The Nurse's Newborn Gift by Wendy S. Marcus

home.
    â€œCall me,” Kira said again. “When you call, I’ll come. I want to.”
    â€œThank you. Here.” Something jingled. “Take my keys. The car seat is in a box in the trunk.”
    Number one on Spencer’s list, because he hadn’t seen a car seat in her car or her apartment. Yeah, he’d checked. Jarrod would have wanted him to.
    â€œDo you think Derrick will have time to install it tonight?”
    Spencer had time.
    â€œOf course,” Kira said. “We’ll go over when we leave the hospital and I’ll drive your car here tomorrow. What else do you need?”
    â€œPads to put in my bra so my breasts don’t leak all over.”
    Spencer tried to scrub that image from his brain.
    â€œLet me write that down,” Kira said.
    â€œYou and your lists,” Krissy teased.
    What was wrong with lists? Spencer loved lists. Speaking of which, he mentally checked off the things he’d wanted to ask Krissy that she’d already answered.
    â€œYou have a diaper pail? A baby bath?”
    â€œNo and no.”
    â€œWhat?” Kira asked, with the same amount of disbelief Spencer would have used had he been the one asking.
    â€œIf taking the garbage out every day doesn’t work, I’ll get a diaper pail,” Krissy said calmly. “And for now I plan to bathe J.J. in the sink. If that doesn’t work, I’ll get a baby bathtub. Don’t worry. I got this.”
    At least she’d thought it all out.
    â€œYou’re good with baby clothes and supplies?” Kira asked.
    â€œStop,” Krissy said. “A few friends had a little baby shower for me before I left Hawaii. I have what I need for now. As things come up, I’ll run to the store.”
    Not how Spencer would have done it, but he was a planner, liked to have everything available just in case. One of the reasons he was so good at his job.
    Krissy was more of a ‘deal with it when you have to’ kind of person.
    As much as Spencer struggled with the idea of not being prepared for every possible situation, it was Krissy’s life, not his. For now, she seemed to have everything under control. He wasn’t needed. He wasn’t the baby’s father, wasn’t family, or a boyfriend, had no reason to still be there. Krissy needed to rest. So he set the flowers, the “It’s a Boy” balloon, and the package of chocolates he’d picked up for her at the gift shop, down on the floor, and left the room.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    T WO WEEKS LATER , Krissy stood in the doorway to her kitchen watching Kira go through the bags she’d lugged in and set on the table. She took out a quart of milk and put it in the refrigerator.
    â€œI told you the last time you brought me milk that I don’t drink milk.”
    â€œBreastfeeding women need to drink milk.”
    â€œNo. They don’t.”
    â€œWell, at least I know you have it available if you want it.”
    She wouldn’t want it. She didn’t like it.
    Next Kira put a package of Swiss cheese in the refrigerator.
    Krissy preferred American cheese, when she ate cheese, which wasn’t often. “I don’t like you wasting money on food I won’t eat and things I don’t need.”
    Kira held up a bag of salad and a bottle of light balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
    â€œOkay. Fine. Yes,” Krissy admitted, even though she didn’t want to do anything to encourage her. “I like salad and that’s my favorite dressing.”
    Looking as if she’d triumphed in battle, Kira dug into the next bag. “Look at this adorable pacifier.” She held it up. “It has a baseball on the end.”
    â€œI told you I don’t believe in pacifiers.”
    â€œIt helps babies calm themselves down.”
    â€œSo does sucking their thumb.” Or in J.J.’s case, his knuckles.
    Krissy struggled to generate more patience as Kira pulled out the next item, a plastic