Bye, Bye Blackbird: A Blackbird Sisters Novella (The Blackbird Sisters Mysteries Book 12)

by Nancy Martin

  Brightly, Libby said, “We’re all fine. We’re on our way back now. Is Nora okay?”

  Dr. Stengler couldn’t get her expression under control in time.

  Emma saw her hesitate. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Nora,” the doctor admitted. “She’s in a crisis.”

  “What the hell does that mean—a crisis?” Emma shoved past the doctor and headed back toward Nora’s room at top speed.

  Dr. Stengler’s troubled gaze met Libby’s, and Libby felt a stab of fear. “Is it bad?”

  The doctor said, “The crash team is doing their best.”

  For a terrible moment, Libby let herself imagine what life might be like without Nora. Nora was the center around which the rest of the family spun. Without her, they’d all fly off into chaos. Without her, the Blackbird family would be a collection of eccentric people spinning their wheels willy nilly. It would be family pandemonium. Tears welled up in Libby’s throat. Who would babysit at a moment’s notice? Who would see into Libby’s innermost emotions? Who would provide comfort in her times of need?

  “I can give blood,” she said. “Or stem cells or an organ transplant—anything she needs! Nora’s my baby sister! You can’t let her die.”

  Dr. Stengler carefully pried the baby from Libby’s arms. “Come on. Let’s go see her.”

  They went back onto the labor and delivery floor, which was bustling with people despite the late hour.

  But a single man seemed to emerge from the crowd in the hallway—a large man with a cellophaned bunch of flowers clamped to his chest. He had a pink and blue security bracelet on one meaty wrist, which gave his green jacket and yellow shirt an even more garish hint of color. “Libby?”

  “Perry? What are you doing here?”

  He had a pink blush of embarrassment that went all the way to his large ears, which, come to think of it, seemed to be Perry Delbert’s default expression. “I … I stopped by your house. They said you were here, so I came.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  Maybe it was one too many half-hearted statements from Perry that did it, or maybe it was Libby’s terror about what was happening to Nora. She could no longer control her emotions. They all exploded, and Libby threw herself into Perry’s arms. He dropped the flowers and gathered her up with more sensitivity than usual. She clung to his large chest and sobbed.

  “Hey,” he said. “Hey, there. Having babies is a good thing, right? What are you so upset about?”

  “N-Nora,” Libby wept. “She’s in trouble. The d-doctor says there’s a c-crisis.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know!” Libby wailed. “But I can’t lose my sister! She’s the glue that holds us together!”

  “That’s not true.” Perry held her close. “You’re the glue.”

  “N-no, it’s Nora.”

  “You glued yourself to my heart the minute I met you,” Perry said in her ear.

  “Wh-what?” Libby blinked up at Perry and realized he had finally shaved. His horrid, scratchy beard was gone, and he looked positively handsome. If he’d clean his glasses, that is. And maybe do something about his nose hair. But his brown, teddy bear eyes were meltingly sweet as he gazed down at her.

  “You’re the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said. “I should have said it long ago. But I didn’t want to scare you off.”

  “Scare me off? When have I ever been scared?” Libby tried to wriggle out of his embrace, but he wasn’t letting go. “And why on earth are you suddenly … Wait, you’re engaged! Engaged to be married! Unhand me at once.” She tried to sound forceful, but suddenly she was unable to summon her assertiveness.

  “I’m sorry, Libby, but I’m through taking orders from you.” He held tight. “I broke it off with Harriet. I realized she’s not the woman for me. She doesn’t have your fire.”

  “My … fire?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to cool down a little, just so I could say a few things, but yesterday I realized you won’t ever cool down. And I wouldn’t want you to. So I’m through being Mr. Nice Guy.”

  “What on earth does that mean? You’ve been a perfect gentleman, Perry—”

  “I don’t think you like gentlemen all that much,” he replied, more bravely than he’d ever been. “I think you need a man who’s going to take the bull by the horns. Er … what I mean is, I don’t want to be your friend or your exterminator. I want to be your … well, your lover. Your husband. I want you to marry me, Libby. Right away. Because I think I’m going to bust if I can’t have you.”

  “Have me?”

  He blushed then, but met her gaze with courage. “I want to make love to you, Libby. You’ve put me off long enough, and I just can’t stand it anymore.”

  “I never thought you found me desirable,” Libby sniffed.

  “Desirable! Is there any sexier woman in the world?”

  “You have a funny way of showing it. Why, we’ve barely kissed but two or three times—”

  “Seventeen times,” he corrected. “But I never thought you wanted me to make the next move. Libby, you’ve had me buffaloed for a long time, but no more.”

  He gathered her up in a real kiss, not a tentative little peck, but a whopper— right there in the middle of the hospital, where Libby should have brushed him off, of course, but here he was holding her and kissing her more thoroughly than he’d ever done. And for once Libby didn’t think about putting him in his place. He felt very sexy just then, not like the bug man who came to spray for insects, but a real man who desired her in a way that made her feel soft and gooey inside. He was insistent for once, demanding that she meet his kiss halfway. So she did.

  Maybe she wasn’t the marrying type anymore. Maybe she ought to just live with a man, be his exciting lover instead of his boring old wife. Yes, that was it. She wouldn’t marry Perry. But they could still have a wonderful life together.

  Finally, she became aware of someone saying her name.

  It was Emma, standing in the doorway to Nora’s room. Emma wiping tears from her white, tense face with a brusque arm.

  She said, “Lib, you better get in here.”

  Emma held the door wide, allowing a team of nurses and doctors to come slowly out of the room. They wheeled a cart of equipment with them. Behind them in the room, babies were crying.

  Something in Emma’s gaze commanded Libby to leave Perry and go to Nora’s bedside.

  16.

  Life has a way of going in ever-widening circles that take you places you should expect, but don’t. A family is your anchor, and yet the people in it sometimes cast you adrift. It’s up to each of us to make the family we want, the family that will sustain us.

  I woke after a series of long, strange dreams that always seemed to end with the earth swallowing me up as my family called to me. Their voices floated nearby, but I was down too deep to answer. And I ached. Oh, how I ached. Even the effort to reach consciousness hurt.

  When I did make it to the light, there was Michael in the chair next to me, feeding a baby from a bottle and looking far from happy about it. His eyes had dark circles I’d never seen before. His brows seemed permanently clamped in a frown. The baby, though, had her gaze contentedly locked on his face.

  I turned my head slowly. On the other side of the bed sat Lexie, of all people, also feeding a baby, although not very comfortably. The bottle looked tense in her hand, but the child sucked it determinedly.

  I summoned my voice. “Where’s Noah?”

  I thought Michael was going to drop the child in his arms, but he managed not to, and he was at my side instantly. “Oh, Nora.”

  “Noah?” I said.

  Michael’s smile was shaky but warm. “He’s downstairs in the cafeteria with Emma. She’s spoiling him with French toast sticks. They’re the only edible food in this joint.”

  The baby in his arms gave a squall of protest, but instead of r
esuming her feeding, he turned her to face me. She had a scrunched up expression that said she hadn’t nearly finished eating yet. He said, “This is Amelia. She’s hungry all the time. Allie’s over there. She’s the good sleeper.”

  “Sweetie.” Lexie said, coming close and showing me the other child. “Sweetie, we’re so glad you’re awake.”

  “Can I hold them?” I tried to sit up, but pain stabbed me in the chest.

  “Not yet,” she said. “You have a bunch of broken ribs. You scared the hell out of us, you know.”

  Broken ribs? That explained why I could hardly take a breath without feeling as if my chest might burst.

  I blinked at Michael, too fuzzy-headed to form the questions that crowded into my mind.

  He said, “You delivered Amelia, but after that, you passed out. They had to do CPR on you, that’s why your ribs are broken. You’ve been in ICU for four days. But they took out the breathing tube yesterday, so you’re a lot better.”

  A breathing tube? My sore throat must have been caused by that.

  He added, “They have you zonked out on pain meds.”

  I tried to smile. “They’re not working.”

  I tried moving my hand, and when it functioned, I reached stiffly for Amelia. Her face was perfect under my fingertips, her thick, dark eyelashes just like Michael’s. Her hair was a poof of familiar red.

  Allie’s hair was just the same color, but curlier. Her complexion was a shade more yellow than Amelia’s.

  Lexie was teary, but she said, “They’re both perfectly healthy. Allie has an elevated bilirubin count, but she’s been sleeping under a special light. Amelia weighs a few ounces more. The staff could hardly tell them apart. We took them home the day before yesterday—but sweetie, we need your cool head. It’s a whirlwind taking care of them both.”

  Michael said, “Noah isn’t making it any easier. His sleep schedule is completely off. He asks for you every time I put him to bed. I don’t read the stories like you do.”

  Lexie tucked Allie into the bed beside me and raised the metal railing so she couldn’t fall out. “I’ll go get the nurse. They’ll want to see you’re awake and talking.”

  Allie was wrapped snugly in a blanket. Her body was a warm little bundle against me. I shifted my arm until I had her cradled alongside my hip. I felt tears spring to my eyes at the sight of her. So beautiful. My daughter. After all this time.

  I turned back to Michael and struggled for the strength to ask, “When can I go home?”

  He touched my face and grinned, eyes alight in his otherwise exhausted face. “I can try busting you out of here, but the security team would have me arrested. They’re on some heightened security thing around here. But there’s no rush. They’re going to run a bunch of tests on you.”

  “Am I—?”

  “You’re okay.” He got serious. “The docs think there’s something weird going on with your heart. It’s why you’ve fainted all these years. But it’s nothing terrible. You might need a pacemaker, that’s all. Now that you’re awake, we’ll know in a day or two.”

  I nodded. “I’m sorry I frightened you.”

  “It’s okay.” His hand found mine. “You’re going to be fine. So are all of us.”

  I managed a smile and whispered, “I love you.”

  “We love you, too.”

  It was wonderful to hear him speaking for our children.

  The drugs must have overwhelmed me again, but this time the dreams weren’t so dark. I dozed and heard people talking. A nurse came, I think, and checked my pulse. She shouted my name, and I surfaced long enough to say, “Thank you,” which made her smile and pat me. Someone came and stuck my arm with a needle, too, but I didn’t bother staying awake for that.

  After a while, I heard Lexie saying in her most businesslike voice, “I can manage the overseas operation just fine. It’s a no-brainer for me, just tricky with so many accounts.”

  Michael said, “You’ll get the hang of it.”

  “I will, yes.” Her voice was brisk. “I know what I’m doing with the online gambling. It’s not much different from the investment world. I can make it work. You’ll get your cut.”

  “Just for a year,” Michael said.

  “But the rest of the Abruzzo family businesses, you’ll take care of them?”

  “I’ve tied up all the loose ends I cared about.”

  “Yes, I know. Should I ask— ?”

  “No.”

  “All right, then.”

  They murmured more. I must have floated off. But I came back to hear Lexie saying, “What happened here the night the girls were born? Have you figured it out? Was it someone from your family?”

  “It was a cousin, yeah. They planned to kidnap Amelia and hold her for ransom, get me to give them the business.” On a laugh, Michael said, “They let a raccoon loose in the hospital to distract the security team, which is a pretty good gag, if you ask me.”

  “I’m astonished you can laugh about it.”

  “I had a lot of stuff going on that night. Good thing Emma and Libby figured out what was going down. And now I’ve taken care of the cousins.”

  “By ‘take care,’ ” she said warily, “you don’t mean putting a hit on any of them, do you?”

  He laughed again. “Don’t let your imagination run away with you. They’ll go to jail and never know about the online venture. I started setting it up last year, kept it to myself. But remember, it’s not entirely legal, Lex. Not yet.”

  “With my license revoked, I need something to do with my life, and it might as well be this. I’ll see about making it as legal as possible.” After a pause, she said, “Thank you, sweetie. Have I said that? I am grateful that you’re handing me something that’s already almost built.”

  “Just don’t get yourself arrested. That’s a pain in the ass.”

  I could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “I won’t, I promise.”

  If I was surprised about Michael’s way of getting rid of his family’s business, I didn’t fathom it all just then. Lexie taking over his mob holdings? It didn’t make sense at the time, but it sank into my subconscious.

  Later, I could hear Emma’s loud voice. “Take it easy, buddy!”

  Something crashed onto the bed, and I woke on impact. The angle of light was different in the room, so some hours had passed. A face swam into view, and it was Noah. He had a big smile as he peeped up through the rails on the bed.

  “Mama?”

  He had never spoken the word before. I put my hand out and touched him. “Good morning, Noah.”

  He laughed. “Mama!”

  Emma leaned down. “It’s night time. I’m taking him home to bed in a few minutes. The girls are already at the farm with Libby. It’s good to see you back in the land of the living, Sis.” She was wearing riding clothes and smelling like horse. She had a firm hand on Noah’s back, keeping him on his feet.

  “Is he standing by himself?” I stroked Noah’s hair.

  “Yeah, I’ve been working with him. He’s just about walking.”

  Emma would be a good trainer, I thought. At the moment, Noah was clambering up the railing, jouncing the bed and making my ribs spark with pain, but Emma lifted him clear.

  “Put him down here.” I patted my thigh. “I can handle it.”

  “If you’re sure.” Emma plopped Noah on my legs, but had to hold him back as he tried to climb up my body. She was laughing, though, and so was he. I wanted to wrap him in my arms, but I had a feeling my ribs weren’t up to a squirming toddler yet.

  Michael came through the door, and Noah greeted him by pointing at me with glee. “Mama!”

  Michael tousled his head as he leaned down and kissed me, which felt wonderful, and then he swooped and lifted Noah sky high. The boy squealed with delight as Michael swung him around the room, dodging my IV pole and the half-pulled privacy curtain. In my spinning peripheral vision, I saw a startling amount of medical equi
pment.

  “Listen, you two.” Emma sat on the foot of my bed. “I’ve been talking to Hart.”

  I stopped watching Michael play airplane with Noah and tried to focus on Emma. “He’s back, you mean? Here in the States?”

  “Only a stopover.” Emma didn’t meet my eye. “He came for a funeral—that is, he was just here for a few days. He and I talked about Noah.”

  Michael set Noah on the floor and came to sit in the chair beside me. “And?” The aggressive threat was in his voice again.

  “It’s good news.” Emma pretended to poke Noah as he clung to her knee and stood on tiptoe. “Hart and Whatsername are ready to sign papers.”

  “Papers?” My heart lifted.

  “Any papers you want,” Emma said. “Adoption papers, if you like.”

  Michael had a steady gaze on Emma. “You’re serious? They’re serious?”

  “Em,” I said, “I know Hart well enough to guess he has a price.”

  At once, Michael said, “We’ll pay any price.”

  My sister shook her head. “It’s not like that. Hart and I had a knock-down drag-out fight, and in the end he agreed with me. No strings. Noah’s yours if you want him.”

  “You know we want him,” Michael said.

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  She shrugged. “Okay, then. Get a lawyer—not one of your mob lawyers, Mick, but somebody good enough with adoption chops to make it airtight. I think we could get this deal sewn up pretty quickly.”

  Michael seized Noah and hung him upside down until Noah shrieked with delight.

  Emma watched them for a while then glanced at me. She said, “I’m moving to Florida.”

  “No,” I said.

  Emma came close and sat in the chair beside me. “Hey, it’s got nothing to do with you guys or Noah. I got an offer from Cookie’s owner. They’re shipping him down to Florida to train this winter, and they asked me to go with him, work with him. He’s coming along great, if only I can get him to quit balking at the water jumps. He hates the water.”