Free A Navy SEAL's Surprise Baby by Laura Marie Altom Page B

like a gorgeous day. Want to go swing?”
    “Rahee...” Quinn smiled and drooled.
    “I’ll take that as a yes.”
    Five minutes later, she’d worked his chubby arms into a light jacket, added a pint-size baseball cap then settled him in his stroller.
    She left through the garage, netting a pleasant surprise to find the neighbors just east of the house were holding a garage sale. There were even a couple more down from there.
    Some of the few happy memories she had of her early childhood were of visiting Saturday-morning sales with her mom and dad. They’d viewed the outings as fun, but also a necessary way to cheaply furnish their home. The items hadn’t seemed shabby to Pandora, but well-worn and loved—the furniture equivalent of the dog pound.
    During the first months of her marriage, she’d gone to lots of sales, intent on transforming their rented house into a home, but then her ex had lost his job and taken out his every frustration on her. Usually sporting a black eye, she’d been too humiliated to leave the house.
    Doubling back inside Calder’s home, she took her wallet from her purse and tucked it in the back pocket of Quinn’s stroller.
    The first sale didn’t hold much of interest. Beyond a half-dozen paperbacks she selected for herself, many tables were laden with baby clothes, but strictly for girls. Pandora did snag a stack of picture books for a dollar and an electronic crib mirror for Quinn to play with. There were lots of fun shapes and when he pressed them, they made silly noises. He boinged all the way to the next sale.
    “Good morning,” said an older man, one of Calder’s neighbors.
    “Good morning.” Pandora greeted him with a warm smile. “You sure picked a gorgeous day for a sale.”
    “Wasn’t me but the wife. She’s chairwoman of the Neighborhood Beautification Committee. All proceeds go toward sprucing up the flower bed at the development’s entrance.”
    “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” At first, Pandora didn’t see much beyond stemware and yard tools, but then she spotted a painting that would be perfect over Calder’s fireplace. In the foreground, the artist had created an angry sea, yet beyond the surf, sun radiated through tumultuous clouds and the water shone with an iridescent calm. The image spoke to her. How her recent years may have been a struggle, but in the future, by the time the storm blew over and she and Julia were immersed in golden sun, everything was going to be okay. Better.
    Along with the painting, she found a lovely silk flower arrangement featuring daffodils in a Blue Willow china–patterned bowl. She envisioned it on the mantel, grouped with framed photos of Calder and Quinn she’d snapped with Calder’s digital camera the last time they had played blocks on the living room carpet. All told, she’d spent ten dollars—twelve after also finding a quirky strawberry-shaped cookie jar.
    She set the painting atop the stroller’s sun visor, then stashed the rest of her items in the bottom netting.
    To Quinn she said, “Guess we’d better head home to unload before hitting the park, or you’ll end up sharing your seat, huh?”
    He kicked and gurgled before once again hitting the boing button on his new toy.
    “You bought the painting.” A smiling older woman approached. “Martin and I have had it over our buffet for years, but my new decorator says it has to go.”
    “I should thank him or her. I love it.”
    “I’m glad. It’s easier to part with knowing it’ll be enjoyed. I’m Lila, by the way. Don’t you and this cutie live three doors down?”
    “We do.” Pandora exchanged introductions.
    “That man of yours is a sight to behold.” Fanning herself, Lila added, “If only I were thirty years younger...”
    Martin, the man Pandora assumed to be Lila’s husband, called from where he sat on a lawn chair in the garage, “I heard that!”
    Lila waved off his complaint. “How long have you and your hunk been