Page 58 of Christmas with the Baby Daddy

I quickly did the math. Grandma Jenny couldn’t care for him if there was a party to cater tonight. Amanda was out, sick as well. If Blake couldn’t miss any more work, even though Grandma Jenny insisted she take care of herself with all this stress and a sick child at home, then that left me.

“I can stay with him tonight.”

All three of them looked at me. Grandma Jenny smiled, like I was brilliant. George raised his brows, like he was excited at the idea. And Blake’s mouth hung open in shock. She quickly closed it. “What? No. He’s sick, Zach.”

I shrugged. “Not like I can’t handle that.”

Grandma Jenny nodded, almost amused. “He’s always had a robust immune system.”

“No, but…” Blake frowned. “I can’t ask you to…”

“You’re not asking,” I told her, hopeful she’d trust me to do this for her. “I’m offering.” I looked down at George, checking with his reaction to see if was overstepping. One evening at the holiday festival didn’t make us best buds. Sitting down with him and coloring was just the start of becoming familiar with each other.

What the fuck am I thinking? Babysit? Like I know anything about kids…

“Please, Mama?” George cozied against me, hugging the bucket. “Mr. Zachary can babysit me so you can work.”

She frowned at him, seeming near tears. I hated to see her so close to her breaking point, and knowing I could help her just by staying with George made me want to insist.

I bet she was torn between being here for her son and also providing for him. If she could take a leap of faith with me, I could ease her burden this much.

She gazed at me, her green eyes sheening with unshed tears. “You don’t mind?”

I shook my head. “I’d be glad to help, Blake.”

I was starting to wish I could be the one she turned to whenever she needed any support.

Because if I had to think about the thrill of being out in the big, bad world just to escape being confined in this small town in this outdated belief that something more important and better would be waiting for me out there…

I could see how wrong I’d been for so long.

Despite how quickly things were moving, being here for Blake and her son felt like one of the most important things I could ever task myself with.

23

BLAKE

Seeing George on Zach’s shoulders at the holiday affair on Main Street was sweet. Witnessing my son slanting toward him on the couch when he was vulnerable and needy? That squeezed my heart with so many emotions that I couldn’t stand it. George hadn’t experienced much time to get to know Zach, but I could see how naturally he gravitated toward him. How he could judge that Zach was safe to trust.

Because he can. Because he’s his son.

In this poignant moment, I felt it to the marrow of my bones how wrong I had been to ever worry that Zach wouldn’t want to be a father. That he’d struggle to adjust to having a son. Zach offering to sit with George wasn’t a clear signal that he was ready to embrace all of parenthood, but it was a huge sign to me nonetheless of how selfless and generous he could be with his heart and affection. Not just to me. Not just to me in a sexy way.

For someone to willingly want to sit with a sick child, that meant something. It meant a big something for a rough and tough military man who seemed allergic to settling down for so long.

“You’re sure?” I checked one last time.

“Yeah.” Zach nodded, draping his muscular arm around George’s shoulders to keep him close. My—our—son sighed and relaxed against him.

“O… okay. Then that’s that.” I forced a quick smile up at Jenny, who still stood behind me. “Looks like we’ll be fine on this front, then.”

I couldn’t vouch for myself, though. I wasn’t fine. Not as I showered and got ready to head to the kitchen with Jenny and start prepping for work. Not as I went through the work of loading the van with her.

Shocked and awed, I struggled to accept that Zach had stepped up in such a fatherly way like that. And as soon as I wanted to smile and mentally swoon at how sweet the sexy man was, a softie for George, I fell into the side-effect of cringing that he didn’t know hewasa father.

I loathed myself for being too shy and nervous to speak up. I would. I knew I had to. My plans to reveal this huge news after Christmas didn’t seem like such a good idea now. Letting Zach babysit George under the assumption that he was just watching my kid—instead of being a parent and caring for his own sick son—was cruel. I didn’t intend to play with his intentions or emotions, but I couldn’t have spoken up then.

I wanted to tell Zach, one on one, to let him soak up the bombshell. Then I’d tell George that Zach was his daddy. Then Jenny and anyone else. Dropping that news with them all in the same room wouldn’t have been fair to any of them.

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