The Midwife and the Lawman

by Marisa Carroll

  “God, Devon. For such a smart, brave woman, sometimes you’re dumb as a box of rocks.” The love in his voice took the sting from the words. He cupped the back of her head, being careful not to crush the baby in her arms, and kissed her. Kissed her long and thoroughly until she grew dizzy and weak with need and desire. When he raised his head, his eyes were glittering and his voice wasn’t quite steady. “Loving someone means you stand by them. You trust them. You honor their confidence.”

  “I didn’t want you to have to choose between me and your duty to the law.”

  “There wasn’t any choice to make, Devon. You will always come first in my life. And as for my honor as a lawman, I’m not some movie-hero cop. This world’s made up of hundreds of shades between black and white. Rounding up kids and turning them over to the feds isn’t in my job description. I’m sworn to take care of the citizens of Enchantment, not enforce immigration laws.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me all this that night?”

  “Why didn’t you trust me enough to ask me that night?”

  She traced her finger down the line of his cheek. “Because I was afraid of all the changes in my life. Everything between us has happened so fast.”

  “Not fast enough. Ten years is a long time between acts.”

  “I wanted to tell you how I felt about you. How I’ve always felt about you. But I was afraid to trust my heart. I’m not afraid anymore. I love you, Miguel. I have always loved you. I will always love you.”

  “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear those words?”

  “As long as I’ve waited to say them?”

  He kissed her again, because from that moment on, there was no more need for words.

  EPILOGUE

  “YOU’VE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB with this party, considering all the distractions you’ve had this week.”

  Devon took a sip of wine to hide her smile. “Distractions” was putting it mildly. “Thank you, Mother. It is going well, isn’t it?” She and Myrna were standing on the terrace outside the private dining room at Angel’s Gate. The sun had just set. The sky was a riot of orange and pink and purple, and entirely free of smoke.

  The Silver Creek fire had been declared one-hundred-percent contained two days after their night on the mountain. The recovery team had already begun its work, stabilizing denuded slopes, planting seedlings to speed the recovery of the burned-over areas. The view wasn’t quite as beautiful as it had been on her last visit, but in a few years, the scars from the fire would be gone.

  “Do you want to go back inside, Mom?”

  “Not unless you do. I love it out here.” Myrna adjusted her cashmere shawl and took a deep breath of the clear, cool air. “Did I tell you I approve of those shoes?”

  Devon glanced down at the strappy high-heeled sandals that Kim had picked for the wedding. She’d worn them to the rehearsal to practice walking on the stone floor of the little mission church where the ceremony would take place. She’d had no idea her very conservative cousin had such decadent taste in foot-wear. Pink-tipped toenails peeked back at her. She’d actually found time for the pedicure and manicure she’d needed, thanks to her mother.

  Myrna had volunteered to watch over Maria and help Sylvia with Estrella while she and Kim went to the spa in Taos the day before. Myrna’s grandmotherly instincts, first roused by Maria, had kicked into high gear when she held Estrella for the first time. “It’s the way she’s always been about something that interests her,” Sam had said with a chuckle as they waited in their rented car for her to finish up a few last-minute details before they left for the church. “Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead. You and Miguel better be planning on a big family.”

  “Actually, we are,” Devon had said.

  “I wouldn’t mind a couple of grandkids, myself. Of course, it appears you’ve got a good start with the kids you’ve got now.”

  “It would help if we could find their aunt. She’s their closest relative, and if she’s here legally—” She broke off. “I’m sorry. I promised myself to take this whole thing one step at a time.”

  “That’s easier said than done for you Kane women. All four of you, Kim included. You’re more like your mother—and your grandmother—than you want to admit.”

  “I’m noticing that, too,” she’d said, and they’d both laughed.

  “You made the right decision coming back to Enchantment, didn’t you?” He’d reached out and taken her hand between both of his.

  She’d turned her hand in his and squeezed back. “Yes, Dad, I did.”

  “Your father and I are thinking about buying one of the condos the resort’s going to build. Did he tell you that?” Myrna asked, breaking into her thoughts.

  “No, he hasn’t.”

  “We’ve been thinking about a place to get away from the city for a couple of years now. Somewhere the sun shines a lot more than it does in San Francisco. We talked about Albuquerque, you know, since you were living there. But it will be much nicer here.”

  “Yes, it will.” Devon touched the pendant at her throat. Lydia had given it to her just hours ago. It was a token of her grandmother’s love, and with Devon’s acceptance, it was also a symbol of Devon’s commitment to The Birth Place.

  And to the new life she would make for herself in Enchantment.

  Devon couldn’t stop herself from seeking out Miguel with her eyes. He was talking to his parents near the fireplace. He was wearing charcoal-gray slacks and a black sports jacket over an open-necked shirt as white as the snow on Mount Wheeler. He was so handsome he took her breath away. After a moment he turned his head, caught her gaze and smiled. He headed in her direction, meeting up with Sam as he moved toward the terrace with a glass of red wine for his wife.

  Myrna followed the path of Devon’s focus, and a satisfied smile curved the corners of her mouth. “He has matured remarkably well.”

  “Yes, he has, hasn’t he.”

  “Have you set a date yet?” Myrna asked, pitching her voice loudly enough for Miguel and Sam to hear as they came through the sliding doors onto the balcony.

  “No, ma’am,” Miguel replied, not missing a beat as Sam handed Myrna her wine. “We’ve got to get Kim and Nolan married off before we can make plans for our own wedding.”

  “I’ll be happy to help with any arrangements for yours. I’ve been looking forward to being the mother of the bride for quite some time.”

  “Speaking of the wedding, I think we should start the group moving back down the mountain,” Sam said.

  Myrna glanced at the thin gold watch on her arm. “Good heavens, yes. It’s later than I thought. Maria and Sammy both need to be in bed. It’s going to be a long day for them tomorrow.” Sammy had been given a reprieve from chicken/salmon menu of the rehearsal dinner. She and Maria were having hot dogs and ice-cream sundaes back at the cabin. They were “baby-sitting” Estrella, which mostly meant leaning over the crib Jesse and Miguel had set up in the main room of the cabin, oohing and aahing over the infant.

  “Good night.” Miguel slid his arm around Devon’s shoulders and leaned back against the terrace wall. They watched as Sam and Myrna returned to the dining room and walked up to the table where Kim and Nolan and Lydia sat with Kim’s foster parents. After a few moments they all rose and began looking for purses and jackets. Five minutes later Myrna had ushered them out of the dining room and into the lobby.

  “My mother is an incredible organizer,” Devon said, her back against Miguel’s chest, her fingers twined with his.

  “Formidable,” he said, bending his head to nuzzle the nape of her neck. “I wonder what she’ll say when I tell her that for the Diné, after the marriage it is forbidden for a man to speak to his mother-in-law, or even to be in the same room with her for the rest of their lives.”

  “Lucky for my mother you’re not a traditional Navajo,” she said, unperturbed by his teasing. He could tease her all night long if he just kept nibbling at her earlobe as he was doing now. They’d had so little time toget
her since the fire. Miguel’s days had been busy dealing with the aftermath, and hers with last-minute wedding details, moving into her office at The Birth Place and helping Sylvia settle into motherhood.

  “Yes, but I’m a man who takes the best of all the cultures that make up my background, remember? I might have to give this one a—” She turned in his arms and silenced him with a kiss.

  “She has promised to send us the name of the best immigration lawyer in the West,” she said, when she got her breath back. “And a no-interest loan to pay the retainer.”

  “Okay, I guess I can make an exception in her case, since she’s going to be the only mother-in-law I’ll ever have.” He bent his head again and their second kiss of the evening curled her toes and raised her blood pressure to dangerous levels.

  “If we leave now, we could spend an hour at your cabin before I have to be home,” she said, her mouth still touching his.

  “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day, but I’m going to have to decline if all you can spare is an hour.”

  “Is that because what you have in mind will take far longer than an hour to accomplish?”

  He caught his breath on a low, sexy growl, but instead of pulling her closer and kissing her again, as she intended, he stepped away and turned her a little so that she was looking at the service door that led into the hotel kitchen. “It will take a lot longer than an hour, you’re right about that. But first there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  A small, dark-haired woman of about forty, dressed in the gray uniform of a hotel maid, was standing just outside the recessed door. As she began to walk slowly toward them, Devon saw Sylvia’s dark eyes and widow’s peak and Maria’s smile.

  “Señorita Grant? I am Lucia Molina.”

  Devon stared at Miguel. “How?”

  “I called in a couple of favors and tracked her down in Phoenix. She got back this morning, but they were short of help so she couldn’t contact me until a little while ago. Devon, I’d like you to meet Lucia Molina.”

  “Hello, Lucia.”

  “The señor tells me you know where my nieces and nephew are.”

  “I do,” Devon said, smiling up at the man she loved so very much, the man who had found the time in his busy week to do this for her. She offered her hand to Lucia. “I know exactly where they are, and I’ll take you to them right now.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-3194-8

  THE MIDWIFE AND THE LAWMAN

  Copyright © 2004 by Carol I. Wagner & Marian L. Franz.

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