She felt like an Olympic sprinter, vaulting her way down the steps of Luke's tiny apartment. It was good of him, at least, to have not followed her. It gave her time to consider how dumb, irresponsible, and completely thoughtless she'd been.

Seriously, what did she think was going to happen? That a little toe-curling sex would manage to make things somehow less awkward between her and the father of her child?

Yeah, that seemed likely.

And then she’d gone and fallen asleep on top of it, making the morning even more uncomfortable. Damn her pregnancy exhaustion. Give her a warm bed and a pillow and she was out like a light.

She rounded the corner, eager to make it around the front of the house and back to her car, but as soon as she did she found that she was not alone.

Standing in the front of the yard, gardening shears in her hand and a chubby toddler on her hip, was a tall, attractive woman with tired eyes.

She gazed at Tawny curiously at first, but then something seemed to click in her mind and she grinned, ramping her attractive straight up to lovely. "Oh, you must be Tawny!”

"I...yeah. I'm Tawny." She nodded, suddenly unsure of what to do with her hands. "I'm just..."

Escaping. As fast as I can.

"I hope you're not in a rush. I've been dying to meet you. Would you like to come in for some lemonade?" The woman's grey-brown hair swung back and forth in a long ponytail as she rocked the baby on her hip, her garden shears forgotten on the ground. "I was just getting some daisies for the kitchen. It makes cooking all day a little less cumbersome if you have something nice to look at, you know?” She smiled again and when Tawny didn't respond, she added, "But, of course, company would be even better."

It was a mistake to get any closer to this woman, to this family, than she already was. She had to have some sort of relationship with Luke, but this woman, who was clearly his mother? And who clearly had heard about her from Luke?

Bad idea.

Did the woman know about her pregnancy? How much had Luke told her? It would only cause more complications to accept her invitation.

She knew that.

Still, the woman seemed to have a power behind her warm, easy smile that Tawny couldn't resist, and even as her mind screamed excuses, she found herself saying, "I guess lemonade would be nice."

"Wonderful." She shifted the toddler on her hip as he grabbed for a hank of her hair, then nodded toward him.

"Would you mind taking Tyler for a minute while I collect the flowers? I'm afraid he's going to reach for the shears."

"Oh, um, yeah, sure." Tawny rushed toward her and took the child from her arms awkwardly. When he was finally settled on her hip, he looked at her with mingled curiosity and contempt.

"Hi," she said, and smiled at him, but he only wrinkled his nose in response. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name," Tawny said to the woman as she added another daisy to the bouquet in her hand.

"Barb," she offered, then straightened up and gestured toward the front door. "Come on, we can get to know each other inside."

Barb led the way and Tawny followed her through the narrow, toy-strewn living room into an old-fashioned-looking farmhouse kitchen. There were a few toys on the table, too, along with a stack of important-looking papers and plates that seemed to be left over from that morning's breakfast. When Barb's gaze fell on the plates, she sighed.

"Boys," she said, then grabbed the dishes and set the stack in the sink behind her. "You ask them to do one thing...but anyway." She shook her head, then, seeming to notice that Tawny was still holding a growingly impatient toddler on her hip, she said, "Oh, would you mind setting him in the playpen in the next room? I'll get us some lemonade."

Tawny did as she was told, but when she sat Tyler in his little prison full of toys, he kicked one of them then stuck his tongue out at Tawny.

"That's not nice," Tawny said, but, as if in response, he did it again. And then a third time for good measure.

"Okay," Barb called from the next room. "All set. Nice homemade lemonade."

Tawny moved back into the kitchen, sparing one last glance at an incensed-looking Tyler, before taking a seat at the kitchen table. Barb smiled at her warmly and for a moment she was reminded of the way her own mother had looked when she'd come home from school on the base.

It was nothing like this.

Strange, but the memory of her mother’s chilly demeanor and total lack of maternal instinct still made her insides churn.

She needed to stop that nonsense. She was a grown up, after all, and that had been years ago. Some people weren’t cut out to be parents and all she could do now is make sure she was nothing like them.

"Thank you so much," Tawny said and took a sip from the glass in front of her. It was two times as sweet as it should have been, but that only made Tawny like it that much more. "This is delicious."

"Thank you," Barb said. "That's kind of you to say. It was my mother's recipe. I'll have to give it to you, too."

Tawny frowned, sensing something unsaid in her meaning. "Um, that would be great."

"So tell me, what's your family like? Are you used to being around all these baby toys and things?" She gestured to the Technicolor contraption at the edge of the table, and, confused, Tawny shook her head.

"No, not at all. I'm an only child."

Barb nodded. "I was, too. And my husband. Lonely, I think."

"It was okay. You learn to entertain yourself which is good."

"Yeah, that's a good point. Still, when I look at Rex and Luke together...well, I'm glad they have someone who understands them, you know?"

Tawny took another sip of her drink, considering. "Yeah, that must be nice. I did always sort of wonder what it would be like to have a brother or a sister."

"Naturally," Barb said. "So, where are your parents now? Nearby?"

Tawny shook her head. Ever since she'd found out she was pregnant, she'd barely been able to bring herself to think of her mother and father. When she did, it was always directly on the heels of wondering what they'd say when she told them about her baby. What they'd do when they found out they were going to be grandparents. Somehow, she couldn't manage to picture anything other than her mother’s disapproving frown.

“No. My father is stationed in Hawaii right now, so they're both living on base there."

"Oh, wow. It must be difficult, being away from them like that."

Tawny frowned. Not really. “Sometimes, I guess.” She took another sip.

"They must be so excited, though. With the news."

"I..." Tawny started, but couldn't figure out exactly what to say.

"Luke told me not to bother you about it, but I have to know. Did your mother already pick out what she wants to be called? I'm, of course, willing to take a back seat to whatever you want, but I'd love to be called 'Granny’."

If Tawny had been taking a sip of her lemonade, she was sure she would have choked.

"You know? But--"

Barb's eyes widened in obvious alarm, then she said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought Luke would have told you that he told us. We don't tend to keep secrets in this family for long."

Tawny swallowed hard, then, if only for something to do, took another drink of her lemonade.

"I know things are crazy right now, but I have to tell you how excited I am," Barb charged forward. "I try not to pressure my kids into anything but, well, Luke was just born to be a dad.”

"Oh?" Tawny asked, faintly, suddenly feeling a little nauseous.

Barb gave her a vigorous nod. "He's a good man. Hard working. So protective of his brothers. I couldn't ask for a better son and I just know he'll be a great father. There's no doubt in my mind."

"I guess he does have a lot of experience taking care of kids."

Barb smiled. "More than he'd probably like, but at the end of the day? Well, you know. I'm sure you're going to be a great mother, too."

"I'm glad one of us is.” Tawny let out a little laugh, but then Barb reached out and covered Tawny's hand with her own.

"I don't know what it's like to be pregnant, but I do know what it's like to wonder about what kind of parent you'll be. Please, let me know if there's anything I can do to help. Anything at all."

All of the sudden, it felt like a softball was lodged in Tawny's throat, but she nodded just the same. For a few more minutes, they talked over Tawny's plans for finding a job and getting ready for the baby, and by the time she was walking out the door, she could feel a piece of her heart warming toward Barb, but there was still something stuck in the back of her mind, begging for an answer.

Was she right about Luke? After all, she was his mother. She knew him better than anyone else in the world, and if she said he would be a good father...

Well, maybe it would be worth a shot to let him try. Wouldn't the smart thing be to let someone in? To allow him to help her and be there for the baby instead of running from him at every turn?

It would be hard, of course, to plan every little detail with another person, but did everything have to be so coordinated and planned out?

Couldn't she just let things unfold?

She started her car, then glanced up at the tiny window above the garage before turning her attention to the road and driving away.

She’d work on keeping an open mind. But for now? She needed to get a little distance between herself and all the Anderson’s.

They were already starting to feel a little too much like home, and no one knew better than she did how much it hurt to get attached to a home and lose it…