by penny watson
Leaving Sweet Inspiration had not been too difficult. The new owners, Mrs. Henderson and Kandy and Ray, were taking good care of it. Joe had been hired as their full time deliveryman, and Lucy had left all of her most cherished recipes on the computer. The only thing that was bothering her was her tummy. It was really upset. Lucy worried she was getting sick. She felt exhausted, too. Telling Nicholas was out of the question. He worried too much.
“Miss Lucy, here’s the checklist for the candy delivery to California. I wanted you to look it over and make sure we didn’t forget anything.” Birgit handed Lucy the binder with a pen.
“Are you okay? You look a bit pale today.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Birgit. I’m just feeling a little under the weather.” She signed off on the order and leaned against the counter. “I think I might sneak home for a quick nap. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Helga and Hector had just stopped by to purchase some loaves of bread. She waved weakly at the couple, and they hurried over to her.
Helga grasped Lucy’s hand and peered into her face. “You don’t look so good, Lucy Anne. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing to worry about, I’m sure. I think I’ve been running around too much since we got back from our honeymoon.”
Hector shook his head. “Are you really that obtuse, my dear?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You do know how babies are made, don’t you, Lucy Anne? I wouldn’t want to embarrass you with the story...”
“For goodness sake, Hector! Don’t mortify Lucy. Of course she knows how babies are made. Suddies call it ‘the birds and the bees.’” Helga scowled at her husband.
Hector raised an eyebrow. “That’s odd. What do birds and bees have to do with babies?”
“How should I know? Suddies have a lot of strange expressions.” Helga led Lucy to a stool and insisted on getting her a glass of water.
Lucy rolled her eyes at their fussing. “I can’t be pregnant, you two. I’m...barren, okay? This is a little personal, don’t you think?”
“Barren? What are you talking about young lady?” Hector looked questioningly at Lucy. “You’re as fertile as the hills of Bavaria, my dear.”
“No, Hector, I’m not. I had a medical condition a while ago that caused scarring, and I’m infertile. The doctors in the Sudenwelt told me it was impossible for me to have a baby.”
Hector spied Nicholas across the room and whistled shrilly. Her husband looked up, and Hector summoned him with a flick of his wrist.
“Hello, Hector. Helga. What can we do for you today?” Nicholas slid his arm around Lucy’s waist and kissed her softly on the forehead.
“Nicholas Klaus, were you listening to me when I healed your lovely wife? With the red sphere? She is under the misconception that she is barren, young man.”
Nicholas blanched. “We’re planning to adopt our children someday, Hector. Not that it’s any of your business.”
Hector laughed. “The hell it’s not. I healed Lucy with the red sphere, Nicholas. I told you it would heal her wounds that day, and any other medical conditions she had suffered from in the past. Don’t you remember?”
“Uh...no.” Nicholas responded slowly, clearly trying to jog his memory. “I was a little distracted by Lucy’s near death experience. I don’t remember much about that day, to tell you the truth.”
Hector pointed to Lucy with an exasperated look on his face. “Why don’t you ask your pretty wife how she’s feeling?”
Nicholas gazed at Lucy with concern. “Sweetheart, is everything okay?”
Lucy shrugged. “I guess I have been pretty tired lately. And my stomach is off. I’ve been feeling a bit queasy.”
Nicholas raised an eyebrow at his wife. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Are you late, Lucy Anne?”
Lucy’s face went blank. “Umm, actually, come to think of it, I haven’t had a period for a while. Since...before I met you.”
Nicholas smiled at his wife and gently put a hand on her tummy. “Do you think it’s possible, Schatzi?”
Lucy’s eyes filled with tears. “I gave up that dream a long time ago, Nicholas.”
Hector reached out to Lucy and touched her forehead. A wave of shimmering light danced up his hand. He nodded and patted her on the shoulder. “You’ll feel better soon, my dear. Call Helga for some ginger tea. It will help to settle your tummy.”
Helga gave Lucy a hug. “Oh, Nicholas. Alena and your father will be thrilled!”
Hector and his wife walked away hand-in-hand, not bothering to hide their enormous grins.
Nicholas cupped Lucy’s face and kissed her startled face on the tip of her nose. “Wow. I think I gave you a really cool Christmas gift this year honey. How do you feel about that?”
Lucy laughed and sank into his embrace. “You’re making all of my dreams come true, Nicholas. I didn’t think this year could get any better. But I was wrong.” She gazed up into his eyes. “I hope our baby has dark wavy hair and beautiful hazel eyes.”
Nicholas held Lucy tightly in his arms and whispered into her ear. “And freckles and ringlet curls. Just like her gorgeous mom. Merry Christmas, Lucy Anne Klaus.”
Lucy laughed with happiness. “Merry Christmas, Nicholas Klaus.”
PENNY WATSON is a native Pittsburgher whose love of romance started at the age of twelve when she discovered Gone With The Wind in the middle school library. This resulted in numerous attempts at a first novel involving a young lady with windswept hair who lived in a treehouse.
A biologist by training, Penny has worked at various times as a dolphin trainer, science teacher, florist, and turfgrass researcher (don't ask). Through it all she was a compulsive reader and collector of romance novels.
After taking time off to raise her two spirited children, she decided to rekindle her passion for storytelling with the support of a wonderful writer's group, The Quirky Ladies.
Now she gets to incorporate her wide array of interests, including gardening, cooking and travel into her light paranormal stories. Penny lives outside of Boston with one fly-fishing crazed husband, two lively Filipino kids, and a wiener dog.
Thank you for purchasing this Wild Rose Press publication. For other wonderful stories of romance, please visit our on-line bookstore at www.thewildrosepress.com.
For questions or more information contact us at [email protected].
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