Moonlight Road (Virgin River #11)(89)

“We know it’s a boy already?”

She shook her head. “Just using he/him. It could well be a girl.”

“And they’re doing this because…?”

“For all the right reasons—they’ve been together since high school, but they’ve barely finished their first year of college, and it’s been a financially tough year. They know if they try to have the baby together, it will be a hardship on them and the baby. They want to get married eventually, have children—but they want better for this baby than they can reasonably give him. Or her. It was a very difficult and brave decision for them.”

“And did you tell them you want their baby?”

“I did not. And even though I actually would love that, even I would recommend to them that they interview several potential parents.”

“Uh-huh. But you can think of a hundred reasons why we’re likely to stand out, can’t you?”

“Well, I agree we’re fair candidates, but—”

“But we come personally recommended by their good friends, have small children of our own, are financially stable, healthy, local and guaranteed to remain local, you’re a medical professional who works with a pediatrician, we aren’t felons or abusers, have an entire town to vouch for us…Need I go on?”

“There’s more?” she asked.

“I bet there is,” he answered.

“Are you going to go along with this?” she asked, her eyes taking on that blue flash he knew only too well.

“Yes,” he said. “But we’re going to sit down with a counselor and make sure we’re good potential adoptive parents, good for that baby. I think that’s important. And if the counselor agrees, you can feel free to add it to your package.”

She smiled happily. “Thank you, Jack. I promise, you’ll never regret it.”

Fifteen

Aiden and Erin had a busy couple of days after the departure of Sean and Franci. Not only did Aiden contact his headhunter and tell him he was ready to take appointments for serious interviews in the Chico area, they made a run down to San Francisco to shop for clothes. It was supposed to be a shopping trip for Aiden, who had been in uniform for a very long time and had only one civilian suit, maybe just a bit out of date for interviews. But of course, Erin, a self-confessed clotheshorse, managed to buy a few things for herself, as well.

“Why not start on the trousseau,” he suggested. “Let’s pick up some perverted and extremely fun nightwear.”

What they started on instead was a ring. Aiden had it in his mind to have something original made for her, but on a pass through Tiffany’s she saw a ring that just brought her to her knees. That was good enough for him.

She couldn’t wait to tell her sister, whom she talked to at least once a day. She called her from San Francisco. Marcie shrieked with delight and demanded, “When am I going to see it?”

“I’ll take a picture with my phone—stand by. I’ll send it and call you back!”

A few minutes later, Erin got Marcie back on the line. “Oh my GOD!” Marcie said. “I want to see it in person! Does it weigh five pounds? Do I have to wait till you come home?” Marcie wanted to know. “Because the doctor says I’m done with long car trips.”

“Aiden’s hoping to interview in the Chico area. If anything comes up down there for him, I’ll ride along with him. But, honey, do you realize how soon I’ll be back for the baby? I’m coming before you have him, and you’re having him in just a few weeks! How do you feel?”

“Enormous, but good. I’m ready, let me tell you.”

“Soon, Marcie. Just be patient,” Erin said. “Be sure to cook him long enough.”

After spending a couple of nights in San Francisco, they sped back to Virgin River. They checked in with Luke to find everyone there was status quo and that Sean and family had arrived safely in Montgomery. Aiden and Erin spent the night in the cabin where more and more of Aiden’s things, including his laptop, were appearing. He’d nearly moved in.

“I really didn’t think life could ever get this perfect,” she said. “If we have a home and good jobs in Chico, an ideal getaway on this mountain, what more could we want?”

“Besides my divorce? How about a kid or two?” he asked.

“What if I can’t?” she asked him.

“What if I can’t?” he parroted. “The fact is, we probably both can. You game?”

“Are you sure I’m not too old?” she asked.

“At thirty-six? I delivered a forty-two-year-old right before exiting the navy. It was her first. You’re definitely not too old to have a baby. Do you feel like it’s a little late in the game to commit twenty years plus to raising one?”

“I just thought it was one of those things that had passed me by, that would never happen. I know you have your heart set on it….”

“I’d like that, true. But parenting is definitely a team sport. We both have to be on that team, Erin. If you don’t want it, I’m not going to push it.”

“And that wouldn’t change your mind about settling down with me?”

“At this point, nothing would change my mind about that. But how about we make an agreement right now—issues that really require two people to be of like minds, we either agree we both want it or we don’t go there.”