Page 43 of Can We Try?

She laughs. “What time?”

“An hour?”

“We’ll be ready. Oh, and, Lachlan, bring Maggie.”

“I was planning on it. In fact, I’m bringing two guests, and no, the baby does not count, so technically, I’m bringing three guests.”

“Sounds good. Drive safe. I’ll see you in an hour.” I end the call and smile at Maggie.

“You just randomly call your mom on a Sunday morning and invite yourself to breakfast?” she asks in disbelief.

“Yeah. And I’m bringing you, peanut, and Grandma Doris.” Speaking of Grandma Doris, I dial her number, and this time, I put the call on speaker.

“Lachlan? Did we have plans today?” she asks.

“We didn’t, but now we do. Maggie and I will be there to get you in about a half an hour. We’re going to my parents' for breakfast.”

“Oh, dear, well, I’ll be ready,” she assures me. “See you soon.” I end the call, and toss my cell to the bed.

“You called my grandmother.”

“I did.”

“Why did she think she forgot plans with you today?”

Well, damn, I didn’t think this one through. “No reason.”

“Lachlan.” She tries out her mom voice as she crosses her arms over her chest. I bite my cheek to keep from smiling. She’s going to be such an amazing mom. Not just because she’s perfected the “talk now” look, but because she’s amazing, and our kid gets to have that every day.

“Okay, I’ve been there a couple of times since we told her about the baby.”

Her mouth falls open in shock. “You’ve been to see my grandma?”

“I have.”

“Why?”

“Well, when we were there, I noticed the faucet in the bathroom was leaking and there were a couple of boards on the porch that were loose, and I didn’t want her to fall, so on my day off a few weeks ago, I gathered everything I needed, picked up some lunch, and spent the afternoon with her.”

“You spent the afternoon with her?” she asks. “You fixed things at her house?” Her voice cracks.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I wanted to help, and I thought if I told you, that you would think it was just because of the baby that I felt obligated or something. That’s not it at all. I wanted to help her.”

“You wanted to help her?” she asks, wiping the tears that are coating her cheeks.

“I did.” I nod. I start to stand because I can’t see her cry, but instead, she starts to take slow, steady steps toward me. I decide to stay put and see what she’s going to do.

“Is that all?” she asks once she’s standing toe to toe with me where I sit on the edge of her bed.

“Um, no. I might have taken my dad with me one day too. The back porch needed some new shingles, and he helped.”

“Your dad helped?” she croaks with a sob.

I can’t take it any longer. I place my hands on her hips, and widen my legs, pulling her even closer. She comes willingly. “I did. I was able to help. We were able to help,” I amend, “and we wanted to do it.”

“I’m at a loss here, Lachlan. I don’t know what to think about this.”

“I’m sorry that I kept it from you. I was going to tell you. I knew you would find out.”

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