Cowboy Baby Daddy

KNOCKED UP BY THE DOC

By Claire Adams

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams

Chapter One

Eric

If you'd told me, back before I became a parent, that a 10-minute drive across town could be exhausting, I would have laughed. But with Emma screaming behind me, kicking the seat in front of her (fortunately, I'd been smart and hadn't sat her directly behind me), and otherwise pitching a fit, those 10 minutes felt like an eternity.

“I don't want to go to daycare!” Emma shrieked. “I want to stay with Nana!”

“I know, sweetie,” I said distractedly as I parked in front of the house. “But Nana isn't feeling well, remember? Anyway, I'm sure you're going to make so many friends at daycare. And maybe you'll get to draw a pretty picture for Daddy to hang in his office.”

“No,” Emma snarled. “I hate you, Daddy! I'm not drawing pictures for you anymore.”

I wanted to smile at the cute logic behind that, but it hurt to hear her say that, even though I knew she didn't mean it. Being a single parent was rough.

I glanced at my watch and winced. As much as I wanted to sit in the car and talk her down from her sulk before bringing her inside, if I didn't hurry, I was going to be late getting to work. On a normal day, that wouldn't be the end of the world, but Mrs. Glover was going to visit her son in Tennessee for a couple of weeks, and we'd managed to squeeze in her appointment right before she needed to go to the airport. I knew the paranoid woman wouldn't leave the state without a checkup from her doctor first, and I didn't want to make her miss her flight.

“Come on, pumpkin,” I said, unbuckling her seat belt and pulling her out of the car. Not the smartest move, I reflected, as all her limbs were still flailing. “Emma, don't make me tell Nana that you didn't behave yourself today,” I warned, not sure what else I could say. I didn't really want to threaten the girl; I knew that things had been difficult lately and that spending more time with her Nana was the one thing that Emma was really happy about. Now, to have to take that away from her as well, I felt horrible.

It is for the best, I reminded myself. Anyway, I was sure that Emma would have fun if she would only give daycare a chance. The girl had always been good at making friends with anyone she was introduced to.

“Nonononononono!” Emma wailed, her kicking increasing in intensity as I pulled her out of the car.

I groaned and practically collapsed as one of her kicks landed, her shoe digging right into my nether regions. I swore colorfully and half-dropped the girl on the ground, where she promptly burst into tears. I felt bad, but I was busy trying to suck in air through my teeth and not vomit all over the sidewalk.

A shadow fell over the two of us, and I looked up at the woman standing there, a grin on her face. I assumed she had seen exactly what had just happened, but she didn't rebuke Emma. Instead, she crouched down next to her, her voice sweet and soothing. “Hey, kiddo, bad morning?” she asked.

Emma looked mistrustfully at her, but amazingly, her wailing lessened. Through my pain, I wondered who this mysterious dark-haired woman was. I had lived in Tamlin, Illinois for my whole life, but I didn't recognize her.

“Do you like dolls?” the woman continued.

Emma nodded slowly. “Uh huh,” she said, putting her fingers in her mouth.

“Well, you know, I have a brand new dolly inside the daycare, and she needs a name. Would you like to come inside and meet her?”

Emma's lower lip wobbled dangerously. “Don't wanna go to daycare,” she mumbled.

“Oh honey, I know the first day can be scary, but I bet you're going to have tons of fun,” the woman continued, and I finally figured out who she must be: Olivia Sable, the new daycare operator.

What a way for me to make a first impression, I thought, barely refraining from rolling my eyes.

“How about this,” Olivia suggested to Emma. “If you come inside and meet the new doll, I'll get you a glass of apple juice also.”

Emma's eyes lit up at that: apple juice was her favorite. I breathed out a sigh of relief and followed the two of them inside. I just hoped Emma would be on her best behavior for the rest of the day.

Once Emma was settled inside with the doll and a sippy cup, I had the chance to properly introduce myself to Olivia. I held out my hand, holding her warm one for a brief moment in my grasp. “I'm Eric Jones.” I paused. “You're an absolute lifesaver, but if you don't mind me asking, how did you recognize us?”

Olivia raised an eyebrow at me. “You pulled up in front of my house,” she pointed out. “Plus, you included a picture of Emma in your application for her. And if those things weren't enough, my mom, Jeannie Sable, gave me a description of you.”

I grinned at her. “She did, did she? I hope it was a nice description.”

From the way Olivia blushed, I had to wonder just what had been in that description. I tried not to laugh.