A Home for Lily (5 page)

“We did.”  Logan confirmed.  “And they look
dashing.  Don’t they, Hazel?”

The little girl smiled and rested her head
on Lily’s stomach.

“So do you know what you’re having or are
you just admiring the pink?”  Logan asked.

“I’m having a girl.  I found out at the
last ultrasound appointment.”

“Congratulations!  That’s wonderful!” 
Logan said enthusiastically. 

“Thank you.”  Lily grinned at him.  “I’m
pretty happy about it.”

Logan picked up Hazel and nuzzled her
cheek.  “This calls for a celebration.  How about we grab some lunch?”

“Oh um, I’d better not.  I don’t have – I
mean…”

Lily trailed off, her cheeks flushing as she
gave him an uncomfortable look.  She couldn’t afford to go out for lunch but
she didn’t want to admit that to Logan.

“I insist.  It’s lunch time and you should
eat.  My treat.”  Logan said.  “What do you think, Hazel?  Should we go out for
lunch today?”

Hazel nodded and Logan grinned at them both. 
“Great.  Let’s pay for Hazel’s dashing new pants and go.  Are you going to buy
that sleeper?”

Lily shook her head.  “No, not today.”

“Alright.  Well, let’s go.”  Logan kissed
Hazel’s cheek and headed for the counter as Lily followed them.

Lily opened the door to her bedroom and
stared in surprise at Hazel.  “Hazel?  Honey, what’s wrong?”

The little girl was sitting on the floor
outside her door, holding her doll and two books, and she shrugged before
standing.  She took Lily’s hand as Lily’s nose crinkled.

“What is that smell?”  Faintly, she could
hear Logan’s deep voice singing a country song as the sounds of pots banging
came from the kitchen.

“Oh dear.  Is your father trying to cook
again?”

Hazel nodded and made a face.  Lily
laughed.  “Do you want to hide in my room?”

She grinned eagerly and trotted into Lily’s
room, climbing up on to the bed and sitting cross-legged on it as Lily shut the
door firmly behind her.

* * *

“Hazel!  Dinner!”  Logan stuck his head
into the living room.  It was empty and he jogged up the stairs and walked to
Hazel’s room.

“Baby bug?  It’s dinner time. Come and – “ 

He blinked in surprise.  Hazel’s room was
empty and he quickly checked the bathroom and his room before staring down the
hallway.  Where was she?  She wouldn’t have gone outside and –

His gaze fell on Lily’s door and he sighed
before knocking on it.

“Come in.”

He opened the door and sighed again.  Lily
was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her back supported against the wall by
pillows and she was holding one of Hazel’s books in her hands.  Hazel leaned
against her, one small hand lazily rubbing Lily’s belly as she stared at the
book.

“Baby bug, you know the rules.”  Logan said
sternly.

Hazel’s lower lip began to tremble as he
moved closer to the bed.  “When Lily is in her room, you don’t disturb her.”

“I invited her in.”  Lily said quickly. 
“She didn’t break the rules.”

Logan gave her a suspicious look and she
smiled brightly at him.  “It’s true.”

He dropped his gaze to Hazel who gave him a
decidedly smug look before resting her cheek against Lily’s belly.

“Lily, I hope you don’t feel like you need
to entertain her when it’s your day off.”  Logan said.

“I don’t.”  Lily replied.  “I like being
with Hazel.  She’s sweet and – “

She grinned when Hazel suddenly jumped and
sat up.  She looked at Lily’s belly in surprise and Lily stroked her hair. 
“Did you feel that, honey?  That was a big kick wasn’t it?”

Hazel continued staring at her belly and
Lily took her small hand.  “Here, she’s still moving around.  Put your hand
here.”

She pressed Hazel’s hand to her belly and
Hazel’s eyes widened before she grinned at Lily.

“Pretty neat, huh?”  Lily grinned back. 
“This baby girl of mine is a mover and a shaker.  I think I might be in trouble
when she’s born.”

She glanced at Logan.  He was staring at
her belly with a strange look of longing on his face and she said hesitantly,
“It must remind you of when your wife was pregnant with Hazel.  Was Hazel
active?”

He didn’t reply and she touched his
shoulder tentatively.  “Logan?”

“I uh – I don’t really know.  Erin didn’t
like to have her belly touched when she was pregnant.”  He said gruffly.

Lily frowned.  That seemed strange to her. 
Not that she wanted complete strangers touching her belly, which had happened
twice already, but the father of her child was a different story.  She had
grown to loathe Barry near the end but she wouldn’t have denied him the joy of
feeling his unborn child moving in her belly.

Logan was still staring at her belly and
she made a sudden decision.  “Here, would you like to feel her kicking?”  She
took his hand and placed it on her belly before he could protest.

The baby chose that moment to deliver a
particularly strong kick and she watched as a look of amazement crossed Logan’s
face.  “That’s so cool.”  He whispered.

Still pressing his hand against her belly,
he sat down on the side of the bed beside her and stared at her belly.  “I –
that’s just so cool.”  He repeated.

Hazel pressed her hand above her father’s
and Lily smiled at her.  “I think she’s moved to the other side, honey.”

She slid Hazel’s hand to the left, just
below her ribcage, and didn’t object when Logan eagerly placed his hand beside
Hazel’s.  The baby kicked again and Hazel and Logan exchanged mutual looks of
delight.

“Did you feel that, Hazel?”  He said. 
“That’s the baby.”  He leaned forward until his face was only inches from
Lily’s belly.  “Hello baby.  Are you a good girl?  Are you a sweet little
baby?”  He rubbed her belly lightly as Hazel placed another soft kiss on her
belly.

Lily stared at him in surprise, feeling a
weird warmth infusing her body.  She knew Logan was kind, she knew he loved
children, but to see him cooing and talking to the baby growing inside her body
was making her feel strange and happy all at the same time.  Even if Barry had
lived, he would never have acted this way about the baby, she was sure of it,
and she felt a moment of bitterness.  How different her life would have been if
she had married someone like Logan.  If she had –

She realized that Logan had put both of his
big hands on her belly and was rubbing in gentle circles.  Although it was odd,
her employer rubbing and caressing her belly, she couldn’t bring herself to ask
him to stop.  The look on his face was one of child-like wonderment and
besides, she admitted to herself, she liked how it felt.  For such a big man,
he was surprisingly gentle, and his warm hands felt wonderful on her belly. 
She wished she wasn’t wearing a t-shirt, wished she could feel his hands directly
on her skin and hear the soft rasp as his callused palms glided across her
skin.

She was so warm she was nearly sweating. 
In her mind’s eye she could see Logan’s hands stroking the naked skin of her
belly.  She bit down on her lower lip as she imagined them moving higher,
imagined them cupping her naked breasts, his fingers running over her nipples
until they were hard and aching and –

She had been reclining against the pillows
as Logan and Hazel touched her belly and, with a small gasp, she sat up
straight.  Logan pulled his hands away and gave her a look of embarrassment. 
“I’m sorry, Lily.  I shouldn’t have – “

She shook her head.  “No, it’s fine
really.  I didn’t mind.”

The baby kicked again and Hazel, who was
still resting her hand on Lily’s belly, smiled broadly and kissed her belly
once more.

Lily, feeling flushed and odd and desperate
to get away from Logan, cleared her throat.  “I should probably have something
to eat so – “

“Right, of course.”  Logan stood up from
the bed.  “Would you like to join us for dinner?  I’ve made plenty and – “

“Oh no, no.  I didn’t mean to – I wasn’t
angling for a dinner invitation.”  Lily blurted out.  “I was just going to make
myself a salad.”

Logan shook his head.  “I’ve already
cooked.  You might as well join us.  I’ve made a chicken and cheese casserole. 
It’s Hazel’s favourite.  Isn’t that right, baby bug?”

Hazel gave Lily a look of such weary
resignation that Lily had to manufacture a cough to hide her giggles.  The look
clearly indicated that she believed Lily should suffer along with her, and she
couldn’t resist Hazel’s silent plea.

“Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind, I’d
love to join you.”  She winked at Hazel and took her hand, allowing the little
girl to lead her towards the kitchen.

* * *

Lily stared down at the gooey mess on her
plate.  Logan had said it was chicken and cheese casserole and she believed him
but it looked strange to her.  There were big chunks of cheese floating in it
and she poked gingerly at the weird green blobs of what she thought might have
been broccoli.

“Eat up, Hazel.”  Logan said
encouragingly.  The little girl was staring down at her plate, a fork in one
hand and she glanced at Lily.

Lily put some of the goo on her fork and
nodded to Hazel but couldn’t actually bring herself to raise the fork to her
mouth.

Logan glanced at her. “What?”

“Nothing.  It uh, it looks really good.” 
She lied.

“Right.”  He popped a forkful into his
mouth and she watched as he turned bright red before standing up and spitting
the mouthful into the garbage.

“Don’t eat that.”  He advised.  “I think I
might have used too much salt.”

He took Hazel’s plate and scraped the food
into the garbage as Lily grinned at him.  “Why don’t I make us something?”

“You don’t have to do that.  I can make sandwiches
and – “

“I don’t mind.”  Lily was already standing
and heading to the pantry.  “I can whip something up in half an hour.  Hazel,
would you like to help me cook dinner?”

Hazel nodded and dragged the small wooden
stool underneath the table over to the counter.  She stood on it as Lily pulled
out some pasta from the pantry, a head of garlic and a jar of crushed
tomatoes.  “Do you guys like pasta?”

“Yes.”  Logan answered.  He took a sip of
beer and watched as Lily took out a package of ground beef from the freezer,
popped it into the microwave and set it to defrost.

“Normally I make meatballs but that’ll take
too long.  We’ll just do a ground beef in sauce this time and next time I’ll
make meatballs.”  She told Hazel.

She pulled some mushrooms and yellow pepper
from the fridge.  She rummaged through the drawer and came up with a small,
round brush.  “Hazel, you can brush the mushrooms clean while I cut up the
pepper and the garlic.”

* * *

“Damn, that was good.”  Logan groaned as he
sat back in his chair.  “You’re a really great cook, Lily.”

“Thanks.”  She blushed.  “Would you like
some more?”

“No.  I think two plates is my limit.”  He
rubbed his flat stomach and winked at Hazel.  “Daddy’s going to get fat eating
like this.”

“I’m so sorry!”  Lily said anxiously.  “I
do tend to use a lot of butter and oil when I cook.  I know it’s not the
healthiest but I can find some new recipes that are healthier.”

Logan gave her an odd look.  “No, that’s
alright.  We really like your cooking.  Don’t we, Hazel?”

Hazel nodded and gave Lily a thumbs up. 
Lily smiled at her.  “Thank you, honey.”

“I feel bad, though.”  Logan admitted. 
“You shouldn’t have to cook for us on your day off.”

Lily shrugged and began to clear the
table.  “I like to cook and it’s a lot easier to cook for three people instead
of just one.  I’ll be cooking anyway so I could be in charge of the meals.”

He didn’t reply and she gave him a careful
look.  “I mean, if that’s alright with you.”

He grinned at her.  “It’s more than alright
with me.  As long as you’re sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”  Lily said firmly as Logan
stood and helped her load the dishwasher.

“Great!”  Logan smiled at her and she gave
him a shy look.

“If you let me know what you like, I can
make some meal plans and do some grocery shopping tomorrow.”

“We like whatever.  We’re not picky.”  Logan
said cheerfully.  He paused and then reached into his back pocket.  He pulled
out a cheque, it was a bit wrinkled, and handed it to her.  “Here.”

“What’s this?”  She blinked in surprise at
the cheque.

“It’s your wages for the month.”

“But – but I’ve only been working for three
days.”  She stammered.

He shrugged.  “I know.  I’m fine with
paying you early.  I’m pretty sure you’re not going to take the money and
run.” 

“What?  No, I would never do that to you!” 
She gasped.

He patted her arm lightly. “I’m just
teasing you, Lily.”

“Right.”  She blushed.

He gave her a quick look.  “I was going to
take Hazel to the new Disney movie tomorrow.  Would you like to join us?  I
know Hazel would really like it if you did.”

She nodded.  “Thanks.  I’d like that too.”

“Great.  It’s a date.”  Logan said
cheerfully.

* * *

“Logan, are you sure about this?  I mean,
it really sounds like more of a family thing.”  Lily protested as Logan lifted
Hazel into the truck and buckled her securely into her car seat. 

“I’m positive.”  Logan replied.  “Janet
specifically invited you as well.”

He stood behind Lily and lifted her easily
into the truck.  “I’ve really got to get a running board.”  He muttered to
himself as he crossed to the driver’s side and climbed behind the wheel.

“Although,” he eyed her growing belly, “I’m
not sure that you could get into the truck even with a running board.”

Lily gave him a mock scowl.  “Watch it,
mister.  I might be fat and have a bum leg but I’m tougher than I look.”

He laughed and rubbed his hand along the
unfamiliar smooth skin of his jaw.  “I’m shaking in my boots, ma’am.”