Wes sat next to Kat on the bed and swiped the rough washcloth softly down her arm. His tender touch, caring gaze, and occasional longing glance at her belly made her feel more cared for than she’d ever known in her life.
Droplets clung to the edge of her skin like a light drizzle on a summer day. His attentive gaze traveled from face to neck to arm with each swipe. “Is this helping?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s refreshing. Thank you.” She wanted to drill him about their future, but he looked worn out from stress and lack of sleep. And he was right. They did need to wait until they were both stronger and rested before they spoke about marriage, but she yearned to talk about the baby. “Do you think we should come up with some names?”
His hand stalled, his lips parted, and he took in a quick breath. “Maybe we should give it a week or two. Make sure we are out of danger.”
An internal struggle obviously raged inside him. She could see he wanted to touch her belly, connect with his child, yet run from the room all at the same time. That’s why he didn’t want to get married. He could only focus on survival at this moment. “Do you trust Dr. Ryland?”
“Yes, probably more than I’ve ever trusted any other doctor.”
Kat didn’t want to say the words aloud, but she knew he needed to hear them. “She says that even if the baby doesn’t make it, I will. That I’m healthy and nowadays women don’t typically die in childbirth.”
He flinched and pulled away, but she grabbed his arm. “I promise you, I won’t die on you. Not like that.”
His hands shook. “You can’t promise that.”
“I’m stubborn, you know. It’s the one thing my mother gave me that I find useful.” She took his hand and placed it on her heart. “Do you feel this? My heart beats, and it isn’t going to stop, because I love you too much.”
He offered a curt nod, then slid away from her. “I think there’s more to your mother than you realize.”
“She isn’t a power-hungry person who didn’t have time for raising a child?” Kat huffed. “Don’t tell me she’s poisoning you against me already.”
“No one could do that.”
“She will if she can. It’s as if my mother has never been happy so no one else should be happy. She’s run off every boyfriend I’ve ever brought around her. I thought you were stronger than that, though.”
He plopped the washcloth unceremoniously into the bowl and faced Kat. “I should tell you that your mother and I reached an agreement.”
Kat’s skin burned with warning. “What agreement?”
“She’ll remain downstairs and handle the house while I remain up here with you. Before you object, I’ve already agreed. I’m afraid as hard as I tried to enjoy being a servant of sorts, I don’t. I’ve never even taken out my own garbage. Cooking wasn’t bad—I kind of enjoyed that—but the rest can go to staff.”
She stiffened, but he took her hand and kissed each knuckle. “Kat, Dr. Ryland told me that it’s okay if I need help, too. That I don’t have to take everything on. We’re not going to get into it now, but a relationship means compromises. I know you don’t want staff raising our child, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have help with the house.”
Everything inside Kat screamed to send her mother away, to keep her servant mentality away from them, but she didn’t want to leave all the work to Wes. He looked tired and needed rest, too. “Okay.”
His eyebrow rose. “Really? No argument? No judgment? No questions?”
“I can cry if you want. I’m apparently developing a talent for that.” She winked, longing to have some time off from the drama in their lives.
“No, we’re good.” A hint of a smile broke on Wes’s face.
“If we can move forward planning for the baby… We need to have faith that all will work out. I don’t want to live as if waiting for something bad to happen.”
Wes stood, removed the towel from the bed, and retrieved the bowl. “I’ll be right back with some lunch, and then we can hang out and look through the baby name book I picked up.”
“You did?”
“Yep. I didn’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but you’re right. We need to move forward. The girls will be by tomorrow to check on you. That way you’re not stuck with my ugly mug twenty-four-seven.”
“I don’t know. I’ve gotten used to seeing your handsome face around more lately. A girl could get used to this kind of attention.”
“Good, because I have plenty to give.” He left her in the room with her thoughts of a brighter tomorrow.
The baby kicked, and she wrapped her arms around her middle. “Don’t worry. I’m going to be the best mother possible. I’ll never abandon you for work or travel.”
Wes kept his promise and returned with a gigantic baby book of names. They cuddled up together and flipped through. “What about Bruce?”
“No. Kids would call him Batman.”
“What about Roxy? Sounds tough yet feminine.”
“Roxy’s a dog’s name, or worse.” He flipped through some more pages. “This would be easier if we found out the sex of the baby.”
“Do you want to know?” Kat asked, not wanting to keep him from his wishes but also not wanting to find out.
“I don’t know. You?”
She turned the page of the book and eyed the list of outrageous names she could barely pronounce. “No. I want to meet our child the day he or she is born. I don’t care what we have, as long as he or she is healthy.”
“Okay, but we can’t keep saying he or she, and since we don’t know what to name him or her, let’s use a generic name for now. How about Peanut?”
“Why, because the baby’s so small?”
“No, because the baby has a tough exterior to protect it—you—and a soft, loving world inside to comfort it.” He shrugged. “Besides, my grandmother told me once my mother called me Peanut when she was pregnant. Kind of makes me feel like she’s here with us.”
“Peanut. Okay. I can go for that.” She flipped a few more pages. “Tell me about your mother.”
Wes shrugged. “I don’t know much about her except that she was nice and kind to others but wasn’t a strong person.”
“She sounds like she was a kind woman. And our baby will know us.” She took his hand to her belly. “Peanut, meet Daddy.”
He swallowed loudly but didn’t tear up this time. Instead, he lit up like the morning sun over the ocean. “Nice to meet you, Peanut.”
They spent weeks writing a long list of possible boy and girl names. A month on bed rest that slowly eased on restrictions. Mother remained on the ground floor as she’d promised.
Wes did everything for Kat, except propose.
On the first day of Kat’s seventh month, they left the doctor’s office feeling lighter and ready to take on the world. “Sounds like everything’s going smoothly. No more preterm labor, and Dr. Ryland even encourages you to get up and move around more.” Wes tucked Kat into the car and headed back to their place.
“I’m getting so big. You’re not going to want to look at me soon.” She rubbed her belly. “I feel like I’m stretched from New York to San Francisco.”
His hand slipped to her belly. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, and there is nothing sexier than you carrying my child. Pregnancy agrees with you. You’ve got a glow to your skin, and you look happy.”
“I am.” She glanced out the window. “Now that I’m better, you don’t have to run interference so much with my mother.”
“Actually, I don’t mind. She’s been helping me with something.” Wes hesitated to tell her what he’d been working on when Kat napped each day, but if they were going to be together, he needed to share everything.
“I’m intrigued. What could you possibly have to work on with my mother?”
Wes turned down their street and eyed the driveway ahead. “You know how Dr. Ryland told us our baby might need special care?”
“Yes, but she also said that Peanut might be fine, and if not we have the resources to get anything we need for our baby.”
“Right. That’s the point. We’re lucky. Do you remember me telling you before about how insurance doesn’t cover a lot of things children need? That certain medicines for seizures are not covered, so parents are forced to give their children medications that have worse side effects? The more I dug into studying the various issues, the more I realized how many families can’t afford what they need.”
She circled her hand around her belly and stared out the windshield. “I knew our health care system could be challenging, but to deny a child what they need? That’s barbaric.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, because your mother’s helping me navigate the politics of getting laws changed, setting up grants, and bringing awareness to our defunct health care system. Also, we’re attempting to open a center in Cocoa Beach that provides elite care for financially challenged parents with special needs children.”
Wes pulled into the driveway holding his breath and pushed the gear into park to face Kat’s judgment on his insane plan. “So, what do you think?”
She studied her perfectly manicured nails—the girls had come over yesterday for a mini spa day—and then she looked up through her thick lashes at him. “I think you’re the most amazing man I’ve ever known, and if it’s possible, I love you even more. And I want to help.”
He relaxed into his seat for a second. “You know, your mother has been extremely helpful. I’ve gotten to know her a little better.”
“Be careful. That woman stings like a man-of-war on steroids.”
“Seriously, Kat.” He gripped the steering wheel, eyeing the front door. “Now that the doctor gave you the all clear, I think you should sit down and work some things out. She wants to be a part of the baby’s life.”
“She said that?”
“No, but I can tell. It’s as if she wants to be but is scared to be all at the same time.” Wes hopped out of the car, opened Kat’s door, and helped her to stand. “I just want you to be happy, and I’ll spend the rest of my days making sure that happens.”
She grabbed onto both of his arms. “Since I’m doing better, perhaps it’s time we speak about our future plans.”
“I want to be with you always.” He willed her to see that.
“Then why not ask?”
He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, willing an answer to surface. “Is it tempting fate if we marry before the baby arrives?”
She shook her head. “Sometimes we need to believe love is faithful.”
“What if I don’t want to challenge fate?” That was the ugly truth. He was a coward even now. As if he put a ring on her finger, it was an admission he wanted to spend the rest of his life together. The way his father had vowed to his mother before she died giving birth to him. It broke the man, the same way losing Kat would break him. But would he turn his back on his own child if that happened?