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Ashlie reached up and took Paul’s hand. “We’ll wait. He needs you right now. I know this isn’t easy for you, Terry.”
“I’m sorry, both of you,” Terry said, weeping. “I want a family. I’ve looked forward to this since I met Ashlie. You look so cute pregnant. The baby is even cute. And she’s not mine.”
“Why’d you make me hand her over then?” Ashlie asked.
The decision was made right away; Terry was not raising that baby. He didn’t even want her in the house. It was easy to pay for the legal fees giving Adam Spencer sole custody of baby Adelaide. They would plan for Ashlie to visit the baby on a per visit basis, later on.
Ashlie lost her job over the situation, a moral clause that was fine print in her employment contract with the archdiocese of Bayou Parish. She could have fought it, but she just didn’t have the energy. And since Terry wanted her to go back to work, she ended up getting a job at the local public high school, which meant the chances of running into Adam were slim. And the good part? No one there knew she’d had a baby that wasn’t her husband’s, at least not directly. Since she no longer lived in Cypress Cove, gossip was minimal, at least that she knew of.
As awful as the situation was and that it exposed how selfish and cruel Terry could be, she still loved him. He was generous and usually kind to her, made her laugh, and she secretly decided because of his small stature, he worked extra hard at satisfying her sexually, making him a wonderful partner in bed. If she had to hand her first baby over to the child’s father, it was a small price to pay for the possibility of a wonderful life.
While Ashlie recovered from giving birth over Christmas break, Adam was up to his eyeballs getting used to a newborn. The family had rallied around him, helping him set up the nursery, so when he brought her home, everything was in place. He was devoted to her care around the clock.
And then the week before school started, he remembered he needed a babysitter and the natural place to go would be Calista’s day care right in town. He called her first.
“It’s your lifeguard,” he said.
“Hired,” Calista said, laughing.
“Great. Actually, I need your babysitting services.”
“So, what I heard was true?”
“Ugh, yep. Who’d you hear from?”
“My niece, Angela is in your junior year physics class.”
“Okay, well, if you heard it from your niece, that’s okay. Can I come over and talk to you?”
“Come on over,” she said.
“I’ll see you in about an hour,” Adam replied.
But when he arrived, Calista had taken the time to look at the calendar and the baby had practically just been born.
“She’s a tiny one,” Calista exclaimed, moving the blanket from the baby’s face.
“Yep, I have a one-week-old newborn.”
“Adam, you can’t bring a week-old baby here.”
“She’ll be two weeks when I have to go back to school.”
Calista shook her head, taking the baby from him.
“No. The State of Louisiana has laws in place protecting new parents, Adam. Saint Anthony’s has to abide by it. You get twelve weeks unpaid family leave, but you can use your accrued time off. Take every day. And then I’ll make room for your baby girl. I’ll take care of her myself.”
She unwrapped the receiving blanket, chuckling. “Look at her! She’s so cute. What does your maw maw say?”
“She’s crazy about her.I’mcrazy about her.”
A door opened and children’s laughter drifted out to the front reception area.
“Hey, Mr. Spencer.”
It was Katy Theriot and judging by her expression, she was happy to see him. Adam was also happy to see her. After almost daily poolside meetings all summer, she’d become integral to his life. And when they said goodbye that fall, she got a little teary-eyed.
“You’re back from California!”
