“No worries. We’ll take the boys for pizza.”
“Are you sure? I can ask someone else.”
“No, really. No problem at all. We were probably just going to go to Joey’s anyway,” Bailey said, taking a seat on the bleacher. Ethan glanced toward them and she waved. His face lit up and he didn’t notice a stray soccer ball fly past him, barely missing the side of his head.
“Okay, thanks, Bailey.” Melody jumped down from the stands and waved at her boys as she rushed off to her minivan parked in the school parking lot.
Bailey couldn’t keep her eyes off Ethan for the rest of the game. He was a wonderful coach and the boys loved him. He was a terrific uncle to David and Joshua and Bailey knew how much the boys looked up to both their uncles now that their father was gone. She didn’t doubt for a second that Ethan would make a great father himself one day. One thing at a time. It had only taken twenty years for him to realize she could be more than just a friend—a baby and marriage could be a long time coming.
She didn’t care. She wasn’t in a rush. She wanted those things in time and definitely with him, but she was happy living in the moment, enjoying their newfound love for one another.
When the game ended, she slowly made her way to the field, where Ethan was collecting the soccer balls from the boys and putting them in the oversize equipment bag. David and Joshua sat on the grass nearby, changing out of their cleats and into their regular running shoes. “Hey, Aunt Bailey,” Joshua said, and the two collapsed into a fit of giggles.
Bailey hid a smile, shooting an expectant, teasing look at Ethan.
“Whoa, slow down there, boys. One thing at a time,” he said, tossing their cleats into the bag, then approaching Bailey. “Though that’s not a half-bad idea,” he whispered, kissing her cheek.
Did he mean that? Only moments before she’d had to stop herself from getting too far ahead. Composing her features, she decided to see who would cave first. “Well, I do already have a dress.”
He hesitated just a beat before saying, “And I know a wedding singer.”
She struggled to find a quick comeback but the serious look in his dark eyes stole all her best retorts. Suddenly, she realized she’d be okay with it if he was serious. Thrilled, in fact. “I’m starving. You guys ready for pizza?” she asked, turning her attention to the boys.
“Yay!” they said in unison, each grabbing one of her hands as they made their way across the field.
“Hey, what about me?” Ethan called after them.
“Sure, you can come, too—you’re paying.” Bailey tossed the words back over one shoulder as she raced the boys to Ethan’s Jeep.
* * *
ETHAN HELD HER hand tightly in his as he pulled into the lot of Bailey’s shop much later that evening. After pizza, they’d taken the boys to the new Disney movie playing at the Cineplex. The babysitter had a pretty easy evening, as the boys had immediately fallen asleep in the back of the Jeep after the late showing and Ethan had carried them into the house and put them to bed.
“Are you sure you have to go?” he asked now.
Bailey suppressed a yawn. “I don’t want to, but...”
“No buts...just say you’ll stay,” Ethan said through a big yawn of his own.
“You’re exhausted, too.”
“Sleep is overrated. Besides, the moment my head hits the pillow, I’ll be wide-awake thinking about you anyway. We may as well be together.”
“While it’s hard to argue that logic, you need to work tomorrow morning.... Actually, in four hours.”
He leaned closer and pulled her into his chest. “What about you? Don’t you have to work?”
Bailey snuggled closer and closed her eyes. “Nah, I own the place. Didn’t you see the sign? It says Bailey’s Place.”
“I did see the sign.... It looks great. Who knew Nick had that talent, huh?” Ethan’s words were slightly muffled as he burrowed his face in her hair.
“Yeah, who knew?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Why didn’t you tell me before? About how you felt?”
“I couldn’t. You had Emily.” She wrapped her hand around his on her waist and drew tiny circles along his palm.
“But all along you knew this...this fantastic connection between us was possible?”
“I knew how I felt and I knew I could make you happy given a chance.”
He turned her in his arms, staring into her eyes. The only light illuminating the dark between them was the glow of the full moon through the windshield. “You are so beautiful. I’m so sorry we wasted all this time.” He kissed her lips gently.
“Time with you was never wasted. I wouldn’t have traded our friendship for anything,” she whispered, snuggling closer to him.
“Except maybe this?” he teased.
“Except maybe this,” she agreed.
* * *
ETHAN SPILLED HIS coffee as he abruptly pulled his Jeep into his driveway behind the fire hall the next morning, fifteen minutes late for his shift. Who knew he could sleep sitting up in his car, with Bailey slumped against him. Not only had he slept, it had been one of the best night’s sleeps he’d had in a long time. He jumped down from the Jeep and entered the hall through the side door, heading straight for the locker room to shower and get into uniform.
“You’re late.”
His brother’s voice made him stop.
“First time in over a decade,” Ethan said. “I think we can let it slide.” He took a gulp of his coffee under Jim’s scrutinizing gaze. Of all the days for his brother to actually be on time for a shift. He hated the fact it was Jim catching him sneaking in late.
“Hmm... Soccer uniform, your Jeep wasn’t parked in its stall last night.... If I were a betting man, I’d say you were with our pretty little mechanic all night.”
“We fell asleep in the shop parking lot.” Ethan hated to admit as much to his brother, knowing he was bound to take a ribbing, but it was better than any other rumor flying around.
“Couldn’t say good-night, huh?” To Ethan’s surprise, Jim didn’t tease. In fact, he looked a little envious. “I remember those days.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“Yeah, man. Believe it or not, I’m really happy for you two.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see how perfect Bailey is before.” Ethan headed into the locker room.
“Emily always did cast a pretty big shadow...and she knew how to get what she wanted.”
“Well, those days are over.” He was sure of it now. What he had shared with Emily had been great in the beginning, but over time, with separate life goals, they’d drifted apart. He’d been desperately clinging to something that didn’t exist anymore. With Bailey, things were different. They already had a foundation of friendship, trust and common aspirations to build upon. And now this unexpected passion and attraction he couldn’t deny, and didn’t want to, was turning a wonderful lifelong friendship into something more. He was excited to see where they were heading.
“You sure about that?”
“Absolutely.”
* * *
ETHAN STOOD ON the deck of the Sheppards’ family cabin on Wednesday evening, overlooking the sandy artificial beach that served as the backyard. A half hour outside of town, the cabin was the perfect summer getaway. Family and friends were enjoying the boat and Sea-Doos on the still lake, and around the fire pit near the water the kids roasted marshmallows and hot dogs over the flames under Nick’s supervision.
Several feet away, Bailey and her brother Jordan played the final round of the family’s annual horseshoe tournament and Ethan couldn’t tear his eyes away from her smiling face.
Brandon joined him on the deck and handed him an open beer bottle. “She took me out of the tournament the first round,” he said.
>
Ethan accepted the beer and took a swig. “Thanks.”
Bailey tossed her last horseshoe, landing herself a ringer and once again the Sheppards’ homemade trophy, which had sat on her mantel all year. She threw her arms up in the air and her tanned bare feet did a victory dance on the sand.
“That girl is good at everything,” Brandon said with a shake of his head. “Drives me absolutely crazy.”
Ethan studied the bottle in his hands. “I love that about her.” It was true. He loved that Bailey was a challenge and played to win. If it hadn’t been for her going after what she wanted, he may never have realized how great they were together. In a little over a week, his feelings for her had changed so drastically he had a hard time remembering they hadn’t always been together like this.
“Listen, Ethan, you’re a great guy,” Brandon started.
Here it was. The concerned-brother speech he’d been expecting. He owed Jim twenty bucks, though—he’d totally bet that Jordan would have been the first to approach him with the “hurt my sister and I’ll snap you in two” speech.
“But Bailey has had enough to deal with lately with the garage and the insurance claim, and I know that wedding is stressing her out more than she’s letting on.”
“I think so, too,” Ethan agreed.
“We just don’t want to see her get hurt, you know.”
“That’s the last thing I want.” Ethan took another gulp of his beer. Hurting Bailey was what he’d been worried about, the reason he’d held back as long as he had after that first kiss. But now he knew for sure what he wanted, and it was her. “Brandon, I promise you, you and your family have nothing to worry about.”
“Good to hear.” Brandon patted him on the back as Bailey approached on the deck.
“Did you see that?” Her smile was wide as she displayed the family’s homemade trophy—a golden horseshoe on a wooden plaque. “They even had my name preengraved this year.”
“Yes, we did see. Some people couldn’t tear their eyes away,” Brandon said. “See you two later.” He disappeared inside just as the dark storm clouds that had threatened all day gave way to a full downpour of rain.
Grabbing her hand, Ethan pulled Bailey under the shelter of the overhang, but the big raindrops continued to soak them. Removing his plaid shirt, he wrapped it around her bare wet shoulders. “Want to get out of here?”
“Yes.”
CHAPTER NINE
FROM HER WINDOW seat in the fourth aisle of the crowded plane from Miami, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey, Emily Parsons watched as a young woman made her way down the aisle toward the two vacant seats next to her. A baby was strapped to her chest in a Snugli and she clutched the hand of a young toddler. Emily moved closer to the window and picked up her copy of Elle magazine from the middle seat as the woman dropped her carry-on bag onto the end seat and guided the child into the row. She offered a quick, sympathetic smile in greeting as she secured the young boy’s seat belt.
“Looks like you’re the lucky one who gets to experience these two on their first flight. I apologize in advance.”
The little boy eyed Emily with interest as he kicked his feet free of his tiny flip-flop sandals. They actually made shoes that small? Incredible. She shook her head, bending to tuck them under the seat in front of him. The simple gesture took more out of her than she’d expected and she rested her head against the seat.
“It’s perfectly fine. No worries at all,” she assured the woman. She watched as the mother unhooked the Snugli from around her neck with one hand while securing the sleeping baby to her with the other. Emily looked down the aisle as the flight attendant closed the doors. “You’re flying with the two of them alone?”
Brave woman. Emily hated to fly alone. The stress of arriving on time for the flight, passing through the security checkpoint and the possibility of missing connecting flights made traveling less than ideal for her. On the way to Miami, she’d at least been with Greg. The mere thought of him made her eyes water and she forced away a feeling of emptiness.
“I do everything alone with them,” the woman answered, opening her oversize purse—or maybe it was a diaper bag—to remove a package of chocolate-chip cookies for the boy, who was flipping through the stations of the entertainment system.
“Oh.” Emily turned her attention to the magazine on her lap, which she’d already read cover to cover, having arrived two hours early for the flight.
“My husband is overseas. He’s a marine,” the woman continued.
“That must be tough. How long is he gone?” She’d always marveled at military couples. Their relationships went through such struggles of distance and uncertainty. It wasn’t a lifestyle she could ever handle. Ethan’s job as a firefighter in sleepy Brookhollow had caused her stress enough. For years she’d begged him to consider a different career, but he’d insisted that firefighting was the only thing he was passionate about. Would he reconsider now?
The woman interrupted her thoughts with the answer to the question she’d forgotten she’d asked. “Usually six months at a time. Though he promises that this is the last one. Then he’s getting a desk job that I know he will hate.” A concerned frown wrinkled her forehead.
“I’m sure it will be worth it to be closer to his family.”
“That’s what he says.” The baby stirred and yawned in her sleep before tucking her tiny fists under her chin and cuddling closer to her mother.
Emily stared at the precious child. So tiny, so beautiful, so...terrifying. Her hand almost unconsciously flew to her stomach and she shifted in the seat as the plane began to taxi away from the gate. She hated this part. Once they were in the air she was fine, until they had to land. Then her nerves shattered again. She wished it hadn’t come to this, but if Ethan refused to acknowledge her attempts to contact him, she didn’t see that she had a choice. He couldn’t ignore what was standing right in front of him.
The woman smiled. “So how far along are you?” she asked, nodding toward Emily’s stomach.
Emily’s eyes widened. “You can tell?” She’d hoped her oversize blouse and leggings would hide her slowly developing baby bump. No one in the office at Play Hard Sports had noticed yet. At least, if they had, they hadn’t said anything.
“Barely.” She pointed to the open bag of soda crackers in the compartment behind the seat in front of Emily. “Those were a dead giveaway. I lived on them for the full nine months...with both of the kids.”
The soda crackers. Her lifeline. She couldn’t get through the never-ending waves of nausea without them. “I’m six months.” She wasn’t sure why she’d said it. This woman didn’t know any of her family or friends. Telling her the truth, that she was a little over five months, would have been okay.
“Wow, you’re still very tiny. First baby, right?”
Emily nodded. Hopefully the one and only. She wasn’t even sure how she’d allowed this pregnancy to happen. A career-minded woman, always waiting for her opportunity to leave Brookhollow, she’d assumed she’d never have children of her own. And they certainly hadn’t been in Greg’s life plans.
“Well, if you get sick of crackers, Cheerios help with the nausea, as well.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Emily said. The plane began to pick up speed along the runway and she gripped the arms of the seat, just as the little boy reached for the one between them, as well. “Sorry,” she mumbled, instead clasping her hands together on her lap. As the plane left the ground, she closed her eyes and prayed for a smooth ride even as her stomach began to twist and turn more than normal.
In two hours she’d be back in Brookhollow. The thought made her palms sweat. No one knew she was coming and no one was going to believe why. Five months into her pregnancy, she still didn’t quite believe it. Finding out that she was going to have a baby had turned her life upside down. She hadn’t told
Greg. After all, he was hardly father material. He’d repeated time and again that his career demanded a lot of his time and commitment, and trying to raise a family wouldn’t be the right decision for him. He’d said it was one of the reasons they were perfect together. Had been perfect together.
And now here she was, having a baby by herself. Countless times she’d picked up the phone to call her parents, but she just couldn’t bring herself to tell them that way. But time was growing short and decisions had to be made about her future and the future of the baby. She needed a safety net and she knew where to find one. Ethan was a good man. She could count on him to take care of things.
* * *
“WE ARE NEVER going to get through this movie if you keep pausing it,” Bailey said in mock annoyance as Ethan turned to face her on the couch in his loft apartment.
He leaned toward her and stopped, his lips just inches from hers. “Are you even watching it?” His eyes teased her as he traced a finger along her lower lip.
“Yes,” she lied.
He sat back an inch. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone and let you watch the movie if you can tell me what the main character’s name is.”
Shoot. She tried to remember. John? Jack? “Jake?” she guessed.
“Wrong,” he said, closing the gap between them and kissing her.
She shut her eyes and allowed herself to melt toward him. She still couldn’t believe they were here together like this, the way she’d always wanted. The way she’d always fantasized. Cuddled on his couch, too wrapped up in each other to even care about anything happening around them. She moved closer and slid her arms around his neck.
He rested his forehead against hers. “This feels so good.”
“Kissing me?”
“Yes,” he said with an easy laugh. “But also just being with you, holding you, opening my mind to the possibility of us.”
“So can I tell you ‘I told you so’ now?”
“Yes, baby girl, you can.”
Bailey snuggled closer to his chest, loving the way his big arms made her feel so safe and secure. She could sense the pounding of his heart against her own and she shivered as he placed a trail of kisses along the base of her neck. “Still interested in the movie?” he teased.
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