by Cindy Kirk
An email from Alice later that day, right around the time Marigold’s dad was being discharged, appeared to confirm their fears. Nina had moved on to interviewing the other couple.
Though disappointed, Marigold had her spirits buoyed by a visit to the doctor that week that confirmed she was six weeks pregnant and due shortly after the first of the year. Though she yearned to shout out the news, she was determined to tell the entire family at one time.
This meant waiting until Sunday when her father was feeling more like his normal self.
“Prim told me she’s ready to burst with holding in the news,” Marigold confided to Cade when he arrived home from work on Thursday.
“I feel that way myself.” He grinned. “Remember when you once said when we got the news we’d be shouting it from the top of Eagle Tower? That’s exactly what I want to do.”
“Sunday,” she promised, curving her fingers around his.
She smiled when he pulled her in for a kiss.
An after-dinner text from Alice caught them both off guard.
Marigold read it twice on Cade’s phone, then glanced up at him. “What do you think this means?”
“If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say Nina’s second-choice couple didn’t wow her.” He cocked his head. “Tomorrow is a busy day for you. We could ask for a delay.”
Marigold shook her head. “I’d like to meet her. And if the baby is due any day now, she’s running out of time, too.”
“What about your appointments?”
“I’ll put in longer hours on Saturday, maybe work a few hours on Sunday.” Marigold smiled. “I’ll give them the choice of rescheduling or seeing Charlotte.”
“Is Charlotte available?”
Marigold composed a quick text to Charlotte. “I’m about to find out.”
“You don’t seem nervous.” Cade spoke in a low voice as they waited to be ushered into the law firm’s conference room.
“I’m not.” Marigold met his gaze. “I’ll answer her questions honestly. Either we’ll be the couple she wants, or we won’t.”
“How’d you get so Zen?” he asked, his tone clearly admiring.
“I don’t know. Maybe it was worrying about my dad that put everything into focus for me. You and I are blessed, Cade. With family, with friends who love us and we love in return. Most of all with each other.”
She stopped when Alice opened the door and motioned them into the conference room. “Please come in.”
Nina stood by the shiny oval table, her gaze sharp and assessing.
“Nina, it’s good to see you again.” Cade spoke before Alice had a chance. “This is my wife, Marigold.”
Marigold knew Nina was twenty-one, but with her long blond hair pulled back from her face with a paisley headband and the bright blue maternity shirt that clung to her large belly, she looked much younger. Except for the gleam in her eyes. “Marigold. That’s an odd name.”
“My sisters and I all have flower names, so it seems totally normal to me.” Marigold kept her tone easy. “Before I married Cade, my last name was Bloom. I always thought Marigold Bloom had a nice ring.”
“Please, have a seat.” Alice gestured Marigold and Cade to two seats across the table from her and Nina. “Can I get you anything to drink? Water? Coffee?”
Marigold looked at Cade, then shook her head. “We’re fine.”
“I was sorry you had to cancel the last meeting,” Alice said.
“Someone was ill?” Nina inclined her head.
Marigold didn’t doubt Alice had told the young woman the reason for the last-minute cancellation, but she played along.
“We were on our way to Milwaukee when we got word my father had been taken to the hospital by ambulance. At the time, we thought he’d had a heart attack.” Just saying the words brought memories flooding back and had Marigold’s heart rate jumping.
“Is he doing okay?” Sympathy filled Nina’s eyes, as if she felt Marigold’s pain.
“He is. Thank you for asking.” Marigold took Cade’s hand. “The pain actually came from his gallbladder. He ended up having it out the same day.”
Nina’s gaze lingered for a moment on their joined hands. “I have some questions for you, if you don’t mind answering.”
“That’s why I’m here.” Marigold paused. “Before we get started, there’s something we need to tell you. It’s an update on the information we put down on the form.”
“What is it?”
“Everything should have been on the original application.” Clearly not pleased, Alice shot Cade a censuring glance. “I stressed that repeatedly.”
He only smiled back.
“We discovered we’re pregnant.” Marigold met Nina’s surprised glance with a steady look of her own. “Our baby is due shortly after the first of the year.”
“You’re no longer interested in adoption.” Disappointment flooded Alice’s voice.
“We are still very much interested,” Marigold assured her. “We just wanted to share that our circumstances have changed. We don’t want you to feel we held anything back.”
Nina studied her for a long minute. “I appreciate it.”
“Nina, if you feel this development changes anything, we can—”
The young woman lifted a hand, shutting down Alice. “Tell me about your family.”
Marigold relaxed against the back of her chair. “You might regret leaving that request so open-ended. I can talk about my family all day.”
“I’ll let you know when I’ve heard enough.”
Cade sat back in his chair. “Hey, Alice, does that coffee offer still stand?”
Chapter Six
Cade was on his second cup, and Marigold had just finished describing her three sisters and discussing their family get-togethers.
“You have lots of nieces and nephews,” Nina mused, tapping a nail against the tabletop. “Is your family supportive of adoption?”
“Very supportive.” Marigold smiled. “My stepbrother David’s oldest child was adopted as an infant through a private agency.”
“Do they have other children?”
Marigold nodded. “He and his wife recently had a baby boy. His name is Carter. So your child would have—”
“They had a baby of their own?” Nina appeared determined to press the point.
“Brynn is their own. As is Carter.” Marigold’s tone turned cool. “By blood or by heart, Brynn and Carter are both their children. If you choose us, your son will be ours as much as any child I give birth to.”
“Would you let him know about me?”
“Whatever you want him to know. I’m hoping,” Marigold glanced at Cade, “we could at least give him the basics about you.”
“You wouldn’t keep the fact that he’s adopted from him?”
Shock skittered across Marigold’s face. “Of course not. We chose to have him. We’d want him to know he is the child of our heart. Keeping his adoption from him would be starting our life together with a lie.”
“Your son would have our love,” Cade told her. “And our attention.”
“Even with a new baby coming?”
“My sister has a four-month-old, and her second child is due before that baby will be a year old.” Marigold smiled. “If Fin can do it, so can I. It’ll be a busy time, but an exciting one. My sisters and I are close in age. There are advantages to spacing them out and advantages to having two children close together.”
“You’ve built quite a reputation as a hairstylist.” Nina cocked her head. “Do you plan to continue to work?”
“I do. I plan on cutting back my hours, but I’ll continue to grow my business. I enjoy what I do, and I’m good at it.” Marigold shrugged. “Right now, I’m in the process of bringing in a partner of sorts. A lot depends on how she works out and how things go with two babies. I won’t neglect my husband or my children.”
“Marigold won’t be flying solo.” Cade set down his coffee cup. “We will both parent our children. My job gives me a certain amount of
flexibility, and I plan to take full advantage. I want Marigold happy, too. I won’t neglect my wife or my children.”
Nina gave a nod, then winced.
“More Braxton Hicks?” Alice asked, her brows furrowed in concern.
“I don’t think so.” Nina gripped the edge of the table so hard her fingers turned white. “I’ve been having contractions off and on. They’re more frequent now and a whole lot harder.”
“You’re in labor?” Alice jumped up. “We need to get you to the hospital.”
“Yes,” Marigold agreed as she and Cade pushed back their chairs and stood. “We can continue this another time.”
“There’s no need to meet again,” Nina told them between gritted teeth.
Cade wrapped an arm around Marigold’s shoulders. Though she gave no outward evidence of her disappointment, he felt her trembling. “Well, thank you anyway. We appreciate you considering us.”
Marigold shot the woman a warm smile. “I understand you have to make the decision that is right for you and your son.”
“Your son,” Nina said pointedly.
Marigold looked up at Cade.
His gaze returned to Nina. “Are you saying…”
“I’m saying that I pick you and Marigold. The life you have in Good Hope, the family connections and the love you share are everything I want for my son.”
“What about the other couple?” Alice asked. “You were impressed. Don’t you want to think about this a little longer?”
“I don’t have time, and anyway, my decision is final.” Nina met Marigold’s gaze. “The other couple has a five-year-old, so they were a good fit, too, but I like the idea of this baby growing up with a sibling close in age. And the two of you are so good together.”
“Thank you.” Marigold rounded the table. “You won’t be sorry.”
Alice’s gaze shifted from the two women to him. “I’ll finish getting the papers drawn up right away.”
Marigold winced as Nina gripped her hands hard. A second later, liquid pooled on the hardwood floor at their feet.
After the pain passed, Nina stared down in disbelief. In that instant, her controlled demeanor slipped, and she looked like a girl scared out of her mind. “My water broke.”
“You’ll be okay.” Marigold offered a reassuring smile. “This is all normal.”
“How long have you been having contractions?” Cade kept his tone matter-of-fact, as if ruptured membranes were an everyday occurrence in his world.
“Since last night,” Nina told him. “All the books I’ve read say that in a first pregnancy, labor can take days. It’s not like it is in the movies.” Nina leaned against the table, appearing on the verge of tears. “They’ve really picked up in the last couple of hours.”
“You’re doing amazing.” Marigold stood in front of Nina and placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“This isn’t how I imagined it.” Nina’s lips trembled. She glanced at Alice. “I’m sorry about the mess.”
“No worries. We’re going to get you to the hospital.” With her lips pressed tightly together, Alice snatched up her purse and ushered them out of the conference room. “I’ve never delivered a baby and don’t intend to start now.”
Even before they reached the outer offices, the force of another contraction had Nina doubling over and gripping her belly. “He’s coming.”
From the closeness of the contractions, Cade knew they wouldn’t make it to a hospital.
“I can’t do this alone,” Nina wailed.
“You’re not alone.” Marigold’s calm voice and gentle smile offered reassurance. “We’re not going anywhere. And you’ve got an expert right here with you. My husband has delivered plenty of babies.”
Two deliveries didn’t exactly qualify as plenty, but Cade wasn’t about to argue the point.
“Call for an ambulance,” he told Alice. “This baby isn’t going to wait.”
Horror had Alice’s mouth going wide. “You can’t deliver a baby here.”
“Either that or in the car.” He kept his tone matter-of-fact. “I vote for here.”
Cade found a spot on the sofa in Alice’s office for the delivery, while Alice scurried around in search of requested supplies.
Marigold held Nina’s hand and offered words of encouragement through contractions that came with increasing frequency.
Cade had delivered two babies. He knew the drill.
But this time was profoundly different.
Fifteen minutes later, when his firstborn son slid into his hands, wailing loudly with tiny arms flailing, Cade felt tears sting his eyes, and his vision blurred. He glanced around and discovered he wasn’t the only one overcome with emotion.
Tears slipped down his wife’s cheeks as she gazed at the precious newborn. Not just any infant. Their child. Their son.
The baby was a healthy shade of pink and had a lusty cry and a head as bald as a billiard ball.
After wiping his nose and mouth and making sure his airways were clear, Cade gently wrapped him in the soft towel Alice offered.
When he started to lay the child on Nina’s chest, she held up a hand.
“No.” Nina shifted her gaze to Marigold. “His mother needs to hold him first.”
Marigold sniffled, swiped at her wet cheeks and offered Nina a tremulous smile.
“Let’s make sure you’re nice and warm first.” Taking the shawl from Alice, Marigold tucked the soft garment around Nina. With great gentleness, she brushed a lock of damp hair back from the young woman’s cheek. “You did good.”
“Thank you,” Nina whispered in a voice choked with emotion.
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you. You’ve given us a wondrous gift.” Marigold gave Nina’s hand another squeeze before holding out her arms for the baby.
Once she held him—and had anything ever looked so right?—Cade slipped an arm around Marigold’s shoulders. Together, they studied the sweet face with the tiny nose and rosebud mouth.
“I love him already.” Marigold spoke in a reverent whisper.
“I know.” Cade had to clear his throat before he could say more. “I feel the same.”
“He’ll have a wonderful life with us,” Marigold assured Nina.
“What happens now?” Cade asked Alice after the EMTs arrived and loaded Nina and the baby on the gurney.
“I’ll finish drawing up the papers and meet you at the hospital to sign then.” Alice’s tone had turned all business. “Once the doctor feels the baby is ready to be dismissed, you can take him home.”
The three rode the elevator down with Nina and the baby. They’d nearly reached the main floor when Alice turned to Cade and Marigold. “Thirty days after the judge signs the order terminating Nina’s parental rights, he’ll be yours. Unless she changes her mind.”
The finger stroking the baby’s cheek stopped. Nina looked up and shook her head. “I won’t change my mind.”
The certainty in her voice reassured Marigold.
Nina’s gaze shifted to Cade and then to Marigold. “You’re his parents now. What are you going to call him?”
Marigold glanced at Cade. They’d discussed names on the drive to Milwaukee. Had that been only hours ago?
“We thought we’d call him Caleb.” Marigold smiled. “The name has several meanings. One of them is heart. It seemed fitting, as he’s our child, not by blood, but by heart.”
“I love the name you’ve chosen for your son.” Nina glanced down at the baby sleeping on her chest. “You’re going to have a wonderful life, Caleb Rallis. Your parents will see to it.”
The bright June sun had Marigold grabbing a hat for Caleb before they left the house. The past three weeks had been a whirlwind. She and Cade had brought their son home, announced they’d be welcoming another baby in January and moved into the Dunlevey mansion.
With so many changes occurring in such a short time, she and Cade had truly needed a village. Their village—her famil
y and the people of Good Hope—had sprung into action without being asked.
They’d packed, cleaned and moved boxes and furniture. They’d filled Marigold and Cade’s nursery with everything a baby needed. Even Marigold’s customers had stepped up and graciously accepted Charlotte as a temporary fill-in.
Marigold glanced down at the baby strapped to her chest, his head now covered in the blue cotton hat. Through the fabric of the Moby Wrap binding him to her, she gently stroked his back. “Before you came into my life, I didn’t know one little baby could be so much work. Even knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“I agree with both statements.” Cade strode across the kitchen, kissed them both. “I’m bummed I can’t make the shower.”
“The plans are for it to be more of an open-house type of thing. So, while you’re patrolling the streets of Good Hope, if you happen to find yourself driving past my sister’s house…” Marigold gazed up at Cade through lowered lashes. “You might feel the need to stop and make sure there’s no criminal mischief occurring.”
The baby shower, held at Ami’s house but hosted by the entire family, was long overdue. With everything happening so quickly, there hadn’t been time before now to fit one in.
“Criminal mischief?” He rubbed his chin. “If that’s a possibility, I’ll definitely stop by.”
“Your son and I are heading there now.” She flashed a smile. “Hope to see you soon.”
Since her sister lived close, Marigold decided to walk. The warm air held the clean, fresh scent of spring. Red, white and blue flags with images of exploding fireworks hung from ornate light poles and fluttered in the breeze.
With her palm flat against Caleb’s back, Marigold paused in front of Kyle and Eliza Kendrick’s home to study the festive decorations. She made a mental note to speak with Cade about getting some patriotic bunting for the railing on their porch.
Her gaze lingered on the flowers edging the slate walkway leading around the house. Impressed, Marigold decided she’d stop by the Garden of Eden later today and grab some annuals.
The red-and-white-striped ivy geraniums in hanging baskets had just captured her attention when a hand touched her arm.
