Page 15 of The Paths We Cross
I sigh in relief and move to open the door for her. She follows me outside and over to her SUV. She knows I won’t let her drive, so she hands me her keys and walks around to the passenger’s side of the vehicle. I hop inside the driver’s seat and turn over the engine. My brother bought her this SUV to make sure that his wife and son would be safe all the time. It has all the bells and whistles and all sorts of safety features.
“So, which store should we go to?” I ask as I pull past the gate and onto the road towards town.
“I guess that depends on what all you plan on buying,” Sophie chuckles. “If you’re planning on buying everything she needs, you may want to go to Walmart, so you don’t drain your bank account.”
I nod my head and set off towards Walmart. We park and walk inside the store, and each grab a shopping cart. Sophie leads the way to the baby section and starts with bottles.
I never realized there were so many different types of bottles. Luckily, Sophie seems to know what she’s doing and grabs a few bottles to put into the cart. Before I know it, she’s got pacifiers, bottle cleaners, and bath products stocked high.
“Do you know what she’s having, or should I stick with gender neutral stuff?” She asks as she holds up some swaddles.
“She doesn’t know what she’s having, so stick with the gender neutral.”
Sophie nods her head before putting the tan and green swaddles in the cart, along with some matching burp rags. She puts a few more things in the cart that I have no clue what they are, and then we move over to the clothes section.
She starts grabbing onesies in all different sizes and neutral colors. She grabs some sleepers and shirts and pants sets, along with some socks. At this point, one of our carts is already full. She wasn’t kidding about draining my bank account if we went somewhere else.
We move towards the diapers, where Sophie picks out a brand she says she used with Asher and gets a few boxes of different sizes. I’m stressed just watching her do this.
“I think we should get a car seat, changing table, and crib for her, too. We don’t know how long she’ll be with us,” I tell her as we walk that way.
Sophie stops dead in her tracks. “Why are you really doing this, Ro?”
I sigh and swipe my hand over my face. “She told me that she hasn’t picked out anything for the baby. Literally nothing. She hasn’t even found out the gender because she feels like she’s been stuck in the night of the accident. I just want to help her. Maybe this will make her a little more excited for the baby. She deserves to be excited.”
Sophie watches me with tears in her eyes. “You’re a good man, Rowan Williams,” she says as she pats my arm.
I clear my throat. “So, which do you think she’d like?” I ask as I gesture towards the car seats.
An hour later, we’ve picked out a car seat, stroller, changing table, and basinet. Sophie says that Everly will use that more than a crib in the first few weeks of the baby’s life, anyways.
By the time we walk out of the store, we can barely fit everything in the back of Sophie’s SUV. She’s so excited to go home and decorate. I think this is making her excited about the baby she’s expecting. I know my brother is ecstatic about being there for the birth of this child, since he missed out on so much of Asher’s life.
Everly has a doctor’s appointment in a few minutes, so we lucked out on timing. When we get back to the clubhouse, I recruit the help of the prospects and my brother and nephew to set everything up. Axel took Everly to her appointment because he knows I don’t trust the prospects with her protection. I know that she’s safe with Axel.
The prospects, my brother, and I drag all the bags and furniture up to my suite and set to work. The guys work on the furniture while Sophie puts things away in Everly’s room.
I hope she won’t mind that we’re in her room and that she’s excited about the surprise and not upset. The guest bedroom in my apartment isn’t huge, but there is a queen-sized bed, a nightstand, dresser and decent sized closet.
Sophie instructs us on where to put everything and when we’re finished, it looks amazing. It doesn’t look like it was thrown together at the last minute, it looks like it was painstakingly planned out.
“Thanks, everyone,” I murmur as they start to clear out. “I really appreciate the help.”
There’s a chorus of “no problems” and then my nephew stops in front of me. “Do you think Ms. Kincaid will let me hold herbaby when it comes? I want to practice so I can be the best big brother.”
I smile warmly at him. “I bet Everly won’t mind,” I say as I ruffle his hair. “And you’re already going to be the best big brother.”
He gives me a toothy smile and takes off after his mom and dad. I check the time and realize that I still have a few more minutes before Everly should be home, so I go into the kitchen to get a drink.
We set up the bottles and bottle cleaner in here already, and Sophie started a load of laundry with all the baby clothes, swaddles, burp rags, and linens. Thank God, I took her with me, because I would have been lost, otherwise.
I walk into the living room and turn on the tv for some background noise but hear the keypad at my door beep. I turn around as Everly walks into the suite. She looks beautiful in a bright pink sundress that clings to her belly. Her black hair falls in soft waves today and her cheeks are a little pink from the heat. She locks eyes with me and smiles.
“How was your appointment?” I ask.
“It was good,” she says a little out of breath from the stairs. “She said everything is looking great and that I’m on track.”
“That’s good,” I tell her as I mess with the cap on my water bottle.
