The next morning, I was just heading down to the gym when I ran into Stephanie. I glanced at my watch, then back to her. She's never up this early on a normal workday. While she didn't appear in distress, I couldn't help but worry that something was wrong. Maybe spending Thanksgiving without Ranger hit her harder than we all thought. "Beautiful, are you okay?"
She paused and cocked her head to the side, her expression one of confusion. "I'm fine. Why?"
"Well, you're never up and out of the apartment this early."
"Oh, that." Her face broke into a big smile. "It's Black Friday. I'm heading out to pick up Mary Lou and go shopping."
It would figure. Even now, Steph won't get out of bed before eight every morning for work but dangle a good sale under her nose and she's ready for battle.
Before I managed to point that fact out to her, self-preservation kicked in. She might still be recovering from that car crash back in March, but that wouldn't stop her from eviscerating me. "Have fun. Score lots of deals and take a bodyguard with you." Ranger wouldn't think twice about shipping my ass off to a Stan if I let anything happen to Steph while he was gone.
She nodded. "I'm still not allowed to drive, so Brett is going with us. He can shop with the best of them."
I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. Why didn't that surprise me?
It was around lunchtime, and I was covering monitors for Raphael, so he could get his break and eat lunch. Since Steph and Brett weren't back yet, I decided to check her trackers. They placed her in Freehold at the Raceway Mall. I guess they'd exhausted the stores at Quaker Bridge and decided to expand their search. It would probably be wise to have men available for when they get back. I'd bet money she'd need help carrying her purchases up to Seven.
I'd just clicked off the tracking screen when my attention snagged on the garage camera. Was that Celeste leaving the building? I narrowed my eyes as I studied the screen. Why did she appear as if she'd been crying? It was the first time I'd seen her since the night we'd all gone out to celebrate Bobby passing the PANCE exam.
She didn't appear to be celebrating anything now. While she didn't exactly look as if she was actively crying, the expression on her face was one filled with emotion. Once Raphael was back maybe I'd head down to the infirmary and check on Bobby.
When I finally made it down there fifteen minutes later, I found him sitting in his office staring at his blank computer screen. I remained in the doorway for a solid two minutes without him noticing me or even moving. Yep, something was definitely up.
"Hey," I said from where I remained in the doorway. My brow was knit when he jumped in response and reached for his weapon.
"Easy," I called out. "It's just me."
"Shit," he muttered as he removed his hand from where it rested over his Beretta, then lifted both to scrub them over his face.
"Sorry," I replied. "It's not like you to not be aware of your surroundings. You, okay?"
He nodded as he blew out a breath. "Yeah. I just have a lot on my mind."
"I can see that." I moved into his office and plopped myself down into the chair across from his desk. "Whatever's bothering you wouldn't have anything to do with Celeste, would it?"
He looked up at me, his eyes wide. "Why? Did she say something to you?"
I shook my head. "No, but I was watching the monitors for Raphael while he took his break when I saw Celeste leave. She looked like she was upset."
"Yeah, well, she kinda was," he replied.
"What's going on?"
"She's pregnant," he replied as he sank back in his chair and stared at me.
Those two words hung in the air between us like a thick fog. "Pregnant?" I finally repeated as the shock slowly began to wear off. "I'm guessing since you look so stunned that she believes it's yours."
He nodded as he took a deep cleansing breath. "I'm the only person she's slept with in the last year. It's mine."
"Bro, I know you were drunk that night, but didn't you use protection?" I asked.
He shot me a look of disgust. "Of course, I did." Then his hard look faltered as he lifted a hand to rub at his temple as if he were trying to rub away a headache. "At least I think I did. I mean, there was an open condom wrapper on the nightstand the next morning and the one I kept in my wallet was missing."
"But?" I pushed knowing by his actions there was more to his story.
"But I don't know how many times we actually…well…you know."
"You don't know?"
"We were both drunk. Hell-" He pushed up from his desk chair and began to pace. "Neither of us even remember doing anything, let alone whether we took proper precautions."
"So, what's she gonna do?" I asked.
"That's why she came by," he replied as he stopped to look out the window. "She's planning on keeping it."
"That's good," I replied. "Right?" I added at the last minute. Bobby loved kids and had always hoped to one day be a father. So, I couldn't imagine him wanting her to get rid of it. That just wasn't in his nature.
"Yeah, it is," he replied. "She said that she makes enough money she doesn't need my help financially. Since we're not dating, she certainly doesn't expect anything from me, but she thought I deserved to know, regardless."
"She doesn't expect anything from you?" I repeated, feeling insulted for him. "Does she not think you'd be a good father?"
He shook his head as he dropped back down into his chair. "Relax, Les. It's not like that. She was simply stating that since she was the one deciding to keep it and wasn't giving me a say, she didn't want to tie me to anything I didn't want."
"So, if she'd decided to abort it?" I asked.
"She wouldn't have told me. She just would have done it, and I would have never known."
"So, what are you going to do?" I asked.
"I told her I want to be there for her and my child all the way. That, not only do I want to be there through the pregnancy and for the birth but for everything that comes after."
"She's okay with it?"
For the first time since I walked into his office, he smiled. "She started crying. She said she was so relieved to hear me say that. Because while she was prepared to be a single mom, she was praying that I wouldn't be angry with her and that I'd want to be involved." He shook his head. "Can you believe that? She was actually afraid I'd be angry with her. Like it didn't take two of us to make that baby."
"Some guys would be," I felt the need to point out. "It's not right and you're a better man than that, but some would blame her for not taking the proper precautions."
"Still," he replied. "I thought she knew me better than that."
"Bob, you said there was no spark between you two. That you both agreed to be friends only. I can see how she might be a bit worried."
"Yeah, I suppose I can see that too," he grumbled.
I scooted up to the edge of the chair and leaned forward. "Listen, I know you said you want to be involved, but how do you really feel about all this?"
"I'm scared spitless," he replied. "I don't know the first thing about being a dad. My dad bailed when I was too little to remember him."
"I can understand being scared," I replied. "I would be too, but you'll make a great father."
He looked up at me with questioning eyes. "How do you know that?"
"You father all of us every damn day," I replied. "Plus, you're great with my cousin and Beautiful's nieces and nephews. The kids at the Boys and Girls Club love you. I'm telling you; you're going to be an amazing dad."
He blew out a breath. "I hope so, because as terrified as I am right now, somewhere in the back of my mind I'm also excited about it."
I grinned. "You should be. You're about to have what all of us want."
"I'm only getting half of what we all want. I'm getting to be a dad, but Celeste doesn't want to get married or even live together."
"And why the hell not?" I pushed, once again feeling insulted on behalf of my best friend.
"She said she doesn't want to get married just because she's pregnant and living together won't work either."
"Again, I have to ask why not?"
"With both her parents being older and in ill health, she's reluctant to leave them living alone and she's adamant about not placing them in nursing homes. She said her parents deserved better than that."
I nodded. "I can understand her logic, but why can't you just move in with her then?"
His sigh was deep and heavy. "Her folks are old school and according to her, a bit bigoted. She's confident that while they'll love any grandchild she gives them, she's afraid they might not be so nice to me. Especially since her father has Emphysema and her mother is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Neither have a lot of patience or hospitality left in them."
I frowned at his statement. "How does she work if they're both sick?"
"She's hired an aid to stay with them while she's at work," he replied. "Their Medicare pays for a visiting nurse, but according to her, they can't be left alone, so she pays out of pocket for an aid to stay with them."
"So, she's going to continue to try and care for them while pregnant? Doesn't she have any siblings or relatives that can help?"
"Her sister is in the Air Force and her brother is in jail," he replied. "She doesn't have any other living relatives that are close. She's probably going to fight me on it, but I'm going to look into hiring someone to supplement what she's already doing with her parents. That way she doesn't get run down and put her or the baby in danger."
"Has she considered an assisted living type facility?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. She was the kind of woman never to put off her responsibilities on others. Nor would she ever abandon her parents in their time of need.
Bobby shook his head. "We talked about nursing home care way before this, and she said she just couldn't do it. She said she even fought with her sister over it. Sabrina's been pushing for the nursing home for a while now. So, I don't expect Celeste to change her mind about her position. Knowing what a bone of contention it is between Celeste and her sister, I'm certainly not going to ask her to. Especially now."
"So, you're just going to stay living here while she stays there? I'm sure you're going to want to be more than just a part-time dad."
He nodded. "If I have anything to say about it I will. Though, for now, everything is going to remain status quo. Don't think that doesn't me I won't keep working on her to marry me. I'm hoping maybe I can talk her into getting married and buying a big house with an in-law suite. Then her parents would still have some independence and they wouldn't have to see me every day, but they'd be close enough for Celeste's happiness."
"That sounds like a reasonable plan, but are you sure you want to marry her when there is no spark between you?"
He nodded. "I want my child to have a solid family unit. Celeste and I are good friends, and we like and understand each other. While the spark might not be there, I'm sure the love will come with time. I just have to convince her of that."
I leaned back in my chair and stared at him. For his sake, I hope he's right. I couldn't imagine marrying someone I wasn't head over heels in love with. Immediately, my thoughts cut back to Casey, and not for the first time I realized that I'd marry her tomorrow if the timing was right.
That said something about me, considering we'd yet to take our relationship to the next level. I guess maybe Playboy Lester was dead. The funny thing was, I wasn't the least bit sad to see him go.
"Well," I finally replied. "I know Steph, Ella, Casey, and Kristina will be all over the idea of throwing our very first Rangeman baby shower."
Bobby smiled. "You're right, the girls are going to have a ball planning it."
The girls weren't the only ones who were gonna have fun.
