Page 48 of The Virgin's Baby
I’d knocked her off her path. I hadn’t meant to, but I’d done just that.
Not only because of what was going on with my grandfather, but also with the babies. She hadn’t even thought about becoming a mother until she met me. Her whole plan was to get that degree and start her career. I’d really put a monkey wrench in those plans of hers.
But she never complained even once about any of it.
I wasn’t sure any other woman would’ve been as agreeable as Aspen was. I’d been lucky that she was the one who’d accepted this deal.
Sliding behind the steering wheel, I couldn’t help but smile. “I know you meant well, but my grandfather and I do not exchange ‘I love yous’.”
“Well, maybe it’s time that you started doing that.” She eyed me. “Aren’t you going to tell your children that you love them, Ransom?”
I hadn’t thought about that. “I’m not sure what I’ll say to them.” I started the car and then backed out of the garage to follow the ambulance.
Putting on her sunglasses, she clucked her tongue in disapproval. “You’re not sure, huh?”
“No, I’m not.” I sure hoped this trip wouldn’t be filled with her telling me how I needed to do things. So, I thought I would give her some insight into how I was. “It’s been years since I’ve said those words to anyone. I think I told my mother and father that I loved them when I was around eight or something like that. Then I got too big to go around throwing I love yous at anyone.”
“No one gets too old to say I love you, Ransom.” She shook her head as her expression told me that she didn’t like what I’d said. “I want you to tell our children that you love them.”
“We’ll see.” I pulled up behind the ambulance, waiting for it to leave.
“I don’t want to hear that.” She tapped the top of my leg with one finger. “I want to hear that you will always let our children know that you love them.”
“To be fair, they’re not born yet. You’re going to have to let things play out, Aspen.” I knew I was fond of the babies she carried, so I gave her that, “I do like the babies already if that makes you any happier.”
“Slightly.” She looked out the window as the ambulance pulled away from us. “This is going to be a long trip. I looked it up, and it takes about eight hours to drive to Houston from Lubbock.”
“Yeah, I saw that too.” It would’ve been smarter to take the private jet, but I wanted to do the ride the way my grandfather had to. It made me feel more like a part of what he was going through.
“Maybe we should play a driving game to make the time go by faster,” she came up with. “Maybe something like who can spot the most blue cars or something like that.”
I didn’t need any game to play to make time seem to pass more quickly. “I think we should just listen to the radio and let that distract us.” I turned on some country music and laughed as she wrinkled her nose.
“Oh, please no.” She pushed the channel she liked. Some pop crap. “This is more like it.”
“I guess we’re going to have to agree to disagree.” I put the radio back on the station I liked. “While I’m driving, we listen to what I like. While you’re driving, we’ll listen to what you like.”
“Fair enough.” She picked up her cell to entertain herself. “You haven’t accepted my friend request yet.”
“What?” I asked as I pulled onto the highway behind the ambulance.
“Facebook. I sent you a friend request last night.” She tapped the screen of her phone. “And you haven’t accepted it yet.”
“I haven’t been on it yet.” I picked up my cell and handed it to her. “Here. You can accept it for me. The passcode is sixteen, sixteen.”
She took my cell then looked at it for a long moment. “You know, this feels kind of weird. Like intimate.”
“I don’t see how.” I chuckled.
“It’s kind of like a thing boyfriends and girlfriends do.” She looked at me. “What are we to each other, Ransom?”
I didn’t know how to answer that question at all. Saying that we were co-parents sounded like it wasn’t enough. Saying that we were boyfriend and girlfriend just wasn’t true at all. But then I thought about what she’d just done for me, and it hit me. “You and I are like best friends, Aspen.” I took her hand and squeezed it. “You’ve done more for me than any friend I’ve ever had. I hope I can repay you for all that you’ve done for me.”
I did realize that I’d paid her to have my babies. I hadn’t paid her to be with me through the hard times that came along with my grandfather’s poor health though. Aspen was my first real female friend. And she and I were closer than I’d ever gotten to a woman.
The smile that curved her pink lips made my heart happy. “I like that. Best friends. That sounds nice.”
And that’s all we could ever be.
