Page 50 of Burden to Bear

FOURTEEN

Mia

I’d just gotten out of the shower when the doorbell rang.

It was getting late—I’d already had dinner—so I could only assume it might have been Brock at the door.

As quickly as I could, I got myself dressed and descended the stairs. When I opened my front door, nobody was waiting on the other side. And that’s when I saw the delivery truck driving away.

My eyes shifted to the side and landed on the package that had just been delivered, a feeling of excitement moving through me.

The crib.

After the discussion I’d had with Brock just over a month ago when we had dinner together followed by feeling my baby move for the first time the next day on our walk, I realized I couldn’t continue to put off getting the crib much longer. This pregnancy was real, the baby was coming, and whether I wanted to admit and accept it or not, I was going to be a single mother. I needed to start making the decisions on my own.

Between work, a doctor’s appointment, a visit from my family, and a girls’ night in with some of my friends from work, just over two weeks had passed before I got around to ordering the crib. The crib wasn’t expected to ship for another two to three weeks. And though I hadn’t realized it was set to arrive today, I was ecstatic to see it there. Now, I could spend the weekend getting it assembled and all set up.

Much to my dismay, I stepped outside and attempted to move the box, but it wouldn’t budge. I could have carried it inside one piece at a time if I opened the package where it stood, but it was leaning against the house at an awkward angle, and I didn’t trust it wouldn’t tip over if I cut open the top and began removing pieces haphazardly from inside.

Instantly, my gaze drifted toward Brock’s place. I felt bad for immediately assuming I could ask him to help me move it—even though I knew he would—and decided instead to walk over to my neighbors on the opposite side. Maybe Russ could help carry it in for me. He and Janel had already indicated months ago that if I ever needed anything, I could call on them.

Yes.

Yes, I needed to stop relying on Brock to be there all the time.

Things had been wonderful between us over the last month or so. He and I were still getting along great, meeting at the mailbox nearly every day unless I had a doctor’s appointment, and walking together after work whenever it was nice outside a couple of days a week. Izzy had even returned for a visit with her uncle during that time, and I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with the two of them together.

It had all been great. I loved having Brock’s friendship, and I adored the way he treated me.

But I was developing feelings for him that went beyond surface level attraction.

And that made me feel like I was entering dangerous territory. Brock hadn’t necessarily gone out of his way to do more for me than I believe he would have done for any other neighbor or friend.

Sure, there had been a handful of moments that felt like there could be an attraction there on his end, but some of those came before I announced the pregnancy. The others, well, either I’d been in a nightie that showed off more skin than usual or I was having an emotional moment, often related to my pregnancy, that led to him offering comfort.

Mistaking his kindness or empathy for something more wasn’t smart. Todd’s reaction to the pregnancy news had made it possible to feel enough disappointment for a lifetime. I didn’t need to pile more of it on by having the wrong ideas about Brock’s compassionate nature.

On that thought, I descended the stairs and made my way over to the house opposite Brock’s. Sadly, despite both ringing the bell and knocking on the door, neither Russ nor Janel came to the door. It was a Friday evening, so they probably went out on a date.

With no other choice, unless I was prepared to wait until tomorrow to try again at their place or go through the entire neighborhood in hopes of finding someone else to help me, I went over to Brock’s.

The moment he opened the door, I felt nothing but regret.

Sweet regret.

Because there wasn’t anything I didn’t like about what I was seeing. Evidently, Brock had just gotten out of the shower, too. His hair was still slightly wet, and his face freshly shaved. But the biggest indication he was settling in for the night was that he was wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung sweats. Not a shirt to be found.

Try as I might to force my attention to his face, I failed. There was a wall of strong, solid muscle in front of me. It had to be by sheer luck that I didn’t drool on the spot. I couldn’t remember ever being impacted by the sight of a man like this. Was it because Brock was that devastatingly handsome, or was it because I was a pregnant woman with raging hormones? Perhaps it was a combination of the two.

“Mia? Is everything okay?”

I shook my head, blinking my eyes several times, and craned my neck to help myself avoid looking at his naked torso. “No. No, I’m so sorry for disturbing you tonight. I tried to go over to Russ and Janel’s place first to see if Russ could help me, but they didn’t answer, so I think they might have gone out on a date or something.”

A wounded look washed over his expression. “You needed Russ to help you with something?”

I shrugged. “I just needed someone to help with something, not necessarily Russ.”

“Why didn’t you come here first?” he pressed.

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