Starting Over

Chapter 3

"Adam...hi" Ann said as she popped the trunk and started to unload the groceries, Adam was leaning over his truck, his head snapped up and he moved to the driveway.

"Let me help" he told her taking the bags from her, "head inside, I got this"

Ann did as she was told, stopping to grab her purse from the front seat.

"Kimmy, how are you?" Ann kissed her quickly on the cheek, "are you hungry?"

Kim twisted the cup of herbal tea in her hands, "No.."

Ann glanced into the kitchen, making sure Adam wasn't within earshot, "Why is Adam here?"

"He put the baby's furniture together for me" she replied, "it's beautiful"

She rubbed her daughter's back, "I bet it is, baby..you need to eat. I'm going to start dinner" she headed to the kitchen and began emptying the grocery bags already in the house.

She grabbed the pasta, and quickly started working.

"Last one"'Adam announced as he set the bag on the counter.

"Thank you Adam" Ann lightly touched his arm, "for this..and putting the furniture together for Kim"

Adam leaned back against the counter, "You don't have to thank me, Mrs.Burgess. I know how you feel and Deanna feel about me, but I've never stopped loving Kim. I screwed up a long the way somewhere and I never should have let her go. All I wanted was for her to be happy...Sean did that better than I could"

"Adam..it's not always as it seems" she said softly, "please call me Ann..and you know what?"

"What?" Adam asked.

"I think you should stay for dinner, you've got to be hungry after fighting with that crib" she could remember clear as day her husband Jonathan struggling to put the girls cribs together.

Adam chuckled, "Fighting...that's a good way to describe it" he jammed his hands in his pockets, "I don't know..."

"You're staying Adam"

Adam had spent the last thirty minutes sitting in silence in the living room, Kim was on one couch he was on the other, she was in a pair of leggings and one of Sean's t shirts, her knees pulled to her chest, well as close as her belly would allow.

He saw a pained look flash across Kim's face, "Hey...you alright?" He jumped up from the couch and was at her side in seconds.

Her eyes watered, "My water just broke" her voice was soft and filled with sadness.

"Oh.." Adam gingerly lifted her from the couch and called out to her mother.

"Will you call Erin?" Kim asked her mother as they waited to be taken back to a room.

"I'll call her Kim, anyone else?" Adam asked, "that way your mom can stay with you"

She nodded appreciatively at him, "Just Erin..."

As the hours passed the waiting room filled up, Jay and Erin had arrived within mere minutes of Adam's call.

It wasn't long after that Kevin showed up, his relationship with Kim had changed when she hooked up with Sean. Kevin could see through Sean, he knew he was after Kim long before Kim or Adam even knew. His guilt sometimes consumed him when he thought about what Kim was now dealing with.

"So..tell me how you ended up at Kim's for dinner?" Erin finally asked, the wait was killing her, she was desperate to get her hands on the baby.

Adam's leg jiggled nervously, "I put the crib together for her...the night Sean died, I noticed it was still in the box...the changing table too. Ann invited me for dinner, I was going to say no..but she insisted"