by Kim Law
If her words penetrated, he didn’t let on. Instead, he released her hand and gripped her chin with his fingers. He angled her face away from his searching mouth and let his lips continue to nuzzle and suckle along her skin. His ministrations had her ultra-sensitive nipples tightening into such hard points that she didn’t know if she wanted to rip his clothes off or rip hers off so the material of her bra would quit rubbing against them. The situation would almost be funny if she weren’t melting into a puddle of desire.
“What are you doing?” she breathed out the question as she heard footsteps not far away.
“I’m pretty sure you know exactly what I’m doing.” His voice was rough, and the sound of it caused a shiver to trek down her body. “We’ve done this before, remember?”
Oh, she remembered, all right. That’s why her belly now announced her arrival well before others even realized she’d entered a room.
Cord released her chin, his hand dropping away, and the backs of his fingers skimmed over the outer edge of her breast. Then he slowly lifted his mouth from her heated skin. He remained leaning in, that one hand still against the wall. And when he didn’t make any additional move to touch her, she cautiously turned her face to his. Her breaths came in short pants.
“That was . . . nice,” she croaked.
He smiled like the devil that he was. “That’s what you get for sitting in a room full of my family and thinking dirty thoughts.”
She gulped as he confirmed her previous impression. The man had been inside her head. Or, at least, he’d read her thoughts. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” she denied.
“Oh, sweetheart.” The backs of his fingers slid along the outside edge of her breast once again. “You are such a bad liar.” He leaned back in and put his mouth to her ear. “What were you thinking about in there, Maggie?”
Another shiver racked her body. No way was she going to admit her thoughts. At least, not right here. Another set of footsteps sounded close by. “I was thinking that you remind me of my father,” she lied.
She could feel his mouth curve into a smile. “I don’t think so.”
She nodded, her head moving in a quick up and down. “Yes. That’s absolutely what I was thinking.” Then she had to rack her brain to come up with something believable to convince him. “You were playing with Mia . . . looking all fatherly. He was a good dad, you know? Just like you’re going to be.”
He pulled back and looked at her. The glint in his eyes had shifted from teasing to serious, but his words remained light. “I am not your father, Maggie Crowder. Make no mistake about that.”
She couldn’t keep the smile from her lips. “Oh, I’m very aware that.” She lowered her gaze to his mouth, and very intentionally caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Nor would I want you to be,” she added in a murmur. And when she lifted her eyes back up to his, she felt another piece of her heart break off. This man did things to her that she didn’t want him to ever stop doing. “You’re also sweet,” she told him, reaching up to caress his jaw. “My dad has always been sweet. Both to my mom and to me.”
The teasing slipped from Cord’s expression. “You think I’m sweet?” He seemed serious.
“I do.”
He continued to peer down at her. “I feel like I should be offended by that, but for some reason, I’m not. I kind of like it.”
“You should like it. You’re a special man, Cord Wilde.”
He kissed her then, right there where other people were walking by and where anyone who wanted to take a peek could see. And it wasn’t a chaste peck on the cheek. He held her face in his hands, and he made love to her mouth in the same way she remembered him cherishing her entire body back in the spring. It also made her think of how he’d kissed her the night before. Not when he’d first arrived, but after she’d shown him the curtains. He’d kissed her then as if he treasured everything about her that made her unique. And he’d kissed her as if he never wanted to let go.
When they both came up for air, he didn’t look away. His eyes had grown dark. “Come with me to my family’s Christmas,” he whispered. “If you aren’t going out of town to see your family, of course. We’re going to—”
“I’d love to,” she interrupted. She didn’t need to hear any more. She’d been hoping he’d ask ever since Arsula and Erica had mentioned that the entire family would be spending the night at the Wilde house. Each child would stay in the room they’d grown up in—with the exception of Nick and Nate, who’d shared a room—along with their spouses.
She wasn’t Cord’s spouse, but she took the invitation to mean that they’d spend the night together.
“Good.” Cord lowered his gaze to her lips. “That would be perfect. You being there . . . Then you can make certain to get credit for the curtains.”
“And the wallpaper,” she added. “We can’t forget the wallpaper.”
She didn’t think they were just talking about curtains and wallpaper. She wasn’t, at least. He’d said her being there would be perfect, and she couldn’t agree more. Being with him was the only place she wanted to be. And whatever happened between the two of them in his childhood bedroom . . . Well . . .
Cord dragged his gaze back to hers. “The wallpaper,” he agreed. And then he smiled.
She loved his smile.
“You’re going to make an exceptional mother, Maggie.”
The words caught her by surprise, jarring her by coming out of nowhere, but the sentiment meant the world to her. He knew her ability as a mother was something she continually worried about. “You think?”
He nodded. “I know. I’ve always known, but when I saw the curtains . . . ”
He brought her hands up and kissed the backs of her fingertips, and this time when his gaze found hers, there was no heat. Only emotion. “My mother would have never done anything like that,” he told her. “Not for any of us, but certainly not for someone else’s nieces. Unless there was a benefit to her, of course. But you so selflessly give. You—” He stopped talking, seeming to need to think about his words before continuing. “That’s what I was thinking Friday night, Maggie. When you showed me the curtains. That you were going to make an exceptional mother, and that I’m so lucky because you’re going to be the mother of my son. Nothing could make me happier. And that’s what that kiss was about. All those feelings were jumbled up inside me, and the only way I could show you was with the kiss.”
When his words ran out, he remained standing with her backed against a wall, and what she saw staring back at her were all the same things she felt. “And you’re going to make an exceptional dad,” she whispered. Her eyes grew damp. “We’re going to make one hell of a team.”
He kissed her again then. Slow at first, worshipping her lips. But passion quickly became the theme of the moment, and when he tunneled his fingers into her hair, she couldn’t hold in the moan of pleasure that rippled through her. She was crazy about this man. And she thought he might just be feeling the same.
When he once again pulled away from her, they both looked up toward the ceiling at the same time. A soft lullaby was coming through the hospital’s speaker. A baby had just been born.
Cord stood at the doorway to the hospital room, remaining quiet so as not to be noticed. The lullaby had sounded, and within a couple of minutes everyone on the family group text had received both a picture and an announcement. Ivy Rochelle Wilde had entered the world at 10:07 a.m. weighing seven pounds five ounces. Gabe and Erica had had a girl.
Maggie was in the hospital room with Erica, Gabe, and Jenna now. She’d initially stayed in the background, allowing both families to visit with the new baby, but now it was her turn to spend time with her friend. Gabe stood off to the side, the pride on his face unable to be missed. Nor could Cord keep from seeing the love. On either parents’ face. But it was Maggie who Cord couldn’t pull his attention from.
Maggie held the pink-faced baby in her arms, the tiny thing snuggled in tight above her belly, an
d Cord couldn’t help but think that it would be their baby in her arms soon. And that he would be the one exuding the roomful of pride.
He couldn’t wait to meet the child they’d made. He couldn’t wait to see where his and Maggie’s relationship could go.
“That’s one good-looking family,” his dad said as he stepped to Cord’s side.
“It is.” Cord had little else to say. His entire family had changed so drastically over the last three years, and it seemed that he was now right in there with them. None of them could have predicted the paths they’d all taken.
“You ready to have one of your own?”
Cord looked over at his dad’s serious tone. The two of them rarely had long, deep conversations, but it felt like one coming on now.
“I am ready.” That was only a small fib.
His dad watched the room instead of looking at Cord. “And you think you’re going to be okay driving away from them every week?”
Leave it to his father to get right to the point.
Cord still had no idea how he was going to do that. “My job is in Billings, Dad.”
“So get a new job.”
Cord closed his eyes instead of letting out a sigh. “That’s easier said than done.” It was also easier for everyone else to say than for him to want to do.
“Horse crap.” His dad still didn’t look at him. “Your priorities are screwed up. This is what life is about right here.” He nodded toward the others in the room, and Cord could hear soft murmurs coming from Erica as she spoke to Ivy. “Family. Kids.” His dad paused again before adding, “A wife who loves and respects you.”
As his father’s gravelly voice washed over Cord, it wasn’t a potential wife for him he thought about, but the wife his dad once had. And as he looked at the past from a different perspective for the first time, he also felt bad for his dad for the first time. At least, bad as it pertained to living with Carol Wilde.
For so long, Cord had merely thought of his father as being complicit with his mom’s behavior. The man had never done much to try to stop it. Instead, he’d simply rolled over and let her run roughshod over him, as well as the rest of them. But hearing his words now, Cord suddenly saw a glimpse of his dad’s life in a different light. The man had produced six children with the woman. They’d been together for two decades. Had he ever truly felt love from her? And if not, how must that have hurt? How must it have bothered him that he couldn’t be a better father?
At least he’d stayed, Cord thought. He’d been there.
“You’ve got a woman who loves you now,” Cord finally replied, ignoring the stab in his heart when he once again thought about not being around enough for his own kid.
“I do,” his dad agreed. “And I’m grateful.”
“You’ve got an entire family who loves you, Dad.”
His dad finally looked over, and Cord could see a mist of tears threatening at his eyes. He’d been through a lot that year, but if one good thing had come from all of it, it was how the family had banded together to be there for each other. To be there for their dad.
“I wasn’t a good father,” he said.
“You were fine, Dad.”
“I . . .” He turned back to the others in the room, and Cord watched as his hand trembled where it gripped his cane. “I wanted to be,” his dad admitted. “I truly did. I loved all of you kids with all my heart. I just . . . wasn’t good at it. I’m thankful every day, though, that my mistakes didn’t push any of you away. At least not forever. I’m thankful you’re all so close now.”
He took a step back, turning so he faced Cord, and when Cord couldn’t find any words to contribute, his dad continued.
“Consider coming home, Cord. Not later, but now. Life isn’t about a job. It’s about the heart. You’re going to be a good dad. So much better than I could have ever been. And you’re going to cherish every moment when you’re older. I let your Momma walk all over me, son, but that’s not something you’re going to have to worry about. Don’t let this opportunity pass you.”
He took another look back into the hospital room before reaching out with his free hand and patting Cord on the arm.
“Next weekend is Christmas. Our last at the house. Bring Maggie with you. Start a new life there so you have good memories to add to the rest of them. Embrace what life has handed to you.”
He walked off before Cord could let him know that he had invited Maggie, muttering about needing to check on Dani, and Cord turned back to the room. He hadn’t set out to invite Maggie to his family Christmas that morning. He’d still been contemplating the implications of doing so. Would she read the wrong things into it? Was he ready to have her there?
All those things, he’d been thinking because he’d wanted to be sure. But as soon as the words had tumbled out of his mouth, he’d known it was the right thing to do. Because he did want what his dad had just suggested. He wanted to create a new memory associated with the house. He wanted to start a new life.
The idea still scared him, of course. Everything had moved so fast between the two of them, and he couldn’t figure out how to slow it down. Not that he’d done anything to slow it down. He’d only added to the speed. But still . . . all the changes frightened him. He didn’t know if he was making the right decisions.
Maggie caught him watching, and the gentle curve that tugged up the corners of her lips had a band squeezing around his heart. He could see so much emotion being directed back to him. And he knew it wasn’t all due to the baby she held in her arms.
This woman thought he was sweet.
She thought he would be a good dad.
He didn’t for a minute buy that she’d really been comparing him to her father while they’d been sitting in the waiting room, but he did believe the other words she’d said. Only, could he live up to her expectations?
He hoped so.
Another lullaby sounded over the hospital’s speakers, and Maggie’s smile inched higher. And this time, his lips curved with hers. Did that mean Dani had given birth? And if so, had she delivered a boy? Or would he and Maggie soon provide the family’s first grandson?
At the thought, he suddenly felt the need for space. He stepped back, out of the doorway.
He didn’t go far, just out of sight. And he pulled in a deep breath. He and Maggie would have a baby within a few weeks. He would have a son. He would be a father.
He let the thoughts repeat.
Going there no longer caused stress. The knowledge brought joy instead. But he still couldn’t figure out how to do it right. How to make sure he didn’t let them down.
Doctor Hamm came around the corner at the far end of the hall, and Cord watched as the older man drew nearer. He’d seen the doctor at the hospital earlier. He was in the building today in an official capacity, but he’d also stopped by the birthing center when he’d heard that Erica and Dani were both there.
“Cord.” As Doc Hamm stopped at Cord’s side, he offered a smile and a handshake. “Just the man I was looking for.”
“Yeah?” Cord returned the greeting. “What can I do for you, Doc?”
Hamm nodded in the direction he’d come, his genial expression disappearing. “Take a walk with me?”
Worry immediately settled inside Cord. Was this about his dad? “Sure.”
He didn’t ask for details as they moved down the hall. If the doctor had something to talk about that needed privacy, then Cord would wait. But the fear that hadn’t been in him when he’d been thinking about his impending fatherhood now showed up as fear of the unknown. Had he missed something else with his dad?
Hamm stopped once they’d rounded the corner and had stepped into a small alcove, but when he turned back, Cord didn’t see the grim expression he’d expected. Instead, it was happiness that radiated back at him.
“I’m retiring, Cord.”
Shock registered, hitting him as if being whacked with a two-by-four, and “wow” was the only thing Cord managed to say. The doc had been a fixture C
ord’s entire life, and though he’d known the man wouldn’t work forever, he also couldn’t say he’d ever really thought about him retiring. Doc Hamm was just there. Always. “Congratulations,” he finally managed to tack on.
“Thanks,” the doc said. “It feels like it’s time. Annie moved to Chicago a couple of months ago. Her husband was offered a great job, and they just put in an offer for a home. It looks like they’ll be staying. So . . . well”—he lifted his hands—“the missus and I miss them, Cord. We miss the grandkids. So, we’ve decided to move, too.”
Another wave of shock reverberated, shifting Cord to the heels of his feet. The doc wasn’t just retiring, he was moving away. For good.
Selfishly, Cord wondered who would keep an eye on his dad when he wasn’t around. He’d always assumed Doc would be there.
“Of course you’d want to do that,” Cord forced himself to add. Doc Hamm had only the one child, and Annie and her husband were raising three kids. Who wouldn’t want to be around their grandchildren?
“I knew you’d understand.” Doc nodded in the direction they’d come. “You’re having one of your own, I hear.”
It didn’t surprise Cord that word had gotten around. “I am.”
The older man’s face softened. “Life changes when kids come into play. Life is good with kids. With family around.”
“Definitely.” Cord didn’t say anything else because the moment suddenly felt intense. First his dad had given him a talk about being there for his son, and now the doc had pulled him aside . . . and Doc was also talking about kids. About family.
Was the world trying to tell him—
“I’m asking if you’ll consider buying my practice, Cord.”
Cord gaped at the other man. “What?”
That was not the path he’d have seen this conversation going.
Doc nodded, his mouth pulling taut. “It’s hard to walk away from, I’ll admit. But the decision sure would be easier to swallow if I were leaving my patients in your hands. In fact, I’ve been hoping you’d decide to come home for a while now. I know you’ve done well for yourself. You’re in with a group that should make you extremely proud. I’m proud of you. But I also can’t help that I’ve always imagined you as the doctor to follow in my footsteps here. I’d love to hand the reins over to you, Cord. It would give me the greatest honor. And I know your dad would love to have you back home, too.”