When he still didn’t say anything, Sonia reached over and peeled his fingers off the phone. She put it to her ear and said, “This is Sonia.”
It was Grant and he laughed when he heard her voice. “I just wanted to tell Wayne that we’re at the hospital. Kelly’s water broke and she’s in labor now. Is he okay?”
She laughed and said, “I think he’s in shock. I’ll see that he gets over there okay.”
She disconnected and handed Wayne the phone. He was showing signs of regaining his composure.
“Are you going to be okay driving now?”
“Sure, I don’t know what happened.” A faraway look came across his eyes. “That’s my little sister over there at that hospital . . . having a baby.”
“Yes, it sounds like she’ll be having it soon too. Let’s go. I’ll follow you over there to make sure you get there in one piece. Besides, I’d like to be there too. After all, Grant is not only my coworker, but my friend, and I’ve grown quite fond of Kelly too.”
* * *
Wayne wasn’t about to tell Sonia, but he didn’t remember the drive from the restaurant to the hospital. He was sure she wouldn’t like that at all.
He looked around the same waiting room they’d been in Sunday night. Was it only two nights ago that they’d all been here for Alison? It seemed much longer. So much had happened since then.
All of the same people were there again. Only this time, Grant was the one Sonia, and Sarah, his mother, had been trying to keep calm earlier. Now, he was in the room with Kelly. They’d been there for four hours already. How much longer would it take?
Wayne stood and looked over to where Sonia was sitting next to Sarah. He walked over and stood looking down at Sonia until she looked up at him. He pointed to the empty chair next to her and she nodded.
Somehow, he didn’t feel so nervous now, sitting next to Sonia.
“Are you all right?” She smiled at him and he felt even better.
He tried to smile back. “Yes, now that I’m sitting next to you.”
Her smile faded and she looked into his eyes. She must have seen the sincerity there, because her smile returned.
Just then, the door burst open and Grant raced in. “It’s a girl.” He looked around the room. “Gwendolyn Elizabeth Thompson is not very happy right now but the doctor said both she and Kelly are doing great.”
Sonia and Wayne stood. Grant took a step toward them and almost collapsed. They each grabbed an arm and guided him into a chair.
Their eyes met over the top of Grant’s head. He saw something different in Sonia’s eyes just then. It was something that he’d never seen before. What was it? Was it need, yearning? But for what?
Whatever it had been, it was gone so quickly that Wayne was wondering if he’d actually seen it.
Sonia was talking to Grant and Wayne thought he’d better listen.
“If anything new comes up on the case, I’ll let you know. But otherwise, take the day off to be with your wife and daughter.”
Grant looked at Sonia then over to Wayne. “I’d better get back in there. They’re going to let me hold Gwen now.”
With that, he was gone and Wayne suddenly felt like he’d been hit in the stomach. He couldn’t breathe. Gwen? Grant had called Wayne’s niece Gwen. When Grant had said Gwendolyn, it hadn’t sunk in, but when he called her Gwen, it hit him.
He rose and walked over to his grandparents. Grandmother looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Did you hear what they named her?”
Wayne could only nod as he fell into the chair next to her.
She reached an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. “Your mother would have been so pleased. That’s just the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Grandfather, who was trying to hold her as she was holding onto Wayne, spoke softly. “They named her after you too, Beth.”
That brought more tears. Wayne grabbed a tissue box and placed it in her lap. He looked up to see Sonia standing in front of them with a puzzled look on her face.
Wayne stood and looked her in the eye. “Gwen was my mother’s name.”
“Oh.”
Grandfather stood and announced, “I’m going to go find out if we can see . . . Gwen yet.”
He was only gone a short time when he came back and walked over to his wife. He held out a hand to her. “They said that Gwen’s grandparents and uncle could have a peek now, but everyone else will have to wait until morning.”
Sarah stepped up to Wayne, placed her hand on his arm, and said, “Shall we?”
He led her over to join his grandparents as they all went through the door Grant had gone through earlier.
Wayne held back as the other three crowded around the bed where Kelly was holding a bundle wrapped in pink with a little pink face peeking out. He only had one thought. Gwen sure had a lot of black hair.
Grant who was standing on the other side of the bed leaning down with his arm around Kelly’s shoulders said, “Come on up and get a closer look, Wayne.”
When he did, Kelly held out her hand and he clasped it in his own. She smiled weakly up at him and said, “You’re next big brother.”
He froze! He didn’t know what to say so he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything.
When the others headed for the door, he followed them, still in shock from what Kelly had said. Did he want to be next? Suddenly, he knew that was the very thing he did want. That’s why it now bothered him to hear his buddies talking about their kids. Whoa, he had better stop right now and think about this. He’d better go about all this very slowly and very carefully.
Nevertheless, when he was back in the waiting room and was sitting beside Sonia again, he couldn’t keep that goofy grin off his face.
Sonia gave him a puzzled look and her smile disappeared. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down into a chair. She started to force his head down between his legs.
“I’m okay, Sonia. It was just such a shock to see my little sister in there with a baby in her arms . . . her baby in her arms.”
Sonia didn’t let go of him though. “Are you sure you’re okay? It sure looked like you were going to pass out there for a minute.”
“No, I’m okay.” He tried to smile at her to reassure her. “You must be used to this, but I’m not.”
She giggled and said, “Yes, I have seven nieces and nephews with one more due in a few months. I guess you could say I’m used to it by now.”
Wayne looked at his watch, one o’clock. “Wow, I guess I’d better get home and get some sleep if I want to get any work done before I pick you up to go to Phoenix.”
Sonia laughed and said, “You’d better if you expect me to let you drive down there.”
Chapter Five
All day at work, Sonia had listed in her mind at least a dozen reasons why she should not be taking Wayne to her niece’s birthday party. Then she had tried to come up with just one good reason why she should and she couldn’t.
If that was the case, why was she sitting beside him in his super-hot Roadster on their way down to Phoenix? She ran her hands over the soft leather seat, looked at the dash in front of Wayne, and didn’t realize she let out a huge sigh. Maybe this was the reason she was letting him take her down there.
Wayne chuckled and said, “If I’d known what riding in my car would do to you, I’d have taken you for a ride in it a lot sooner.”
He kept his eyes on the road as he talked. She smiled to herself. Her jumping him about his driving before must have made an impression on him. Good!
He laughed a booming laugh from deep in his chest. “If riding in it does this much for you, what would driving it do?”
Sonia had been thinking about how best to introduce Wayne to her family and almost missed that last question. When she understood what he had said, she turned her long slacks clad legs so she could look directly at him. That wasn’t easy in the small area.
“Would you?”
Instead of answering her question,
he asked her another one. “Didn’t you have to go through all kinds of driving courses as part of your training to become a police officer?”
She laughed when she realized where he was headed. “Yes, I did and I assure you I am one of the safest drivers on the road.”
Sonia was surprised when Wayne signaled and took the next ramp off the interstate. At the top of the ramp, he pulled off and parked on the shoulder. When he climbed out and walked around to open her door for her, she began to get more than a little thrilled at the prospect of driving that fantastic car.
She sat in the driver’s seat after buckling her seatbelt while Wayne showed her where everything was on the dash, column, steering wheel, and console.
When she finally put it in gear and eased up to the stop sign, she could feel the power at her fingertips. She loved the way the seat and the rest of the cockpit seemed to wrap around her almost lovingly.
The rest of the trip to her brother’s house was quiet as she enjoyed driving Wayne’s car. She was so absorbed in driving that she barely noticed that Wayne kept his eyes on her the whole time. She decided that was small compensation to him for letting her drive his car.
Sonia had planned the trip so that they would get to Sven’s house before any of the others arrived. She had talked to Sven’s wife, Lucia, and volunteered to help set things up early. So, she was able to park in front of the house.
When she turned the motor off and handed the keys to Wayne, she touched his arm with her fingertips. “Wayne, I think you need to be prepared for what is bound to happen as soon as we walk in that door.”
She could see that she had his attention now. “Sven is my oldest brother. He is thirty-seven and is a police captain. He is also six eight and loves to use his height to intimidate people.”
She let that sink in and watched his face pale a little. Before she could say anything else, her door opened and she looked up at her brother standing there staring down at her. She had been so absorbed in warning Wayne that she hadn’t seen Sven until then.
“Is that my baby sister driving this fancy little sports car?” His voice boomed and vibrated inside the small car. Sonia sneaked a peek at Wayne before she allowed her brother to yank her out of the car and pull her into a bear hug. Wayne’s face was even paler than before.
Once she was outside the car, Sonia stretched to her full six feet and looked up into her brother’s face, eight inches away. She shook her finger into his face but was too late. He had already bent over to look inside the car at Wayne.
“Who is that?” He pointed his finger at Wayne.
Well, so much for a proper, calm introduction. “That is my friend, Wayne Newcomb.” It sounded strange to her to hear herself call Wayne her friend, especially after she had avoided him for almost two years.
Sven walked around the car, bent down again, and stared at Wayne who still sat in his seat with the door open.
“Come on out little man so I can see you.”
Sonia wanted to wrap her fingers around a baseball bat and use it to knock some sense into her brother.
Wayne stood up and stretched to make his six foot four inch frame as tall as he could.
Sven turned to Sonia and grinned. “Not bad but he’s still shorter than Bjorn.”
Sonia was standing next to Wayne now glaring at her brother. “He’s tall enough for me, so back off Sven.”
Where did that come from? She was acting as if Wayne was more than the casual acquaintance that she was just now allowing him to be.
She was still glaring at Sven and when he didn’t back off, she placed both hands flat on his chest and shoved. “Back off you big bully. We’re going inside. I’m here early to help Lucia and I can’t do it standing around out here.”
Sonia grabbed Wayne’s hand and began pulling him toward the front door. Sven tapped Wayne on the shoulder as he passed by.
“Are you sure you want to get mixed up with her? She can be mighty mean when she gets riled like that.” He grinned and said, “You’d better watch her closely. She can take down any size man. I know from experience.”
After that, Sonia succeeded in pulling Wayne through the front door, through the living room, and into the kitchen where Lucia was rolling out dough.
“Lucia, I want you to meet Wayne Newcomb. Wayne, this is definitely Sven’s better half, Lucia.”
Sven was now standing next to Lucia. She had long black hair tied up in a ponytail, and an olive complexion that didn’t come from the sun.
She stepped forward and shook Wayne’s hand. “I’m pleased to meet you Wayne.” She looked up at her husband who was at least a foot taller and said, “Sven, have you been bothering Wayne?”
Sonia always marveled at how Lucia could control her big brother with just one look. Lucia elbowed Sven in the ribs. “You didn’t answer, so I know you were. Behave, or else.”
Sonia turned to Wayne and said, “Lucia is Italian and grew up the oldest with seven brothers. She can definitely take care of that big oaf.” She turned back to Lucia. “Is that pizza dough?”
Lucia smiled and said, “Of course. You’re just in time to help with the toppings.” She turned to her husband again and said, “Take Wayne out on the patio and don’t you dare give him the third degree.”
Once they were gone, Lucia hugged Sonia and whispered, “Not bad, Sonia, not bad at all.”
Sonia blushed. “Don’t be too quick. He’s the one I told you about before. The one who was always hitting on me so hard that it was embarrassing.”
Lucia giggled. “It looks like you tamed him.”
“I wish. But he is trying or he wouldn’t be here today.”
Lucia wiped her hands on a towel and placed them on Sonia’s shoulders. “You and me, Sonia, we’ve been like sisters for the last fourteen years since neither one of us had a real sister.”
She paused to look out on the patio to make sure the men were out of hearing range. “We’ve always been able to tell each other everything. Now, what is it that’s bothering you so much?”
Sonia frowned. “Does it show that bad?”
When Lucia gave an emphatic nod, Sonia said, “I’m thirty-one years old. That’s what is wrong.”
Lucia smiled and patted Sonia on the back. “Oh, I see it all now. Finally, you want a family.”
Sonia couldn’t believe it but her eyes filled with tears, which began to stream down her face. She nodded.
Lucia had a thoughtful expression on her face before saying, “I’ve just got one question. Do you think this Wayne is the one?”
Sonia wiped her face with a tissue Lucia gave her. “That’s just it. I’ve never really dated much. You know how the guys always drove off anyone who ever came near me. I just don’t know. You see, I’ve become quite close to his sister and for that matter the rest of his family and I love them all so much.”
“Is he different from the rest of them?”
“At first, I thought so, but I hope I’m beginning to see the real Wayne that he’s been hiding all this time.”
Lucia began tossing a pizza dough. “I’ve always thought that you were one of the best judges of character of anyone I know. If you keep at it, you will know if Wayne is the right one. On the other hand, what does Wayne think?
Sonia laughed for the first time today. “He thinks we are the perfect couple.”
“Okay, spend some time thinking about it from his point of view. Why does he think that? And see where that takes you.”
Just then, Sonia’s other two brothers came in the front door with their families and Lucia’s three came out of their bedrooms thus putting a stop to their little talk.
Sonia knew she had a lot of thinking to do and she wouldn’t be able to do any of it until she was back in the privacy of her condo.
* * *
Wayne didn’t want to go anywhere with Sonia’s giant of a brother. Sonia had warned him about her brothers. He hadn’t even met the other two yet and he was ready to run as fast and as far as he could get away from t
hat place.
Sven led the way to the patio, sat in a cushioned chair and motioned for Wayne to do the same in one across from his. As he did, he decided to wait the big guy out. He had a feeling that anything he said could and probably would be turned against him.
He wasn’t prepared for Sven’s next line of questioning. “Mighty fancy car you have out there. I’d say that console would be a good place to stash a handgun. What you got in there?”
Wayne was shocked at the question. All he could stammer out was “.357 magnum.”
“Thought so. You look like a .357 magnum kind of guy. What do you do for a living?”
Wayne felt that he had somehow passed some kind of test, but he knew more were coming. “I’m general manager of Newcomb Motors in Sycamore.”
Sven leaned back and eyed Wayne from under his eyelashes. “So, you’re that Newcomb, are you.”
Wayne tried to smile. “No, my grandfather is that Newcomb.”
Noise coming from inside the house effectively cut off any further talk. From the sounds of raised voices of all ages, it sounded to Wayne like they were being invaded.
At the look that must have been on Wayne’s face, Sven laughed loudly and said, “Just my two brothers and their families taking my house by storm.” He sobered. “If you think I’ve been tough on you, don’t let Bjorn get started on you.”
Four more adults and seven kids ranging in age from five to thirteen all stepped out onto the patio and Sonia, who had followed them out, introduced Wayne to all of them.
With the introductions finished, the women all went back into the kitchen, and the kids went to the cabana to change into their swimsuits.
Sven called out, “Sam and Susan make sure you stay close to the little ones.”
Wayne brought his eyes back to the patio where two men who could have been Sven’s twins except that he knew they were shorter, were glaring at him so intensely that he began to sweat.
One of the newcomers, he thought it might be Bjorn, said, “What’s going on between you and our little sister?”
Resolved Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 3) Page 7