She stepped outside. The warm afternoon sun bathed everything in its golden glow bringing details into sharp focus. She put a hand up to shield her eyes from the brightness as she sought the shade of a large magnolia tree.
Her eyes stopped at the sight of Josh wrestling with Tommy on the lawn. The child’s squeals of laughter echoed around the yard joined by Josh’s deeper rumbles of amusement. Catherine watched as he maneuvered his big man’s body around the little boy being careful not to crush his smaller frame.
Watching them so obviously enjoying each other made her own happiness sing through her blood like a bubbling brook. She had longed for carefree moments like this in all the dark days of Josh’s absence, and even now it was sometimes hard to believe they were living out their dream of being together. Tears of gratitude gathered in her eyes.
“More, Daddy,” the child demanded.
“That’s enough for now, buddy. Let’s put you on the swings for a while.”
Josh scooped the little boy up and set him into a child swing, snapping a safety belt around his tiny waist. He looked up and saw Catherine standing under the tree. She was surrounded by pools of light where the sun had penetrated its way through the large leaves and around the huge cream colored flowers.
He gave the swing a push and jogged over to her in a loping gait.
“What’s the matter?” He brushed a tear off her cheek with his thumb.
“Are you okay? The baby?”
She heard the concern in his voice and touched her protruding abdomen.
“We’re fine. The sun’s a little bright for my eyes,” she told him and was rewarded by his instant look of relief. “It looked like you two boys were having a good time playing.”
“Hey, we guys have to do our thing and for your information it’s called male bonding, not playing.” He snorted. “Playing is for sissies.”
“Oh, is that so?” She laughed and brushed back a heavy wave of hair that had fallen across his forehead. “You’re such a goofball.”
“That’s why you love me.”
“Well, it’s one of the reasons, anyway. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”
“I know, but I wish you didn’t insist on working. I don’t like the idea of you being on your feet so much. You know my new job pays enough for you to stay home.”
She looked down at her protruding belly, as the child within her stirred. “Don’t worry you’re going to have me around plenty when my maternity leave starts. You’re probably going to end up getting sick of me when I hound you to pick up your dirty clothes and put the toilet seat down.”
“You do that already and I haven’t complained.” She raised a brow and he gave a sheepish grin. “Okay, maybe I whine a little, but you have to admit I’m getting better.”
“At what? Controlling the whining or doing your little chores?”
He cocked his head to one side.
“Is that a trick question?”
Her mouth twitched in amusement. She loved that he’d gotten back his silly sense of humor. She’d never forgotten that it was one of the first things that had attracted her.
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Tommy chanted, interrupting their conversation.
“I’ll be there in a minute, son. Demanding little beast isn’t he?”
“That’s why they call it the terrible twos. I also came to remind you about Ryan, Samantha, and Kiren coming for our barbecue tomorrow. Oh, and don’t forget my aunt’s going to bring her assistant Meg from the shop.”
“I got it covered. Do you think Ryan will pop the big question to Sam?”
“I don’t know, but I have a feeling it’ll be any day now the way things are going.”
“I hope so. She’s a real keeper.”
“Do I detect a bit of envy there?” She teased giving his shoulder a playful slap.
Josh grinned.
“Well, yeah, as much as any normal red-blooded male.”
Samantha Farris was beautiful, friendly, and intelligent. She was also crazy about Ryan and his daughter. Fortunately, Kiren was as eager for her father to marry her as everyone else seemed to be. Catherine hoped Ryan might propose at their dinner tomorrow. Their friendship was special enough that she wanted to be in on the happy announcement if possible.
She also felt an unusually strong link to Samantha. The deep seated bond surprised her. Nothing like it had ever happened to Catherine before. She couldn’t explain the feeling, so she simply accepted it. But curiosity did make her hope the strange connection would be explained some day.
“I suggest you rein in that testosterone before it gets you into trouble.”
He smiled and laid a hand against her belly.
“Don’t I know it?” The child chose that moment to kick.
“Whoa! That was a hard one. He’s very strong.”
“Yes he is and once more, he’s getting restless to greet the world.”
“Does it hurt when he moves around so much?”
“No, and I’d be worried if he didn’t.”
“I’ve been thinking about that list of names for the baby you gave to me.”
“I certainly hope so, because time is getting short. Did you find any you liked?”
“I was wondering; did you put your father’s name on the list?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged.
“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it. His name was Michael.”
“I think it would be nice to name the baby after him.”
“You do?” She smiled, grateful for her husband’s thoughtfulness. “That would mean a lot to me, but I don’t want you to feel obligated. What about your dad? He’s a good man, too.”
“That can be his middle name. What do you think of the name ‘John’?”
“Michael John – two strong masculine names. I like the sound of them together.”
“Good. So do I. Michael John it is, then.”
“Daddy, me swing!” Tommy called again with more insistence this time.
Catherine looked over at the swing set.
“He’s getting impatient.” She looked at her watch. “I’ll go say my goodbyes and then I really have to get going.”
Josh took her hand and laced their fingers together as they walked to the swing together. She looked at the child’s face and saw Tom’s warm brown eyes and Nancy’s soft smiling mouth. She marveled at the wonderful little miracle they’d created together. She hoped they somehow knew that their love had endured, living on through their son.
Catherine pressed her lips to the satin smooth cheek and felt her own love swell inside when he reached up to wrap his tiny arms around her neck.
“Mommy go work?”
“Yes sweetie, Mommy’s going to work. You be a good boy for Daddy now.” She kissed him again and stepped back slowly, mindful of her ungainly balance.
“Hang on, son.” Josh gave the swing another hefty push and was rewarded for his efforts when the little boy’s gleeful laughter rang out.
Catherine smiled and waved her goodbye. “He’s always such a sweet, happy child. I feel so privileged to have him to love.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. He has a way of wrapping around your heart.”
“Sometimes I dream that Tom and Nancy are here watching him; watching us.”
“I’m sure they are. Thank God not all dreams are bad. Sometimes they show us good stuff. It’s like having windows inside our heads letting us see things that we might otherwise miss.”
“What a lovely thing to say. I didn’t realize you were so poetic.”
“Is that what you call it?” He raised her wrist to his mouth and pressed his lips to the network of tiny blue veins there as though he was holding a fragile flower.
“I used to dream about you when I was in the Amazon.”
His comment surprised her, as he rarely talked about his time there.
“I hope they somehow helped.”
“They did.” He squeezed her hand as th
ough he understood what she’d been thinking. “Dreaming about you was my way to escape from the harsh reality at the time. That’s what kept me going. In dreams we were always together. It was my mind’s way of creating perfection in an imperfect world.”
She thought about the disturbing dreams she’d had while he’d been in South America and her terrifying visions where Ivy intruded into her sleep.
“I’m glad.”
He bent his head toward her mouth ready to kiss her when he was interrupted by Tommy’s childish high-pitched voice.
“More swing, Daddy.”
“The kid’s got lousy timing. I’m going to have to teach him to pump himself,” he said, but amusement shined in his eyes and the deep affection was there in his voice.
“Better get used to it. It won’t be long and we’re going to have two of them vying for our time. I checked the fridge. There’s leftover spaghetti for dinner. Give Tommy frozen peas for his veggie and you can cut up an apple for dessert.”
He made a face.
“Peas? Fruit? I was thinking more along the lines of beer nuts and beef jerky. If I’m going to do the male bonding thing with Tommy, I need to give him some real man food. They must fit somewhere in one of the basic food groups.”
“You’d better be kidding about that, mister.”
He gave a shout of laughter.
“Had you going there for a minute, didn’t I?”
“Beast.” She smiled before brushing his mouth in a quick kiss. “I’ve got to run.”
“Whoa, I think we can do better than that, don’t you?” he teased, before putting his hands on her shoulders and crushing her mouth in a kiss that left her breathless.
She leaned against him feeling lightheaded. He always had that affect on her making her wonder if she would ever get over the rush of excitement. Somehow she didn’t think she would.
“You certainly know how to give a girl a first-class send off.”
“All part of my strategy to keep in your good graces. How am I doing so far?”
“Not bad, but it’s always a wise idea to keep practicing. Flowers are good and oh, don’t forget to throw in a little chocolate now and then,” she said enjoying their game.
“Guess I missed the memo on that one. Thanks for the tips.”
He started to kiss her again only to have Tommy yell.
“Me want Daddy!”
Catherine laughed. “Your male bonding seems to be working quite well. You better go to him before he tries to climb out of the swing. I’ll see you when I get home.”
“I’ll be here,” he said, as he did every time she went somewhere without him.
She understood that it was necessary for him to say the words for both their sakes.
“I know you will.”
Fireside Publications
1004 San Felipe Lane
www.firesidepubs.com
Printed in the United States of America
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely fictitious.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, scanned, photocopied or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission of the author.
Copyright © 2012 by Olivia Claire High
ISBN: 978-1-935517-21-4
For additional copies of this book, please visit:
http://kadinbooks.com or
www.firesidepubs.com
OR
Contact the author at:
[email protected]
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Lois Bennett
for her assistance and expertise.
>>>>dreams<<<<
Books Also Written by
Olivia Claire High
An Angel Among Us (Nonfiction)
The Crystal Angel (Romantic Suspense)
Rose Cottage (Supernatural Romantic Suspense)
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Dreams~Shadows of the Night Page 23
