The Late Bloomer's Baby

by Kaitlyn Rice

  That would be forever.

  Callie had offered to supervise the project long-distance, but she’d given her notice. Her life was in Kansas.

  When the seat belt light went off, Callie jumped up and grabbed her luggage from the overhead bin. She proceeded down the aisle as fast as the line of passengers allowed, then hastened into the concourse.

  She knew now what she needed to do.

  She’d tell Ethan everything. That she’d felt abandoned by him, and she’d made foolish decisions. She’d admit her share of the blame for their problems, from their very first lovers’ tiff to the more weighty troubles of today.

  She’d learned so much, after he’d left and since she’d been in Kansas.

  She’d ask for another chance.

  And another, if necessary.

  And another, until their marriage came to a natural end when, hopefully, they were both very old.

  As Callie strode through the terminal, she saw the handsome, dark-haired man standing in the hallway near the gift shop. He crouched near a stroller to point at her and speak to the little boy who wore the same dimpled grin he did.

  Man, it was good to see them.

  Callie broke into a jog. She could be about to make a huge fool of herself right now.

  Ethan’s eyes were lit, and Luke opened and closed his fist in the cutest wave Callie had ever seen.

  “Hey!” she said softly as she approached. After Ethan had unbuckled Luke’s restraint and taken Callie’s bag, she lifted her little boy into her arms. “I missed you,” she murmured, ostensibly to the child.

  But her gaze rested on Ethan.

  Ethan began to push the empty stroller toward the exit. “We’re glad you’re home,” he said just as cryptically.

  “Things went okay?” she asked.

  “You know how things went. We talked every day.”

  “On the phone. But we can say more face-to-face,” she pointed out. “Are you okay? I know Luke doesn’t go to sleep easily when he’s in unusual surroundings.”

  “We adapted,” Ethan said, looking across her shoulder at Luke. “I think we came to a few understandings. Naps and bedtimes are not optional, but baths and playtimes can be creative.”

  She smiled back. “Good.”

  “You’re acting pretty happy,” he said. “You think your work problems are settled?”

  “They’re fine. I’ll tell you about it later.” Callie stopped walking and tugged on Ethan’s shirtsleeve. “Wait a minute,” she said, sighing. “Can I have a hug?”

  He answered with a solid hug that made Luke chuckle, and followed that with a firm but chaste kiss that caused the little boy to squeal with glee.

  Ethan let go, his eyes amused. “Will that do?”

  “It will.” As they resumed their walk, they didn’t speak again. Callie had so much to say, but she wanted the time and setting to be perfect.

  On the drive to his house, Ethan told her a few tales about Luke’s morning, and when Callie walked into his living room moments later, she laughed.

  The room contained a large, colorful play set, as well as the train. “Guess you went shopping,” she said.

  “We sure did,” Ethan said. “Come look at what we put in the second bedroom.”

  Callie followed Ethan across the living room and rounded the corner as he opened the door. The once-empty space now held a small, red-framed toddler bed and a lightweight tent that contained hundreds of colorful plastic balls.

  She put Luke down, expecting him to walk a few steps before he dropped into a crawl, but the little boy wobbled all the way to the ball pit.

  She gasped. “Ethan, when did he start walking that far on his own?”

  Ethan shook his head. “This is the first time I’ve seen him,” he said. “But then I didn’t put him down much this weekend.”

  Callie chuckled. “Now who’s spoiling him?”

  “Not too much, I hope,” Ethan said as he watched Luke. Then he returned his attention to Callie and moved forward. “Our son is busy.”

  “He is.”

  Ethan stopped just a few inches away from her. “Then this is a good time to talk.”

  Callie gazed at him. That gleam in his eyes suggested all kinds of wonderful things that had little to do with talking, so she was slightly surprised when he didn’t lean in to kiss her.

  “I didn’t tell you everything over the phone,” he said. “I had a visitor a couple of days ago.”

  She shook her head. “Who?”

  “LeeAnn.”

  Callie crammed her eyes shut, then reopened one to peer worriedly at him. “You’re still seeing her?”

  “I stopped seeing her a while ago, after you and I got involved again.” He shrugged. “She kept dropping by.”

  “I don’t blame her for hanging on,” Callie said. But her hope built in such a rush that her eyes teared.

  “She’s very competitive,” he said. “But she and I were never meant to be together.”

  “You weren’t?”

  “No. I was glad she came by, though,” Ethan said. “Something she said made things so much clearer for me.”

  “What was that?”

  He pulled Callie into his embrace and spoke low in her ear. “She tried to put doubts in my head about my biological connection to Luke.”

  Callie shook her head. “Oh, but you know you’re his dad! Even if I had slept with another guy, which I didn’t, I couldn’t have gotten pregnant that way.”

  “I know,” Ethan murmured. “I would have known even if you could get pregnant naturally. As long as you were married to me, you wouldn’t sleep with some other guy.”

  “No.”

  “I also realized that I’ve been fooling myself,” he said, his voice unsteady now. “I do trust you. And it must have taken an incredible amount of faith for you to leave Luke here with me these past few days.”

  She smiled.

  “You knew I’d have some struggles with him, didn’t you? With sleep times? With the relentless motion of a toddler?”

  She nodded. “I did know, but I trusted that you’d survive and handle yourself well.”

  “I think we’ve both grown up some,” he said. “Don’t you?”

  “Dat-dat-dat!” Luke said.

  Both Callie and Ethan looked toward their son, who was tossing balls out of the tent enclosure.

  “Do you mind that he’s not your biological child?” Ethan asked.

  “Of course not. I love the fact that he takes after you, but he’s the child of my heart. That’s all that matters.”

  “I knew you’d say that,” Ethan said, tugging her forward to kiss her thoroughly. “I love you, Callie Taylor,” he said after a while. “I always did. I was a fool to leave.”

  “I pushed you away. I think I might have been testing you, trying to prove my mother wrong,” she said. Sighing, she shook her head. “Or right. I don’t even know which, but I do know I wasn’t fair to you.”

  When she lifted her left hand to show him her ring, he smiled. “You’re wearing it?” he asked.

  “I am.”

  “Stay right there.”

  He dashed down the hallway and returned a moment later with a gold band flashing brightly on his hand. After they’d admired their rings for a moment, he pulled her very close again and said, “Calliope Sloane Taylor, will you stay married to me?”

  She smiled. “I will.”

  He kissed her for a good while. “Good,” he said then. “Because I’ve contacted my old boss in Denver to see if they have any detective openings on their squad. We can start packing today.”

  Oh, no!

  “Why?” Callie asked.

  “Your research is there, and it is important. Cancer patients of the world need your brain in their corner.” He looped one arm around her waist, used the other hand to grab hers and twirled her into the hallway.

  “Why didn’t we ever dance?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Let’s take lessons.”


  “Mmm. Sounds nice. A parents’ night out.”

  After a few moments of twirling in the hallway with her handsome guy, Callie decided the lessons would be fun, but hardly necessary. They did fine.

  “I don’t need you to move to Denver for me, Ethan,” she murmured against his ear.

  He leaned back to peer into her eyes. “But I can work anywhere.”

  “So can I.”

  He stopped dancing. “What?”

  “I had a few revelations during my time away, too,” she said. “For one thing, I realized that my job is just a job. I can do the research in affiliation with one of Wichita’s hospitals, or I can set up my own facility.”

  “You think so?”

  “I don’t think women with ovarian cancer would mind if every scientist in the country worked on finding a cure, do you?”

  He shook his head, then pulled her into an embrace again and swayed to the sounds of a quiet house.

  Callie glanced at Luke over Ethan’s shoulder. The little boy had squatted down next to his ball pit, grasping at balls with both hands. Still busy.

  Wrapping her arms tighter around Ethan’s neck, Callie moved her face close to his. “Did I tell you that I adore your house?” she asked, keeping her mouth just a breath away from his. “The neighborhood, too. And this place is within driving distance of my sisters without being too near.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” he said in a low voice.

  “Luke likes this playground of a room,” she added as they continued to dance very slowly, “and your bed is playground enough for me.” She stopped moving. “Would you mind sharing this house with a wife and little boy?”

  He answered with a chuckle, then another kiss. This one wasn’t chaste or short or gentlemanly. He opened his mouth and let her feel his ardor.

  Callie crammed her hands in Ethan’s thick hair and made sure he didn’t end the kiss too soon. She had just touched her tongue to her husband’s when she felt a sudden, soft strike against her bottom, then her shoulder.

  “Hey!” Ethan said, glancing sideways and down.

  The little culprit stood in the doorway, cackling at them. Then he wobbled past them to retrieve one of the balls and throw it again.

  They’d have to correct him soon. He’d need to know that he couldn’t throw balls at people for sport. Well, at least not until he was old enough for dodgeball games at school.

  For now, Callie laughed. She lifted her little boy into her arms, allowing him to join her within the embrace of the man they would each love for the rest of their lives.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-6949-4

  THE LATE BLOOMER’S BABY

  Copyright © 2005 by Kathy Hagan.

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