“Yes, I know,” she said. “I’m Amy Blake.”
“I’m Shannon Douglas.”
The girl couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen years old, and she was so far out of her depth with the baby that it broke Amy’s heart. “Honey, why did you feel you had to leave him like that?”
Shannon shrugged, her eyes welling up with the brightness of tears. “I couldn’t do it no more.”
“You don’t have any family?”
“My mama and me live in an apartment and it’s small and she works a lot, and she…she never wanted me to have him at all. But I couldn’t just…” She bit her lip. “I didn’t know what to do, and I was over near here with her trying to get the bus and I saw you and your little girl, and you were so nice.” She shrugged sharply. “The guy at the door said you ran this place, and you had one kid and you were a great mom, and I watched you a couple of times, and you stayed late. I didn’t just leave him, you know. I waited to make sure he was okay.”
Amy cringed when Travis let out a heartfelt cry, then Quint was there, silently taking him from her and she let him. He turned the baby over, got him in “the hold” and started pacing with him, jiggling him up and down. Almost immediately Travis quieted. There was a heavy sigh, then silence.
Amy looked back at Shannon who was staring at Quint with total disbelief. “How’d he do that?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“I don’t know,” Amy said. “He just does it. He’s a natural with kids. A real miracle worker.”
Quint glanced at her, then crossed to Taylor who’d started kicking the scattered envelopes on the floor. Quint crouched with Travis in his hold and picked up an envelope with his free hand. He dropped it in the empty box with a flourish and said, “Oh, look at that. A perfect basket.”
Taylor looked at him, watched him drop a couple more in the box, then started doing it herself. Amy would have laughed if there was any humor left in her. Then Quint was standing by her, looking at Shannon. “The father’s not involved in any of this?” he asked her.
She looked sort of uneasy, then said, “I’m not real sure who his daddy is. And no matter who it is, they wouldn’t want nothing to do with him…or me.”
“Your mother won’t keep Travis for you?”
“Oh, no sir. She won’t do that. She’s got this boyfriend who can’t stand babies, and she—”
He cut her off. “You can’t keep him on your own?”
“No, sir. No way.”
“If I found someone wonderful to take the boy, would you be willing to have him adopted?”
Shannon hesitated, but finally said, “Yes, sir. That would be good, as long as he was taken real good care of.”
“You like Amy don’t you?”
“Oh, yes, sir.”
“What if she adopted Travis?”
Amy was horrified at his words. She’d take Travis home in a heartbeat, but she’d just admitted that she could barely take care of Taylor and herself. The past few days had clearly proven that she was in over her head. She spoke quickly. “Listen, Shannon, I’ll go with you to people who can help you, who can make sure Travis gets the home he deserves.”
He stopped her without touching her, just by speaking. “I thought you loved him?” he said, looking right at her.
She could barely meet his look. “Of course I do. You know that. I want him to be safe and happy.”
“If it was possible for you to adopt him, would you?”
“That’s not even—”
“Would you?” he asked in a low, intent voice.
She looked into his hazel eyes and exhaled. “Yes, yes, yes, but I can’t. I can’t do it. I can’t make it work. I’ve tried and tried, but I finally realized that I can’t do it.”
“But you love him?”
She bit her lip. “Yes.”
“Answer me one more thing. Do you think you could ever care about another man?”
She stared at him, the words there between them, but they made no sense. “What?”
“I don’t mean love, I just mean caring, being okay with another man. Is that possible for you?” She could have sworn that he looked afraid for a moment, a pure fear in his eyes, then it was gone and he repeated, “Is it possible?”
“Quint, stop it. Don’t do this.”
He didn’t move. “Listen to me, very carefully. What if I’m in love for the very first time in my life? What if I totally loved you and Taylor and Travis?”
She barely believed her ears. She wouldn’t believe them. She couldn’t go through that pain again, of hoping, then knowing that it was all wrong. “You…you have to…”
“No, let me finish,” he said, his voice lower and slightly unsteady. “You don’t have to love me. I’ll make this very easy for you. All you have to do is let me take care of the three of you. I came back to Houston thinking I might stay. And now I know for sure. I’m selling the place in New York and, if you’ll let me, I’ll be here for all of you. Just be with me and let me share your life. Amy, I want you to take away this loneliness and let me live.”
She let his words settle in her heart and soul and tears came, silently slipping down her cheeks. Taylor was there, pushing between her and Quint, and Shannon was saying, “What’s goin’ on here?”
But all she saw was Quint, blurred and so incredibly dear to her. She tried to speak, but nothing would come. Then his free hand touched her cheek, the ball of his thumb brushing at her tears. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he breathed unsteadily. “I’m rushing this. I’m no good at this, I told you that before. And as old as I am, I don’t think I’ll ever get good at it. The truth is, I thought I knew what I wanted, I really did. But I was dead wrong.”
She covered his hand with hers, and could feel herself shaking all over. “Oh, Quint.”
“Lady, if you’ll just take me on, I’ll love you enough for both of us. That’s a promise. And the kids…I love them. You’re the mother Mike should have had, the woman I should have fallen in love with back then and had children with. But we’re here and now, and alive at the same time. And that’s all that matters to me. Just let me love you.”
She tried to speak and had to clear her throat before she could make the words come. “You…you could love the three of us?”
“I do love the three of you. I’m not sure I can do six or seven more kids, but one more wouldn’t be all bad.”
Amy felt something in her, that life that had begun for her when she and Quint had made love, filling her with hope and joy, something that felt almost alien to her.
He was very still, and she realized he was looking at her hand. “The ring?” he breathed.
“I put it away to keep it safe, but I’m not wearing it anymore.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice low and unsteady.
“I’m sure,” she said. “Just as sure as I am of the fact that I’ll let you take care of the three of us, but only if you’ll let me love you for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, lady,” he breathed, then leaned toward her, Travis and Taylor between them, but he managed to kiss her quickly and fiercely before Taylor pushed hard on both of them. “No. Pop!” she said.
Quint looked down at Taylor. “I don’t have any popcorn,” he said.
“Pop,” she said, lifting her arms to be picked up.
Quint shifted a finally sleeping Travis to Amy, then picked Taylor up in his arms. “Okay, as soon as I can find some, it’s yours,” he said.
Shannon was looking from adult to adult. “I don’t get all of this,” she said.
Quint looked at Amy, smiled, then turned to Shannon. “We want to adopt Travis. We’ll love him and care for him, and you’ll know that he’s safe. Will you let us do that?”
“Are you her husband or somethin’?”
Amy felt a twinge at the wording, but one look at Quint and she was okay. Everything was okay with Quint by her side. “I will be soon, very soon,” he said.
“You two…”
“We’re gettin
g married,” Quint said, glancing at Amy long enough for her to nod, then he looked back at Shannon. “I’ll get a good attorney and we’ll do this right. And I want you to be okay, too, Shannon. We’ll try to help you as much as we can.”
Taylor touched Quint on the cheek, making him look at her. “Pop?”
“I don’t have any popcorn,” he said.
“I think she’s calling you Pop,” Shannon said.
Amy looked at Quint and Taylor, then realized that Shannon was right. She’d been crying for Quint for two days, not for popcorn. “Shannon’s right,” she said.
Quint looked at Amy, his expression touched with shock, then pleasure. “Pop?”
“Huh,” Taylor said, poking him in the chest. “Pop.”
He moved closer to Amy, putting his arm around her and pulling her tightly to him. “Pop it is,” he murmured.
Amy looked at her daughter, then down at Travis and finally she looked at Quint. She saw her future, a wonderful future. And she knew the miracle that it had taken to fashion it for all of them. “Yes, Pop it is,” she said, leaning against him, letting him support her and loving him with all of her heart.
Valentine’s Day
THE DAY-CARE CENTER was filled with people, adults and children, and the grand opening was a complete success. Heart-shaped balloons, pink streamers and paper hearts on the walls completed the festive feeling in the main room of the center. Just for Kids was officially in its new location, with more room, more supplies and more children than it had ever had before.
“It’s a success,” Quint said, coming up behind Amy who was standing to one side watching the scene with great pleasure. Her black cocktail dress with a cowled neckline had been a gift from Jenn, a “dress-up” outfit that seemed right for this occasion. Quint slipped his arms around Amy’s waist and kissed the side of her neck, the distraction immediate and wonderful.
She closed her eyes. “I was just starting to wonder where you went.”
“Did you miss me?” he whispered by her ear.
She could barely explain to him even now that when he wasn’t close, she felt as if she was lost. “Of course,” she said, covering his hands on her waist with hers. Her solitaire he’d given her sparkled in the overhead lights.
“I see Charlie came to the party.”
She opened her eyes and looked over at the tree, to Taylor and Walker, Zane and Lindsey’s son, on the floor with the rat’s cage between them, trying to push popcorn through the mesh sides. “Taylor insisted. And Jenn thought the rat would add to the atmosphere.”
She looked over at Jenn, dressed all in pink, holding Travis and talking to Jackson Ford, a man Amy hardly knew. He had the title of Executive Senior Vice President at LynTech, but he’d been in Europe working for the company since she’d been here. Jenn was talking intently to him, leaning toward the dark-haired man in a double-breasted gray suit. “Does Jenn ever dress in plain clothes?” Quint asked, following her line of sight.
She laughed. “Sure, but when there’s a special occasion, she dresses for it. ‘Theme dressing,’ I think she calls it. It comes from her love of fabric and design, I suppose.”
Right then, Quint’s parents approached Jenn. His mother, a slender gray-haired woman who had passed on her smile to her son, put her arms out for Travis. The baby went to her without a murmur, and snuggled in. Quint’s dad, John Gallagher, an older version of Quint with snow-white hair and tanned, weathered skin, smiled at his wife and their newest grandchild, then turned and went over to Taylor.
He crouched by her, much the same way his son did, getting to her level and the next thing Amy knew, Taylor was in his arms and, in one movement, up on his shoulders. She laughed and squealed, thrilled to have a “horsey” ride. Walker watched Taylor, then ran to Zane, arms out, saying, “Horsey, horsey,” and was on his daddy’s shoulders right by John and Taylor. Lindsey was watching the two of them, and Amy knew a simple truth—pregnant women glowed, even when they were only six weeks along like Lindsey. The woman who thought she’d never have her own kids had taken Walker as her own, and now she had one on the way.
Life had its little twists and turns. Amy was an example of that. She’d thought she’d never have love again, but now she was surrounded by it. She’d never thought she’d be here with Quint, feeling a happiness that knew no bounds. Never suspected that they would have had a wedding that was more a barbecue than a grand affair, at the ranch they were making their home. Or that she’d have a stepson who was seven years younger than her. Or be so complete with a man who had become her life despite the fact that both had fought it right from the start.
A real miracle on all counts.
“Come and get it!”
She looked up at B.J. coming out of the kitchen with Matt, the two of them holding huge trays with hot dogs and chips and juice. Matt didn’t look like one half of the CEOs at LynTech, any more than his wife looked like a spoiled rich girl. B.J. set the tray on the side table and started helping the kids get their food, explaining half were meat hot dogs and half were tofu dogs. “Just wonderful things,” she promised each child.
Matt poured the punch, but looked up at his wife. “I’ll take one,” he said, and B.J. glanced at him. They didn’t touch, but the look was a connection that was so evident between them. Even Robert Lewis saw it, smiling at his daughter before he got back to work with Anthony on putting together the train set he’d donated to the center. The older man and the nine-year-old boy had bonded completely, and couldn’t have been more of a grandfather and grandson than if they’d been blood relatives.
Miracles on miracles.
“So,” Quint said. “Are you ready?”
She looked around the room. “For what, a hot dog?”
His hold on her tightened slightly. “No, for my present for you.” His voice had an edge of roughness to it, and she turned in his hold, and didn’t think she’d ever get used to the way she felt just looking at him, that instant need to be closer, never to let go.
There was no suit tonight, just a collarless black silk shirt and snug dark slacks, setting off his graying hair and tanned skin. She felt her heart skip slightly. “Present?” she breathed, feeling her face heat just at the look in his narrowed hazel eyes. “Mister, this isn’t exactly the ranch, you know. There are tons of people all over the place, and Travis is due for another crying spell any minute now and we cannot go into the Quiet Room and—”
He touched her lips with his forefinger, hushing her. “Jenn’s agreed to watch out for Travis and Taylor for an hour and she’s got plenty of help from Mom and Dad. So, we have one hour, okay?”
“Are we going to bake a gingerbread family?” she asked, smiling at him, the expression getting just a bit unsteady when she felt him pull her even closer. His heart beat against hers, and she had the certain knowledge that she was one with him, completely joined, forever.
“Lady, we aren’t going to burn this place down,” he said on a rough chuckle that seemed to rumble against her where they touched.
Then he took her hand and led her away from the party, past her office, and out the back door to the parking garage, across to the executive elevator where he pushed a card in the slot. The doors opened and he stepped in, taking her with him, then hit the button to go up to the twentieth level.
Amy held his hand, staring at the two of them in the muted reflection in the doors, neither one talking. The car stopped and they got out, going through Zane’s darkened office and the reception area. Quint led the way down the hall past the secretary’s desk and back to his private office.
She stepped into his office ahead of him. It was a sprawling space dominated by the huge desk by the windows, a wall of bookcases and filing cabinets and a conversation area to the left with a long couch and two chairs in a semicircle. The only light came from the lamp on his desk. She turned to Quint as he clicked the lock on the door, then came across to her. “Oh, that’s your present,” she murmured, putting her arms out to reach for him.
&nbs
p; He stepped into her embrace, and just held her for a long moment, then moved back slightly. “Hold that thought.” He eased her back against the desk and reached around her. “Here’s your present,” he said, holding out a folded piece of paper.
She looked at him, then took the paper and opened it. She read the single-page fax, then looked at Quint. “Is this true?” she asked.
“Les just faxed it. It’s true. He found the father in Arizona and the guy’s more than happy to sign away his parental rights.” Amy couldn’t stop the tears, and Quint touched her cheek. “I know, you can’t conceive of someone walking away from a baby like that, but we have him. Travis is fine. We’re fine.” He took the paper from her hands, then was holding her again. “Hell, lady, we’re better than fine, as long as you keep your end of this deal.”
“Deal? What deal?”
“To love me for the rest of your life,” he said, his voice vaguely unsteady.
“Oh, Quint,” she said, tears there again. She swiped at her eyes, and sniffed. “No problem,” she whispered, and she circled his neck with her arms. As she reached up, he lifted her off her feet until she was at eye level. “Is the door locked?” she asked.
“Absolutely.”
“And we have an hour?”
“Fifty-five minutes, or thereabout.”
“Let’s not waste any of it,” she breathed and found his lips with hers. That brush of his mustache, his heat, her completeness.
He carried her over to the couch, then lowered her to stand in front of him. “I know Jenn was thinking of you when she got you this dress, but she wasn’t thinking of me.” He turned her around. Buttons ran down the back of it. “A thousand buttons,” he said, starting to undo them.
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