The Fireman's Baby(22)

Laura smiled. “That sounds good.”

As soon as she got home that night and put Annie to bed, she rushed to call Sophie and tell her what had happened.

“So he accepted responsibility, just like that?” Sophie asked incredulously. “There must be some catch.”

“I don't think there is, Soph,” Laura said. “He said that what happened that night was out of character for him, too. I don't know what it was. We just both sensed something in each other. It was an attraction that got out of control, but I think we're both responsible people, really. You should have seen him with Annie. He loves her already.”

“Well that I can believe,” Sophie replied. “My goddaughter is an angel.” Laura's friend sighed. “I worry about you, Laura,” she told her. “Just tread carefully with him, all right? I know how infatuated you were with him that night, and I know that you want a father for Annie, but just remember that he was a one-night stand and that you don't really know him or what his intentions are. I'm really happy for you that it seems that he's stepping up to take responsibility, but just don't open yourself up to get hurt, okay?”

“I won't, Sophie,” Laura promised.

She could understand her friend's concern. After all, as soon as she saw Daniel again, all those feelings which had first attracted her to him that long year ago, were stirred again. She remembered how she had felt the first time those deep, dark eyes looked at her and how she felt wrapped up in his arms. Of course, she was looking at him differently now. Daniel was no longer just the stranger she had sex with a year ago, but the father of her child.

The way that he held Annie today and vowed to look after them had comforted Laura in a way that nobody else had been able to in all this time. She trusted Daniel instinctively and maybe that was her naivete, which Sophie warned her about so often. Even so, when Annie was tucked up in her crib and Laura was alone with her thoughts, she couldn't help but think of him and wonder.





Chapter8



The following evening, Daniel arrived just as he promised he would, with two friends in tow. One was tall, dark, and lean and the other one was tall, fair, and even leaner. Laura supposed that athleticism came with the job. Physical qualities aside, the two other men seemed kind enough. The dark-haired one was named Sam and the fair-haired one was named Michael. Daniel introduced them to her in turn and then looked around eagerly for his daughter.

“Is she sleeping?” he asked.

Laura nodded. “She's tucked in now, but she'll be hungry soon. You can hold her again then.”

“You have to see this baby, boys,” Daniel said proudly. “She's gorgeous.”

Sam laughed and nodded.

“We couldn't believe it when he told us,” he said to Laura. “The last we heard of him he was off to Colorado and then he reappears again as a father. Hats off to you for doing it on your own for so long.”

“Yeah,” Michael agreed. “Dan hasn't been able to stop telling us how guilty he feels about the whole thing, so we thought we'd come by and help you out a little bit to make up for it. Daniel really wants to make it right.”

Daniel laughed humbly as his friends spoke about him and bashfully told them to be quiet. If Laura had worried about how Daniel would perceive her fully clothed and as a mother, she had to wonder again at how this shy, sensitive man was the same creature who had ripped her clothes off of her that night.

“Shall we get started?” he suggested.

The men got to work putting clips on the drawers and cupboards and they installed a little gate by the kitchen.

“She'll be crawling before you know it,” Sam warned. “My wife and I have twins. One day they couldn't walk, and the next they were both marathon runners. You can't take your eye off them for a second, but it eases your mind a little to know that they can't get into the cupboards.”

“I appreciate your help,” Laura told them sincerely. “My Dad's getting to be a little too old for all this kind of work now, although I know he'd do his best. You should have seen Sophie and me trying to put together the crib! It was a nightmare.”

Daniel's face creased in guilt and he turned from where he was screwing a gatepost into place to look at her with concern. “You did all that by yourself, too?” he asked incredulously.

“Oh, we managed,” Laura said modestly. “It took us a few attempts. Sophie screwed the headboard onto the bottom and I lost some of the screws, but it all came together in the end and the thing hasn't collapsed yet. The stroller on the other hand...”

“I'm going to pay you back for everything you've had to buy,” Daniel promised her. “The crib, the stroller... everything. You shouldn't have had to deal with all that on your own.”