A Home for Lily (9 page)

He rubbed and kissed her belly repeatedly,
talking softly to the baby as Lily stroked his hair and blinked back the sudden
tears.  He glanced up at her and frowned.  “Lily?  Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m good.”  She said hoarsely.  “But
you should get into bed.  It’s getting late.”

“Yeah, I guess.”  He kissed her belly a
final time.  “Good night, baby.”

She helped him crawl into the bed and
tucked the covers around him.  He blinked sleepily at her and yawned.  “Good
night, Lily.”

“Good night, Logan.”  She stroked his
forehead and crept quietly from his bedroom.

“Do you want to know the real reason that
Rob and I have five kids?”

Lily looked up from studying Logan’s ass. 
He was bent over, rummaging through the cooler and she had been daydreaming
about what it would be like to squeeze it.  It was a beautiful spring day, the
first day it felt like winter was actually over, and she was sitting in a lawn
chair beside Janet at one of the town’s parks.  Nearly all of the employees
from the fire station, along with their families, were there. 

“It’s a tradition.” Logan had said as they
cleaned up from dinner two nights ago.  “We always have a spring barbeque and
you have to come.  Janet will be there.”

“I’m not really family, Logan.”  She had
protested weakly.

He had just grinned at her and refused to
let her stay home.

Now, she smiled at Janet.  “I would love to
know the real reason why you and Rob have five children.”

Her eyes drifted back to Logan.  He was
helping Rob lift the barbecue from the back of Rob’s truck, and a shiver of
need went through her as she watched the muscles in his back and arms flex and
bulge with the effort.

“I get really horny when I’m pregnant.”

Her eyes swung back to Janet in a hurry. 
“I’m sorry?”

Janet laughed.  “I can’t get enough of Rob
when I’m pregnant.  Not for the first three months.  I spend those months
dragging my sorry ass from the bed to the couch and eating nothing but toast
and crackers, but once that stage is through?”

She wiggled her eyebrows at Lily.  “I jump
Rob every chance I get.”

Lily blushed furiously and Janet laughed
again.  “It’s true.  Rob loves it when I’m knocked up.  He gets laid at least
once a day, sometimes twice.”

Lily stared at the ground, her cheeks
burning and her hands twisting in her lap.  She wanted to hug Janet.  Just
hearing the woman admit that she craved sex during her pregnancy was making her
feel better.  She glanced up at her.  “Thanks, Janet.  I thought I was weird
for uh, thinking about – you know.”

Janet grinned.  “I do know.  Plus, it can’t
help living with Logan.  That boy is gorgeous.”

Lily gave her a wide-eyed look.  “I’m not –
not having sex with Logan.”

“I know you’re not.”  Janet said breezily. 
She leaned closer and studied first Logan and then Lily.  “But the way you were
staring at his ass earlier, makes me pretty confident that you’d like to.  So
why not go for it?  Pregnancy sex is the best sex ever.  I mean, it can be a
bit awkward and you have to get creative with positions sometimes, but I swear
– your orgasms are like a thousand times more intense.  At least mine are.”

Lily stared at her.  She had never really
participated in girl talk before and she could feel the embarrassment creeping
through her.  “I – Logan’s my employer.  It’s not appropriate.”

She hesitated.  She wondered what Janet
thought of the fact that she had only buried her husband five months ago and
was now lusting after her employer.  “My husband wasn’t very nice to me.”  She
said suddenly.  “He um, he was emotionally abusive and I had asked him for a
divorce before the car accident.”

Janet reached over and squeezed her arm. 
“I’m glad you told me, honey.  But I wasn’t judging you for wanting Logan.  I
want you to know that.”

“I know.  I just – you know - didn’t want
you to think badly of me.”  Lily whispered.

“I don’t.  There’s nothing wrong with being
attracted to Logan.  You know that, right?”

Lily shrugged.  “I guess.  It doesn’t
matter anyway.  He doesn’t feel that way about me.”

Janet, taking a sip of tea from her
thermos, coughed and choked.  Lily thumped her on the back and gave her a look
of alarm.

“Janet?  Are you alright?”

“Just fine.”  Janet croaked.  She cleared
her throat.  “Lily, I have never met a woman more in denial than you.”

“I – I’m not in denial.”  She said weakly.

“Oh, of course you’re not.  Logan only
thinks of you as Hazel’s nanny, nothing more.”  She said the last in a
whispered little mutter as the object of their conversation walked over.

“Lily?  Are you too cold?  Your jacket is
pretty light.  I could give you my sweater.”  He said anxiously.

She shook her head.  “No, I’m fine.  I
don’t – “

He was already stripping off his sweater
and she smiled at him as he crouched beside her and carefully draped it over
her legs and tucked it in under her thighs.  “There, okay?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  He said cheerfully.  He
rubbed her belly affectionately before straightening and heading over to
Hazel.  She was standing by the play equipment with the other children, and
Lily heard her squeal with delight when Logan picked her up and tossed her into
the air.

“Yeah, he doesn’t think of you as anything
but Hazel’s nanny.  That’s obvious.”  Janet said sarcastically.

Before Lily could reply, Janet was standing
and hugging a slender brunette.  “Tammy!  It’s so good to see you, honey!”

“Thanks, Janet.  I’m glad the guys invited
me.”  The woman smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

“Of course they would.  You’ll always be
part of our family, you know that.”  Janet squeezed the woman’s arm and turned
to Lily.

“Lily, this is Tammy Smith.”

“Hi Tammy, it’s nice to meet you.”  Lily
started to struggle from her chair and Tammy held her hand out.

“Don’t get up on my account.”  She said
cheerfully.  She sat in the empty lawn chair beside Lily and eyed her belly.

“So, how far along are you?”  She asked
politely.

“Only a few more weeks to go.”  Lily
answered.

“Well, congratulations.  I’m sure Logan
must be thrilled.  He’s always loved kids.”

“I’m not uh, with Logan.  I’m just Hazel’s
nanny.”

“Oh!  I’m sorry.  That was rude of me to
just assume.”  Tammy gave her a look of embarrassment before glancing over at
Logan.  “So, you and Logan aren’t dating?”

“No.  I work for him.”  Lily said quickly.

“I see.”  She continued to stare at Logan,
tapping her finger thoughtfully against one smooth cheek, before turning to
Janet.  “Has Logan dated anyone since Erin died?”

Janet shook her head.  “No.  I think he’s
focused on Hazel right now.”

“That’s a shame.”  Tammy replied.  “He’s a
great catch.”  She stood up abruptly and smiled at the two women.  “Could you
excuse me?  I think I’ll go say hello to some of the guys.”

Janet and Lily watched as Tammy made a
beeline for Logan.  Lily could feel her stomach tighten when Logan gave her a
delighted look and hugged her tightly.  She returned the hug, her hands
lingering on the muscles of his arms before she crouched down and spoke to
Hazel.  Hazel hid her face in Logan’s pants for a moment and Lily felt a brief
moment of uncharacteristic smugness.  Hazel loved her and –

She watched with disbelief as Tammy said
something to Hazel and Hazel nodded before taking her hand.  She allowed Tammy
to lead her to the swings and she pushed the little girl gently back and forth
as she talked animatedly to Logan.

“Uh oh.”  Janet sighed.

“What?”

“Tammy is – well, she’s lonely.  Her husband
Ted was a firefighter in our unit.  He died a couple of years ago.”

“That’s terrible.  On the job?”  Lily
asked.

Janet shook her head.  “No.  He had
cancer.  Anyway, we still invite her to all the barbecues and functions, and I
know the last year or so she’s been actively getting back into the dating
world.  Which is good for her, it really is, but I should have known she would eventually
go after Logan.”

Lily swallowed the sudden blockage in her
throat and stared down at her belly.  Tammy was slender and gorgeous and Hazel
already seemed to like her.  Why wouldn’t Logan be attracted to her?  She
certainly didn’t have swollen ankles or a belly so big she couldn’t see her own
damn feet.

“Lily?  Are you okay?”  Janet asked kindly.

Lily nodded.  “Yes.  I – I think it’s good
if Logan can find someone.  He deserves to be happy.”

“Yes, he does.”  Janet said softly.  “But
Tammy is, well, she’s a little damaged.  She struggled with some issues before
Ted died and I’m sure his death hasn’t helped.”

Lily shrugged.  “Logan told me himself that
he liked taking care of people, that he had a white knight complex.  Sounds
like Tammy might be the perfect person for him.”

She winced inwardly at how petulant she
sounded but Janet didn’t seem to notice.  “That he does.  But you would think
he learned his lesson after Erin.  Has he told you about her yet?”

Lily nodded.  “Yes.  It must have been so
awful for both him and Hazel.”

“It was.”  Janet agreed.  “It’s nice to see
him happy now.”  She glanced at Lily’s belly.  “Both he and Hazel are very
happy.”

Lily didn’t reply.  She was watching Logan
again and a look of pinched worry crossed her face when Hazel took Tammy’s hand
and the three of them walked towards the other children.  She sighed softly. 
Who Logan dated was none of her business and if Hazel liked Tammy, that was a
good thing.  She was happy for both of them.

* * *

“Lily!  Guess what!”  Hazel grabbed Lily’s
leg and stared excitedly at her.

“What, honey?”

“Tammy said she would take daddy and me to
a movie and for dinner whenever I wanted.”

“She did?”  Lily arranged her face into
what she hoped was a smile.  “That’s great!”

“Yep!  I like her.  She’s nice.”

“That’s good, honey.  I’m really glad.”  She
stared down at her half-eaten burger and potato salad.  What little appetite
she had, had disappeared completely with Hazel’s words and she set the plate
down on the grass with a soft sigh.

“Did you get enough to eat, Hazel?”  She
asked.

“Yes.  I’m going to go back to Daddy and
Tammy now.”

Without waiting for her reply, Hazel
skipped away.  Jealousy, strong and unpleasant, flowed through her and she
rubbed her head wearily before lumbering to her feet.  Her stomach was upset
and she’d been having weird cramps off and on for most of the afternoon.  She rubbed
at her back before picking up her plate of half-eaten food and carrying it to
one of the garbage cans. 

“Lily?  Are you alright?”  Janet came
hurrying up to her as she dumped her plate in the garbage.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You didn’t eat very much.”

“I’m not that hungry.  My stomach is a bit
upset.”  Lily grimaced and grabbed her side as another cramp rippled through
her.

Janet frowned.  “Are you having
contractions?”

Lily blinked at her.  “What?  No, I can’t
be.  I’m not due for another three weeks.”

“Babies come early all the time, Lily.” 
Janet replied.

Lily shook her head.  “No, it isn’t that. 
I was at the doctor just yesterday and the baby hadn’t even turned into
position yet.  It’s not contractions.”

She winced as another cramp hit her and
Janet rubbed her lower back.  “False labour, maybe?  Why don’t you sit down for
a bit?”

“Yeah, maybe I will.  My back is killing
me.”  She muttered.

Before Janet could lead her to a lawn
chair, Logan was standing in front of her.  “Lily?”  He gave her an anxious
look.  “Are you okay?  I saw you grab your stomach – is it the baby?”

He rested his hand on her stomach.  “Are
you going into labour?”

She shook her head.  “No, I – “

“Rob!  Get over here!”  Logan shouted.  Rob
came hurrying over and Logan gave him a look of bright panic.  “I think Lily’s
in labour.”

“I’m not in labour.”  She said firmly.  “I
just have a few cramps.”

“It might be false labour.”  Rob said.

“That’s what I thought.”  Janet put her arm
around Lily.  “Come on, honey.  Have a seat and – “

Logan tugged Lily away from Janet and
lifted her into his arms.  She gave a loud squeak of alarm and punched him on
the shoulder.  “Logan, put me down!”

“You’re going to the hospital.”  He said as
Hazel ran up to them and clung to his leg.

“Daddy?  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, honey.  Everything’s
fine.”  Logan said grimly.  He was starting to sweat and Lily slapped him
lightly on the shoulder again.

“Put me down, Logan.  Please.”

He frowned but did as she asked, keeping
one arm firmly around her shoulders.  “You need to go to the hospital.  Tell
her, Janet.”

“It can’t hurt.”  Janet said mildly.

Lily glared at her as Logan made a sound of
triumph.  “See?  Janet’s had five kids, she knows what she’s talking about.”

“Logan – “

“Janet, can you take Hazel for us?  I’ll
pick her up after we – “