Page 50 of Summer Nights

I reached across the table and covered her hand with mine. "Miscarriages can happen to anyone. I don't think you will jinx it."

She chewed her lip. "I'm not ready to buy anything yet. Maybe in a few more weeks."

"Can you share the list with me, so I can take a look?"

"Of course." She hadn't said anything about me helping out at her place. I took that as a good sign that she hadn't said no.

"I'm happy to be here for you, however you want my help."

I had a feeling she'd want to do everything herself, but it wasn’t necessary.

"I haven't thought about how things would be afterward. Other than to worry about how I'll work."

"You intend to go back to work right away or after a maternity leave?"

"I don't get paid if I don't work, so I'll need to keep doing something."

She didn't have certain benefits like she would with a regular nine-to-five. "You have health insurance?"

She nodded. "You don't need to worry about that."

"I'm happy to pay for anything you'd need to so you can stay home."

She shook her head. "That's too much. You can buy the diapers or something. But I can provide for our home."

"You should be able to work and stay with the baby if you want. I'm happy to support you."

"You know I don't want you to do that. Besides, you'd only end up resenting me."

"You're carrying our baby. You're the one who's doing all the work. I just want to help in any way I can."

"And you are," Ivy said curtly.

I took that as my cue to back off for now. I didn't want her to feel pressured to go back to work right away, but at the same time, who would watch the baby, because I worked too? "Maybe I should talk to my dad about stepping back from work for a while."

Her brow furrowed, and she shifted slightly to face me. "Why would you do that?"

"So I can take care of the baby while you work. I want to bond with the baby too." How could she argue with that?

She held up her hand. "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves. We have a while before we need to think about this stuff."

"Are you planning on reserving a daycare? I've heard you need to hold your place fairly soon."

Ivy blew out a breath. "I don't want to leave the baby at a daycare. But I don't have anyone who could babysit. Maybe I could look into a nanny."

I liked the idea of that. I'd heard that babies were more exposed to germs at daycares with other kids.

Ivy was thoughtful. "It's not like I work a set number of hours. My job is flexible. I can do as much or as little as I want."

The air was warm today and the breeze light. We had a few months to get used to the idea of being co-parents, of working together so that we could care for this baby. But what would it be like when he or she was born?

"Our baby will be around the same age as Dalton's. They'll grow up together. Or at least, I hope they will."

Her nose scrunched. "I'd heard that Oakley was threatening not to let Dalton be involved."

I knew the girls talked about the drama from Dalton's baby's mother. "It's a mess because Oakley has a lot of power. Dalton spoke to an attorney, and he's prepared to go to court if she doesn't let him see the baby after he or she is born. He doesn't have a right to be in the delivery room. But he would like to be called when she's in labor, and he'd like to see the baby shortly thereafter."

Ivy frowned. "I don't have any intention of blocking you from seeing our baby. But I'm not sure how I feel about the delivery room yet."

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