CH 7 - Meet the Baby

When Mrs. Evans and I returned to her ranch with the new baby girl, Will and Mark were already there.

"Beth!" Will called out, running over to meet us.

"Shh…" his mom scolded. "We just got her to sleep."

"Will, I want you to meet the new addition to the family," I said, leaning over the horse to show him.

"What?" He was very confused. "How did you…"

"We'll explain in a minute, just hold her while I get down, would you?"

He looked a little tentative, but took her from me anyway. After a few moments, he relaxed and smiled down at her.

"She's cute. What's her name?"

"Well, we haven't decided yet."

"Let's get her inside you two," Mrs. Evans scolded us, marching Mark in ahead of her as well.

"So…" Will promted as he sat down at the table with her still in his arms. Starting from me getting a free day all the way to the ride home, I told him and Mark the story.

"The sheriff said the judge would be by to make everything legal, but he wasn't sure when he was due in, so she'll stay with us in the meantime."

"By us you mean…"

"Your ma and I. We agreed that I'd be her ma and she'd be her grandma."

"What am I then?" Mark chimed in suddenly. He was too enthralled by the new baby.

"I was thinking Uncle Mark. Does that sound good?" He nodded eagerly and smiled down at the baby.

"Can I hold her?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied as Will reluctantly handed her over to his little brother. Almost immediately she woke up and began to wail, but before Mrs. Evans or I could reach her, Will had her again and stopped crying.

"She must like you," I told Will, peaking over his shoulder down at the baby.

"Yeah," he agreed, absently. "So what is her name?"

"I like the name Bridget," I said, looking up at Will.

"I like the name Sarah," he said, meeting my gaze almost in a challenge.

"Compromise," Mrs. Evans said from behind us. "Sarah Bridget."

"I like it," I said as Will nodded in agreement.

"Sarah Bridget Evans," Will said, looking down at her again. "But we can call her Bridget."

"Evans?"

"Yes, Evans."

"Who said her last name was Evans? Mine is Johnson."

"Yes, but your name will change when you get married."

"And?"

"And you're the ma and the name must be from the father's side of the family. So if my ma is the grandma also, she must be from the father's side of the famly. Then her last name must be Evans."

"But she doesn't have a pa, Will."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"I thought I'd be her pa."

"Will…"

"She's the granddaughter of my ma and my only brother, my only sibling, is the uncle, making me Pa. Everyone needs a pa."

I didn't know what to say. Mentioning the fact that he didn't have one seemed cruel, but I couldn't think of anything else in that moment.

"What if I get married to someone else? He'll want to be her pa too."

"Too bad, I was here first."

"You are being so childish about this, Will…" In that moment, I was cut off by Bridget's screams.

"You two, stop your bickering, you're making her cry," Mrs. Evans scolded us, taking Bridget out of Will's arms and giving her to Mark so he could finally hold her.

We were both silent for a moment as I thought about it, then I gave in to his pleading looks.

"Fine, you can be her pa. But you have to explain your logic to my parents. Your ma already agreed to tell Ma the story of why I now have a baby as an unmarried young woman. Especially sine it's before even Rachel is pregnant."

"Where is she sleeping?"

"Here. Your ma said she could have the trundle under her bed."

"I can't believe it's possible to love someone so much when you've known them for five minutes."

I just smiled at him. He and Mark were being so sweet with Bridget. I knew Mark would make a great uncle and that Will would be a wonderful Pa as well. But under the happiness and love surrounding Will, I could see his mind thinking real hard about something.

Some time later, after we'd gotten Bridget to sleep on the trundle with a bunch of blankets surrounding her to prevent her from rolling off, Will and I headed outside and sat on the porch, watching as the first stars began to appear overhead.

"What were you thinking about when you first held Bridget?"

"Hmm?" he asked, apparently lost in thought again. "When I first held Bridget?"

"Yes, you looked like you were thinking very hard about something important."

"I was thinking about our future…my future," he corrected himself.

"Our future?" He wasn't getting off that easily, I'd heard him.

"Yeah," he said resigned. "You, me and Bridget."

"I was afraid of that. This is why I wanted you to be uncle as well."

"What?" he sounded surprised.

"In a few years we'll both marry and what will happen to Bridget then? Will she call your wife Ma as well? And how do you explain it when people think I had a child at fifteen out of wedlock with you, I mean there are already enough rumors going around."

"One question at a time," he said, putting his arm around my shoulder and drawing me nearer to him. "First, not exactly what I was thinking about. I was looking forward to raising our daughter, not worrying about the future. Second, if we do both get married separately we'll have to stay near each other, you're not getting away that easily, you're my best friend, I need you."

"If?" I asked, skeptically. Was he saying no one would marry me or that no one would marry him or maybe something else entirely? Was he saying he would marry me?

"Don't interrupt!" he scolded, jokingly. "As I was saying, thirdly, you explain she was adopted. Out of the kindness of your heart you took this child in when no one was there for her. None of us are actually related other than legally, or it will be legal as soon as the judge arrives. And last, but certainly not least, no one will ever replace you as Bridget's ma."

I was so surprised to hear him say the last part that I jerked my head up fast, narrowly missing his chin. He was staring down at me, smiling. His answer was perfect and he knew it. I smiled back.

"Why William Evans, I do believe you've gone soft. Did it really only take a baby girl to do this to you?" I teased him. "But really, thank you, Will."

"Anytime," he told me as I laid my head on his shoulder, staring up at the night sky.