“I’ll tell you what the meaning was,” Abby said as she dropped unceremoniously into his lap and wreathed her arms about his neck. “You are not pushing me out of your life, Tad McFarlane. I am here to stay.”
“Oh, yeah?” Tad shot back, liking the unabashedly amorous light in her golden-brown eyes. It felt so good to have her in his arms again. He’d missed holding her and making love to her so much.
“Oh, yeah,” Abby echoed as all the hopes and dreams he had once had for them and thought were dead surged to new life. “Because I realized tonight that the months we’ve spent together have taught me something.”
“And that would be?” Tad prodded, realizing he never wanted to let Abby go. And yet he knew there was still so much they had to clear up before they could go on. As he looked into her eyes, he realized she knew it, too.
Abby rubbed her hands thoughtfully across the soft cotton fabric of his shirt, molding her trembling palms to the muscles of his chest. “That I have to go after my marriage and a life and a love with you with the same tenacity and faith and commitment I’ve always given my career.”
Tad rubbed his thumb across her face, tracing the shape of her cheek and jaw. “I have to say I’m all for that,” he murmured as he bent his head to kiss her. Then he drew back. “But before we rush ahead and recommit to each other, there are some things we have to talk about.”
“I agree,” Abby said quickly, a determined edge to her tone. “And first on the agenda is the job, Tad. Before I came over here, I turned down the job at Southern Home and Garden. And I told the headhunter I’m withdrawing from the job search permanently.”
Tad tensed. “I told you before, Abby—I don’t ever again want to be responsible for robbing someone else of the life he or she was meant to have.” He cupped her hands in his. “I know how much your career has always meant to you, and I don’t want you to look back later and regret passing up this opportunity.”
Abby gazed deep into his eyes. “Is that why you told Doc in the hospital you regretted having me move here and work on the paper?” She briefly explained what she’d heard.
Tad grimaced. “I realized that night how selfish and self-centered I’d been. I felt guilty about forcing my dreams on you and wanting you with me—not just during the pregnancy but for all time—no matter what the cost to you.”
Abby moved closer in a drift of perfume. “What did Doc say to all that?”
Tad stared into her long-lashed golden-brown eyes. “He told me you wouldn’t have been here with me if you didn’t want to be.”
Abby’s lips curved softly. “Doc’s right, you know. Baby or no baby, I never would have stayed married to you all those months if I hadn’t loved you or hoped a miracle would happen and we’d find a way—with time—to work everything out.” Abby paused, still studying him, gauging his reaction. “But there’s one thing I don’t understand. If you felt that way, why didn’t you just tell me you wanted me to stay here rather than go to Atlanta?”
Tad regarded Abby seriously. “Because I wanted you to make the decision about your future based on what you needed in terms of your career and your life, not on what I needed. I felt it was only fair, since we spent most of last year chasing my dreams.”
When Abby heard that, she knew Tad really had changed, as had she. Both of them for the better. “And if I had chosen the job in Atlanta? What then?”
Tad turned his swivel chair to the left and directed Abby’s attention to the computer screen on his desk. Aloud she read, “‘For Sale. Thriving newspaper in Blossom, North Carolina—’” She turned to him in amazement.
“That’s as far as I got,” he said, “but you get the gist.
She looked at him, stunned. “You were going to sell the newspaper?”
Tad nodded, feeling a lump in his throat the size of a walnut. “And follow you to Atlanta. And, if necessary, win your heart and your attention and your love all over again. Because as Sadie pointed out,” he told Abby gruffly, looking deep into her eyes, “our love for each other is worth fighting for.” He held Abby close and stroked her hair. “So if you want to call the publisher, tell him you’ve talked to me and I’ve agreed to move, and you want to take the job, after all, then it’s absolutely fine with me.”
“Oh, Tad. Thank you.” Abby embraced him. “That means so much to me. But... I don’t want to do that.”
He studied her face carefully. “You’re sure?”
Abby nodded. “I realized as soon as I thought about what it would be like to take such a challenging high-pressure job that it wasn’t something I could do without working twelve- to sixteen-hour days. And while that would have been fine while I was still a single woman, now I’m a mom and a wife, and I want to be with my family a lot more. Plus—” her lips lifted in an affectionate grin “—word has it that the editor-in-chief of the Blossom Weekly News is a very understanding guy. He’s so understanding, in fact,” Abby continued, “that he lets his wife work at home whenever she wants or bring their baby to work so the baby can be with the two of them as much as possible.”
Tad grinned and sifted a hand through her hair. “Funny,” he drawled, his eyes sparkling mischievously too, “I’d heard exactly the same thing.”
“So it’s a deal?” Abby wreathed her arms about his neck. “We’ll stay here, stay married and continue to build the Blossom Weekly News into the finest newspaper North Carolina has ever seen?”
“Agreed.” Tad kissed her fiercely. “But only on one condition,” he said.
Abby cuddled against him, content. “Anything.”
Tad cupped a hand beneath her chin. “This whole misunderstanding has made me realize that I have to talk about things. Not gloss over our problems or run from them the way my parents did after my brother’s death. Because my parents and I should have talked about things. Not just after Billy’s death, but all along, even if it was painful. Instead, we kept it all bottled up inside because we didn’t want to hurt one another. And we ended up hurting one another all the more in the process by becoming permanently emotionally estranged. And then I did the same thing in my marriage to you, in my attempts to protect you. When all my silence on the truly difficult emotional issues really did was end up hurting you,” he said softly.
“You weren’t the only one who was afraid.” Abby drew a ragged breath and looked at him with serious eyes. “I said my vows, never really believing it could or would last And I held a part of myself—the most vulnerable part of myself—from you all along. Only when I was about to lose you did I realize I had a lot more to give than I thought.” She leaned forward to kiss him tenderly. “I love you with all my heart and soul, and I always will.”
He held her tenderly and looked deep into her eyes. “And I love you with every fiber of my being.” He tugged her closer and indulged in a long steamy kiss that left them both feeling very content, glowing and alive. “Don’t ever doubt that.”
Abby’s spirits soared and she knew there was only one thing left to say. “Then I, Abby Kildaire McFarlane, once again take thee, Tad, to be my lawfully wedded husband...”
“And I, Tad McFarlane, once again take thee, Abby, to be my lawfully wedded wife...”
“Forever...” Abby said softly.
“And ever...” Tad agreed.
“And from this day forward, I promise to keep the lines of communication open between us, speak always what is in my heart and on my mind. And I expect you, dear husband, to do the same.”
“I think I can handle that,” he replied.
Abby kissed Tad soundly once again. “Good,” she said, cuddling against him, “’cause we have a long and happy life ahead of us.”
“And maybe,” Tad said as he kissed his way down the slope of her neck, “given a little time, maybe even another baby or two.”
Abby kissed the strong column of his throat. “William would like that, I’m sure.”
“As would Sadie and Raymond.” Tad sighed, content.
Abby drew back. “Think we sho
uld go home and tell them the good news?”
“Absolutely.” Tad nodded vigorously. “But first—” Tad kissed her “—you and I have some catching up to do.”
And they did.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-6092-4
MAKE ROOM FOR BABY
Copyright © 1998 by Cathy Gillen Thacker.
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Make Room for Baby Page 21