Jenna Mindel - Holiday Baby

“Can I hold her?” His voice was whisper-soft.

Cat wanted to refuse. He was leaving in a month’s time. Why bother pretending to care if he wasn’t going to make any commitment to stick around? And yet because he was leaving, what harm could there be in granting this small request?

With a sigh, she got up and walked toward him and settled Opal in his arms. She continued to support the baby from underneath and, being this close, she caught the light scent of Simon’s spicy cologne. “Cradle her so you don’t drop her. Okay, that’s it.”

“I’ve held a baby before.” He awkwardly adjusted his arms.

“Yeah? When?”

A dark shadow crossed his face. “A long, long time ago.”

“Support her neck.” Cat finally relinquished her hold and stepped back, curious. “What baby did you hold?”

“My little sister and brother.” Simon cradled their daughter and his face softened.

“Ah, so you do have family.” He’d refused to answer that question before.

“If you can call them that, yes.” Simon didn’t elaborate and concentrated on Opal’s face.

Cat watched the man melt before her very eyes. The sight nearly undid her.

He looked back up at her. “Cat, I have no idea what to do.”

“You’re holding her just fine.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He looked as if he’d been torn in two.

“What do you mean?” she whispered.

Simon’s gaze bore into hers, searching.

A different woman stepped into the room with a crying infant and her eyes widened when she spotted Simon.

“You’d better go.” Cat reached for Opal.

Simon didn’t hand her over. “Come with me.”

Her stomach flipped again, but Cat killed the butterflies swirling there. “Where?”

“My house isn’t far.” He waited for her to decide.

Cat could refuse, but they’d have to finish this conversation eventually. Before he left, anyway. She supposed she owed him that much.

Glancing at the woman waiting for Simon to leave so she could feed her baby, Cat quickly grabbed her diaper bag and followed him out.

Chapter Two

Simon held open the door to his rental house for Cat and the baby. She stepped inside and set Opal, bundled inside a car seat, down in a puddle of sun shining on the hardwood floor. She took off the little fleece blanket that covered the baby and looked around.

“Would you care for tea?” Simon walked past her into the kitchen.

Cat shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I shouldn’t stay long.”

He didn’t know why not. He’d faced her lion of a brother in the sanctuary on their way out the door and had told him that Cat was coming home with him so they could figure out a few things. Simon didn’t know where to start, so perhaps a tour might break the tension. “Let me show you around. It’s not much, but there are two bedrooms.”

Room enough for Opal.

What was he thinking? He couldn’t care for an infant. One glance at the protective way Cat checked on the baby, and Simon had his doubts about her ever letting the child out of her sight, much less leaving the baby alone with him.

His baby—whom he never would have known about if he hadn’t seen her in church today.

Why hadn’t she told him?

Cat followed him in icy silence. His place might be small, but it was tidy with a nice-sized wood-burning fireplace in the corner and big windows and a view of Maple Bay. The short hall led to two bedrooms across from each other and a full bath at the end. His room was sparsely furnished with only a bed and nightstand. He’d never felt the need to own more than the essentials.

“There’s no pictures or anything. Have you packed things up already?” Cat kept looking around as if she expected more.

“No, this is it.” He’d never owned artwork and he certainly didn’t have family portraits to hang. He didn’t remember his mother taking pictures. But then, she’d never spend money on a camera. Not when drugs had been more important.

Back in the living room, Cat sat on the tan couch. His furnishings might be well made, but he got the feeling they were lacking under her critical gaze. “How long have you been here?” she asked.

He sat in the only other piece of furniture in the room, a handcrafted rocking chair with a curved high back. “I moved here the end of May.”

“Why?”

Simon stopped rocking and looked at her. “I guess I wanted a break. The way you described Maple Springs, I thought it’d be the perfect place to design and sell jewelry on a smaller scale.”

“Isn’t it?”

He shrugged. “It is, but I’m done. I want to get back to what I do best.”

“Are you selling the store?”

“I have a lease. It doesn’t end until May, but the owner has agreed to let me break it early. I’ll liquidate inventory and then move on.” That plan didn’t feel quite right anymore.

Cat didn’t look comfortable, considering the way she perched on the edge of the couch.

“Relax, Cat, we’ll work this out.” He had no idea what he was talking about, but equally confusing was her anxiety. She had nothing to fear from him.

If anyone should be scared, it was him. For the first time in his life, he’d fathered a child. He wasn’t sure how that would change his life but knew it would.

She noticed the Bible on top of his journal and ran her fingers over the top. “And this? I didn’t think you were religious before—though I guess we never actually discussed it.”

“True. I wasn’t interested in faith when we met. But since I’ve been here, I’ve found God. I surrendered my life to the Lord in that community church where your brothers attend.”

“So, you know Zach pretty well?”

Simon wasn’t sure about that, but he’d felt a certain kinship with the man. “Well enough, I suppose.”

Opal fussed and Cat stood. “He’s not happy about this, you know.”

“I can’t say I blame him.” Simon stood too. “Might I have another go at holding her?”

Cat’s pretty blue eyes clouded over. They were the color of star sapphires he’d found in Sri Lanka. Finally, she nodded, picked up the baby and then settled her in his arms as she had before.

Opal quieted, her eyes wide as she gazed up at him.

That baby gaze hit him in the midsection. He ran his finger down the baby’s cheek, knowing he couldn’t abandon her.

Simon didn’t know much about babies, but Opal struck him as a beautiful one. “You’re a pretty miss, aren’t you?”

“She favors you, I think.” Cat looked as if she hadn’t meant to say that.

“No, I’d say she’s pretty like her mom.” Simon stared at Cat, drinking in the sight of her. In all his imaginings of what he’d say if he saw her again, he’d never expected this. “I don’t have a clue where to begin.”

Cat forced a smile. “I know.”

Opal fussed before letting out a howl that made Simon wince.

Cat gave an awkward laugh. “I’ve learned to interpret that cry. I was hoping to get home first, but apparently that’s not going to happen. Do you mind if I use your, uh, bedroom to feed her?”

Simon felt his face flush. “By all means.”

Watching her walk away, he clenched his jaw, remembering the last time she’d walked away, after the intimate night they shouldn’t have shared. Why hadn’t Cat taken— He halted that rabbit trail. Opal was as much his responsibility, maybe even more so. Cat had been cold and scared, thanks to the rain and the men they’d had to flee. She’d trusted him to keep her safe. Too bad he hadn’t kept her safe from him.

He stepped into the kitchen and filled the teakettle with fresh water before placing it over a high heat. Rubbing the back of his neck, he considered all the things that went into caring for a baby. A monumental amount of things. He wasn’t ready for that.