Then Comes Baby by Darlene Tallman

Cruz Dempsey
Losing my job as a nurse anesthetist and finding myself out on parole has indelibly marked me. Sent away to prison for a crime I didn’t commit had to be one of the worst things that ever happened in my life and I vow to reclaim what was stolen from me. I’m just not sure how to make it happen.
But one night, while coming in from my graveyard shift, I notice something isn’t right at my neighbor’s house and instead of minding my own business, I jump in with both feet. I never expected to see what I saw, nor did I realize how my knock on the door would change the course of my life.
Only… she’s worth more than anything I have to do in order to break through the walls she now has around her.

Mindy Ferguson
As a single woman, I’m always careful when I date new people. I don’t drink anything alcoholic, and I always drive my own car. It’s something my best friend, Jolie, and I decided we’d do when we were younger to protect ourselves. Plus, now that she’s married with a house full of kids she’s helping her husband raise, I always let her know who I’ll be with and the plans for the night.
Unfortunately for me, my date had nefarious intentions. Thankfully, my next door neighbor, who is hotter than the South in August, steps in to help me.
Embarrassed at what happened and the subsequent investigation, as well as the total loss of my dignity during the necessary examination, I hole up in my house, not even willing to see Jolie. How do I explain that regardless of the circumstances I plan to keep this unexpected surprise? Will anyone even understand my reasons?
But Cruz doesn’t stop trying to break my walls down. He leaves stuff at my door, often with notes or short letters. He doesn’t know this; I’ve had a crush on him since I moved in and saw him mowing the grass without his shirt. It doesn’t hurt that he helped my brother and Dex with the heavier furniture. Only now, I have nothing to offer him except a woman who’s afraid of her own shadow that’s unexpectedly going to have a baby. He needs to find someone else, someone who isn’t broken.

Except… he wants me.