Page 28 of The Bachelor's Dilemma

“Myles catched me,” he said, beaming.

Myles vowed to always be there to catch his son, if humanly possible.

“He’s fearless,” she said, shaking her head. “A little caution wouldn’t hurt.”

“Within reason,” Myles said.

“You don’t think I baby him too much, do you?” she asked uncertainly.

“Not that I can see. He’s learning independence, and that’s what parents want, right?” Myles asked, carrying Zack back to bed.

He laid him down and covered him.

“Read me a story,” Zack said, his eyes already drooping.

“Please,” Anna added.

“Please.”

Myles looked at the book Anna handed him.

“If you read, I’ll start the coffee,” she said.

Myles had never read to a child. He opened the first page, noting there were only two sentences on most pages. It wouldn’t take long to get through the book.

Before he was halfway to the end, Zack fell asleep.

Myles leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Sleep well, little man.”

For several minutes, he just sat and gazed at this miracle—his son. His cheeks had a healthy color, his eyelashes skimmed the top of the pudgy cheeks. His chest rose and fell, scarcely moving the sheet and light blanket. Time seemed to stand still.

Finally, Myles rose and turned off the light. Did Anna close the door or leave it open? There was so much he still didn’t know about his own son. He left it open and headed for the living room.

“Your timing’s good—coffee’s ready. I have some cookies, too, but nothing fancy for dessert,” she said, bringing the coffee in on a tray. Macaroons were piled on a decorative plate. Napkins and mugs crowded in.

She’d switched on two lamps in the room, and opened the curtains to let in the night lights from the city. It was cozy. A far cry from the rented places he’d lived in over the last decade. Most were only a place to get mail and eat and sleep. No photographs crowded tables, no paintings hung on the walls. No toys dotted the floor.

Anna had made a home for herself and Zack even in this small, old apartment. Something Myles envied.

If they married, he’d be included in her home. It was an odd feeling.

Glancing at the photographs of her husband, he wondered if he had a chance of getting her to let go of the past and move ahead.

Whoa—he was getting way ahead of himself. He wasn’t certain he was cut out for marriage. The first thing he’d have to change would be his job. He couldn’t marry and expect a wife to live alone for two years at a time while he went off to build a bridge.

He’d never thought about settling down, making a family, buying a home.

Yet, why not? He’d wanted permanence when he’d been a child. He could make his own permanent arrangement. Buy a house with lots of yard space. Get a dog. Have cookouts in the backyard. Get to know his neighbors. Put down roots.

Anna said she loved New York, but would she also be open to the idea of living in a house with a yard? It was something he’d yearned for when younger. If he stayed in the States, he could afford to buy the perfect house—suitable for a child and pets.

Anna watched as Myles’s gaze roamed around her living room. She glanced around, trying to see it through his eyes. It reflected her personality and idea of home more than her late husband’s. It was a comedown from the apartment she and Tom had shared, but she liked it. Did Myles like it? Or was it too feminine for him? He lived a rugged lifestyle—far different from what she liked.

“Do you miss being back at the job site? Will you go back to the same place?” she asked.

He leaned back against her sofa cushions and looked at her, his eyes narrowed in thought. “I miss it. It’s great work. I enjoy being part of the construction team, bringing modern conveniences to a desperate place. But I think I’m ready for a change. I want to set down roots and find a niche that will bring me as much satisfaction. Maybe not right away, but I no longer see myself as a nomad for the rest of my days.”

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