Fuck, I was knocked up by my vacation fling. My very anonymous fling.
As if on autopilot, I pick up my phone and call the only person I can.
“Hey sweetie,” my mom answers in a cheery tone.
A sob escapes me. “Mom.”
“Kayla? What’s wrong?” she asks, her concern immediate.
“I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant, and I have no way of finding the baby’s daddy.” Then the dam bursts, and all the feelings I can’t stop hit me at once.
She tries to calm me before giving up and saying she’ll be over to my apartment in a few minutes.
The next few days are a blur with confirming the pregnancy at the doctor’s and having to hire a private investigator that doesn’t cost an arm and leg in hopes of maybe finding the guy from Costa Rica.
I’m even desperate enough to reach out to my sister, texting her the only photo I have of us together and letting her know the situation. In the end, it doesn’t matter because we never find him, but we’re blessed with the most perfect baby boy.
He’s a surprise in my life I never expected, but I’m more than grateful for him.
Chapter 1
Kayla
“This was her idea.How is she late?” I grumble, crinkling my nose at the sauce pan of boiled fruit.
I was perfectly fine avoiding the Christmas cabin after last year when she complained about my child crying nearly as much as she whined.
My mom sighs, stirring around the mixture. “She said that she and Beau needed to drive separately last night.”
“Beau,” I drawl out the name. “Why are we inviting a man we’ve never met to the Christmas cabin?”
Her lips thin. “He’s your sister’s husband.”
I move away from the stove, leaning against the counter. “Right, the husband of two months that she married without telling anyone, without even inviting us to a littlehey, we just got married get-together.Nope, just inviting him to the family cabin without even asking. What if I don’t want a strange man around Theo?”
She sets the wooden spoon down on the middle resting dish. My mother turns to me, wiping her hands on her apron before placing them on her hips. “While that’s entirely reasonable, you’ve had over a month to object to it. So what’s going on now?”
Tonguing my cheek, I slump my shoulders. “No problem, just hate the change of plans. They were supposed to be here this morning, and Theo took a late nap, and now dinner is off. You know how I get.”
My mother rolls her eyes with a shake of her head before moving past me to grab the cake pans and mixture of batter.
I’ll never understand her commitment to bake a fruitcake that no one eats, but I admire the consistency.
“I understand, and I also understand it will be uncomfortable to have a stranger in the house, but he’s technically family. Your sister has pulled away from us so much. Can you imagine how it would have gone if we told her no?”
I lean against the counter, my head rolling back with a groan. “She wouldn’t talk to us for months, and she’d probably create a petition to sell the Christmas cabin out of spite.”
My mother gives me a sharp look. “I don’t think she’d go that far.”
Holding my tongue, I know better than to make her see the light on my sister’s pettiness and how it knows no bounds. Even in different colleges separated by multiple states, my sister found a way to make some aspects of my life miserable.
Movement from the room above has both of us looking up, and I push off the counter. “Well, if she’s not here within the next hour, we’re eating without her.”
My mom relents with a sigh as I meet my sleepy son halfway up the stairs.
“Hey buddy, you have a good sleep?” I ask.
He gives me a grumpy look before holding up his arms. I pick him up, thankful he’s not too heavy for me just yet.
