Practicing Parenthood. Cara Lockwood

WOKE THE next morning inside the little two-bedroom cottage on stilts, wondering for a second where he was. Then he saw the black velvet box on his nightstand, and all the events from the day before came rushing back. He sat up and yawned, still remembering the steely look on Madison’s face when she’d refused to marry him. Clearly, Madison had been angry with him, and he guessed, if he really thought about it, he understood. He hadn’t exactly been nice after they’d...done the deed. Worrying about office protocol and breaking office rules was probably something he should’ve done before they got naked. But Madison was just irresistible. He supposed he should’ve told her that after they’d slept together instead of ignoring her texts.

      He’d messed up. He got that, but a baby changed things, didn’t it?

      And why wasn’t he getting any points for standing up and taking responsibility? That was what he didn’t get. Then again, since when did anyone ever give him points for that? His childhood on the poor side of the Bronx should’ve taught him that much. Guys who cut corners—like his father, like the hoods on the street—they got the instant payoff. Good guys had to work harder for theirs. He knew that, had always known it.

      The sunlight beamed in through Collin’s open bedroom window; the blinds were permanently stuck in the “up” position. He was normally an early riser, but dawn was earlier than even he normally got up. He glanced around the small room. Everything about this house was smaller and less impressive than Madison’s. Or, rather, her uncle’s. His, too, was on stilts, and stood three stories high, though only two were enclosed, the first being open to the elements, with an outside shower and a small shed for garden tools. The two properties faced one another, and all that separated their properties was a small green space of a shared yard, and a few trees. Their porches and balconies faced one another, though as he glanced at her home now, he couldn’t see her. She must be inside. The yard was surprisingly manicured, most of the island was brush and trees where it wasn’t beach—like a series of crisscrossing sandy trails through bits of tropical jungle. This house badly needed a new coat of paint—and a kitchen and bathroom remodel. However, it was close to Madison’s, which was all that mattered.

      He wondered what he ought to do. Call Madison? Go over and offer to get her breakfast? Neither of those things seemed likely to impress a woman who was totally pissed at him. He looked again at Madison’s deck and checked for signs of life. He didn’t see any. Collin sighed. He had no idea what his next move should be. If he was prosecuting a defendant, he would have been able to call his next witness or file a motion before the judge, but now, he felt at a total loss. Madison had told him flat-out no, and it wasn’t as if he could appeal her decision to a higher authority. He rubbed his face and dragged himself to the bathroom where a brown gecko darted across the tile floor. Collin swished mouthwash around to rid himself of stale morning breath and glanced at his bare chest in the mirror. He worked out. He took care of himself. He was a good-looking guy—if he did say so himself—with a promising career. None of that seemed to matter to Madison, though.

      He sighed again. Maybe he was a little egocentric, but he was proud of his accomplishments and of his career. He’d put in a lot of effort and defied all the odds to get where he was. He thought about the two jobs his mother had done, her late nights and early mornings, all by herself, working to support him and his sister. She’d passed away of a heart attack the year after he graduated from law school, but at least she’d gotten to see him land a job at the state attorney’s office. She was so proud of him, and he had every right to be proud of himself. Was that ego or just fact?

      Collin headed to the kitchen, where he found a refrigerator empty of everything except a bottle of ketchup and a cabinet that had coffee filters but zero coffee. He hadn’t expected to be staying alone or in this house. He’d imagined being wrapped up in Madison’s arms...or at the very least, sharing a meal with her. He hadn’t brought groceries, and now he realized he’d probably have to go to the small convenience store near the pool for supplies, or simply eat out every meal. He groaned.

      Peering up at the line of windows, he looked out on the treetops below and Madison’s backyard. When he opened the sliding glass door, he could see all of Madison’s yard from the porch on, since the first floor of the house was raised a story and a half above the ground. He went out onto the wooden deck barefoot and shirtless, wearing only his sleep shorts. Just then, he saw Madison emerge from a path near the shrubs carrying a watering can. She walked leisurely to a couple of potted plants nearby, where she watered some blooming bright pink flowers.

      Collin watched for a second, risking the chance that she might look up and see him. Madison’s dark hair hung loose past her shoulders, her eyes focused on the task. Usually, she wore her hair up in a tight bun in the courtroom. He remembered that on the night they’d shared he’d run his hands through it, and it had been thicker than he’d imagined. He could tell that she wore no makeup and just a pair of gym shorts and a tank top, but the sun hit her glowing skin in a manner that made her seem younger than thirty. He wanted to touch that smooth skin again, almost forgetting what it had felt like. Damn those drinks that fogged my memory, he thought. She moved gently, easily. Was she a little thicker around the middle? He wasn’t sure, although, she did seem softer somehow, her curves curvier. He tried to see where a baby bump might be forming, but saw nothing except a perfect figure. The woman was breathtaking. That was why she was so impossible to reject that night, he thought. He remembered the way she’d reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him, the energy flowing between them, the attraction neither one could resist.

      This woman is carrying my baby. The very idea still shook him.

      Then a yellow blur dashed across his peripheral vision. He turned, glanced around the low-lying green leafy trees. What was that? He saw another blur of light colored fur. Yellow? Gray? He couldn’t be sure. Too big to be a cat. A dog? It was close to Madison’s backyard—and she didn’t have a fence. What if it was a rabid dog? A dangerous one? Did they have coyotes on this island? Suddenly, he felt fearful. For Madison. For his baby.

      “Madison!” Collin shouted, but she kept her back to him. That was when he saw the white earbuds, their wires trailing from her ears. Dammit! He watched, frozen, as the blur he’d seen in the trees broke free and headed at top speed toward Madison’s turned back. Collin was already on the move, skidding down the wooden steps that led to their shared drive, nearly falling over himself as his bare feet hit the rocky path. He didn’t feel the pricks of the tiny shells and pebbles on the soles of his feet as he sprinted over shrubs and through thorny bushes to Madison’s yard. He heard a loud screech and went faster, breaking through the cover of thick branches in time to see a shaggy yellow dog licking Madison’s face. She was flat on her back, and he had a single paw on her chest. He looked tame, but the adrenaline rushing through Collin’s veins told him she’d been knocked to the ground by this...animal, no matter how adorable he seemed.

      “Get off her!” Collin roared and rushed forward to push the dog away.

      “Collin!” Madison chastised. “It’s fine... He’s just a puppy.”

      “That thing? That’s no puppy!”

      “He is,” Madison insisted. “Look at the size of his paws. He’s all clumsy... He’s just a big puppy.”

      Collin glanced down at the dog’s enormous paws, oversized for its body. Though, now that he was closer, he saw that the dog was smaller than he’d first thought. He was mostly fur. The dog probably weighed only thirty pounds.

      “What if he’s rabid?”

      “I’m sure he’s not,” Madison said. He saw that she took notice of his shirtless chest, her eyes momentarily on his torso. Was it his imagination or did her eyes linger there a bit longer than they ought to? Well, let her look. He hadn’t had time to throw on a shirt. He’d thought she was being mauled by a rabid dog.

      “He knocked you down.” Collin still felt his heart thudding as he reached out and helped her to her feet. “Are you okay? Is...” He couldn’t even get out the word baby. “Is everything okay?”

      “I’m fine,” Madison said as she shook a leaf out of her hair, then batted his hands away. “He didn’t knock me down. He surprised me, and I