by Noelle Adams
“Ask me about what?”
She was trapped now. She just had to get it out. “There was a guy at your wedding. I talked to him for a while. I was just… just wondering who he was.”
“Oh really?” Heather looked excited, intrigued. “He caught your eye, did he? Describe him.”
“His first name was Carter.”
Heather’s eyes went so wide they looked like they’d pop out of her head. “Seriously?”
“You know who I’m talking about?”
“With the tattoos?”
“That’s him.”
“I wouldn’t have pictured him as your type.”
“I know. I’m not sure I’m interested in him. But I… We talked. Anyway, I was just wondering about his last name.”
“Carter Hayes.”
Hayes. His last name was Hayes.
“Where is he from?”
“He lives in Norfolk. Right downtown, I think. I’m not exactly sure, but Chris would know.”
“You don’t need to ask Chris.”
Heather looked slightly amused, but she seemed to understand Daisy’s desire to keep it private. “Okay. I won’t tell him.” She went over to lock the door to the apartment. “That will delay him for a minute or two.”
Daisy giggled, but she was too focused on the task at hand to get distracted. “Do you know where he works?”
“Yeah. He owns a garage in downtown Norfolk. Hold on.” She closed her eyes, obviously thinking hard. “I know Hayes is in the name. I’m sure you can find it that way.”
“Okay. Good. Thanks.” That was surely enough information for her to act on.
“So what are you going to do? Show up at his place of work in a sexy outfit?”
“No!” Daisy was blushing again. “Of course not.”
“I can have Chris invite him over here for dinner.”
“No!” She moderated her tone. “I’m sure I can figure it out.”
Heather was about to say something else when a sound came from the front door. Chris was obviously trying to get back in. The doorknob was turning vigorously.
“Hey!” he shouted from the hallway. “What’s going on?”
Lucy ran over to bark at the door since some intruder was obviously trying to get in uninvited.
Chris started pounding on the door. “Heather? What the hell? What did I do? Let me in!”
Heather and Daisy both burst into giggles.
“So, are we good?” Heather asked. “Do you need to know anything else?”
“No. I’ve got enough. Thanks.” She started toward the door. “Now let poor Chris back in.”
Heather opened the door to a confused and outraged Chris, and Daisy slipped away in the chaos.
Tomorrow she was going to have to drive to Norfolk.
She was going to have to talk to Carter.
***
The next day, she went to church in the morning, but after that there was no delaying the inevitable.
She didn’t even go home and change clothes first. She just drove directly from church to Norfolk, which was just about forty-five minutes away.
She’d looked him up the night before and found a Hayes Garage in Norfolk, so she assumed it was his place.
She was actually impressed that he owned his own business. Maybe he was more responsible and grown-up than she’d feared. Maybe he wouldn’t be the worst baby daddy in the world.
She hated downtown Norfolk though. It might not be a huge city, but unlike Preston, it was a real city, with an actual urban downtown area.
There wasn’t much traffic on Sunday, although there was way more than she was used to. But the streets all felt gritty, dirty, filled with strangers. They weren’t bright and cute and familiar like in Preston. She found a parking place on the street, half a block from the address she had on a slip of paper, and as she got out, she smoothed out the pale blue dress she wore.
It felt like she might get dirty just walking down the street.
A couple of grungy men stared at her as she took her first steps.
She blew out a breath. At least she felt okay today. She’d only thrown up once, early that morning.
She checked the address three times before she reached it, but it was obviously the place she was looking for.
It was a two-bay garage, both of them open. An old sign above the door to the office said simply Garage. It didn’t even say Hayes.
She’d vaguely been hoping they’d be closed on a Sunday afternoon and she could turn around and go home.
But someone was definitely here. She heard voices, even before she was able to see into one of the bays.
One of the voices was talking about the hot piece he’d fucked the night before.
Daisy felt sick.
Was that Carter? Surely that wasn’t Carter’s voice.
She peered into the dimness and saw two guys working on a huge motorcycle. The guy talking was facing her.
He wasn’t Carter. He was covered in hair and was kind of gross-looking.
A man who was recognizably Carter, even from the back, was crouched down, facing away from her.
Daisy stared at his lean back in the dirty T-shirt and at the way his worn jeans stretched across the firm curve of his ass.
His arms were very fine and absolutely covered with ink.
The garage looked old, worn down. Not like a business a responsible, grown-up, potential baby daddy would own.
What the heck was she even doing here?
Suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of fear and nausea, Daisy whirled around.
She wasn’t going to do this.
She just wasn’t.
She didn’t belong here. Or anywhere close to it.
She belonged in Preston.
She’d have to think of some other way to let Carter know about the baby.
Maybe she’d just write a note and send it to him through Chris.
All of these panicked reflections rushed through her mind as she started back down the sidewalk toward her car.
She just had to get out of here.
She jerked to a stop when a giant dog stepped out from behind a dumpster, blocking the entire sidewalk.
Daisy liked dogs, but this one looked more like a monster than a dog. It was simply enormous, probably two hundred pounds, with a lot of wrinkled jowls hanging down on its muzzle. And she was already flustered and on edge.
Her heart leapt into her throat, and she instinctively backed away from it, putting a protective hand on her belly without even thinking about it.
She tripped on her feet and almost fell backward, letting out a little cry as her ankle twisted.
“What’s going on?” a voice demanded from behind her.
Carter. Of course.
“Nothing,” she managed to say, straightening up despite the pain in her ankle. At least she’d managed not to fall in an ungainly heap onto the concrete.
“Daisy?” he asked in a different tone, stepping out of the garage and approaching her. “What are you doing here?”
“Nothing,” she said stupidly. She turned back to the monster-dog.
Carter glanced over, and his face relaxed. “You’re not afraid of that teddy bear, are you?”
“Teddy bear? He’s huge!”
“Yeah, but he’s just a teddy bear. He’s a stray who’s been hanging around here. I felt bad so I gave him a little food.”
“You fed the monster?”
“He’s not a monster.” He snapped his fingers, and the dog padded over to him, nuzzling his hand and wagging his thick stump of a tail. “I think he’s part mastiff. Definitely a mutt though.”
Now that she was looking more carefully, she could see that the dog did look friendly. He might be big and ferocious-looking, but he wasn’t really a monster.
“Are you really scared of him?” Carter asked, looking back over her.
Daisy shook her head. “Not if he’s nice.”
“I’m telling you. He’s a teddy bear. Come say hi.”
> She walked over and extended a hand. The dog gave it a sniff, and then his whole body started to wriggle. He panted and seemed to be grinning at her, his long tongue hanging down halfway to the ground, a long stream of slobber following it.
She couldn’t help but smile. What a huge mess of a dog. But at least he seemed friendly.
When she looked up, Carter was watching her closely. “What are you doing here?” he asked softly, his tone serious now. “I thought you didn’t want to talk to me.”
“I didn’t. I mean. I did, but…”
Darn it.
She was swallowed up in nerves again. How the heck was she supposed to tell this man she was going to have his baby?
She opened her mouth, praying something brilliant would come to her as she started to speak.
Unfortunately, it didn’t.
Four
It took a lot to surprise Carter, and Daisy had managed to do it.
Three times and counting.
“Would you like to come inside?” he asked. “My office has some chairs. We can sit and talk.”
She didn’t speak. She only nodded.
It didn’t escape his notice how she was dressed in a crisp, clean dress, and he was pretty much covered in sweat and grease. He almost hated making her walk through the garage, but she looked like she really could use a seat.
His buddy, Kirk, was bent over the bike they had to work on today, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of Daisy, he immediately straightened, his eyes going wide. Carter snarled at him.
“Bobby’s picking that up at four, so you need to get moving on it,” he snapped, doing his best to shield Kirk’s view of Daisy as they walked to the office.
Once inside, he closed the door and immediately offered her something to drink, but she shook her head, and he watched in amusement as she tried to figure out where to sit. It never seemed to matter before, but looking at the room through her eyes, he could see all the surfaces looked dirty. Thinking fast, he walked over to his supply closet and pulled out a brand-new T-shirt and draped it over the seat cushion for her.
“There you go,” he said softly and motioned for her to sit.
Thankfully she did.
He figured she was here for a reason. Maybe she felt bad about blowing him off yesterday, or maybe… Hell, what other reason could there be? Looking at her now, she didn’t really resemble the woman he’d met at the wedding, and it was pretty eye-opening. Seeing her like this, it was obvious that she was way more reserved and more of a good girl then he had let himself imagine.
A good girl who just happened to fuck like a damn porn star.
Pushing that thought immediately aside—again—he waited her out.
One minute became two. Then three. Carter looked at his watch for emphasis and then figured he’d need to prompt her.
“Uh, Daisy? Did you—”
“I’m pregnant!” she blurted out, and then she looked like she was going to be sick.
Oh shit! Maybe she actually was going to be sick. Jumping up, he began to frantically look around for a wastebasket, ginger ale, crackers… What the hell else did pregnant women need?
Taking a steadying breath, he placed his trash can next to her and then turned to sit back behind his desk. He slowly slid into his chair and noticed his hands were shaking and his heart was racing.
Daisy was looking at her hands clasped in her lap, and he figured if he felt this shook up, it was probably nothing compared to how she was feeling.
He knew the day of the wedding—hell, he’d tried to tell her that the condom broke—but she had sprinted out before they could talk about it. And now… here they were.
Shit.
A million thoughts raced through his head. Daisy was pregnant. With his baby. He was going to be a father. Holy shit, did he even want to be a father?
His mind began to race, and he couldn’t help but think of his own father—who had been forced to be a single dad to both Carter and his brother. Even thinking about it now, it still made him angry. His mother had just walked out. She hadn’t wanted them.
He’d always sworn he wouldn’t be that kind of parent.
His father had done what had to be done. Maybe he could too.
But… wait… did fathers ride motorcycles and have tattoos? Was he going to have to sell his business? Did Daisy want to get married? Or was she here to tell him that she didn’t want to have the baby?
Now he felt like he was going to be sick.
“Can I…” He paused and cleared his throat, which currently felt like it had gravel lodged in it. “Can I get you something? Seriously, a Coke, some water? You don’t look so good.”
Looking up, she frowned at him.
“No,” he said quickly. “No, that’s not what I meant.” Dammit, he was screwing this up already. “I meant you look a little pale. I know it’s warm back here and with you being… you know…”
She nodded and let out a long breath. “I thought you had the right to know,” she said quietly. “I just… It was the right thing to do. Telling you.”
“Thank you,” he replied gruffly. “So… what do we need to do?”
“Do?”
“Yeah, do. Do you want me to go to the doctor with you or…” Then he paused. “Wait… you’re planning on keeping the baby, right?”
Her green eyes went wide. “Of course I am!”
Now it was his turn to look surprised. “Uh, not to point out the obvious but… I don’t know anything about you other than you flirt with a bunch of random guys at weddings on a dare and then run off.” He wanted to add a comment about the sex in a back room but figured that wasn’t going to help the strained situation they were already in.
But maybe what he did say wasn’t very helpful either.
Jumping to her feet, she glared down at him. Although down was a slight exaggeration. She wasn’t very tall, and even sitting down they were almost eye level.
“I came here to tell you I’m having a baby. Your baby. There isn’t anything I want or need from you. It was the right thing to let you know.” She stopped and seemed to try to calm down, her hand fluttering a bit over her heart. “And now I have, so… that’s done.”
It didn’t immediately click with Carter that she was leaving until her hand was on the office doorknob. Then he jumped up and was around the desk in the blink of an eye—his hand slamming against the door to stop her from opening it. Neither moved. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he was breathing. But then the floral scent of her shampoo hit him, and he forced himself to relax. It took him a minute to think of something to do and say to convince her to not run.
“Can we please sit and talk,” he said calmly, removing his hand from the door but not moving away in case she still tried to bolt. “I’m sorry if I was rude. I think we’re both a little… shocked by this situation, and we need to take a few minutes to talk like reasonable adults.”
In front of him, she dropped her head.
The creamy skin of her neck was exposed, and even though it was wrong, he wanted to lean down and kiss it.
“Okay,” she said weakly, and he had to remind himself she was agreeing to talk, not to letting him kiss her.
He took a step back and watched as she took her seat again, and he walked around his desk to do the same. Before she could brush him off, he knew he needed to put her mind at ease. “I’m not going to lie to you,” he began. “I’m surprised, but I’m not.”
She looked at him curiously, but he could still see she was apprehensive and would run if given the chance.
“The condom broke, Daisy. I tried telling you, but you were pretty much out the door before my pants were even zipped.”
Her lips parted in an exasperated gasp, and then it looked as if she remembered the moment. The moment when he started to tell her.
Damn, what a mess.
It certainly was.
Then and now.
Then her shoulders slumped and her eyes grew shiny with tears. Damn. He hated to see a woman cry. Es
pecially this woman.
“I… I never do anything like… like what we did,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’m not like that.”
Unable to help himself, he stood and came around the desk and sat beside her, taking one of her hands in his. “I know. I know that, Daisy. I never thought that you did.”
Her eyes met his. “Oh, please. Of course you did. Anyone in your position would have.” The first tears fell, and he wanted to reach out and wipe them away, but his hands were filthy. Hell, he was surprised she was even letting him hold her hand. With her free one, she wiped at her cheeks. “I’m just so confused,” she admitted. “I’m shocked and confused and… and I can’t believe this is happening.”
Neither could he, but he was going to wait and freak out later. Right now he needed to be the calm one. For her.
“Okay,” he began, sounding calm and confident. “Have you gone to the doctor yet?”
She shook her head. “But I’ve taken multiple pregnancy tests. Chloe insisted.”
“Chloe?”
“My friend who I was sitting with at the wedding. She’s my neighbor too. When I told her I thought I was pregnant, she went and bought one of every brand of test.” Then she laughed mirthlessly. “That’s how I spent my night last night.”
He smiled. “I wish you had said something to me yesterday. I hate that you were afraid to and how you had to drive all the way here today and… wait. How did you know where to find me?”
“I asked Heather.”
Shit.
“So… she and Chris know about—”
“Oh… no. No,” she said hurriedly. “They don’t. I didn’t tell them. I certainly wouldn’t tell them before I told you.”
Okay. Now he wouldn’t have to go and kick Chris’s ass for not telling him and preparing him for this visit.
“So what do we do now?” he asked.
“We?” she asked weakly.
“Um, yeah. We. This baby is ours, Daisy. And I know it’s crazy, and we don’t know one another, but I want you to know you can depend on me.”
Pulling her hand free, she stood up. “I really don’t think you need to be… I mean… I can handle this on my own.”
So she was still freaking out. Fine. Time for a different tactic.
“Can I take you out for something to eat?” he asked and had to smile at the confused look on her face.
