Playing for Keeps

by Hill, Jamie

  He looked at the baby on his chest. "That makes two of them."

  "I'll lay him down in his room." Maddie reached for the baby.

  "I hate to let him go. I just want to hold him forever."

  She unbuttoned her blouse again and smiled. "I thought you might like to hold me for a while."

  "Here you go." Rob offered his son to her quickly, and Maddie laughed. She took Sam to his room and laid him in his crib, and pulled his door mostly shut. She returned to her room and closed the door, then locked it.

  Rob was in front of her now, peeling off her blouse and unhooking her bra. He ran his hands over her breasts lightly.

  She murmured, "A little sensitive right now."

  He nodded and continued to undress her, removing her slacks and panties in one smooth motion. He knelt before her, examining every inch of her body. "You're even more beautiful than I remember." He kissed her stomach, and traced a finger lightly over a line he found there.

  "Stretch marks and all." Maddie made a face. "Sorry."

  He stood up and laid her gently back on the bed. "Sorry, for what? Having my baby? I'm not." He kissed the faint marks on her stomach and murmured, "I hate how he was conceived, but we'll have to get past that, because I'm very happy he's here."

  Maddie pulled Rob's t-shirt over his head and threw it across the room. She tugged at his jeans."I would love to discuss this with you in great detail, but can we do it later, please? Right now, I need you. Make me believe you're really here."

  He kicked off his jeans and kissed her. "I'm really here," he murmured, his mouth on hers. "And I'm going to make love to you." Then he swore "Shit! I don't have a rubber." He pulled up and looked at her sheepishly. "I wasn't expecting this."

  She grinned at him. "You were carrying an engagement ring in your pocket, but no condoms? You never thought the two might be connected?"

  He chuckled. "I've been carrying that ring around since I moved back to Meridan. No nerve to do more than that, I guess. And certainly no need for rubbers."

  She ran a hand over his face. "I have a diaphragm in the bathroom. I can go get it if you want."

  He looked at her. "Do you want?"

  "I'm not sure."

  He smiled. "You're going to be home taking care of Sam and Sophie anyway."

  "I don't have to go back to work?"

  He shook his head.

  Maddie smiled, and reached for him.

  "Are we sure about this?" he whispered.

  "No," she answered happily. "But I know I can take care of six kids by myself. Imagine how many I could handle with your help?"

  "Oh my God." He grinned, and drew her into his arms.

  A while later, he buried his face in her hair and breathed in deeply. "I could die a happy man, right now."

  "Please, don't." Maddie smiled up at him. "I might have a need for you again, later tonight."

  "You got it." He held her tight.

  "Hey, there's something I haven't told you." Maddie traced a finger along his chest.

  He brought a hand to her face and looked at her. "What's that?"

  Maddie looked into Rob's eyes. "I love you. I am so very happy you're here. I feel like a whole person again, all of a sudden."

  He pressed his mouth on hers and wrapped his arms around her. They kissed passionately, their tongues going back and forth for a long time as they held each other. Rob finally pulled back gently and smiled at her. "Damn, that's good to hear. Now I wish I hadn't been such a chicken. We could have gotten back together sooner."

  Maddie shrugged and squeezed him firmly. "Sometimes you just have to wait for the right time. This feels right."

  Rob grinned and squeezed her back. "This feels very right."

  She laughed, and kissed him.

  Chapter Eight

  They dressed and lay on the bed, talking and kissing until Sophie woke up. Maddie got up, unlocked her door and said, "We're in here, Soph." She lay back down, and Sophie climbed in bed between them. "Have a good nap?"

  She nodded. "What are you guys doing?"

  "Making plans," Rob ran a hand over his daughter's face, brushing her hair back. "Talking about moving Maddie and Sam in with us."

  Maddie chuckled. "I'd much rather talk about it than actually do it. We have a lot of stuff between the two of us."

  Rob smiled and traced a line of freckles up Maddie's arm with one finger. "Tomorrow we'll take apart the kid's room. We can get all that in one trip. You can pack some bags, whatever you'll need for a few days. I'll talk to Smoky and the other guys. I'm sure they'll come back and help me get the rest. We'll put it all in the garage for now, and sort it out as we have time."

  Maddie smiled. "Sounds a lot easier than I thought. I'll just stand back and point."

  "You got it." He leaned over Sophie and gave Maddie a kiss. He tickled Sophie on the way, and she giggled.

  Sophie looked at Maddie. "Do you like lying around?"

  "What?" Maddie smiled at the child.

  "Lying around doing nothing. Do you like to do that?"

  "Well, sure, I guess. Everyone likes a lazy day, now and again."

  "Mommy doesn't," Sophie told her.

  Rob cleared his throat. "Sophie, I don't think Maddie wants to hear about mommy."

  "It's okay," Maddie smiled at Rob. "Whatever Sophie wants to talk about is fine with me."

  Sophie continued, "Mommy never wants to lie around and do nothing. She always has work to do. Even when we took her on a picnic, she brought papers to work on."

  Maddie thought about that, and finally said, "Well, Soph, your mom has an important job. She helps a lot of people, and I'm sure that keeps her busy. I thought about becoming a lawyer once."

  "Why didn't you?" Sophie looked at her.

  Maddie smiled. "I guess it was because I like to lie around and have lazy days. I don't mind working hard, but I don't want to do it all the time."

  Sam cried from his room, and Rob stood up. "I'll get him."

  "Bring a diaper, will you? He'll need to be changed."

  "I'll change him." Rob winked at her, and went to the baby.

  Maddie smiled happily, listening to Rob talk to Sam as he changed the diaper. She heard him say, "Hey! Cut that out!"

  "What?" she called.

  "He peed on me!"

  She laughed. "Baby boys do that. Gotta be quick with the new diaper."

  "Now she tells me," he muttered good-naturedly, and brought the baby into the bedroom. He put Sam on the bed with them, and peeled off his shirt.

  "And you without a clean shirt." Maddie smiled at him.

  "This one will dry." He spread it across the back of a chair. "We just won't be going out anywhere for dinner." He lay back down, and brought Sam close to him.

  "Why don't we order pizza?" Maddie rubbed her toes over Rob's feet. "It's easy and good."

  He started to comment and she put a hand to his mouth. "Don't you dare say what you're thinking. There are sensitive ears present."

  "Yeah." He laughed, and kissed Sam's head, then Sophie's. "Our children. God, they're beautiful, aren't they?"

  "Very. Hey, would you like to see pictures?"

  "Sure," Rob agreed, and tried to calm the squirming baby. "But I think our boy may be hungry again. Should he eat again this soon?"

  Maddie nodded. "Sometimes it's two hours, sometimes four. At night he can go about six."

  "Well then," Rob handed Sam over to Maddie and said, "Soph, why don't you and I go order some pizza? After Sam eats, Maddie can show us his baby pictures."

  "Okay." Sophie crawled out of bed after her father. "What's Sam going to eat?"

  Rob glanced at Maddie as he led Sophie out. "Can you explain this to her, later?"

  "Scaredy cat." Maddie smiled at him, and he nodded and made a face. She laughed and said "Of course. No onions on the pizza, please. There's a magnet on the fridge for Dom's Pizzeria. They deliver."

  "No onions, got it. See you soon." He winked and pulled her door shut.

  Ma
ddie nursed Sam and leaned back into her pillows, feeling happier than she had in ages. She looked at the engagement ring on her hand, and couldn't believe how much her life had improved in the last few hours. She thought she might burst with happiness.

  When Sam was finished and had a dry diaper, she carried him to the living room and handed him to Rob. "How long for the pizza?"

  "Should be here any time." He made faces at Sam and inspected all his little body parts.

  Maddie got some cash from her purse and set it by the door.

  "I'll get that." Rob looked at her.

  She shrugged. "Next time. No biggie."

  He looked around the house and back at her. "You doing okay with everything?"

  She knew he meant money. She smiled. "We're doing okay. It's been a little tight."

  "I owe you major in back child support."

  Maddie smiled. "I'll take it out in 'favors'. Besides, he's only two months old. Not so major."

  "Well, you don't have any worries from here on out. I'm going to take care of everything."

  She slid onto the couch next to him and they kissed. "I couldn't scrape together a worry if my life depended on it."

  "That's how it should be." He ran a hand through her hair, and kissed her again.

  "Hey, Maddie." Sophie came out of Sam's room. "I recognize this. This came from Sunny Days center." She had the 'Farmer Says' toy in her hands. "The farmer has magic marker on him. I saw Henry do that one time."

  "Yes, it did come from there." Maddie kicked her feet up on the coffee table. "Bring it over here, and I'll show you what it does."

  "Did you steal it?" Sophie looked at her with wide eyes.

  "Of course not, they gave it to me as a going away present." Maddie rolled her eyes at Rob, who tried not to laugh. She took the toy and made the cow quack. Sophie laughed, and spent the next fifteen minutes confusing the cow.

  They ate then looked at Sam's baby book. The first page had his birth certificate, and Rob traced a finger over his own name on the page. Maddie smiled, watching him wipe his eyes periodically as he looked through the book. She was glad she'd taken so many pictures.

  They made a bed on the couch for Sophie, and read to her before tucking her in. Maddie fed Sam and they tucked him in together. She shut out all the lights, except a dim night light in the hall. She pulled Rob by the hand into her room.

  He pressed her up against the door and kissed her as he locked it. "Ready to start collecting on those favors?" he murmured.

  "Oh yeah," she whispered back, and they fell into bed.

  Sam woke once during the night, and Rob brought him to their bed so he could watch Maddie feed him. "You're going to see this a lot from now on," Maddie told him. "It's okay if you want to go back to sleep."

  "Nah." He snuggled next to her as she nursed. "Actually, I view this as another opportunity to make love. Since we're awake, and everything."

  Maddie chuckled and fed Sam, then returned him to his crib. She climbed back into bed and Rob pulled her into his arms. "I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow." She grinned as he kissed her neck. "I'm not used to this much…exercise….anymore."

  "Then we'll have another lazy day. We're not on any schedule." His mouth found her tattoo, and he paid it special attention. "I can call Smoky to go out and feed Bo if I need to."

  "Don't you have to get back to work?" Maddie squirmed as he teased her.

  Rob pulled up and looked at her. "Nope." He shook his head. "I took the week off. Now I think I'll take the month. Maybe two."

  "Are you serious?" Maddie's eyes lit up.

  "Absolutely. There's no way I'm going back to work, yet. I want to be with you and our kids. I need to be with you. That's all I can think about, right now."

  "That sounds wonderful!" She hugged him tightly. "Can we swing it financially?"

  "Yes. We have no worries, Mad. I promise you."

  "Umm." She worked herself underneath him. "Promise me some more stuff. I love to hear your sweet talk."

  He whispered in her ear, and she smiled.

  Maddie was not tired the next day as she feared, but energized by the idea of moving into Rob's house. She packed all her suitcases, and loaded the back seat of her car with hanging clothes. She helped Rob take apart Sam's room and fill up the back of his truck. Rob laughed when he found the little O-State football jersey with 'Cooper' on the back. "I love it!" He grinned, and put in gently in the box with Sam's clothes.

  Maddie put Sophie to work packing DVD movies into a box, then boxes of food from the kitchen cabinet.

  "I'll need a screwdriver to take this crib apart." Rob looked over Sam's bed.

  "Flat or Phillips?" Maddie asked. "I don't remember."

  "Flat." He smiled at her as she brought him the screwdriver. "You know about screwdrivers?"

  "I put the thing together, dear." She smiled back. "Doesn't take a rocket scientist to work a screwdriver."

  He disassembled the crib. "Not all women know that kind of stuff."

  "Ha!" she snorted, and continued packing. "Then you are one lucky, lucky, man."

  "Yes, I am," he agreed. "I definitely am."

  They stopped for lunch, but by mid-afternoon had loaded all they could take in one trip. "Holy cow, we got a lot of stuff packed in here." Rob looked at the truck and car. "One more trip for the furniture and some odds and ends ought to do it. I'll get Smoky and his horse trailer. We can put all the furniture in that."

  "Whatever you say." Maddie kicked her feet up. "I'll just bring some cleaning supplies and spiff up after you, and this place will be a memory. That, plus a couple more rent payments. But that's not too bad."

  He dropped on to the couch next to her and kissed her cheek. "I'll finish the rent payments for you. I still feel like I owe you big time."

  "Oh, you do." Maddie grinned, nuzzling his neck. "But you keep trying to pay me back with money, and I'm not having that, buster. Favors, I tell you."

  "Oh, you'll get your favors, don't worry about that."

  "I told you, I have no worries, anymore," Maddie crawled onto his lap and curled up next to him. "I am a little tired, though. Can we rest a minute before we go?"

  "You bet." He brushed her hair back with his hand, and kissed her forehead. He leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes. They dozed until Sam's cry woke them a half hour later. "Somebody's hungry." He woke her gently.

  "Somebody's always hungry." Maddie yawned, and gave Rob a kiss before she stood up. "After he eats, maybe we should go."

  "I'll get Sophie up and ready."

  "Twenty minutes," she said, on her way to Sam's room, where he slept in his car seat. She fed and changed the baby, and gathered up the last of his stuff.

  "I want to ride with Maddie!" Sophie insisted.

  Rob looked in Maddie's car. "I don't know Soph. There's not much room for passengers today."

  "Here's a spot," Sophie plopped in the open space in the back.

  "Sam needs to ride there, honey," Maddie told her.

  Rob looked at Maddie. "Sam could ride with me. I don't think he's choosy."

  Maddie looked nervously at her baby, and Rob chuckled. "Have you ever been away from him?"

  She shook her head and bit her lip. "Just at work, but he was right next door."

  Rob slipped his arms around Maddie and pulled her close. "I promise you, I'll protect him with my life." He whispered in her ear "He's my son, Maddie."

  "I know." She swiped at her tears and let Rob hold her for a minute. "Okay." She rubbed her face one last time and stepped back. "Sophie, got everything you need?"

  "Yep!" She was already belted in. Rob gave her a tickle and shut her door.

  Maddie kissed Sam's forehead and buckled his seat into the truck. "See you at home, little guy." She closed the door and turned to Rob.

  "That sounds nice." He smiled at her.

  "Yeah, it does. I'm going to stop by the post office and put in my change of address. We'll be a few minutes behind you."

  "We'll be w
aiting." He kissed her one really good kiss, and she smiled.

  "Drive carefully."

  "You, too. I love you."

  "Yee haw!" Maddie whooped, and grinned as she got into her car. "Lord I love hearing that!" She started to back out then stuck her head out the window. "Oh, hey, I love you, too."

  Rob grinned and started up his truck.

  When Maddie and Sophie arrived at Rob's house, he was already unpacking the truck. He stopped to smile at them, then yelled, "Hey Bo! Maddie's home!"

  The dog came bounding out the front door to greet the girls. "Hi, Bo!" Maddie ruffled his fur. "How's my big boy?"

  "He missed you," Rob assured her. "He hated the city."

  Maddie grinned. "And how did 'the city' feel about Bo?"

  "Hate…not too strong a word…yeah, definitely…hate."

  Maddie laughed and gave Bo a hug. Rob handed her a box. "Take this inside and watch what he does."

  "Okay." Maddie carried the box in and set it on the floor in the living room. Bo followed, looked around, and went to lie down next to Sam's car seat protectively. "Aw, sweet." She smiled at them.

  Rob set a couple of boxes down on top of hers. "He's been lying next to the kid since we got here. Sam slept the whole way home."

  "Home." Maddie looked around. "I almost can't believe I'm here." She wandered into the kitchen, then the bedroom. "God, everything looks the same."

  "Boring." He stood behind her. "You need to Maddie-ize the place. You know, put your stuff around so I can see you're really here."

  She turned to face him. "Well, we've got two vehicles full of stuff to bring in. By the time you're done unloading that, I bet you'll believe we're really here."

  "That's not what I feel like doing." He backed her up toward the bed.

  "Rob." She shook her head.

  "Uh huh." He smiled, nodding, and inched her backward.

  "Sophie…"

  "…is playing on her new swing set. Can't you hear her?" They listened for a moment, and heard Sophie playing contentedly.

  "We can't do this," she protested as he laid her back gently.

  "I know," he admitted. "But I can kiss you for a few minutes, can't I?"