And Baby Makes Six

by Pamela Dalton

  She’d only had a picture of a movie idol when she was growing up. She’d never known from one year to the next where she would be living and who would be picking her up after school. Her marriage to a man who’d left her with a mountain of debts only cemented the reality of her childhood: never trust anyone.

  Devlin knew his chances of breaking down those formidable barriers were slim. But he had to try.

  He wanted Abby, body and soul.

  He wanted a real wife.

  ***

  CHAPTER 8

  By the time Friday arrived—a cool mid-May day despite the full-throttle sunshine—Abby had it all figured out.

  After she dropped Paige at preschool, she’d go to the home-decorating store and pick out wallpaper for Paige’s room. During the rest of the day, she could paste and apply the paper before getting ready to go to the Castners’. Then on Saturday, she could devote her energies to cleaning out Devlin’s office files.

  She doubted Devlin had ever cleaned out a scrap of paper. He had his tax returns lumped together with his construction bids, some of them dating back ten years or more. She needed to separate the files, box up whatever wasn’t current and store them in the attic. She figured she had at least a full day’s work ahead of her, if not more. That was good. She’d need it.

  Anything to keep her mind off the fact that she would be home alone with Devlin for the entire weekend.

  She dared not remember the last time they were alone, just the two of them, in an empty house. Yet, all too often during the past week she did remember their wedding night. It was as if every moment was permanently engraved in her mind. The way Devlin’s scent stroked and titillated her senses. The strength and excitement of his rough yet tender hands pleasuring her skin. The naked feel of his body stretched against hers.

  Dangerous thoughts.

  “Mommy.” Paige’s voice jarred Abby back to the present. “Can Princess come with me to my new grandpa and grandma’s house?” She bounced on her bed as she watched Abby pack her purple jogging outfit into the shiny pink suitcase. “Princess has never stayed overnight with them, either.”

  Her daughter had been talking nonstop about staying at Devlin’s parents’ ever since she’d gotten up this morning.

  “No, I think your grandpa and grandma would prefer that Princess stay here.”

  Just then, Devlin arrived at Paige’s bedroom door. “Need any help?” he asked.

  Paige hopped off the bed and skipped to his side. Tucking her small hand inside his, she gave him a dimpled smile that was clearly intended to get her way. “Daddy, can I take Princess with me to Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton’s house?”

  Devlin hunkered down and tapped her upturned nose. “It’s going to be awfully lonely with you three gone. I’m afraid we’ll need Princess to stay here and keep us company. Is that okay with you?”

  Paige crossed her arms in front of her chest and drew a deep sigh of disappointment. “I suppose so.”

  He ruffled her hair and stood up again. “Why don’t you go downstairs and see if there are any games you want to bring along?”

  Paige screwed up her face. “Who will play them with me? Riley doesn’t like to play my games. He says they’re dumb.”

  “Grandpa will. He loves to play games.”

  “Even my kind of games?”

  “Especially your games.”

  “Oh, goody.” Forgetting about her beloved cat, she ran past Devlin and out the door. They could hear her feet clattering down the stairs and into the family room.

  “For a little thing, she sure does have heavy feet,” Devlin commented as Abby shut the suitcase and snapped the latch.

  She started to swing the suitcase off the bed. “At least we always know where she’s at.”

  Devlin reached over and intercepted the small piece of luggage. “I’ll put it in the car.”

  “Now?” She wished he didn’t look quite so attractive in a new pair of blue jeans and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway to his elbows. He wasn’t wearing his usual work clothes, for a change. “I didn’t think we were going to drop off the kids until after dinner tonight.”

  “That was the original plan, but my mother called and asked if they could pick Paige up from preschool and the boys from school. I didn’t think there would be a problem, so I agreed.” He paused. “There isn’t a problem, is there?”

  She picked up Paige’s pillow and fluffed it. “No. That’s fine. I thought I’d work on wallpapering today. That will give me more time to—”

  She stopped fluffing at the sight of his shaking head.

  “No kids, no work this weekend.”

  He plucked the pillow from her fingers and tossed it on top of the bedcovers. “This will be our weekend to play. Just you and me.”

  Before she had a chance to assimilate this change of events, he added, “After we go to your doctor’s appointment, that is. It is your monthly appointment today, isn’t it?”

  Her empty hands automatically curved over her stomach. She was four and a half months along, and since this was her second pregnancy she had started to blossom. “You want to go to my checkup?”

  “We both should be there. It’s my baby, too.” He reached over and propelled her away from the bed and toward him. “Afterward, I figured we could do some fun things.”

  “Fun things?” She sounded like an idiot, mimicking his words. But Abby didn’t know which had her in more of a tailspin, the idea of going to the doctor with Devlin or spending the entire weekend having fun with him. Both of them made her heartbeat do a hop, skip and a jump.

  So did the mysterious glint in his gaze. What kind of fun did he have in mind?

  Before she could ask, Devlin carried the suitcase from the room.

  For the next hour, they both kept busy getting the kids off to school and loading the suitcases into the car. By the time they left Paige at her preschool and talked to her teachers about Devlin’s parents picking her up later, they had just a few minutes to spare before Abby’s appointment.

  Entering the doctor’s office, Abby noticed that Devlin was the only man in the waiting room. He didn’t seem at all uncomfortable to be surrounded by wall-to-wall pregnant women, however. They sat down next to a young woman who had clearly reached the outer limits of her tent-like maternity dress.

  “Is this your first one?” Abby asked her.

  The woman, who had to be in her early-to mid-twenties, pushed swollen fingers through short brown hair. “I’m already two weeks overdue. I don’t know if this baby is so content he doesn’t want to move or if he’s just plain stubborn.”

  “Perhaps he’s a bit of both.”

  The woman tried to smile. “It gets kind of long after a while. Is this your first baby, too?”

  Devlin, who had slipped his arm around the back of Abby’s chair, answered her, “This will be our fourth.”

  “Fourth?” The woman’s voice softened with awe, her hazel gaze flitting between the two and settling on the position of Devlin’s arm. “How do you do it? You must give each other lots of support.”

  Abby smiled. “Parenting is pretty demanding.”

  The young woman nodded her head. “You two must love each other very much to have that many kids.”

  She didn’t seem to expect an answer as her fingers nervously picked at a seam on her dress. “Ronnie says, all we have to do is love each other more than anyone or anything else in the world and our children will be stable and secure. Children adjust to anything so long as they have parents who love them.”

  The nurse came around the corner. “Mrs. Armstrong?”

  The woman next to them hoisted herself to her feet. “That’s me.”

  “Good luck,” Abby said.

  “Thanks.” She heaved a big sigh. “I’ll need it.” Then she followed the nurse.

  Abby watched her waddle away. “I remember how nervous I was when I was pregnant with Paige. There are so many doubts. So many questions. You wonder how you can possibly be a good p
arent when you know so little about raising a child,” she mused. “I tried to read every book I could. But no situation ever quite matches what the experts say. In the end, all I could do was love her and follow my instincts.”

  She suddenly realized how close Devlin was sitting to her. He hadn’t removed his arm and was studying her with an unnerving intensity. She laughed a bit self-consciously. “Sorry, was I rambling?”

  “You don’t ramble.” Devlin wanted to pull his wife into his arms and kiss her. “Love is all any of us need. It’s the ingredient to happiness.”

  A shadow of wistfulness entered Abby’s eyes, hinting at a deeper suppressed emotion. Before he had a chance to analyze it and decode its secrets, Abby quickly lowered her gaze, closing the doorway to her thoughts. What did it mean? Was she starting to have real feelings for him? A bud of hope sprang to life. If there was a chance that Abby was falling in love with him, he was going to do his best to fan any small flame.

  The same nurse reappeared. “Mrs. Hamilton?”

  Devlin rose and assisted Abby to her feet.

  The nurse led them down the short hall and then stopped next to a big scale.

  Abby all but groaned aloud as she eyed the ugly, lying monster in front of her. That machine always made her ten pounds heavier than she was, and there was nothing more humiliating to a woman than to be weighed in front of a man.

  Through the veil of her lashes, she eyed Devlin. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to disappear for thirty seconds.”

  Devlin, bless his obstinate soul, dared to look at her with a feigned innocence even a baby wouldn’t believe. “Don’t mind me. We’re in this together, remember?”

  “Then you step on the scale.”

  His glaze glittered. “You want me to hold your hand?”

  Odious man. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him believe his opinion mattered. Without looking at him, she hiked up on the scale, refusing to flinch when the nurse read aloud, “One hundred and twenty-six pounds. You’re doing just fine.”

  Ignoring Devlin’s extended hand, Abby stepped off the scale as if it were a simmering bed of hot coals. When she brushed by him, Devlin said in a low voice that only she could hear, “I’ll still love you even when you weigh a hundred and sixty-six.”

  The word love made her heartbeat race to her throat. She knew he didn’t mean it. She tried to cover her reaction by shooting him a withering look.

  After the nurse showed them into the examination room, they barely had time to sit down when the doctor, a short Oriental man with a friendly smile, came in. “Good morning, Mrs. Hamilton.”

  “Dr. Lee, this is my husband, Devlin.”

  The doctor reached over and shook Devlin’s hand. “It’s nice to have you here. We like to encourage both parents to attend the appointments and the Lamaze classes.” He picked up the chart. “You have signed up for the classes, correct?”

  “Not yet,” Abby said. She had considered it but hadn’t wanted to put Devlin on the spot and make him feel pressured into attending.

  Devlin’s eyebrow lifted in a quizzical manner. “Have they already started?”

  The doctor pulled a calendar from the pocket of his white coat and flipped it open. “There’s a new class starting next week. You can sign up at the reception desk before you leave, if you’d like.”

  Much to Abby’s surprise, Devlin didn’t hesitate. “Consider it done.”

  Dr. Lee tucked away his calendar and patted the examining table. “Okay, Abby, let’s take a look and see how things are coming along.”

  Fortunately, the examination was fairly impersonal, even though her protruding stomach was exposed. Devlin stayed seated while the doctor did his job, and that made it easier for Abby to relax and respond to the doctor’s directions and comments.

  Finally, the doctor turned toward Devlin. “Would you like to hear your son or daughter’s heartbeat?”

  Devlin moved to Abby’s side and put on the earpiece. She barely breathed as she peered through her lashes and watched a surge of emotion flow across Devlin’s face. His gaze met hers. Mirrored in the bottomless pools of green, she saw incredulity mix with wonderment.

  Emotions from deep inside of her welled and overflowed.

  When Devlin had announced he would be coming with her today, it had seemed wiser and safer not to attach any meaning or expectation to his decision. For all she knew, he would plant himself in the waiting room, as her first husband had done, while she visited the doctor. John hadn’t ever been comfortable with the physical evidence of her pregnancy.

  But with Devlin, there was no hesitation. No revulsion. One of his hands clasped hers while his other hand gently—and almost reverently—caressed the mound of her stomach. She wanted to weep from the pure beauty of it all. It was all she could do not to raise up on her elbows and kiss him for this priceless moment of joy and sharing.

  Later that night, Abby had trouble keeping her attention trained on the CLUE game board in front of her.

  Part of the reason for her distraction rested on the fascinating Castners.

  As soon as Cash took their coats, Abby had been struck by the energy and harmony intermingling through the house.

  They’d given her the grand tour of their home. The three-thousand-foot three-story had been built by Devlin’s company. Each room had a distinct personality. Cash had decorated half the rooms and Rebecca the other because they hadn’t been able to agree on the decor.

  Rebecca preferred Victorian antiques, her set of rooms containing special treasures that she’d acquired through the years.

  Cash’s rooms, on the other hand, favored, in his wife’s words, “carnival riffraff.”

  Cash’s living room boasted Rolling Stones memorabilia and a Zsa Zsa Gabor picture on one side. In the far corner, a stuffed pig with silver wings sat next to a Cat Woman cutout. Probably the most prominent feature belonged to the Green Bay Packers’ cheesehead, mounted in a place of honor above the gray-stoned fireplace. The cheesehead had become a recognizable state symbol, and Abby could easily picture Cash wearing the yellow triangular piece of foam, shaped like a wedge of cheese, at a Packers’ football game along with the other zealot Packer fans.

  The room should have looked cheap and gaudy. In actuality it was oddly charming . . . as charming as Cash and Rebecca, who had bickered nonstop from the moment Mrs. White landed in the conservatory in search of the knife.

  “If you don’t stop trying to peek at my cards, you’re going to sleep in the cellar with all the other rats,” Rebecca snapped at her husband, cradling her cards protectively against her bosom.

  “I already know that you have Colonel Mustard, the lead pipe and the dining room.” Cash’s smugness was accompanied by a long, smooth drawl designed to provoke his wife. “I’m just curious which card you showed Devlin.”

  She treated him to a disdainful glare. “Give it up, Cash. You used that bluff two games ago. I didn’t buy it then and I’m not buying it now.”

  “Are you saying I’m a liar, too?” her husband asked.

  “Keep your hands above the table where I can see them.”

  “Sorry, was that your knee I squeezed, honey?” Cash’s wide-eyed expression was foiled by a ruthless grin.

  “It had better be.” Devlin angled his cards away from his good buddy’s viewing range. “I don’t take kindly to you pawing my wife, old man.”

  Cash leaned toward Abby who was seated on his right. “Ouch, can you believe how vicious those two are? They get plain mean when they don’t win.”

  Abby couldn’t restrain a smile. “It’s amazing how well you’re holding up.”

  “I’ve figured out a secret for surviving.”

  Her mouth quirked. “You have?”

  “Yep.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I make it into foreplay.”

  Even though he spoke in a whisper directed toward her ear, he spoke loud enough for both Devlin and Rebecca to hear.

  “Cash—” Rebecca’s voice dripped with wa
rning “—do you have the rope, Miss Scarlet or the ballroom?”

  Cash winked at Abby. “See what I mean? Miss Scarlet in the ballroom with a rope? The possibilities are endless.”

  “Cash, are you playing this game or talking Abby’s ear off?” Rebecca’s exasperation didn’t contain an ounce of anger.

  In the back of Rebecca’s eyes, Abby could see the sliver of laughter and wished the evening could go on forever. Especially since the Castners’ byplay made it easier to keep her attention locked on them and not on the man who was seated directly across from her.

  She could almost forget that when they left here tonight, she and Devlin would be going home to an empty house. To temptation.

  Her hand moved over her stomach and absently rubbed the babe nestled deep inside.

  “Abby? It’s your turn.”

  Rebecca’s voice brought Abby back to the present. The other three players were watching her curiously. “Sorry, I was daydreaming.”

  “Good, then maybe I’ll have a better shot at winning.” Cash winked at her.

  “In your dreams, Castner,” his wife rebuked him.

  Abby made an effort to keep her mind on the game for the rest of the evening.

  After the culmination of several games of CLUE, Cash and Devlin cleared the table while Abby joined Rebecca in the kitchen.

  “How’s it going with the boys? Have you found it difficult to be a stepmother?” Rebecca asked.

  “We have our good days and our average days.”

  “Sounds about right. What do they think about the baby coming?”

  Abby considered the question before answering, “They’re not sure what to think. A baby in the house will be an adjustment.”

  Rebecca nodded. “For us, too.”

  It took a moment for Rebecca’s words to sink in. Abby nearly dropped the napkins. “You’re expecting?”

  “December. Just a couple of months after you.” The happiness in her voice bubbled over. “I was so jealous when I first heard you and Devlin were going to have a baby. We’ve been trying for almost a year.” Rebecca pulled four mugs from the maple cabinets. “I was starting to get worried that something was wrong.”