Free Nobody's Baby by Carol Burnside

don’t mind your burger cooked medium. Mom said you aren’t allowed raw meat during pregnancy.”
    “That’s perfect,” Kate answered with a smile of thanks directed toward Margaret. “Can I help with anything?”
    “Absolutely not.”Margaret pointed to a chair opposite hers at the eat-in table. “Sit. Rest.”
    Kate thought of objecting that she could at least carry things to the table but discovered her brief walk had tired her, and a low, persistent ache had settled in her back. “I feel so useless. Good thing I’m not planning on having any children of my own. This inactivity tries my patience.”
    Busy with putting a condiment and relish tray together, Rio shot her a sharp look but didn’t comment.
    “Your journey is almost over, dear. Since you won’t have a baby to care for, I predict you’ll bounce back to your former activities pretty fast.”
    “Mom. That wasn’t very tactful.”
    Before Margaret could apologize, Kate jumped in. “No, it’s fine and she’s right. I’m looking forward to running again and getting back into shape. I’m planning on taking a Pilates class when I get settled at college.”
    “You’re going for your masters?” Margaret asked, making the usual assumption because of Kate’s age.
    “Undergrad degree, actually. With my brothers to raise, I didn’t have the time or financial means to go to college.” Kate wasn’t normally so talkative about herself and her plans, but with her activities gradually curbed over the past few weeks, she craved conversation with others.
    Sitting alone on the sofa earlier, she’d had plenty of time to think what Rio had said about her cargo someday seeing the stories and pictures relating to his birth. He’d likely have questions about the woman who’d been his surrogate, especially now that his biological parents weren’t alive. Allie and James could have supplied the answers. Margaret and Rio knew next to nothing about her.
    “I take it you’re the eldest child.” Margaret fished for answers.
    “Yes. My dad passed away when I was a few months shy of eighteen. Mom wasn’t the maternal type. I would’ve been fine, but Dean and Zach were twelve and fourteen. Someone had to hold things together.”
    Margaret and Rio exchanged a look of understanding, then Margaret reached across the table and patted Kate’s hand. “They’re lucky to have you. That’s a lot for a young girl to take on.”
    She shrugged. “You do what you have to do for family.”
    “Yeah. Whether you’re ready or not.” Rio placed a platter of burger fixings in the center of the table, his gaze directed at Kate with more warmth and respect than she’d ever seen in his eyes before. “A.J. still break dancing in there?”
    “He’s napping at the moment.” She flushed under Margaret’s sudden scrutiny, though Kate had nothing to be embarrassed about. More and more when around Rio, she felt like a teenager with a first crush. With him close her palms dampened, she blushed more easily around him, and she had an acute awareness of where he was in the room.
    How utterly silly.
    He only carried her around like a pampered princess because her doctor had decreed it. She was housing his familial obligation inside her and everything he did was directed at keeping that child safe. Just like with Allie and James, once she delivered her cargo, he and his nephew would be out of her life for good. Just the way she wanted it.
    “What’s wrong, dear? Aren’t you hungry?”
    Margaret’s questions snapped Kate back into the moment. She blinked at the plate in front of her. When had that appeared? The steaming burger, thick, baked home fries and a broccoli slaw smelled like heaven. “Yes, of course I am. This looks delicious.”
    “Dig in.” Rio nodded at the fixings tray. He’d kept the preparations simple, placing the squeeze containers on the tray instead of putting them in small bowls with spreaders. Not that Kate minded. She and her brothers certainly hadn’t