She grinned back. “You’ll have to beat me to it!”
They laughed, then grew quiet.
“What’s up?”
Jan repeated the entire story of her baby adventure.
“Incredible,” he said.
“Yeah. And there’s something else pretty incredible to tell you, too.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve just taken a home pregnancy test and we’re going to be parents…again.”
“Are you kidding me?” Then she heard him hoot and yell to another soldier, “I’m going to be a dad!”
Finally feeling ready to venture into the unknown realm of parenting, as long as it was with Beck, she grinned so widely her eyes watered. “So what do you think?”
“Woo-hoo. It’s fantastical!”
EPILOGUE
“FALL in!” the lieutenant ordered.
No sooner had the Delta division of the National Guard disembarked from their military plane in Los Alamitos amidst cheers and screams than they were asked to line up on the airport asphalt.
The lieutenant stepped up to the microphone and went into a speech about their service.
Jan stretched her neck for a glimpse of Beck, her heart pounding in her chest. There he was! She’d recognize his physique anywhere. Could he see her? She primped her now longer hair with newly added highlights, and smoothed the carnation-pink blouse she’d worn for the occasion.
All the gathering families grew quiet as the officer paused.
“I’m going to make this short and sweet. This is your last order on a job well done. At ease, men!”
Chaos broke loose as families pushed through the barriers. Wives and lovers, mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren frantically tried to find their soldiers. Jan kept her eyes on the prize and snaked through the crowd toward Beck, getting jostled and bumped along the way.
He hadn’t seen her yet. He scanned the crowd, hand over eyes, to lessen the glare. It made her grin to the point of cheek cramps.
I’m not going to cry, she chanted over and over in her head. “Beck!” she called.
He heard his name, but hadn’t seen her yet.
She waved. “Beck! Over here!” She waved again.
His face brightened and a huge smile beamed from his face. He was the most beautiful sight she could ever imagine. She rushed to him, almost bumping into a young child who stood by her parents while they hugged. She scooted around her and lunged forward.
Beck met her halfway. They rushed together in a tight embrace. “I can’t believe it,” he said, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around.
She’d promised not to cry but the dam broke. Tears streamed down her cheeks, though she smiled and kissed him. “Me neither,” she said. “It feels like forever since you left.”
“You look so fantastic,” he said, placing her back on the ground.
“So do you.” She squeezed his arms and patted his stomach. “Maybe a little skinny, but we’ll work on that,” she said with a nervous laugh.
He grinned. “I love you,” he said, and kissed her again.
“I love you, too.” She kissed him back.
Only then did Jan realize a local television news crew was recording their entire encounter. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except Beck.
“How much did you miss him?” one of the reporters asked.
“This much,” she said. With careless abandon she grabbed Beck’s face and kissed him deeply. A rousing hoot rose from the film crew.
“Today is welcome-home day at Los Alamitos for the Delta unit of the National Guard after a six-month stint in the middle east. As you can see, this wife is happy to have her soldier home.”
Realizing her red-hot kiss would be on the evening TV news, Jan didn’t care. In front of God and her country she planted another mind-melting kiss on her man.
After Jan and Beck ended the kiss and the initial uproar settled down, the news reporters found someone else to interview. She and Beck hugged and pressed against each other, making sure they were real, that this moment wasn’t a dream. His hand came to rest on her new baby bump.
“How’s our kid?”
“Doing great.”
As if he knew she needed reassurance, he held her hand and gazed into her eyes. “You’re going to be a great mother.”
“Thank you. And you’re going to be a great dad. Now, let’s go home,” she said.
Arms around each other, they walked toward the parking lot. Jan smiled, filled to bursting with love for her man. Overwhelmed with all the wonderful feelings swirling in her head, she found it hard to find her voice.
“I wanted to get your opinion,” she said. “I was thinking it would be really great to have our official wedding party after our baby is born.”
Squeezing her shoulder, he gave a knowing look, one that showed he understood. She’d waited to make the decision with him this time, as she would with every decision from here on out.
Beck smiled and replied, “That sounds like a perfect plan.”
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
® and TM are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
First published in Great Britain 2009
Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Janet Maarschalk 2009
ISBN: 978-1-408-90920-1
Table of Contents
Cover
Excerpt
Praise
About the Author
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Copyright
Temporary Doctor, Surprise Father Page 16
