Baby, Be Mine (12 page)

“Just me. I’m back from lunch.”

Why did her gaze have to automatically find Gage where he squatted near the front of a vehicle working on a bumper?

Why did he have to be staring back with that intense expression that made her knees shaky?

She escaped to discard her coat on a side table in the office. Slowly she’d figured out how to do the paperwork and expense tracking, but it was still a struggle making the numbers line up. It was her job, though, so she’d find a way, even if numbers made her jittery.

A couple phone calls later, she remembered the mystery man in the café and returned to the workshop.

“Clay? There’s a guy I met at lunch who wanted to know when his job would be done. Older man, receding grey hair and fairly thin face.”

Her brother wiped his hands on a cloth, his lopsided grin taunting her. “That describes about eighty percent of the owners we’re working on stuff for. You got anything more for me to go on, like, oh…a name?”

She shook her head. “Sorry.”

Then Gage was there, all large and looming and far too sexy in his coverall. How a bit of grease and dust could increase his appeal was unfair. “Memory lapse?”

“Let’s pretend I got memory wiped by aliens. That would make it simpler.”

Gage laughed, his arm curling around her waist to hug her gently. “We need code words and secret signals to use in these cases.”

His lighthearted response soothed her edgy nerves, and it wasn’t so upsetting anymore. “Hang on—I’ve got an idea.”

She dropped the notepad in her hand on the hood of the nearest car and went to work. Maybe a pen wasn’t the best tool, but it still worked. The man’s face appeared before her in inky blue on the lined paper.

Only a few moments later when she held out the sketch to Clay, the shop had gone silent. None of her brothers were working—they had all gathered around her.

Katy glanced at them, puzzled. “What?”

Clay cleared his throat. “When did you learn how to do that?”

“Do what?”

Gage took the notepad from her, staring at the page with a huge grin on his face. “Draw pictures so lifelike I’d swear that Steve Berkhold is about to wink at us. Katy, this is amazing.”

She shrugged. “That’s who needs to be called about the job.”

“But you can’t draw,” Troy informed her. “You nearly flunked art in junior high.”

“Bullshit. How can you flunk art?” Gage asked.

Troy had taken the notepad from her and held it up to admire the sketch. “Ask her, but somehow she managed. I remember the conversations at the dinner table.”

“You remember them because you were thankful someone other than you was getting in shit about their report card.” Mitch tousled Katy’s hair then paced backward to return to his task. “That was the year Troy spent more time skipping English class than attending, right?”

“Fuck off. Not only was that a long time ago, but you were out rebuilding bike engines when you should have been in class as well.” Troy handed the book back to Katy. “Nice picture. And you did have a lower grade than me.”

“Ass.” Katy rested her fists on her hips. “Go away. We’re not teenagers anymore.”

Clay went to call Steve, leaving Katy alone with Gage. He leaned back on the railing, arms crossed easily in front of him as he smiled at her.

There was a streak of dirt on his cheek, and without thinking she wiped it away with her thumb.

He snuck an arm around her and lightly tugged her against his body. “So, you’re a budding da Vinci, are you?”

She peeked over her shoulder, but shockingly, no one was watching them. “You’re being awful forward. You don’t think manhandling me in the garage is a bad idea with all my brothers around?”

“First, I’m not manhandling you, I’m hugging you. And second, your brothers need to get used to the idea that we’re a couple. They’re big boys. They can handle it.”

She laid the notebook on his chest and crossed her hands over it, enjoying the close position far more than she wanted to admit. “So we’re a couple now?”

His hand made slow circles on her back. “We don’t need to repeat this conversation. Yes, we’re a couple. Deal with it.”

A laugh bubbled up. In spite of her frustrations, there were a few silver linings beginning to appear. “Hey, Gage. Did you know I could draw?”

“Hmm, you going to draw me sometime?”

Oh, lordy, the images that flooded her brain were far too triple X. Naked Gage. All the long, hard muscles she was currently leaning against glistening with water fresh out of a shower. Or better yet, slick from a hard workout, muscles pumped up and heated.

“You look as if you like that idea.” Gage leaned closer and whispered by her ear, “You want it, you got it. Need to explore this new talent of yours, and I’m game to be of service any way I can.”

Not only did it appear she had miraculously learned how to draw overnight, but his words threw her into a sexual heat wave—the images far too vivid.

“You want to service me?” she teased, shocked by her boldness.

“Oh hell, yeah.” He nuzzled the side of her neck lightly before drawing a deep breath and reluctantly separating them. “Only later. Back to work for us both.”

She stepped away from him, sad at the loss of warmth, but highly pleased by the fact that when she turned in the doorway of the office he was still watching her.

Chapter Twelve

Janey insisted she should be Katy’s primary support during labour, and Gage agreed it made the most sense.

“She’s your best friend, and you know you’re going to want her around, no matter what.” Gage got a look of approval from Janey for that one.

The fact his suggestion pissed Simon off pleased him even more. It felt good to jerk the other man’s chain.

“I don’t need three coaches,” Katy complained. “If Janey comes with me to classes, I’ll be fine.”

“But I want to be there,” Gage insisted.

As soon as Simon heard Gage was going, he wanted to come as well. So they were
all
at the hospital, like one big happy family. Regular classes wouldn’t start until later in the new year, but for some reason the first get-together was now, nearly six months before Katy’s expected D-Day.

Which meant Gage had to play nice. He did his best to ignore Simon, but the other man was right there in his face all the time. Deliberate, too. Gage saw it. The subtle glances as Simon assessed when would be the best moment to step in and cut off Gage and Janey.

If it wasn’t for Katy in the middle, Gage would have been tempted to simply drag Simon outside and duct tape him to a fence somewhere.

“Tonight is a chance for you to meet a few other couples who are expecting their first babies. Along with providing you with nutritional and exercise information, we’ll exchange a phone list so you first-time moms can get some support from others who are in the same situation.” The nurse teaching the session glanced around the room, her smile stuttering when it passed over their mob of four occupying the corner they’d staked out. “Umm. Right. So we’re not worrying about breathing exercises yet, but we have booked a tour of the hospital.”

Gage followed along as the nurse led them through sign-in procedure, and what documents were needed. She showed them the elevators and the stairs to the obstetrics floor. “In case one of you is running late,” the nurse teased. “With cell phones we find less partners are missing delivery than in the old days, but waiting for the elevator can seem to take forever if you are in a rush.”

Someone asked about emergency procedures, and the tension in the entire group rose.

Gage held on tight to Katy’s elbow. He’d wiggled his way past Simon on the last room change—okay, he’d basically shoved himself past the guy to steal the spot at her side. He ignored Simon’s growl of frustration, instead concentrating on Katy.

He leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. “You’re going to do fine, having the baby.”

She squeezed his arm. “Easy for you to say. You don’t have to push a football out through your private parts.”

The urge to cover his groin hit hard and fast. “No, thank God.”

A loud snort of amusement escaped her, and she hid her face against him as the entire class swung to look at them, distracted from the serious discussion about C-sections and epidurals.

Their guide opened a door and gestured the class into a new space. “And these are the birthing rooms. Chances are you’ll spend more time walking the hallways or at home than here, but we’re pleased to have renovated these recently. You can see you have a private space with a shower and an easy chair for whoever is supporting you to rest, if needed.” Another glance back at the convoy from the nurse, as if she was wondering how they were going to deal with all those bodies in the room.

Gage had his fingers crossed that by the time June arrived, Simon would be out of the picture.

“The bed adjusts in height and angle, so once you’re ready to push, we simply slip these stirrups into position…” she demonstrated, picking up a set of poster boards from the bed as she turned back to the class, “…and we’re all ready to go. Here’s what point you’ll be at when you are ready for actual delivery.”

Maybe he was a prude, but the picture the nurse held was not something he wanted to look at in public. Definitely not in a mixed group. Gage had watched porn, and seen his share of pussies up close and personal, but staring at some woman he didn’t know with a baby right
there
?

“Oh, God, someone
help
.”

Gage glanced to the right to discover Simon’s face had gone totally white, the man wavering on his feet as Janey attempted to keep him vertical. Tempting as it was to ignore the call for assistance, Gage stepped forward and caught Simon before the man folded to the ground in a dead faint.

“Relax, everyone.” The nurse put down the picture and gestured everyone out of the room. “Let’s give him some air. Head to the right and we’ll visit the nursery.”

She paused beside Simon who sat on the floor with his head between his knees. “Are you okay here for a bit?”

Gage couldn’t resist, even though this might get him killed. “Janey can stay with him until he recovers,” he suggested.

Janey made a hideous face at him behind the nurse’s back. “Sure, why don’t you all go ahead, and we’ll catch up.”

He owed her big-time, but totally took advantage as he guided Katy down the hall. They stopped in front of the glass windows looking in on the few babies sleeping in the maternity ward. The nurse did her little spiel about the area, and the class moved on, but Katy remained motionless, just staring.

“You okay?” Gage cradled her close, more interested in her reactions than looking at some strangers’ babies.

She didn’t say anything for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah.”

Only she was quiet the entire trip back to her house. He stoked the fire while she changed into a pair of soft sweatpants with a loose T-shirt. He sat on the couch, and when Katy crawled next to him and cuddled up, something inside dared to come alive.

She leaned against his chest as she stared into the fire. “I really miss my mom.”

Gage worked to keep his breathing even, relishing the contact between them. “Meg was a terrific lady, and a great mom. You’re going to be just like her. You
are
like her.”

Katy tilted her head back, dark brown eyes capturing him and not letting him go. “I hope so. Even a little, because she left a mark on me. I wish she was here for this.” She laid her hand on her belly. She had a tiny little swell, barely there.

Gage couldn’t stop himself. His hand joined hers, linking their fingers and putting the warmth of her belly against his knuckles. “She’d be proud of you. I know she would be.”

“Even though I’m knocked up?” Only she smiled, softening the words. “Yeah, I think Mom would be okay with it, though it’s a little unorthodox. She loved all kids.”

“I know. I got to have some of that love directed my way as well.” Gage paused. “She filled a hole in my heart I’d had ever since my own mom died.”

Katy stilled, gaze darting over his face. “You never talked about your folks.”

Gage shook his head. “It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss. And even as a kid I knew what the rumour mill would do with the story.”

A line folded between her brows. “Something bad happen, Gage?”

He kissed her temple. “It’s not something to talk about at the end of a long day.”

She shook her head. “Important things need to be shared, though.”

It was damn near impossible to get the words out, no matter how right she was. This was important, and he had to tell her, and soon, but his old fears came to the surface. What if he shared and that made the entire house of cards fall down around him?

Only telling her had to happen, and now would be better than later. The quiet intimacy of the moment, plus her honesty regarding her mother loosened his lips. “It’s a bit of a nightmare. My dad was a long-haul trucker while Mom stayed home with me. He’d been out on a hunting trip with some friends and came home to discover her in the process of packing. Straight-out announced she wanted a divorce. She’d found someone else.”

Katy’s eyes widened. “Oh. Not good.”

“Not good at all.” How much should he share? “My father didn’t believe her at first, but she insisted. Guess she’d found out he wasn’t being faithful either, but the two of them screaming at each other on the front lawn was the first time I knew anything.”

“How old were you?”

Gage took a deep breath. “Twelve. Old enough to understand what they were screaming about. Old enough that I knew it was getting ugly.”

She squeezed his fingers, but didn’t say anything.

One slow exhale let him continue. “He didn’t want her to go. I don’t know if it was because he was jealous or what, but he kept begging her not to leave. She just kept shoving bags into the car.”

Katy wasn’t breathing.

Gage stared at the fire. “It might have turned out okay. I mean, horrid and terrible and everything else, but she told me to get in the car, and that’s when he lost it. Said she wasn’t taking his son from him as well.”

“Oh no.”

Gage pulled in his courage and looked Katy in the eye. “My mom told him I wasn’t his son. She’d gotten pregnant when he was on a run one time, and my early arrival was an excuse. I was another man’s son, and she was damn well taking me with her.”