Fair Lakes Series Box Set - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,225

on Monday. Now, here we are, Saturday midday, and he should be here any minute. Chase and Gabby are coming over too. Gabby is going to watch Milo, while Chase and I help the new guy move in. That’s the least we can do. Then we’ll probably invite him in for a beer after so we can get to know him.

“Knock, knock.” My brother’s voice echoes through the pretty much empty house.

“We’ve got company, buddy.” I climb to my feet, my son none the wiser, and head toward the kitchen. “Hey,” I greet Gabby and Chase.

“Aw, is my little guy sleeping?” Gabby asks, completely ignoring me. Not that I blame her. My son is handsome and hard to resist. He does get his good looks from his father. Just saying.

“He just conked out about fifteen minutes ago. What’s all this?” I ask, nodding toward the bags on the island.

“Oh, just some housewarming stuff. We stopped at the store and got some spices and condiments. Some kitchen utensils, potholders, a pizza pan, and some other random stuff.”

“And by stuff, she means, she filled the back of her SUV. Hand over my nephew and help me carry this stuff in.” I carefully transfer Milo into Gabby’s waiting arms.

“I can’t help it. I was in the mood to clean and get our house settled.”

“She’s nesting. That’s what the books say,” my brother replies.

“Oh, hush,” Gabby says, still staring at my son. “I’m not nesting. I’m just trying to go through my stuff that was stored in the garage before the baby gets here. I just want it off our plates.”

“It’s not hurting anything sitting in the garage.”

“No, it’s not. However, I feel better having gone through it.”

“Nesting,” Chase says again.

“Call it what you want. It’s done, so that’s all I care about.”

“Happy wife, happy life.” Chase winks at her, and she rolls her eyes.

“What time is this guy getting here? What’s his name again? Harry?” Chase asks.

“Hollis. And he should be here anytime.”

“Good, let’s get busy unloading so we can help him.” He leans down, places his hand on Gabby’s protruding belly, and kisses her softly. “Love you,” he whispers before disappearing out the door.

I follow along behind him with a twinge of jealousy. I never really thought much about settling down and having a family of my own. However, I assumed if I ever did, it would be in the right order. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would be a single father to an infant, courtesy of a one-night stand.

“You weren’t kidding,” I tell Chase when we open the back of Gabby’s SUV. “You guys didn’t have to do all of this.”

“It was all Gabs. It’s expensive to start out on your own. We’ve both been there, and we didn’t have a baby to take care of. Besides, some of this stuff is used. We combined our places, cleaned out the garage from when she moved in, and we have duplicates of a lot of things. We figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“No. I appreciate it, man. I was just thinking about how I have this house, but it’s bare-bones.”

“This should get you by. It’s all in good shape. We just don’t need it.”

“Thank you. Not just for this, but for taking such good care of Milo. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened if it had not been your doorstep she dropped him off on.”

“Yeah, well, maybe think twice before you use my name again. I don’t think my wife would appreciate that.”

“Trust me, that’s not going to happen. Those days are long gone. I have more than just myself to think about. Milo needs stability, and I’m going to make damn sure he has it.”

“Great. Start by taking this.” He places a large box in my arms.

“What’s in here?”

“Dishes. Baking dishes, and honestly, I’m not really sure. What I do know is it’s yours now, toss or keep it. We don’t care either way.”

I carry the box into the house and place it on the small kitchen island. “Thanks for all this, Gabby.”

“It’s nothing. We were going to get rid of it anyway. If you don’t like it or need it, just pass it on or donate it. Whatever. I only brought the stuff I thought you might want or need.”

I start unpacking the box and pull out some mixing bowls, a couple of glass baking dishes, and a full set of glasses. “Are you sure you don’t need this stuff?”

“Positive. Between everything