Dads and Babies Box Set (Gay Romance) E-Book

Trina Solet

• Herausgeber: Trina Solet
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Dads with babies find happiness and babies get one more dad to raise them and love them. What could be more perfect?

His Baby: Ian just finished college, started his first real job and now he's raising his sister's baby by himself. Since his life has taken this unexpected turn, he's been closed off and distant from his friends.
Mike is Ian's hunky new neighbor and handyman. He's straight, but spending so much time with Ian is stirring up unexpected feelings.
More than attraction is keeping Mike close to Ian though. When his reason for staying close comes to light, will Mike's heart be broken or will he finally have everything he wished for?

Brand New Dad: Austin doesn't know he's a father until a baby is suddenly handed over to him. He's shocked and not in any position to take care of a baby, but there is no one else.
Austin has had a hard life, and he doesn't want the same thing for his baby boy. He's determined to give him a good life.
Miller just happens to have a house that's too big for him and is in need of a few repairs. Austin and Miller strike a deal and a new living arrangement is born. But could there ever be more between them?
Since Austin is straight, Miller doesn't think he stands a chance with him. Plus a tragedy from his childhood still shrouds his life in terror. Can he help falling with love with a man who's hot, loving, and makes him feel safe?

Brand New Memories: Kurt used to be an arrogant jerk who only cared about money and status, but a car crash has left him with no memories and a brand new baby boy to take care of. His old life is meaningless to him and he can't reconnect with anyone he used to know. The only thing that matters to him is his son, Jack, but Kurt is anxious that he might not be able to take care of him.
Though he always hated Kurt, Eric reluctantly steps in to help him with baby Jack. It's supposed to be temporary, but Eric just can't turn his back on a guy who needs him so much.
Eric has always been closed off, afraid of getting hurt, but he can't stay away from Kurt. Since his accident, Kurt is a changed man. This new Kurt is kinder, gentler and devoted to his little son, Jack. He's a man Eric can't resist. If Eric can open his heart, he might find love and happiness with Kurt and Jack.

Leseprobe

Dads and Babies Box Set (Gay Romance) By Trina Solet

Copyright © 2025 by Trina Solet

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or actual events is entirely coincidental.

All sexual activity takes place between persons eighteen years of age or older.

This novel contains material intended for mature readers.

Cover image is only for illustrative purposes. Any person depicted is a model.

Contents

His Baby

Brand New Dad

Brand New Memories

His Baby (Gay Romance) By Trina Solet

Copyright © 2023 by Trina Solet

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or actual events is entirely coincidental.

All sexual activity takes place between persons eighteen years of age or older.

This novel contains material intended for mature readers.

Cover image is only for illustrative purposes. Any person depicted is a model.

​His Baby

Chapter 1

It was a bright, sunny, summer day, and Ian was looking out the kitchen window at the overgrown back yard and bouncing Fiona. She had started crying right as Ian was finishing up a video meeting, but she was now slowly settling down and snuggling against his shoulder. As Ian switched to swaying with her gently, she grabbed onto the collar of his button down shirt and was chewing on it, drooling on it. He was going to need to change his shirt.

The business casual look he wore was so that he wouldn't look like he was slacking while he was working from home. Not that anyone in their right mind would call doing corporate investment analysis while taking care of a four month old slacking. Ian had only just started his new job, and with Fiona to take care of, he couldn't afford to lose it.

At least their place to live was all set. Ian's dad had left the house to him and his sister, Eve. She had lived there while Ian was away at college. It was supposed to be where she brought Fiona home from the hospital after she gave birth to her, but only Fiona made it.

Now Ian lived there and took care of Fiona and tried to set aside his grief because he couldn't deal with it. Not yet.

As Fiona was serenely covering his collar with drool, Ian was feeling guilty that he hadn't taken care of the back yard before now. With everything going on, he had neglected it and it was only getting worse every day.

When they had all lived there, which seemed like it was so long ago, Mom had a garden back there, and after the divorce, Dad kept it from growing wild. Then he died. Eve was trying to revive it. Save it. That's why it didn't get cleared out back then, and now Ian was dragging his feet. He hated the idea of undoing all of Eve's plans. But it had to be done. It might be easier if he thought of it as something he was doing for Fiona. Once she learned how to walk, she would be able to run around and play back there.

Betty, the neighbor next door on his left, had noticed the state of the back yard. Being a good neighbor and taking pity on Ian, she gave him the business card of a guy who did odd jobs in the area. She vouched for him too. "He's a good guy. He rents the room above the garage from me."

Recognizing a lifeline when one was offered, Ian called him and that guy was on his way over. Ian was hoping to put Fiona down for her nap before he got there. She was curled up in his arms contentedly now, so maybe there was some hope.

He barely managed to have her asleep and in her crib when the doorbell rang and he went to answer it. The man standing on his doorstep was undeniably hot as hell, and Ian realized he was still wearing the shirt with the collar that Fiona drooled all over. Maybe it wasn't noticeable?

While Ian stared, the man introduced himself. "I'm Mike Calvino. I'm here about your yard."

"Right. I'm...Umm, Ian Dalton. Thank you for coming by." After his own halting introduction, Ian invited Mike through the house and out through the back door. "There it is. It's pretty bad. I kept telling myself I was going to find the time and do it myself, but I finally had to admit defeat."

Mike nodded and looked at Ian like he wasn't exactly surprised that a guy like him wouldn't be able to tackle any serious yard work. It was the drooled on shirt. He was not making a good impression.

Normally he wouldn't care that much, but Mike was a hunk so Ian couldn't help wanting to be admired in return no matter how impossible that was when he was just a lanky guy and not a muscled dream with dark hair and beard and blue eyes. Plus Mike had a completely straight vibe.

"You're not going to be doing any of the work today, are you?" Ian asked as Mike poked around in the back. "I'm asking because my niece is sleeping. I just put her down for her nap. She had a restless night."

"Is she OK?" Mike asked.

"She's fine. Just felt like being a little night owl."

For a minute Mike just stared at him then he shook his head. "No, I won't be starting today. Tomorrow would be good for me."

"That would be great. Thank you. I'll be glad when I can show Fiona a nicer view than this and bring her out here too."

"Fiona?" Mike said.

"Oh, my niece. She's just a baby. She doesn't really care about views much. But when she's older, I want to make a little playground for her back here."

Mike looked from him to the mess of a yard, maybe thinking that it was a long way from being a safe place for a kid to play. Then he said, "When you get around to that, let me know if you need me to do any work on that playground."

"I probably will." Ian was picturing the colorful playground and Fiona laughing and having fun, running around on a green lawn. Of course he didn't know what she would look like exactly, but he pictured her so clearly. It wasn't Fiona with her wispy, dark hair and blue eyes. He was picturing Eve when she was little, light brown hair, hazel eyes. He shut his eyes but Eve was still there, vivid and alive.

"Hey, man, you OK?" Mike said and touched his arm to bring him out of it. Ian jumped a little and his eyes snapped open only to end up staring at Mike's incredibly sad, blue eyes. Why were his eyes so sad?

"So you'll be here tomorrow right," Ian said so he wouldn't have to explain himself and talk about Eve.

"Right. I will. How early isn't too early for you?" Mike wanted to know.

"Fiona is up at the crack of dawn. I can't remember the last time my alarm woke me instead of hearing her on the baby monitor," Ian said.

"OK. I'll see you tomorrow at seven then." With that, Mike went around the house and to the front. Ian stared after him then caught himself staring toward Betty's house and the room over the garage. He had never paid any attention to it before, but now it was sure to play a major part in his dreams along with the muscular man with incredible blue eyes who lived there.

Chapter 2

Next morning, Ian couldn't believe how much he looked forward to having Mike come over to do some yard work. Of course Ian would be doing his own work and not staring at him the whole time like some creep. But it was either lucky or unlucky that his office window didn't face the back yard.

It faced Betty's house and he could kind of see one of the windows of the room over the garage. All day yesterday he made sure not to stare at it. But when night fell, he couldn't help thinking about what Mike might be doing up there, showering after work, soaping up every muscle of his incredible body, whacking off.

When Mike showed up the next morning, Ian had Fiona fed and changed and he had made extra coffee in case Mike wanted some. This time Mike didn't come into the house. Ian met him in the back yard and brought the baby out with him.

He told Fiona, "This is the guy who's going to make the back yard nice for you." He then asked Mike about coffee. "If you want to have some coffee, I made extra. And I didn't make it too strong, like I usually do."

"No, but thanks," Mike said.

"OK, then Fiona and I will be inside," Ian said and turned to go since Mike seemed like he just wanted to get right to work.

"Um, actually I wouldn't mind having a cup and I can tell you what I'll be doing out here," Mike said.

"Sure, come in," Ian said. Maybe Mike was a little unfocused. Ian was too.

While Mike was having his coffee and explaining what he would be doing, Ian was distracted by his blue eyes and the muscles of his chest and arms under his t-shirt. He kind of tuned Mike out until he said, "Then I'll finish up with some whacking."

He did not just say that. "Weed whacking, right?" Ian blurted out like the biggest idiot who ever lived.

Mike actually guffawed at that, taking it as a joke and not as a sign that his hotness was making Ian completely stupid. "It will get kind of noisy, for the baby, I mean."

"I'll keep her in my office or in the living room. It won't be too loud in there," Ian said.

"OK," Mike said and he stared at Fiona like he had never seen a baby before. "You said she was your niece, right?"

"My... my sister's baby. My sister died." That was all Ian could get out. It just hurt too much to say it.

"It's good that the baby has you. That she has family to take care of her," Mike said softly. "Sorry for your loss."

Ian nodded. Then he wondered, "Eve used to live here. Did you maybe know her?"

"I only moved in next door a little while ago," Mike said.

That was probably a good thing. Ian couldn't really handle talking about Eve, much less with someone who maybe only knew her in passing. Mike went out to do his work and Ian took Fiona to his office where he had set up her rocker. Setting her down in it, he told her, "I miss your mommy so much."

He had a framed photo of him and Eve in his office. He took it to Fiona to show it to her and she put her tiny hand on the glass. "That's right. Give your mommy a high five."

With Mike out there, Ian had trouble concentrating on work. But once he got into it, he planned to just keep going and skip lunch. Fiona was the only one who needed to eat on schedule.

Then he thought about Mike working hard out there, sweating. He was giving Fiona her bottle when he opened the back door and called out to him, "Do you want a sandwich?"

Mike looked unsure and so sexy with his shirt plastered to him. "OK, if it's no trouble," he finally said.

"No problem," Ian said and went in to make it.

Since Fiona was done with her bottle, Ian held her and made the sandwich one handed. "Are you impressed," he asked her then they went out and called Mike in to eat.

He came in and smiled at Fiona. "Did she eat? Oh right you were giving her a bottle before," Mike remembered.

"She ate, finished the whole bottle," Ian said and kissed her face.

"I won't sit, I'm all dirty," Mike said and picked up the sandwich to eat standing up.

"Beer or iced tea?" Ian asked.

"Uh, iced tea," Mike said but Ian had a feeling he was just trying to be good.

He got it for him then did his best to make conversation. "So how is it going out there."

"No problems. You'll have a nice clean space when I'm done."

Ian lifted Fiona. "For you."

"So her name is Fiona. Is that like a name in your family or..."

"Just a name my sister liked," Ian said and felt like any conversation was a minefield and would end up with him having to talk about Eve. "Sorry. I have trouble talking about my sister."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No. It's not your fault," Ian assured him quickly and gave him a small smile. "Do you have kids?" Mike frowned. Maybe that was a touchy subject for him. He did live above Betty's garage. If he had kids he might be separated from them, from their mother. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"There was just a chance one time that a kid was mine." Mike shook his head so Ian guessed that it turned out the kid wasn't his.

"Sorry. Well, Fiona is pretty great. Best baby in the world." Ian lifted her again and then brought her close.

Mike was finishing up his sandwich pretty fast. He was a big guy, working hard out there. "I should have made you two of those," Ian said.

"Did you make one for yourself?" Mike asked.

"I wasn't hungry," Ian said.

"I didn't just eat your sandwich, did I?" Mike asked and he already looked guilty about it.

"No. I made that for you. And I'll make you another one if you want."

"Only if you make one for yourself too," Mike challenged him.

Ian laughed. "OK. It's a deal."

That's how the two of them ended up eating lunch together, or for Mike his second lunch. Fiona was down for her nap so Mike brought in his clipboard and showed Ian how he planned to plant a few things on the edges of the yard, starting with some taller plants in the corners and then tapering down and then have a lawn in the middle for Fiona to have plenty of room to play.

"You could be a landscape designer," Ian told him.

"Working with plants is pretty nice. Much nicer than having to cut them down," he said.

"The back yard got out of control after our dad died, and then Eve wanted to rehabilitate it, rescue the plants, not cut them down. We did try doing that on a few weekends when I was home from college, but we didn't get very far." Ian stopped and realized, "Here I am talking about Eve and not breaking down. That was good. I need the practice. I'll need to tell Fiona about her mom and not start sobbing my eyes out."

"And what about her dad?" Mike asked hesitantly probably worried that might be a touchy subject too.

"Don't know who he is. I thought I'd have time to find out when Eve was ready to tell me, but that never happened."

"Sorry."

"She was pretty adventurous. She was no stranger to one night stands. I assume that's what it was," Ian said and Mike nodded vaguely. Now Ian felt they needed a change of subject so he asked Mike about himself. "So have you always done this kind of work?"

"No, but I had a few skills so I figured I'd try being my own boss," Mike said and then started eyeing the back yard like he needed to get back there. "Like I told you, I won't be able to finish today. Hopefully tomorrow."

"No problem. We're not in too much of a rush. If you have other jobs that come up, you can shift us for a day or two, it's no problem," Ian said and groaned inwardly. He was basically saying the longer it takes, the better because he wanted Mike to stick around.

"Us means you and Fiona? Right?" Mike asked almost like he was trying to make sure there was no one else in the picture. But of course he wouldn't care about that. Ian was just imagining it.

"Right, I guess I think of Fiona as your client too," Ian said but he didn't even realize he said we or us. Around Mike, he didn't know what the hell he was saying half the time.

"I won't neglect you guys," Mike said with a smile and went back out to do his work.

Why did he have to act so weird around Mike and be so accommodating? Who the hell says take as long as you want? When it came to hot guys, Ian's schedule was completely flexible. Any time is fine. Do whatever you want. Make yourself at home. Get naked and climb into my bed.

Chapter 3

Ian was checking a few work emails when his friend, Amy, called, asking if he could pop out to have lunch with her. "There's no popping out when you have a baby to take care of," Ian told her. All his friends were still childless, just out of college so they didn't quite get it.

"Throw her in a stroller, what's the big deal?" she said. "I haven't seen you in forever. And you promised to invite me over to that little house of yours."

"It's not little," Ian told her, but it was true that she hadn't come over since he moved in. She had been out of town though and Ian just didn't feel up to entertaining ever since he lost Eve.

"Neil was bitching that you rejected him too," she said.

"Like he hasn't rejected me plenty of times, too busy with law school," Ian said, but that wasn't any time recently.

"Don't be such a hermit," she told him. "It's not healthy."

She was right, but he did have another excuse today. "I have a handyman coming over to do some work. I can't."

"Is this handyman hot or not?" she asked.

"He's just a handyman," Ian claimed.

"That means so-so. That's what you get when you're a hermit. If you got out more, you'd get to see some hot guys."

Mike was plenty hot and he was back again to finish up the work. A lot of the clearing was already done and he had some plants as well as sod in his truck. Mike's truck was an old, beat up one. When Ian took Fiona out so he could check out the plants, Mike seemed to feel bad about the state of his ride.

"I'll get a new one. This is just for now while I'm building up my business," he said and he actually glanced at Fiona like she might be passing judgment on his truck.

"You're transporting dirt and all this stuff back here, you don't need a shiny new truck for that," Ian said but Mike still frowned at it.

"It rattles. It's not a comfortable ride. If I was driving anyone..."

Ian wondered if he felt bad about it because it wouldn't make a great date vehicle. "It might not impress any girls, but I don't think you need to rely on a car in that department," Ian said. But why did he have to say anything like that at all? He could have just said the truck was fine. He didn't have to go into how Mike was such an undeniable stud, he didn't need his car to be a babe magnet.

"Thanks for saying that," Mike said. "But I think I'll still try and get something better."

By the time Mike was done, the back yard was looking really nice and Ian was frantically trying to think of what else he might ask him to do so he could keep him around. Pathetic. He didn't come up with anything definite yet, so he was just handing Mike his check and thanking him. Mike frowned at the check.

"This is too much for the work," he said.

Ian didn't know why he was saying that. "No, you gave me a really good price."

"I feel like I owe you more work for this much," Mike said. "Do you have other stuff you need done? I can fix those fence pickets, but there should be more."

"You don't need to do more for the money, really," Ian said, confused. Mike did plenty of work. He didn't have any reason to feel like he hadn't earned the money.

"I wouldn't feel right if I didn't work it off," he said and he smiled at Fiona like he didn't want to be unfair to her.

That made Ian think about something Eve wanted to do that never got done and he got choked up. Could he even do this when he couldn't even talk about it?

"You OK?" Mike asked him as Ian just stood there and couldn't get one word out.

"Thinking about my sister," Ian said after a little bit. "Eve did this design for Fiona's room. She was going to paint it on the walls. She never did. I'd like to do it for her. Let me go get it."

Ian got the drawings for the four walls plus the ceiling. There was a lily pond with big leaves in the foreground and one had a frog sitting on it. Butterflies on a field of wildflowers went on another wall. Eve drew birds perched on the branches of a big tree with flowers and that was supposed to go next to the window. Sunflowers and bees went on another wall. Half the ceiling was bright blue with a sun and fluffy clouds. The blue gradually got darker ending with the moon and stars on the other side.

Mike was frowning at the drawings though. "Oh, shoot. I don't have this kind of skill," Mike said and he looked really upset. "I can't do this, not this good."

"You mean the drawing? I can do that. If that's the only issue," Ian said.

"So I'd do painting by numbers? That should be fine," Mike said and he looked relieved.

"This would be a separate job. You can charge me by hours if you want. And you can do it whenever you can, between your other jobs."

"This isn't hard if I'm not drawing it, just a little paint. This is no problem. It's for Fiona. You don't have to pay me extra," Mike said and held up the check he already got.

Ian couldn't believe he was serious. It was a lot of work. Was he just a terrible businessman? "This will take time. You have to charge me separately for it," he insisted.

"How about if I use you as a reference?" Mike said. "Having people call you up, that will be a nuisance so this way we'll be even."

Ian didn't think that was anywhere close to even. "I would give you a good reference anyway. Please come up with an estimate for the work. There's also a bunch of paints you have to get." Eve had used markers for the drawings. "I'll have to come up with a list of colors."

Mike seemed like he still wanted to argue that he should work for free, but he looked at his phone. "I have to go to another job now, but I can come by later and bring the color chart and we'll figure out the paint colors," Mike offered.

Ian liked the idea of him coming by again, so he was happy to agree. And this meant he would get to keep Mike around and also do something for both Fiona and Eve.

When Mike texted that he was on his way over, it was close to dinnertime. Ian wondered if Mike might have eaten already. Just in case he hadn't, Ian put on some pasta and made a quick pesto and cream sauce. Then he did some baguette slices with herbs, olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan.

He set down two plates at the kitchen table. Then he realized what he was doing. It looked like he was having a date night in and not meeting his straight handyman to talk about painting a room.

He had to put this stuff away. That's when the doorbell rang and he didn't get a chance. He did get the two empty plates off the kitchen table, but everything else was out in plain sight, evidence of his stupidity. Maybe he could keep Mike out of the kitchen.

"Something smells good," Mike said then he got worried. "Did I come at a bad time? If you're eating, I can come back some other time."

"No. I did make some food, but it can wait," Ian said.

"You go ahead and eat. We can talk colors while you have dinner," Mike said.

"Did you eat?" Ian asked, somehow finding himself back on his original track.

"Nah, but you don't need to worry about me," Mike said.

"There's plenty. Just pasta, sauce and some bread. Nothing special," Ian said and led the way to the kitchen."

He was now setting the plates on the table again and then the pasta, sauce and baguette slices. "If you don't like the pesto cream sauce, I can heat up some tomato sauce," Ian offered.

"This all looks good just the way it is," Mike said. "Is Fiona asleep already?"

"For now. I didn't have the heart to wake her, now we're off schedule. She'll be up," Ian predicted.

"Does she need to eat?" Mike asked. He seemed concerned that she was missing out on dinner.

"You want me to go wake her?" Ian asked jokingly, but Mike looked conflicted, like he kind of did and didn't.

Noticing how Ian was looking at him, Mike chuckled then got serious again and started talking business. "They have these paints with no harmful fumes. That's what you want for a baby's room." He fanned out a color wheel chart.

"Did you want to eat first?" Ian asked.

"Oh, right." Mike ate and seemed to enjoy the food, but he couldn't help talking about the safe paint, how Fiona would have to move out of her room for a while, how much paint they needed, how they'd need to mix some paints themselves.

Then Fiona interrupted. She started crying and Ian went to get her. He brought her to the kitchen still cranky and got her bottle from the fridge.

"Is she OK?" Mike asked, showing a lot of worry for her again.

"I should have woken her. Now she's a cranky little monster," Ian said and kissed her face. As soon as he started feeding her, she quieted. "See, now she's an angel."

"She was hungry," Mike said and watched her eat with a look of awe on his face.

"My fault. It just seems so mean to wake her when she's sleeping so peacefully," Ian said.

"So you're spoiling her?" Mike asked.

"What? No," Ian said defensively. "I'm a good uncle."

Mike grinned at that. "Sure."

Now Ian grumbled and his eyes fell on the drawings Eve made. "I could never make up for what Fiona lost. Eve would have been amazing with her."

"You can only be yourself," Mike said. "And you're finishing your sister's work. That's all you can do."

Ian nodded. That was his job exactly. "Thank you for helping me. It means a lot. And one day it will mean a lot to Fiona too."

Mike blinked and seemed to be holding his breath. "I hope so," he said.

Chapter 4

On Saturday, Mike was there to get started on Fiona's room. Before opening the door to him, Ian took a deep breath to steel himself for those blue eyes of his and for the rest of that gorgeous man.

Letting him in, Ian told him what he had been up to. "I already did some drawing on one wall, but I haven't moved Fiona out yet. I was waiting until the last minute."

"I can help you out with moving stuff," Mike offered.

"That's what I was hoping for." Going into the room, he told Mike, "I want to switch Fiona's room and my office. I can work in here even while the painting is being done. And Fiona can have peace and quiet."

"Just tell me what to do," Mike said and he looked capable of lifting most of the furniture by himself.

"Thanks. I'm leaving most of the office furniture where it is. I just need the desk to be moved into Fiona's room," Ian said. "But all of Fiona's furniture has to go out."

"It's a nice room," Mike said as he just took in all of the baby's cute furniture.

"Eve got the room ready, everything except for the art project on the walls. But that's why you're here," Ian said.

They worked together to move Fiona out and move Ian in. "Plenty of room for both us to work," Mike said seeing Ian's desk in the middle of the room and nothing else.

"I'll be in the living room with my laptop when you're in here doing the painting," Ian told him though he really wanted to watch him work.

"You don't need to do that. You won't be in my way," Mike said. "I'll be starting with what you drew over here." He went over for a closer look.

Ian had started with the lily pond, but he hadn't finished it. "I'm going to finish drawing that wall while you're painting."

"So both you and your sister had artistic talent?" Mike said.

"Not me. I had to look up how to draw some of this stuff," Ian admitted.

"You did good. I'm going to get what I need from the truck." Mike left and Ian wondered if his drawing would be any good if he did it while Mike was in the room. He really needed to calm down around him.

Coming back with a lot of painting supplies and tons of paints, Mike started by unrolling plastic all around the room. Ian helped him spread it out. Then Mike said, "I noticed a leak under the window in the living room. I didn't see it before."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. The curtain covers it usually. Out of sight, out of mind. I should have had it taken care of," Ian said, kicking himself for forgetting. "That's what I should have had you working on, not this. I'm an idiot."

"Take it easy. I can take care of that right now while you're drawing," Mike said. "The window just needs to be sealed. There's no mold or any damage. No need to kick yourself."

"Thanks. But I need to stay on top of things. Fiona is depending on me."

"Just you. What about your family?" Mike asked as they both went out into the living room.

"There's my mom and two half brothers from her first marriage. We aren't close," Ian said.

Eve was the only member of his family he was ever really close to. Ian never got along with his two half brothers, especially once he came out. His mother still kept hinting that maybe he just needed to meet the right girl, like instead of going out with guys, he should spend all his time hunting down that one magic girl who would turn him straight. Of course these days Ian wasn't doing any dating.

"Your sister didn't want your mom to take her kid?" Mike said.

"Eve didn't like Mom's boyfriend. He's gruff and loud, crass. Eve couldn't imagine her baby being raised around him, though she was hoping mom would break up with him. But until then she named me as the guardian."

"Are you sure your sister would want me around her kid. If she didn't want that boyfriend of your mother's around Fiona because he was a little rough around the edges," Mike said.

Ian blinked at Mike. "A little rough around the edges? You don't know this guy. No one would want their kid around him. But that has nothing to do with you," Ian said and Mike looked kind of upset. "You're nothing like him. From what I can tell, you seem like a really nice guy."

Mike's expression brightened a little. "Right. I just got the wrong idea," he said.

Ian didn't understand what idea he got. He left Mike alone to work on the window but kept wondering what that was all about. Maybe someone made him feel like he wasn't good enough. He remembered how Mike was about his truck, like he thought people would judge him for it.

Since Mike wasn't in the room to make him nervous, Ian made good progress with the drawing. He finished up the wall just as Fiona woke up crying. Going to get her, he brought her to see his drawing, but she looked toward the window instead.

"She wasn't impressed," Ian said as he brought her over to see if Mike's work might impress her more. He was holding her facing forward and she did seem to show more interest, but it was only because there was another window for her to look at.

"She is a sweet thing," Mike said and smiled at the baby. "For her sake, keep the windows open until the stuff around the window dries."

"It looks good now," Ian said.

"It still needs to be painted, but it shouldn't leak any more," Mike said.

"You're a lifesaver. Charge me an arm and a leg for that as punishment for neglecting it," Ian said but Mike only laughed.

"I'll put it on Fiona's tab," Mike said.

"What's she gonna pay you in?" Ian wondered.

"That," Mike said as Fiona kicked and made a gurgling sound.

"That's worth a million bucks right there," Ian said and kissed her face. "But I actually plan to pay you in real money."

Mike got started on Fiona's room, and by lunchtime he had a lot done. Of course now, Ian wanted to feed him. To avoid worrying about how it would look if he made him food again, he told him.

"I was going to take Fiona on a walk and grab some wraps from that place on Plum Street. Can I get you anything?" Mike looked unsure, so Ian made another offer. "Or you can come with us and get something for yourself. There's a burger place."

"I can eat a wrap," Mike said. "But I wouldn't mind a walk, stretch my legs."

"Great." Ian was surprised he was coming along but also way too pleased. The guy wasn't coming because he was dying for Ian's company. He just wanted to stretch his legs and eat. That was all.

But walking next to him down the street, Ian was very aware of how hot Mike was. Everyone was going to ogle Mike and wonder what he was doing with that other guy.

They didn't pass that many people though, but one woman did stop to say hi to the baby. Ian decided to take the opportunity to introduce Mike to her as the local handyman.

"I have to have your card," she said and practically snatched it from Mike's hand when he was handing it over.

As they walked on, Mike grinned at Ian. "So you're drumming up business for me?"

"You don't mind, do you? I should have asked," Ian realized.

"It's cool," Mike said. "It's good to get my card out there."

"And Fiona will vouch for you. Won't you?" Ian asked and adjusted her bucket hat to keep the sun out of her eyes.

"You take good care of her," Mike said.

"I try. I'm not great at it, but I love her so much," Ian said.

"She's lucky," Mike said in a hushed voice but for some reason he looked so sad.

Chapter 5

Mike had finished for the day and Ian was helping him load some stuff in his truck. He was leaving the paints and a few other things. "I'll get more drawing done soon," Ian said.

"OK. Just let me know when you need me to paint by numbers," Mike said. "It's turning out nice."

"It is. Thank you for doing this," Ian told him.

Sorry to see him leaving, Ian watched him drive away, then heard someone behind him speak up. "That truck is an eyesore, but the man driving it sure isn't." It was his neighbor, Nicole. She was in real estate, and Eve had worked as a receptionist at her office. They had been pretty friendly, but she didn't insist on talking about Eve. "That Mike needs to get his shit together. His ride, his living situation. I offered to get him a nice apartment, but it was a no go."

"How are things at work?" Ian asked her because he was kind of uncomfortable talking about Mike with her and how he liked him living next door just fine.

"I'm still just doing rentals," she said with a shrug. "So Mike is doing some work for you?"

"Eve sketched a mural for Fiona's room. He's painting it," Ian said.

"Oh, that's sweet. Is the little cutie sleeping?" Nicole asked.

"She is."

"I'll have to drop by and visit with her, maybe when Mike is there doing the painting. He isn't done, is he?" she asked.

"No, there's plenty more," Ian told her.

"I'll watch for his truck parked in front of your house and I'll pop in," she said with a smile and walked away.

Ian sighed. He wasn't looking forward to watching her flirt with Mike. She was undeniably hot, blond with big brown eyes and a great body. It was going to be even worse to see how Mike responded. He wasn't going to be able to resist her.

The next time Mike came by, Ian was still thinking about how Nicole had him in her sights. Ian was thinking of casually bringing her up to see what Mike thought of her. Fiona was done with her bottle and Ian was holding her when there was a knock on the door.

Ian answered and found Nicole standing on his doorstep. "I had a little time between clients so I came to visit with Fiona," she said but she only gave her a quick smile. Her smile turned sly and she looked over Ian's shoulder, no doubt to try and catch a glimpse of Mike.

"Fiona has just been fed and we were going to watch Mike paint. Want to come in and say hi?" he said though his first instinct was to sabotage her.

"Oh, is Mike here?" she said as she came in and nudged Ian with her elbow like they were sharing a joke.

As Ian led the way to Fiona's room, Nicole did give the baby some attention. "Look at this cutie getting cuter every day," she said. Then she saw the room and what had already been done there. "Oh wow. How many walls are you doing?"

"All of them plus the ceiling," Ian said. "That's what Eve planned."

"I love that you're making that happen for her. And you too, Mike," she said.

"I'm happy to do it," he said and smiled at Nicole. He didn't show her as much appreciation as Ian expected, but then he was busy painting individual blades of grass.

"I didn't even know you did this kind of work," she said.

"Oh, do you have Mike's cards to give out at the real estate office and to clients?" Ian wondered. He was sure Nicole would be more than happy to do him a favor.

"Look who has a brain for business," she said and gave Ian an approving look. "Mike, load me up with some cards and I'll get them into the right hands."

"Uh, OK. Thanks," Mike said and looked at both her and Ian.

"We'll get you into a new truck in no time," Nicole said and Mike turned away and groaned.

Ian shook his head at Nicole who didn't know what she said that was so wrong. Later, as she was leaving and Ian and Fiona were walking her to the door, he told her, "Mike is touchy about the truck. He feels bad that it's so old and beat up."

"As he should," Nicole said. "But I'll take it easy on him about it. And I'll drum up some business for him too."

She left and Ian was relieved. "She means well," he said to Fiona then he said the same thing to Mike.

"Maybe," Mike said. "I guess you like her."

Ian wondered what he meant by that. Just in case he had the wrong idea, he was going to tell Mike he was gay. But why did his handyman need to know that?

Ian was wondering if Mike might already know, maybe he had been too obvious and shown too much interest in him, his business, what girls he might be into or not into. He shouldn't have been dwelling on that, but he still kept talking about Nicole. "Eve gave Nicole her personal seal of approval. She said, 'With Nicole, what you see is what you get.' Eve liked people to be honest and upfront." That was why Ian's first thought had been to come out to Mike until he started overthinking it.

"Right," Mike said and he frowned.

Ian didn't know what troubled him. He was looking in the general direction of the wall they hadn't started on yet so Ian told him, "Sunflowers and bees go on that one, but it won't be too yellow. There is a lot of blue and green too."

"It'll turn out great" Mike smiled at Fiona, but then frowned again and asked, "If you didn't know what the right thing to do was, how would you figure it out?"

Ian had to think about it. He couldn't remember having to make any heavy decisions about right or wrong. "I don't know. Maybe what does the least harm with the greatest benefit?"

It didn't seem like that answer clicked with Mike. He went back to painting. Fiona was settled in the living room and Ian sat at his desk to do some work.

"What do you do anyway?" Mike asked.

"Just write reports and analyze information about investments. It's charts, graphs, numbers and more numbers," Ian said. "It's boring."

"It's good that you can take care of Fiona while you're doing it," Mike said.

"If I had a life, it wouldn't be that easy. But I am looking for another babysitter, I mean other than Mrs. Berrie. You might know her. She lives a few blocks from here. I need someone for when she's not available."

"I can do it," Mike said and Ian turned to stare at him. "I mean if you need someone to pitch in. I'm right next door, so it would be no trouble."

Ian was surprised he offered, and he was about to ask him if he had taken care of a baby before when Fiona started crying. Ian was about to go pick her up when he got a video call from his boss.

"Damn. Why now? My boss doesn't like to hear a baby crying during a business call," Ian said. "I don't want him deciding that I have to come into the office."

"I'll go see if I can quiet her," Mike offered. "I need to walk around a little anyway. My back is getting stiff from doing all this grass."

"OK. See what you can do, I'll try to finish up fast," Ian said though he could hardly rush his boss.

Mike was hardly gone and Fiona quieted, not a peep from her while Ian was summing up a few things for his impatient boss. To Ian it seemed like the meeting lasted forever, but it wasn't that long. When he finished up, he went to see how Mike and Fiona were getting along.

It looked like Mike had turned himself into a human mobile. He was holding a stuffed tiger toy in one hand and a toss pillow in the other and waving them around slowly. Fiona looked mesmerized.

Seeing Ian, Mike looked embarrassed and tried to explain, "I was trying to find something that might distract her, but she just seems to like to see things moving around."

Smiling, Ian went and picked her up. "She's not attached to any toys or anything like that yet. She likes contrast and things that move. So you hit on just the right thing."

"I got lucky. You're the one who really knows her. And look at how she's smiling at you," Mike said and he looked sad for some reason.

"She'll smile at you too," Ian told him. He took Fiona closer, and as soon as he was close enough for her baby eyes to be able to focus on him, she smiled her perfect, beaming smile at Mike. Now Mike had to wipe tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Ian said though he didn't know how he did it.

"You didn't. I'm happy. But there's something I have to tell you."

Chapter 6

Mike had been feeling gloomy about his job prospects, nursing a beer at Mimi's Bar, where he'd known some good times. He had gone out of town searching for work but the job he was promised fell through.

Then the bartender told him about a girl Mike had met there some months back and had some fun with. The bartender said that she had died right after giving birth to a baby.

Mike flashed back to the night they spent together. She mentioned how she had lost her dad. That made her sad and she drank some more until she was happy and ready to climb all over Mike in a motel room nearby. Mike didn't know how it happened, but they skipped the condom. He got worried about that, but she only laughed.

She was so hot and carefree, she made him forget his troubles for a while. It was hard to think that Eve was dead, and it made him incredibly sad. But after hearing about her having a baby, Mike couldn't stop wondering if the kid might be his. He had to know.

Finding out Eve's last name led him to the house on Green Road, but what was he supposed to do next? He stared at the one story, white house with coffee brown trim. A baby that might be his could be just beyond the dark green front door.

Seeing the Room for Rent sign in front of Betty's house was like a lifeline. The house was right next door to the Dalton house. Mike took it as a sign that this was where he was supposed to be.

He still didn't have a job though. Betty needed some help with a few repairs around the house, and Mike proved he had some useful skills. Betty gave his number to her friends. He got the old, beat up truck. He had a way to earn a living, but not much else to show for himself.

Betty told him about a few of the neighbors, and that included Eve, how she died and left behind a little baby girl, and about Ian, the baby's uncle, who was taking care of her. Living next door, Mike barely got a glimpse of Ian and the baby. Ian was lanky with wavy, dark blond hair. The baby had dark hair and blue eyes, just like Mike. That wasn't proof of anything, but...

Then Betty gave his business card to Ian. Before that, Mike had debated going up to the door and doing the same thing, introducing himself, letting Ian know he would give him a neighborly discount on any work he needed to be done. He never quite got up the courage.

Then he found himself in Ian's house, painting the baby's room, telling Ian that he wanted to babysit, watching the baby smile at him. It was too much and he knew it was past time for the truth.

Setting Fiona back in her rocker, Ian was waiting for what Mike needed to say. As Ian frowned at him, Mike realized he couldn't remember any of the speeches he had thought up. He just blurted it out. "I might be Fiona's father."

Ian looked from him to Fiona, saw her blue eyes and dark hair. "How?" Ian said then shook his head and raised his hand to stop Mike in case he was going to answer. The how was obvious. "How well did you know Eve? And why did you lie to me?" Ian asked, his voice and his expression showing pain and betrayal.

"It was just a one night stand, but I'd seen her at the bar before. I heard from the bartender that she died. And about the baby. I didn't know if she was mine."

In a sharp voice, Ian reminded him of his second question. "And why did you lie?"

Mike hung his head and furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry about that. I just don't have much to offer. You know where I live. What I drive. I never know how much money I'll have coming in. I'm sorry I didn't come clean about this. Really sorry."

"Are you going to try to take her away from me?" Ian asked and Mike looked up and saw the fear and anguish on his face.

"I don't even know if she's mine," Mike told him. "And what would I do with her? I don't know what might happen, but... I..."

Since Mike didn't know what to say to such a hard question, Ian cut him off. "First things first, we find out if you're the father. Can you arrange for testing?"

"I already looked into it. There's a place that's not too far. We can go there." Mike got out his phone and showed Ian the information.

As he was frowning at his phone, Ian kept his distance. Then Fiona started crying again, and Ian picked her up fast and held her like he was afraid she would get snatched away from him.

"That's why you wanted to babysit," Ian realized.

"It was just an impulse. I don't know how to take care of a baby," Mike admitted. "I've been reading about it and watching videos, but I know that's not the same thing."

"And doing all this work, painting her room...?" Ian said accusingly.

"I just wanted to do something for the baby. I'd want to paint the room even if she wasn't mine. It was something Eve wanted to do for her. It's... It's important." But seeing the constant frown on Ian's face, Mike had to wonder, "Are you going to let me keep painting the room?"

Ian sighed. "The room? I'll have to think about it. We'll start with the paternity test. I can't think beyond that." He was still holding onto Fiona like he was never going to let go of her again.

She didn't seem to mind though. She was resting her head on Ian's shoulder, a perfectly content and happy baby whose possible dad was turning her little life upside down.

Mike left Ian's house feeling wretched. He couldn't have handled that worse. Why didn't he come clean sooner? Why didn't he just go up to Ian and tell him who he was or might be?

He screwed everything up. He scared Ian, made the man distrust him. He might not let him near Fiona even if she turned out to be his.

Ian did take good care of her though. That was good. If she only had Mike to depend on... He knew what that would be like. It would be like his own messed up childhood all over again, always wondering where he would be living, who was going to be taking care of him, if his father was ever coming back. He didn't want that for her.

Chapter 7

It shouldn't have been shocking news to Ian. Of course Fiona had a father somewhere out there. Or as it turned out, maybe next door. Ian had let himself believe that the father would never turn up, never even find out he had a child, never try to take Fiona away from him.

Then Mike was telling him he might be the father, and Ian felt like the ground was opening up under his feet. Mike was so worked up trying to explain himself, making his apologies. Ian could almost understand his reasoning, especially when he saw the pain and conflict written in his blue eyes.

After Mike left, Ian sat down on the couch in the living room with Fiona and just held her. She liked that, but Ian just wasn't able to set her down right now. Stunned and scared, he couldn't move or think.

Eventually, he had to. He couldn't ignore his work any more. He also called a friend of his, Neil, who was getting his law degree. He hadn't talked to him much recently because Neil didn't like talking about babies and Ian always ended up talking about Fiona. But Neil did give him some free legal advice and a name of a lawyer. If Mike turned out to be Fiona's father, Ian didn't want to keep Fiona from him, but he also didn't want to lose her.

All this time Ian had only been thinking about Mike as the hot handyman next door. To find out that he might be Fiona's father was like a punch to the gut. Some of his feelings were purely selfish. If he was her father, he might take Fiona away. But if she was his, Ian had no right to keep them apart.

There was another issue though. Now he wondered if Mike knew he was gay. Would that make him want to take Fiona away?

Of course they still didn't know if he was the father. Everything was up in the air.

Later that day Mike contacted him about paternity testing. He wanted to go in together. In his text, he assured Ian, "It's just a cheek swab, no needles. If they had to poke poor Fiona with a needle, I don't even know if I could do it."

Even in his texts, Mike seemed anxious and also like he really cared about Fiona. Ian kind of wanted to hate him, but he couldn't. He also didn't have the heart to tell him that they should go in separately.

When the time came, they met up at a clinic where they would take the swabs. Mike looked as anxious as he sounded in his texts. Then Fiona started crying when they swabbed the inside of her cheek, and Mike looked heartbroken. "I can't believe I'm putting her through this."

"Did it hurt when they did you?" Ian asked him since he had insisted on going first.

"No, but she's so little."

"It's still just a cheek swab. It didn't hurt her either," Ian told him. "That was more like an 'I don't like this' cry and not one that tells you she's in pain."

"OK. That's the kind of stuff I don't know," Mike said, and Ian could tell how worried he was about his inexperience with babies.

"I never took care of a baby before Fiona. You just learn things as you go," Ian said because he couldn't help wanting to make him feel better, but if Mike was more confident about his ability to take care of Fiona, he would be more eager to take her away.

"I can tell you're worried," Mike said. "Bet you didn't sleep a wink since I told you. I haven't either."

"Well, in a few days we'll know if you're the father," Ian said though he was dreading it. Mike nodded and looked kind of gloomy. "Do you want to be the father?" Ian asked him.

"I do, but what kind of father would I be? Fiona deserves better," Mike said.

"I don't know about that." Ian was thinking how he wanted the test to show Mike wasn't the father. But at the same time, he knew that it could be worse, a lot worse even. Mike seemed like a good person, just insecure about being a dad and taking care of Fiona and about his finances. If he turned out not to be the father, and some other guy came along who was, he might not be such a nice guy. He might even be a terrible person. Ian should be wishing that Mike was Fiona's dad, but he was just too afraid of losing her.

"You know I wanted to be here to make sure Fiona was OK with whatever they needed to do for the test, but that wasn't the only reason. I wanted to see her too," Mike admitted.

Ian didn't blame him, but he was on edge. While they were waiting to be given paperwork and told they could go, Ian was holding Fiona and pacing with her. "She's a funny baby, she likes you pacing with her," Mike said.

"Is it bothering you?" Ian asked though he wasn't sure he could stop.

"Nah. I'd be doing it too, I just don't want to get in the way," Mike said with a small, lopsided smile. It was like he was afraid to smile more than that. Then his brow furrowed and he stared at the floor. He was standing still, arms folded so his muscles bulged, but he was tense, scared.

"We won't find out anything today," Ian reminded him.

"Right. I'm gonna go nuts waiting," Mike said.

"Do you have work to keep you occupied?" Ian asked.

"Yeah. I'll be pretty busy, so that's good I guess." Mike frowned at Ian. "Do you think, umm, if I texted you, we could arrange a time for you to bring Fiona out just in your front yard so I could see her. Not seeing her for too long is really hard."

"I can do that," Ian said after thinking about it for a minute. It wasn't a lot to ask. Mike still hadn't asked to hold her. He was probably waiting to find out if he was actually the father before he did that. And once he was holding her, he might never want to let her go.

Chapter 8

Instead of sleeping, Ian spent half the night sitting next to Fiona's crib watching her sleep. Her sweet, peaceful face was a soothing sight, but not when he started to think about losing her.

Day and night, Ian was wound so tight waiting for the results of the paternity test. While he was working, he got a text from Mike, and it took him several minutes to understand that the text wasn't about the results of the paternity test. Then it took a little while for his hands to stop shaking and for his vision to clear.

Mike was asking if Ian had time to bring Fiona out into the front yard today. "I won't get too close. I'll stay on the other side of the fence. I'd really just like to see her."

He was being so reasonable, Ian could hardly say no. Since it was mid morning, he asked Mike if he had time to come by around noon when Ian was going to take a break anyway.

"I'll be there," Mike texted.

A little while later, Ian had Fiona's bucket hat on her head and she was ready. Through the front window, Ian saw that Mike arrived early and didn't want to make him wait. He went out with Fiona into the front yard almost like they were just going out to enjoy the nice day. Fiona babbled a little and opened and closed her little fists like she wanted to catch the sunshine.

Seeing her, Mike smiled in a heartbreaking way, but stayed on the sidewalk, well back from their yard. Sighing, Ian went out through the gate and met up with him. "We can walk around the neighborhood if you want. Fiona already had her bottle so we have a little time."

"Did you have lunch?" Mike asked.

"I'm not really into eating right now," Ian told him.

"I knew it," Mike said. "I just can't eat or do much of anything until I know. All I can manage is to do my work and that's it."

"You have to eat," Ian told him. "You have a physical job. I just sit at a desk." He sat at his desk in Fiona's unfinished room, sometimes drawing Eve's design on the walls, wondering if he would be able to paint it himself. Scared that there would be no point to it because Fiona would be with her dad.

"Let's go this way," Ian decided and turned to go toward the street with shops. "You can get something to eat."

"I..." Mike started to say, but then stopped himself like he didn't want to argue with Ian. Once they reached the shops, Mike didn't want anything fancy. He went into the deli that was inside the convenience store and got a premade sandwich. "I'll eat it later."

"Say it to Fiona," Ian told him.

"What?"

"Promise Fiona that you'll eat the sandwich later."

At first, Mike looked at him like he wasn't sure if he was serious, but then he turned to Fiona and promised to eat the sandwich. She made a noise almost like she was saying she accepted his promise. "She'll hold me to it, I guess," Mike said with a smile but then he took a shaky breath. He looked like someone who had a weight on his heart and couldn't stay cheerful for more than a minute.

"Neither one of us is handling the uncertainty too well," Ian said.

"If she isn't mine, it will be a relief to you, but to me..." Mike shook his head and his expression turned pained.

"It won't be a relief to me," Ian told him but didn't explain. Mike understood though.

"If it's not me, then Fiona's father would still be out there, and you'd never know when he might pop up out of nowhere."

"Right. But I also think you wouldn't make the worst dad in the world," Ian said then realized how that sounded. "I know that's not high praise."

Mike smiled. "Not the worst is the best I can hope for right now. If Fiona turns out to be mine, I'll try to improve on that."