If I’m going to be a father, that sure in hell matters to me too.
He took the key to the apartment out of his pocket and handed it to Mikie. “Remember, call or text me with any questions.”
Mikie nodded. “I’ll take good care of it. Thanks again.”
Even though Patty still seemed upset at him, she walked over and gave Connor a hug. “That’s from the twins.”
He gave her a quick smile then got in car and left. Connor knew what he wanted to do, drive up to Montpelier right now and confront Krista. But it’d be very late when he got there. Waking her in the middle of the night wouldn’t solve anything. Actually it’d probably make things worse. But he knew where he was going to be first thing in the morning.
Krista was finally getting the hang of this. Of course it didn’t hurt that Nia was now sleeping through the night. She had to admit, being a mother gave her a new insight to what women faced after delivery.
She wasn’t totally ignorant to it before, but there was nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Even though she was a doctor, Krista was a bundle of nerves when Nia got her first fever. It made no sense, but she somewhere along the line stopped being a doctor and became a mother only when it came to her little girl.
Krista still couldn’t believe the official adoption papers were signed. Nia Twanda was now, Nia Twanda Chinto. Nia never had the chance to know her mother, but Krista was going to make sure she knew how much her mother loved her.
It was a love story that should be told. Not one between a man and woman, but from a mother to her child. But it seems that every time she sat down to start writing it, Nia had other plans. That was okay. The story would only get better as Nia got older.
As though on cue, Nia starting crying and Krista knew it was feeding time. No longer did she get up and have coffee herself. Instead Nia demanded all the attention until her belly was full and her diaper dry.
She was blessed to be a single mother and be surrounded by so much love and from everyone in Montpelier. Laurel might not be a great secretary, but boy she was amazing with babies. She could rock Nia and sing her to sleep almost instantly. But Krista didn’t have a voice of an angel. If anything, it was more like static on the radio—you couldn’t wait for it to stop. Thankfully they didn’t hold being tone deaf against her when it came to the adoption.
But it wasn’t just Laurel that had been helpful. Everyone in Montpelier was amazing. They even threw her a baby shower. She had more things for Nia than she probably would ever use. But they weren’t going to go to waste.
Krista hadn’t been back to Boston since she’d been there with Connor. She told Mikie and Patty that it was because Nia was too small to travel. That was true. She didn’t want to bring her into the city. But she had brought her to New York for the adoption, so she really couldn’t use that as an excuse too much longer.
Krista really needed to check in with those two. They were in their last trimester and with twins, it meant Patty could go into labor any time. The last time she spoke to them, they were still staying with friends. She wished she could talk them into moving back to Montpelier. Their life would be so much different. But it wasn’t her life to live. And God knows, she doesn’t appreciate being told what she should do either.
It was funny that her community stood by her for the adoption, but her colleagues were the one trying to discourage her. There wasn’t a day that went by that Krista questioned if she made the right choice. Nia was the baby that she never thought she’d have. And Krista was going to do everything she could to be the mother Nia deserved.
Nia was fed, changed and fast asleep once again. That meant Krista had two options, crawl back in bed and get a bit more sleep or have that coffee and catch up on laundry. Not the exciting Saturday she used to have, but one thing about babies, they went through a lot of clothes.
Turning off the light in the nursery, Krista decided to start her day. The sun was up, so she might as well join it. As the coffee brewed, she picked up what clothes hadn’t made it to the hamper and started the laundry. Nia normally slept at least an hour. That meant she might be able to squeeze in a hot shower.
The days of staying in the shower until the hot water ran out was over. Now it was all business, get clean, get out.
When she turned off the shower, she heard Donnie barking. Quickly she grabbed the bath sheet and wrapped it around her.
Damn it Donnie. You’re going to wake Nia.
She hushed Donnie and sent him to lay down. Then she checked in on Nia. She was still fast asleep. It was funny how loud noises didn’t wake her. But if Krista even picked up a book to read, or got to comfy on the couch, she woke instantly.
When she headed to her bedroom, she realized why Donnie was barking. Someone was knocking on the door. She wasn’t dressed, but she peered around the corner to see who it was. Through the glass pane she saw him.
Connor.
What was he doing here? She thought he was out of the country? When did he get back? Her heart was racing and she wished she could just disappear right now. She wasn’t ready to see him again. Her heart hadn’t even healed from the last time yet. But Donnie wasn’t being a good boy this morning and started to bark all over again.
She had no choice but to leave her room and go grab hold of Donnie. “Go lay down and stop barking,” she said softly. It was too late. Connor could see her from where she was. So once Donnie was quiet, she walked over and opened the door. “Hello Connor. As you can see, I wasn’t expecting company.”
“We need to talk,” he said.
Nice to see you too.“We could’ve talked on the phone. You have my number. It hasn’t changed.”
He stepped inside and she closed the door behind him. “It’s a bit late to talk about this on the phone. I’m here to talk about the baby.”
“How did you find out?” She would guess it had to be Mikie.
“Never mind how I found out. I want to know why you didn’t tell me?” he said harshly.