“Oh.” She blinked with surprise. “I didn’t realize you’d do that.” She was glad, though. The distance between here and Boston scared her. She wasn’t sure how she’d feel being so far from her baby.
“I want to make this as easy as possible.” He smiled softly. “For both of us.”
“Will you stay with your family?”
“I haven’t thought about that yet. I guess at first I will. But I might look into buying. It makes sense to have a permanent base here for the baby.”
“That’s a big commitment.”
He grinned at her. “Not as big as having a baby.”
“You’re right.” She let out a laugh. “I guess we’re doing this the wrong way round.”
He tipped his head to the side. “I guess we are. But it feels okay, you know? Like this was somehow meant to happen.”
“You think?”
“Don’t you?” he asked her.
She bit her lip, thinking about his question. “Maybe you’re right,” she conceded. “I guess I was shocked at first. But it’s amazing how quickly you get used to something like this.” Maybe even excited, though she wasn’t sure how to vocalize that. “It’s like my future’s suddenly become a little more clear.”
He nodded, his lip quirking up. “That’s exactly it. It makes you realize what’s important and what isn’t. Gray told me that being a father makes you grow up like nothing else does. It’s not about being a certain age, or having money, or even being in control of your own destiny. It’s about being responsible for something so damn important you’d do anything to make it work.”
Her mouth felt dry. There was an intensity to his stare that made her heat up. She wanted to bask in his warmth.
“How often do you think you’ll come back?” she asked.
“I want to try for every other weekend. I know from watching my nephews how quickly kids can grow. I don’t want to miss a thing.”
She nodded. “That can work. And there’s always phone calls and Facetime and maybe we can visit you too. Until the baby’s old enough to come visit on their own.”
“You’re making this seem easy,” he teased.
“Yeah, well so are you. I thought you’d want nothing to do with us when I told you. You were so shocked.”
“I’d never abandon a child of mine.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe that’s why I never thought about having any.” Logan cleared his throat. “How about you? Did you and Shaun think about having kids?”
She felt a shiver run down her spine. “No.” She breathed out softly. “And I’m glad you’re going to be there for our child. It means a lot.”
“I’m glad you’re going to be, too.” His gaze clashed with hers. “You look exhausted,” he told her, his stare softening. “Let me take you home.”
She did feel tired. It was way past the time she usually climbed into bed. “Thank you,” she told him. It was for more than just the dinner he’d bought her. More, even, than the fact he was going to co-parent this baby with her. It was gratitude for giving her something she hadn’t thought about in a long, long time.
For the first time in forever, the future was looking bright.
Chapter Seventeen
Logan glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he steered his car into Courtney’s driveway. Her eyes were closed, her head leaning against the window, peaceful breaths escaping from her half-open lips. She’d fallen asleep almost as soon as they’d left Dan and Ellie’s place. It made him feel strangely warm inside to have her slumbering next to him. Almost as if they were a real family and he was taking care of her and their unborn baby.
He shook his head at himself. In another lifetime, maybe.
He parked next to her cottage and shut off the engine, turning to look at her again.
God, she was beautiful. It made his chest ache to look at her. The dress she was wearing clung to every curve, the fabric so soft he wanted to bury himself in it. And escape inside those dark crazy curls that tumbled over her shoulders, too. To dip his head and breathe in the floral aroma of her shampoo.
Stalker much? He swallowed a sigh and leaned forward to gently touch her shoulder. “Court,” he said, his voice low. “We’re back at yours.”
Her eyes slowly blinked open. She stared at him glassy eyed for a moment, then her gaze softened as she took him in. For a moment, all he could think about was kissing those soft lips. To taste her with his tongue, to make her sigh softly, the way he’d done before. It felt like a lifetime ago.
“Did I fall asleep?” she asked, her voice still groggy.
“Yeah.” He gave her a half-smile. “Let me walk you inside. You should head straight for bed.” He opened the car door and the cold winter air rushed in, followed by a blur of brown feathers as a squawking hen launched herself in through the gap.
“Shit!” Logan leaned back, trying to keep his head out of the way of the bird’s flapping wings. He reached out, trying to catch her, but the hen was too damn slippery.
“What the hell’s on her wings?” he muttered.
“That’s Hester. I put Vaseline on her feathers in the winter.” Courtney was wide awake as she leaned forward, trying to wrap her hands around the bird. But Hester ran across Logan’s lap, still squawking loudly as she tried to escape them both. Giving them a scornful backward glance, the hen jumped back out of the car and ran across the yard, her wings flapping. “What the hell’s she doing out of the coop?” Courtney asked.
His gaze met Courtney’s. “I guess she can’t resist me.”
She laughed, even though her eyes were tired. “I should go catch her and check the
