Booby Trapped and Baby Proofed Read online

It was their first real argument. She didn’t plan to lose this one. “Yes, I want to, and I’ll be at the day care too. Think of it as having a nanny.”

  “Um hmm,” he said. “A child needs a mother during the first year of his life.”

  Olivia died and someone had to raise Ethan for the first year of his life, and now old wounds were starting to surface for Harrison. “I will be there to see to my child. But I also have a responsibility to my business, the teachers, and to the students. I could stay home on my ass and let someone run the place while I rake in the money. But that never ends well. The only person you can trust to run your business is yourself, and if things go bad, you can only blame yourself.”

  Harrison wrapped his arm over her waist and tugged her close to him. “I understand, but just remember, you can stay home if it all gets too tiresome. In a couple of years, I plan to open another dojo and we really aren’t hurting for money.”

  He had this macho husband thing worked out in his head. Apparently, he’d never had to stay home and raise a baby. She loved kids, but she loved her independence. Angel closed her eyes. The honeymoon felt like it had ended before it began.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, dear Ethan. Happy Birthday to you.”

  Ethan had finally turned three and Angel had started to show signs of pregnancy.

  Ethan looked down at the SpongeBob cake and smiled, but refused to eat it or any of the ice cream. His school mates weren’t as picky. Ethan stuck to his new favorite food—tuna fish sandwiches—Angel had prepared for him, cheese squares, fruits, and vegetables. His friends devoured slices of pepperoni pizza.

  Harrison captured almost the entire event on video, making sure he took shots of Angel’s pregnant form to show their future baby.

  “She’s glowing,” Trudy said, coming over to talk to him. She sat down because at seven months pregnant, she looked like her legs couldn’t hold the weight long.

  Harrison nodded. “Pregnancy is finally agreeing with her.”

  Angel cleaned up Ethan and was busy playing a birthday game with him and the other kids.

  “Olivia would be proud of your choice. Angel is an excellent mother to Ethan, and I can tell she loves him.”

  “Can I ask you a question?

  Trudy nodded.

  “Do you still plan to return to work after your baby is born?”

  “Yes, right after my six week check up. I’ve already made arrangements for him to go to Angel’s day care.”

  “Angel plans to return to work too.”

  “But you don’t want her to,” Trudy said.

  “No, I would like for her to stay home with the baby.

  “Why?” Trudy asked.

  “I’m not trying to be selfish, but she needs to rest. Angel does a lot for everyone and nothing for herself.”

  “Technically, she will be with the baby, but someone else will be responsible for changing diapers for eight hours while she supervises them. It will give her rest. Childbirth isn’t easy and it’s a lifetime commitment. Daddies may cut the apron strings when the child is eighteen or twenty-one, but a mother will always be the child’s mother.”

  “I think I understand what you’re trying to say, and I’m glad you’ve chosen her day care. Our kids will grow up together and they’ll have Ethan to protect and watch out over them.”

  ****

  “He looks so cute in his outfit,” Angel told Harrison as she dropped Ethan off for karate practice a week later.

  Harrison had been teaching Ethan at home so he could catch up with the other students in class, and he had to agree with his wife that their son did look cute.

  Ethan gave Angel a hug and she waved goodbye and left to go home to prepare dinner.

  The rest of the kids welcomed him. Before the evening was over, Ethan had met some new friends and actually seemed excited with his lessons. A week later, Roy and Tony’s parents enrolled them into the class. A month later, Harrison had to add another day to his schedule after thirty three-year-olds were signed up for self defense.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Fall had arrived and most of the tourists left Daytona Beach. Angela finally made a decision to buy some maternity clothes when she could no longer zip her jeans or fit comfortably in her suits.

  Ethan had already noticed the change and had taken to resting his head against her stomach when he grew tired.

  “You think he knows?” Harrison asked, lifting the sleeping tot off Angel.

  “Maybe, or he’s noticing that Mama’s getting fat.”

  “You are not fat,” Harrison said as he carried Ethan out of the den and took him up to his room. After putting him into his pajamas, Harrison tucked Ethan into his bed and pulled the covers up to his chin.

  Angel wasn’t in the den where he left her. He found her in the kitchen digging around in the refrigerator.

  “What are you doing, darling?”

  She jumped, obviously startled. “I’m looking for ice cream.”

  Harrison leaned against the counter. “You ate the last of the ice cream a couple of days ago.”

  “Darn. I feel like eating some,” She said with a pout.

  “What kind?”

  “Rocky Road.”

  “I’ll go to the store,” Harrison volunteered. “Anything else?”

  “Ginger snap cookies and sardines.”

  He grimaced. “Do you need any pickles to go with that?”

  “No, don’t be silly,” she snapped. “That’s gross.”

  Harrison raised an eyebrow, but did not reply. He just saluted her and grabbed his jacket on the way out of the door.

  The weatherman had forecasted a cold Halloween. It was cold already. He got into his car, put on the heater, and drove straight to the grocery store. He ran into Everett and the two of them stopped to chit-chat. Harrison gazed into the other man’s basket and smirked. Tampons, cookie mix, cereal, milk, and a couple packs of meat.

  “Do you always do the shopping?” Harrison asked, pointing to the sanitary product in his basket.

  Everett nodded. “It doesn’t bother me because I’ve been doing it for so long. Carrie has cramps and has taken to her bed. I volunteered to go so she’d stop bitching at me.” He gazed down in Harrison’s basket. “Are you planning a party?”

  “Nope, it’s all for Angel.”

  Everett smirked, amused. “The sardine and the beer too?”

  “No, the beer is for me. Pregnant women also have a level of bitchiness they don’t display when you’re dating them. She’s eating everything in sight and she’s putting on a lot of weight. Then she complains about her clothes not fitting her and tells me it’s my fault.”

  “How come you have the fixings for banana splits too?”

  “Angel likes banana splits, even though she only sent me for Rocky Road ice cream. I picked it up because it’s cold out and I’m not coming back to this store tonight if she changes her mind, and she will.”

  “What are the sardines for?”

  Harrison shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “Carrie craved chocolate cupcakes when she was pregnant with Tyrone. And before you ask, yeah, she gained a lot of weight and I caught hell for every ounce of it.” He patted Harrison on this shoulder. “Welcome to expectant father hell. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

  “Thanks,” Harrison said, not the least bit comforted.

  “Wait until she can’t tie her shoes or she can’t get herself in and out of the tub. She’ll blame you for that too.”

  They walked to the checkouts together, paid for their purchases, and then stepped outside the store to continue talking.

  “What are you guys planning for Halloween?” Everett asked.

  “I haven’t given it much thought since Ethan doesn’t eat sweets.”

  “We’re entertaining the idea of throwing Tyrone a Halloween party,” Everett said.

  “I have a great idea. Let’s give something a
t the dojo. We can decorate the place and invite the kids from the day care and the martial arts classes. The kids will have fun dressing up in costumes and it will be safer than letting them go from house to house.”

  “That sounds like a splendid idea. We can get the parents to donate candy and baked goods, and we can supply the other food.”

  They sounded like two excited kids.

  “I’ll ask Angel to arrange games for the kids. She’s real good at that,” Harrison said. “Then she’ll have something to take her mind off food and bitching at me.” He sighed. “I want my perfect Angel back.”

  “You might as well kiss that fantasy goodbye.”

  “I’ll talk to Bill and Frank and see if they want to put on a demonstration, and I’ll get Angel to work on the invitations and decorations.”

  “Are you sure Angel will be up to it?” Everett asked.

  “She’s still getting around pretty well. I would ask Trudy to help out, but she’s still recuperating from giving birth to an eight pound baby a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Has Ethan seen his new cousin yet?”

  Harrison shook his head. “Not yet. Angel and I have seen her. She looks just like Jeb. But we’ve decided to wait until the baby is a little older. I think we’re all getting together for Thanksgiving.”

  “You better get the ice cream home before it melts,” Everett said. “I bet Angel already has an APB out on you.”

  Harrison loaded the bags into his car. “See you in class.”

  Everett bowed to him and went off to find his car.

  Angel was in the kitchen waiting for him and snacking on a bag of salted pretzels. “What took you so long?” she asked.

  “I ran into Everett at the grocery. We’re planning a Halloween party for the kids at the dojo.”

  “Oh, procrastination.” She rummaged through the bags. She already had a bowl ready and began spooning the ice cream into it. Angel arranged the ginger snap cookies neatly around the ice cream and then topped it off with the sardines.

  Harrison put away the rest of the groceries without commenting. About an hour later, he held Angel’s braids as her stomach rejected the odd combination of food.

  “Ah,” she groaned after she’d brushed her teeth and gargled. “Maybe I should have stuck to plain vanilla ice cream.”

  Harrison smirked. She’d eaten pretzels, sardines, ice cream, and God knows what else before he came home from the grocery. “Yeah, vanilla is always a safe bet.” He led her out of the bathroom and tucked her into the bed with a cold compress for her forehead. Her stomach moved around. Harrison stared. “The baby just moved.”

  “Yeah,” Angel said, still a bit out of it.

  “How long has she been moving around?”

  “About a month or two,” Angel said, like it wasn’t a big deal. “First it was just a little fluttering. Now the baby does aerobics under my ribs.”

  Harrison sat down on the side of the bed and waited for the baby to move again. His patience paid off several minutes later. He placed his hand on Angel’s stomach and felt his future child moving around in her womb. “She’s going to be a soccer player.”

  “Or the first female kicker in the NFL,” Angel said. The baby moved again and Angel groaned. “Maybe the sardines weren’t a good idea.”

  “You think?” Harrison asked sarcastically.

  “Sounded like a pretty good idea at the time.”

  “You need to lay off the salted pretzels too. You have a history of Hypertension in your family.”

  “Yes, Dr. Calloway.”

  “I’ll get you the unsalted kind. From now on you have to watch what you eat. You don’t want to try and deliver a ten pound baby.”

  “No,” Angel said with a groan.

  Two days later, he discovered she’d fallen off the wagon again when he had to get pretzel crumbs out their bed. The tell-tale bag of salted snacks was in the trash. She didn’t even try to hide it.

  Harrison entertained the idea of booby-trapping the refrigerator with an alarm system to let him know whenever she opened it. But that would just piss her off and she’d stop cooking for him. Or perhaps he could lock up the snack cabinet so she couldn’t get too it. Angel would probably be mad at him for taking such drastic action, but it was for her own good. He knew she hadn’t been a snacker before she became pregnant, so he had to just try to curb her cravings or suggest healthier replacements for the junk food and the salt.

  He went grocery shopping the next day and returned with low fat, sugar free snacks, yogurt, fresh fruit, and sugar free ice cream. He also selected snack-sized pre-cut vegetables for her and Ethan. Once he got home, he got rid of the unhealthy snacks and replaced them with healthier selections.

  Angel came through the door eating French fries from a fast food restaurant and carrying a bag of desserts from a bakery. He knew she’d had a doctor’s appointment today and there was no way he’d told her that she could still have French fries.

  “Whatcha got in the bag, babe?” he asked after receiving a greasy, salty kiss from her.

  “Brownies,” Angel answered. “I passed the bakery and just couldn’t resist.”

  “Angel, darling. Don’t you think you’ve been overdoing it with the snacking?”

  Angel rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t have me hurt you, Harrison,” she said to him. She walked past him with her fries and brownies with the three-year-old escape artist in tow carrying a bag of healthy apple chips. At least she couldn’t get Ethan to eat junk with her.

  He’d dealt with insubordinate troops before, so he figured he could handle one woman. Especially one who only reached his chest. “It’s not good for you, darling,” he said as he helped Ethan out of his coat. He encountered more insubordination from the other troop because he didn’t want to give up the apple chips so that Harrison could get his arms out of the sleeves.

  “No, Daddy,” Ethan said. “I’m eating.”

  “You tell him, kid,” Angel said, finishing up the fries and putting the brownies on the counter. She opened the cabinet. “Where are the chips?”

  “Gone,” Harrison said. “You are on a diet from this moment on. You’re not going to blame me if your ass spreads as wide as Florida or you get toxemia. You need to eat healthier. French fries aren’t a wise choice.”

  She gave him a sideways glance. “It’s for the baby.”

  “Don’t even try it,” Harrison told her. “I’ll give the baby plenty of nourishment later, if that’s the case.”

  Angel just smirked and rolled her eyes at him. “I better get dinner started, if it’s okay with you.”

  “Come on,” Harrison told Ethan. “Let’s go watch television before Mama pitches something at Daddy.”

  “Smart decision,” Angel said.

  Ethan grabbed his hand and followed him out of the room.

  ****

  Angel pouted as she prepared dinner. Harrison had thrown away all her favorite snacks and was treating her like a child. Who did he think he is? She hadn’t gained that much weight. Angel looked down at her swollen ankles and groaned. Damn him. Well, maybe she should stay away from the salt. After losing her father to Hypertension and a stroke, she didn’t want to take a chance with her life and the life of her unborn child.

  “Are you still angry at me?” Harrison asked, entering the kitchen.

  “No,” she said. “You’re right. If I gain too much weight, it’s just going to be harder for me to take it off later.”

  He wrapped his arms around her stomach and kissed her. “I’m worried about your health. You’ve got two more months to go and I want to make sure we’re all around to celebrate our first Christmas together.”

  “I know,” she said. “I’ll try to be good and ignore the cravings.”

  “You don’t have to ignore them, just make wise choices. Chose celery or plain popcorn instead of chocolate and chips. And stay away from sardines.”

  Angel chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about that. I do remember bending over th
e toilet bowl most of the night after eating that crap.”

  “So what’s for dinner?” Harrison asked.

  “Baked chicken, sweet potatoes, and green beans.”

  “Sounds good.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Little Sweet Pea will appreciate the effort.”

  Little Sweat Pea moved under her ribcage. “She’s always so active when you’re around,” Angel told him. “Maybe it’s the deep, authoritative male voice.”

  “Maybe it’s because she knows she’s Daddy’s little girl.”

  “I want to eat, my Angel.”

  “Right on cue,” Harrison said as Ethan entered the room with Bunny.

  Harrison had left Ethan in the den with Bunny watching television, but apparently, he smelled the food. Harrison put Ethan into the high chair.

  “Dinner is almost ready, sweetie,” Angel told him. She noticed that Ethan had started outgrowing the high chair, and thought maybe it was time to buy him a booster seat. “Would you like Angel to buy you a booster seat tomorrow?” she asked the child. “You can let the baby use the high chair.”

  “No,” Ethan said.

  Angel raised an eyebrow. Funny, he’d never said no to her before.

  Harrison smirked at her. “Houston, we have a problem.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t understand what I’m telling him,” Angel said to Harrison.

  “He does,” Harrison assured her. “He just pretends he doesn’t at times.”

  Angel rolled her eyes at Harrison and then turned her attention back to Ethan. “Don’t you want a big boy chair?”

  “No,” Ethan said. He hugged the tray. “Mine.”

  “Oh lord,” Angel said. “He’s going through the mine stage. It comes right after the terrible twos.” She looked down at Ethan. “You’re going to have to learn how to share with your new brother or sister.”

  “No,” Ethan said. “My Angel.”

  Harrison laughed.

  “Help me, Harrison,” she said.

  “What do you want me to do? He still wipes my kisses off you.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never had to deal with anything other than his admiration.”