Just Getting Started (Fair Lakes 2)

I can’t help it; I laugh. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Hey.” She smacks playfully at my arm. “I can’t help it. I researched them and so did Gwen. They have a high safety rating.”

“I trust you, Gabs. You think he needs it we’ll buy two of them. I’m out of my element here.”

“Target it is.” She smiles.

“Target, then food,” I say, following her out of the room and down the hallway.

“We just had breakfast.”

“That was two hours ago,” I point out as we make our way to the truck.

“Is your stomach a bottomless pit?” She lifts my shirt. I take the opportunity to flex my abs and she throws her head back and laughs. “You don’t need to impress me, Callahan, I’m already hooked.”

“Never hurts to offer a friendly reminder,” I say, tugging up my shirt and flexing again. A little black sports car drives by and lays on the horn.

“You’re going to cause an accident. Put those away.” She playfully scolds me, but I can hear the amusement in her voice. She bends down to talk to Milo once we stop next to the truck. “Daddy thinks he’s funny,” she says in a silly high-pitched voice.

My breath stalls in my chest momentarily. Daddy. How long is it going to take me getting used to hearing that? If you had asked me a week ago, I would have said, sure, when Gabby’s ready, we’ll have a baby. Now today, standing here in this parking lot, I want nothing more than this little boy to be ours. Not just mine but ours.

“Let’s get you in the truck,” she says, taking the seat from my hands.

I let her take him and slowly inhale and exhale, pulling the air back into my stalled lungs. “It’s going to be a long few days,” I say, placing the diaper bag on the floorboard and closing the door.

She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head against my chest. “It is, but we’ll get through it. No matter what happens, we’ll figure it out.” She looks up at me, and I see it in her eyes—her resolve to stand by me. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I called the pediatrician that Gwen takes Sophia to, and we have an appointment Saturday morning. They’re working us in.”

“What? Is he sick?” I start to worry there’s something wrong that I missed.

“No, he’s fine. I just thought he should be checked over by a physician. I found a shot record in the bottom of the diaper bag, that luckily contained his date of birth. Thankfully, Laura thought about that. They’re working us in when I explained the situation.”

“That’s a good idea. I should have thought of that.” There is so much to this parenting gig.

“We’ve had a lot going on. I actually didn’t think about it until yesterday when Gwen mentioned it was almost time to take Sophia for her check-up. She’s dreading her getting more shots. Although, she did say it’s worse on her and Harrison than it is on Sophia. As soon as she picks her up, she stops crying.”

“Uh, Gabs.” She looks over at me from the passenger seat. “I’m not sure I can do that. Take him for shots. When Soph cries, I give her to you or back to her parents.”

She laughs. “You do, but you don’t when it comes to Milo. He’s cried this week and you’ve handled that fine.”

“Yeah, but there wasn’t someone stabbing him with needles either.”

“Wait, is this about Milo crying or you, Mr. Big Man, being afraid of needles?”

“Both.”

Her laughter fills the cab of the truck. It’s a beautiful sound and if I wasn’t currently squeamish, I would savor it.

“You’ll be fine,” she assures me. “I’ll even be there to hold your hand.”

“I mean, that makes it a little better.” She thinks I’m kidding, but she’s wrong. Knowing she’s there in my corner makes all the difference.

“Stop.” She grins. “Take me to Target so I can buy this little man some new stuff.”

“You pick it out, I pay for it.”

“No dice, Callahan. I work too. I want to do this, not for you, not for me, but for him.”

“We’ll see,” I say, pulling out of the parking lot. “So what else is on your list for today?”

“Nothing specific. I just want to look around. See what I find. A few more outfits, maybe?”

“Yeah, he goes through laundry pretty fast.”

“Yes, he does. I also just want to look. He’s eventually going to need a bed, so I thought we could just look and see what our options are. You know, just to have an idea.”

“We’ve got all day,” I tell her.

She chuckles. “You know who you’re talking to, right? Do you not remember all the shopping I did for Sophia?”

“I remember, and as long as I’m spending the day with you, I don’t care.”