Cinderella's Secret Agent

by Ingrid Weaver

  The bubble of humor took her off guard. After what they had been through the night before, she hadn’t thought she would ever laugh again.

  Yet the more Del said, the better she felt. There were reasonable explanations for everything. And Del was trusting her enough to reveal what few people in the country knew.

  She finished burping Delilah and switched her to the other side. She might have found the situation downright bizarre—here she was, calmly breast-feeding a baby while she listened to government secrets—but compared to the events of the past twenty-four hours, this was reassuringly ordinary. “What happened to that man, the one who—” She swallowed hard. “Simon. You shot him, right?”

  “He was injured. We haven’t found his body.”

  “Oh, my God. Do you mean he’s still out there somewhere?”

  “Given his past ability to elude us, I wouldn’t rule out that possibility.”

  “Could he come back here? Could he—”

  “He won’t touch you again,” Del stated, turning his head to look at her. “I have two agents watching this building around the clock. And I don’t intend to leave you alone.”

  Her heart did a sudden leap at the intensity of his gaze. He didn’t want to leave her. He had offered his life for hers more than once. He had saved her from the grip of that maniac. He must have feelings for her.

  “It’s my fault that you became involved, Maggie,” he said harshly. “If I had been paying more attention to my surroundings when I came over here after the raid, I would have realized I was being followed. I wish I could go back and change what happened. I’m sorry.”

  “But you had been shot,” she said, glancing at his injured arm. “You were in terrible shape.”

  “That’s no excuse.”

  “Del, it wasn’t you who took me hostage, it was Simon.”

  “I know that.”

  “And it turned out okay, didn’t it? We all survived.”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Yes.”

  “So do you feel that you’re obligated to stay here and take care of me because you feel guilty?”

  “Damn right, I feel guilty,” he said. “But that’s not why I plan to stay here. That’s not why I was coming over to see you last night in the first place. Maggie, I—” He stopped suddenly, his gaze dropping, as if he’d only now become aware that she was still feeding the baby. The pallor of his face slowly became suffused with a flush.

  It was too late to cover herself, Maggie thought. Much too late. She had bared more than her breasts to him the last time they had been together on this bed. She had bared her heart. “Is this embarrassing you?” she asked.

  “Oh, no, Maggie,” he said. “How could something so natural embarrass anyone?” He reached out, his fingertips gliding over the top of Delilah’s head to feather along the side of Maggie’s breast.

  His touch was tentative, almost reverent, yet it moved Maggie far more than anything he had done before. Even though the fingers that caressed her and her baby so tenderly were accustomed to handling lethal weapons, Maggie felt no misgivings. It seemed…right, sharing this moment of connection with the two people she loved.

  Oh, yes. She still loved him. Despite everything he had put her through, she had never stopped.

  But what about him?

  He shifted closer, moving his hand to the front of her breast. He smiled as Delilah grabbed his thumb and held it there. “You were made to be a mother, Maggie.”

  She looked at the contrast of his hand against her pale skin, her baby’s tiny fingers gripping his large thumb, and the sense of connection she felt strengthened. She hadn’t believed she could experience anything so incredibly intimate. “Delilah’s an easy child to love.”

  “Even when you were giving birth, you told me that you wanted more,” he said.

  “Yes, I’ve always dreamed of a large family.”

  “A family and forever,” he said, his smile fading. “That’s what you once said.”

  She nodded, wondering where this was leading.

  “There’s something else I’ve been keeping from you, Maggie.”

  No. God, no, she thought. Could her earlier suspicions have been right? Was he going to tell her he did have a wife and children somewhere? She could accept his profession, but if he asked her to accept that, her heart would surely break.

  “And you have the right to know,” he continued. “I didn’t tell you before because I thought the issue would never come up, but I don’t want any more secrets between us.”

  “Please, Del,” she said. “Just tell me.”

  He hesitated, his fingers tensing on her flesh. Then he looked straight into her eyes and started to speak. “I told you that I once was engaged, and that my fiancée broke off the engagement. I told you it was because I couldn’t give her what she wanted. What she wanted was children, Maggie.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “She wanted a big family, just like you, but I had the mumps when I was twenty-one. As a result, I’m sterile. I can’t give any woman children.”

  He said it quickly, his tone clinical, as if he were merely reciting the facts, yet Maggie saw the anguish on his face, and her eyes heated with tears. “Oh, Del.”

  “That’s it, Maggie. Now you know everything,” he said, his voice rough.

  That was all? she thought. This was the last secret he had been keeping? Relief made her smile. “But that’s not important, Del.”

  “It is,” he insisted. “You were made to be a mother, Maggie. But I can’t be a father.”

  “What do you mean? Of course, you can be a father.” She placed her hand over his and pressed it to her breast. “You’ve been a father to Delilah from the minute she was born.”

  “Delilah’s a special child.” His gaze darkened with regret. “But don’t you see, Maggie? I’ve been through this before. I can’t give you what you want, either. Someday you’ll long to give Delilah brothers and sisters, and—”

  “Del, for heaven’s sake,” she interrupted. “Do you think I’m that selfish?”

  He started. “You’re the most generous woman I know.”

  “Then why do you think I’d be incapable of loving a child I didn’t carry and bear myself?”

  “I thought—”

  “Del,” she said firmly. “Families come in all shapes and sizes. The tie that binds them isn’t blood, it’s love.”

  He stared at her for a long, silent moment before the tension gradually left his muscles and his face moved into a smile. He looked nothing like the man who had confronted a terrorist with a bare chest and a handgun. He looked younger, more relaxed, happier….

  And Maggie finally let herself believe there might be a happy ending, after all. Her pulse tripping unevenly, she leaned closer. “Del? Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?”

  He grinned. “Oh, yeah. There is.”

  She waited, hardly daring to breathe.

  His gaze flicked downward. “Delilah’s fallen asleep.”

  Maggie exhaled hard and followed his gaze. He was right. Delilah’s lips were slack, her breathing peaceful and even. She had finished nursing and had indeed fallen asleep.

  “Here, let me,” Del whispered. After one last caress for both of them, he slipped his hands under Delilah and stood up to carry her the short distance to her crib. Maggie had just finished straightening her clothing when he returned and took her hand, urging her to her feet. He eased the bedroom door shut behind them and led her to the living room.

  At her first sight of the rest of her apartment, Maggie gasped. The place was filled with flowers. There were violets on the windowsill, showy spears of gladioli in the kitchen and potted mums on the table. “Del? What’s going on?”

  Del released her hand and picked up a bouquet of daffodils. “They’re all for you, Maggie.”

  “But—”

  “A long time ago, I wanted to give you flowers,” he said. “I didn’t because I was afraid to give you the wrong message.”
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  She took the daffodils he offered. Warmth as sunny as the color of the blooms spread through her body. “Is there a message in these?”

  “No,” he said. “They’re just flowers. They’re supposed to make you happy.”

  “They do. I love flowers.”

  “I love you.”

  “I always thought they were…” She caught herself. “What did you say?”

  Del placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her closer. “I love you, Maggie Rice. I only hope someday you can forgive me for everything I’ve put you through.”

  “Oh, Del.” She turned her head to brush a kiss over his knuckles. “Of course, I forgive you. I love you.”

  His hands trembled. “Then marry me.”

  “Marry you?”

  “I can’t picture my future without you in it. I want to know I’ll go to sleep beside you every night and wake up with you every morning. I want to continue being a father to Delilah. I want a home, a house with a white picket fence, the whole nine yards.”

  “Oh, Del,” she breathed.

  “As long as you don’t think you’ll regret not having more babies…”

  “If we want more, we’ll adopt,” she said quickly.

  “You could accept that?”

  “Of course! There are thousands of kids just waiting for a home.”

  “Then we’ll have as many as you can handle.” He took one of her hands from the bouquet she still held and pressed a warm kiss on her palm. “I promise you a family and forever, Maggie. Will you marry me?”

  The words made her eyes mist. She blinked hard. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Del.”

  He enclosed her hand with his. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get a ring yet. I was able to get the flowers delivered, but I wanted to choose your ring myself and I didn’t want to leave you here alone—”

  “I don’t need a ring,” she said, breaking into a smile. “All I need is your love.”

  “You have it, Maggie. Always. To the depth of my heart and the breadth of my soul.”

  Her smile grew until her cheeks ached with it. “How did I ever get so lucky?”

  “It took almost losing my life to realize that I love you. And it took almost losing you to realize how much I love you.” His grip tightened. The tenderness in his gaze mixed with a flash of steely determination. “Maggie, when I saw that gun at your throat—”

  “It’s over, Del,” she said quickly. “We’re fine.”

  Raw emotion moistened his eyes as he looked at her for another long moment. Then he pulled her against him so hard she had to gasp for breath. “Damn it, I can’t wait any longer. I have to hold you, Maggie. I don’t ever want to let go.”

  It could have been a delayed reaction to the danger they had faced, but Maggie didn’t really need an explanation for the sudden shaft of need that rocked her. She loved him. He loved her. That was explanation enough. The flowers fell to the floor at her feet as she grasped his face between her hands and pulled his mouth down on hers.

  They didn’t use the bed. They didn’t use the couch. Instead, they made love—and this time, Maggie knew it was love—on a carpet of daffodils.

  Epilogue

  The car topped the hill, and the countryside spread out before them in a wave of shimmering late August color. Blue sky that was too huge and deep to fathom; rolling, close-cropped pastures behind wire fences; a scattering of whitewashed farm buildings that waited expectantly, like parents holding out their arms to a wandering child. Maggie blinked to clear her eyes. “It’s beautiful, Del,” she said. “Just like you said.”

  Del slowed, then pulled to the side of the gravel road and shut off the engine. Dust from the tires swept past in a giddy swirl. Crickets chirped from the yellow grass in the ditch. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” he said softly. “I had forgotten.”

  Maggie took a deep breath of the Missouri air and sighed with pleasure. The place where Del had grown up was so different from their new house in Connecticut. Yet while the wide open spaces were nice, she still preferred her own home. She liked the scent of freshly mown lawns and carefully tended flower gardens. “It’s still not as beautiful as our place, though.”

  “No argument there, Maggie.” He smiled. “The way you’re going, you should buy stock in the local wallpaper and paint store.”

  “You told me you liked the way I’m decorating.”

  “You’re doing wonders with the place.” He quirked one eyebrow. “And I have to admit I’m partial to the color of daffodils.”

  “I’m going to plant a whole flower bed of them in the fall.”

  “I’ll look forward to the spring. Maybe we should make a tradition out of picking a bunch and spreading them around the bedroom.” His smile widened. “Unless we leave them where they are and plant a really tall hedge.”

  She laughed. “I’m happy with my white picket fence, thank you.”

  “I still can’t believe you talked me into putting up that thing. Bill’s been razzing me about it for weeks.”

  “Well, it’s perfect for my fairy-tale cottage.”

  “It’ll help keep Delilah corralled, too. She’ll start crawling any day now.”

  “Well, she is a genius.”

  “That’s true. Speaking of which…” He glanced into the back seat. After the excitement of airports and plane travel, the ride in the rented car had had a predictably sleep-inducing effect on their young passengers. Placing his finger against his lips, Del winked and reached for the door handle. “Come outside for a minute,” he whispered.

  “Why?”

  He rounded the hood and had her door open by the time she had unfastened her seat belt. He pulled her out of the car and into his arms. “Because I feel like kissing my wife without an audience,” he said, nudging the door shut with his foot.

  Laughing, she clasped her hands behind his neck and tilted her face. “No argument there, Del.”

  With only the crickets and the sky to see them, Del wasn’t content with merely a peck. He braced his legs and tightened his embrace, kissing her thoroughly.

  Maggie gave herself up gladly to the happiness that spread through her. They had been married for almost three months, yet their passion didn’t show any signs of dimming. Just when she thought life couldn’t get any better, it did.

  “You’re smiling,” Del said, nipping at her lower lip. “What’s going through that gorgeous head of yours?”

  “Oh, I was just thinking about how lucky I am.”

  He moved one hand to cup her bottom and lifted her against him. “Funny, I was just thinking about getting lucky myself.”

  She laughed and tugged his ear. “Behave yourself, Del. What would the children say?”

  “I’ll give them a dollar each and send them to their rooms,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck. “They’ll be millionaires by the time they leave for college.”

  “Good thing you have a steady job.”

  “Mmm. There are definite advantages to nine to five.”

  Maggie fervently agreed. Although Del still had that cursed cell phone, he didn’t get called anywhere near as often now that he had taken on his new role as a firearms instructor for SPEAR. By teaching his skills to new recruits, he insured there would be others who could be relied on in a crisis.

  Still, no matter how well he trained those recruits, no one could come close to matching his special talent. He was the best, she thought with pride. Her gentle but ruthless cowboy knight, who considered life as precious as she did, was truly one of a kind.

  He was also a very wealthy man. Maggie hadn’t given a thought to money when she’d agreed to marry him, but it had been a pleasant surprise to discover how successfully Del had invested his earnings over the course of his career. Much to Laszlo’s disappointment, she had no intention of going back to work at the diner—being a full-time mother to her expanding family was more than enough to fill her days. And her husband always took care of filling her nights….

  After another long, toe-tingling kiss, Del le
aned against the fender and turned her around in his arms. He settled his chin on her shoulder as they looked over his parents’ farm. “See the house on the far left, over by those pine trees?”

  Maggie lifted her hand to shade her eyes. “Yes?”

  “That’s where my sister lives.”

  That was the house Del had built for Elizabeth, Maggie realized. She waited, wondering what he would say.

  “You once told me I should make some new memories to replace the bad ones,” he said.

  “Yes, I did. Is it working?”

  “Maggie, there isn’t any room in my heart for bad memories.” He caught her hand and laced his fingers tightly with hers. “Your love has filled it to the brim.”

  Even after all these months, he could still make her cry, she thought, feeling the moisture in her eyes. She could no longer blame it on hormones. She was hopelessly, gloriously in love with her husband. “Del?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you.”

  “And I love you.” He splayed his fingers over her midriff, his thumb drawing a lazy arc under her breast. “What time did we tell my parents we would be there?”

  “Del, for heaven’s sake,” she said, laughing. “We’re already late.”

  But she turned and gave him another kiss anyway.

  “Hey, are those real cows, Dad?”

  At the voice, Maggie broke off the kiss and looked at the car.

  Their new six-year-old redheaded son was peering out the window, his freckles dancing with his smile as he stared at the pasture beyond the fence.

  Normally, the adoption process would have taken longer, but Del had made full use of his SPEAR connections to cut through the red tape. The final papers had been signed just last week, and it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. Delilah had a big brother and Robbie was no longer in the foster care system. He had the family he always wanted, and then some. Armilda was still his grandmother, but he now had another set of official grandparents, along with real aunts, uncles and more cousins than he could shake a superhero cape at.

  “Yes, Robbie, they’re real cows,” Del said. “And if I remember right, there’s a pony in the barn that you might be able to ride.”