“Chance is always buying Zach construction equipment toys. Gave him a whole set of toy machinery for his first birthday. Chance had meticulously painted his company’s logo on the side of each one.”
“He was just showin’ off.” Will might have been pretending to complain, but there was a note of brotherly pride in his voice. Chance was a good artist, particularly with cartoons and caricatures.
A glint of amusement lit Nate’s eyes as he continued. “Will is always giving him cowboy toys. He keeps griping about Chance trying to turn him into a contractor instead of a cowboy. As I recall, all three of us played with cars and trucks when we were kids, but only one of us wound up a builder.”
“So the odds are two to one that Zach will become a cowboy.” When Will grunted, Megan chuckled. She wasn’t sure if he agreed, disagreed, or was merely being obstinate.
“He’ll become whatever he wants to,” said Nate. “Except a lazy bum. Which is what the Big Boss is likely to call me if I don’t get back to work. You comin’ with me, Will?”
“You go on. I’ll be along directly.”
“All right. See you at dinner, Megan. Thanks for the goodies.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll bring you a bag of cookies.”
“Great.” Nate walked down the steps and across the yard, his spurs jingling. Instead of going through the fence, he went to the gate.
“I’m serious about taking you shopping, sugar. Do you feel up to it?”
“Yes.” She had a feeling he was offering more to keep an eye on her. He was worse than a mother hen when it came to fussing over her. Which was nice, actually. “Do you want to go right after dinner?”
“Works for me.” He stood, then surprised her by leaning down and giving her a lingering kiss. “Sweeter than cookies. Though they were mighty good. Thanks.”
A little dazed, she murmured, “You’re welcome.”
“If the cows bother you, say the word, and we’ll move them. See you at noon.”
She watched him saunter across the yard, through the open gate, and up the fence line to his horse. Anticipation spiraled through her. Will was going to spend the afternoon with her, and she was going to pick up a few things for Sweet Baby. Right now, life didn’t get much better than that.
26
Will was like a kid in a toy store, only they hadn’t reached the toy section yet. “This one looks the best.”
He lifted the bright red combination stroller/car seat down to inspect it more thoroughly. “It’s well made. Nice and sturdy.” He checked the info sheet. “It will hold a baby up to thirty pounds or thirty inches. That’s better than most of the others. Sweet Baby could ride around in this thing a long time.”
It was also over three hundred dollars.
“I don’t really need a stroller, only a car seat.” Which would still set her back almost two hundred by the time the sales tax was added, but it was a necessity.
“Of course you need a stroller. A good sturdy one for a while, and maybe one of those umbrella things for later. We used both for Zach when he was little. Sometimes when I took him for a walk, I’d carry him in the backpack, but he liked the big stroller better, and so did I. Made it easier to show him the horses and cows, or trees and flowers.”
He took his little spiral notebook and stubby pencil from his pocket and wrote down the brand and model number.
“Will,” she said softly, “I can’t afford that.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, but something less expensive will do fine.”
“Nope. This one had the best reviews online. Plus you get a better deal if you buy the two together. Don’t sweat it. You concentrate on the little stuff.”
He’d been looking at baby strollers and car seats online? She stared at his back as he walked farther down the aisle.
“Oh, man, this is cool.” He squatted down to look at a big box.
“What did you find now?”
“A swing. See, you can put the kid in the seat, turn on the music, set it to swing, and then you get to relax. Or go bake something.” He read the label. “It has ten different songs, other soothing sounds, and different speeds. It even has a mobile that turns.” He looked up at her with the sweetest smile. “And it’s all pink and girly.”
Out came his notebook. Another notation added.
They walked around the end to the next aisle, and she spotted something she had planned to get. “This I want for sure.”
He stopped beside her, resting his hand at her waist. Anyone walking by would assume they were a happy, expectant couple. The thought brought an ache to her heart. “They call it a bouncer, but it actually vibrates and plays music or rainforest sounds. A young mom in my apartment complex had one, and she said it was great. Babies love it, even newborns. It’s not big, so you can take it with you wherever you are in the house. Or to somebody else’s house. Baby stays happy for a while, and mom’s hands are free to do other things.”
“In it goes.” He pulled a box off the shelf and laid it in the cart.
She started pushing the basket down the aisle, leaving him perusing other gadgets. “I’m going over to look at sleepers.”
“Okay, I’ll find you.”
Fifteen minutes later, he came around the corner with a grin wide enough to swallow a banana sideways. His arms were full of toys, including the promised toddler-sized soccer ball.
“Did you leave anything on the shelf?”
“Sure. I just got anything that looked like fun for a girl up to one year.” He carefully laid the pile in the cart. “I figure Sweet Baby will be a fast learner. There’s a mat thingy to put on the floor. It has arches over it with fun things for her to reach. Also got some rattles.” He rummaged through the pile, pulling out a small package to show her. “Did you know they have ones you can fasten on her feet so they rattle when she kicks?”
“Those are clever. And cute.” Almost as cute as he was. He was so proud of himself.
He put the rattles back and picked up a package of pink flowered and light green cloth blocks. “These have different textures and make crinkly noises.” He dropped the blocks back into the basket. “I figure even girls like balls, so I found a couple she’ll be able to hold pretty soon. And yes, I know she won’t play with the soccer ball until she’s a year old.
“I only got a couple of musical toys. I expect those can get annoying. But this bear won’t.” He handed her a sweet-faced, sleeping bear, wrapped in a soft pink blanket. “It plays sounds from a mother’s womb, so when you put Baby down to sleep, it will be like she’s right with you. If she cries or bumps it, it will play again.”
“That’s amazing. I hadn’t seen it before.” She laid the bear in the cart and hooked her arm around his. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Lovin’ it. What did you find?” He thumbed through the little gowns, sleeper sets, bibs, and burp cloths in the upper shelf of the cart. “You’re going to need a lot more clothes than that.”
“When did you become an expert?”
“After my sister came home with a little baby and up to her neck in the quicksand of depression,” he said quietly. “We all pitched in to take care of Zach and try to rescue Jenna. I know all about rockin’ and singin’ babies to sleep. Dodging flying food and changin’ diapers.”
He slid a package of pink and maroon receiving blankets from a hook and tossed them in the basket. “Don’t you want more sleepers?”
“I have a package of each one that they have for girls or that can be used for both. I’ll look at some garage sales if I need more.”
“You don’t have any dresses or Sunday outfits. There’s some over this way.” He motioned to the right. “And booties. She’s got to have booties.”
They found pretty little dresses—a purple sundress, a light green ruffled one, and a pink and green polka-dotted one with a pink kitten on the front. Will found booties and socks to match all three, which he put in his growing pile.
Watching hi
m pick out tiny lace ruffled socks and colorful booties was so sweet it almost made her cry. “This is enough for now. She’ll outgrow things fast.”
“Are you tired?”
“Getting that way.” Megan rubbed her lower back. “I’ll be fine after I sit down for a few minutes.”
“Then we’ll head for the checkout pretty soon. I saw some benches near there when we came in. If you don’t mind, there’s a couple of other things I’d like you to look at before we leave this part of the store.”
“Okay.” What was he up to now?
He pushed the cart slowly so she could easily walk beside him. Down one aisle and over three more to the baby furniture section. Cribs, bassinets, dressers, changing tables, rocking chairs with padded arms. All the things to make a real nursery, but nothing she could afford.
“Will, I don’t need any of this. I can share my dresser with the baby. And change her on the bed.”
“Hard on your back.”
“I can haul in a rocker from the back porch.” When his eyebrows almost touched each other, she said, “You can carry it in for me. I’m sure I can find a secondhand crib, if not in Callahan Crossing then on eBay.”
He put his arm around her shoulders, holding her against his side. “Megan, I want to do this.”
“Do what? Buy everything from a car seat and stroller to a bedroom set?” She didn’t know why it irritated her. Yes, she did. She could never take all of it with her. Or if somehow she managed to, she’d be reminded of him every time she walked into the baby’s room or pushed her down the street in the stroller or put her in the car seat.
It would be agony.
His hand tightened minutely against her arm. “I figure your Fairy Godmothers will want to get some of it. But I have dibs on the swing. And on the furniture. We don’t have to get anything here, or anything today. We’ll look at some other stores if you feel up to it. Whatever you want, I’ll get.”
He moved around so he could face her, gently resting his hands on her shoulders. “I want to furnish Sweet Baby’s nursery, sugar. I don’t care if the furniture comes from Walmart or Neiman Marcus. The only thing that’s important is that you’re happy with it.”
Glancing away, he seemed to be trying to make up his mind about something. He looked back at her, tenderness filling his eyes and his expression. “Let me do this for you, Megan, and for Sweet Baby. It means a lot to me.”
She couldn’t protect herself emotionally without hurting him. “All right. But I certainly don’t need anything from Nieman’s. Do they even have baby furniture?”
“I don’t know. I was making a point.”
She turned away—mainly because she had the feeling he was about to kiss her—and scanned the furniture. Some of it was nice, but nothing was quite right. “I don’t see anything here that I particularly like.”
“Then we’ll look somewhere else.”
As they walked toward the checkout area, she studied the items in the basket. Amid all those toys, she spotted a nursery monitor he’d sneaked in there somehow. If ever a man was born to have children, it was Will Callahan.
“You’re going to be a good daddy.”
“Yes, I am.” His soft, husky voice washed gently over her, and he put his arm around her, guiding the cart with one hand.
She pointed to all the toys. “But your kids are going to be spoiled rotten.”
“Yes, she will be,” he whispered.
Startled, she looked up at him, and he held her gaze, giving her a glimpse into his heart. Oh, how she longed to love him, to spend her life with him. But wonderful things like that never happened to her. It could never be.
Could it?
They found the perfect furniture set a couple of hours later. She would never have asked for it because it was expensive, but Will noticed how her face lit up when she saw it. The white sleigh style crib would convert into a toddler bed and later to a full bed. There was a matching four-drawer dresser and a changing table with open shelves underneath. The set even came with a wide, two-shelf bookcase.
In the same store, Will found a white glider rocker upholstered in soft white. It had padded arms and a padded footstool. Megan found a nice bassinet there too, which was reasonably priced.
“It looks like a good one,” Will said as he gave it a shake to see how sturdy it was. “But you can get that one if you want.” He nodded toward the most expensive one, which had a tall, elaborate canopy draping over about half of it.
“I like this one best. It’s frilly enough for a little girl, and it will convert to a cradle. I don’t know if I want a cradle,” she said with a little shrug, “but I like having the option. The hood seems like a better idea. A big canopy would just be a West Texas dust catcher.”
“Good point.” He hauled the box off the shelf and laid it on top of the cart since it wouldn’t fit inside. “We can take this with us, and they’ll deliver the rest.”
After the clerk rang up their purchase, Megan was almost as surprised as the girl behind the counter when Will handed her his debit card. A fifteen hundred dollar purchase out of his checking account, and the man didn’t bat an eye.
Maybe a lot of people had that kind of extra cash in the bank, but she’d never had. Yet the Callahans didn’t particularly flaunt their wealth. They had a nice home and drove vehicles that were two or three years old. They dressed nicely for church or other community activities, and she expected if Dub and Sue went to some big cattlemen or oil producers extravaganza in Dallas or Houston, they would dress to the nines. But around the ranch, whether working outdoors or in, they usually wore grubby clothes just like she did.
He helped her into the Cadillac and put the bassinet in the big trunk along with the rest of the items that weren’t being delivered. She’d been pleased that he’d actually let her buy the sleepers and things she’d intended to purchase in the first place.
As they picked up a roasted chicken and some salads at Miller’s Grocery, Megan tried to ignore the whispers because they were shopping together.
She knew some folks still speculated about Will being the father of her baby. And about her being a gold digger who either lured him into sin earlier or was trying to nab the kindhearted man now. Will didn’t pay any attention to any of it. She wished she could do the same.
They went to her house and ate supper in relaxed comfort. Afterward, she rested in the recliner, once again thankful that it had been left behind, and Will put the bassinet together.
He woke her up about an hour later with a light kiss on her forehead. She blinked a couple of times and looked over to see him squatting beside the chair.
“Wake up, sleepyhead. Come see.”
“Okay.” She stretched and yawned before she got out of the chair. She walked down the hall and stepped into the bedroom she planned to use for the nursery. It was empty.
“I put it in your bedroom.” Will leaned over her shoulder. “That’s where you want it, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I expected it to be in here because that’s where you were putting it together.” She continued to the end of the hall to the master bedroom. The bassinet sat along the wall beside the dresser. He’d taken the tags off the bear and laid it inside on the mattress as if it were waiting for a baby to join it. How sweet. “It looks better than the one at the store.”
Standing beside her, he laughed and put his arm around her. “It’s just like it.”
“No, this one is new. The dust ruffle and hood are cleaner. The bear is a nice touch too.”
“I thought so.”
She could practically feel his smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it.”
“I hope you feel the same way after you put the rest of the furniture together.”
Will laughed. “So do I. It’s a good thing a couple of pieces will be delayed a few weeks.” He gently turned her toward the door. “I’d better head on home. I have an early get-up in the morning.”
“Earlier than usual?”
> “No, but five o’clock is early no matter how you look at it.” He followed her into the kitchen.
His cell phone rang before they reached the back door, and he fished it out of the case on his belt. “Hi, Dad.” Megan couldn’t hear what his father was telling him, but Will’s eyes widened in surprise, and he smiled. Big time. “No kiddin’. Yes, sir, that is good news.” He met Megan’s gaze. “I’ll tell her.” He ended the call and put the phone away.
“Tell me what?”
“Josh took up writing while he was in prison and tried his hand at suspense crime novels.”
“He has plenty of experience to draw from, and he was always good at telling tales. I think he embellished them a lot.” She paused, studying his wide grin. “Did he publish something?”
“Yes, ma’am. He must be pretty good because he has a contract with a big New York publisher. He goes by Josh Riley.”
“Riley is his middle name.”
“They’re using his criminal past and prison time as a marketing ploy.”
“Did he make the thief the hero?”
Will laughed. “He did. His second book comes out in August. According to his website—”
“He has a website?” She’d never thought to Google him. “Did Peters get all this from his website?” If so, her cousin could be selling nonexistent books to unsuspecting readers.
“No. I don’t know where Peters got the lead, but he checked the publisher’s website and found Josh’s books online. He even picked one up at Hastings. He’d only read the first chapter, but he said it was good. According to Josh’s website, he has a contract for another series.”
“Don’t tell me, this one is about a burglar.” Josh had turned his life around. Amazing. She was happy for him.
“That’s right. The next series he’s planning is about . . . wait for it . . .” She grinned as he flung out his arm like the ringmaster at a circus announcing the acrobats in the third ring.
“Safecracking,” they said in unison and burst into laughter.
“But he failed at that.” Megan leaned against the counter. “He must have found his expert while he was in the calaboose.”
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