Samuel hadn’t wanted to tell Danielle about Jessica. He’d wanted to start fresh without bringing that cloud along with him, but it hadn’t seemed fair to keep it from her. She needed to know that he could do long-term relationships, and he didn’t trifle with girls. Even when he was traveling.

She had been right about pilots, at least some of them. Samuel had heard stories and he’d seen things with his own eyes. Otherwise good men, even some married ones, going home with flight attendants for one-night-stands or even having long-term affairs.

But he didn’t do that. Still, it would be a hard thing to prove. Traveling so much made trust difficult to establish and maintain.

He knew firsthand from both sides. When Jessica was in Afghanistan with the male soldiers, it had been difficult. They’d gotten through it by constantly staying in touch with daily phone calls and emails.

He had some time to kill after an appointment out toward Katy, so he stopped back by the Memorial City Mall and walked aimlessly waiting for the time to pass until he could see Danielle again. He wanted to get her something for the baby. He wanted to be the first person to give her a gift. Had she even thought about decorating the baby’s room yet?

She’d had so much to process in such a short time, it probably hadn’t even occurred to her yet. A baby gift would open the door to allow him to offer to help her decorate.

He hoped she would find out ahead of time whether it was a boy or a girl. His older sister had waited to find out, and the whole nursery had been decorated in yellow and green. His younger sister had learned from that and was able to do the room in pink beforehand—a much better choice in Samuel’s opinion. Practicality was totally underrated.

He wandered around a bit until he came to a Build-A-Bear shop. He had gotten one for each of his nieces and nephews. Perfect.

He spent the next hour shopping among the store full of mothers and children picking out the perfect teddy bear and outfit for it.

After choosing a dark gray bear, he looked around at outfits until he found a pilot’s uniform. Grinning, he picked it up and took it with him. On the way to get the bear stuffed, he passed accessories and snagged a little stuffed camera.

“Do you want to pick a sound?” The girl, not a day over eighteen, asked.

“Sound?”

“We have sounds now. You can pick out whichever one you like.” She explained how the kiosk worked and played some of the different sounds for him.

“Can I add one later?”

“Of course.”

Next, he had to insert a heart into the back of the bear. Following the lead of a six-year-old, he kissed the little heart and tucked it carefully into the bear’s stuffing.

Finally, it was time to create a birth certificate and name the bear. “Cute.” The girl commented as she checked him out and tucked the bear into a little box. “Enjoy!”

He was left with just enough time to take a quick shower, stop by the market, and head over to Danielle’s.

When she answered the door, she looked different. She was wearing a dark blue sheath dress with navy ankle boots. Besides being dressed up, she looked different.

“Whoa. What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing,” She tossed her very straight hair.

“Did I forget something?”

“No.” She smiled. “I just stopped by the Dry Bar for a blow out.”

He followed her inside and she closed the door. “A blow… what?” His mind went down a path he couldn’t even follow.

“I had my hair blow-dried.”

He reached out to touch a soft strand of hair that lay against her shoulder. “It looks great.” He followed her into the kitchen and set down his bags. “You’re dressed up.”

“Yeah.” She ran a hand down her dress. A dress that accented her tiny waist – she wasn’t showing yet. “Pretty soon I won’t be able to wear these clothes anymore. At least not for a while, so I thought I’d just wear them.”

“I thought I’d missed something.”

She grinned. “What did you bring?” She peaked in a bag.

“Kale vegetable salad. Since you’re eating for two, I thought we’d try Tuesday healthy night.”

“That’s a great idea.” She said.

Except that now that he’d said it out loud, he realized that it was a terrible idea, because next Tuesday he wouldn’t be here. Or any Tuesday after that.

Damn. This was not working out like he wanted it to.

He would have to make the most of what he had. “I brought you something.” He kept his voice light, despite his sudden despondent mood. “It’s for you, but also for the baby.”

He brought out the box with the bear and handed it to her.

“Oh! A baby gift. What is it?”

“Open it.”

She took it over to the dining room table and examined the air holes in the box. “Is it a kitten?”

He shrugged, and mentally filed away the idea that she might like a kitten.

She opened the box and pulled out the traditional bear that he’d chosen for her. “A teddy bear.” Her face exploded into a smile.

“I wanted to be the first person to give the baby a gift.” He reached into the box and took out a certificate. “I made it myself and dressed it in the little pilot uniform. And look; it has a camera. And I gave it a name.”

She looked at the paper. “You named it Pappa.”

“Yeah. For Pappa’s Burgers.”

Her eyes grew moist.

“What’s wrong?” He drew her close and wrapped his arms around her and the bear. “You don’t like bears?”

“Nobody ever made a bear for me.”

“Oh honey. It’s going to be okay.”

She pulled back and wiped a tear from her cheek. “It’s like a combination of both of us.”

He smiled. “I know.”

She ran her hand along the bear’s fur. “I apologize. I’m not normally this emotional.”

“It’s to be expected. You have a lot going on. I brought you this too.” He reached inside the box and pulled out a baby name book and a yellow highlighter.

“A name. Oh. My. I forgot I had to name it. There’s so much to think about.”

He chuckled. “That’s why I’m here.” He took her hand and led her to the sofa. “You sit here. Put your feet up, and spend some time with this book while I make dinner.”

Tomorrow, he would pick up a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

The more time he spent with her, the more he knew that he needed to be here with her. Not in Dallas. Not flying people around the country.

What kind of spell had she cast over him to make him want to stay on the ground and out of the sky?