Page 62 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

It had to be some kind of dream.

I’d never given a lot of thought to children in the past. My own upbringing was rough, and life as a soldier hadn’t made me any softer. Sometimes, I would tell myself that I just needed to find the right woman, but even that wasn’t enough to sell me on children. I had no idea how I would react to such news.

Now I knew it was the best news I could hear from the woman I loved, second only to hearing that she loved me.

Kittylovedme.

And I loved her.

Those thoughts and more kept me awake all night long. The excitement kept tiredness at bay, and when morning finally broke, I knew I had to start planning things.

After a quick breakfast at the motel bar, I spent the next few hours on the phone trying to find a lawyer within my budget. Most that I called hung up the moment they learned I could be sued by the mayor, but eventually, I was able to get through to a well-known lawyer who was only two grand out of my budget. She was my last resort, so I paid her and forwarded her my contract to look at.

She told me she would look over it and get back to me within a day but mostly wouldn’t move forward until the New Year. Understandable since Christmas was a stone's throw away.

Then I headed through town and scoured the local book shop for everything they had on babies. I had no family to speak of and very little experience with children, but I was going to learn. I would consume everything I had my hands on to make sure I was the best dad I could possibly be for my baby.

My baby.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, I’d worked up an appetite so I headed to The Anchor and couldn’t keep the smile from my face when I greeted Melanie.

“You’re in a good mood.” She snorted softly while scribbling down my lunch order. “Talk with Kitty went well, then?”

“So well,” I replied. I wanted to tell her because I was bursting with the news, but I wouldn’t take that from Kitty. They had been friends a lot longer, so I would have to wait until Kitty spilled the beans.

“You’re so soft when you talk about her.” Melanie smiled. “I used to think you were this emotionless rock.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Technically, no,” I replied. “I’m supposed to be. Too used to keeping clients at arm's length.”

“And how did that work out for you?” Melanie smirked and wandered away to the kitchen. She returned thirty seconds later and poured me a lemonade.

“I don’t regret it,” I said softly, drumming my fingers on the bar. “Part of me feels like I should, but I don’t. We’re both adults and we fell in love.”

“Love?” Melanie placed the glass down in front of me. “You said theLword?”

“We both did.”

“My, my. I bet the mayorlovesyou even more now.” She laughed, accepting my card.

“Honestly? I’ve got no clue what he thinks. But I need to talk to him. I need him to understand that we did nothing wrong, and I need to make sure he’s not going to sue me for my contract.”

Melanie cleared my tab, then spun my card between her fingers as she handed it back to me. “He’s a greedy man these days. Anything for extra cash.”

“I know. I tell myself that our past history of spending countless nights supporting each other through college should be enough to have him look past it, but…” I puffed out my cheeks. “He’s not the same man he was.”

“I want you and Kitty to be happy. I can’t tell you what to do in regard to the contract, but remember my barn? The mayor barely gives a shit about safety anymore. Not even Kitty being caught in that was enough to open his eyes. He needs some kind of wake up call, and I don’t know if we can do that. But I do know that surely, his lack of compassion for this town could work in your favor?”

I shrugged and drank deeply. “I have no clue. He’s still a businessman. His contracts are intense. I did find a lawyer, though.”

“Oh?” Melanie paused her polishing of the glass in her hands. “A good one?”

“As I can afford. Barely. She’s looking over the contract as we speak.”

“I wish you luck,” Melanie said. “And if there’s anything I can do?”

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