“Okay. I understand that. What about leaving after lunch? Working a half a day. Can you do that?”
Nodding, he knew he would have to. There was no way he could put in his usual ten-to-twelve-hour day feeling the way he did right now. “Yeah. I can definitely do that.”
“And what about Ronan? Are you going to tell him?”
Good question.
“I think we can trust him not to say anything to my folks, but…I don’t know. I’m not sure you’re aware, but Ronan’s like the town gossip. Even if he doesn’t say anything to my parents, there’s a good chance he’ll blurt it out to someone else. I feel like it’s just one more thing to worry about right now that I don’t want to worry about.”
“It’s your call, but what’s going to be your excuse for needing to leave early?”
He shrugged and then laughed a little. “I can just tell him I had a late night with a woman. He always loves hearing about my escapades, so he won’t question it. It won’t be an issue.”
Fallon didn’t look even remotely amused.
“I mean, umm…”
“It doesn’t matter to me what you tell him,” she said primly. “Just know this—I’m not going to give up my time so you can go out and have more…escapades. For the next three weeks, you’ll need to keep it in your pants because that’s what being a single parent means.”
He looked at her with amusement. “Really? That’s what being a single parent means? Somehow, I don’t quite think that’s Webster’s definition.”
With the eye roll she typically gave him, she shook her head. “You know what I’m saying. Right now, your son is your top priority. He already has a mother who was more than willing to just drop him on your doorstep and walk away. You need to be the parent who steps up and shows him he matters.”
Damn, when she put it like that, he felt like a jerk for even trying to make light of the situation.
“Okay, okay…you’re right. For the next three weeks, either I’m here with Asher, or I’m at the pub. That’s it. You have my word on that.”
Her eyes went wide.
“Really? Just like that? You’re not going to argue with me or tell me I’m being ridiculous or something?”
“Would it make you feel better if I did?” he teased and couldn’t help but smile when he saw her lips twitch.
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I’m just used to you arguing with me just for the sake of arguing.”
“Yeah, well…the stakes are different now.” Pausing, he studied her for a long moment. It was only eight in the morning and she looked completely put together. Her dark hair was all soft waves, she was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans with a pastel pink t-shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes. Fallon never wore a lot of makeup, but now that he was studying her, he saw her cheeks had a hint of peach to them that matched the gloss on her lips. She actually looked…pretty.
Say what…?
Yeah, this was how he knew he was delirious—sitting here thinking Fallon Murphy was pretty. Um…no.
Just no.
Definitely not.
It was ridiculous. He was ridiculous.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You’ve got a really weird look on your face.”
Asher was resting his little face on her shoulder while she gently patted his back.
“I’m fine,” he said as he quickly got to his feet. “I should…I should go. The earlier I get in and take care of things, the earlier I’ll be home. Uh…thanks.”
And without looking at her, Jamie practically sprinted for the door and refused to look back.
The morning was busier than Fallon expected.
Asher stayed awake for a while, and she wanted to fully interact with him and enjoyed simply sitting and singing silly songs and reading him some stories. She talked in soothing tones to him as she walked back to his new bedroom. Standing next to the crib, she said, “And now we’re going to take a nice nap in your new bed and it’s going to be wonderful.” He was swaddled nice and snug, and she turned on the mobile once she placed him down.
Then she cautiously backed out of the room and stood in the hallway for a solid five minutes to make sure he fell asleep. While he was down for a nap, she took advantage of the time and did a small load of laundry—both for the baby and for Jamie—and then prepped enough bottles for the next twenty-four hours. Maybe if Jamie had one less thing to deal with, the nights wouldn’t be so bad.
After that was done, she did some light cleaning. They had straightened up after all the furniture had been assembled yesterday, but there was still a little debris lying around. She didn’t hesitate in bringing out the vacuum because she felt that Asher needed to get used to living with Jamie just as much as Jamie needed to get used to living with the baby. There was no way they could live in complete silence, so maybe introducing some basic sounds around the house would be a good thing.
When she was done and Asher was still asleep—and she wasn’t sure how much longer that was going to last—she pulled her laptop out of her satchel and did a little research on newborns. It was something she had meant to do last night, but the day had been long and a little mentally exhausting and by the time she’d gone home, she simply put on her jammies and vegged out in front of the TV for a while.
Since it was quiet, she figured she could get in a little research time and when Asher woke up, she’d get him changed and fed and then maybe take him for a walk. Jamie’s house wasn’t far from the Laurel Bay Community Park and she knew there were some great paved paths she could easily push the stroller on.
It was a full hour before he woke up, and Fallon did everything she planned. When she had him secured in his stroller, she tapped out a quick text to Jamie to let him know where they were going, just in case he got home before they got back.
It was a beautiful day and perfect for getting outside for a walk. It wasn’t until she was a couple of blocks from the house that she realized how long it had been since she’d felt so relaxed or had appreciated the simple pleasure of just being outside getting some fresh air.
These next three weeks were going to be like a voyage of self-discovery, and she wasn’t sure if it was going to be exciting or horrifying. Asher was going to be an awesome distraction and she hoped his father wasn’t going to make her feel bad about herself with his negative comments toward her.
Although…seeing Jamie so vulnerable this morning was very eye-opening. Maybe they were finally done with their rivalry and animosity toward each other. It would be nice if they could at last just be friends.
With a sigh, she crossed the street and headed into the park and went all of ten steps before inwardly groaning.
Friends with Jamie? Um…no. It wasn’t possible. They would be civil to each other at best. Basically, she disagreed with everything about his lifestyle. As mean as it sounded, she was actually surprised it had taken this long for someone to show up with a baby. He dated someone new every week, flirted with every woman who came into the pub, and basically relied on his charm to help him get through life.
Well…Fallon could see right through him. And while this morning showed her a side of Jamie that she’d never seen before, she knew he’d get everything worked out in no time and have a line of wannabe nannies a mile long. If word got out that Jamie Donovan had a baby and needed help, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that women would be camped out on his front lawn begging for a chance to help overnight.