Charming Hannah (Big Sky #1)(47)

“I am barefoot,” I point out.

“But not pregnant, so there’s that.”

“Never,” I reply, shaking my head emphatically. Megan lifts her head and looks me square in the eyes. “But you are a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”

She smiles widely.

“One day, you’ll get some teeth. And then, look out, because everything is delicious.”

She giggles.

“That’s right. All of the food is delicious.”

“Speaking of food,” Brad says, pulling a bottle out of a bag. He pours some formula in it, mixes it with water, and then passes it to me. “She’s probably hungry.”

“You feed her.”

He just smiles and shakes his head no. I roll my eyes, take the bottle, and settle into his rocking recliner.

“I don’t know if I’m doing this right?”

“Haven’t you ever been around kids?” he asks as he watches me settle her against me and offer her the bottle, which she greedily takes, holding my hand and watching me with sleepy brown eyes.

“Not really.” He passes me a rag so I can wipe up the drip on her chin. “I didn’t have siblings, and I didn’t babysit. I’ve never really felt like I’m a maternal person.”

She starts to cough, choking a bit, and I immediately put the bottle down, and pull her forward, helping her airway to clear. I wipe her chin again, then settle her in to eat some more.

“Yeah, not maternal at all,” he says. He’s smiling when I look up at him. “I wouldn’t have known how to do that.”

“I’m a doctor,” I remind him. “And she wasn’t choking badly.”

I run my fingers over her soft, fine hair and her eyes flutter closed. “She’s so soft. How old is she?”

“About five months,” he replies quietly, petting Sadie.

When Megan has drunk the rest of her bottle, I settle her against my shoulder to burp her. “I think I saw this in a movie.”

“You’re doing great. Also, you deliver babies.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t hold them?”

“I pull them out and hand them to their mom or a nurse, and then I go about the task of making sure Mom doesn’t die.”

“That’s important,” he says, nodding. “I had no idea that babies make you nervous.”

“Well, I’m not as nervous as I was when you first arrived. Thank goodness she’s not your secret baby.”

“I couldn’t have a secret baby in this town.”

We both laugh. “True. There aren’t many secrets around here.”

“She’s asleep,” he says and drags his fingertip down her cheek. “She’s a sweetie.”

“I’m surprised she’s not more fussy. You always hear of them crying all the time unless they’re asleep. That doesn’t sound fun. I always wonder, why would anyone willingly put themselves through that?”

“Is that why you don’t want kids?” he asks.

I pause, thinking about it. This baby is definitely adorable. She’s small, fitting against my chest perfectly, and she smells so good. I could bury my nose in her and stay there all day.

“I mean, she’s going to wake up, right?”

“If all goes well, yes,” he says, laughing again.

“And she’ll cry. And probably need a lot of attention.”

“She’s an infant, so I’d say that’s a safe assumption.”

I nod, still thinking it over. “I guess that doesn’t sound too bad. But I know without a doubt that I don’t want to be pregnant. It goes back to me knowing too much. Most pregnancies are normal, but I see way too many that aren’t. It’s not something I’ve felt the need to experience for myself.”

“Interesting,” he says, sitting back on the sofa and watching me. “I guess I’d never really thought about that.”

“You’re a man. You don’t have to worry about the changes to your body, or how well your body will even deal with being pregnant. And that’s only the beginning. There can be so many different complications, diseases, disorders, and problems that it would take a month to list them all.”

“And you’d worry the entire time.”

“Every minute of it,” I confirm. “And I know, it sounds—”

“Don’t say dumb. You’re not dumb, Hannah.”

“Well, it sounds dumb to me,” I reply with a shrug. “But it is what it is.”

I pull the sleeping baby off of my chest and into my arms, so I can see her sweet face. Her lips are pursed, as if she’s sucking on a nipple in her dream. “Her eyelashes are long. They’re always wasted on babies and men.”

“She looks like her mom,” he says, just as there’s a knock on the door. “Speaking of which, there they are.”

“So soon?”

He tosses me a wide smile and answers the door. “She’s sleeping.”

“Oh, good,” Dan says as they come inside. His wife, whom I immediately recognize, rushes over to check on her.

“Dr. Malone,” she says with a happy smile. “What a surprise.”

“Hi Alice,” I reply and nod to Dan. “I didn’t realize this little bundle belonged to you.”