Aidan smiled as his little girl chattered on and on about her stuffed cat that she dragged around with her everywhere possible. Now that she was in first grade—big girl school, as they called it—she had to concentrate on her schoolwork and that meant that she couldn’t cart the big white cat around. Except on special days like this.
It was sweet the way Kate listened to Chloe, interjecting all the right responses and asking questions that made her seem genuinely interested in what his little girl was saying. He had no doubt that it wasn’t an act. Kate made it clear that she had a real affection for Chloe. Because of that—because of times like this—Aidan could put everything else that had happened since Vegas aside and feel nothing but love for Kate.
“We are almost at the drop-off point,” Aidan said. “How about if I call you back in just a minute?”
“Please do, Aidan. It’s important.”
Important? That was when he noticed that her voice sounded a little shaky.
“Is everyone okay?” he asked. “Gigi and Charles? Your mom? Your sisters?”
“Oh. Yes. They’re all fine.”
She still sounded far away. Not in physical distance, but in demeanor, as if she was distracted and her mind was a million miles away.
“I need to talk to you. Is there any way you could come by my place after you drop off Chloe?”
“Sure. I have an appointment at ten, but I don’t need to get to the office until a few minutes before then.”
After he hung up the phone, Chloe said, “Look, Daddy, there’s Miss Doris and Beatrice.”
His little girl was bouncing up and down in her car booster seat as Aidan stopped in the drop-off zone. It warmed his heart and took his mind off the odd call with Kate as he thought about how little it took to make his daughter happy.
“I see them,” he said. “I think they’re waiting for you.”
“I know! That makes me so happy. I can walk to my classroom with Beatrice.”
The car line drill was that parents pulled up into the designated area and adults—a couple of staff members, but mostly parents who were volunteering as part of the PTA—helped the children out of the cars. That way the parents didn’t have to get out and the line moved along quickly and safely.
Doris, who was the mother of Chloe’s best friend, approached their car and opened the door for Chloe.
She leaned in. “Good morning, Aidan, I’m volunteering here today. Beatrice has just been chomping at the bit waiting for Chloe to arrive.”
“Good morning, Doris,” he said. “Chloe, don’t forget your lunch. She’s bringing in her stuffed cat for show-and-tell. I’m afraid she will forget everything else but that.”
“No worries,” sang Doris. “I have her backpack and lunch box. She has Princess Sweetie Pie.”
Of course, Doris would know the cat’s name. Chloe spent a lot of time at her house playing with her daughter.
“Are we forgetting anything?” Doris asked.
“No, I think that’s all. Thanks, Doris. Have a great day.”
Aidan turned around in his seat and prepared to drive away, but the woman lingered for a moment in his open back door.
“Per chance are you free to meet for coffee later? I finish my volunteer shift here in about twenty minutes. I was thinking we could meet up at The Sentient Bean. Are you up for it?”
“Sorry, Doris, I have to be somewhere in—” He glanced at his watch. “I should be there now.”
The woman’s face fell. “Oh, well. Of course. I’m sure you have a business to run. You can’t just stop for coffee with the mom of your daughter’s friend. But maybe another time. It’s that I like to get to know the parents of all of Beatrice’s friends.”
“As a good mother would,” Aidan said. “Another time would be great, but I really do have to run.”
They said their goodbyes and Aidan drove to Kate’s house, pondering what was so important that she had to see him now.
Not that he minded. He longed to wake up and see her every morning, kiss her first thing and bring her coffee in bed.
He parked in the driveway in front of her bungalow. The gravel on the drive crunched under his feet as he made his way up to the door. Though it was still early, the sun was already heating up and the humidity clung to him like a heavy damp suit. It was going to be a hot one.
He knocked and swiped his hand over his brow to wipe away any beads of perspiration that might have collected as he waited for Kate to answer.
When she did, he started sweating for a different reason after he took one look at her tear-stained face.
“Kate, honey, what’s wrong?”
“Come in.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Her shoulders shuddered with the sobs she was trying to contain.
She shut the door.
He didn’t know what to say or do—whether to hug her or give her some space—as he searched his mind for the possible causes of her distress. She’d said her family was fine—
“Aidan, I’m pregnant.”
Whoa. Okay. Wow. “Really?”
A baby? They were having a baby?
A warm glow slowly eradicated the cold dread he’d been feeling but a moment ago.
His heart suddenly felt so full that he couldn’t help but beam with pride.
He and Kate were having a baby. He resisted the urge to yell yes and give the air a victory punch. Because one look at Kate and he realized that she was having a much harder time with this plot twist their lives had taken than he was.
Still, there was no getting around his happiness.
“Honey, this is wonderful news.”
He pulled her into his arms, and to his relief, for the first time in a long time, she sank into him and let him hold her. Her body gently shook as she cried on his shoulder.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said a few moments later, leaning back so he could see her eyes.
She shrugged. “I can’t—I don’t know.
