“I’ll try to eat,” I said.
Lincoln took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Still no news?”
I shook my head. “I’m really trying not to let this bother me, but I’m scared, Lincoln. I’m scared she’s his, and I don’t know how I’m really going to feel about that.”
Ty and I had gone to Brock’s house when we got back from Billings and then filled Lincoln and Brock in on everything. How the two of us were now dating. Ty admitted to Brock about that day in his truck, after which Brock stood and hugged his brother. It was a touching moment.
Ty didn’t want to tell his parents, though, and I wasn’t going to push him. Neither was Brock. He had originally said he was only going to tell his therapist, so his telling Brock had been a surprise. A good surprise. Then he told them about Katy and Olivia. Brock didn’t seem to be as surprised as Lincoln was. I guess, with Ty having slept around so much, it shouldn’t have been a shock.
“Kaylee, stop beating yourself up about this. Everything is so new with you and Ty that simply being in a relationship, with all the baggage, is stressful. You’ve just had a huge wrench thrown in. Of course you’re going to be worried.”
“Did it bother you that Brock had Blayze?”
She shook her head. “I want to say no, but that was so completely different. I knew going in with Brock that he had a son. Still, knowing another woman gave him his first child did play around with my emotions. Not much, though, because Blayze was a part of Brock, and I loved him so much. You’re going into this new relationship with Ty, and you were blindsided. I’m honestly impressed with how well you’re handling it.”
We walked into a little café on Main and found two empty seats. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly chilled to the bone.
“I don’t know how well I’m handling it, truth be told. I refuse to let Ty see the worry, but a part of me is so sad that I may not possibly be the woman giving him his first child.”
Lincoln looked at me with sympathy in her eyes and a knowing smile on her face. Then her face grew serious, and she’d started to ask me something when the waitress walked up.
“Afternoon. What can I get you to drink?”
“Water for me,” I said.
“I’ll have the same.”
“Here are the menus; I’ll go get your drinks.”
I opened the menu and started looking, but I quickly peeked over it to see Lincoln looking at me.
“What?”
“You really do want a baby, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I mean, not right away—I think we need to be in a relationship for a bit before we mix in a kid. And it would be sort of nice for Ty to be able to tell me he loves me without it freaking him out.” I let out a half-hearted laugh.
Lincoln took in a deep breath and let it out. “I am the last person to tell you to take it slow. I mean, look how fast I got knocked up.”
Pointing to her, I nodded.
“But I do hope you don’t rush things. I know the two of you have been wanting this for so long, and I’m so over the moon you both got your heads out of your asses, but slow is good, Kaylee.”
I reached for her hand. “I know, Lincoln. I know.”
The rest of lunch was much lighter in mood as we talked about the plans for the summer. Blayze had been begging Brock and Lincoln to go to Disney. The little dude was going to owe me big time, because during lunch, I successfully talked Lincoln into what a great idea it would be for all of us to go to Disney. Of course, both of us being from the South, we pretended like we didn’t remember how freaking hot it was there. And humid.
“If we went at the end of July, Morgan would be almost five months old. She could sit in the pool, and it would be a little more fun.”
Lincoln laughed. “She’s fun now!”
We both turned and looked at her, still sleeping in the stroller.
“Not to be a killjoy, Lincoln, but look at her. She’s all cute and everything, but she’s sort of boring.”
Lincoln’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at me and then down to her sleeping baby. “Spend a day with her—she is far from boring.”
“All she does is sleep!”
“Ha! You know nothing. She cries. Poops a lot, demands food, then cries again.”
I looked at the peacefully sleeping baby. “Every time I see her, she’s sleeping.”
“Ugh! You have no idea!”
As if on cue, Morgan opened her eyes and let out a whale of a cry.
“Holy shit, it’s like she’s doing it simply to prove me wrong! She’s her father’s daughter. Shaw blood is for sure pumping in those veins.”