“I’m sure Gretta and Eloise are itching to see you and the baby. Feel up to a short visit?”
Since Gretta was the only mother figure currently in her life, Libby nodded.
*
HEATH HOVERED OVER Doc Meadows, who, in turn, hovered over Libby’s baby girl.
He considered himself blessed to have witnessed quite a few things in his life, but watching this perfect, tiny creature enter the world had been better than watching the sunrise from atop Kilimanjaro.
“Good job,” the doctor said upon filling out a sheet with Apgar Score Table in bold letters at the top.
“What’s that?” Heath asked.
With a chuckle, Doc Meadows said, “This little lady’s first standardized test. It scores her color, muscle tone, activity level and so on.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Solid eight out of ten. She’s a smidge early, so at six pounds, she’s smaller than I’d like, but other than that I see no cause for alarm.”
Heath released the breath he’d been holding.
“You were great with Libby. I’m sure she appreciated your help.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t do much.”
“Don’t be so sure. Labor’s one of the scariest things a woman can go through. The fact that you held strong for Libby I’m sure means the world to her. Gives the two of you a nice, solid foundation for your shared future.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa...” Heath held up his hands. “You know I’m not the father, right?”
“Sure, but what would it hurt if you were? Libby’s going to need a lot of help in the coming days and months. I can’t think of a better man to tackle the job.”
Heath wasn’t so sure, but it somehow meant a lot to him that the doctor who’d known him since he was a kid held him in such high regard. Heath wished he deserved the praise—especially after the way he’d treated Libby this morning. Just because he was messed up inside didn’t mean he had to take her along for the ride.
After swaddling the sleeping infant in a thick cotton blanket, Doc Meadows handed her to Heath. “Want the honors of being the first to show her off to her mom and the woman who will hopefully soon be her grandmother?”
Of course, Heath took the baby, but again felt the doctor was getting way ahead of himself.
Then he looked down just as the still nameless baby girl opened blue eyes that reminded him so much of Libby’s. Sure, he’d heard the old adage that all babies have blue eyes, but not like this. She was breathtaking all the way from her few pale blond whisps of curls to her tiny, perfect fingernails.
A knot formed at the back of his throat that refused to let go. He made it through the next thirty minutes in slow motion, almost as if he were underwater. While his mom and Eloise and the nurse cooed over the baby, he resumed his place at the head of the bed, beside Libby, stroking her hair, bringing her water, making sure the new mom was as comfortable as possible.
Once Gretta and the other women left, Heath watched as Libby first tried her hand at breastfeeding, his heart impossibly full. He had a feeling the image of her with her daughter at her breast would stay with him a long time—if not forever.
“What’re you going to name her?” he asked.
“Gosh, I suppose with all the excitement around my car and meeting all of you in Bent Road, I haven’t even thought about it. I figured I still had a couple weeks to figure it out, you know?”
He nodded. “Well, I suppose Heathette’s out of the picture, but I think it has a nice ring.”
“You’re incorrigible,” she said with a faint grin.
“I—I want—need—to apologize for the way I treated you this morning. After working out, and realizing just how out of shape I am...” He ran his fingers along the bed’s cool metal rail. “Well, I figured if I just made a clean break from you then focused on my training, I’d be all right, you know?”
Eyes welling, she nodded.
“But after what we shared, I see it’s not that simple. I’m not sure when it happened, but you’ve come to mean a lot to me. And I need you to know that I’m not pulling that freeze-out crap again, okay? You deserve better.”
“Thank you.”
Though he nodded, he didn’t feel worthy of her thanks.
“What would you say if I called the baby Heather?”
His heart nearly burst. “I’d say you’re probably nuts, but hey, who am I to complain?”
*
A WEEK LATER, Libby had settled into somewhat of a routine with Baby Heather. She’d found that the only truly dependable part of motherhood was the fact that if she wasn’t breastfeeding, she was changing diapers, or rocking, or singing lullabies. Oh—and just staring in wonder at the miracle of her baby girl.
“Ninety-nine, one hundred...”
From her cozy perch on Gretta’s backyard swing, Libby paused the stopwatch Heath had given her to monitor his training.
Heather stirred from her slight movement, but didn’t wake.
“How was it?” he asked, still breathing hard.
“You’re under four minutes, but if you’re serious about making it to two minutes, you’ve got a ways to go.”
He groaned, collapsing onto the grass.
“You’ll get there. And you shaved a whole minute off your run this morning.” Libby loved that instead of excluding her from his workout routine, he let her help. The sensation of them working toward a common goal only made her feel that much closer to him.
“I know, but I want to be at the top of my game when I get back on base.”
“Obviously, but even you said you can already notice a difference in how much better you’re feeling.”
“True...” On his feet, he cast his most handsome grin on first her, then the baby. “She’s zonked. Must be nice, doing nothing with your days but sampling boobies then napping.”
“Heath!” Libby couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m glad your mom wasn’t around to hear that.”
“You’d think by now she’d realize I’m no saint.”
“Whatever. Ready to start on your push-ups?” Because if his six-pack abs weren’t enough of a sight to behold, his backside was even better!
“I probably should.” He kissed the baby on her forehead, then Libby full on the lips. It was a foregone conclusion that with each passing day she was falling more for him, but to what end? With both of them going their separate ways, officially moving forward didn’t make sense. But then neither did anything in regard to her feelings for him. For now, her only plan was to enjoy what little time they had left and sort out the rest once he was gone.
From inside, the phone rang, the sound carrying clearly through the open windows.
“I’ll get it,” Heath volunteered.
Libby was all too happy to let him. Though she felt a thousand times better than she had before giving birth, she still lacked her former energy and felt as if she catnapped almost as much as her baby!
A few minutes later Heath emerged from the house, wearing the kind of scowl he’d once been famous for, but she thankfully hadn’t seen in a while.
“What’s wrong?”
“That was Hal on the phone.”
“And?” She steeled herself for the next bit of bad news concerning her disaster of a vehicle.
“The last part came in yesterday, and today you are the proud owner of a vehicle that actually runs. Plus, he grabbed the last few parts for less than expected, so he’s giving you a break on labor and only charging five hundred bucks.”
“That’s all? I mean, that’s a lot, but I already have that much saved from my art show profits. I can’t believe it.” She grinned. “After all this time, it’s finally done.” But then reality set in. She’d planned on at least six more days with Heath. Who would’ve thought she’d be the one leaving ahead of him? “Guess I need to ask Doc Meadows if it’s safe for Heather and me to travel.”
“No. I think you need at least a couple months—maybe even more—to fully heal.”
“Who made
you a doctor?” And why did he care, considering he wasn’t even going to be here?
“Lib, think about it. You’re all the time drifting off. What if you fall asleep behind the wheel? It just doesn’t seem safe for you to drive all that way on your own. Besides which, your car isn’t exactly baby friendly—especially once you cram all your pottery gear in the back. Poor Heather’s going to be crushed.”
Libby loved that he was concerned, but he didn’t exactly have a say in the matter. “Let’s agree to disagree.”
“What’s there to disagree with? I’m right. End of story. Don’t you have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow? I’ll bet even Doc Meadows tells you there’s no way you can travel that far for a long time. You’re talking a good seven hours, babe—without traffic. No. I don’t want you going.”
“Do you have any idea how crazy you sound? As much as I love kissing you, that’s really all we share.”
“How can you say that? We share Heather. I was there when she was born. You even gave her my name. No matter what, we’ll always have that bond.”
“True, but a bond is a lot different than a commitment, Heath. You have no more say over my life than I do yours. How would you feel if I said, nope, you can’t leave for the navy so soon after I had the baby? I need you to stay here and help with late-night feedings.”
“Is that how you feel?”
Yes! She was terrified of being a single mom, but figured she would eventually have to get used to it. Why prolong the inevitable? She’d always been a rip-the-bandage-off-quick kind of girl.
“No. I would never ask you to stop doing something important to you, and I’d appreciate you doing the same for me.”
He sighed before dropping to the ground for his push-ups. “We’ll talk about it later. Mind timing me?”
“Yes, I mind timing you. Since you apparently control everything, do it yourself.” Cradling Heather to her chest, Libby was off the swing and headed for the motel office to find Gretta. On her way, she dropped Heath’s stupid stopwatch onto the soft grass near his stupid—albeit handsome—head.
*
“I DON’T MEAN to be nosy,” Gretta said on the way to pick up Libby’s car, “but were you and Heath arguing? I had all the windows open and could hear you from the front desk.”
“I wouldn’t call it arguing so much as having a difference of opinion.” Since Heather’s car-safety seat was installed in Gretta’s SUV, it made sense to ask Heath’s mom to drive her the five minutes to Hal’s shop. As an added bonus, she was able to get away from Gretta’s son for at least a little while. Libby needed to not only cool down, but have time to think. She hated that Heath had made valid points. What would she do with all of her pottery supplies? Ship it to her parents? Store it here in town, then drive back down for it later? One thing she couldn’t do now that she had a baby was pile it all in her car. “He thinks it’s not safe for me or the baby to travel so soon.”
Gretta shocked her by telling her to ignore her worrywart son. “You know, if you were still in rough shape or Heather had complications, I would agree, but you and the baby seem stronger every day. Heath was born three weeks before his father was being shipped out to Japan. Well, he thought I should stay in San Diego, but the whole reason I married a navy man—besides the fact that he made my heart flutter every time he smiled—was because I craved the adventure of that lifestyle. No way was I staying behind.”
She pulled into Hal’s lot, parking her vehicle beside Libby’s. “I’m not saying it was easy, but I did it and was glad. If you feel compelled to finish your journey home, I won’t even lie about missing having you and the baby at the house, but I knew from the start that this was only a temporary layover for you.”
Teary from Gretta’s admissions, Libby unfastened her seat belt and leaned over to give her a hug. “You’ve been so amazing. Really. No matter what happens with my parents, I want to keep in touch.”
“Absolutely.” With a wince, she said, “I almost hate to ask, but what about Heath? Do you think you two will ever be more than friends with benefits?”
“Gretta!” Libby’s cheeks superheated with mortification. Had she found out about their night in the pool?
“Oh, you know what I mean. I’ve seen you two kissing when you think no one’s looking.”
“It’s complicated....” Libby would’ve liked nothing more than to tell Gretta that her long-term forecast with Heath looked sunny, but honestly? Nothing could be further from the truth.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, Heath still detected a chill from Libby, which was no doubt why he’d been relegated once again to being stuck in the clinic’s waiting room.
Because of the whole car-seat issue, he’d driven Libby and the baby in his mom’s SUV. Libby had wanted to transfer Heather’s seat to her car, but to his way of thinking, the very idea was ludicrous. So much so that he’d called Hal to see about maybe making a few arrangements. Libby would be so excited when she found out what he’d done for her.
Hell, he was excited. He’d never pulled off this big of a surprise.
From behind her battle station, Eloise glared even more than usual. “Your mother told me you’re leaving soon. Heading back to Virginia Beach?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” Not even bothering to look his way, she carried on with her paperwork.
“Are you ever going to get over me picking your roses?”
She snorted. “Oh—I was over that a long time ago. Now I just don’t like the way you’re toying with Libby’s affections.”
There were about a half dozen verbal grenades Heath would’ve loved to toss her way, but instead he focused more intently on the teenage heartthrob edition of People.
“Is this a new top secret SEAL skill you’re working on?”
“What’s that?”
“Reading magazines upside down?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. So would you mind leaving me to my work?”
She just shook her head.
Annoyed by pretending he couldn’t care less what was going on back in Libby’s exam area, Heath tossed the magazine to a side table in favor of pacing out front.
What was taking so long?
Could something be wrong with Libby or the baby?
Should he storm her exam room to check for himself? Just in case? He raked his hands through his hair that would need to be cut before heading back to base.
Libby made him feel perilously close to losing his sanity. And he never would have expected to fall so completely for a long-lashed, blue-eyed vixen who barely weighed over six pounds! He loved everything about Heather, from her tiny fingers and toes, to the adorable sucking sounds she made when she slept, to her impossibly sweet smell when she was fresh from her bath.
He didn’t want to admit what the sight of Libby breastfeeding her did to him.
He hadn’t meant to go all caveman on her the previous morning when they’d found out about her car, but this was uncharted territory for him. Sure, he’d heard his friends talk about how they felt when they had kids, but he hadn’t really understood until he’d experienced it himself.
True. Only one problem, his conscience was all too kind to point out. Heather’s not your kid, any more than her mother’s your girl.
That sobering thought sent him jogging around the lot.
Fifteen minutes later, Libby finally exited the clinic with Heather’s cumbersome carrier in her hands.
“Well?” He jogged to her, taking the baby. “You were in there forever. Everything okay?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t it be? In fact, the doctor said as long as I have plenty of rest before the drive, he didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t leave tomorrow.”
That soon? No. No way was Heath ready to give either of them up just yet. Trouble was, her leaving wasn’t his call.
*
“ARE YOU SURE you don’t want to wait until Sunday to go?” Gretta asked. She held napping Heather to her chest as they sat out by t
he pool. They’d just eaten turkey sandwiches Morris had brought from the diner. “That way you can have a little extra time with Heath. See him off with me that morning at the airport. Lord knows I could use the moral support.”
“I’m sorry....” Libby swallowed the lump in her throat with a sip of iced tea. After all Gretta had done for her, Libby felt awful making her say goodbye to her son on her own, or with just Morris. But she knew there was no way she could watch Heath leave for his flight’s gate without losing it. No. She’d be better off leaving first. That way she wouldn’t be tempted to beg him to take her and Heather with him. She’d already sold enough pieces in Zoe’s gallery to prove to herself she could make it on her own. But did she want to? What was the point when sharing Heather with Heath would mean so much more? “I wish...I were strong enough, but I’m not....”
Gretta placed her free hand over Libby’s. “I’m sorry, too. For all practical purposes, Heath’s been lost to me since Patricia’s been gone. But you changed everything—for all of us. You brought him back to life, and for that I’ll forever be grateful. But I’ve spun this fantasy about you two becoming more to each other, and that wasn’t fair to either of you. For that, I’m sorry.”
Libby shrugged. “No need to apologize. Heath’s a good man. Any woman would be lucky to have him.”
“Just not you?”
*
HEATH’S MOM HAD wanted to throw a party for Libby’s last night in town, but Heath had nixed that idea. Selfishly, he wanted Libby all to himself when he presented his surprise.
He couldn’t wait to see her smile. This was gonna be big. Huge. He’d blow her mind with how much he cared for not only her, but tiny Heather.
With Gretta safely off at her Friday night, all-girl poker game, and his uncle busy at the diner, the moment had finally come for Heath to make his presentation.
“Lib?” he called from the kitchen.
“Yeah?” she answered from the bedroom.
“Could you please come here for a minute?” Excitement had his heart racing.
“I’m busy. With Heather finally full and napping, I’ve got to pack all of my stuff to store in the shed. Your mom said she wouldn’t mind me stashing it there until I get settled.”
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