A Baby for Easter by Noelle Adams Read Free Book Online

her, with Micah pretending to help
but mostly getting in the way. Then they wrapped her in a towel, and Alice
said, “I’ll just go put her down. I made some stew earlier and there’s plenty
left over, if you’re hungry. I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten or not.”
    “I haven’t had anything. But you didn’t have to make
anything for me.”
    She shrugged. The truth was she’d made enough for Micah on
purpose, but she didn’t want to admit it, for fear he might misinterpret. “It’s
hard to just cook for one person. Just help yourself.”
    “Thanks.”
    “And there’s some bread there too,” Alice added, carrying
Cara into the second bedroom which Micah had set up for the baby.
    The room had been empty before, since Micah owned very
little furniture, only things that could be easily moved from place to place.
Now it had the portable crib/playard, a lightweight changing table, and a chair.
    Alice put her in a clean diaper and some pink pajamas. Then
turned on music and sat on the chair to rock her for a few minutes, in the
hopes that she’d go to sleep without fussing.
    She cuddled the soft little body against her and talked to
her soothingly about how it was time to go to sleep. Cara blinked up at her and
babbled a little, and Alice found herself smiling like a dope.
    Cara really was a sweet little thing. She couldn’t imagine
how anyone wouldn’t want her.
    After a few minutes, Cara started getting sleepy and nestled
against her. Alice kept rocking her, but she definitely understood why most
nurseries had a rocker in them. As small as the baby was, it was rather tiring
to keep manually rocking her for several minutes.
    When Cara seemed to be asleep, Alice stood up. And almost
jerked when she realized that Micah was in the doorway, holding a bowl of what
must be stew.
    He was just standing there, gazing at her, his face utterly
sober.
    “She’s asleep,” Alice whispered, telling herself not to feel
uncomfortable, as if she’d been caught doing something secret.
    All she’d been doing was getting Cara to bed, exactly as she
was supposed to do.
    She laid her down in the crib and then left the room, with
the door partly open, the music still playing.
    She shook out her arms as she walked with Micah into the
kitchen.
    “That recliner in the living room rocks. You can use that if
you want.” He must have noticed that her arms were tired.
    “Oh. I didn’t think about that. Thanks.”
    “This is really good,” he said, eating a spoonful as they
walked.
    “Thanks. It’s my mom’s recipe. You just dump a bunch of
things in the pot.” She didn’t know why she felt compelled to explain how easy
it was. She could have let Micah believe it was a complex, difficult recipe and
she was a master cook.
    He put his bowl on the kitchen counter and reached into the
refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of beer and offered it to her.
    She hesitated only briefly before she accepted it. She
normally left to go to her apartment when Cara was in bed and Micah was home,
but maybe he wanted to talk over some things.
    He got a beer for himself and cut some bread from the loaf
on the counter, and then carried his meal into the living room.
    She followed and sat beside him on the couch, since he
clearly expected her to.
    “How was everything?” she asked, when he didn’t say anything
immediately.
    She knew he was an easy talker, so it seemed strange he was
so often quiet around her.
    When he looked at her questioningly, she added, “With your
jobs or projects or whatever. Your crew was doing fine this week?”
    “Oh. Yeah. Everything was fine.” He seemed to be focusing on
his stew, which was quickly disappearing.
    “Good.”
    They drifted into silence again, and Alice was starting to
feel a little annoyed. He was the one who’d acted like he had something to say
to her, and now she was stuck sitting awkwardly beside him, feeling like he
didn’t want her there.
    She sipped her beer and tried again, “Cara did well