“Aw, damn. I’m sorry. For God’s sake, you barely know me and I’m dumping all this on you.” Then he tipped his head back. “And I’ve been cursing again. I’m sorry about that, too.”
“No, it’s fine.” She released him to dig in her purse for a tissue. “I’m just so glad you have her now.”
“Yeah, me too.” He glanced at the kids. “Look at that. Guess I got lucky with my verbal slipups, because Andy didn’t hear me.” He smiled. “They’re both asleep.”
Pixie gave a small laugh. “I hear that almost never happens. Moms in town have told me that two kids are impossible to get down for naps at the same time. I think we just lucked out.”
He checked his watch. “Usually, she’d have been up for a while before nodding off again.”
“I think they were soothed by each other.”
Alert, he asked, “You really think so?”
“I hear that babies are fascinated by other babies. I don’t really know that, though. Andy’s my only child, and while he sees some kids around here, he’s the only baby.”
“I didn’t ask, but maybe I should have.”
There was something off in his tone, something Pixie couldn’t quite name. “Ask me what?”
“If you have a husband.”
“Oh.” Though she didn’t know whether he asked out of interest or mere curiosity, her heart did a weird little flutter. “No. That is, I never had a husband.” For the longest time, she’d been ashamed of herself and her behavior, but not anymore. Yes, she’d been foolish, but she’d also been young, and she’d worked hard to make up for her mistakes. “Andy’s father …” She shook her head. No way would she blurt out that he’d been married to another woman—the very woman who was now her best friend. At the time, Pixie hadn’t known Dylan was married, and now Marlow had forgiven her. That was all that mattered. “I’ve never been married.”
He took her confession in stride, saying, “Same.” He nodded at the baby. “Shayna’s father is gone. Passed away, I mean.” He watched her closely. “Andy’s dad?”
“Also passed away.” It seemed incredibly odd that they’d have that in common. She started to ask how Shayna’s father had died, but Brogan didn’t give her a chance.
“So tell me about the town. Any good restaurants that wouldn’t mind if I brought along a baby?”
“Since I rarely go anywhere without Andy, I can tell you thatno one seems to mind at all. Most people fawn over him. He gets so much attention that I sometimes worry he’ll become spoiled.”
“You can’t spoil a kid with too much love.” No sooner did the words leave his mouth than he looked chagrined. “Not that I’m an expert or anything. Just seems to me you can dole out love, hand in hand with setting boundaries.”
“That’s my plan, at least it is when I’m thinking about it and not just reacting.” In the moment, she knew she could be overly emotional and protective.
“Ah, I see some doubt.”
“Best-laid plans and all that.”
“Give me an example.”
Sure, why not?It was nice to share with another parent who had, or would, face the same indecision and uncertainty. “I want Andy to be confident, but then I fall apart when he gets hurt. Like a few weeks ago. We were at the park, and he kept kicking off his shoes. I told him he had to wear them because of sharp sticks on the ground and bees everywhere, but he really wanted to feel the grass on his toes.”
Brogan laughed. “I can see the lure of warm grass on bare feet.”
“So could I,” she said, “so I gave in. He was loving it until he stepped on a thorn.” Even now, guilt filled her. “I tell you, the way he screamed, I didn’t know what had happened. Instead of just taking care of it and telling him how careful we need to be when barefoot, I sat down and rocked him and kissed his foot a dozen times, and I swear, I was ready to cry with him.”
Brogan’s expression warmed. “See, to me that just sounds nice. You’re a loving mom. You did what moms do.”
She choked on her laugh. “Did your mother do that?”
His face seemed to freeze before he forced a curl to his mouth. “She wasn’t around much, but she wouldn’t have been the type anyway.”
If his mother hadn’t been around, and his father had wanted nothing to do with him, who had raised him?
“You did the right thing,” he assured her. “Seems to me it’s good for kids to have new experiences. I’m sure he wasn’t badly hurt, but you let him know you’re there for him when he needs you.”
“Some of the other people at the park looked at me like I was bonkers. One dad came over to ask how badly my son was hurt. When I explained that he’d only stepped on a thorn, he very nicely checked Andy’s foot. We could just barely see where he’d been poked.” And she’d felt like a fool. “The guy was nice, but he suggested that if I was calmer, Andy would soon be calm, too. His wife brought me over an ice cube and together we held it on his little foot until he’d settled down.”
