Her Fifth Husband? by Dixie Browning Page A

and the baby waited, she smiled, thinking about how much fun it was going to be, unloading the booty and setting upa nursery. “Thank you so much,” she said to the middle-aged employee who had been an enormous help. She plucked a bill from her purse and shoved it into the woman’s red apron pocket.
    â€œOh, now, you don’t have to do that—I’m just glad I could help out.”
    Sasha, never reticent, had told the woman the whole story when she’d asked for her assistance, leaving out only the names. When Jake, who’d been standing beside the open back door, turned to meet them, the clerk flashed Sasha a broad smile and whispered, “Lawsa-mercy, he don’t look like a grandfather to me!”
    Ignoring the departing clerk, Jake stared at the two overloaded shopping carts. Before he could say a word, Sasha rushed into speech. “We’ll need to get a few more things later on. I got us the same kind of formula Cheryl was using, and a complete layette with lots and lots of diapers—oh, and this funky little chest to keep everything in. And a bathtub. Later on we’ll need a table for bathing and changing unless you already have something, but the only one they had was too rickety. The bassinet came in two colors and white. I got white so it would go with whatever color you paint the nursery. They had a larger one, but since she’ll be graduating to a crib pretty soon anyway, I thought…”
    Jake blinked as if he suspected the two overloaded shopping carts were a mirage that had magically appeared in the middle of the parking lot. “Really,” Sasha hurried to reassure him, “it’s not as much as it looks—you know how they over-package everything. And I kept the receipts so we can return anything that doesn’t work out.”
    For so long she’d dreamed of having a baby of her own, but that was before fate and her own bad taste in husbands had laid the dream to rest. Now, even with the perfect mate, her chances of conceiving were less than the odds of the Cubs winning the World Series again.
    But even a patched-up dream with some of the parts missing was better than no dream at all, she told herself.
    There was still the question of her car. Driftwinds cottage was just a few miles away, but when Jake mentioned it she told him to forget it. “You need me to help you get settled,” Sasha said flatly, climbing into the back seat. “Did she wake up? Did you get too hot in here, sugar? Oh—that’s probably why you left the back door open, isn’t it?”
    Jake growled something she couldn’t quite catch, and she thought, Ah-ha! Caught you! You left it open just to look at her, to admire her—to gloat, because she’s yours now, didn’t you?
    Aloud, she said, “She might be hungry—she’s probably wet, too. I don’t remember if I got any diaper-rash ointment or not, but we can stop by the nearest drugstore.”
    â€œSasha, you don’t have to come with me—with us. You’ve already done more than enough.”
    â€œOh, hush up, whether or not you want to admit it, I’m already part of this whole baby deal. My name’s on her adoption papers, remember?”
    Jake raked his hand through his hair, looking distracted, worried, and incredibly sexy. Without giving him time to marshal his thoughts, she said, “Look, I’ll just help you get everything set up and then I’ll call a cab to bring me back to Kitty Hawk to pick up my car.”
    She knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Jake probably did, too, but to her relief, he didn’t argue. Poor man, he was so far out of his element he was putty in her hands.
    Don’t I wish, she thought longingly.
    While she was shopping she’d bought herself an inexpensive tank top that was really rather nice, and changed into it in the ladies’ room. Maybe she should shop the discount stores more often. Her