Chapter Five
Several Weeks Later
Shiloh smoothed a hand over her stomach and the slight flutter she felt there as she stared at the empty nursery. Dallas had worked hard to paint the walls a soft yellow. Rebecca had helped her find an inexpensive bed and changing table at a thrift store. All in all, things were looking up for Shiloh. Her Medicaid card was supposed to arrive in the mail any day, which would finally allow her to see a regular doctor instead of visiting the free clinic, and she’d be able to fill her prescription for prenatal vitamins. If she’d so much as hinted to Dallas or Rebecca that she’d been taking the over-the-counter kind, she knew they would have gotten it filled sooner, but she didn’t want to rely on them anymore than she had to.
They had a lot on their minds. Ever since they’d received word that Drake had been injured in combat, Dallas had been on edge. The good news, for Dallas, was that Drake would be returning home soon. Once his doctors declared him recovered enough to make the trip, he would be honorably discharged and allowed to return home. A bullet had nicked his lung and part of the right lung had been removed. While it wouldn’t affect his day-to-day life as a civilian, it had been deemed he was no longer suited for combat.
Shiloh would never admit it out loud, but she was a little relieved that he was coming home. She was still seething over his comments about the baby, but she didn’t wish him harm. Regardless of how he felt about her pregnancy, he was still her baby’s father. The baby fluttered inside of her again and she smiled. The movement was slight, and not something she could feel with her hand yet, but the doctor assured her that would come in time.
Her phone beeped with an incoming text.
Rebecca: Need to see you at the bar.
Shiloh frowned. Since her pregnancy, she’d pretty much avoided the bar. Although, at this time of day, the place wasn’t even open. She couldn’t think of a single reason why Rebecca would want to meet there. Despite her curiosity, if that was where Rebecca wanted to meet, that was where she would go. She owed so much to Rebecca and Dallas.
Shiloh: On my way
She slipped on the uncomfortable flats and picked up her purse and keys. After locking her door, she carefully walked down the cement steps, wishing she had a railing to grip. She’d had a few dizzy spells the past few days, and she worried she might fall. It took several attempts to close her car door and she locked it as a precaution. With her luck, it would pop open while she was driving like it had the other day. The bar was on the other side of town, but assuming she didn’t catch too many lights, she could be there in fifteen minutes. Maybe ten in a more reliable car.
The bar parking lot wasn’t as empty as she’d expected when she pulled in. She saw Rebecca’s SUV, Dallas’s truck, a fancy truck she’d never seen before, and a handful of employee cars. Her curiosity shot up even more as she approached the door. It swung open the moment her hand touched the handle and Rebecca smiled at her broadly.
“I worried I wouldn’t be able to get you here.” Rebecca tugged her inside and Shiloh’s mouth dropped open. “Welcome to your baby shower.”
“But how … I never expected anything like this.” Her eyes misted with tears. Stupid pregnancy hormones.
“Come have a seat,” Rebecca said, leading her to a group of tables that has been pushed together. A pink-and-blue checked crepe tablecloth covered them, and the center pieces were teddy bears holding pastel-colored balloons. There were three bears and each was different.
“You didn’t have to do this,” Shiloh said.
“Nonsense. You’re our friend and we wanted to show our support. When I mentioned a baby shower to Dallas, the girls overheard me and decided it was an excellent idea. You’re missed around here.”
Shiloh smiled.
“We each brought something to eat,” Luanne, one of the waitresses, said. “And of course, you have some gifts.”
Shiloh was overwhelmed as she looked around at everything. Someone had hung blue and pink streamers from the ceiling. The length of the bar held an array of food trays and two crockpots, as well as a huge bowl of orange punch and some plastic cups. She hadn’t known anyone other than Rebecca cared about her, but it seemed she had more friends than she’d realized.
“I thought we could get something to eat first, then open presents and have cake, and if there’s time, I prepared a few games we could play,” Rebecca said with a smile.
Shiloh had never been to a baby shower before so she had no idea what kinds of games someone would play, but she’d humor Rebecca and give it a try. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten more than a bowl of cereal all day. It was grocery day, but she hadn’t made it to the store yet. She really should have gone yesterday, but by the time she got off work, her back was hurting and all she’d wanted was to lie down for a while. Except she hadn’t woken back up until morning.
Rebecca handed her a pastel patchwork plate filled with little smokies, mini croissant sandwiches, crackers with what looked like spinach dip, and mini mac ’n cheese bites. Everything looked good and her stomach rumbled again. Shiloh waited until everyone was seated before she took a bite. Her mouth watered as the tangy sauce from the smokies hit her tongue.
“Eat as much as you want,” Starla, another waitress, said. “We brought enough to probably feed twenty people.”
“It’s really good,” Shiloh said between bites.
Conversation flew around the table as everyone ate and drank. By the time they were finished, Shiloh thought she might pop. Rebecca had filled her plate twice more, insisting she eat every bite. If she had one more thing to eat, they were going to have to get a wheelbarrow and roll her out the door.
“Time for presents,” Rebecca said with a clap of her hands.
They seated Shiloh at the present table and everyone gathered around her. Several took pictures with their phones as she opened everything. Two packages of diapers, tiny towels and wash cloths, shampoo and lotion, a soft white blanket with yellow ducks on it, and a set of bottles. It was way more than she could have ever hoped for and she fought back tears as she thanked everyone.
“We didn’t want to get clothes since you don’t know yet what you’re having,” Rebecca said. “Besides, I think someone else plans to help with that.”
Rebecca smiled mysteriously as she looked toward the door. Shiloh followed her gaze and felt her heart drop to her toes. Drake stood uncertainly in the doorway, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. In her alcohol-induced hazed the night they’d created life, she’d forgotten just how gorgeous he was. His hair was buzzed short from being in the military, and he carried himself tall and straight. Broad shoulders filled out his navy polo, and his dark-wash jeans molded to his thighs.
She had to swallow hard as her gaze met his. He stared at her as if he were a starving man and she was the last sandwich, but she didn’t understand why. He’d been cruel and cold the only time she’d communicated with him since that night. Why was he here?
“Ladies, I think Drake would like a few minutes alone with Shiloh.” Rebecca herded everyone past Drake and out the front door.
He walked toward her slowly and stopped a few feet away, holding out the bouquet as if he were afraid she’d reject the gift.
Shiloh hesitantly reached for the flowers, wrapping her hand around the stems and held them to her nose. They smelled sweet and were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. No one had ever given her flowers before, and it was strange that Drake was the first to do so. Maybe under other circumstances it would be different, but she’d thought he hated her.
He motioned to the seat next to her. “Mind if I sit a minute?”
She nudged the chair out with her foot and motioned for him to sit.
“I owe you an apology,” Drake said. “When you emailed me about the baby, I didn’t react in the best of ways. I can’t excuse my behavior, but I wondered if might have a do-over?”
“You thought I was after your money and forcing you to accept another man’s baby.”
He winced. “In all fairness, I don’t know you and you don’t know me. I found an alluring woman in my bed that night and took advantage, and for that I’m sorry, but for all I knew I was one in a line of many. Dallas has assured me that isn’t the case and said I was an asshole for telling you I wanted a paternity test.”
It hurt that he was willing to believe Dallas, and not her, but she had to admit he had a point. Other than their brief moment together, they were strangers. He might know what would make her scream in pleasure, but he knew nothing else about her. She knew quite a bit about him from things Dallas and Rebecca had said, and she had to admit they made him sound like a great guy. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give him another chance.
“So maybe we should start over,” she said. “Thank you for the flowers.”
“Have you been to the doctor?” he asked, his gaze dropping to her belly.
“I was waiting on my insurance card to come in the mail before I set an appointment. I went to the free clinic, though, after my home pregnancy test came back positive. They said everything seemed fine.”
His brow furrowed. “I’ll pay for the visit if you want to set an appointment sooner.”
Shiloh shook her head. “From what I’ve read, I won’t be able to find out the sex of the baby for another week or two anyway. I’m only fifteen weeks pregnant. By the time I’m far enough long, I’ll find a doctor either here in town or nearby.”
His expression was one of awe as he stared at her stomach again. As much as she was enjoying this new side of Drake, she had to wonder what brought it on. It had to be something more than a conversation with his brother. If she was even going to contemplate letting him into her life in any capacity, she had to know that this change was a permanent one. Her hormones were raging out of control and she didn’t think she could handle a man with a Jekyll and Hyde personality right now.
“I’m glad you made it home,” she said. “Dallas told me about what happened, at least as much as he knew. Everyone was worried about you.”
“Even you?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You’re the father of my baby, even if you were an ass to me. I never wanted you to get hurt, or worse, not come home at all. I didn’t understand why you were so hateful toward me, though. Even if you thought I was just some random woman who had fallen into your bed, I doubt you’ve treated all of your one-night stands the way you treated me.”
“You just caught me at the wrong time. I was half a world away and some woman I’d only met briefly, a woman who had never even given me her name, was claiming that she was pregnant with my kid. You wouldn’t be the first woman to try to nab herself a military man by any means necessary, and it rubbed me the wrong way. I’d always thought when I settled down and had kids that it would be with someone I loved, maybe even someone I’d married.”
Shiloh nodded. “I never really thought about having kids. I could barely take care of myself, so adding another life into the mix was never on my to-do list.”
“Things are okay now though?” he asked.
“I have my own place and a car that gets me where I need to go. I enjoy my job working for Latimer Construction. I may not make as much as I did in tips working at the bar, but I get to work daytime hours and it will be easier to figure out childcare when it’s time for me to return to work after the baby gets here.”
Shiloh stood and swayed for a moment. Drake jumped to his feet and grabbed her arm, trying to hold her steady. The room spun, but she managed to remain upright. The dizziness was starting to worry her, but she wasn’t about to tell anyone else about it. She didn’t need Rebecca clucking over her like a mother hen.
“Maybe you should sit back down,” Drake said.
“I was going to let Rebecca know it was okay for everyone to come back inside.”
“I’ll get her. You just sit still for now.”
She nearly collapsed onto her seat and watched as Drake cast her a worried glance on his way out the door. When he returned a moment later, no one was following him. She peered around his massive form, expecting the door to open again, but it never did.
“They left,” Drake said.
“But we didn’t have cake yet.”
He smiled. “I’m pretty sure you get to take the cake home with you.”
“Yeah, like I need to eat an entire cake by myself.” She snorted. “Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean it’s a free license to get fat.”
“You’re far from fat. If I didn’t know you were pregnant, I wouldn’t even be able to tell.” He frowned. “Shouldn’t you be a bit bigger by now?”
“I lost some weight from all the morning sickness the first three months. It’s died off now, but I’ve only been holding food down at every meal for about two weeks. I’m sure I’ll start gaining weight now.” Provided she could keep her pantry full. Rebecca hadn’t stopped back by with more groceries and her paychecks were only stretching so far. She managed to keep sandwich meat and bread in the house, along with milk and a healthy cereal, but things like chicken and pork chops were few and far between.
“You wait here while I load the gifts into your car. Do you want them in the trunk or the backseat?” he asked.
“The trunk doesn’t open. Or rather it does, but then it’s damn near impossible to close it. The car’s unlocked.”
His eyebrows rose, but he gathered an armful of presents and headed for the door, only to return a moment later with a fierce expression on his face. He stopped in front of her with his arms folded over his chest.
“Would you care to explain to me why the only vehicle in the parking lot other than mine or Dallas’s happens to be an old beater that should have been removed from the road about fifteen years ago? Tell me you don’t seriously drive around town in that thing.”
“What’s wrong with my car? It might not be pretty, but…”
“It gets you where you want to go,” he finished for her. “That car isn’t safe, Shiloh. All four tires are bald, and I think one solid bump and the entire thing will fall apart. It’s more rust than metal at this point. Don’t even get me started on the cracked windshield. How can you possibly see out of that thing?”
She felt her anger burning through her as she shot to her feet. “Just because I’m not rich enough to afford some new fancy car doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do.”
His brow puckered. “That didn’t even make sense.”
“I can’t afford a new car, okay? I’m doing the best I can. I have a place that while it isn’t flashy, it’s clean and keeps the rain out. The baby’s room is already set up. Well, the furniture is in place anyway, and Dallas painted the walls for me.”
Drake reached for her but pulled his hand back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just think the car isn’t safe for you or the baby. What if it breaks down on the side of the road at night? Or worse, what if you have a blowout with those bad tires? You could lose control and crash the car. I already checked and there aren’t airbags in it.”
“I know the car isn’t ideal, but it will have to work for now. Maybe by the time the baby gets here I can save a little money and get something better. It still won’t be new, but it won’t be a death trap either.”
He didn’t look appeased, but he let the matter drop. Shiloh gathered her things and went out to her car, with Drake right on her heels. She watched as he locked up the bar and gave her a long look before getting into his truck. It was about five minutes down the road before she realized he was following her home. Just what she needed. If he didn’t like her car, she couldn’t wait to see what he thought of where she lived.