Free Having My Baby by Theresa Ragan Page B

known she wouldn’t be pleased. Instead, he watched Ryan try to stuff his tiny hand into his mouth. It had only been a few days since he saw his son and yet Ryan already looked as if he’d doubled in size. “Hey little guy,” he said as he bent down to talk to him. “You’re getting big fast, aren’t you?”
    Ryan’s fingers clasped firmly around Derrick’s thumb. The little guy smelled like baby powder and formula. “Look at that. He already has a good, strong grip. Someday you’re going to play football like your old man, aren’t you?”
    Jill disappeared inside her apartment and dropped her purse on the coffee table with a purposeful thunk .
    She came back to where he hovered over Ryan and crossed her arms tight against her chest. “One minute,” she said. “That’s all you get. And Ryan is not going to be a football player when he grows up.”
    It took a moment for what she said to register. The football comment had thrown him off, but more importantly, he hadn’t expected Jill to agree to his request to introduce Ryan to his brothers.
    He stood, figuring he’d better move quickly and take advantage of her agreeable mood. But before he could pick up the carrier, Jill leaned low and scooped Ryan into her arms.
    Derrick followed close behind as she headed for his apartment.
    Ryan began to fuss.
    “Is that Ryan?” somebody asked over the din when Jill stepped inside his apartment.
    Brad reached Jill’s side first. “Can I hold him?”
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Derrick said.
    “Of course you can.” She placed Ryan in his brother’s arms. “Here.” She showed Brad how to place his elbow. “You can use the crook of your arm to hold his head up. Yes, like that.”
    “Look at that!” Brad said. “He stopped crying.”
    “He don’t wike his mommy,” Lexi said as she picked a new crayon out of the box next to Jake.
    “That’s not true,” Sandy told her daughter. “What did I tell you about that?”
    “You said it’s okay cuz wots of babies don’t wike their mommies.”
    “I did not.” Sandy looked at Jill and gave her an apologetic shrug.
    Jill looked determined to ignore them all as she continued to help Derrick’s brother with Ryan.
    A knot formed in Derrick’s throat. What the hell was wrong with him anyhow? Every time he was around Jill and his son a gushy sappy wave of emotion swept over him.
    Cliff and Connor were now huddled around the baby, smiling and making faces at Ryan. “You did good,” Connor said to Derrick after taking a quick peek at Ryan.
    “He didn’t do anything,” Jill said.
    She was mad at him for renting out the apartment, no doubt about it.
    Cliff laughed at her sassiness. “It’s pretty amazing how all of that donor stuff works. It won’t be long before women don’t need men at all.”
    “You know what they say,” Jake said, “you can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.”
    Sandy huffed.
    “That’s what Mom’s been telling Dad for years,” Brad said before he started making ridiculous goo goo sounds at the baby.
    Jill smiled at Brad’s antics, a genuine smile that told Derrick she was warming up to his brothers, or at least to one of them.
    “I have new crayons, Jill!” Lexi shouted into Jake’s ear, making him wince.
    “You’re a lucky girl,” Jill told her. “What are you doing over there?”
    “Pwaying with my new boyfriend.”
    “Okay,” Sandy said, shaking her head and trying not to look amused. “I think it’s time for us to go.”
    “Sorry I was late,” Jill told Sandy. “You know how bad traffic is at this time of the day.”
    “No worries. Lexi always manages to find something for us to do.”
    “I should go,” Jill said. “It was nice meeting you all.”
    “Before you go,” Brad said, “Mom would be forever grateful if you brought Ryan to the barbeque at her house this weekend. We’ll all be there.”
    Derrick noticed Jill’s eye twitch, a definite sign that she was