“Dan?”The voice that called my name was tentative, and when I turned back to Scarlett, she was fidgeting in place, looking anxious.“Don’t worry about them,” I said, taking a guess as to what had her so worried. “They’re friends of mine. They all have children of their own, so they’re helping me with the baby. I don’t know the first thing about children, you know.”She winced. “Well, I didn’t either, technically. Imagine losing your virginity, then finding out you’re pregnant, and the man responsible just up and left without a word.”I flinched again, and she definitely caught it. I’d hoped she hadn't. She pursed her lips, then sighed.“I mean, I’m not exactly blaming you. You came with issues, and you were going to leave. It’s not like you had to say something to me, but…it would have been appreciated, Dan.”I looked away from her, feeling guilty. It had been a shock when she told me I’d taken her first time. And I hadn't exactly been careful about it. Thinking back now, there was p
“Now what?” I asked after a long silence.Dan sighed and started pacing. He looked about as bad as when I’d seen him for the first time, a thick beard on his face and his hair overgrown and left unkempt back in the clinic, but now he looked a little bit better. Even though he was in a rumpled suit. It was how I’d recognized him, actually, though he’d changed suits and had at least taken a shower since then.“I don’t know, Scarlett,” he admitted. “I mean, I do understand your situation, at least a little bit. But you have to understand that I don’t think I can take care of a baby, either.”Again, the fear that he would dump the baby on me was back.“I’m sorry about that, but I can't, either. And I don’t want to give him up for adoption. I was…thinking I could try school again or something. I’ll probably get a crappy job where I can earn enough money to at least take some classes at a community college, then look for something better afterwards…”But it wasn’t as if life was so simple.
I watched Scarlett as she hugged herself, her shoulders hunched as she watched me with wide eyes. I felt…strange, like I held this woman’s world in my hands. Or, well, the fate of a child that belonged to the both of us.It really would be better for everyone involved if I gave into the adoption idea. I hadn't actually thought of it, because I hadn't had time. I’d been left with some stranger’s baby, and all I could think of was how to find the mother and return the child. But, it wasn’t that simple anymore.I didn’t know how I felt about Scarlett, or the baby. I’d had fun with her, but this was all too sudden. My wife had left me because I’d been reluctant to have a child in the first place.When I thought of it that way, the current situation was pretty ironic, how I’d fallen into the exact kind of situation I’d been running from with Laila.But…is this really the same?With Laila, I’d felt panicked every time she mentioned children. I’d done everything to try and get her to forget
I woke up in a large bed, alone, and for a moment, I was disoriented. Until I remembered I’d moved in with Dan. It had been a few days already.Everything had happened so quickly. There wasn’t anything left in the hotel anyway, so after he’d called his friends to pick us up, I’d locked it and we’d left. I still had to do something about it, but I had time and a place to think.Dan’s house was bigger than I’d expected, big enough for our little family of three. He’d told me he hadn't planned for a family any time soon, but he had a couple guest rooms. He was letting me sleep in his room, while he took one of the guest rooms. His friends had bought a crib for Makas, and when we got back, they’d helped to turn the extra room into a nursery where he slept.I didn’t like sleeping alone, and I didn’t like the idea of the baby asleep in a room on his own, so he was in a crib just a few feet from the bed. I got up and walked over to him, smiling down at him when I found he was still sleeping.
It had been my decision to ask Scarlett to move in with me. I’d all but said I would support her.Days later, and I was sort of having second thoughts.A while after I’d retreated into the bedroom to hide from my friends’ wives, Makas had woken up, and immediately started crying. Because Scarlett was busy, I’d picked him up to try and calm him down, at the same time trying to figure out what had him in a bad mood. I checked what I feared most, first. But there was no smell, and his diaper didn’t seem heavy, so it wasn’t soiled. I breathed a sigh of relief and rocked him gently. There was a bottle on the nightstand by the bed I knew Scarlett had left for last night. Scarlett had told me she breastfed him, but Martin had told me it wouldn’t hurt to give the baby some formula as long as she didn’t stop nursing him.The bottle still had some formula in it, so she must have added more after she fed him last night. I figured it would be fine, and I tried to give him the bottle. He wouldn’t
I heard him crying, so I rushed from the kitchen, leaving the fire low on the food I was making for lunch. A minute later, I was picking Makas up and rocking him gently, quieting him.“Is he hungry again?” Dan said from behind me. “I can feed him, if you’d like.”I glanced over my shoulder at him, giving him a smile.“It’s fine. You can head back to your office and I’ll take care of this. Lunch will be ready soon.”Dan shrugged. “I don’t have much left to do right now.” He pushed off the doorjamb, walking over to me with his arms held out. I passed Makas over to him, pouting. He smiled down at our baby, bigger now though no less fragile at one year and a few months old. “Working from home has a lot of perks. I can help you out when I’m bored.”I snorted. “As long as you’re actually working.”He shot me a grin. Makas had calmed down. He’d had plenty of time to get used to Dan and calmed down pretty quickly when it was Dan holding him. I would have been a little bit jealous, but I lov
I found out that I had to be two things that I never thought I’d be in life. One was a cowboy, and the other was a daddy!Arrogant.Greedy.Selfish. Those are the words that spit out of my family’s mouth whenever they say my name. My twin brother, Noah thinks that he knows it all, even when we were little. The idea of going back to this life was something that I didn’t want to do. Living and working in the city suited me just fine, that was until I had something to prove, not only to myself but Rachel. The girl that I left behind because I found out that I was a daddy. Two things that I never thought I would be in life. One was a cowboy, and the other was a daddy.
I got up early to go to work, just like every other day. I knew it was different, though. I just didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t have time for breakfast, so I stopped by a café on the way for a coffee that would tide me over until it was time for lunch. Just like always.Once I arrived at work, though, it was obvious I couldn’t hide or ignore what had happened. My business was thriving, and that was all I wanted to think about. But it was hard to when the people that worked for me kept staring at me like they expected me to fall over.I ignored them the best I could. Even when they stopped talking every time I passed by. Even when several people asked me how I was doing too many times before lunch. I pushed it all away.Then, the call came.What does he want now?That was the thought in my mind when my phone rang, and I saw my grandpa’s name on the screen. He was perhaps the last person I expected or wanted, to hear from. He barely paid much attention to me, so after the surpr