Stepping Up: Book Six in the Who's Your Daddy series by Rhonda Marks

Ginny get home safely.”
    “We live in town,” Ginny said. “I’m concerned about you getting home.”
    Vance waved her off and leaned against the counter. “Don’t worry about me. I grew up in Rochester, New York. Anything less than five feet of snow on the ground is child’s play.”
    It didn’t take long for the three of them to put away all the kitchen supplies and ready the place for the morning shift. Ginny was the first to leave, slipping a couple times on the ice as she scurried to her car.
    “Now, time for us to go,” Vance said as he buttoned up his coat and wrapped his scarf around his neck.
    Summer took another look outside and shuddered. “I hate the cold. Sometime I wish I lived in Florida.”
    “Really? I could have sworn you hated hot weather.”
    She sighed and shook her head. “I guess I hate the extremes, you know, really hot and really cold weather.”
    “Sounds like you’d enjoy living in a place like San Francisco.”
    She scrunched up her nose and gave her head a vigorous shake. “Oh no! You couldn’t pay me to live out there with the earthquakes.” She smiled and gave him a week. “I guess when it comes down to it, Devinne is not really so bad.”
    “It’ll be a good area to raise our child.”
    “Sometimes I wonder about that, too. The schools are losing children like crazy and I wouldn’t be surprised if by the time our child is ready to start school, there won’t be open in town. Swallowed up by a neighboring school district.”
    “Well, we don’t have to worry about that for a while,” Vance replied as he assisted her with her coat.
    “As you can tell, I worry a lot. Can’t help myself.” Summer armed the alarm and opened the back door. The frigid air stole her breath away as she stepped outside.
    “Well, from now on, you can count on me,” Vance said as he walked her to her car.
    She didn’t reply, not sure what to say. Deep down she hoped he was telling her the truth. She was tired of being the strong one, the person others looked to when there were problems. She’d love to lean on someone else for a change.
    “We’ll see,’ she replied.
    When they arrived at her car, he helped her clear off the snow and scraped off the ice from the front and back windshields. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, warming the area.
    As he walked toward his car, Summer yelled out, “I’m going to see the doctor in a couple days. Want to go?”
    “Sure,” he said with a flash of a smile.
    She waited in her warming car as he readied his car. He motioned her on and followed her home. Once she made it inside her house, she waved as he drove away. Maybe this thing, whatever they shared, will work out.

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Vance held his breath as the doctor rolled the ultrasound wand over Summer’s belly. He reached out and grabbed her hand while the doctor pointed out various parts of the baby’s body. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing when the baby stuck a thumb into its mouth. “Wow!”
    “Isn’t that cool?” the doctor asked. “Wanna picture of that?”
    “Of course!” Summer cried. “I can’t wait until they’re sixteen and their date comes over. This will be one of the first pictures I show them.”
    “I’m sure they’ll be pleased about that,” Vance said drolly.
    “Guys, are you ready to learn the baby’s sex?” the doctor asked, the wand hovering just above the genitals.
    Vance looked at Summer with a quizzical look on his face. “I’m going to let you make the decision, okay.”
    She nodded once then turned her attention to the doctor. “Yes, I’d like to know.”
    Vance grabbed onto Summer’s hand, his gaze locked onto the little screen. The doctor slowly guided the wand lower and within moments, pointed to what looked like a penis.
    “You’re going to have a son, folks.”
    Tears sprang to Vance’s eyes and he quickly blinked to keep them at bay. He was going to have a