Protector
Page 26
“Sick?”
“What do they call it?” she asked with mock memory loss. “Oh, yes. Morning sickness. That’s it.”
“Morning...sickness...” His expression was impossible to describe. He was torn between delight and pride and wonder. “We’re pregnant,” he whispered.
She grinned. “Yes. I had a test. It’s positive. We’re pregnant.”
He kissed her with aching tenderness. “We’ll have three children. What a magical year it’s going to be!”
She sighed and snuggled close. “Yes,” she agreed.
He smiled and pulled her closer. After all they’d been through, this was like the rainbow after the storm, the kiss after the cut. He told her so.
She looked up at him with soft, tender eyes. “It’s been a long, hard road to get here.”
He nodded. “But, then, it’s not the destination, baby. It’s the journey.”
She grinned. “Some journey!”
“Some journey. Suppose we go by Barbara’s Café and get you some pickles and strawberry ice cream for lunch?” he teased.
She made a face at him. “What a horrible combination.”
“What would you like, then?”
“A thick chocolate milk shake and an order of French fries,” she decided.
“Bad girl. You need protein for our baby.” He patted her stomach gently.
“Milk shakes have milk. There’s your protein.” She laughed. “But I’ll settle for a nice cold crisp salad.”
“In that case, I’ll take you to lunch.”
“Nice of you!”
He got up and framed her face in his big hands. “Nothing’s too good for my best girl,” he whispered, and kissed her. “But no fries.”
She sighed. “Okay. No fries.”
He took her hand and led her out the door. His mind was full of dreams, of the coming child, of a shared future.
She was feeling much the same. It was going to be the biggest adventure of her life, having a child born of her own body.
“I have ulterior motives,” Hayes said when they got to the crowded café.
“You do?” Minette asked. “What are they?”
“Wait and see.”
He opened the door, walked into the full dining room, grinned and said, “Make way for my pregnant lady!”
And everybody laughed and cheered.
Hayes looked down into Minette’s amused face and grinned again. “I just saved us the trouble of sending out birth announcements.”
She burst out laughing. And then she kissed him. And their friends and neighbors looked on with real affection, and gave them a standing ovation.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781460315187
Copyright © 2013 by Diana Palmer
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