An Unexpected Blessing

Chapter 6

As he drove off he called Holly to see if it was okay for him to drop by there. She told him she was on the way home from the grocery store and would be there in a few minutes. Jethro arrived just before she did and helped her carry Logan and the groceries in the house.

"Could you change his pants while I put these away? There are some diapers and wipes in the bathroom down here so you don't have to go upstairs."

"Come on little boy you don't smell that great right now. Let's see what we can do about that."

Jethro quickly got Logan cleaned up and left him on the floor with his toys while he took the offending diaper out to the trash. When he came back in Holly was in the living room watching Logan roll around on his blanket. Jethro sat down on the floor and picked him up and hugged him.

"What have you been doing this morning, Jethro?"

"I went with Ali to look at a condo she's made on offer on. She wanted me to check it out for any problems I might see. Then we went for a late breakfast or early lunch I guess."

"So how was the condo?"

"It's nice. I didn't see anything concerning. I think she'll get it. It's closer to her office than where she lives now."

"You know, I ran into her in her building on Friday. My attorney is in the same building."

"Yeah, she mentioned that. Pretty crazy considering how many office buildings and how many lawyers are in the city."

"Yes. You have any thoughts on how you and I should proceed?"

"Haven't thought about much else since Friday evening. I know we're going at this kinda backwards but I want to spend as much time with you and Logan as I can. I want the two of us to get to know each other and I'm hoping we will figure out we want to be together and be a family."

Holly didn't respond for a long time. Jethro knew he'd probably said too much but he didn't see any reason to go slowly at this point. Holly looked at him sitting there holding Logan and kissing him all over. It was easy to see how much he already loved Logan. She wondered if he would ever love her that much. She had no problem with the idea of spending time with Jethro; she already knew she wanted them to wind up together as a family. The only thing holding her back was the fact that Jethro had such a terrible record in the marriage department. It made her leery of committing to a relationship with him. She had no intention of involving Logan in a situation that might end two or three years down the road. Holly was determined to go slowly with Jethro. She'd done her research on Jethro long ago and she was aware of his marriages and that no children had come from any of them before they ended. That concerned her when she thought about Logan and what a divorce would do to him. Jethro had some convincing to do before Holly was going to let herself fall in love with him.

"I pretty much gathered that from what you've said about being a full-time dad. I wonder what that looks like to you. What specifically do you want to do?"

"You know, Ducky said even though dating usually comes before the baby there isn't any reason we couldn't do some of that now. Dating I mean."

Holly had to smile at how uncomfortable he was getting that response out.

"No, I don't suppose there's any reason we can't do that. May I make another suggestion?"

"Please do."

"How about you come here after work for a while. We can have supper together; you could have time with Logan and me. You could give him his bath and get him ready for bed. Read stories or whatever. Then if you want to stay for a while you and I can work on getting better acquainted. How's that sound?"

"Sounds really good. But you know sometimes I don't get away from work at a good time. Sometimes not at all."

"I remember. We'll play it by ear and you come when you can. Just call and let me know if you can't make it. I think I've found a good babysitter so maybe once in a while we could go out somewhere. You know, like a real date."

So, that was the plan and that was what they did all the next week. Starting on that Sunday evening, Jethro stayed for supper and later he gave Logan a bath for the first time. He read him two stories and rocked him to sleep. Holly and Jethro sat in the living room after Logan was in bed and talked about her time in Europe. She showed him some of the pictures she'd taken there and he told her a little about his time working in Paris and Marseille. Jethro went home about nine o'clock after seeing Holly yawning every two minutes. He asked if he could kiss her goodbye and she happily said yes. Jethro smiled all the way home and slept better that night than he had in a long time.

Every evening the next week Jethro left work on time and went to Holly's. He was keeping his fingers crossed every afternoon that they didn't get a case and miraculously, his team didn't get called out all week. He and Holly and Logan had supper together and Jethro spent time loving Logan and catching up on the six months he'd missed out on. Holly always let him have Logan to himself for baths and playing on the floor and rocking him to sleep. Then the adults had their time to talk or watch a movie together or just be quiet together. Holly wanted to know how the boat was coming along and about how his team was doing. She told him about funny expressions or little things Logan was doing during the day. Jethro talked about growing up in a small town as an only child and all the things he wanted to teach Logan as he grew up.

One evening was spent talking about Jethro's brief retirement in Mexico and his relationship with Jenny Sheperd. Holly knew only the barest of details about Jenny but Jethro was willing to tell her their entire history including how much he was hurt by her leaving him. He readily admitted he had kept his past from Jenny and acknowledged that was probably why they eventually didn't work.

"I did the same thing with three wives so you'd think I would have learned my lesson a little quicker."

"Why didn't you ever tell them?"

"I didn't want to share my family with anyone. Especially Kelly. I could say my wife died but I couldn't bring myself to talk about Kelly. I wanted to keep her all to myself. Obviously, I don't do that now. I don't and I won't have any secrets from you Holly. I may not talk about work but I won't keep secrets from you about my life; about anything that could hurt you or us."

"Thank you Jethro. I think you know all my dirty little secrets so I guess we're all good in that department."

Jethro took her hand and said quietly, "I look forward to discovering some little fun secrets you still have. Some secret that will be just for me to know."

He leaned in and kissed her then and she felt her concerns and hesitation melting just a little bit. Holly wanted to love Jethro and wanted him to love her but she kept telling herself to go slowly. It wasn't just about her anymore. She had to be sure Jethro was serious and committed for Logan's sake. But, she kissed him back anyway because he was just too delicious to say no to.

By the end of that first full week of Jethro knowing he was a dad, the home remodeling project was about to get into high gear. He had decided to go all in with Mark and the project had taken on a whole new dimension. Basically, the whole house was being updated and refreshed. Jethro planned to do some work himself and he had agreed to let Mark hire another crew to work with him so they could finish that much quicker.

One evening Holly asked about Ali and the condo they had looked at. "Did Ali get the condo she wanted?"

"Yeah. Now she's looking for a painter. Wants to have the whole place painted."

"I could give her the name of the guy who did this place. He's very reasonable and quick. I'll find his card and give her a call if you'll give me her number."

"That would be great. So, you had this done when you moved in?"

"Yes, it was a very plain beige color when I bought it. I like this much better but I think I would go maybe a half shade darker if I had to do it over again. Just a bit more of a blueish gray."

Jethro stowed that information away knowing he was going to be picking paint colors pretty soon.

"Ali said something about liking a grayish color. Do you know what this is?"

"I'll find it and tell her when I call her with the painter's name."

The week ended without Jethro having to work late even one night but he knew that wouldn't last. On Saturday Holly got a babysitter and Jethro finally took her out on a proper "date". They went to a wonderful restaurant in Olde Town and then walked around enjoying the warm summer evening. Jethro took her hand as they left the restaurant and didn't let go until they got back to the truck. On the way home they went to the National Mall and visited the Lincoln Memorial sitting on the steps in the quiet and admiring the view.

"This has been a very nice evening Jethro. Thank you. I didn't realize how much I needed to get out of the house."

"You're very welcome. It has been nice. How am I doin', Holly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Gettin' you to trust me. To believe how serious I am about us bein' a family."

Holly just looked at him. She reminded herself how very good Jethro was at reading people; at knowing what was going on with them even when they didn't think they were giving away any information. She flashed back to the time he had her in an interrogation room and she felt like he saw right into her soul and already knew the answers to every question he asked her.

"I have always trusted you Jethro. If not I never would have let you into Logan's life. And, I know you are serious about being Logan's dad."

"But…"

"I have to be sure you're in this for the long haul. Permanently in Logan's life full-time. I just want us to go slowly so we're both sure."

Jethro didn't let her answer anger him or discourage him. He wasn't in a hurry. Well, he was but he could go slowly if that's what she needed. Whatever she needed to be sure he would never do anything to jeopardize his life with Logan. And with her.

"I can go slowly. As long as we are going forward I'm fine with that. I want you to know that whatever you need from me, whatever you need me to do, I'll do it because having a family is the most important thing to me and I won't change my mind about that. Or about you or Logan."

Holly leaned into him and wrapper her arms around him. "Thank you, Jethro."

The next week didn't go quite as well. A case came in Tuesday morning and kept Jethro at work until Thursday night. He got home to his own house only to eat and take short naps at night. He talked to Holly every day but he missed Logan. He finally got to see them Friday night for supper and bath time but while Holly was putting Logan to bed Jethro fell asleep on the couch. Holly left him there and when he woke up at 5:30 in the morning he didn't know where he was for a moment. He got up and stumbled upstairs to look in on Logan. He kissed his son on the head then went downstairs and left Holly a note on the kitchen table saying he'd call her later and apologizing for falling asleep on her.

Jethro worked at the house all day Saturday until it was time to pick Holly up for their second date night. He had decided to move most of his furniture to the garage so hired one of Mark's guys to help him. Once that was done he packed up Kelly's room and put everything from there in the storage room in the basement. He had rented a floor sander and spent the afternoon sanding down the floor and getting it ready for a new finish. After that he tackled the hall bathroom. He took out the old vanity, toilet and medicine cabinet. That done he started removing the tile in the bathtub and on the floor. Luckily the bathroom wasn't too large and Jethro was able to get all that done just in time to take a quick shower and get dressed for his dinner with Holly.

Logan was having supper when his dad arrived at the townhouse. The little boy was beginning to recognize Jethro's voice so when his dad spoke Logan's attention went from his peas and pears to his dad.

"Would you like to take over and I'll go get dressed? He seems to want to look at you anyway."

"Sure, I'd love to take over."

Jethro went to take Holly's place and when she went past he caught her hand and kissed her a quick kiss. "I'm glad to see you." Then he sat down and began shoveling baby food into his little boy's mouth as fast as he could. Logan was banging his hands on the tray across his lap and food was coming out almost as fast as Jethro could get it in. He kept up a running conversation with Logan as he patiently got him to finish both jars of food. Once that was accomplished he wiped Logan's face and picked him up for a hug. Jethro never tired of holding his son and telling him how much he loved him. He thought sometimes he could see a slight resemblance to Kelly when she was a baby but really, Jethro didn't think Logan looked like anyone else even though Holly and Ali both said Logan looked like him.

The babysitter arrived a few minutes later and Holly and Jethro left for dinner out. Jethro was pleased to see the babysitter wasn't a teenager and of course he wanted to know all about her.

"How did you find the sitter?"

"Abby is a nursing student and lives two houses down with her parents. She is extremely reliable and loves babies. I've known her since she was in high school. When I came home with Logan she came down to help me with the groceries one day. She's really good with him and he likes her. Trust me, Jethro she's the perfect babysitter."

"Sounds great. I'm glad you have someone close by you can trust. What sounds good to you tonight?"

"I have been craving barbeque for some reason. Do you have a favorite place?"

"I sure do. You're going to love it."

Dinner was a success and Holly agreed it was the best barbeque she'd ever had. She could tell Jethro was tired so she suggested they make it an early evening and head home. "I have ice cream and brownies at home. Wanna go home for dessert?"

"Absolutely. I'm kinda tired tonight so that sounds good to me."

"What did you do today?"

"Just a bunch of chores around the house," Jethro replied with a half-truth.

When they got home Logan was just about asleep so Jethro took him from Abby and sat in the rocking chair with him until Holly came in and got him for dessert.

"I can't stop looking at him," Jethro said quietly.

"I know. I think I held him almost constantly for weeks and I felt like I never took my eyes off him. He's such a sweet baby. There is not the tiniest bit of me that regrets what happened that night, Jethro. I want you to know that. I have loved our child from the moment I knew I was pregnant."

Jethro looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I'm not sorry in the least about that night. This child is a blessing I never thought I'd have. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am you brought him home to me. Thank you, Holly."

Holly leaned down and kissed Jethro on the cheek. "You're very welcome. Now, come on, I'm ready for some dessert. Put that sweet boy in his bed."

Not long after he finished a bowl of ice cream and a brownie, Jethro kissed Holly goodbye and went home. He was tired but he wanted to work on the floor in what would be Logan's room before he went to bed. He got it clean and ready for the first coat of finish and finally fell into bed about 1:30. The next morning he was up early and by noon he had the room painted and was ready to get to work on the floor. Before he could get started he heard the front door open and close.

"Jethro, you here?"

It was Ali. "Yeah, upstairs."

Jethro stepped into the hall and waited for Ali.

"What are you doin' here?"

"I wanted to see what you were doin' to the house. You mind?"

"Course not. Did you look in the kitchen?"

"No, came straight up here. I like the color in here. This will be Logan's room right?"

"Yep. I'm about to put the finish on the floor. Come on, I'll give you the whole tour."

Jethro showed her the torn up bathroom and then they went downstairs and he showed her the progress on the kitchen. All the cabinets were gone and the walls removed as Mark had suggested. He explained how they were going to change the kitchen and update all the appliances and cabinets.

"Everything gets repainted and the floors will all be sanded and refinished. The master bath will be redone with double sinks and a big shower. Keepin' the tub but moving it to the other wall. Whatta ya think?"

"Wow, I can't believe all this. Does Holly know what you're doing?"

"No. I want to be finished before I show her."

Ali frowned and Jethro knew she didn't agree with that plan.

"What?"

"I just wonder if maybe you're getting ahead of yourself. Or if maybe she'd like to have some input."

"Go on."

"Jethro, you never made a single change to the house for anyone you were actually married to and now you're updating the whole place when you don't even know if you and Holly will be together. Does that make sense to you?"

"I know what you're saying. I'm doing this because I want to show Holly that I'm serious about us being a family. I wouldn't ask her to live here as it is; or was."

"I understand that but really, I wonder if maybe you should tell her what you're doing and include her in some decisions like paint colors and the kitchen layout. Suppose she doesn't want to leave her home and live here? Have you thought about that?"

"Not really. You think she'll want to do that?"

"I have no idea but I think you should ask her. It's a possibility you know."

"She's told me she wants us to be a family and I don't think she expects us to live separately. She wants us to take things slowly so we're both sure of what we want. What she means I think is she needs to be sure I'll stick around for the long haul. I've told her I will but naturally she's a little skeptical considering my history. That's why I thought updating the house would show her I'm serious."

"I'm sure it will but why not let her be part of it? That will show her you care about her ideas and what she likes or doesn't like. Maybe she'd like that more than a surprise."

"You may be right. I'll think about it."

"Jethro, don't think too long. Don't get too far along with all this before you let her have some input."

"Okay. Thanks."

Ali kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye. Jethro went back upstairs and got to work on the floor in Logan's room. He called it quits after the first coat of finish was on and get himself cleaned up to go see Logan and Holly. He spent the afternoon with them, had supper and got Logan down for the night before he kissed Holly goodnight and went home. He didn't say anything about the house. He thought Ali was probably right but he wanted to wait a little while before he told Holly what he was doing. Turned out he should have told her that night.

TBC