“Yes. I’d been looking at it for myself, but I thought she’d like it, and it was empty. I didn’t know it was being handled by her bank.”
“Are you talking about the house two streets over?” John asked.
Mildred nodded. “She’s meeting the movers there at ten o’clock. I thought I’d go over and help her, you know, and make sure she doesn’t overdo.”
That was his job, John thought. A husband’s job. A father’s job.
Mildred looked at him with a gleam in her eye. “What are you doing today? Are you busy?”
He smiled back and stood up, ever grateful for these two women who meant so much to him. “I’ve got only one thing to do. Get my woman.”
DIANE GOT TO HER HOUSE early. As much as she’d miss the fourplex, she loved the idea of having her own place. Four bedrooms. That meant she could have a guest room as well as the baby’s room, Mildred’s room, and hers.
She walked through the house, picturing her baby growing up here. Too bad she pictured John here, too.
She was berating herself for the errant thought when the doorbell rang. Figuring the movers had arrived early, she swung open the door.
To discover John.
“Hello,” she managed to say.
“Hello, Diane.” He smiled uneasily. “I hear we’re going to be neighbors.”
“I won’t bother you. You don’t have to worry.”
His temper flared. “Damn it, Diane, I’m not worried about that!”
“Then why are you here?”
He glanced away and let out a breath. What seemed like hours later, he finally looked at her and said, “Because I love you, and I want to know if you love me.”
She stared at him, wondering what he was up to now. “Of course I love you, but I won’t change my mind about having my baby.”
“Our baby. You aren’t having this baby by yourself, you know.”
“Yes, I am. I may not have gotten pregnant by myself, but I’m surely having the baby by myself!”
“And what if I say you aren’t?” he growled.
“I don’t see how it’s any of your business, John. We aren’t together anymore.”
“Then I think we’ll have to get married,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Because I can’t live without you now. And when our baby arrives, I won’t be able to live without him or her, either.”
Her blood rushed through her veins, throbbing so loud she couldn’t trust her hearing. “John, what are you trying to say?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“I’m trying to say I love you, Diane. Please marry me. I can’t let you go.”
She stared at him. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, I said I was.”
There really was only one answer. There’d always been only one. “Yes, John, I’ll marry you. But if you break my heart, I’ll never forgive you,” she said with a sob, and threw herself into his embrace.
John held her so tightly against him, she doubted he’d ever let her go. But that was fine with her.
Raining a trail of kisses down her neck, he whispered, “I want to make love to you right now, right here.” He pressed her against the wall and claimed her mouth with a kiss that made her breathless.
When she was able to speak, she said, “But the movers are due here any minute.”
He looked down at her. “So you’ve bought the house and are having your furniture moved in here?”
“Yes.”
“But you’ll live with me when we’re married, won’t you?”
“Of course. And what about Mildred! Will she be able to live with us, too? She wants to take care of the baby.”
He laughed. “We’ll work everything out, sweetheart. I think Mildred might buy this house from you and just come to our place to care for the baby when it arrives, if you want to go back to work.”
“I have to work!”
“You could handle your investments from home, couldn’t you?”
“Yes, I guess I could. But I have to go back to the bank for a little while. After all, Mr. Harvey gave me my job back. He—”
John cut her off with a quick kiss. “I don’t want to hear one more word about Mr. Harvey.” He kissed her again, this time long and with emotion. “Now, we have other things to do.” He lowered his head again, but the doorbell rang and Diane pulled back.
“That’ll be the moving team.” She went to the door and opened it. The movers greeted her and she let them in.
Soon she put John to work, too, helping move her furniture in.
“This wasn’t what I had in mind when I came down here this morning,” he muttered as he passed her by.
“I know, sweetheart, but I really don’t have that much to move in. It’ll just be a few more trips from the van to the house.”
About that time, Mildred and Gladys came in, carrying bags of groceries. They both wore secret smiles when they saw Diane.
“Gladys, Mildred, we’re going to get married,” she announced as soon as she saw them. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Gladys glanced at John like a proud parent, then back to Diane. “Did he tell you he loves you?”
“Yes,” she said with a beaming smile.
John came in the door with a chair. “Oh, good. I’m glad you’re here. I need to take Diane to my house for—for a nap. Can you keep an eye on the movers? We’ll be back later.”
“John, we can’t do that! It would be rude,” Diane cried.
He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve been good for an entire hour, after you told me you loved me, sweetheart. I’ve about reached the end of my patience.”
Gladys and Mildred laughed out loud. “Go ahead, Diane. We’re used to his impatience. But he’d better be good to you!” Gladys warned.
“Oh, he will be, Gladys. He’ll be wonderful,” Diane said with a brilliant smile as she walked out the door with John, hand in hand.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5884-0
THE MARRYING KIND
Copyright © 2007 by Judy Christenberry.
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‡Dallas Duets
The Marrying Kind Page 16
