A Christmas Baby Surprise

It was true. He had been so entranced by her sense of the world, by the family they could make together, that he hadn’t been able to marry her quickly enough. They’d started trying for children right away. His mother had told him that he and Alaina should take time to cement their relationship. He hadn’t given much thought to that—until now.

“How long had we known each other?” Her eyes searched his. He could feel her trying to grasp hold of the past. Of who they were.

“We met a year prior. We were engaged for four months of that.”

She slid over on the bench and motioned for him to sit next to her. He sat sideways so he could look at her directly.

“Why the rush?”

“We loved each other, knew it was right. Why wait?”

“I wasn’t pregnant?”

“No, you weren’t. We were never able to conceive.”

It had been no one’s fault. And they had Thomas now. They had taken in a child who desperately needed a home and stability. And somehow, that seemed to soften the animosity they had felt. They’d agreed to a temporary truce and now he planned to make them a permanent family.

“I hate being dependent on you for all my memories.” Her eyes were shining with frustration. But, Porter realized, the frustration wasn’t entirely directed at him.

He gently lifted a wisp of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Then tell me what your dream wedding day would be like and that will be our wedding memory.”

Her eyes went whimsical, a smile pushing dimples into her cheeks. “I would want to get married at a museum, or some historic site on the grounds, but with a preacher there.”