by Aj Harmon
Evan gratefully handed over his daughter and prayed that Gracie would calm down. Wrapped in her pink blanket, Jill held Gracie close to her and patted her back while walking up and down the aisle, eventually producing a big old burp that solved the problem, and then soothing the baby until the only noises coming from her tiny body were little gasps and sobs as she cried herself to sleep. Amazed at her accomplishment, Jill smiled at the tiny bundle in her arms and felt a great deal of satisfaction in her success.
Even though the baby was now sucking on her thumb and sound asleep, Jill continued to walk back and forth, a slight bounce in her step, as she snuggled the infant to her breast. For whatever reason, holding the child felt unexplainably right and she didn’t want to give her back, very much enjoying the experience.
And then the call light came on. Seat 2C. Jill rolled her eyes again, took a deep breath and headed back to first class. As she passed Row 8 she noted her first class passenger and the woman he was with were holding hands, deep in conversation, looking at each other as though the rest of the world no longer existed. She couldn’t help but smile. It appeared Sky Airlines had facilitated another love match.
“Yes?” she asked as she turned off the overhead light in Row 2, glancing at Greg whose eyes almost popped from their sockets as he saw his fiancée with a baby in her arms.
“I’d like another Bloody Mary, please,” 2C said.
“Of course,” Jill smiled, trying to not to show the irritation she felt. But then she looked down in her arms to the baby. She couldn’t make a drink and hold the baby.
Greg noticed her dilemma. “Here,” he said as he held out his arms. “I’ll hold her while you take care of it.”
“Really?” Jill asked.
Greg just smiled and nodded, so Jill carefully handed over the sleeping baby to him and headed to the galley for what she was sure wouldn’t be the last drink 2C would order.
Opening a bottle of Bloody Mary mix and a bottle of vodka, she mixed them in a glass and pulled a celery stick from the ice tray. As she looked up into the cabin, she saw Greg and her heart melted instantly. He held the baby girl to his chest, her tiny head resting in his neck and Greg was rocking back and forth and quietly whispering to her. It looked so natural for him to cuddling a baby and in that instant her entire future changed.
She couldn’t hide the smile that formed as she walked over and handed the young woman her drink. Then, her eyes drifted over to her fiancé and with all the love she felt for him, she reached out her arms and said, “Sir, may I have your baby?”
EPILOGUE
Three weeks after returning home, the Wilders attended a baby shower that would rival a birthday party thrown for the Queen of England. Friends and family from near and far descended on the ranch and they celebrated for two straight days. Grace Anne Wilder had more presents than her parents had ever seen.
Annie’s doctors were overjoyed with the news that she was pregnant, but didn’t offer to refund any of their money, not that they expected them to, although they still liked to joke about it. Evan and Annie had spent many moments laughing about the thousands of dollars they’d spent on infertility treatments only to end up getting pregnant using the old-fashioned method, a method they hoped would work again….and practiced regularly.
Nathan Evan Wilder was born on Gracie’s eight month birthday. Annie had wanted the baby to be a girl, as she’d already picked out her name…Natalie. But she wasn’t at all upset to discover that they’d had a boy instead and the name Nathan was sort of close to Natalie. Both his parents were completely in love with him. His big sister couldn’t care less about his existence.
For Christmas that year they got a puppy, a beautiful Golden Retriever they named Diego.
*****
Erica’s sudden vacation to the east coast ended up being three glorious weeks of springtime in New York City, during which time she and William talked and talked and then talked some more. The feelings they’d had as teenagers were nothing in comparison to the deep love and respect that grew between them now. They went to a couple of Broadway shows and walked the streets of the city. When she returned home to San Diego, she walked into Rite Aid and picked up her final check and the few personal items she kept in her locker. She showed her co-workers her engagement ring and said goodbye, not feeling like she was walking away from anything, but rather walking to something completely unexpected and wonderful. Her apartment lease was month to month so she gave her thirty days’ notice and had a yard sale, getting rid of everything but a few treasures she couldn’t part with. It all took a few days and then she returned to New York and she and William were married at City Hall two weeks later, a couple of doctors that William could almost call friends were their witnesses. They took a few days for their honeymoon and drove to Niagara Falls. Being bold had paid off.
Lewis spent Thanksgiving with them. The first day was awkward but by the time he left a week later the past was in the past – water under the bridge – and they were looking forward to sharing many more holidays together.
William spent hours reading his father’s journals, sometimes alone in his study and sometimes reading aloud to Erica in the evening after dinner. They became his prize possession.
*****
Jill and Greg were married late that summer…the beginning of September. It was just as she wanted – small and private – just close friends and family. They honeymooned in Cancun, Mexico, and were thrilled to add one more anniversary to celebrate. For Christmas, Greg gave Jill a kitten. He was a little orange ball of fluff and they immediately named him Carrot. Jill told Greg he was going to be a daddy. He cried with joy and said it was the best present he’d ever received.
*****
Natalie graduated from high school a year early and went to Stanford University. Tucked in the bottom of her jewelry box was a letter she read whenever she had pangs of regret or sadness, the sadness usually lifting quickly after reading it and gazing at the photo with it of the Wilders with their daughter at her christening. It had been read a lot and she was grateful Annie had written it. The words reassured her that the hardest decision she’d made in her young life had been the right one.
About the Author
An Aussie, born and bred, AJ currently resides in the USA and calls the Pacific Northwest home. She and her husband are empty nesters, their two children off living exciting lives of their own. Challenged by a friend to write a novel, she began her writing career in 2012 and after publishing her first novel, First Class to New York, she hasn’t looked back.
Reading romance novels is a passion she’d had since a young girl, cutting her teeth on Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. Her scope of genres has broadened and reads anything with a great love story. Now writing love stories has given her a far greater appreciation for all authors and her tablet is full of books from many genres she looks forward to reading.
“I love to create characters with heart and soul and are relatable to the reader, primarily women,” AJ said. “A little older, a LOT wiser, and with real life experience behind them that gives the characters depth.”
AJ has completed one series, First Class Novels, which has nine novels and bonus novella available only in the boxed set. On her new series, Sky Romance Novels, AJ said: “I loved writing about the Lathem boys, but Sky Romance Novels doesn’t tie my hands at all. I can write about whoever and wherever I want. It’s really fun!”
Harmon is also working on a stand-alone novel, He’s No Saint, which will be available in the summer of 2014.
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