Seeing Ellie’s flushed face, Liam sent his sister a nonverbal warning, hoping their sibling connection would say what he wasn’t, even if he didn’t know exactly what he was trying to say. “Yes, it’s serious, but we’re friends who will also happen to be parents together.”
Meg nodded, but her expression screamed skepticism. “Does Dad know?”
Liam squeezed his eyes shut. “Not yet.”
“At least you’re in a better situation than I was when I had to confess,” Meg said.
Liam groaned. “It’s not like I can use my age as an excuse.”
“He’ll get over it. Doris has been a good influence on him and she’ll be thrilled. She loves babies,” Meg said, and turned her attention to Ellie. “I’m happy for both of you and excited to be an aunt. I never thought I’d have that honor. Riley’s an only child and, well, Liam, he’s—”
“Sitting right here, sister dear,” he interrupted, raising his eyebrows.
Meg rolled her eyes. “I’m excited to be an aunt and for Fiona and James and this new baby to have a cousin.”
Before Ellie could respond, Meg rushed on, “Too bad you won’t be here in Loon Lake. We could be like pregnant sisters.”
Ellie shook her head. “Oh, but I have no plans to move anywhere.”
Liam ground his molars. Ellie’s pregnancy wasn’t planned but it was a reality and he didn’t appreciate being shut out of major decisions, which might happen if Ellie stayed in Loon Lake. What other explanation was there for his caveman behavior around her?
Meg glanced at him with a help me out here look. He responded with a quick shake of his head.
“That’s even better,” Meg said. “We can be pregnant together. I think Mary and Brody are starting to think about giving Elliott a brother or sister. Wouldn’t that be fun? Our kids could form their own play group.”
Ellie pulled her hand free of Liam’s. She leaned over and gave Meg a hug. “I’d love that. Our kids are going to be family and I want them to be close.”
“Yeah, you’re getting to be an old pro at this, sis,” Liam said.
“Liam!” Ellie poked him with her elbow.
Meg laughed. “What can I say? Riley and I—”
“Riley and I what?” another voice came from the doorway to the kitchen.
Riley greeted Liam and Ellie as he walked over to Meg and leaned down to give her a kiss.
Meg put her arm around her husband’s waist. “Where’s Fiona?”
“Dang, I knew I forgot something.” He leaned in for another kiss. When he finally pulled away, he said, “She’s outside with the dog. Mangy’s paws got all dirty and I didn’t think you’d want muddy prints all over your floors.”
“Mmm. Good call.” Meg gave him a dreamy look.
Liam brought his hand up and covered his eyes. “Guys, company here.”
Despite his joking complaints, something sharp poked him when he saw how happy his little sister was in her marriage. He was glad, he truly was, but seeing it made him realize what he was lacking. Could he and Ellie build that sort of life together? Whenever he imagined his future, Ellie was front and center.
“Oh, yes.” Meg patted Riley’s chest. “Wait until you hear Liam and Ellie’s news. They’re having a baby.”
“Really? Congratulations.” Riley clapped Liam on the back. “When’s the big day?”
“Uh, we don’t know yet... Ellie hasn’t gone to the doctor.” Liam looked to Ellie.
Riley shook his head. “I didn’t mean the baby due date, I meant—Oomph.”
Meg’s jab to the ribs effectively silenced Riley, and she turned to explain. “Ellie and my brother are going to be...” She glanced at Liam but didn’t wait for confirmation before saying, “They’re going to be friends who have a baby together.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Fiona burst into the kitchen. “Mommy, I taught Mangy to catch the Frisbee. ’Cept he won’t bring it back to me.”
“That can be lesson two,” Meg said. “Did you tie him to the outdoor run before coming in?”
“Uh-huh, I tied him so he can’t run away or run into the woods and get lost. Uncle Liam, I didn’t know you were here. Where’s your truck?” The redheaded dynamo, a mini Meg, barreled over to Liam and hugged him.
“I came with Nurse Ellie.” He gave his niece a bear hug.
“Are you sick?” She tilted her head back and looked up at him.
He chucked her under her chin. “No, Ellie and I are friends, just like she and your mom are friends. We came in her car to visit you.”
“How come you came to visit me?” she asked.
Liam laughed. “I meant—”
A baby’s cry came from somewhere in the house.
“I’ll go get him,” Riley said.
“Thanks.” Meg pulled him back with a hand on his shirt and gave him another kiss.
Fiona pointed at her parents. “Uh-oh, Mommy, you better be careful. Uncle Liam said all that kissing stuff is what leads to all our babies.”
Liam groaned and rolled his eyes. The little blabbermouth. He just couldn’t catch a break today.
“Oh, he did, did he?” Meg gave him a stern look. “Fiona, why don’t you take Ellie outside and show her how you taught Mangy to catch the Frisbee. Maybe Auntie Ellie knows how to make Mangy bring the Frisbee back.”
Fiona scrunched up her face. “Aren’t you and Uncle Liam coming?”
“Yes, we’ll be out in just a minute.”
Riley chuckled and clapped Liam on the shoulder before leaving the kitchen. “Good luck.”
Liam watched Fiona take Ellie’s hand as they went outside and wished like heck he was going with them.
Once the door shut behind them, he turned to his sister. “You gonna rip me a new one now?”
“Nope.” Meg shook her head. “But I will say that how many kids Riley and I have is none of your business, just like whether or not you marry Ellie for the sake of your child is none of mine.”
* * *
“Maybe we shouldn’t have stayed for supper with my parents,” Ellie said when Liam yawned as they drove to her apartment later that evening. He hadn’t had the benefit of a nap as she had and he’d spent the better part of the afternoon chasing the dog to retrieve the Frisbee for Fiona to throw again. “I forgot you just came off a shift this morning.”
After leaving Riley and Meg’s, they’d stopped at her parents’ home to break the news. Liam had suggested it, likening it to ripping off a bandage. Faster was better, he’d suggested. She would have preferred maybe another day to gather her courage but didn’t want to take a chance they’d hear it from someone else.
But if she were honest, having to tell her parents she was pregnant hadn’t been what bothered her the most about going to her childhood home. When they’d arrived, her father had been in his basement workshop, where he spent most of his time. As if he wasn’t a part of what went on above those stairs. Her mom was in the stark white living room, where footprints didn’t mar the carpet. Ellie could remember when the house was full of noise and clutter. No, it was the memories being dredged up. She could remember the laughter, the loving glances and tender touches between her parents before she’d gotten sick. She’d taken all of that for granted when she’d had it, thinking it would last forever. Now they were more like polite strangers. They’d remained married because her mother believed that’s what you did. The marriage was in place but their relationship had withered and died.
“It’s okay. Your mom’s a good cook and I slept some last night. Plus, I have time to sleep before the extra shift I mentioned at supper.” He glanced over at her and grinned. “Besides, I wasn’t about to argue with your dad when he extended the invitation.”
She picked at a hangnail. Despite her mom’s initial concern over the fact that they had no marriage plans, she was looking forward to bein
g a grandmother. Her dad had started to say something about the risk to her health but her mother shut him up with a stern look and a muttered “It’s not our decision.” When her dad had suggested Liam join him in the den while she helped her mom load the dishwasher she’d wanted to throw herself into the doorway to block their exit. And her objection wasn’t solely because of her dad’s sexist attitude toward chores. If she wanted to know something, she needed to ask. “What did my father say to you when you two went into the den?”
“Oh, you know...” He shrugged. “The usual guy talk.”
She rubbed her chest. Had he already put her back into the one of the guys category? “You forget, I’m a woman.” She managed a small laugh. “What’s the usual guy talk?”
He took his eyes off the road to give her an assessing glance. “Whether or not the Patriots can go all the way again this year. You okay?”
“Fine.” She glanced at the passing scenery as they drove across town. They might not be in any sort of committed relationship, but having a baby together was pretty important. Important enough to share things. “So you’re going to tell me that you and my dad went into the den to talk about football?”
He blew out his breath. “It’s all in the subtext.”
Okay, so maybe they did talk sports. “So my dad didn’t come right out and threaten your manhood?”
“Don’t go there. Please.” Liam winced and glanced down at his lap.
“Sorry,” she said, and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
“No, you’re not.” He huffed out his breath. “Your dad was subtle. He didn’t drag out a shotgun to polish or anything like that. He did, however, stress that it was important for me to be an involved father and that included financial support. I assured him I’d do my share.”
“My mother said maybe we should have started out a little slower, like maybe getting a dog first...see how that worked out.” Her mother had been torn between rejoicing at having a grandchild and being concerned over her still-single status.
Liam chuckled. “There’s still time...to get a dog, that is. I could check with Riley. I know he researched the one he got for Fiona so it wouldn’t aggravate Meg’s asthma.”
“Yeah, Meg said he was careful before getting it.”
“And then he went and spoiled it by letting Fiona name it Mangy.”
She choked out a sob of half laughter. “How would we take care of it? With both our jobs, we—” She shifted in her seat. “Oh, God, Liam, how can we be parents if we can’t even take care of a dog?”
He pulled into the driveway that led to her rental apartment, but didn’t go all the way up to the place. Putting the car into Park, he grabbed her hand and gave it a supportive squeeze. “First of all, we don’t have a dog, so quit worrying about a hypothetical situation. You’re going to be a great mom. And we have plenty of time to work out the logistics.”
“I’m going to be a single mother. Who knows if I’m going to be able to finish everything for my NP certification? That means I can’t give up my current job.” She hated that she sounded as if she were whining. Her job, while sometimes stressful, was something she enjoyed and it paid enough to support her and a baby; she had it a lot better than most. Plus Liam said he would be stepping up and she knew he was a man of his word. Poor Meg had had to do the single-mother thing for years before Riley came back into her life. Ellie knew Liam had done what he could to help Meg, but she’d still been alone at the end of the day.
“No one is asking you to give up your career goals. We’ll work out our schedules.”
She opened her mouth to ask how he could be so cavalier, but shut it without saying anything. He was being supportive and didn’t need her finding fault. “You’re right.”
“What did you say?”
She huffed out a sigh. “I said you’re right.”
“Can I get that in writing?”
“Don’t push it.”
He laughed and squeezed her hand once more before letting go and driving the rest of the way to her place.
The motion-sensitive lights came on as they approached the three-car garage.
“Do you park in the garage?” Liam asked.
“I haven’t been, because there’s no inside access to the apartment. Of course, I may rethink that in the middle of winter if the owner of the main house still hasn’t moved in.”
Liam parked her Subaru and she led the way up the exterior stairs located on one side of the garage and unlocked the door. Her place was perfect for a single woman. But where would she put all the paraphernalia needed for a baby? Even a high chair would be a tight fit for the kitchen.
The thump of a duffel bag hitting the floor interrupted her thoughts, and hands came to rest on her shoulders as if he’d been able to follow her silent thoughts. She leaned back into Liam’s warmth and strength.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said as his fingers massaged the kinks caused by the day’s tension.
She tilted her head back and stared up at him. He had the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow. He’d let his facial hair grow out a bit on his four-day rotation, but he would have to be clean-shaven when he went back on duty to allow the secure suction his respirator needed. She knew so many things about him and yet they now felt like mere details. “How come I’m the one freaking out and you’re the voice of reason?”
His arms went around her and he leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Just abiding by the rules.”
“Rules?” She turned in the shelter of his arms. It felt so good to be there, to lean her head against his chest and listen to his steady heartbeat.
“I’ve decided only one of us is allowed to freak out at a time. I’m counting on you to be the voice of reason when I panic.” He gave her a quick squeeze. “Whaddaya say? Deal?”
She hugged him but quickly stepped back, making sure the contact didn’t last too long. Like ripping off a bandage. She didn’t want him to think she was throwing herself at him—even if that was what she wanted to do. “Deal.”
Chapter Eleven
Liam stooped to pick up his duffel from the kitchen floor. Ellie’s message was clear that she’d put him back in the no-sex friend zone. But that was good...wasn’t it? Friendship was what he’d been telling himself he wanted. Anything more than that meant opening up, making himself vulnerable, which he was pretty sure Ellie would demand, and he was just as sure he would refuse. How could he tell her his concerns about the threat of being left a single parent if the cancer returned? He’d look like a selfish chump saying something like that. Shaking his head at the thoughts dancing around in his head, he followed her into her living area.
Her apartment, around six hundred square feet, was half the size of his place. He remembered all the stuff his sister had needed for Fiona; there’d been baby gear everywhere in the traditional Cape Cod–style house he’d been sharing with his dad and sister. After his ma had been diagnosed, he’d moved back to his childhood home, ostensibly to help, but frankly he’d welcomed being closer to his family during that time. He’d bought his three-decker after his mother’s death, hoping Meg would join him, but she’d insisted on moving to the family’s vacation home in Loon Lake.
He glanced around. Where would Ellie put all the baby stuff? Ellie was compulsively neat and organized, even keeping her possessions to a minimum in the apartment to avoid clutter.
“Are you going to have enough room here?” If she intended to move, he and Riley could help, maybe even scrounge up a few other guys. She didn’t need to be lifting things in her condition.
“You’ve stayed over before. It was never a—”
“No, I meant after the...” He swallowed. “After the baby comes.”
“I told you already, I’m not moving into your upstairs apartment.” She opened the linen closet next to the bathroom in the short hall leading to the bedroom.
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“That’s not why I said it.” That was still his idea of the best scenario but he wasn’t going to argue with her tonight. She looked tired and his conscience pricked him. Rest was what she needed. “If you decide to move to somewhere else in Loon Lake, Riley and I can help. I’m sure we can find plenty of people willing to do the heavy lifting for you.”
She stepped back from the open closet, a stack of sheets and a blanket in her arms. “Right now, I’m not sure I have the energy to pack and move.”
He lifted the bedding from her arms. Would the fact that she’d had cancer make a difference to the pregnancy? Could all that she’d gone through have an impact on her ability carry the baby safely to term? “Is that normal? Should we go to the doctor to be sure?”
“Fatigue is perfectly normal in the beginning.”
“Like the throwing up?” He crushed the sheets in his grip.
“Yeah, I’m afraid that is, too.” She frowned and snatched one of the sheets from his grasp. “Hopefully, both will improve in about a month. I understand the second trimester is actually rather pleasant. Don’t you remember any of this from your sister?”
“Like I said, she was good at hiding it the first time and I didn’t live with her the second time around.” Or he was just that good at ignoring the obvious.
“Given the circumstances for her first pregnancy, I guess that makes sense.” She reached for the sheet in his arms and began to put it on the couch. He set the rest of the bedding on the coffee table and began to help her.
“So you were serious when you said I had to sleep on the couch.” He raised his eyebrows as he tucked the sheet between the cushions and the back of the couch.
“You can always sleep at your sister’s, if she’ll have you.” Ellie slipped a pillowcase over the pillow.
Okay, she put him in his place. But hey, a guy could try. “I think it would get a little crowded.”
“Crowded? I thought that’s what the new addition was for.” She punched the pillow.
He winced as he watched her treatment of his pillow. “I was thinking crowded more in terms of people and dog, rather than space.”
His Unexpected Twins Page 12
