His Temporary Wife (The Brides of Sunflower Falls #2)

Chapter 9

nine

Tony knocked on Melody’s door.

“Just a moment.”

Her voice was faint, so she wasn’t likely standing on the other side of the door hoping he’d go away. Even though she had been the one to extend the invitation for him to be here. A few moments later, he heard scratching on the other side of the door along with whining. “Button, get back here.”

Button yipped in response.

“No, you’re not coming with us.” Melody’s voice grew louder with every word.

Button yipped again. Melody pulled the door open, wet hair hanging down on her shoulders, a wriggling Button in one arm, and a frazzled look on her face. “It’s you.”

“Expecting someone else?”

She sighed. “No.” She held Button out to him. “You got her riled up, so you can calm her down. We need to leave in five minutes.”

Once he had Button in his arms, Melody let go and raced back upstairs. She didn’t give him a chance to hand her the box he’d bought for her, so he set the bag down on the low table she had in front of her couch.

A minute later, he heard a blow dryer turn on. He held Button up so he could look her in the eye. “It’s you and me, dollface.”

Button licked his nose.

He grinned and set her down on the floor. “What do you want to do?”

Button raced for a pile of toys over in a corner, rooted through them, and brought back a thick length of rope with frayed edges. She sat and dropped it at his feet.

“Tug. Excellent choice.”

He squatted down and grabbed one knotted end of the rope. Once he had a good grip on it, he grinned at Button and gave the command. “Play.”

She viciously attacked her end. Within seconds, he realized that Button had gained strength since he’d last played with her. He braced his free hand on the floor and tried to shift his feet, but Button took advantage of his moment of imbalance and yanked on the rope with a twist of her head.

Tony laughed as he toppled to the ground and lost his grip on the rope. Button shook the rope some more in victory, but then dropped it in favor of pouncing on him and licking his face.

That was how Melody found them when she came back down. “You were supposed to calm her down. How am I going to get her in the crate without a fight?”

“Not fight with her? We can bring her with us.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “This isn’t California. The only doctor offices which allow regular pets are vet offices. You can put her in her crate. Libby will be by in a couple hours to pick her up.”

Tony stroked the soft fur between Button’s shoulder blades. If dogs could have blissed out expressions, Button had it. “What about your mom? Don’t you usually leave Button with her for the day?”

“Yes, but Mom’s got her own appointments today. Eric’s on site today, and Libby’s got some video meetings this morning which means she can’t have Button getting Mayzie all hyped up. Button will be fine in her crate until Libby comes by.” She held out her wrist and tapped her watch face. “We’re going to be late.”

“Fine.” He pushed off the floor and carried Button upstairs. The growing puppy huffed her displeasure into his neck, but didn’t squirm out of his arms. Probably good practice for carrying a baby around. Provided Melody accepted him back into her life.

When he came back downstairs, he picked up the bag from Mrs. Smith and held it out to Melody. “Delayed delivery.”

Her brow furrowed, but she took the bag. “Of what?”

“The box from Mrs. Smith.”

Her gaze jerked up to meet his. “The box? I’d forgotten about this.”

“Mrs. Smith didn’t. She intercepted me when I was leaving the fundraiser. Then I forgot it as well.”

She was quiet for a few moments, one hand stroking the top of the box through the bag. Eventually she nodded and set it back down on the table. “Thank you. We should get going.”

Melody was driving, so they got settled into her truck. He waited until she’d backed out of the driveway before turning to her. “I ordered some things.”

She glanced at him. “I should care, why?”

“Because they’re going to be delivered to your house, to your attention. ”

“I’m not a courier service, Caputo. Or should I say Dewitt?”

There was a bite in her tone, but at least she hadn’t kicked him out of a moving vehicle. “Stick with Caputo for now. No one else in town knows who I am, and both Zach and my attorney want it kept that way. And the items aren’t for me. They’re for you.”

He watched as her grip on the steering wheel tightened, but she kept her eyes on the road. “Trying to buy me off?”

“No. Just trying to make your life a little easier. My attorney and his wife have a couple kids. I asked him to find out what she liked when she was pregnant.”

“Your attorney knows I’m pregnant?”

Her tone was tight, which meant she was keeping her temper barely leashed. Between Melody and Damien, he’d be lucky to survive until the case against Robert came to trial. Neither was happy with him, and Damien had been especially pissed when he’d been told the news. “This isn’t something I could keep from him. Whatever your decision regarding custody, I’ll make sure he knows I want you and the baby fully supported. You won’t have to worry about anything.”

“I can care for my kid. On my own.”

He watched the main strip of Sunflower Falls go by as he picked his words carefully. “You absolutely can. But I can provide a solid base so you’re never spending extra energy worrying about finances. If you don’t want me in the baby’s life, I want to help ease at least the money burden of making their life as full as possible. I don’t want you ever worrying you’ll never have enough money for their activity of choice or if they need additional educational support.”

Melody remained silent until they were past town limits. The doctor she’d chosen for the pregnancy was a good hour away from Sunflower Falls. He didn’t like how far away it was in case anything happened, but he also knew better than to argue with her decisions regarding her own health care.

“What kinds of boxes should I be expecting?”

“I’m not sure, but Aspen recommended a particular brand of peppermint tea for when she got queasy. And since winter’s coming up, she also recommended this fuzzy heated blanket for when you wanted to just chill out on your couch.”

Melody nodded, but kept her attention on the road. A few miles down, she flicked a glance at him. “No furniture?”

“No. I have no clue what you’d want, and I also would consult with you first on that large of a purchase.” Mainly because while he had the feeling she’d accept things like specialty tea and cozy blankets, she’d find a way to chuck a piece of furniture she hadn’t asked for at his head.

Melody kept conversation to a minimum for the rest of the drive, so Tony let his mind wander to what other helpful things he could get past Melody’s guard.

The practice’s office was brightly lit and filled with soothing blues, greens, and yellows. There were even a few containers of fresh yellow mums strategically placed in the room. Melody checked in and the clerk gave her intake forms to work on. Tony sat next to her as she did so, surveying the others with them in the waiting room. There was one other couple together, but every other person in there was in a more advanced stage of pregnancy and seemingly there on their own.

He and Melody only had to wait maybe five minutes after she turned in the forms before they were called back and placed in an exam room.

The physician’s assistant ran through the initial exams such as weight, height, blood pressure, and had Melody go to the bathroom and take another pregnancy test.

Twenty minutes later, the doctor came in. They appeared to be around his age and wore their hair close-cropped with makeup that highlighted their features.

They first greeted Melody. “Welcome to our practice. I’m Dr. Kelsey Naylor. I prefer she/they.”

Melody blinked for a moment, then smiled. “Melody Keller. She/her. This is…Tony.”

He smiled at the doctor and held out his hand. “He/him.”

Dr. Naylor raised their eyebrows. “Partner?”

Tony watched Melody struggle with how to answer, but it needed to be her choice, so he kept his mouth closed. Finally she let out a sigh. “Father of the baby at the very least.”

Dr. Naylor nodded and left it at that. “And are you comfortable with him being here? Tony can sit in our waiting room if you choose.”

“It’s fine.”

“Okay.” The doctor began running down the information Melody had provided on the forms. When they got to the point regarding birth control, Melody made a face.

“We always used condoms, and I was on birth control.”

Tony cleared his throat as he thought back to the hotel room in Niagara Falls. Both Melody and Dr. Naylor looked at him. “There was that one time?”

Melody frowned. “What one time? You’ve never gotten in here without a condom on.” She used both hands to point to her pelvic area.

All Dr. Naylor did was rub their hand over their mouth. Tony had the impression they were trying to hide a smile.

“No, but I came on you right above that area. ”

“That’s still not in me.”

Dr. Naylor coughed. “Yes, well. As they say in the classic dinosaur movie, life finds a way. You are pregnant, and based on the information provided, you’re likely six or so weeks along. This is typically the earliest you’d notice if you weren’t trying.”

Melody snorted at that, but shook her head when Dr. Naylor glanced at her.

“But I got my period. I thought those stopped when you got pregnant.”

Dr. Naylor nodded. “You’d be surprised how many people continue to menstruate after becoming pregnant.” They made a note on the forms and continued on. “The first ultrasound to confirm the fetus’s age is generally around eight weeks, so I’ll have our staff arrange an appointment for you in two weeks when you check out today.”

Dr. Naylor then went over a proposed care plan with Melody. Tony kept quiet other than to answer the question regarding if he planned on being with Melody for appointments.

“I plan to for as long as she’ll have me and my schedule allows. I may need to return to California for some projects I have in the works there.”

He caught Melody’s side eye when he described the case as projects, but Dr. Naylor didn’t need to know anything beyond his schedule as he knew it. They made another note in Melody’s file and continued on.

Once Melody had asked all her questions and had them answered to her satisfaction, Dr. Naylor stood and shook their hands. “Again, welcome to our practice. Feel free to call us at any point. My partners and I rotate on call for non-emergency questions, and it’s never the same person who’s on call for emergencies. Since you’re over in Sunflower Falls, definitely call 911 first if you have an emergency. The faster you receive care, the better.”

Melody nodded. “Will do. And you’re sure I can work on site?”

Dr. Naylor grinned. “I’m positive. Just stay away from the areas where chemicals are being used, even when it’s well-ventilated. When you get to five months, we’ll discuss again to see how you’re feeling in your body.”

Melody nodded. “And next appointment is the ultrasound?”

“Yes. We’ll schedule the next in-office appointment to be the same week so we can go over the results, but you’ll be able to get your baby’s first photo at the ultrasound itself.” Dr. Naylor winked at them. “Just watch out for the ultrasound staff trying to sell you the glam effects package.”

That got Melody to laugh, which had his gut heating. He wanted to be the one making her laugh like that. It was her laughter that had first attracted him, and every time she laughed near him, he was like Pavlov’s dog.

When they were back out at her truck, he did a quick check of what was in the area on his phone’s map function. Finding what he was looking for only a couple miles away, he glanced over at Melody. “Do you mind if we head over to the store? I need to pick up a few things, and we can get some of those items Dr. Naylor recommended.”

Her expression gave nothing away, and as she’d put on her sunglasses, he couldn’t read her eyes. “Target? Sure. Anywhere else?”

The fact she was even offering to take him around and not dumping him back on Zach was a good sign. Right? “I don’t think so.”

Ten minutes later, he grabbed a cart and offered to buy her something from the coffee stand. She took him up on a bottle of water, and he counted it as another win. As they began wandering the aisles, he felt himself relax even more.

This was one of the small pleasures he never took for granted. Back when he’d been on the show, he’d been well-known enough that anytime he’d stepped foot into any store, he’d either been accosted by fans or photographed while inspecting medications for athlete’s foot or something equally not anyone else’s business.

The temptation to reach out and take hold of Melody’s hand ate at him. That wasn’t a level of contact she’d be open to now. But he could let a little corner of his mind imagine that instead of still being at odds, they were happy together. And even more happy to be on a mini date after the first doctor’s appointment for the pregnancy.

Holding hands as he guided the cart around the store. Sneaking kisses. Some with a bit of tongue. Him pointing out the sexy lingerie for her and matching silk boxers for him. Her rolling her eyes at him, but a sparkle in her eyes.

When Melody stopped for a moment to examine a display of maternity tops, he looked around. This early in the day, the store was close to empty, but there were more than enough people wandering around the aisles.

He took the chance. “Are you mad?”

“Hmmmm…what was that?”

He moved a little closer so he could lower his voice when he spotted a man with two small kids in a cart coming down the aisle toward them. “I was wondering if you were mad.”

This time, her attention lasered in on him. She cocked an eyebrow. “About what? There are so many options.”

“About the baby.”

Her expression immediately softened. “Oh.” She turned back to the display and reached out to finger one sleeve. He wondered if she was going to answer him at all. The man with the kids caught his eye as they passed, and he did a little head bob in Melody’s direction and grinned. Tony lifted a hand and smiled back.

Finally, Melody let out a sigh. “I’m not mad about the baby. Not exactly.” She dropped the sleeve and walked around him. He followed with the cart. “I am mad that you lied to me. I’m sad I can’t be more excited about the baby coming because of that. I’m pissed at my dad for being such a conniving bastard that I’m having a hard time getting over you lying to me.”

She went silent at that, and after they passed another section of the store, Tony reached out and lightly rubbed her arm before letting go. “I’m sorry I didn’t find a way to tell you sooner. You’re right. I should have found a way.”

Melody didn’t look at him, but lifted one shoulder. “You should have. And I appreciate you apologizing again. As much as I don’t want to give you any credit at all, I get why you were lying in the first place. Rationally, I get it. But feelings aren’t rational. You’re not my dad, but…”

After Melody had been released from the urgent care clinic, he’d gone over to her house and explained everything. Her mom had been there, too. If it hadn’t been for Nina, he didn’t think he’d have been able to get through to Melody. It was also Nina who had suggested that he accompany Melody for the first visit to the doctor. For the rest of his life, he’d make sure Nina had absolutely everything she ever desired just for helping him have the opportunity to repair his relationship with Melody.

“I understand. Like I said, I can’t promise to always be here because of the case, but I will be here as long as I can. And if I have to leave, I will come back.” He watched as Melody poked through the display of graphic onesies. “I’d also love it if you came out to LA with me at some point.”

She glanced at him. “For the case?”

“No. Just to see where I live.”

“Why?”

He leaned his forearms against the cart’s handle. “I know we can’t go back to the way we were before you found out. That wasn’t solid ground. But, I’d like the opportunity to build a new foundation with you.” He nodded at the onesies. “Even if it’s only for the baby’s sake.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I’ll think about it.”

He let out a low breath when she turned back to the onesies. She hadn’t rejected him outright. Which meant he had a chance to convince her. Standing back up, the design on a onesie caught his eye, and he laughed.

Melody looked back at him. “What?”

He pointed at the display of Halloween-themed onesies. “That one.”

It took her a moment to spot the one he meant, but when she did, a slow grin formed on her face and she laughed, too. “Too bad they don’t have a daddy and baby matching set.”

A warm glow built in his chest as he went over to the display. He did the mental math and plucked three size options of the one with bloody vampire teeth and script below them that said “Red’s My Favorite Candy” from the display and threw them in the cart. “For next year.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Turning your kid into Undercover Immortal, the Return?”

He locked his gaze on her eyes. “Gotta watch out for us vampires. We’ll always find a way to win your heart.”