Free Cart Before The Horse by Bernadette Marie Page A

even thought to ask. Would her daughter be as uptight as she was? How would she teach her child to be normal?
    She rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling. How, in such a short amount of time, had her structured and organized life become so messy?
    She rolled again, pounded her pillow into place, and laid her head back down. She needed sleep. She needed to get up the next morning and go grocery shopping. The kitchen of Gabe Maguire needed staples so she could cook for him once in awhile, starting with macaroni and cheese.
     
    Gabe locked the door to the restaurant and waved to Chandra as she drove away. It was almost three in the morning, and it had been a good night.
    The wine order for next week would have to be bumped up, and so would the meat order. And even though the holidays were a few months away, he was going to need to think about his fish orders and incorporating them into specials. Business was even better than he’d hoped.
    He turned off the lights and double-checked to make sure the coffeepot behind the bar was off. The chef always made sure the kitchen was clean and cold before he left, but Chandra had more than once forgotten to turn off the coffeemaker.
    Gabe walked up the stairs to his apartment. He’d been surrounded by noise all night, and the peaceful sound of his feet on the floor made the tension he hadn’t realized was in his shoulders release.
    When he opened the door, he noticed the plates still on the table from dinner. They had forgotten to take them back down. What had sidetracked him?
     
    An anxious jolt surged through him and had him gripping the back of the nearest chair. That’s right, he’d gotten engaged.
    Yeah, right.
    He let go of the chair, walked to the refrigerator, and yanked it open to pull out a bottle of water. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d kept her secret or if he’d looked like a complete fool when Ed Jacobs had handed him that ring.
    He took a long drink from the bottle and then turned on the television to fill the silence. An infomercial showed him the latest gadget he couldn’t live without, but he was only
thinking of Holly.
    What kind of mother was she going to be? Would she be the kind that made sure the kid’s face was always clean, or would she be more apt to make sure their child laughed a lot and were normal, since she’d been so gifted? And what did he have to offer? He didn’t go to bed each day until four in the morning. He rose at ten and started it all over again, just like every day before that. Would the restaurant make it impossible to coach football or make it to a piano recital? How would he and Holly exchange time with the baby? She’d have to keep the baby all night while he worked. And she worked all day. Was it appropriate to have the baby at the restaurant while he did his ordering and hiring? What would the perkies think of him as a boss when he wore one of those front pack things with the baby in it? They certainly wouldn’t take him seriously.
    He chugged down the water and turned off the television. He needed some Tylenol and a hot shower. It was going to be as if he and Holly were divorced and they hadn’t even had the pleasantries of marriage. Or any of the perks but one night of pure and wonderful lust.
    His current situation was about as far as it could get from his expectations of what his life should be like—a wife,
a traditional family. Sadness clenched at his heart. He rubbed away the pain of having lost out on that life once again.
    At least he was getting macaroni and cheese. Really, what
     
    more did a bachelor need than a woman who was willing to make his favorite meal once in a while. No strings attached—except his and Holly’s child.
     
    Holly wasn’t really surprised when she opened the door the next morning and her father stood there, a large grin on his face.
    “Daddy, what are you doing here?” She stepped over the threshold and gave him a kiss before stepping back to let him into her condo.