AllFreeNovel
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When we hit the road, it’s already ten in the morning, but I’m blissfully happy, curled up in the middle seat of Chase’s truck and snuggling into him.
We spend the drive listening to music. Chase likes country, which I’m not too familiar with, but I laugh at his exaggerated twang while he sings about beer being the only thing to never break his heart. In between songs, he tells ridiculous jokes that no one in the entire world could possibly find funny other than him.
Finally, we make it into Denver. Our first stop is an outdoor strip mall, which claimed online to have the number one trusted baby store in the city. I’m not sure what makes a store trusted or who votes on these kinds of things, but surely they couldn’t get away with the claim if it weren’t true.
When I walk through those double doors, I’m hit by the fresh scent of baby powder. Chase shuts the door behind us and stands beside me as we both stare out into the great unknown.
A stage of cribs adorns one long wall and shelves of blankets, toys, and baby gadgets cover the opposite. Large racks of baby clothes in every possible shade of pastel are directly in front of us, tapering off into what appears to be different patterns and themes.
Chase whistles. “This is...”
“Overwhelming,” I finish for him, and once again, I feel like I’m in over my head when it comes to this whole mom thing. “What am I even doing here? I don’t know what a baby needs. I don’t even know how to be a mom!”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Chase says, grabbing my hand and turning me to face him. “What about all that research you’ve been doing? The lists you’ve made and the talks you’ve had with the girls? I’m sure you’ve picked up on a thing or two.” He gestures toward the room. “Besides, our grandparents never had any of this. They slept in dresser drawers and never used car seats. I’m pretty sure our baby’s going to be just fine.”
I look back over the racks of clothes again, sighing. “Maybe we should wait until we know what we’re having. We don’t know if we should get boy stuff or girl stuff.”
“If Willow were here, she’d tell you that colors are for everyone, which is just a fancy way of saying it doesn’t matter what the hell color we dress our baby in because he or she is going to look cute in anything.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” I say on a laugh, turning back to the displays. “Okay, let’s do this.”
I walk over to the cribs first. Only the front half of the crib is on display, but it gives me a general idea of how they would look fully put together.
“Did you know cribs are this big? Where the heck are we going to put it?” I ask.
He hums deep in his throat, his hands landing on my shoulders and massaging gently as he thinks about it. “Well, we’ll turn the guest room into the baby’s room. You know, since you’re rooming with me now.” He places a quick kiss to my head and shrugs. “Actually, Em wanted me to consider moving.”
“What?” I exclaim. While I have thought about how depressing the house will be like without Emily, I’ve never considered the possibility of moving.
He waves me off. “Let’s not talk about that right now. I just want to focus on you and the baby.”
I nod and give him a kiss, then turn back to the cribs. “I think I like the gray,” I say, walking up to a boxy design in a deep charcoal color. “And look, it has a pullout drawer! That’s like finding out your dress has pockets.”
“Uh, yeah. Definitely,” he agrees, a corner of his mouth tilting up.
I laugh, shaking my head, and move on to the lines of little outfits on the tiniest little hangers. I grab a pink frilly dress with little white roses covering the front and look at the size.
“Six months? But it’s so small! What do they wear at birth?”
Chase searches for a second, then holds up an even smaller version of the dress with a look of dismay. “Newborn,” he mutters. “Jesus, I can’t even believe Willow ever fit into these.”
I sigh dreamily at the beautiful dress and then hang them both up before I fall down the rabbit hole and end up buying it in every color available.
“No clothes,” I say decidedly. “Not until we know what we’re having.”
He nods and grabs for my hand, pulling me in the direction of the blankets. He peruses the shelves before snatching a set of swaddle blankets off the hook they’re hanging on. He turns to me, equal parts excitement and pride etched on his face.
“Weren’t these what you were looking for?” he asks. “And look, they have duckies!”
“Yes! I can’t believe you remembered.” I grab the package from his hands and fling it over to look at the back. “Or that you just said duckies.”
His face is shocked, hand flying to his chest in offense. “It was only a week ago. Give me a little credit here.”
“Yeah, you’ve just been very busy this past week,” I explain.
He wiggles his eyebrows, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me to him. “I was.”
“Haven’t you had enough yet?” I laugh as he nuzzles into my neck, grabbing me by the chin and tipping my head back to give him better access.
