Did Reed actually know what he was doing there? He knew for sure that he missed Camryn with an ache that wouldn’t go away, and he needed desperately to tell her that. He was hopelessly in love with Camryn—with his memories of her, his thoughts of a future with her, his romantic dreams of a life with her. Yes, Reed knew why he was going to Charleston, and it was to try to win Camryn back.
He longed to have her back in his life if she would have him. Even more, he wanted her to be his life, with her two kids, dozens of chickens and overprotective nature. Reed didn’t want to add any stress to Cam’s situation, but he had to tell her how sorry he was for his reaction when she told him she was pregnant. He had to make it up to her. He had to convince her that four children between them didn’t scare him nearly as much as being without her did.
So Reed pushed aside any lingering negative thoughts, made his plans and packed some clothes and video games for his kids. Hopefully, in a few hours Camryn would be making plans to leave Charleston.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
BY SEVEN O’CLOCK Friday night Camryn was sitting in her four-poster bed in a room with lavender-flowered wallpaper surrounding her and looking down at the baby sleeping in her arms. This room was so comforting and reminiscent of happy days from Camryn’s childhood, but still something was missing, something even this new little angel couldn’t fill.
Her mother opened the door and stepped into the room. “There’s someone here to see you, dear. I told him that you weren’t really up for visitors, and since I didn’t know him...”
Him? Camryn’s heart tightened in her chest. “Who is it, Mama?”
“He says his name is Reed Something-or-other. And he has two boys with him, both of whom immediately ran into the backyard with Esther, and that large, ungainly dog you brought at Christmas, who for the moment is in the backyard also.”
Camryn’s arms trembled so violently she thought she would wake the baby, but thank goodness Grace slept right through the excitement coursing through Cam’s body. She squinted her eyes and imagined Reed in her mother’s formal living room. She dared not open her eyes for fear her mother would see her tears.
“I’d like to see him, Mama,” she said. “Please send him up.”
“We don’t know him, Cammie. Your father and I can’t just send a stranger up the stairs to your room.”
Bless her mother’s heart. She said the word “stranger” with that combination of Southern charm and serious caution. “It’s okay, Mama. I’ve told you about Reed. He’s my neighbor from Bufflehead Creek and my very good friend. Esther called him yesterday to tell him about Grace being born.”
Linda Montgomery nodded. “Oh, yes, you did mention this man. Well, all right, then. I’ll allow him to visit for a few minutes. But Camryn, if the children bring that dog inside the house, I’ll have to insist they put him in the garage. He doesn’t appear too tidy.”
Camryn opened her eyes and wiped the moisture from her lashes. “The dog is Esther’s pet, Mama. He’s part of our family, but I’ll tell Esther to clean him up a bit.”
Linda shook her head and turned toward the door. “Well, okay, I’ll send Reed up. Do you need a few minutes to ready yourself?”
Camryn grinned. Another Southern characteristic. A woman always needed a few minutes to “ready herself” for a caller. “I look okay, don’t I, Mama?”
“Truly, Cammie, you look beautiful,” her mother said.
If Linda only knew. This particular gentleman had seen her daughter in all states of grime, including wearing clothes covered with chicken poop. At least today she’d had a shower, and she and Grace were appropriately dressed in new night clothes.
Linda left the room, and Camryn counted the seconds until she heard heavy footsteps on the solid walnut staircase. The sounds of the steps ended as Reed walked across her mother’s heavily carpeted hallway. He walked into her room, smiled, and said, “Nice place you’ve got here.”
Camryn figured he’d been uncomfortable around her family’s nineteenth-century antiques. Even the house, a classic example of pre–Civil War architecture, was enough to take any person’s breath away.
“The Battery is only two blocks away,” he added, impressed by the home’s storied address.
Camryn smiled. “My parents bought the place forty years ago, when the house still looked like the Yankees had marched right through the middle of it. But my mother had a vision for the place, and the price was right, before people went a little nuts to acquire Charleston property. They’ve put a lot of work into it.”
He walked over to her bed. “It lacks some of the contemporary appeal of my early-twenty-first-century two-bedroom modular, but it will do in a pinch.”
He leaned over the side of the bed. “So this is Grace. Well done, Mommy. She’s a beauty, and looks just like you.”
“Thank you.”
“I’d ask to hold her, but I’m scared out of my wits. If she were a newborn foal or a calf, I wouldn’t have any qualms at all, but she’s so...human, in a tiny, delicate sort of way.”
Camryn explained that the baby was healthy though only a few ounces over six pounds.
“I don’t even remember when my sons were that little. But I guess I wasn’t around all that often.”
“You missed a precious time, then,” Camryn said. The look of regret she saw in his eyes told her that he agreed.
“So how are you doing?” he asked. “You look, well, beautiful and happy. Maybe a little tired. Did the birth go off without a hitch?”
“Mostly. I started labor in this room, my sister rushed me to the hospital and, five hours later, I met Grace. She was more than two weeks early. I have a hunch she’s going to be just like Brooke, never content to wait her turn.”
As if she’d heard her name, Brooke burst into the room. Apparently not taking into account that her sister had company, she blurted out, “So, did your creep of an ex show up to see his daughter yet?”
She stopped suddenly, stared at Reed and mumbled an apology.
“No, he didn’t,” Camryn said. “He’s stopping by on Sunday.”
“Isn’t that nice? Hopefully before Gracie is in toddler clothes.”
“Brooke...”
“Sorry. Mama always says we shouldn’t show our family’s underbelly to guests.” She grinned at Reed. “Guess I don’t consider you a guest, Doc.”
“How are you, Brooke?”
“I’m fine now. But you’re lucky you didn’t see me yesterday when I was driving Cammie to the hospital and her contractions were already five minutes apart. I thought I was going to be delivering a baby.”
“I’m sure you would have done great,” Reed said.
“Why are you here, Doc? Curious to get a peek at the second most beautiful baby ever born?”
“Something like that,” he said, giving Cam a warm smile.
Brooke smiled at her sister. “Did I interrupt anything?”
“No. I’m just basking in Reed’s compliments about Grace.”
“Did you know that galumpy dog of yours is running around outside?” Brooke asked. “Mama’s watching the back door like a hawk. She wants to divert Rooster into the garage before the kids invite him in for cookies and ice cream.”
Camryn gave Reed a questioning stare. “Is he really okay, Reed? We’ve been so worried about Rooster.”
“He’s fine, but he does need a good grooming. I haven’t been able to spruce him up since he had so many stitches. But a bath is in his near future.”
“I think I’ll go down and let Rooster know I’m on his side,” Brooke said. “You guys need anything, just let me know.”
Brooke left the room, and Reed pulled a chair up close to Camryn’s bed. “Are you still on bed rest?” he asked.
“No. I can do almost anything now, but Mama remembers the way birthing was in her time, and the mother always took ad
vantage of her ‘ordeal’ as Mama calls it and took to bed for at least a couple of days. Maybe now that you’re here, she’ll let me rejoin society.”
“Is that what you want, Cam? To rejoin Charleston society?”
“Heavens, no, Reed. I’m sure Charleston society has totally forgotten about me. I wasn’t very successful at playing my role when I was married to a corporate ladder climber.”
Reed took her hand and held it in both of his. “I can guarantee you that you haven’t been forgotten in Bufflehead Creek,” he said. “I’ve delivered a few dozens of your eggs to the diners in town, and all I hear for my efforts is, ‘When is Camryn coming back?’”
“It’s nice to be missed.”
He held her hand against his cheek. “Oh, you are, more than you know.”
“But apparently not by Grace’s father. I guess you heard that he hasn’t even stopped to see his new daughter.”
“I’m so sorry, Cam. I wasn’t the world’s greatest dad, but that is unforgivable.”
“It’s okay. In a way I’m glad Mark hasn’t shown up. He’s only seen Essie four times since we’ve been here, and truthfully she doesn’t seem to miss him.”
“Hey, Dad!” The call came from the hallway.
“What is it, Justin?”
“Can we bring the pictures in now?”
“Sure. Bring them in.”
“What pictures are you talking about?”
Reed placed Camryn’s hand back on the bed. “You’ll see soon enough.”
The boys and Esther came into the room. Phillip and Justin took a few tentative steps toward the baby and then held back. “So that’s her,” Phillip said.
“Say hello to Grace, boys,” Camryn said. “And come closer so I can give you a hug.”
They accepted Camryn’s hug and mumbled greetings to the baby, which Grace slept blissfully through.
Justin thrust some papers into his father’s hand. “Here, Dad. Show her how cool it looks.”
“What looks cool?” Camryn asked.
She took the papers and gasped in surprise. “This is my chicken coop!”
Justin grinned. “Yep. All fixed up. Except some photos are of the coop before we started our work. We wanted you to see the difference.”
“Isn’t it cool?” Esther said. “Justin and Phillip did practically all the work themselves.”
Camryn gave Reed a knowing glance as she flipped through the pages. “Oh, my gosh. It’s beautiful. Are you telling me that you guys did all this?”
“We did,” Phillip said. “Took us a bunch of weekends, too!”
For the second time in just a few minutes, tears filled Camryn’s eyes. “You know what? I love you guys.”
Reed stood. “Okay, kiddos, that’s your cue to leave. Go play with Rooster in the garage.”
The boys started to leave, but Justin stopped and turned back to Camryn. “We like Rooster. We don’t want to give him up.”
Esther’s mouth dropped open. “Justin, you can’t have my dog!”
“Not now, Justin,” Reed said. “We’ll talk about this later. Rooster is not your dog, remember? Not yet anyway.”
“But you said, ‘not yet.’ What does that mean?”
“Go on, all of you. I’ve got to talk to Camryn.”
When they were alone, Camryn stared up at Reed. “Yeah, what did you mean by that?”
“We’ve become awfully fond of that dog,” Reed said.
She smiled. “He is a great dog, but Esther and I are very fond of him, too.”
“That’s kind of a problem, Camryn.”
Camryn held the pictures up for Grace to see. “This is our chicken coop, sweetie,” she said. “And Rooster is our dog. You’ll have to meet him later.” She finished the statement with a coy look at Reed.
“Don’t you think we could share Rooster?” he asked.
“That sounds plausible, but I don’t even know yet where Rooster will be living.”
Reed grinned. “Oh, I’ve got that all figured out already.”
“You do?”
“He’s going to live in a little farmhouse on Cottontail Farm.”
“But Reed, I don’t know...”
“I do,” Reed said. “I wish you’d come back to Bufflehead Creek, Camryn. You and Rooster and Esther and Grace.” He leaned closer to her on the bed and gently touched Grace’s face. “I’ve had more than two months to experience life without you, and I’ve decided I don’t like it. I miss our coffees together in the mornings. I miss sharing chores and checking up on what the other is doing. I miss talking about our kids and deciding who’s doing what right.”
Suddenly Camryn had the craziest notion that what Reed was describing was what she’d dreamed about. Her heart started playing a crazy rhythm. She smiled. “You want me to move back to the farm so you can have coffee and share a dog?”
“That’s oversimplifying the situation, Cam. I want you to move back to me. And here’s where it gets complicated.”
She held her breath, imagining what he would say next.
“We each have a house, but neither one is big enough for all six of us. So I figure we’ve got to maintain both households for a while until we can start building something more permanent on our property. If we don’t do that, maybe we can put the kids in one house and you and I in the other. They can call if they need us.”
She stared at him a long moment. The light in his eyes gave him away. “Oh, that would be great,” she said.
“Right. Like you would live like that for even two minutes. But here’s the thing, Cam. I want it all. You, at least four kids, one shaggy dog, a bunch of chickens and every sick turtle and bird with a wounded wing in the low country. And I don’t think I can settle for anything less.”
Camryn decided that caution was the last feeling she should follow at this moment. He had presented her with a dare, and she was more than willing to accept it. “Reed Bolden, is this a marriage proposal?”
“I guess it is. Give me that baby, would you?”
“I thought you were afraid to hold her.”
“I just proposed to you, Cam. What could be more frightening than that?”
He took Grace and gently laid her beside her mother. “Now if it’s okay with you, I’d like to give you a two-month-overdue kiss to seal the deal, or at least persuade you to think about it.”
“I’m already thinking about it.”
He leaned over her, cradled her face in his two hands and kissed her. Gently, then more ungently, then with a passion that seemed to guarantee their future together. When he drew back, Camryn struggled to catch her breath. All of Reed’s kisses had been wonderful, but this one, the one that held such promise, she felt all the way to her curled toes.
“When can we go home?” she asked.
“As soon as you’re ready, sweetheart. But first I’ve got to hold that baby until she feels almost as comfortable with me as she does with you. If I’m going to be any manner of daddy to little Grace, then we’ve got to get to know each other inside out.”
He picked up the baby, cradled her in his arms. She squirmed, opened her eyes and gave him a face. “I think she’s got gas,” he said.
“No, that’s a smile,” Camryn said. “She’s already very advanced for her age, and like her auntie Brooke, she appreciates a handsome man. And she definitely knows a good deal when she hears one.”
* * *
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Snowed in with the Single Dad
by Melinda Curtis
PROLOGUE
ONCE UPON A TIME, there were two little redheaded girls. Identical twins who lived in Hollywood, were best friends and wore princess dresses whenever they could get away with it.
Their parents were Hollywood royalty—a studio head and a talent agent. Said parents traveled, a lot. They entertained, a lot. But they also fought, a lot, which upset the girls.
Laurel was a girlie girl, in love with shoes and fabrics, hairstyles and makeup, peace and quiet. From an early age, she devoured fashion magazines and red-carpet shows. She begged the family maid to teach her how to sew, imagining a future where she created pretty dresses for celebrities. Making smooth, even stitches became a welcome escape from the household’s chaos. But sometimes, there was no escape.
Baby Makes Four Page 22
