“May I hold her?”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Emma said.
“Why don’t you just move along?” Pam said, never one to mince words.
“I will. Just give me a…minute.” The woman lifted Bea into her arms.
Emma stood, prepared to do battle. But then tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks. Trembling, she clung to Bea with an intensity only a fellow mother would see. Dawning was initially slow to come, but then Emma understood.
Summoning her every ounce of nerve, she asked, “Vicki?”
Chapter Fourteen
While Emma felt paralyzed with fear that Vicki would bolt with one or both babies, Pam rose, adopting a fighting stance. “You need to hand over Beatrice, and get out of here, before I call for help.”
Vicki said, “Bea is my child. I have every right to hold her. Bronwyn, too.”
Pam snorted. “You should’ve thought of that before you abandoned them with a man they didn’t even know.”
“I—I had no other choice,” Vicki said. “Rent was due, and tuition and we had no food in the fridge.”
“Why didn’t you contact Jace from the start?” Emma said, finally out of her fog. “You can’t just leave two babies and expect no consequences.”
By this time, the families sunbathing on either side of them had started to stare. One barrel-chested man stood, ambling their way. “Ma’am,” he said to Emma, “I’m a cop. Need help?”
Emma nodded. Pointing at Vicki, she said, “This woman is trying to take my babies.”
“They’re mine!” Vicki snapped.
“Ma’am,” the police officer said to Vicki, “I don’t know who you are in relation to the infant, but I do know you aren’t the one who brought her here today. How about handing her over to her mom, then going on about your business.”
“These babies are my business.” Holding her ground, Vicki clutched Bea even tighter.
The baby whimpered, and then started to cry.
“Give her to me,” Emma said. “If you have any love for her at all, can’t you see you’re hurting her?”
“She’s mine,” Vicki insisted. “Both are. This woman is the real criminal. All I want to do is hold my children, but—”
“Ma’am,” the officer said, “take it up with your lawyer, because these infants are going nowhere with you today.”
Vicki shot the man a dark glare, then cast one at Emma and Pam.
“Ma’am,” the officer warned. “If you don’t hand the infant to her mother now, I’ll place you under arrest.”
Complying, Vicki placed a wailing Bea in Emma’s arms, then said, “I might be leaving this beach, but not this town.” Pointing at Emma, she added, “I’ll be seeing you tonight.”
“SHH…” Upon his return from that day’s duty, Jace held Emma close, smoothing his hand up and down her back. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
“I know, but you should’ve seen her. The wild look in her eyes. Like she was going to take the babies and run without ever looking back.”
“But she didn’t,” Jace reasoned. Gesturing to the grinning, kicking girls having a ball beneath their baby gym, he said, “Look at them. They couldn’t be more content.”
“She said she’s coming here—tonight.”
Jace let loose with a sarcastic chuckle. “I suppose it’s possible, but I’d like to see her try. Did you forget that we just happen to live on a Marine base? We’re trained to keep out everyone from lone terrorists to entire armies. Vicki doesn’t stand a chance.”
“You didn’t see her eyes,” Emma said, her voice muffled against his chest. “She looked capable of anything.”
“Look at me,” he said, lifting her chin. “Do I honestly look ready to turn my daughters over to a woman who, by her own admission, can’t care for them?”
She shook her head.
“All right, then. Want to go out for dinner, or stay home?”
“Home,” she said, pushing away from him, turning toward the kitchen. “I’m craving comfort food.”
“Does that mean I get your mashed potatoes?” Hopeful, he trailed after her.
“If you’ll peel.”
“Done.”
A blast of welcome cold air hit him when she opened the fridge, kneeling to remove potatoes from the vegetable bin. “Here,” she said, handing him the bag. “I’m going to put the girls in their high chairs.”
Standing alone in the kitchen’s center, holding five pounds of cold potatoes, Jace shook his head. When it came to caring for his children, he couldn’t ask for a better surrogate mom.
A sudden realization struck.
All those years ago, when he’d wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out after the embarrassment and pain of Amanda’s betrayal, his mother had told him everything happens for a reason. At the time, he hadn’t believed her. Now, wearing a dumb grin while gratitude swelled his throat, he finally understood his mother was right. Amanda’s leaving had been a blessing. For if she hadn’t, he wouldn’t be the father of two beautiful girls. Moreover, he wouldn’t have met Emma.
“How can you be grinning at a time like this?”
“Like what?” he asked.
“You know what,” she said, gently placing Bronwyn in her high chair, then attaching the tray. “Vicki could be out there right now, and—”
“Stop,” Jace demanded, hating the harshness in his tone, but unsure how else to snap Emma from her fear. “So what if she is out there? What’s she going to do? This is our home. Our supper time. And by God, I want some of your mashed potatoes in my growling stomach.”
For the longest time, she stared at him, and then burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, taking the potato peeler from the drawer alongside the stove.
“You. Trying to act all tough, but I know you’re a teddy bear.” Hugging him from behind, she said softly, “Thank you.”
“For what?” He turned to face her.
“Bringing me back to reality. You’re right. And I’m tired of letting Vicki run my life.”
“Good for you.” He kissed her forehead. “Now, do I finally get my potatoes?”
“YOU’RE AWFULLY QUIET,” Pam noted on Thursday afternoon. Will was riding home with Jace so that they could all share dinner.
“Sorry,” Emma said, covering a yawn. “I didn’t sleep well last night.” What she didn’t tell her friend was that worry about Vicki was keeping her awake.
“Take a nap,” Pam suggested. “It’s at least an hour till the guys get home. The girls and I will watch a movie.”
“That’s okay,” Emma said. “Thanks for the offer, though. I’ve never been much good at falling asleep during the day.”
Pam shrugged, flipping through Jace’s extensive DVD collection. “What do you want to watch?”
Yawning again, Emma said, “You pick.”
The look her friend cast her way was filled with concern, which Emma hated being the cause of. “Sure you’re okay?”
She nodded.
Pam put an action adventure in the DVD player, snatched the babies from their playpen, and then settled in Jace’s recliner. “All right, ladies, study this movie and Auntie Pam promises you’ll never take crap from anyone.”
Emma snorted.
“What?”
“You. After you have the baby, you should enlist.” Laughing, Emma stretched out on the sofa, vowing to try harder to quit worrying, and get on with the business of loving her life.
Though the movie was one of Emma’s favorites, the couch was comfy, and her eyelids grew heavy. Her breathing slowed, and for the first time in days, she unclenched her muscles to relax.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Jace said, kissing Emma awake. “How long have you been out?”
Looking to Pam and her husband, she shook her head and grinned. “Last thing I remember, The Rock had blown up a bridge.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Pam said. “She was out before The Rock had even taken out his firs
t bad guy, let alone the bridge.”
“Good, she needed the sleep.” Jace kissed her again before taking the girls from Pam. “Did you two stay awake through the movie?”
Both grinned.
The sight of Jace and his twins never failed to warm Emma, which was why, when the phone rang, for the first time in days the shrill tone didn’t quicken her pulse.
“Want me to get it?” Pam asked.
“Nah.” Jace had his hands full, so Emma went to answer. “It’s probably my mom. She’s been threatening a trip down.”
“Uh-oh,” Will teased. “Jace, looks like you’re in trouble.”
“I can handle it,” Jace said.
Before picking up, Emma shot a grin over her shoulder. “Hello?”
As she listened to the man on the other end of the phone, Emma’s knees turned to rubber. Her responses were automatic. Her brain was already racing ahead to ensuring the girls’ safety, to guaranteeing the one woman capable of destroying her and Jace’s fragile happiness didn’t succeed. Vicki had had her chance with the girls. She’d given them up. She no longer deserved them.
“Em?” Jace stood before her, Bea and Bronwyn grinning in his arms. “What’s wrong?”
“V-Vicki,” Emma stammered. “The front-gate guards are holding her.”
“COULD I please see my babies?” Vicki asked upon seeing Jace leave his Mustang solo.
Two MPs stood nearby.
The early-evening air was suffocating, with no breeze and baked-in heat still rising from the blacktop. The pine forest glowered in shadows. Hot road tar overrode the usually spicy-smelling conifers.
The taller of the MPs asked, “Need us to stay, sir?”
“No, thank you,” Jace said with a sharp salute. “I’ll handle it from here.”
“You’ll handle it?” Vicki asked, voice hollow. “We’re talking about my children.”
“Our children, and for the record, you were the one who gave them up.”
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” she said, hiccupping through tears. “I thought leaving the girls with you was best, but everyone from my f-friends to my parents thinks I’m a monster for letting them go.”
“So that’s the only reason you’re here?” Jace asked with a frown. “Because of what people think? There are lives at stake, here, Vicki. Do you have any idea what growing up with a lousy mom or dad can do to a kid?”
“No, all right? I don’t. But I have enough friends who do that I would’ve thought they’d understand. I w-was a horrible mother. I couldn’t ever calm them, or keep them on a schedule. I never knew if I was doing anything right.”
“All of which are great reasons for you to have given the babies to me.”
“I know, but what kind of mother gives her babies away? I can’t live with the shame.”
Softening his tone, he asked, “Even if by leaving the girls in my care, they have a better shot of turning out well-adjusted and happy?”
“I—I don’t know,” she wailed. “I just don’t know.”
Jace hadn’t been raised to let a woman cry—especially not the mother of his children, no matter how much he happened to despise her. That being the case, he hugged Vicki awkwardly. “Why don’t you, um, leave your car here and come back to my place? Once you see how happy the twins are, maybe you’ll have an easier time with your decision.”
Sniffling, she nodded.
Easing his arm around her slumped shoulders, he guided her to his car, praying Em would understand his reasoning behind bringing their family’s potential ruin into their home.
“WHAT IS she doing here?” Emma asked under her breath. While Pam held Bea, Emma clutched Bronwyn for all she was worth. How dare he bring that woman into their home? What if Vicki snatched the babies and ran? How would Emma survive losing them?
What about Jace? her conscience asked. He would be devastated.
“Relax,” he said. “She’s not here to cause trouble.”
Emma asked, “How do you—”
“I—I’m sorry about the other day at the beach.” Emma was surprised to find Vicki speaking to Pam. Hands tightly clasped at her waist, even in the living room’s dim light, her skin looked pale and splotchy—as if she’d been crying. Her blond hair hung ratted and unkempt. Her jeans and yellow T-shirt were rumpled and, in spots, stained. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Coming on so strong like that.”
“You scared us,” Pam said, Bea on her hip. “What’s wrong with you? Approaching total strangers like that? How did you even know who we were? Did you follow us off of the base?”
“Whoa,” Jace said to Pam. “Let her catch her breath. This is tough for her.”
“Tough for her?” Pam asked. “She abandoned her own children. Why should we make his easier for her?”
“Maybe we should go,” Will suggested, his arm around Pam’s waist, already guiding her toward the door. “Honey, give Jace his baby.”
“Are you kidding me?” Pam asked. “These are our friends. How can we leave them at a time like this?”
Vicki chimed in with, “I promise not to do anything rash.”
Passing Bea to Jace, Pam snorted. “Your promises aren’t worth the breath you use to say them.”
“Honey,” Will nudged, “remember your condition. Let’s go.”
“I’m fine,” Pam argued on her way out the door. “And how dare you imply that just because I’m pregnant, I’m in any way overly emotional when it comes to…”
With Pam still railing out on the front porch, her husband said, “Jace, Em, call if you need anything, and I’ll be right over.” Winking, he added, “I’ll leave my pit bull at home.”
“I heard that!” Pam shouted from the front walk.
Once the couple had left, an eerie calm settled over Emma as though she finally realized that no matter how badly she wanted to keep the girls, the issue was every bit as out of her control as losing Henry had been. Oh—make no mistake, with every breath in her body, she wanted to fight Vicki, but what little of her reasoning skills Emma still possessed reminded her that the twins weren’t in any way hers.
“May I?” Vicki asked, holding out her arms to hold Bea.
When Jace handed over the baby, it was all Emma could do to keep from crying out. Was this the beginning of the end of their family?
Vicki clutched Bea to her, cupping the back of her head, but whereas Emma would’ve expected Bea to know this was her true mother, the infant instead squirmed and fussed. “Shhh…” Vicki crooned. “It’s okay. We used to be friends, remember?”
Bea fussed all the more.
Squeezing her eyes shut, silent tears streaming down her cheeks, Vicki’s expression flashed from sadness to impatience to…frustration? “Here,” she said, returning Bea to Jace. “See what I was talking about? There’s just never been a connection. Is that normal?”
Back in her father’s arms, Bea calmed. “Seeing how I’m kind of new to this whole parenthood thing, I’d hardly be an expert in what’s normal. What I do know, Vicki, is that no matter what your friends and family say, if you don’t feel motherhood is for you, then you’re doing the responsible thing in stepping away.”
Nodding, Vicki crumpled onto the sofa.
Emma fought to keep hold of her fear, distrust and hatred of the woman. But looking at Vicki now, slumped shoulders defeated, wiping her tear-stained cheeks, Emma felt sorry for her.
How awful it would be to be rejected by your own child.
Looking toward Emma, Vicki said, “I’m sorry to you, too, for the way I acted at the beach. I never meant to hurt anyone. I just want to feel normal again. I’m tired of everyone I love thinking the worst of me. If I could just take my babies back, then everything would return to normal, and then—”
“Back up the truck,” Jace said, standing, only to brace his hands on his knees. “At the guard station, you said you didn’t think you were even fit to be a mother. Now, you want to take another try?”
Nodding, back to crying, she said. �
�I—I think so. I must’ve been doing it wrong. But maybe if I try again, things will be different. I just can’t face my parents, knowing what I’ve done.”
Emma asked, “You mean giving your babies away?”
“Yes,” Vicki said. “But now, after seeing them again, I’m thinking my folks were right and I just didn’t try hard enough.” Up from the sofa, the woman crossed to the playpen, lifting Bea for a hug. “See? She seems fine now. Once I get her and her sister home, we’ll all make a fresh start.”
Chapter Fifteen
Listening to Vicki’s seesaw psychobabble, Jace couldn’t remember the last time he’d been more furious. “Are you even aware of what you’re saying? One minute, you’re raving about how you don’t even feel capable of being a good mother, the next, you want to give parenthood another try.” Tapping his temple, he said, “You need help.”
“Jace…” Emma’s voice was soft, caring—completely unsuitable considering the fact that Jace was on the verge of losing his girls to a madwoman. “I think what Vicki’s trying to say is that she’s not sure what she wants.”
“You think?” He wasn’t proud of his sarcastic tone, but in all of his training, he’d never been taught to be gentle before heading into battle. And make no mistake, if Vicki thought she was taking the twins, she was in for one helluva fight.
“We should sympathize with her,” Emma reasoned. “Understandably, Vicki’s in an impossible situation. Were either of us in her place, we’d no doubt be confused, too.”
“That’s what I mean,” Vicki said. After relaying the same information she’d shared with him back at the guard station, Vicki went on to say to Emma, “I’m so glad someone finally understands. Are you a parent?”
“She’s my fiancée,” Jace said, saving Emma the pain of explaining her loss.
“So you two are like…” Vicki’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow. I had no idea. How long have you been together?”
“Not long,” Emma said.
“A while,” Jace said.
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