Black Friday
Brian could swear he’d seen that car before—the black sedan that managed to hide away its driver from him yet again.
He hadn’t registered much about it the first time because it’d been parked in a driveway, and he’d assumed his neighbor had a visitor.
This time, the car sped off in a way that got his attention before he’d managed to park. Something prickled in his gut and his mind began working on the possibilities. Just as it felt like a clear answer was about to emerge, his cell phone rang.
He saw that it was Karen, so he picked up immediately, all suspicions of the unfamiliar car dissipating.
“How’s everything?” he asked as he parked.
“She’s good,” Karen replied, making him feel guilty for a moment that she’d think he was only ever talking about his daughter.
“And you?” he insisted.
“Tired, but energized all at once,” she said, offering no further explanation.
“Is she asleep?”
“She’s taking her nap—we had a busy day; I feel like I need one too.”
“Well, lucky for you I’m coming to relieve you,” he said just as the front door swung wide and Karen’s smiling face greeted him.
His chest flooded with warmth.
She looked so beautiful in her plain clothes, and it felt so natural to have her there in his house, welcoming him home from work.
He suddenly realized he had no idea what to do once she moved on; her sister was due back soon and Karen would surely want to get on with her life. He couldn’t imagine she’d settle for continuing to be a nanny for him…
You know it’s way more than that, a voice told him. Especially after last night…
As he reached her, he greeted her with a huge hug and held tight, squeezing her soft body to him for a while.
“Um, I’m happy to see you too. But what’s this for?”
“Thank you,” he said.
“We’ve already been through this…”
“No…” He pulled back and looked her in the eyes, staring into her deep, brown pools, trying to impress upon her how serious he was, what he really meant. “Seriously, Karen, I want you to know I’m forever indebted to you.”
“Well, I can always name another price…”
“Stop trying to trivialize it—I know how hard this must’ve been for you, but you put everything you went through aside and helped me.” He almost regretted alluding to her own lost child when her energy seemed to drop. What was he thinking? “You’ve been risking so much of yourself for me and my daughter, and I just want to make sure you know I don’t take any of it for granted.”
Then she smiled at him—gently, sweetly—her eyes moistened. The softness of her manner made his insides ache, and he couldn’t help himself—he pulled her to him again, this time, crashing his mouth down on hers.
He vaguely registered that he’d startled her, but she didn’t pull away. He kissed her hungrily, shedding his tie and shirt in record time as he nudged them deeper into his house, kicking the door closed behind him.
His cock raged to enter her warmth, his body begging to be pressed against her soft curves, exploring all the sweetness she had to offer. He could barely control himself, all sorts of emotions tearing through him as he pulled the rest of his clothes off, and hers.
She’d have to take that nap later.
The following day…
Brian blinked at the blonde on his doorstep.
It was Saturday, and he’d had every intention of sleeping in as long as possible, especially since the baby had awakened at three a.m. that night and took a while to go back to sleep.
After he’d ravished Karen the previous evening, she’d headed home, and to his disappointment, made it clear she intended to stay there overnight as usual.
He felt a bit silly about being so upset about it since she was right next door, but he knew he’d miss her, even though it was nothing new—Karen split her time between the two houses depending on their plans, the baby’s patterns, and how she felt after looking after the baby all day.
He knew she was just a phone call away—heck, a yell away—and yet, it really bothered him that she wouldn’t be even closer last night. He’d wanted her to sleep next to him in his bed, wrap his arm around her as they fell asleep, spooning.
And now, after an inadequate night’s rest and before he’d had his coffee, here this strange woman was—although she struck him as vaguely familiar, but the fog of sleepiness hadn’t yet lifted.
“You’re kidding, right?” she said with slightly raised eyebrows, her words and tone acting as a shot of caffeine.
The answer fluttered to him just as she spoke again.
“You mean to tell me you don’t remember the woman you spent a lonely New Year’s with? It was almost a year ago, wasn’t it? It’s me—Deidre! Happy holidays, baby,” she said, throwing her arms around him, catching him completely by surprise.
He didn’t respond or return the gesture, his mind still processing the moment.
“Although I guess I’m a bit early this time. Did you have other plans for New Year’s Eve? We can plan ahead this time—we’ve got over a month.”
Yes, he did have something in mind; in fact, he had romantic plans for Karen. He’d fantasized about taking her out to a nice dinner, maybe surprising her with a different kind of proposal, one not involving watching his kid…
“You can’t just show up here,” he finally said out loud.
The woman’s symmetrical face immediately transformed, twisting from fake pleasantry to bratty entitlement.
“And why not?” she said. “You have my baby, after all.”
And there it was.
Though he’d known it dimly all along, it was still a gut punch to hear the words out loud.
“Seems to me we have quite a few things to talk about,” she finished needlessly. “May I come in?”
Brian made a vague gesture of welcome as he stood back, letting his actions say what his words could not.
She wasn’t here to try to take his daughter away now, was she?
He stared at her, waiting for her to state her purpose as she closed the door behind her.
He noticed she looked a little off—still pretty but hollow somehow. Of course, the fact that he’d met her at night meant all sorts of flaws hidden by darkness. Plus, being alone on New Year’s Eve probably meant that in preparation to go out, she’d made sure to look her best.
Perhaps the way she looked now was how she usually looked—it wasn’t as if he’d ever tried to find her or cared about anything other than a night with a warm feminine body at his side.
“Where’s Denise?”
“Her name is Isabelle, and she’s taking a nap right now.”
“May I see her?”
He hesitated but let the word “sure” leave his lips. It was the civil thing to do, wasn’t it?
But while his brain acknowledged that this was his child’s mother, his instinct was to be wary of strangers around his daughter, and, regardless of the biological connection, this woman was a stranger.
Strangers were unpredictable—one should always get a feel for a stranger before letting them near anything dear to you.
But he allowed logic to win, wondering if he was being a bit ridiculous—letting a mother see her child shouldn’t be such a big deal.
Then again, this was the same mother that left her on a doorstep in the dead of night, the same woman who decided to bet wild dogs wouldn’t go off with the newborn.
She hadn’t even rung the doorbell or knocked to make sure the child was found before the cold night air threatened her health and life!
He had every right to be wary of this careless stranger. But he couldn’t take back his permission now.
He walked Deidre to the baby’s room, staying on her heels. Once she spotted the child, she ran in.
“Please don’t wake her,” he said quietly.
“Oh, I just want to see her! Look into her eyes…”
She reached for the baby but he stepped between them, holding her arms away.
“Do not … wake her,” he said through gritted teeth.
“How dare you?” she replied, trying to wrestle her hands away and not bothering to use her inside voice.
Brian noticed the baby stirring out of the corner of his eye. “She has a schedule,” he whispered. “Please…” He let go of her wrists. “Please, let’s discuss things outside.”
Deidre glanced at the waking baby, then at him, then back at the baby, as if weighing the cost of defying his request.
Brian fought to stay calm and rational, trying to communicate he was not a threat, but still wanting to be threatening enough that she thought twice about trying him. Finally, her arms fell to her side as she turned on her heel and headed toward the exit.
Brian glanced back at his daughter and saw that she had decided to remain asleep, then closed the door gently behind him. He indicated for Deidre to keep it moving, gesturing toward the receiving area, grateful she hadn’t decided to keep yelling at him. That was a good sign, right?
“I want to be in her life,” Deidre began, folding her arms. “I made a mistake two months ago, and I’m ready to be a mom now.”
Brian took a moment to process her words. Though he’d suspected she might say something like that, considering the simple fact that she’d shown up, he still had trouble with the implications.
“What do you mean by that?” he asked.
“I want us to co-parent.”
Brian let out a gigantic breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Then it registered that it was because the possibility Deidre had come to lay sole claim on his daughter had vanished. Still, how did she expect this to work?
“And how do you propose we manage that?” he asked.
“Not much needs to change—I can do what your nanny’s being doing…”
“My na…oh, you mean Karen. So you’re saying you want to take over Karen’s shift, is that it? Do you live nearby? Karen and I have a rather convenient setup here since she’s just next door…”
“I can move in here.”
Brian couldn’t stop a dry laugh from escaping. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. We might share a child, but I barely know you from Adam. I’m not keen to let strangers in my space. What other ideas do you have?”
Her face pinched in offense. “But you have no problem entering a stranger’s ‘house’ and leaving a baby there.”
A light cry punctuated the air, and before he could do anything, Deidre ran toward the baby’s room, pushed opened the door, and stormed in.
By the time he arrived, she had already picked Isabelle up and was holding her against her chest, her hand on the baby’s back in a supportive and soothing motion as she cried.
“Shhh,” Deidre said gently, her amber eyes locked on him and filled with defiance and challenge.
This time, emotion and instinct took over as he saw his child in the arms of a virtual stranger.
“I’m going to call the police if you don’t put my daughter down.”
“And I’ll tell them you grabbed me! My wrists probably have marks.”
He certainly hadn’t held her wrists that hard, but he knew that, no matter what, she had the advantage here as a woman. She could make up whatever story she wanted and any authorities that arrived will probably give her the benefit of the doubt.
Plus, any threats he made right now would be idle—she was holding the most precious thing to him, so she had all the leverage in the world at the moment.
His eyes flickered from Isabelle to Deidre.
“What do you really want, Deidre?”
“I already told you—I want to be a part of my daughter’s life. When I came here, I had no intention of taking her away from you, but that option’s not off the table with the way you’ve been treating me! And you know how the system works—these kinds of things tend to work out in favor of the biological mother. You’re lucky I even decided to include you in the first place—I could’ve just given it up for adoption and there’s nothing you could’ve done, even if you somehow found out about it. I could’ve left her on someone else’s doorstep, but I did the right thing—I left her to you. I gave you a choice.”
“Did you? I’ve since wondered if you managed to sabotage the birth control—the opposite of giving me a choice.”
“Shit happens—everyone who fucks knows the risks. Faithful birth control or not and a pregnancy can occur. You knew it was possible, despite measures taken and you still decided to take the risk, so all blame here certainly doesn’t rest on my shoulders—it took two.”
Brian took a deep breath, sighing in temporary defeat. For now, he had no choice but to listen to everything Deidre had to say and work with her demands, resigning himself to difficult impending compromises.
He tried not to think about Karen’s place in it all, and how she might feel about whatever he was about to do.