The Best of Us (Sullivan's Crossing #4)(71)

They were stunned silent. No one touched their plates. Rob gave them a minute to digest the news but a minute was all he had. His nerves were shot. He got up and went for a beer in the refrigerator. He sat back down.

“Maybe you should pass a few of those out,” Sean said.

“I know it’s quite a load to take on,” Rob said.

“What the hell, Dad?” Finn said.

“Well, I’m forty, Finn. And I care about her very much so we got physically involved and bingo—pregnancy. Nature has a mind of her own, sometimes. I’m not sixteen or seventeen and of course I know better, but knowing better isn’t always good enough. Also, I can support a family.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Do you want to marry her?”

He was quiet for a moment. “I do. But I don’t think she buys it. I have a feeling she thinks I’m just trying to be responsible, but that’s such a small part of it. I think she’s the most fantastic...” He cleared his throat. “I really care about her. We’re compatible and I’m flexible. I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to make her comfortable. I’m going to keep working on that because here’s what I’m after—we should take care of that baby together, under one roof. That baby is my baby. That baby is your sibling and you should have a chance to watch him grow up. You should help with the whole process. And she doesn’t know this yet but she can’t do this alone. Babies are hard. Sometimes they cry for hours. And always in the middle of the night.”

“Sounds great,” Sean said.

“You have headphones,” Rob said.

“When’s this baby happening?” Finn asked.

“I think February. We haven’t exactly nailed down the due date yet, but sometime after Christmas.”

“And it’s a boy?” Sean asked.

“We don’t know yet. I just say him because that’s what I’m used to.”

“There something wrong with our house?” Sean asked.

“Okay, try to look at it from her perspective. We’ve kind of been through this with Aunt Sid. We had to do a lot to make space for her, remember?”

“We got a Dumpster,” Finn said. “So, you want to get a Dumpster?”

“Not until I know what we have to do,” he said. “I tried talking to her about this a few days ago and she started to cry. I’d like her to be involved in making this her house as well as our house, but she’s so emotional...”

“I can’t believe this,” Sean said. “What does she expect you to do? Visit your kid down the street? Would she rather we all move into her house?”

“Her house is definitely too small for us. Here’s what I think is going on. I think when she looks ahead there’s a big blank space after next month. I think she’s in denial. But real soon it’s going to be so obvious she won’t have a choice. She’s going to have to plan something.”

“What if she moves in with us and hates it?” Finn said. “What if you convince her and it turns out she doesn’t want to be with you forever? Or us? What if she doesn’t like teenage boys?”

“Remember how she was when you cut your hand? Remember her chicken thing she fed you, Sean? She might not know how to live with a bunch of men, but she likes us. And you know what I’d like? I’d like to have a woman around again. Your mom and I had a good relationship—we got along, knew how to compromise and had fun doing it. Not all couples work out so well but we have a great reason to try.”

“Maybe she doesn’t love you,” Sean said.

But she did, that’s what Rob believed. They had long discussions about serious things, talked about silly things, agreed more than they disagreed, had similar tastes and those things they didn’t agree on were insignificant. They both loved breakfast best. She hated cilantro but he loved it; she liked love ballads and he like jazz. He loved trying out special restaurants, she loved eating but wasn’t much of a cook. And when their bodies came together, they fit like tongue in groove. It was not purely physical; you can’t really love a person like that without the emotion of it guiding you.

Okay, some people could. But their relationship wasn’t like that. They’d shared day after day, week after week, of longing, of trusting. Unless he knew nothing about her, Leigh was not one of those people. She was as emotionally invested as he was.

And yet she was so scared.

“I think we’re right for each other,” Rob said. “It feels like love to me but I understand her nervousness. This happened so suddenly. And the only person Leigh has ever shared her space with is her aunt.”

“What are you going to do?” Finn asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “For right now I’m going to go easy. I’ll take care of her as much as she’ll let me, but damn, she’s one bossy, independent woman.” He shook his head. “I’m open to suggestions if you have any.”

Finn and Sean exchanged looks. They were not exactly experts on this subject. “Um, Dad, you might want to ask someone else,” Sean said.

When Helen got back to Timberlake, she called Leigh’s cell phone. It went straight to voice mail. “I suppose you’re seeing patients,” she said. “Just as well. I’m back from San Francisco and I’m going out to the Crossing. I hope to get a little writing done this afternoon. If you’re not doing anything this evening, why not come out to Sully’s for dinner? I know he’s going to ask me if I can stay. I haven’t seen him in two weeks.”