“Why would you need another appointment? Unless something’s wrong. You said everything was fine.”
For all his talk about not wanting a child, he sounded like a worried father-to-be. She took heart from that. “As a pregnant woman, I’ll be seeing Dr. Valentine every month for a checkup,” she explained. “Then during the last month of pregnancy, I’ll go every week. She wants to gauge how I’m doing, and how close to the due date I am.”
“I didn’t know that. I only know about pregnant cows.”
Lana laughed. A blink later, for the first time in what seemed forever, Sly actually chuckled.
“When is the next appointment?” he asked.
“A month from now, on a Tuesday. If you want to come, you’re welcome.”
“I’ll get back to you on that.”
At least he hadn’t said no. She took that as a good sign.
Chapter
Eighteen
As soon asLana disconnected from Sly, she called Sophie.
The girl sounded surprised to hear from her. “I was about to text you.”
“Let me guess—you’re going to cancel our get-together next Saturday.”
“Um, yeah,” Sophie admitted in a sheepish voice. “How’d you know?”
“You’ve done it twice already, and I figured...” Lana wasn’t about to get into a blame game. “Why don’t you tell me what you were going to text.”
“Can I just send it to you instead? It’s kind of hard to say.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“Okay. I sort of decided the Andersons should adopt my baby.”
Lana had already guessed as much.
“It’s just, they’re a couple,” Sophie went on. “And as my social worker says, it’s easier for a couple to raise a child than a single parent.”
“That’s true, but even without a partner, I believe in my heart and soul I’ll be a terrific mother.”
“You will, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot. My mom did okay with me, but I kinda missed not having a dad, you know?”
Lana couldn’t even imagine. “If I were in your shoes, I’m sure I would,” she admitted. After losing his own father, Sly likely realized the same thing. She hoped he remembered it when he decided how he wanted to be involved in their son’s or daughter’s life. They didn’t have to live together or even have a romantic relationship—although she wanted that, if the lawsuit ever settled—in order to both participate in raising their child.
“Are you mad?” Sophie asked.
If not for her own pregnancy, Lana would’ve been crushed. “I think the Andersons are very lucky people to become the parents of your baby.”
“You do?”
“Absolutely.”
“I didn’t expect you to be okay about this. You’re really nice, Lana. I hope that someday you’ll get a baby.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.” She was dying to tell the girl she was pregnant, but because of the agreement with Sly, didn’t. “Take good care of yourself, Sophie. I wish you a very bright future.”
“You, too.”
