Unexpected

by Karen Tuft

  “Appointment with my, um, lawyer.” She thought once again of how a short few weeks ago—a lifetime ago it now seemed—he’d told her he’d help her with her legal matters. He had to know that was impossible now.

  “Ah.” His eyes dropped. “I see. Brett told me what happened with Emma. I’m so sorry. I wish you’d told me.”

  “I left you a voice message. I also left a note for you with the concierge. Didn’t you—”

  He shook his head. “No. And your voice message didn’t really explain much. I was hurt, Natalie. You left. Without much of an explanation.”

  “Oh, Ross, I never intended to hurt you. I’m sorry. But you were busy with—and when I got the call about Em—I had to get home as fast as possible. I shouldn’t have gone to New York with you in the first place—” Her voice broke despite her best efforts, the awful guilt flooding her again.

  “Natalie,” he said on a sigh. For a moment, Natalie caught herself wondering how her heart, so fragile at the moment, didn’t simply shatter like glass. When she finally glanced up, she saw Ross looking bleakly at her. “Something like this was bound to happen with Wade and the girls. Don’t take the blame for this. Don’t regret New York. May I come in?” he asked quietly. “Please?”

  She backed out of the way and opened the door wider so he could enter. He gestured for her to join him on the sofa in her living room. She obeyed and perched next to him as he sat. Her heart was still thumping wildly.

  “We still have some unfinished business,” he said.

  Unfinished business. Her racing heart skidded to a halt. “Oh. I suppose we do. Mrs. Johnson was more than happy to resume her housekeeping arrangement with you, since our agreement was only through December.” As long as she kept talking, she didn’t have to hear him actually tell her he was terminating her employment, that he was happily reunited with the golden Elizabeth Bancroft, and that he would be moving permanently back to New York. “I hope that’s all right with you. I assumed it was, since you’d seemed happy with—”

  He cut her off by placing his fingertips gently over her lips. “Not that kind of business, sweetheart. Our New Year’s Eve business.” He framed her face with his hands and pressed his mouth to hers. His lips were cool, and Natalie’s hands slid up to his shoulders of their own volition as his found their way around her and drew her in closer. It seemed like only a moment, or a heavenly forever, before he broke the kiss and brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Better late than never, wouldn’t you say?”

  Natalie’s brain was so fuzzy she could barely string her thoughts together. “But I thought . . . You and she . . .”

  He lifted her chin until she looked him in the eyes. “I’m supposed to be the dark knight, remember? Ever watchful, acting incisively without fanfare, then going quietly away. Not you.” He kissed her again, lingeringly. “On New Year’s Eve, I faltered and failed you. It won’t ever happen again.”

  “She’s beautiful, Ross,” Natalie couldn’t bring herself to say Liz’s name, but he knew who she meant, she was sure. “She’s everything you’ve always wanted.” She touched his cheek; it might be her final chance. “And you deserve to be happy and have what you’ve always wanted. What you’ve waited all these years to have.” Natalie rose from the sofa and moved restlessly across the room. “I saw her with my own eyes. She’s breathtaking. She’s an attorney, smart and successful like you. You have everything in common. College and careers—”

  “But there’s a problem.”

  “What?” He’d stopped her midsentence and thrown her off balance. “What problem?”

  Ross rose and walked toward her. “I have a list—a list of requirements for my ideal woman.”

  “I know about that. I know all about—”

  “Shhh, darling.” He followed up with another soft kiss. ”My ideal woman is beautiful. She has a smile that warms me and eyes that brighten my day. My ideal woman is intelligent. She is curious about the world around her and has an enthusiasm for knowledge. And she’s been to the school of hard knocks and graduated with honors.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and ran them down her arms, taking her hands in his. “My ideal woman is successful. She has learned to take the nuts and bolts of life and turn them into living works of joy. She turns cookie dough into parties and pumpkins into fairy tales.”

  “Oh, Ross.” Natalie could barely breathe.

  “My ideal woman,” he whispered as he pulled her close, pressing his lips to her ear, “knows how to catch the sun and give it to me as fire. But most important of all, my ideal woman has to love me as much as I love her.”

  Natalie’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Ross, do you really?”

  “Really. I love you, Natalie.”

  “I love you, Ross. I love you so much.”

  “Well, that’s a huge relief.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small blue velvet box. “Then this is for you, if you’ll accept it.” He handed the box to her.

  Natalie tried to control the shaking of her hands while she opened the box. Inside was a diamond ring, intricately sculpted, unique. It was breathtaking.

  Ross took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. As he did, its diamond caught the daylight and shot it into a rainbow of lights. “Perfect,” he said, smiling at her. “Now, let’s go meet with this attorney of yours and get our girls back, shall we?”

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Natalie stood near the baggage claim of the Salt Lake City International Airport, anxiously waiting for the passengers on the plane that had just landed to disembark and make their way through the terminal—actually, she was waiting for one passenger in particular: Elder Ryan Jacobsen.

  Standing next to her were her dad and stepmother. They’d made the trip down from Oregon to be here when Ryan returned home, as they’d promised they would. Marie held a large bouquet of helium balloons, and Natalie’s dad proudly wore a conspicuous Scottish plaid tie, the gift from his missionary grandson, Natalie surmised.

  Next to them were Emma and Callie, each brandishing a homemade poster welcoming their brother home. Natalie sighed with contentment. She’d gotten her girls back shortly after Ross’s arrival at her front door. Once all of the details of what had happened on New Year’s Eve had come out and the cops had cleared Emma of any wrongdoing, it had been much easier to get Wade to back down from his threats, return the girls to her, and leave custody as it had always been. It hadn’t hurt having some strong legal firepower at her disposal. Natalie had learned that it was handy to have a good attorney around when you needed one.

  And considering the fact that Natalie and Ross had been married for a while now, the best attorney she knew—her favorite one, in fact—was around a lot. After notifying Monty Rogers of his intentions, Ross had relocated to Salt Lake City full time.

  He’d also converted one of their spare rooms into a studio for Natalie and had convinced her to transfer to the university and study art full time. And she had—at least until her doctor had said she needed to take it easy. She would get back into her studies soon; her art was important to her. But right now, she wanted to spend time with her husband and her family. And today she’d finally have all of her family together again.

  Natalie looked over in time to see Scott and Suzie and their two kids and Jackie and Rick and their entire crew walk through the terminal doors, carrying more signs and balloons. Brett quickly made his way over to Emma, and Lexie skipped up to Ross with her arms outstretched.

  “Let me see, let me see,” she cried, dancing with excitement.

  Ross crouched down so Lexie could peer at the pink bundle he was holding. “Say hello to baby Marissa, Lex. I’m sure she wants to say hello to her big-girl cousin.”

  “Ooh,” Lexie cooed. “Hello, Marissa. Can I hold her, Uncle Mac?”

  “That’s probably not a good idea right now, kiddo. It’s a busy airport, and she’s brand-new and just a tiny girl. But Grandma’s sitting on the bench over there. Let’s
take Marissa to her, and you can sit down and talk to her better. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “I’ll be right back,” Ross said, winking at Natalie before taking Lexie’s hand and walking over to where Dorothy was sitting.

  Natalie smiled. She had delivered baby Marissa just a couple of weeks ago. She wasn’t as young as she used to be, and she had a ways to go before she’d feel like her old self again. She was sleep deprived and weak. But she wouldn’t have missed being here today for the world.

  She took a moment to look around her and simply enjoy herself. Emma and Callie were joking and laughing with their new cousins. Scott and Rick were already busy shooting random photos of everyone.

  Here were the people who mattered most to her in the entire world. It was unbelievable to think that when Ryan had left on his mission, Natalie hadn’t even known most of the people who were here supporting him today. They were all family now.

  Jackie and Suzie walked over and exchanged hugs with Natalie. “How are you feeling?” Jackie asked.

  “Yes,” chimed in Suzie. “How are you feeling? Do you need to sit down? And where is that baby?” She began scanning the group. “I need to hold her. Oh! Mom's got her. Mother—” Suzie was off like a shot.

  Jackie’s eyes twinkled at Suzie’s hurried exit. “You look great, Natalie, especially for someone who recently gave birth. Oops, it looks like I need to go supervise a few of the natives. Sorry!” And she dashed off as well.

  Natalie watched Ross as he murmured to Lexie and tucked the blanket snugly around the baby. Natalie's heart soared. Ross was smitten with his new daughter. Natalie had always known he’d be a devoted father, and he’d proven her right. She was so blessed. Her life and her choices had taken her down a difficult path, one that had taught her a lot about herself and, ultimately, made her stronger. She was a person who had made mistakes early in life and had experienced the consequences of them. But a loving Father in Heaven had given her blessings along the way to help her deal with those consequences. A wonderful son and two beautiful daughters who had helped her get through the hard times. And now she’d been blessed even further with another healthy, beautiful child and a husband who loved all of her children—and her.

  Ross wandered back over to stand by Natalie. “How are you feeling?” he asked her, placing his arm around her shoulder and holding her close.

  Natalie wrapped her arm around his waist and drank in his solid, reassuring strength. “I feel wonderful,” she said.

  Just then, a handful of young men in suits emerged from the concourse. Among them was a tall, dark-haired one who was agonizingly, breathtakingly familiar.

  Elder Jacobsen. Ryan. Her son, Ry.

  Emma and Callie dashed over to him, hugging him tightly and crying. The others cheered and whistled and then crowded around to introduce themselves and offer their greetings. Natalie watched as Ryan searched the crowd until he found her, grinned, and headed her way.

  As she smiled back at her oldest child, tears welled up in her eyes. “I feel wonderful,” she repeated softly to herself. “Absolutely wonderful.”

  About the Author

  Karen Tuft was born with a healthy dose of curiosity about pretty much everything, so as a child, she taught herself to read and to play the piano. She studied composition at BYU and graduated from the University of Utah in music theory. She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Kappa Lambda honor societies. In addition to being an author, Karen is a wife, mom, pianist, composer, and arranger. She has spent countless hours backstage and in orchestra pits for theater productions along the Wasatch Front. Among her varied interests, she likes to figure out what makes people tick, wander through museums, and travel—whether it’s by car, plane, or paperback.

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