AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair, when there was a tap on her bedroom door.
“Come in,” she called, not even looking up from her brushing.
The door opened, footsteps came in, falling too heavily to belong to any of the Brand women. And she glanced into the mirror to see Caleb, of all people, standing there with a tray in his hands.
“What in the world are you doing here?” she asked his reflection.
“Good morning, Maya. How are you feeling this morning, hm?”
She eyed the tray, not answering, because she was so sick and tired of answering that same question every single day a dozen times. “What are you doing here? What is this?”
“Breakfast in bed. Or…it was intended to be. Only, you’re not in bed, so I guess I’m late.”
Maya set the hairbrush down and turned slowly. “Who let you in?”
“Your mother. I brought enough fresh pastries for everyone, and Vidalia was kind enough to supply the coffee to go with them.” He nodded at the cup on the tray. “Decaf for you, of course.”
He carried the tray in, right to the chest at the foot of her bed, and set it down. “I found this great bakery in town this morning, just a stone’s throw from the boarding house.”
“Sunny’s Place. I know it.”
Picking up a platter heaped with doughnuts, Danishes and muffins, he brought it to where she sat and held it under her nose.
God, they smelled good.
Hell, he smelled better. There was a hint of something…not cologne, it was too subtle for that. Maybe it was the soap he used. Sort of a wind and water scent. It tickled a deep part of her that hadn’t been tickled in…well, in nine months, give or take a couple of weeks.
“Pretty low trick, bribing your way in here with pastries, don’t you think? Why are you doing this, anyway?” she asked him suspiciously.
“Because I want to. Hey, you’ve been lugging those twins around for nine months now. I figure the least I can do is help you through the last couple of weeks.”
“Don’t say that!”
He blinked. “Don’t say what? That I want to help you out?”
“No. That ‘couple of weeks’ part. If it’s more than a couple of days, I’ll die. My belly will explode, and I will just simply die.” She sighed, grabbed a yummy-looking Danish and a napkin, took a heavenly bite and closed her eyes in ecstasy as she chewed. “Oh, this is sooo good.”
“I know. I ate two myself.” He smiled at her.
And he was so damned charming she couldn’t help but smile back. But then she thought about what he’d said a moment ago, about helping her through the last couple of weeks, and she tilted her head. “So does that mean you plan to hang around town until the babies come?”
Licking his lips, he seemed to think very carefully about his words before he spoke. “Maya, I’d really like to. I’ve never been a father before. This is all…well, it’s special to me. Scary as hell, totally out of line with my plans…but special. I’m…I’m not the kind of guy who can just walk away from something like this…and I know you probably don’t believe that, but I think you will. If you give me a chance. Get to know me…just a little bit.” He swallowed hard. “I’d really like you to agree with me on this, but I want you to know that I’m staying, even if you don’t. I mean…I’m their father.” He looked at her belly. “I’m their father.”
The second time he said it, he got a shaky, crooked little smile on his face, and his voice cracked just the slightest bit. She couldn’t argue with him when he looked like that. And he was right, she knew that. She’d been feeling guilty about her attitude toward him all night long. It wasn’t his fault she didn’t want a man in her life.
“I was crabby with you last night,” she told him. “I get that way a lot lately. But it’s not my normal attitude, you know.”
“I know.”
She nodded. “I will not exclude you from the babies’ lives. I want to make that clear, Caleb. You’re right. You are their father, and you can be just as involved with them as you want or need to be. I promise.”
He smiled broadly and blew a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear it.” Then he glanced down at her belly. “Still nervous as hell and reeling from all this…but glad.”
The babies were kicking like crazy. She had a thought, bit her lower lip, and finally gave in to it. “Give me your hand,” she said, setting her Danish down.
He did. She took his hand in hers and laid his palm on her belly, sliding it around to the spot where some little foot had been repeatedly thumping her. He met her eyes, his expectant, excited. It took a moment. But finally there was a succession of rapid and rather forceful kicks.
She never looked away from his eyes when it happened. And she was glad she hadn’t because they widened; then his gaze slid down to where his hand rested, and she swore she saw moisture gather in his eyes. “My God. Oh my God,” he whispered.
