To Be a Dad. Kate Kelly

took a weary look around the kitchen. “What’s wrong with that stove? We don’t need to buy new. You can’t afford it, and neither can I.”

      “The oven doesn’t work. What else do you need?”

      She stuffed her hands into the sleeves of her faded pink dressing gown and hunched her shoulders. Damn it. He hadn’t meant to snap at her. He’d been meaning to get the oven fixed for months, but what did he need an oven for when he had a microwave?

      “Hey.” He stepped into her space and waited until she looked at him. “It’s killing me, you acting like this. I need you to be fighting mad.”

      “You hate when I argue with you.”

      “Yeah. No. I don’t know. I like you just the way you are. Or the way you are most of the time. Spicy.” He raised his eyebrows up and down.

      She glanced longingly at his beer. “Wish I could have one of those.”

      He slapped a notepad and pen on the island in front of her. “Grocery list. We’ll pick up some food tomorrow, too. We’ll have to leave here by two.”

      “I can’t. I’m working.”

      “Adam said he’d cover for you, and Sylvie will babysit the kids. I need you to go to town with me, Teressa. There’s some business we need to take care of.”

      “Like what?”

      Oh, no. If he got into that, they’d be up all night arguing. Best to spring it on her at the last minute. “Stuff.” He finished his beer and put the empty on the counter. “If it’ll make it easier for you, I’ll quit drinking beer.”

      A gleam sparked in her eyes. “You? Quit drinking? Now I’ve heard everything.”

      “No biggie.”

      She hooted with derision. Personally, he thought she was overreacting, but he let it go.

      “Want to bet?” she challenged him.

      He may not have liked the direction of the conversation, but at least Teressa was back in fighting form. This was familiar ground for them. They were always challenging each other over silly things.

      “Absolutely. A hundred bucks says I can quit drinking anytime I want.”

      “I don’t have a hundred dollars.”

      His smile grew wider. “What have you got?”

      “Get your mind out of the gutter.” He loved watching her face turn a rosy pink as she punched him on the arm. She knew him too well. “I’ll let you pick out the name for the baby.”

      “Really?” He frowned. “That’s a big responsibility.”

      “I didn’t say I’d agree to use it.”

      “What about the last name?”

      “What about it?”

      “I’d like my child to have my last name.”

      She shook her head. “That won’t work. Both Sarah and Brendon have Wilder as their last name. It’ll be too confusing if their brother or sister has a different one.”

      “That sucks. I just assumed when I had kids they’d have my name.” It surprised him how much it bothered him.

      A yawn caught him by surprise. Because he had to start work so early in the morning, he was usually in bed by now. “We’ll talk about the name thing again. I’m too tired to argue with you right now. I’ve got to grab my clothes and sleeping bag out of the bedroom. I’ll try not to wake you in the morning.”

      “Dusty?”

      He stopped and turned back to her. “Yeah?”

      “Thanks. For everything. I know you must be freaking out about...well, everything. If this—” she swept her hand as if to include the room “—doesn’t work out, I’ll find somewhere else to live.”

      For the first time since he’d walked into her house tonight, panic tiptoed up his spine. They both knew there was nowhere else for her to live in Collina, except with her parents, and if he had any say in the matter, that wasn’t going to happen. He’d move out and let them have the house if he had to. But he knew if he told her that, she was contrary enough to pack up and leave that night.

      But truthfully, the prospect of her—and Sarah and Brendon—staying was just as scary. It was a helluva situation they’d dug themselves into.

      “Pops says you only get to live your life a day at a time. How about we concentrate on getting through tomorrow?”

      “It’s a place to start,” she agreed.

      He hated the sad smile on her face, and to stop himself from hugging her, he busied himself picking up a pair of dirty socks he’d kicked off by the door earlier. They both could use a hug, but she looked so fragile right now, he didn’t dare touch her. Last time he’d done that, she’d gotten pregnant.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      THE NEXT EVENING, Teressa straightened in the passenger seat of Dusty’s truck and rubbed sleep from her eyes. She’d hardly slept a wink last night, her brain working overtime, much like a rat in a cage, trying to find a means of escape. She was grateful to Dusty for helping her, but she’d have preferred to rescue herself. Look what misery had come from depending on her parents. Her mother didn’t let an opportunity go by to remind her how much she’d helped her daughter. Teressa flat-out refused to be dependent on anyone ever again.

      It was bad enough that at the moment she really had no alternative but to stay with Dusty. If he started in with the recriminations, she didn’t know what she’d do. It wasn’t as if she could run away from home. She didn’t have a home.

      It helped knowing Dusty was a good man. They’d been friends for years and had always had this “thing” between them. Maybe if she hadn’t gotten pregnant with Sarah their relationship could have grown into something more. Brendon pretty much eliminated any possibility of that happening. But before she’d gotten pregnant with Sarah, she hadn’t planned on sticking around Collina, so even if she hadn’t had the kids, she and Dusty wouldn’t have happened. He belonged here, and he knew that, and that was one of the things she’d always liked about him. He knew exactly who he was.

      And now she was living with her old friend and hated being so dependent on him. Dusty’s opinion meant more to her than almost anyone else’s in the village. She didn’t want him to think of her as a loser, although after that scene with Linda last night it was a little late to hope for anything close to respect from him.

      She frowned when she realized they were in the parking lot of a bank, not the shopping mall as they’d planned. “How long will you be inside?” There was a Tim Hortons coffee shop across the street. Maybe she had time to pick up a couple of beverages.

      Dusty released his seat belt. “I need you to come with me.”

      She stilled. “Why?” Uh-oh. If his sigh was anything to go by, she wasn’t going to like his answer, and the last thing they needed was more stuff to fight about.

      He draped his hands over the steering wheel and stared out the windshield. “We need to open a joint bank account. It’s the easiest way for us to pay the bills.”

      She turned the idea over. “No.”

      “It’s just so there’s money for food and...stuff. Whatever you need.”

      She burrowed down in her seat.

      “Look.” He finally turned to look at her. “I’ve got extra money right now to spend on the things we need for the house. You shouldn’t have to pay for repairs on my house, but you’ll probably be picking stuff up from time to time. And we have to buy food. I’m sure I eat the lion’s share of that. I’m just