Page 16 of Oh My Secret Christmas Baby
“She went there for a reason.” What I'm thinking too. It was my door she came to. Though she might think since I’m the mayor I might be able to help her find another person she could be searching for in New Hope. The thought pisses me off for no reason.
“I’ll see what I can find out from her tomorrow after she gets rest. I need you to get her some things. The bag she brought was small.”
“Like clothes?”
“Everything a girl needs to be comfortable at home.” I’m not sure what all that is. The only woman I ever lived with was my mother. “I’m going to set up an appointment with Dr. Parks so Gwen and the baby can get checked. She can do local care, but I think we’ll have to go back to the city when she gets closer to delivering. Oh, and a baby room,” I add.
The room she’s in would be best for that. It would be right next to the master. “I need baby books as well. Then I’ll?—"
“Hollis!” Mom shouts my name.
“What?”
“Slow down.” I don’t want to fucking slow down. Not until I know Gwen has everything she needs to stay here permanently. I mean, I think I’m going at a turtle's pace, compared to what my mind has been imagining. If it were up to me, this process would be moving a lot quicker. There would be a ring on her finger, she’d have my last name, and she, the baby, and I would live happily ever after.
Holy shit. I’m really all in.
“I only mean about the baby. You’ll freak her out. The girl herself only just found out the baby was hers.” Mom’s tone is getting more heated by the second. “I want that fertility clinic’s name.”
“It appears we both have things to handle.”
“Are you going to let her keep planning this party?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the right answer. Now send me a few pictures of her so I know her size.”
“I’ll pull a couple from the cameras.” Mom is quiet for a moment before she speaks again.
"So, really, my party kind of helped facilitate this."
"Mom," I chuckle. "You can take the credit."
"Oh, I was going to," she says smugly before we say our goodbyes.
I stand there still at a loss of how Gwen got here. There has to be some connection.
"Fucking hell." I run my hand down my face. There are many issues to explore and things to be done.
What I do know is that when she lifted her sweater to show me the small bump,minewas thefirst barbaric thought I had.She's mine, and the baby is mine. It might sound crazy to everyone else, but I didn't get to where I am without trusting my instincts when it comes to people and situations.
I send my mom the pictures, saving them for myself on my phone too before I call Kindred. There is one more issue that needs to be handled. I could see the guilt all over Gwen when I almost kissed her. I want to be honest with her, but after all the lies she got from this Max, it could spook her. I can’t chance it. Not yet.
It was fucking stupid on my part. Now she’ll think I’m a cheater, but I’ll handle that with the help of Kindred, and she’s more than willing to help out. She actually sounds overly excited.
“Don’t do anything too crazy. Simple,” I tell Kindred, knowing I have to state it or she might do something dramatic while she breaks off our pretend engagement.
“I’ve got this. I was made for this.”
“You reached out to the sheriff?” I ask her. Kindred grew up in this town and knows everyone. It’s why I hired her. It’s definitely not the use of her sparkle pens and stickers that landed her the job. I swear she’s a handful but also efficient. She actually gave me a good job sticker on a contract last week. I don’t know if she’s serious or fucking with me, but I’m starting to think that’s the point.
“Oh, I’m going to light up the phone tree.”
“No, you’re not going to do that.”
“Hey now. I’m not stupid, and I know my town. I’m not going to give them details. Only going to tell them to be on the lookout for a Max. His ass is grass.”
I can already see it now. Any tourist that enters this town is going to be asked for their name in conversation.
