"Not today."
"Oh, I talked to Mom, and she said it was fine for you to play in that Wednesday league. I can pick you up and drop you off," I said to him.
His eyes round, he asked, "Seriously?"
I smiled. "Seriously."
"I'm going to tell my friends." Duncan got up from the table and disappeared down the hallway. I'd bought both of them a tablet so that we could communicate through email. They were a little young for cell phones.
Rae nibbled on a sandwich as I poured lemonade for her.
"You wanted to talk to me about something," Mom said absentmindedly as she sipped her water.
"We wanted to tell you that we're pregnant," I said, sitting next to Rae, my heart pounding hard.
Mom's brow arched. "Oh?" And then she focused on Cooper. "I assume you're the father?"
"That's right."
"Are you getting engaged?" Mom asked, her voice lifting in what sounded a lot like hope.
I shook my head. "We plan to co-parent."
Mom sighed long and hard. "Good luck with that. Most men don't stick around."
"Mom—" I chided, looking toward Rae. She didn't need to hear her mother's vitriol toward deadbeat dads. Thankfully, Rae was reading a book next to her plate. "What do you think, Rae? You're going to be an aunt?"
She lifted her gaze. "Can I play with her?"
"She might be a boy. We don't know yet."
Her nose scrunched. "I hope it's a girl."
Rae finished her sandwich and asked to be excused to her room.
"Having a baby as a single woman isn't easy," my mom said.
"You told me often enough," I murmured, exchanging a look with Cooper.
"I intend to be in Ivy's life and to help out with the baby," he said.
Mom sat at the table. "For how long? Until you decide you need to go somewhere else?"
"Well, ma'am, my family is here, and I work in the family's business. I don't have any intention of leaving, and now I wouldn't anyway. Ivy and the baby are my priority."
Mom sighed but didn't say anything further. We ate the sandwiches she provided, talking about the used vehicles I'd researched for her. "Bob at the used lot in Ft. Myers said he could give you a good deal. You just need to get there."
"If I want to get a better job, I'll need a working car. Thanks for researching that for me," Mom said, getting up to clean our dishes.
I carried mine to the sink, and she said, "I warned you about situations like this. I thought you would be smarter than I was."
I looked over at Cooper, whose attention was on Duncan, who'd returned to eat his lunch.
"It wasn't planned. But I think it will be different.”
"I hope for your sake it is," Mom said, bitterness lacing her tone.
I wanted to create a better life for my baby, but I was worried she was right.