At the sound of the organ’s first triumphant notes, Sam looked toward the back of the church. Slowly, she started down the aisle toward him, her lovely ivory satin dress, simple yet elegant, swirling around her ankles, her lustrous curls caught up in a gold-and-pearl clip.
She met his gaze unwaveringly, her eyes luminous, her smile wide and radiant.
Emma…his Emma…for now and always…
Chapter 20
“Here’s a nice one, Maggie,” Emma said, bending forward and snipping a delicate, long-stemmed, pink rose from the bush she and Sam had planted almost two years ago when they’d moved into this house in North Carolina.
“A really nice one, Mommy,” Maggie crowed, holding out the basket she carried. “Now we have three. That’s how many I am—three.”
“Yes, you are. Three years old already.” Beaming at her young daughter, her paternal grandmother’s namesake, Emma ruffled her silky red curls. “What a big girl.”
“And a big sister,” the child added, patting Emma’s expanding tummy. “In three months.” She giggled as she danced along beside Emma. “How much longer is that, Mommy?”
“Not too much longer, sweetie.”
“Grandma’s coming then, isn’t she? I can’t wait.”
“Yes, Grandma’s coming then.”
“Well, ladies, pillaging in my garden again…?”
“Daddy!” Maggie shrieked, dropping her basket as she spun around. “Mommy, Daddy’s home.”
Turning, Emma watched as Sam strode across the lawn toward them, a smile lighting his handsome face. Maggie ran to meet him, leaping into his arms and hugging his neck. No longer quite as coordinated as she’d like to be, thanks to her wider girth, Emma followed more slowly.
“You’re home early,” she said, stepping into the welcoming curve of his arm. “Not that I’m complaining. You-know-who is about due for a you-know-what.”
“No nap, Mommy. I’m a big girl now.”
“Just a short one, Mags?” Sam suggested, charming his daughter with a gentle tickle under her chin.
“Okay, Daddy. Just a short one,” she agreed with another giggle.
Turning to Emma, he smiled conspiratorially.
“Why don’t you wait out here while I put her down?” he suggested.
She nodded agreeably, settled into one of the chairs by the patio table, and tipped her face up, savoring the warmth of the March sun.
She had a pretty good idea of why her husband had come home so early on a weekday afternoon. He’d shown up unexpectedly, just like this, a look of excitement and anticipation on his face, twice already in the four years they’d been married. Once just before they’d moved to California and again just before their move to North Carolina.
Her major was now a lieutenant-colonel, and his career was on the rise. She was very, very proud of him, and almost as excited as he about what the air force had in store for him next.
Moving from place to place hadn’t been nearly as traumatic as Emma had feared. Not with Sam smoothing the way for her, and Margaret, still blessedly healthy, lending a helping hand whenever possible.
She had also found that she had a knack for making new friends and fitting in wherever they went. The other officers’ wives had become a kind of extended family for her. And now that she had Maggie and another baby on the way, her life seemed complete. So complete, Emma had accepted Megan’s offer to buy her house in Serenity without the slightest hesitation.
Joining her on the patio again, Sam pulled up a chair beside her and eyed her expectantly.
“Well, where to?” she asked, offering him a smile.
“How does Colorado Springs sound?”
“Very nice,” she admitted.
“I’m glad you think so. I’ve been asked to take over as head of the flight-training program at the Air Force Academy.”
“Oh, Sam, that’s wonderful.”
He had talked about wanting to teach at the academy if a suitable position opened up. Now, it seemed, one had.
“We won’t have to move until after the baby comes, and we’ll probably be there awhile. The job can be as permanent as we want it to be, and I think I’d like a little more permanence now that we’re a growing family.”
“We already have the kind of permanence that’s most important—our love for each other,” Emma reminded him gently. “But I could get used to living in one place longer than two years—just as long as you’re happy.”
“I’m happy whenever we are, as long as we’re together.” Standing, he took her by the hand and pulled her to her feet, his smile turning seductive. “Come on, let’s go celebrate while the imp’s asleep.”
“Better hurry. Her idea of short is thirty minutes or less, and her clock’s already ticking.”
“No problem, sweetheart,” he growled, dragging her, giggling all the way, down the hallway to their bedroom. “No problem at all…”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6519-0
THE MAJOR AND THE LIBRARIAN
Copyright © 1999 by Barbara Vosbein
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