Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t speak.
“Will you marry me, Meredith?”
Emotion welled inside her and tears blurred her vision. “I love you,” she said, her voice trembling.
He hugged her soundly and rolled her to her back, easing his weight upon her. “Was that a yes?”
She nodded. “A definite yes.”
Their lips met in a sweet demonstration of the devotion they had just declared. Where before their passion had always run hot and urgent, it now took a tender, more adoring direction, as though they had their whole lives to experience each other, and this was only the beginning.
“I love you,” he whispered as he entered her body, making her sigh with the exquisite pleasure.
“I love you,” she said when the rhythm grew more demanding and he held her arms above her head.
“I love you,” he assured her, sensing her readiness, taking her over the edge and quickly following.
“I love you,” she sighed, holding him close and feeling the beat of his heart against hers.
“I have to go,” he said two hours later. He lay stretched across her bed, his dark limbs tangled in her shiny sheets.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
A cry sounded from the other room.
Justin pushed up. “Let me go get her.” A few minutes later, he carried Anna in from her crib. Meredith had moved to the cozy chair beside her bed. “I remembered how to do the diaper thing,” he said.
As always the sight of her baby in his arms moved her. He handed Anna to her and watched her place the baby at her breast.
His mouth curved up in a tender smile. He sat at her feet and leaned against her leg, where he could reach Anna’s head and caress it. “Meredith, let’s not wait.”
She met his eyes, which were filled with tenderness.
“I want to be with you,” he said.
She wanted the same. “Do you want to announce it right away?”
“I want to give you a ring first,” he said. “And then we can tell everyone.”
“Okay.”
“Will you have dinner with me tomorrow evening?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
He got up, found his underwear and pulled them on. As though sensing her gaze, he paused.
She admired his form, remembering undressing him in her dining room.
“What?” he said.
“Just looking.”
“Do you want to help me pick out the ring today, or do you want to be surprised? I don’t mind, either way.”
“I trust you.”
He stopped, obviously absorbing the enormous impact of that statement. “Okay. Good.” He glanced around.
“Your clothes are downstairs.”
“I hate to ask, but do you want to get your car tonight?”
She glanced at Anna, thinking she didn’t want to take her out so late.
“Why don’t I come by in the morning and pick you up? I’ll give you a ride to work and that way you won’t have to go out.”
“That would be great. As long as it doesn’t throw off your schedule.”
“I’ll make it my schedule. Be right back.”
Several minutes later, he returned dressed, his jacket and tie over his arm. He was so handsome, he took her breath away. She looked from him to the baby at her breast. Her heart swelled with love for both the man and the child with which she’d been blessed.
Justin knelt beside her chair. He touched Anna’s hair, then leaned in to kiss Meredith. “Soon,” he promised. “We’ll be together soon.”
She leaned her head against the hand he raised to touch her cheek. “Do you think you can learn to love my baby?” she asked.
“I already do. She’s part of you.”
“Do you think Lamond and Jonah will accept me? I won’t try to replace their mother. I’ve always wanted a family, Justin. I’ll love your sons and take care of them as if they were my own.”
His dark eyes took on a sheen in the lamplight. “We’ll work through it,” he assured her. “They’ve asked about you and Anna, and they’ll be delighted that you’re going to be a permanent part of our lives.”
“Justin,” she said, “you should be aware that my mother will…be a problem.”
“Warning noted.”
“No, I mean a problem. Her biggest issue with Anna was that her friends might think I slept with a black man to conceive her. I don’t know how she’ll react once she knows I really am sleeping with a black man.”
“Meredith, you won a battle with cancer, survived a bad relationship, had a child on your own and raised a half-million dollars for your kids. Have you lost your audacity when it comes to an interracial marriage?”
She laughed. “I’m as audacious as ever—more so if you’re by my side.”
“I always will be.”
“Do you always have the right words?”
“I can be very persuasive,” he told her.
“And thorough,” she said with a smile, remembering one of their first conversations.
“Don’t forget charming,” he added.
She smiled then and turned to kiss his palm. “I haven’t forgotten for a moment.” For the first time a thought occurred to her and she stared at him.
“What?” he asked.
“What about your parents? What will they think of you wanting to marry me? Wait, what about your in-laws—the boys’ grandparents?”
He placed a kiss on her nose. “They’ll all think I have incredible taste in women.”
Meredith sat in her parents’ kitchen a few days later, the infant seat atop the island. Her mother bustled about preparing tea and setting out a coffee cake.
“Did Dad tell you I was seeing someone?” Meredith asked.
“He mentioned it.”
“Did he tell you anything specific about him?”
“He said he was a lawyer and that he’s volunteering his services for the camp. Meredith,” she said, straightening and wiping her hands on a dish towel, “I don’t know what I can do, but I want to volunteer, too. Can you use me somewhere?”
Caught off guard, Meredith gathered her thoughts. “Well, sure. There are plenty of things to be done.”
“Very well, then,” Veronica said, “that’s settled.” She ventured a glance at Anna who had begun to fuss.
Meredith got up and dug through the diaper bag for the thermometer. “I’m worried she’s coming down with something. She’s had a touch of diarrhea and she’s been so cranky. It’s not like her.”
Veronica placed the backs of her fingers against Anna’s cheek, then felt her head. “Is she cutting teeth?”
Meredith blinked. “I don’t know. How can you tell?”
Her mother rubbed her index finger across Anna’s upper and lower gums and Anna bit down on her finger.
“My doctor said teething doesn’t cause a fever,” Meredith said.
“What a bunch of rubbish. Ask any mother and she’ll disagree.”
“Really?”
“Her gum is swollen right here. And see how it looks sort of white?” Veronica showed Meredith the spot on Anna’s gum.
“That’s a tooth?”
“I’d bet a dime to a dollar. Stop on your way home and buy some of that stuff that makes it numb.”
Meredith smiled. “Her first tooth!” Her expression quickly dimmed. “It stinks that it has to hurt.”
Veronica agreed and poured the tea.
“You know, that’s the first time you’ve acted like a grandmother,” Meredith told her.
Slicing the cake, Veronica shrugged.
Uneasy about how her mother would accept what she was going to tell her, Meredith girded herself for battle. “We need to talk.”
Her mother laid down the knife and folded her hands as though she’d been anticipating something.
“Sit down,” Meredith said.
The woman sat on a kitchen chair and directed her suspicious gaze to her dau
ghter.
“I’m going to get married,” she blurted.
Her mother’s eyes widened with surprise. “Has Sean come back?”
“No! Hell, no. Sean is out of the picture. I’m marrying Justin Weber. I met him on my vacation and we fell in love. It’s real. It’s permanent. He was married once before and has two sons. We’ll be a blended family.”
Her mother seemed to be absorbing the news. “He is a lawyer,” she said approvingly.
“Yes, he is.”
“But two children. Are you prepared to take on that responsibility?”
“Yes, they’re adorable little boys. And he’ll be accepting my child as his own, too.”
Her mother’s eyebrows rose with concern. “Meredith,” she said, “it doesn’t bother him that…that Anna is…”
“Half African-American?” Meredith finished for her.
“Yes, that.”
Meredith’s heart fluttered anxiously. She pursed her lips and drew a breath, drawing courage. “It’s a non-issue for him.”
Veronica absorbed her reply with a nod of her head. “Well,” she said, as though groping for something positive to say, “that’s a plus for him.”
Meredith strapped on her emotional armor and plunged forward. “Justin is an African-American.”
Her mother blinked.
The clock on the kitchen wall ticked loudly.
Anna made a little gurgling noise.
Meredith thought she might throw up, waiting for her mother’s reaction. A minute passed where she wondered if the woman had heard her.
Veronica’s gaze bored into hers. Finally she said, “Your mind is made up?”
“Yes. I love him. He makes me happy and he accepts me and my baby. I want him in my life forever.”
Tears formed in her mother’s eyes and she blinked them back. “I fought you over Anna and I didn’t win,” she said. “In fact I almost lost you.”
Meredith’s hopes were raised.
“I’m not going to say I agree with this decision. I can’t even say right now that I’ll ever be happy about it. But I won’t criticize you or fight it.”
“Thank you.”
“He is a lawyer,” she said, finding something she could appreciate.
“An extremely successful lawyer,” Meredith added. “But he’s more. He’s a warm, generous, kind man. A good father and a loving partner. You’re going to like him.”
Veronica took a breath and flattened her palms on the table. “How long do I have to get used to the idea?”
“We’re going to announce our engagement tomorrow.”
Meredith was encouraged. Her mother had shown more poise than she’d imagined, and Meredith couldn’t wait to tell Justin and to arrange for their families to meet.
They might still have a few obstacles to overcome, but she had every confidence that their love was bigger than anything they would come up against. She’d never backed away from a challenge before, and love was no exception.
Epilogue
Guests streamed into the Tanglewood Country Club on the evening of Justin and Meredith’s reception. Terrence and Leslie Logan had insisted upon throwing the party in honor of their engagement.
“You deserve a party,” Leslie declared, standing with her slender hand on her husband’s black sleeve. “After the manipulative way the board set you up to meet, it’s the least we can do.”
“I’ve assured you there are no hard feelings,” Meredith told her. “In a way, the board did us a favor.”
“But don’t tell them that,” Justin added. “Meredith just might have a lifetime benefactor in Wayne Thorpe. Writing checks to the camp appears to ease his guilt.”
Meredith cast him a playful scowl.
“And you’ve set a date?” Terrence asked, changing the subject.
“We have,” Justin answered. “But we’re keeping it a secret for now.”
“Why is that, dears?” Leslie asked.
“So we can elope without anyone knowing,” Justin replied.
Leslie looked surprised. “No big wedding?”
Meredith leaned into Justin’s side and he wrapped his arm around her. “We don’t want to wait,” she said and blushed.
Justin grinned and kissed the top of her head.
“Isn’t young love grand?” Leslie turned her unique brown gaze from Meredith to her husband.
His warm look and the hand he placed over hers implied that mature love wasn’t so bad, either.
“You two enjoy yourselves now,” Leslie said, and the couple moved off into the crowd.
Justin left Meredith’s side for a few minutes and returned with drinks. “Yours is club soda and lime,” he said.
She had been admiring the elegantly appointed room’s rich wood paneling, high ceiling and gilt-framed paintings. “Do you belong to this country club?”
Justin nodded.
“Goodness, Justin, just how much money do you make?”
He gave her a yearly figure and she choked on her club soda.
As he patted her on the back, he added, “But I don’t pay for the membership out of pocket. It’s one of the job perks.”
“Like the suites?”
“The same.”
She studied his face. “You make that kind of money, own a Lexus for the family and drive a BMW to work. You have a great home, a live-in nanny…” She paused. “A housekeeper?”
He confirmed her question with a nod.
“But you would have given up all that if I’d asked you?”
“I could work anywhere,” he answered.
Mauli came up beside them and gave Meredith a brief hug. “I’m so happy for the two of you. You didn’t have me fooled for a minute. I knew you were meant for each other.”
Meredith made a comical face. “You had more confidence than I did, then.”
Mauli smiled. “Justin assured me my job is mine for as long as I like. Will helping with Anna be part of my duties?”
“Only if you want her to be part of your duties,” Meredith said.
The nanny looked delighted. “I do.” She glanced behind Meredith. “There she is.”
Holding Anna, Meredith’s father approached. The baby, dressed in a frilly red dress with white lace trim, white anklets and tiny black patent shoes, was snuggled in the crook of his arm. She took in her surroundings with wide-eyed wonder and smiled her precious one-tooth smile at her mother.
“May I hold her for a while?” Mauli asked.
Hank reluctantly turned his granddaughter over to the nanny, then asked, “Where are your boys, Justin?”
“We arranged to have game tables set up along the east wall over there.” Justin pointed. “Last time I looked, there were several kids playing with them.”
Mauli excused herself and carried the baby off into the gathering just as Veronica joined them.
Hank put his arm around his wife and said to Justin, “This country club is impressive.”
“Do you golf?” Justin asked.
“Occasionally.”
“There’s a championship course.” The two men talked golf for a few minutes and Justin invited Hank to join him the following week. “There’s a tennis court,” Justin said to Veronica.
“I’ve never played tennis,” she replied uncomfortably.
“The outdoor pool won’t be open for a few months, but there’s an indoor pool. And a complete exercise facility with trainers. Maybe you and Meredith would enjoy an afternoon together.”
“Maybe.” She didn’t sound excited about the idea.
“The food in the dining room is excellent,” he suggested, still trying to find something to catch her interest.
Veronica managed to look Justin in the eye and gave him a weak smile. She hadn’t been easily won over, but during their recent encounters Justin had proven his ability to persuade and charm. He would probably never be her first choice for her daughter’s husband, but Veronica had grudgingly accepted that Meredith loved him and would not change her mind.
> “I could reserve a table for you and your friends some afternoon,” Justin suggested. “My treat.”
Veronica’s eyebrows raised with interest. “That would be lovely.”
Holding back a giggle, Meredith found Justin’s hand and squeezed it. He smiled down and leaned to give her a quick kiss.
Sometime later, several of the camp volunteers surrounded them with good wishes and a flurry of hugs. The engaged couple had offered a blanket invitation to the party to anyone involved in Camp I Can, and many of them had shown up.
Justin and Meredith continued to be surprised at the number of acquaintances they had in common. With Meredith working at Portland General Hospital and Justin at Children’s Connection, they were bound to have mutual associates.
Leslie introduced Meredith to Trent Crosby, with whom it turned out Justin was already acquainted. “We diverted a potential problem together recently,” Justin told Meredith.
“Where is your sister?” Meredith asked. “Katie promised to help with the camp.”
“My sister’s spending some time at the family ranch in Wyoming,” Trent said.
Before Meredith could voice another question, Trent had excused himself and moved into the crowd.
Rebecca Holley shared plans for a special fund-raising event with all proceeds going to Camp I Can. “I see a lot of problems and unhappiness in my work,” she shared openly with them. “But there are miracles, too, and sometimes they need to be initiated by us humans.”
Meredith smiled. “I couldn’t have found a better fund-raising chair. Thanks.”
“Hey, I found you,” Rebecca teased good-naturedly.
Nancy Allen introduced her guest, Everett Baker, a tall dark-haired man who seemed uncomfortable with his surroundings and the throng of guests.
“Everett works for Children’s Connection,” Nancy said.
As the clinic’s accountant, he and Justin knew each other.
“Accountant?” Meredith asked. “I could use someone good with numbers to help balance the books and create a budget.”
Everett cast her a shy glance. “I’d be glad to help, Miss Malone,” he offered.
“Don’t mind her,” Justin said. “She’d recruit her own mother for the cause.”
Meredith laughed. “Didn’t have to. She volunteered.”
Child of Her Heart Page 15
