are made under duress. Just ask your mother. I asked her to marry me in the middle of a fight.”
“I’ve never heard that story.”
“And you’re not going to now. It’s way too early for that. Listen, son. You’re going to Willow and Zane’s Sunday for dinner? Bringing our new grandbaby?”
“Yes. We’ll come early so you can meet her before everyone else gets there.”
“You know I have to tell your mom, right?”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll send a picture, but everyone here is sleeping, so tell her not to call for a while. Babies are exhausting.”
“Wait until she’s a teenager.”
“Oh God . . . don’t remind me.”
“I’d say you have years to prepare, but there is no preparing for teenage daughters. You always told it like it was. You were pissed off, happy, or somewhere in between, but you left no room for guessing. The girls were all”—he raised his voice an octave and said—“‘I’m not mad!’” He lowered his voice and said, “Then they’d slam their bedroom door, and if I didn’t go make sure they were okay, I’d have a cryfest on my hands. Your sisters would go all”—he spoke in a higher pitch—“‘You don’t love me! If you loved me, you’d want to know what was wrong.’” He lowered his voice again and said, “And when I did try to find out what was wrong, I got the old”—his voice arced up again—“‘Nothing! I’m fine! Leave me alone!’”
Ben laughed. “My daughter will not do that shit. We’ll have an open, honest relationship.”
“Said every new father on earth.” His father sighed and said, “Good luck with that, son. I’ll have a bottle of tequila on hand for those nights.”
“My daughter isn’t going to drive me to drink, Dad.”
“Oh, the tequila’s not for you. When your daughter is a teenager, your mother and I are going to camp out in your living room and watch the show.” He snickered and said, “I love you, Benny. Give Aurelia a hug for me, and just in case you have any doubt, know that we love you, and we’re here for you through anything. Okay?”
“Yeah, Dad. Thanks.”
After he ended the call, he went quietly inside and finished making his list.
Be honest.
Only make promises I can keep.
Give her space to make mistakes.
Give her a space to call her own.
Aurelia padded out of the bedroom carrying B, both of them yawning. “Everything okay?”
He kissed them both and said, “Yeah. We should hit La Love Café for breakfast, then go nursery shopping. B needs a space of her own.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
AURELIA PUSHED THE stroller down Main Street, tipping her face up toward the bright sun. They’d lucked out with a gloriously warm spring day. Harmony Pointe was nestled between Port Hudson, where Aurelia had attended college, and Sweetwater. It was just shy of an hour-and-a-half drive from New York City, and offered grand views of mountains as far as the eye could see. Cobblestone streets, brick-front eclectic shops, and old-fashioned streetlights added to the small town’s charm. While Sweetwater was known for Sugar Lake, Harmony Pointe’s Chiffon Park was the main attraction, with a large duck pond and a massive gazebo, which hosted lectures and musical events throughout the year. When Aurelia had heard about the events at the gazebo, it had felt like one more sign and clinched the deal for her purchasing the bookstore. She hoped to eventually do readings there, too.
“After my girls,” Ben said as he pulled open the door to La Love Café & Gift Shop, which was owned by Everly’s family and run by her sister Heaven and her brother, Echo.
His arm circled Aurelia’s waist as he followed them in. She loved the newness of their intimacy, being a couple out in public. She’d thought about what it would be like, but nothing compared to the secret lustful looks he gave her or the feel of him pulling her closer, as he was now, like even a few inches between them was too much.
It might be her imagination, but since finding out he was B’s father, he seemed to be carrying himself differently, more proudly. Earlier, she’d spotted a list on the dining room table with things like Start a college fund on it. Knowing he was taking fatherhood, and B’s future, seriously made her fall even more in love with him. He’d spent twenty minutes organizing diapers, wipes, formula, and extra outfits into a backpack, which he now carried over one shoulder, and despite the warm weather, he’d stuffed extra blankets