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“I’ll have to take your word.” He moved a strand of hair behind her ear. “Does it bother you?”
“No. I figure I got the best of him when I got her.”
“Not planning to send him a baby picture, and let him see what he’s missing?”
Cody’s texts flashed in her mind, and for a second she considered mentioning them to Hunter, but she tossed the notion aside. Yes, her ex was trouble, but the trouble didn’t know where to find her, and Hunter didn’t need to be dragged into that particular drama. She hugged Joy closer. “Nope. He’s out of our lives and I intend to keep him out. That’s one right decision I made.”
Chapter Eleven
Madison pushed through the glass doors of the Midtown Medical Plaza and smiled at the overcast sky. The threat of a winter rainstorm couldn’t cloud her mood. First off, she’d managed to squeeze into a pair of jeans and a sweater from her pre-pregnancy wardrobe. Granted, they used to be baggy on her, and now, not so much, but still. Normal clothes. Next, she’d made it to her doctor’s appointment a few minutes early and been seen right away. Finally, she held in her hand a copy of the note from her doctor stating she was fit to return to work. The office had promised to fax a copy to her manager at The Grind this afternoon. She could be on the schedule starting next week.
She’d take it. Things were finally starting to go her way. She walked to her car, feeling lighter than she’d felt in months. Physically lighter, too, by about ten pounds, which had given her a couple moments of panic on her way to her appointment, because she kept forgetting she’d left Joy with Nelle. Hunter was off today but busy getting fitted for a tux for Beau’s wedding. She’d overheard enough of Hunter’s side of a phone conversation to know there was a happy hour afterwards, which he’d offered to skip so she could go to her appointment without Joy in tow, but luckily her walking partner, Nelle, had volunteered…okay…demanded to look after the baby. Madison had dropped Joy off at Nelle’s an hour ago with a diaper bag full of supplies and three bottles of expressed milk—not the most enjoyable process in the world but good practice for baby and mama, since she’d be expressing a lot more starting next week. Joy didn’t need much practice. As long as she got fed, she didn’t seem to care whether it came from a breast or a bottle.
She opened her handbag with the idea of texting Hunter and sharing her other piece of good news. Her doctor also gave her a cautious thumbs-up on another front, after a short chat about “controlled penetration,” and instructions to take it slow, and use protection if she wasn’t looking to get pregnant again. She hoped Hunter would be game to try, given that over the last week they’d gotten into the habit of sharing his bed and enthusiastically exhausted every post-partum permissible way to drive each other crazy. She had nothing against creativity—especially not Hunter’s brand—but she practically came where she stood just thinking about finally having him inside her.
Her phone dinged. A quick twist of tension tightened her stomach. She’d received a few more texts from Cody. Messages sounding more like the guy she’d fallen for back in Shallow Pond. He asked for nothing except information about how she was doing and, even more uncharacteristic, how the baby was doing. When was she due? Did she know if she was having a boy or a girl? Was it healthy? Could he see her?
The answer remained no, because he’d shattered her trust in him beyond repair, and she hoped her continued lack of response conveyed as much. She flipped the phone open and scanned the screen.
Holy shit, things really were going her way. Randy, her old landlord, requested her forwarding address. He had a $500 check for her, for the unused portion of her security deposit.
Her fingers hovered over the reply button but then hesitated. Randy didn’t have much use for Cody, but he could get really talkative after a fifth of whiskey, and Cody knew it. Giving Randy her new address would be a mistake. Instead, she dialed Nelle.
Her neighbor picked up on the second ring. “Hi honey, how’s it going?”
“Good. I’m officially off leave. My manager will put me on the schedule starting next week.”
“Lord, it seems so soon, but if that’s what you want, then I’m happy for you.”
“It’s for the best. I can’t sponge off Hunter indefinitely.” Over the course of their daily walks, she’d more or less spilled her entire sorry situation to the older woman. Nelle had been sympathetic and surprisingly nonjudgmental. On the subject of getting knocked up without even the benefit of an engagement ring, Nelle had simply waved a hand and said, “Oh, honey, we do that in my family, too.”
But right now, a non-committal, “Hmm,” was all she had to say about the sponge off Hunter comment.
“How are you and Joy getting on?”
“Your little angel and I are doing fine. I set up my grandson’s activity gym, and we played hard for a half hour, trying to get our little hands on the monkey, and the raccoon, and the owl. We had the best time. I snapped some pictures to show you. Then we had a snack, and now she’s enjoying a little nap. She is such a good baby. I know you and Hunter are going to try to coordinate your work schedules so Joy’s covered, but if you need a sitter, pick me!”
Pride warmed her chest. Logically, she knew Joy’s behavior hinged mostly on how well fed and rested she was, but the mama in her couldn’t help puff up a bit at the compliment. It also reassured her enough to ask Nelle for another favor. “Thank you. I’m glad she’s behaving, and I so appreciate your offer. At the risk of making you immediately sorry you volunteered, would you mind if I ran an errand before I came home? I shouldn’t need more than an hour.”
“Take your time. We haven’t even tried out the bouncy chair with the springy, light-up bugs. Jackson lived in that thing while he was here, and I put fresh batteries in this morning.”
Joy was in good hands. “Okay. Thanks, Nelle. I’ll see you soon.”
She called Randy, told him she’d be there in thirty minutes to pick up her check, and made it in twenty-five.
Randy sucked up the extra five minutes complaining about Cody hanging around the place looking for her, which made her nervous and anxious to be on her way. And maybe a touch paranoid, because she thought she spotted Cody’s truck out of the corner of her eye while she stood at the counter of the check-cashing place around the block from her old apartment. She saw no sign of it when she walked back to her car.
Shake it off, Madison. There are a million black pickups in Atlanta. Besides, between drugs and gambling, Cody probably lost the truck by now.
Still, her heart rate stayed high, and her eyes kept straying to the rearview mirror until she pulled onto the freeway and merged into the Friday afternoon traffic. By the time she took the off-ramp for Peachtree Hill, she’d convinced herself to stop searching for bad consequences in a positive turn of events. Luck owed her a couple strokes. Just relax and enjoy them.
With that in mind, she turned into the drugstore parking lot. Enjoying a stroke of luck tonight required some supplies. She grabbed her purse and walked inside. It only took a few minutes to fill a red basket with condoms, lube, and, following impulse, a pack of bikini area razors. Controlled penetration meant subjecting Hunter to some sights she’d managed to keep mostly under wraps up until now. Her tummy was still a work-in-progress, but that was okay because she’d amassed a small collection of his oversized T-shirts that slid off her shoulders and offered him access to her breasts while keeping her middle draped. As of now, however, the need to do things through the panties disappeared. The least she could do was trim the lawn before the guest of honor arrived.
An hour to the minute after phoning Nelle, she pulled into Hunter’s driveway, parked, and headed across the street. Nelle opened the door and stepped out onto the porch with Joy. She beamed and helped the baby wave. “Hi, Mama!”
Okay, she’d undercounted. Strokes of luck took all sorts of shapes and sizes, and two of them stood in front of her right now. She smiled and called, “Did y’all have fun?”
“We did. Come on in and see how much she loves the bouncy chair. Plunk her in it, put it on vibrate, and she goes for a run.”
