Medicine Man

Frankly, Simon Blackwood, as a father to our child, is lethal, irresistible. More of a breath-stealer. More of a man.

I place a hand on my tummy. Maybe we did really make a baby upstairs. I hope so. This time, I want a boy like him, dark hair, polite, kind of nerdy, and a little arrogant.

Finally he notices me and my hand on my belly. His eyes smolder behind his glasses, and my sleeping arousal wakes up a little bit. I can’t wait to get him alone so we can get on with our baby-making.

He whispers something to Fallon.

She whips her eyes over to me and squeals, “Mommy.”

She’s wiggling in his arms now, so he bends down and lets her go. She runs over to me on her pudgy legs, her pigtails flopping. Her pink dress flutters around her knees and her bunny slippers flap against the floor.

I meet her in the middle, and going down on my knees, I say, “Hey, baby. Were you good for Grandma Beth?”

When I needed a little breather after Fallon’s crying, I called Beth to come over a little early so she could watch her.

My baby girl jerks out a nod. “Gramma Beth gave me a cookie. She the best.”

I chuckle. “She is, isn’t she?”

She puts her small hand on my cheek. “You crying, Mommy?”

God, why does she have to be so perceptive? Her gray eyes watch everything and she’s so precocious. She’s like her daddy in that way.

She’s a mixture of Simon and me. Her silver hair and chubby cheeks come from me. But her penchant for tree climbing and her eyes take after her daddy.

Fallon is also the result of impulsiveness. Well, she’s the result of me getting a sinus infection four years ago and my birth control not working alongside the antibiotics. Simon knew having sex was risky but I told him I didn’t care. Maybe I really wanted a baby. Maybe we should take a risk. He obviously liked that very much and voilà, we have a little baby girl. I never took birth control after that.

I clutch her soft hand on my cheek and whisper, “A little bit.”

Frowning, she says, “Why?”

Blinking my eyes to get rid of the moisture, I kiss the middle of her palm. “Because you’re getting so big.”

It’s true. My baby is turning three today and I can’t bear it. Soon, she’ll be off to school, then college. I don’t know what I’ll do without her.

“But I wanna get big,” she insists, nodding, her bangs fluttering around her forehead.

I sweep them away so they don’t poke into her eyes. “Yeah? Why?”

“So I get married, silly.”

I laugh. “Really? You wanna get married?” Another enthusiastic nod. “Who are you going to marry?”

She scratches her nose, still red from crying, as if thinking about it. “Daddy.”

“You’re going to marry your daddy?”

She grins. “Yeah.”

I look at her daddy. He’s helping Beth in the kitchen, but at my stare he turns his attention to me. There are so many things written in his gaze. Most of them have to do with desire, though. He can’t wait to get alone with me either.

“Yeah. Daddy’s amazing, isn’t he?” I wink at him before turning to our daughter. “Good choice, baby.”

She frowns again, chewing on her lip. “No. Wait, Mommy.”

I extricate her lip from her teeth before she brutalizes it. “What, honey?”

Going on her tiptoes, she looks around as if searching for something.

We’re in the living room, so we have a direct line of sight to the rest of the house, including the backyard where the party is going to be.

When I got pregnant, Simon decided to buy a new house outside of the city. He thought the city wasn’t good for raising a baby. Plus he couldn’t baby-proof his apartment because it was a rental.

There are a couple of people in the backyard right now and Fallon points to one in particular. “No. Not Daddy. I gonna marry Dean.”

I purse my lips so I don’t burst out laughing.

Yeah, Dean. He’s the boy Simon met five years ago at the cemetery. He’s grown up now and he’s a part of our family.

I met him when I was dating Simon and I loved him immediately. Hello, the guy loves Harry Potter. How could I not love him? His dad isn’t there most of the time, so Simon likes to check on him and his sister.

Dean loves Fallon. In fact, he’s super protective of her. He can’t see her upset or crying. Good thing he wasn’t here when she was throwing her tantrum. The guy wouldn’t have liked it.

Most days, Fallon won’t go to sleep unless she hears his voice on the phone. Also, she needs to see him every day or she gets really unmanageable. So he stops by for a little while before going to his job at a local restaurant. He’s the one who taught her to play ball, ride her tricycle, and all the other outdoorsy stuff. Simon sometimes gets jealous; it’s cute.