of trouble. Or should I say your mother has.”
He left the bed, went to his briefcase under the desk, and pulled out his latest sketches. He needed to scan them into his computer and get them off to the editor to see what he thought of them. It was a good thing he could keep working through all of this, otherwise he’d be in trouble. Thank Heaven he made a decent living and didn’t have to go into an office every day.
His cell phone rang. Zane smiled when he saw who it was. “Forget something?”
“Yes,” came Holly’s voice. “I forgot to ask, what size does Sophie wear?”
“You mean clothes or diapers?”
“Both.”
He sighed. “Holly, you don’t have to get anything for her. I’ve got her covered.”
“But I want to.”
“You don’t have to…”
“I should probably get the one-year-old size, right? Or does she need something with a little growing room? That would be eighteen months, right?”
Zane’s chest warmed at her gesture. “Really, she’s fine.”
“Well, I’m not,” Holly said. “I want to do something for her.”
It was no use arguing. “Fine. One year, and if you’re going to get anything the next size up, make sure it’s a dress. It doesn’t look as funny if it’s too big.”
“You sound like an expert dad already,” she giggled.
“I’ve had to be,” he said solemnly.
Silence.
“Holly?”
“Sorry. It’s just that after I left, I got kind of excited. You know me…”
He laughed softly. “Yes, I do. It’s why I asked for your help.”
“Okay, well, that’s what I wanted to check on. And don’t worry, I’ll take tomorrow afternoon off and then think up something to tell Katie if I need any more time.”
“I should have spoken to my parents by then. Thanks. Between you and Beatrice you ladies have me covered.”
“I can’t believe she was the one babysitting for you while you were at church. I ran into her on my way there. She was going in the opposite direction.”
“Yeah, well, now you know that was my fault. Let’s hope my father isn’t too upset with her.”
“He won’t be. Trust me.”
His chest warmed some more. Holly was always so upbeat and optimistic. It’s one of the things that drew him to her years ago. He was glad that part of her hadn’t changed. “Is that it?”
“Yep. Just gathering information.”
“Would you like her shoe size too?” he teased.
“Yes!”
Zane laughed. “One year old.”
“Gotcha!”
He smiled. “Holly…”
“Yeah?”
His smile broadened. “Thanks.”
“Ahhhh, you’d do the same for me.”
He nodded at that. “I would.”
Silence again.
“Holly?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Not important. I better go. Bye!”
He hit “end call” and tossed the phone on the bed. Sophie would sleep for at least another hour. Best get some work done. Then he could feed and play with her for a time before she got sleepy again. The trip had her sleep schedule off, but she’d get back to normal soon enough.
He sighed as he watched her slumber. “Kiddo, you better rest up good. You’re going to need your strength over the next few days. Especially after you meet your Grandma Brody.”
He just hoped his parents took to her as quickly as he did. This was their first grandchild. So why wouldn’t they? But practicality could take hold and his folks would start suggesting things like giving her up for adoption, arguing that being a single father nowadays was tough. Well, of course it was. Being a single parent at any time was tough. He knew that now.
But it wasn’t about being practical, it was about believing in him. He wasn’t the best student in high school and didn’t bring home straight A’s. He wasn’t all that good at sports either. His father drove him and drove him hard. After all, he was the son of the esteemed Reverend Brody and had to…
Zane shook his head. If he kept thinking about it, he’d get a splitting headache. Besides, he had work to do. He pushed the thoughts aside, pulled his laptop out of his briefcase and got to work.
Holly went to the closet, pulled a box from the closet she knew contained some of her favorite chic wholesale catalogs, and began to leaf through them for baby clothes. “Pink, green, yellow?” She didn’t know what to buy for Sophie but she’d make sure it was fabulous.
She went through the first catalog, then the second, and stopped. “What am I doing?” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She was getting way too excited. “You’d think she was my baby.”
She tossed the catalog on the