A Thanksgiving Dilemma (Excerpt Only) - BWWM Romance

Chapter 3 - Karen

Karen jumped when she heard the knock on her door, then panicked.

Could it be the baby's mother returning for her child? The police with more questions?

Whoever it was, she didn't quite feel ready for it.

She silently padded over to a window and looked down to see a good-looking guy who immediately struck her as familiar by the top of his head and shoulders. Then it hit her that she knew exactly who he was, and for a moment, she allowed herself to stare at him from behind the safety of the window curtains.

She eventually went downstairs, then stood near the door and shouted, "Who is it?"

There was a brief pause before a cheery, masculine voice said, "Hi! I'm your next-door neighbor and I was wondering if I could...borrow some sugar?"

Karen couldn't help it—she burst into laughter. She'd expected nosy neighbors to peek and prod and poke their heads over fences, but not this.

"I only lend sugar to guys whose name I know." She pulled open the door and let some of the evening air in.

He stood there with a sheepish grin, his gray eyes not so sheepishly boring into her. She wondered how his skin managed to have a glow to it in this weather—he looked like he'd just flown in from an island beach somewhere.

"I don't usually open my door to strangers, but strange things have been going on here lately."

"Tell me about it," he said. "The name's Brian, by the way. And yes, what I really want is to know what happened here last night. I don't exactly know you, but I'm still concerned and wanted to make sure you were all right."

Well, if all my neighbors looked like you, I wouldn't mind being disturbed all day to share the details.

"Where's Tamara?" he asked, his eyes darting around.

Karen made sure he couldn't miss her critical raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, do you two have something going on I don't know about? How is it your business where she is or what she's doing?" she asked crisply.

He smiled again with a slight shrug. "What can I say? Since I'm such a good neighbor, I'm concerned for her well-being too. As for your query, she and I have nothing but smiles and friendly hellos for each other, and I haven't seen those from her in a few days so..." He shrugged. "And come on, an ambulance showed up here last night—cut me some slack. Of course I'm interested where she is in all of this."

"Well, my sister's taking care of some business of hers and I'm housesitting for her. And the craziness that happened last night was due to me finding a newborn baby on my doorstep. Basket, note, and everything."

Brian's mouth fell open a bit and his entire face turned grave. "You're kidding, right?"

"Oh yeah, I make up jokes about foundlings all the time. In fact, all those authorities were here for my comedy act about orphans and lost mothers. Exclusive nightly show."

"Well, obviously, I'm taking you seriously. It's just that it's..."

He stopped talking, and Karen figured it was because the tears that had jumped to her eyes had pooled enough to fall down her cheeks.

"Hey," he said softly, reaching out and gently grabbing her by the shoulder.

The warmth and comfort of his touch and the sincerity in his voice made her lose it. She began crying in earnest, her hands coming up to her face to try in vain to hide some of her shame. Why was she breaking down like this?

In no time, she was wrapped in his arms and he was making soothing motions on her back.

He spoke to her with soft words, and she heard just a few of them. "Shhh, it's okay," he said at some point, and all she could think was, No, it's not.