Susan Mallery: Their Little Princess

Kelly glanced at her watch. Four minutes after six. Not bad, considering she’d stopped at a local bookstore to pick up something for Tanner. She pushed through the swinging doors that separated the hospital from the new wing still under construction. From there, she passed through an alcove and hanging sheets of plastic, then found herself in the middle of a beehive.

Despite the fact that for much of the city the workday had ended, dozens of construction personnel labored on. She could see the framing that in time would be the new pediatric floor. To her right was the lab set-up, still little more than an outline of a room. The only remotely finished section of the first floor was the new daycare center, probably because it would be opening first.

She turned right. Tanner had left her a voice mail that afternoon telling her that she could find him in his office, which was in what would eventually be the new lab. As she crossed the plywood floor, she saw a big sign warning that this was a hard hat area, then saw a stack of the yellow construction headgear on a table below the banner.

Kelly picked one up and plopped it on her head, all the while trying not to think about the last dozen or so people who had done the same. Then she made her way in the general direction of Tanner’s office.

It wasn’t hard to find. Signs spray-painted directly onto the unfinished walls pointed the way to various locations on the construction site. “Boss-man’s office” was marked in red with a ten foot long arrow. She followed it to the end and found herself entering a medium sized room with a desk, several chairs and building plans covering most of the walls.

Tanner sat behind the desk, staring at lists and making notes. The overhead lighting was harsh but he still looked as handsome as she remembered. His brother, Ryan, was also a good-looking guy. Talk about a great gene pool. Between her father’s roguish appeal and her mother’s model-perfect beauty, Baby Ames—make that Baby Malone—was going to be a looker herself.

Kelly leaned against the door frame and studied Tanner. He was lost in his work and hadn’t noticed her presence. She thought about all he was going to have to deal with over the next few weeks as he adjusted to life with a newborn. If nothing else, it would be a great test of his character. She just hoped he was up to it.

“Ready to go shopping?” she asked.

He raised his head, then smiled when he saw her. That same smile that made her feel sixteen and awkward. It also did funny things to her stomach and her knees, which she didn’t remember from high school. Oh, Tanner Malone was a deadly combination of male beauty and charm, but she was fairly immune. At thirty-two, no man had really captured her attention and there was no reason to think anyone was going to do that now.

“Kelly,” he said, his voice pleased. “Thanks for meeting me here. I had some paperwork to finish up.”

“It wasn’t a problem. I had something I wanted to get before we went shopping anyway.”

His gaze dropped to the bag she carried. “Generally I like unexpected presents, but this time I’m not so sure.”

“Don’t be scared. It’s not going to bite you.” She set the package on his desk, then waited while he pulled out the book.

“‘What To Expect The First Year,”’ he read. “It’s really thick.”

“Yes, but there are a lot of pictures and a ton of valuable information. Everything you’ll need to know to survive those first twelve months.” She pointed to a slip of paper sticking out the top of the book. “I’ve marked the pages that talk about buying for a baby.”

Tanner opened the book. His expression shifted quickly from stunned surprise to amazement to shock. “This list is longer than all the material requisitions for the entire hospital wing.”

She grinned. “Not quite. But babies need a lot of stuff. How’s the balance on your credit card?”

He flipped the pages, shaking his head slowly. “They’re all fine. I pay them off each month and they have big limits.”

“Oh, good. You’re going to be needing that.”

“I can tell.”

He rose to his feet and grabbed his jacket and a hard hat from two nails sticking out of the wall, then took the book. “I guess we’d better get started.” He looked shell-shocked.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I’m just trying not to think about it too much. If I let myself dwell on the fact that this time tomorrow I’m going to have a baby in my house, I might be tempted to head for the hills.”

“You’ll be fine. Just take things one step at a time.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re a doctor.” He followed her back to the entrance, where they both dropped off their hats. “I guess we should take my car,” he said as they walked through the hospital. “I drive an Explorer, so there will be plenty of space for furniture.”

“Good idea.” She didn’t dare tell him that she doubted they would fit everything in his sports utility vehicle in just one trip.

Tanner shrugged into his jacket, then held the door open for her. He was parked in the main parking lot, which had been recently enlarged as part of the new project.

“I appreciate you helping me with this,” he said, leading the way to a black Explorer. “I’m sure you’re very busy and it’s nice of you to give up your time.”

“I’m glad to help,” she said sincerely. “Most parents have several months to get used to the idea of having a baby around. They take classes, talk to other parents, buy slowly. You’re going from zero to sixty in less than twenty-four hours. It’s a daunting concept.”

He flashed her a grin. “So you’re trying to tell me that it’s okay to be terrified?”

“You wouldn’t be normal if you weren’t. But I have every confidence in you.” Which she did, she thought with some surprise as he unlocked the passenger door and held it open for her.

She stepped up into the well-used, but clean vehicle. Her skirt rode up slightly on her leg and she had to resist the urge to cover her thighs with her hands. Like Tanner was even looking, she thought.

Even as she tried to casually glance at him, he was closing the door and heading to the driver’s side. So much for bowling him over with her feminine charms, she thought humorously. So what if the man made her body react in ways it hadn’t before. All that meant was that she wasn’t dead. She should enjoy the occasional flickers and sparks. Feeling them didn’t mean she had to do anything about them.

He backed out of the space, then drove toward the exit. “Which way?”

“Do you know the big electronics store on the corner of Green’s Way and Carson?”

“Sure.”

“There’s a place called Baby Town in the same shopping center.”

He glanced at her and frowned. “Are you sure? I’ve never noticed it.”

“I’m not surprised. We only see what’s important to us at the time. You probably never noticed the designer outlet beside the electronics store, while I didn’t know there was a sporting goods store there until I called for directions and they told me the baby store was next to it.”

“Gotcha,” he said, then concentrated on his driving.

Kelly leaned back in the seat and tried not to stare at her companion. Why was he so intriguing? Was it because he was about to take on a daunting task? Or was it more simple—had she just gotten tired of being on her own? She couldn’t remember her last date. Certainly she hadn’t been out with a man since she’d moved to Honeygrove and that was three years ago. Talk about pathetic.

“I talked to Ronni today,” Tanner said, interrupting her thoughts. “She said you’d called her.”

Kelly pressed her lips together, not sure if she should apologize for that. Before she could decide, Tanner continued.