There was a tap at her door, it opened cautiously at first, then quickly when Donovan caught sight of her. “Showtime.”
Her brush with death should have lifted her above her petty desire to show Diane that she still had “it,” but it hadn’t. She slid her arm through his, feeling a rush of pleasure at the feel of his fine, wool suit against her bare arm.
“Let’s do it.”
It was inevitable that their arrival would be an “entrance.” They were both in the news, for surviving the crash and catching the band of thugs. Sound didn’t falter, conversations didn’t stop, but Debra felt awareness of their presence spread through the room.
Theresa came forward in her elegant cream suit, her thin clever face lit with happiness from within. Their hug was a real one, without fretting about flowers or clothes or hair. Her bright, dark gaze first examined Debra for wear and tear before turning Donovan’s direction. They widened, first with surprise, then with delight. She hooked one arm through Debra’s, the other through Donovan’s.
“Let’s go see Diane.” Her smile was definitely wicked.
“Shouldn’t we meet your husband first?” Debra asked, as they were swept along.
“He’s there, too.”
The guests parted for the irresistible force that was Theresa and marched to Diane. Still blonde, but not as believable in that color, painfully thin, and desperately cheerful, Diane turned at their approach. Her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. Introductions were performed. Debra smiled at the almost pimply youth Diane had married. For just a moment, Debra flashed a look at Donovan. He looked wry and amused. And just a touch embarrassed.
“Did I look that silly?” he whispered in her ear, when they were finally able to get out on the dance floor.
It felt wonderful to have his arms close around her and draw her in against his lean length. There was nothing quite like a man’s hug. It reassured. She didn’t really want an answer to that question. The shrill of Matt’s cell phone—handed over to temporarily replace Donovan’s broken one—gave her an out. Donovan answered. His eyes widened. He hung up.
“They’re all in labor.”
“All, as in…all four of them?” Debra asked. Suddenly she was all mom, all grandma-to-be.
Donovan nodded. An odd look erased shock. “I’m going to be a grandfather.”
Debra slid her arm through his and turned him toward Theresa. “You’ll love it.”
* * * *
They were both reeling with exhaustion by the time they got to the hospital, but that fled when Donovan saw Luke coming toward him, beaming with delight. He enfolded Debra in a hug, one hand reaching past her to shake Donovan’s hand with dazed vigor.
“She’s beautiful. Like Amelia. She’s—” His voice broke and his body trembled with the wonder of becoming a parent.
Debra eased back, taking her son’s face in her hands. “Congratulations, son. Can we see her? Does she have a name?”
Luke grinned crookedly. “I wanted to call her Goldie.” That’s what he’d called Amelia when they didn’t know who Amelia was, Donovan knew.
A disturbance at the end of the hall claimed their attention. Jake, Matt and Dewey all crowded out, sporting expressions similar to Luke’s. They crowded around Debra, pushing Donovan to the outside of the circle.
“Girl,” Matt said. “It’s a girl!”
“Ours is a girl, too,” Jake said.
“Whoa,” Dewey chimed in. “We got a girl, too. Weird.”
“Four girls?” Debra shook her head, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
Jake and Matt looked at Luke. “You got a girl, too?” Matt asked. “Wow.”
“Can we see them?” Debra asked. Past her sons, Debra’s gaze found Donovan and drew him into the loving circle without a word being said. “Is everyone all right?”
Donovan knew she was asking about the new moms, but she was also asking the question of him. He held her gaze, smiled and nodded. He felt stripped bare by too much emotion in a very small space, but for some reason, today it didn’t scare him to have someone else look inside his soul. Today was the first time he’d realized he had a soul to see. That’s what he’d been afraid of for so long. And he only just now figured it out. Maybe it was the promise of so much new, young life. Maybe it was the warmth in Debra’s eyes when she looked at him. He wasn’t sure how it was going to work out. He hoped Debra would marry him. That together they could add to circle of love and strength that bound all of them together. There was time to sort it all out. For now, it was enough to know he finally belonged somewhere.
* * * *
MORE FABULOUS BOOKS BY PAULINE BAIRD JONES
Girl Gone Nova
Doc—Delilah Oliver Clementyne—is on an impossible mission to the Garradian Galaxy. A genius/bad a**, she does the impossible on a regular basis, but this time the impossible might be not possible. Then something truly whacked happens: she falls in love. Wrong time, wrong man, wrong everything. So why does it feel so right?
The Key
An Air Force pilot—the best of the best to be assigned to this mission—Sara Donovan isn’t afraid to travel far beyond the Milky Way on an assignment that takes her into a galaxy torn apart by a long and bitter warfare between the Dusan and the Gadi. When she accidentally discovers a mysterious, hidden city, it brings her closer to the answers she seeks—about her baffling abilities and her mother’s past.
Out of Time
What happens when a twenty-first century woman on a mission to change the past meets a thoroughly 1940s man trying to stay alive in the hellish skies over war-torn Europe? Melanie “Mel” Morton is an adventure reporter, who lost her grandfather in World War II. Enter Jack Hamilton, sexy octogenarian, genius/scientist and former WWII bomber pilot. What he tells Mel sends her on her craziest adventure yet—straight into the past to save her grandfather’s life—and change Jack’s future, if she doesn’t accidentally end it. All Mel has to do is outmaneuver the entire German army—and not fall in love with Jack. Unfortunately, eluding the German army is the easy part…
Do Wah Diddy Die
Luci Seymour—sexy & free spirited—returns to steamy New Orleans in search of the father she’s never met. She finds murder, mayhem, love and adventure when her timing puts her directly in the sights of an elderly hit couple and a con man’s last scam
The Spy Who Kissed Me
Isabel “Stan” Stanley’s mother has been hoping a man would fall in Stan’s lap. But when a handsome spy dives through the sunroof of her car in a hail of bullets, Stan’s sure this wasn’t what momma had in mind. Bad guys beware. Stan’s packing a glue gun and she knows how to use it. Sort of.
A Dangerous Dance
His whole career, Remy Mistral has fought for reform in a state where corruption is an art form. Now is his chance to quit talking about reform and make his move to change things, but two things stand in his way. One is a woman, the other a killer.
Non-Fiction
Adapting Your Novel for Film
A nuts and bolts guide to adapting your novel for film.
Managing Your Book Writing Business (with Jamie Engle)
No one likes to hear that publishing is a tough business. We didn’t when we first poked our heads out of our writing holes and took a look around. We had unrealistic expectations of what it would be liked to break the publishing barrier. Those expectations included being showered with money and adulation. It would have been easy for those expectations to give way to discouragement when we got an unwelcome dose of reality on first contact with real, published authors. The consensus was, you’d better love writing or you’d better run, save yourself. This isn’t a business for the faint of heart.
Made Up Mayhem
A quick and dirty guide to writing the suspense novel.
* * * *
ABOUT AUTHOR PAULINE BAIRD JONES
Pauline Baird Jones is the award-winning author of nine novels of action-adventure, suspense, romantic suspense and comedy-mystery. She’s also written t
wo non-fiction books, Adapting Your Novel for Film and Made-up Mayhem, and she co-wrote Managing Your Book Writing Business with Jamie Engle. Her seventh novel, Out of Time, an action-adventure romance set in World War II, is an EPPIE 2007 winner. Her eighth novel, The Key won an Independent Book Award Bronze Medal (IPPY) for 2008 and is a 2007 Dream Realm Awards Winner. She also has short stories in several anthologies. Originally from Wyoming, she and her family moved from New Orleans to Texas before Katrina.
Table of Contents
MORE FABULOUS BOOKS BY PAULINE BAIRD JONES
THE LAST ENEMY..
BYTE ME..
MISSING YOU..
LONESOME MAMA..
MORE FABULOUS BOOKS BY PAULINE BAIRD JONES..
ABOUT AUTHOR PAULINE BAIRD JONES..
The Lonesome Lawmen Trilogy Page 93