

  Indifferent.

  “Misty,” I repeat the gesture. I’m trying hard not to lose my shit over her choice of company. I decide to make small talk. Maybe Tom doesn’t know about the baby. “When’s your next appointment? I forgot to ask you earlier.”

  Nothing. No change in expression. “I haven’t set it up yet. I’ll text you.”

  Tom pulls the unlit cigarette from behind his ear and places it in his mouth. He lets it hang there unlit. “That’s not good for the baby.” I don’t bother to elaborate. I know she knows what I’m talking about.

  “It’s not lit,” she replies.

  “You can’t smoke around her,” I tell Tom.

  He laughs. “Like I’m going to listen to you.”

  Placing my hand on the table, I lean down, nose to nose with him. “You will. You see, Tom, Misty here is carrying my baby. Just a few short hours ago, she signed over all rights to me. In that same agreement, she signed she would not put herself in harm’s way, in turn not putting my unborn child in a harmful situation.” I stand back to my full height.

  Misty continues to sit there unaffected.

  Tom turns to her. “You carrying his kid?” he asks.

  What a fucking tool.

  “Yeah.”

  “He telling the truth? You sign those papers?”

  “I did. I didn’t read them. I skimmed to make sure the baby would be his full responsibility and signed.”

  Done with this conversation, I reach over and snatch the cigarette out of his mouth. I crush it in my hands, then dust them off on the table. I know there are more where that came from, but I want to get my point across.

  “See that you follow the contract. I would hate for you to be in contempt.” I stalk back to Aaron, slide in the booth, and pick up my now cold burger. I have to choke it down.

  Aaron motions for the check as I make quick work of my food. He pays the bill and we leave. I feel sick at the thought of what types of situations she’s getting herself into.

  Chapter 6

  McKinley

  I’ve spent the last six weeks working on my studio. I painted each of the four walls a different color. I’ve been picking up props at flea markets and clearance sales. It’s all really starting to come together. Aaron is supposed to help me hang blinds today. Sometimes I’ll need the natural light and others I won’t. I’m going to get him to help me setup my green screen bar and lights when he’s here as well. What are brothers for if you can’t use their muscles?

  Stepping back, I survey the large room. It’s better than I had hoped. I have my first shoot in two days.

  I can’t wait!

  Not wanting to lose my momentum waiting on Aaron, I drag the ladder to the far wall, gather my hooks for props, and climb up. I want the hooks high enough so the kids won’t be able to get to them. I know how little ones like to explore in new places. Raising my arms to hammer in the first nail, I feel the ladder wobble. The next thing I know, I’m falling backward. Nothing but hard wood floor waits for me below. I brace myself for impact. However, it’s not the hard floor I collide with---it’s strong arms.

  “I got you,” a deep, husky voice whispers in my ear.

  Evan.

  He gently places my feet on the floor while holding onto my arms to make sure I have my balance. “Thanks,” I mumble.

  “You’re welcome. Why didn’t you wait for Aaron to do this?” he asks.

  “I’m on a roll. I have my first shoot in two days and I’m excited to get everything finalized.” My brain finally registers he’s here. “What are you doing here? Not that I don’t appreciate your impeccable timing.”

  “Aaron’s stuck in traffic coming home from the stockyard. He called and asked if I had time to run over and help you. I believe he said, ‘Kinley is chomping at the bit to get this done.’”

  “I’m excited,” I defend.

  He chuckles. “I can see that, but we can’t have you getting hurt. Now, show me what needs to be done. We can get this place whipped into shape.” He reaches down and picks the hook up off the floor.

  “I was…um… hanging them for those,” I point to the box of hats and scarfs I’ve acquired for props.

  Evan nods and starts to climb the ladder. “Why so high?”

  “I plan to do a lot of family and kids shoots. As a matter of fact, my first shoot is with twin boys for their first birthday. Little people like to explore in new places. I wanted the props out of the way of temptation for them. Besides, there will be less of a distraction and it will be easier for me to maintain their attention.” I look up at him and all I see is his ass, front and center in all its glory. Let me just tell you, Evan Chamberlin can fill out a pair of worn Levi’s. My mouth waters and I feel my face flush. Damn! I quickly look down to get myself under control.

  “Can you hand me the next one?” Evan asks.

  Shit!

  Bending down, I pick up the other hook and attempt to hand it to him without looking. “Kinley,” his deep voice rumbles my name.

  I get lost in the sound and forget I’m hiding my blush, which only makes me blush harder. “You good?” he asks.

  Am I good? Um, hell yes, I’m good. Turn back around and let me get back to ogling your fine ass. “Yeah,” I say instead. “Why aren’t you working today?” I ask to get my mind off his ass.

  “Misty had her four-month check-up today.”

  “How did it go?”

  “Good. She hasn’t gained much weight. The doctor told her she needs to eat more. She measured okay, but the doctor is just worried about her getting enough calories.”

  “What did she say about it?”r />
  “Hmph. Nothing as usual. I offered her money for clothes and stuff and she refused. Said she didn’t need anything from me. She’s starting to show. I placed my hand on her belly when I saw her.” He climbs down the ladder. “It’s still hard for me to grasp the fact my baby’s in there, you know?”

  Gah! Evan is one of the sweetest guys out there and hot as hell to boot! Misty is a damn fool. “Yeah, it really is a miracle when you think about it.”

  “I was thinking, if we can get this all squared away, maybe you would want to go shopping with me? I’ve only got five months and I need…well, everything.”

  “Absolutely! I’m happy to help you.” I don’t bother to hide my excitement. It’s hard not to get excited about a new baby, no matter whose it is.

  “Thank you.” I can hear the relief in his voice. “I’ve read a few books and looked online, but I don’t have the first clue as to what this kid is going to need.”

  “Well, we can start with the easy stuff. You’re going to need a crib, dresser, changing table,” I tick each item off one by one. “Do you have a rocking chair?”

  His eyes are huge as he shakes his head no. “Add that to the list.”

  He motions to my hand where I have my fingers raised. Instead, I hold my hand out. “Let me see your phone.” Evan reaches into the back pocket of those Levi’s I was just drooling over and hands it over.

  “Do you have a task list?” I ask, even though I’m already searching his phone. Finding what I need, I tap the icon and make a new list. I title it “Baby Chamberlin.” This brings another question. “Have you decided? Do you want to know what you’re having?”

  “I don’t have a strong feeling either way. I just want him or her to be healthy. I can’t ask for much more than that.”

  His honest, heartfelt confession has me swooning. Misty’s an idiot, plain and simple, no other way to describe her.