by Nichols, A
His car turned towards the cabin. He suggested a warm shower for her and went to get her some hot soup and tea. She came out of the bath, wrapped in his heavy robe, her feet bare. She wanted his scent to be around her. He had stoked up the fire to make the place warmer, but he made her stay on the couch, and he put a blanket over her as well. “No chills.” His hands cared for her as he spoon-fed her hot soup, brushing her hair away from her face as if he needed to have his hands on her. His eyes missed nothing. “It’s a good thing he didn’t touch you.”
“He was afraid of me. Fear is a good manipulator.”
“That was way too close a call. Now, what was that stopping in the center of the road and backing away from Jonathan crap? You were to do as you were told.”
“You needed a clear shot; I didn’t want to be in the way. I knew you would make sure he didn’t get a round off.”
“Risk-taking, Madison. Not ever going to happen again, understand? I will take corrective action next time you don’t listen—got it?”
Her reaction to the whole event slammed into her as she connected with the fear in him, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
“Now you cry!” He pulled her into his lap and held her, rubbing her back and kissing her temples. She was his, and she was alive. His son kicked him, and all was right with the world.
CHAPTER 27
They left the cabin in the middle of February to find the house still under construction. Madison was in the early weeks of her ninth month; many of her appearances had been cancelled after her abduction; she was front-page news once again. The press circled liked vultures, wanting her reactions. The Harvard seminar had been moved until after her baby was born.
Madison twirled around and around in the baby’s room off their bedroom. “Oh—this is wonderful.” Jordan had given up his reading room and personal office for it. It was large and airy, and it opened onto a patio that which would be turned into a play yard in the spring. She leaned against the wall and looked at the snow falling outside. This was her space; he told her to do anything she wanted with it. The floor to ceiling windows let the light in, even in the coldest of the gray winter months.
Jordan came in to watch her. “I love it! It’s perfect.”
“How’s my witch today?” he teased.
“Swollen ankles and clumsy, thank you for asking. There’s a very active child marching in my stomach across my kidneys. How else could I be? You guys get the best part of birthing.”
“I already said I would help with the baby. That’s all I can do for you right now.”
“He’s a beautiful child, Jordan. You’re going to love him.”
The next week, The National Weather Service called for a blizzard of major proportions; the snow had already begun falling, and sixteen inches had accumulated on the roads. Electric power had been cut to the entire area, and people were urged to stay in their homes. It was a beautiful wonderland. Jordan had built up the fire in the fireplace, and thank God, the stove was fueled by gas. Madison was uncomfortable, so Jordan sat her on the couch and put her feet in his lap to rub them. He was trying to read the reports sent to him about Madison’s summer schedule. She moved once again, trying to find a better position. That caused him to look up at her.
“You’re antsy this evening. Would you like some hot chocolate?” She was withdrawing into herself, and a vision flashed across her face. “Madison?”
“You do love me, don’t you?”
“Silly question. You know I do.”
“Well, our son is coming.”
“Not until early next month.” Jordan went back to his reading.
“No. Now. He’s coming now.” Jordan was stunned. She stood suddenly as water coursed down her legs and saturated her pajama bottoms. “I think my water just broke.”
“Well, he can’t come now.” The ever-efficient Jordan stated the facts. “We’re in the middle of a fucking blizzard. Nothing is moving anywhere.”
“I know.” She put her hand on her abdomen to feel the first contraction that swept across her stomach as her entire body clenched and then relaxed. “You need to do something, Jordan.”
The calm man who was sitting beside her, fled. “What in the hell do you want me to do?” He was pleading for direction.
“Help me get these wet clothes off, for one thing.” He sat her down and pulled the pants from her. Then he rushed back the hall to get a washcloth and towels and clean clothes.
He came back, somewhat calmer, as if his analytical mind had begun processing the problem and had decided there was no use in fighting it. “Where are we going to have this baby, Madison?”
She peeked up at him. “The bedroom, I think.”
Jordan helped her up and moved her slowly down the hall. He had been taught about births in his medical training, but he had never had to perform one solo.
He got her situated on the bed, and gave her a watch with a second hand. “Time your contractions. I have stuff to get ready if we’re going to do this.” He paused. “I could try to get us to the hospital.”
She shook her head. “Too bad outside, and I don’t want to give birth in an SUV in a snow bank.”
She flinched again as another weak contraction rolled over her. She looked at his whitening face, as he said: “You’re loving this, aren’t you, Witch.” There was humor in his voice.
“It’s a natural process, right? It will be a new adventure for us.”
“If you say so. I’m going to put a call into Dr. Lambert. We’re in the early stages, I think, and since this is your first and my first delivery, I’d like to be as prepared as I can.”
He pulled out his phone and pushed her number. She answered on the second ring. “Jordan. What’s wrong?”
“Madison is in labor. Her water broke about fifteen minutes ago, and she’s having mild contractions.”
“There is no way I can make it to the hospital or the clinic, Jordan.”
“I know. I have a little training, so we’re going to try to make the best of it here. I just want you to be on call if I run into trouble.” He sounded far calmer than he was.
“I’ll be right here. You’ll do just fine, and we’ll deal with any problems that come up. The ambulances are grounded for the rest of the evening, just so you know. I don’t even think police cars are moving. This is a terrible storm, and you probably don’t have electricity either.”
“That’s the scenario here. I’ll keep in touch with you, Dr. Lambert.”
“Let her up and walking if she wants to move, and watch the cervix—when the opening is six centimeters or greater, you’ll want her to be down.”
Jordan pulled a new shower liner from its wrapping and spread it on the bed, covering it with a soft newly laundered sheet. He gathered towels and sheets to use when the baby arrived. He also sterilized scissors and found a tie for the umbilical cord, once it was cut. Madison was meandering in and out of the nursery. Jordan had brought out an old cradle and refinished it. It was ready for their child.
The phone rang again, and Jordan snapped it up. “Jordan. I’ve located a nurse who lives very close to you. She’s willing to come up to help. Here’s her name and number.”
“Thanks Dr. Lambert.”
“How’s the little mother?”
“She’s flitting around the nursery trying to decide where all the new furniture will go. I’m happy she’s busy. She seems to think I have this all under control.”
“But you do, Jordan. I know you. You do.”
“Well, tell that to my stomach.” He heard Dr. Lambert’s soft laugh on the other end.
“This woman is a neonatal nurse, so the baby will be in competent hands. Try to relax. I’ll let you know the minute I can get into the hospital, and I put Dr. Willis on call as your pediatrician. He’s the best, Jordan.”
“Thank you.” Jordan put in a call to the nurse, and she said she would come as soon as he called her. She had a fifteen-minute walk, but the wind was whipping snow everywhere at the p
resent time. Jordan settled in with Madison.
He had read to her, given her small pieces of ice for her dry lips and rubbed her feet. They discussed her next speaking venues and the changes that would need to occur in their lives. “Do we have a name yet?” he asked. She shook her head.
“Nothing has come to me. I just see his sweet little face.”
“He can’t be born without a name, so get on that.”
“So demanding.”
He helped her to settle more fully onto the bed in a semi-sitting position. Her legs were covered with a blanket and he could see another contraction coming. “Breathe, babe. Just breathe through it.” He held her hand in his and rubbed her stomach with his other hand, soft soothing circles as the muscles under his hand locked. “Are they getting harder?” She closed her eyes and nodded. He checked for her dilation, and she was well along. “This is going to be a fast birth, I think. Take your own pain away if it gets too bad.”
“This is going to be our last minutes alone, Jordan. We will have a new member of our family in an hour or two, so let me get this out.” He waited to hear what she has to say. “You are everything I could have asked for in a man. I know you didn’t want this or me, but you were the chosen one; I didn’t make a mistake.”
“I didn’t make one either.” He kissed her lips softly.
He hit the pad of the phone and connected with Dr. Lambert. “She’s about seven centimeters dilated. I think the nurse should come as soon as she is able. I’ll unlock the front door for her and try to get some shoveling done on the steps and walkway. Stay with me, doc.”
“I will. You go, and I’ll call Lucy for you.”
Madison looked with shining eyes at Jordan. It had taken hours, but the baby was coming as he worked to help him through the birth canal, his capable hands supporting him and his demeanor, calm. Madison’s small voice could be heard: “His name will be Kai, if you don’t mind.”
“Kai,” was all Jordan answered. “Good name.” She pushed one last time, and his son arrived his hands. The nurse had arrived minutes earlier to help with the afterbirth and with cleaning Madison and the baby. Her brisk, no-nonsense manner made Jordan relax. She patted him on the back as she gave him high marks for the birth.
Madison was now asleep; the new baby lay in the wooden cradle he had made, swathed in blue with a cap, and the neonatal nurse was coming back to check on them in the afternoon. The baby had even nursed a bit. It had been a long night, but Jordan had delivered the boy.
He sat beside the cradle watching his son. He had a full head of dark hair, and his dark blue eyes were replicas of his father’s. Jordan touched the little face with his fingertip; he was met with the intense gaze of the baby’s eyes as they connected. This little one would have power, and they were joined, father and son. He leaned into the cradle to kiss the baby’s forehead and thanked God for his safe delivery. There was a God. Jordan knew that now.
CHAPTER 28
As soon as the roads were clear, Jordan took Madison and Kai to the hospital. Dr. Lambert welcomed him warmly, and Madison was whisked away to an examining room. Kai was taken by the pediatrician from Jordan’s arms as the two men met for the first time. He was encouraged to go with his son for an examination and tests.
“Tell Madison where I am, please.” This was addressed to the nurse in Dr. Lambert’s office.
“She’ll be awhile, Jordan. You go ahead, and I’ll call you if you’re needed.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.” The story of the winter birth was making the rounds in the hospital wing. Just what he needed, another story about Madison, but this story was about him, and it created ripples across the ocean in Jordan where his half cousin stomped up and down the hallway of his summer home. He had been expecting his package—the white witch—for three weeks. She hadn’t appeared even though he had made careful plans with the senator; it took him almost a week to find out that she was not in hand. This was the third time he had lost her; the first was when she was rescued from the Jordanian border before he could get to her when his forces overran it. The second time, his ship The Zephr Wind was boarded by the authorities, missing her transfer from her captors. Now the child had been born, and Malik did not have him, either.
He stared at newspaper after newspaper with pictures of the snowstorm of the century and the child who was born in the middle of it. Great natural events were precursors of exceptional men; this child should be his. His grandmother had predicted that he would sire the child of the white witch. He had been raised on that idea, but his half-American cousin had taken the woman. Jordan’s American father would have been proud.
He canceled the contract with Malik for April 5th. He would have to rework everything now that the child was here. Malik received the Senator’s fax, canceling the deal. He needed the power that the child would hold, and the senator had told him it would be his for a price. Now, that plan, too, lay in ruins. New plans would have to be put in place.
Jordan sat on the floor with three-year-old Kai, tickling his stomach as he laughed and waved his arms and legs at him and cried, “Daddy. Stop it!” His mirror image never ceased to hold his father spellbound. His wife was speaking tonight at a benefit for the refugee crisis; new legislation was proposed, and she was to speak on the floor of Congress in the next three months. Jordan couldn’t be happier than he was. Tim travelled with her; she was much happier to have Jordan stay with the child.
Kai was ahead in his development, but that was no surprise to his father. Jordan had sworn that the boy levitated his toys by moving his hands, but he didn’t tell Madison that. And he couldn’t really be sure since there were toys everywhere for the boy. Now Kai wiggled off his father’s lap and raced around the room laughing. Jordan let him go, warning him about falling. Then he chased him; it was a good thing Madison wasn’t there. He would be in deep shit. He caught him and tossed him into the air as he screamed delightedly. Kai was supposed to be bathed and in bed asleep before Madison came home; Jordan had better get a move on—he had fifteen minutes and Kai wasn’t good at pretending he was asleep especially when his mother came home.
He swept the little boy into his arms and marched him into the bathroom, sitting him down to undress him. He turned on the water and let it run. Kai watched his father work on getting his clothes off before he said, “It’s going to be too hot. You need to add more cold.” Jordan wrinkled his brow and felt the water with his fingers, jerking back; the water was scalding. His son’s guileless blue eyes met his with a clear look. Jordan adjusted the water flow.
That reminded him of another time when it was raining, and Kai wanted to play outside. Jordan told him it was pouring, and he couldn’t be out in the rain. The boy looked outside, and the rain just stopped. “It’s not raining, Daddy. Let’s go out.” He couldn’t do that, could he? He had asked Madison, but she never gave him a definitive answer.
One of the first arguments between Madison and him had been about correcting Kai. The boy had taken a toy from Michael’s daughter and wouldn’t give it back to her. Madison cajoled him, but Jordan had stepped in firmly, standing directly in front of the child. “This is your choice, little one. Do you want the toy or the friendship of Martine? You can’t have both.”
The little boy looked at the stuffed horse he held and at the little dark-haired girl whom he liked. Then he looked at his father, but there was no guidance there, only resolve. Jordan made him choose. He handed back the horse to Martine to her lovely smile. “Friends?” he queried.
“Friends,” she replied, as she took it.
Jordan took his son’s shoulders and turned him, kneeling down. “Remember when you take from another what is not yours, there is always a price to pay.” Jordan’s stern tones made Madison sit up and take notice. She never interfered in his disciplining of Kai again. There was a mutual respect between the two—her son and her love.
Madison had stopped her birth control pills without telling Jordan. It was an awful thing to do to him, and she
knew he would be upset, but she wanted his daughter; her vision of the blonde-haired cherub would not leave her thoughts, and she had warned him that he would have a daughter. They had talked of other children, but Jordan just wasn’t ready, and he was enjoying the bond he shared with his son. He would have to be pulled along, kicking and screaming as usual until he decided the baby was his own idea. And she would make sure it WAS his idea.
Jordan sat back in his office looking over Madison’s schedule for the next two weeks. She had received a notice from the Senate foreign relations committee that she was to testify in two months. Neville Hauser wasn’t done with her, and Jordan saw red. The man had been warned, and now Jordan would take him down. He had paper backup for most of the outside deals that had been made with people in Jordan. Madison didn’t know about the summons, yet, and he would have to find a way to tell her. He wasn’t looking forward to that discussion. She was witch, warrior and woman all in one package, and he just wanted to protect her.
His witch was thriving as love and her family surrounded her. He grabbed his jacket, gathered the itinerary that he had to plan and exited his office. Madison was in her tiny office in the Great Room when he came through the front door of the house. Kai was in for his nap, so she was surprised to see her husband home in the middle of the afternoon. Jordan was such a beautiful man, she thought as he crossed the room to her, catching her mouth with a brief kiss. Then the kiss changed as the chemistry between them ignited. She was fire, and she lit the fuse in him.
“Kai in for his nap?” he asked between kisses.
“Yes,” she said in a breathless reply.
“Good. And he pulled her from her chair, wrapping his arms around her, and pulling her towards the plush couch nearest them. His hands moved to her neck as he continued to explore her face with small kisses, and then they moved to the buttons on her blouse. So beautiful, he thought. He was one lucky guy. He bared the tops of her breasts, and now his kisses became biting, stirring an equal response in her.
