by Stella
“Of course I do.”
I wanted to believe her—hell, if she were lying, then she deserved an Oscar for her performance. But I was hesitant to let down my guard, knowing that anytime I did, I usually paid a heavy price. And when it came to Katie, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to afford it. “Then why did you give up on the will?”
I couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like a wispy laugh escaped her lips. “I can’t do anything more without the power of attorney and a copy of the will.”
“I took care of all that over a week ago. The lawyer should’ve called you to let you know that both documents were ready for you to pick up.”
Her brows knitted slightly before recognition hit her. “Oh…I’ve ignored all calls from a number I didn’t know, and I stopped listening to the messages after day one. Shit. I’m sorry. This whole time I thought you’d changed your mind, no longer trusted me with it after you found out that I’d stolen from the hospital.” Then, curiosity and awe danced in her eyes. “Wait…you said you did it over a week ago? Even after learning what I’d done, you were still willing to give me power of attorney?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I? I told you, Katie—I trust you. Whatever happened years ago, before us, doesn’t change that. And neither does what happened last week.”
She wound her arms around my waist, pressing her cheek to my chest.
And after spending eleven days with a broken heart, it was finally healed.
“As much as I’d love to carry you upstairs and have hot make-up sex, I’m gonna be late for my game.”
“I guess it’s a good thing we can’t have sex. Doctor’s orders.”
I groaned. “So now how will we spend our time together?”
She laughed and shook her head, yet she didn’t say anything.
“While I’m at the game, you should head over to the lawyer’s office and pick up the documents you need. And while you’re out, swing by the bank and sign those papers, too. There’s a new payroll account for you—we couldn’t amend the other one we were using when you took care of Granny. Once you get that finalized, the money will go through.”
Embarrassment crept up her cheeks, although she didn’t turn me down. “I don’t have a car, Gage. And don’t think for one second I’m going to drive your Jeep.”
“Good, because Stevie Nix doesn’t want you behind her wheel.” I dug the key out of the side of my bag and placed it in her hand. “You can take Mac.”
She stared at the key and then at me. “I’m not taking a car from you. Especially not a Cadillac. Are you crazy?”
“No…which is why I didn’t buy you a car. I won an Escalade, and since Stevie gets jealous anytime I drive something else, you get to use it. Don’t worry, though—it has all the safety features available on the market, including doors. Plus, if Blind Betty rear ends you again, not only will there not be much damage, but you’ll be covered by insurance, too.”
“Back up. How did you win an Escalade?” She doubted me—as she should, because I was lying through my teeth. She wouldn’t accept something like that as a gift, and I doubted she’d believe I’d bought it for the baby.
“I’d love to explain, Crispbread, but I’m late for my game.”
“Good, then you can tell me when you get back.”
I kissed her on the forehead and turned to leave the room. “It’ll be late.”
“Your game is early.”
“Yeah, but you know how that goes…” I called over my shoulder as I opened the door to the garage.
She was hot on my heels. However, as soon as she stepped out after me, rather than continue to argue, she gasped. It was enough to catch my attention, stop me in place, and spin me around until I could make sure she was all right.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“I mean, I know you said Escalade…but I didn’t really think about it.” She stared at the shiny SUV in front of her with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open in shock. “I can’t drive this!”
“Uh…yeah, you can. You get behind the wheel, put it in gear, and press on the gas.” I shook my head, making her look at me. “I’m starting to wonder if maybe the accident was less of Senile Sally’s fault and more your own. Do I need to take you for driving lessons?”
“No. I can’t drive this because it’s like…a really expensive vehicle.”
“Then it’s a good thing I won it, huh?” Yeah, she still didn’t believe me, but that was okay. She couldn’t prove otherwise. “Take care of Mac for me.”
“Mac? What kind of name is that?”
“It’s short for Fleetwood Mac. Behind her wheel, you’ll go your own way.”
She closed her eyes and whispered to herself, “Our kid is totally gonna be made fun of.”
Walking inside after the game, the aroma of pasta sauce was the first thing I noticed, followed by the sound of humming from the kitchen. I’d changed and showered at the stadium, not wanting to waste time when I got home, so I dropped my bag in the laundry room and followed my nose and ears.
“You’re cooking dinner?” I must’ve caught whatever blindness Coby had, because I wasn’t sure I saw things correctly. She hadn’t cooked for me once since I’d moved in. In fact, anytime we ate, I was the one who made it—unless you counted canned soup and sandwiches.
“Yeah. I went to the store today while I was out.”
I leaned over her shoulder and took a whiff of the lasagna in the pan. “But you’ve gone to the store before and never made dinner.”
“Well, this time I bought the groceries, so I was able to get stuff I like to cook.”
I held her hips and turned her around to face me. With my hands on the counter behind her, I bent down to make sure I could read her eyes when she answered my question. “There’s no spending limit on my grocery tab, so why would it matter who paid?”
“I felt bad spending your money on fresh stuff. It’s not cheap, you know.”
“You don’t have to use the money I’m paying you to get food. That’s ridiculous.”
Her gaze dropped to my chin, and I decided this was a conversation for after dinner.
“Come on…let’s eat. It smells amazing,” I said and backed away to grab plates.
While we ate, the TV played in the background, and I couldn’t help but notice she had the sports channel on. It filled me with pride that she watched my game. However, as soon as I heard the commentators come on, I jumped up to turn it off.
“Don’t bother. They talked about it earlier—even showed the interview.” It was like she could read my mind and stayed one step ahead. Her mouth curled slightly into a perceptive grin, and she lifted her brows, as if daring me to deny it. “They said it was from late last week, when you were in St. Louis.”
“Yeah. So?” I shoved a large bite of lasagna into my mouth and fought like hell from spitting it out. It probably tasted delicious, but I didn’t have any idea considering I’d just burnt off my taste buds.
“That was before you came home. After the doctor’s appointment.”
I would’ve loved to respond, but my swelling tongue wouldn’t allow it.
“A reporter had asked you for your opinion regarding the news about my past. You were still ignoring me at that point, yet you defended me. You claimed it wasn’t a secret, that you were just surprised to find out the media had gone to such lengths to hurt—and I quote—‘the most important person in your life.’ Why did you say that to him but avoid me?”
I shrugged, hoping that would be enough to please her. Turned out, it wasn’t. “I guess I hoped you’d see it and know how I truly felt. And then I didn’t hear from you again, so I assumed you didn’t care.”
She reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. “It’d be great if one of these days you stopped waiting for me to do you wrong. I’m not Missy. I’m never going to be. And at some point, you need to realize that for yourself.”
Katie was right. If I expected her to leave, eventually, she would.
“You’re right
, and I’m sorry. I’ll try harder to trust you.”
“Good. So let’s start with you telling me about Mac.”
I smirked at the name I’d given to the Escalade. “You like her, don’t you?”
“That’s not the point. Why’d you buy it?”
I rolled my eyes in a show of exasperation. “How many times do I have to tell you I won it before you believe me?”
“How, exactly, does one win a car?”
“Easy…a casino. Duh.”
“Oh, yeah? In St. Louis?”
“That’s where I was, isn’t it?”
“And you drove it all the way home?”
I cleared my throat and thought about how I’d get out of that one. “No. I had it flown back.”
“Interesting.”
Before she could say anything else, I asked, “Have you done any more on the will?”
“No. I came home and turned on the game. I figured I’d just wait to do it after you leave again. No sense in wasting what little time we have together—now that we’re finally talking—on legal papers.” Pregnant women…they were so easily distracted.
After the dishes were clean, we moved to the couch—since we couldn’t have sex, and if we were in the bedroom, neither one of us would be able to think straight. In fact, we had to sit on opposite ends of the sofa, and even that wasn’t far enough apart with the way her top hugged her jugs. After nearly two weeks of absolutely nothing, we were both desperate.
“I was thinking, if I can’t put my rooster in your henhouse, we should probably use this time to talk…really get to know each other. This way, there won’t ever be another surprise like the last one.”
“What do you mean? Like play twenty questions or something?”
“We can just take turns admitting things about ourselves or our pasts that the other isn’t aware of. Here, I’ll go first. I lost my virginity when I was nineteen.”
Katie cocked her head to the side and narrowed her questioning gaze. “Aren’t we supposed to tell the truth? You just called your penis a rooster, and my vagina a henhouse, and you expect me to believe you were nineteen when you had sex for the first time?”
I held one hand up and said, “I swear. My mom was fourteen when she got pregnant with me, and she had no clue who my sperm donor was. Apparently, she was a free spirit. Granny made sure I didn’t bring any babies home before I was ready. Guess the joke’s on her, huh?”
“So, you’re telling me you went from a virgin to a manwhore in roughly five years?”
“Uh…yeah. That’s like giving a thirsty man water and then expect him to not drink from every fountain he sees. Plus, when I was younger, the ladies thought I was a bit of a cocky motherfucker. Turns out, I am.” I winked at her.
“Sleeping with a pregnant woman isn’t the definition of a motherfucker…but I digress. I’m not sure how that’s information I’d need to have. Even if the media did somehow get ahold of that, I doubt anyone would believe it.”
I shrugged. “I just figured it wouldn’t hurt to learn everything about each other.”
“Okay, fine. Granny told me about your mom.” Her eyes softened with sympathy. Normally, I hated that look, but I didn’t mind it from her because I understood it wasn’t pity. “Seems we both hit the jackpot in that arena. But at least you had Granny to look after you.”
“Yup. And now you have me. Thank God for small miracles, huh?” I tipped my chin and wagged my brows. “But I already knew that she’d told you. That one doesn’t count. What else you got?”
“Oh my God, Gage. I can’t possibly think of anything off the top of my head.”
“Okay, then I’ll go again.” My stomach dipped, yet I forced the rest out before the worry could reach my face. “I found out about your money situation.”
She struggled to get out the words when she asked, “My what?”
“After the accident, I called my bill guy…whose name happens to be Bill. I wanted to see when the next bonus was scheduled to be paid out so I would have an idea how long it might be before you could get a new car.” I paused to restrain the guilt that had eaten at me since. “I swear, Katie…I had no idea the checks quit coming. I figured you were still getting paid since I hadn’t done anything about it. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Umm…because I was embarrassed?” It was posed as a question, as if I should’ve known the answer. “It was bad enough that I never moved out and then got pregnant with your child. Any normal person would assume the worst—that I was using you for money and trapped you with a kid on purpose. I never wanted you to think that about me. Even though I couldn’t stand you at the time, you were important to Granny, so your opinion of me was important, too.”
“I’m starting to see a pattern here. It seems you don’t tell me things—things that affect me—because you don’t trust my reaction.”
She was quiet for a moment, biting her bottom lip in thought. Then she said, “When you put it like that, it sounds horrible. True…I didn’t trust that you’d see where I was coming from. However, you’re making it sound like I don’t trust you, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“But how could you possibly assume I’d be pissed if I’ve never given you a reason to believe I would? I’d say let me prove to you that I’d never judge you or think the worst of you…although I don’t know how if you don’t give me the opportunity.”
“Okay. Yeah, you’re right. And I’m sorry. Sometimes it’s hard to get out of my own head, though I’ll try. I’ll let you prove it to me.”
“Good. That’s all I ask.”
“All right…so I do have a confession to make. There’s a slight chance that I might’ve possibly found out what we’re having at the last ultrasound.”
“It’s taken you this long to find out? It’s a baby…I could’ve told you that.”
“No,” she said with a huffed chuckle. “I mean the sex.”
“An ultrasound can tell you what kind of sex we’ll have? Holy shit. Technology has really come a long way in the last few years.”
“Yup. That’s exactly what I’m trying to say. If you want to know, go to your room.”
I eyed her suspiciously, though I didn’t argue. Only a moron would protest finding out what kind of sex they’d have. I jumped off the couch, ran up the stairs, and flung my bedroom door open. After flipping on the light, I went to throw myself onto the mattress, though I stopped when I noticed a strip of folded paper. It didn’t take long to see what it was—ultrasound pictures of my baby. And on the last one, I saw a circle and one word.
My head snapped to the open door, where I found Katie leaning against the frame with her arms crossed over her chest, a mischievous grin on her lips. Although, I couldn’t move. I stared at her with wide eyes and asked, “Is this real?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
I ran to her, wrapped her in my arms, and carried her to the bed. I covered her with kisses until I reached her belly. With my lips close to her stomach, I said, “You’re gonna be hung like a horse…just like your daddy.”
Katie’s soft laughter came to an abrupt stop at the same time I snapped my head up. “Did you feel that?” she asked, watching me with light shining in her blue eyes.
“Yup. That was my son giving me a high-five.”
Chapter Eleven
Katie
Even after a week at home, I wasn’t ready for him to go. I tried not to let him see how hard it was for me when he was on the road and even joked about regaining my freedom while he was away. The truth was, I dreaded it. I didn’t want to spend the next eleven days alone. The media didn’t bother me when he was here—probably because I wasn’t as vulnerable with Gage at my side—and their focus on me had died down when they weren’t able to trap him on the road. But just as soon as we got comfortable with each other and developed a routine, he packed his bags for another stretch of away games.
I would never admit it to him—although my newfound knowledge of baseball gave me away—but I wa
s proud of Gage. I loved seeing him during post-game press conferences almost as much as I enjoyed watching him play. But none of that kept me warm at night or company during the day. And everything in Granny’s house reminded me of him, which was odd because it never used to. Now, I could hear his voice and smell his scent.
Thankfully, I had something to occupy my time other than drooling over the way his uniform pants hugged his butt. I allowed myself to wallow in missing him yesterday but promised myself when I got out of bed this morning that I’d tackle Granny’s will and start trying to deal with her estate. I just had to find the motivation to get up. Gage calling me wasn’t it.
His face lit up the screen on my phone, and in return, a smile erupted on my lips. It was early, the sun was barely above the horizon, and Gage had a full day ahead of him. I didn’t know when I’d get to talk to him again, so I quickly pressed the button to connect the call.
“Hey, love muffin. You still in bed?”
Seeing him on the screen and smelling him on the sheets around me almost made it seem like I could reach out and touch him. “Yeah. I was waiting for you to call before I got up.”
“What’s on the agenda today? I hear Corinne’s free if you want someone to hang out with. She makes a mean cup of tea; not to mention, she has a pony.”
“I doubt Ellie would appreciate me showing up”—I glanced at the time on my phone—“at a quarter to seven for a playdate.”
“Just tell her I sent you. All will be forgiven.”
There was no point in going down that rabbit hole. “I’m going to get Granny’s will out and read through it.”
“Get comfy, it’s a book.”
I hadn’t even opened the envelope I picked up from the lawyer’s office. I assumed there were other documents in the folder making it so heavy. “Have you read it?”
“I didn’t get past the first page. It’s a real snoozer. Good thing she didn’t try to make a living as an author.”
A giggle eased its way past my lips. “I don’t think it’s supposed to be a page-turner.”
