Playing for Keeps

by Hill, Jamie

  Rosa dived for him and covered his eyes with her hand. "You are not supposed to see her!"

  He laughed, and tried to pull her hands down. "Maddie and I don't go for that bad luck crap."

  "I told her," Maddie said in agreement.

  "Where are you?" Rob held his hands out like Frankenstein.

  "Way over here," she teased.

  Rosa held her hands tightly on his eyes. "I think it's wrong to tamper with bad luck. You are not going to see her."

  Rob said quietly to Rosa, "I saw quite a lot of her this morning, I hate to tell you, and from several different angles."

  "Well, lucky her." She yanked a lock of his hair and held his eyes firmly.

  "Ouch! You know, I need to get ready, too."

  "Maddie's leaving." Rosa nodded for Maddie to go out.

  She walked past Rob and he reached for her.

  Emma scooted Maddie out and said, "Are you grabbing for me, Robert?"

  "No, Ma'am." He dropped his hands and apparently gave up.

  From the hall, Maddie saw Rob reach around and grab Rosa's butt.

  Her friend squealed and dropped her hands.

  He grinned at her. "Payback's a bitch, baby."

  She shrugged. "So I am, if you try to see Maddie before she walks down that aisle."

  "Duly noted." He motioned for the door, Rosa walked out, and he shut it between them.

  Maddie laughed as Rosa came out. "Still crazy after all these years, girl."

  Rosa shook her head. "You shouldn't tamper with tradition."

  Fred came in, carrying Sam. "I think this little guy needs to eat. I can't get him to stop crying."

  "I'll feed him," Emma said and reached for him.

  "You know what?" Maddie stepped up and took Sam into her arms. "I haven't gotten to spend a minute with him all day. I'd like to feed him. I'll take the bottle in his room, so we'll be out of daddy's way."

  "Good idea." Emma got a bottle from the refrigerator and heated it for her.

  Maddie said, "Thank you all for everything you've done. We're so lucky to have friends like you."

  Smoky stepped into the kitchen. "You've got more friends arriving, too. I'm serving drinks and everything's fine, so take your time." He turned to Rosa. "I could use your help, though."

  "Coming dear." She smiled at her husband, and they walked outside.

  Maddie watched them fondly, then took Sam to his bedroom. She sat in the rocker and savored giving him the bottle. She didn't get to feed him much these days, Rob or Sophie almost always did it. At first it was better, because Sam got mad when Maddie tried to bottle-feed him. But now he was used to it, and drank it happily. Maddie rocked slowly and studied her little boy's face. He was truly beautiful, and a marvelous little miracle in her life. She closed her eyes and thought about how happy she was, having both Sam and Rob in her life again. She couldn't even begin to think about the new baby. It still scared her a little, but mostly, gave her an overwhelming feeling of joy. Too much for any one person to bear. It was almost like living in a bubble that Maddie was afraid could burst at any time.

  "Need any help in there?" Rob asked through the closed door.

  "Only if you want to get your ass kicked by Rosa," Maddie replied, grinning.

  "I'd gladly accept an ass-kicking, for one glimpse of your beautiful face."

  "How romantic. Maybe you should add that line to your vows."

  "Good idea!"

  "Ha!" Maddie snorted.

  "I love your laugh," he said softly through the door.

  "I love everything about you," she replied.

  "I forgot to ask you, so I went ahead and shaved."

  "You what?" she screeched, clutching Sam as she hopped up and ran to the door.

  Rob laughed and held the door shut. "Man, that worked like a charm."

  "You better not have shaved," Maddie scolded.

  "I was just trying to get you to come out. I didn't."

  "Are you alone?"

  "Yeah."

  "On our first date I wondered how your scruffy little beard would feel against the soft skin of my inner thigh."

  "Oh, yeah?" his voice was husky.

  "Yeah. And it feels just as heavenly as I imagined it would. So you better not have shaved."

  He leaned against the door. "I promise you I didn't. I can't wait to feel those thighs."

  "Me too, sugar. I love you."

  "I love you too, Maddie. I guess I'll see you outside."

  "I'll be the one walking down the aisle."

  "I'll be the one waiting for you at the end of it."

  She tapped on the door, and he knocked back. Maddie heard footsteps and imagined how he looked, walking away. She smiled and glance at Sam, sucking on an empty bottle. "Oh, sorry, sweetie!" She threw a rag over her shoulder and walked him around to burp him. More excited than she'd ever been in her life, she was very ready to become Mrs. Robert Cooper. She tingled thinking about it.

  Maddie changed Sam's diaper and opened his door to look out. The house seemed empty. She walked out slowly to make sure, but no one was there. She looked through the kitchen window and saw all their friends milling about in the yard. Rob was talking to Sandy and Suzie and their husbands. Maddie touched her hand to her heart. He's so sweet! They were probably the only people there who didn't know everyone else, and Rob was making them feel welcome. Her heart was so full of love for him at that moment, Maddie thought it might burst. She spotted Emma, and was going to sneak Sam out to her when the front door opened.

  "Who could that be?" she murmured. Practically everyone they knew was already in the back yard. She walked through the kitchen to the front room and stopped. Dionne stood there, looking at her.

  "Dionne," she said stupidly.

  "Hello Madison."

  Rob's ex- looked tall and leggy and busty and beautiful as ever. Here's the pin that's going to burst my bubble. "What are you doing here?"

  "I wanted to talk to you."

  "This is not a good time." Maddie looked toward the kitchen nervously. Did she want Rob to walk in, or did she hope he'd stay away?

  "I realize you're getting married tonight. Edward and Andrea told me. But this is important."

  Maddie's heart dropped into her stomach with a thud. Were Rob's parents trying to sabotage their wedding by sending Dionne here? How would Rob react when he saw her? Visions of Rob and Dionne driving away in her Beemer flooded through Maddie's mind, and she tried to push them away. Rob loves me. He left Dionne. But the only thing she could see, at that moment, was Rob kissing Dionne for ten seconds by the bushes last July fourth.

  Sam babbled and Maddie looked at him, surprised. For a moment, she'd forgotten she was holding him. It helped to concentrate on the baby, because she knew Rob could never leave Sam.

  "Cute kid," Dionne murmured. "Sophie can't stop talking about him."

  Maddie looked up. "She likes being a big sister."

  Dionne took a step toward her. "May I hold him?"

  A vision of Rob, Dionne, Sophie and Sam driving off in the Beemer flitted through her mind, and she took a step backward. "I need to take him outside. I'll be right back." She rushed through the kitchen and hurried out to Emma with a lump of anguish in her throat.

  "What is it, child?" Emma grabbed her arm.

  She handed Sam over. "Don't let anyone take him."

  Emma held Sam close to her. "Maddie, who would try and take him?"

  "Dionne's here," she whispered. "She wants to talk to me."

  "I'll get Robert," Emma told her.

  "No! I don't want him to see her!" Maddie went back in the house and shut the door. She walked to the living room, slowly.

  Dionne was fingering one of Sam's rattles. Maddie snatched it from Dionne's hand and clutched it to her stomach. "What do you want, Dionne?"

  "I want to know what you've told Sophie about me."

  "Excuse me?"

  "What have you said to Sophie about me? About what kind of mother I am?"

  "I've never
said anything to Sophie about you at all! You're not a subject I discuss with her."

  Dionne gave a sultry chuckle. "I'm so sure. But I need to know what kind of a person you are. I don't believe you're the kind of person I met here last summer. I need to be sure."

  Maddie was confused. "I really don't know—"

  "Dionne!" Rob stormed in from the kitchen. "What in the hell are you doing here?"

  "We need to talk," she replied simply.

  Maddie inhaled. Her whole life balanced on a tightrope. A tip in one direction or the other would change things forever. She looked at Rob.

  He stepped behind Maddie and placed one hand on her back, the other on her stomach. "Are you all right?"

  The look in his eyes pulled her off the tightrope and securely into his arms. "I'm fine," she said with renewed confidence and a sense of empowerment she'd never felt before. "I'm just not sure what Dionne wants to talk about."

  Rob kept his hands on her and looked at Dionne. "We're about to get married, Dee. Can this wait?"

  "No. Can the wedding wait?"

  "No," Rob replied without skipping a beat.

  Dionne looked at his protective stance and chuckled softly. "Oh, Jesus. She's pregnant again, isn't she?"

  He scowled. "Not that it matters to you, but yeah, we're having another baby. The second of many, if I have my way."

  "Is this really what you want, Coop? Because it wasn't, a few years ago, when we were in college and making plans for the future."

  "College was nothing like the real world. And once I got out here, I realized pretty quickly what I did and didn't want. I tried to make a go of it with you, Dee, you know I did. We had a history, and we'll always have a connection because of Soph. But this," he motioned around the room, "and this," he took the baby's rattle and shook it, "are what really make me happy."

  Dionne shook her head, smiling. "I see it, I just don't believe it. It's not the Coop I know."

  "You're right," he admitted. "I'm not the same guy you knew. I changed when I met Maddie, and fell in love with her. And all this," he motioned around the room again, "as happy as it makes me, means nothing without Maddie in my life." He wrapped his arms around her from behind. "She's the reason for everything I do, and everything I have. I don't just want a wife and babies. I want Maddie, and Maddie's babies. I hope you understand, because it's that simple."

  Maddie leaned back against him and closed her eyes. She wasn't living in a bubble anymore. She was firmly standing on the ground, securely wrapped in Rob's arms. She rubbed her hands over his biceps and clung to him.

  "Yeah, okay." Dionne paced around the room. "What I've got to ask is this, is there room for Sophie in this new life of yours? I won't have her treated like a second class citizen in your family, with the little princes and princesses treating her like crap."

  Maddie's eyes popped open and she took a step forward. "That would never happen! You know how much Rob loves Sophie. And, like it or not, I love her, too. I'm sure you don't want to hear that, but it's a fact. Sophie is a wonderful, special person, and no matter how many children we have, she'll always be treated with love and respect in this house."

  Rob looked at Dionne. "You know that, Dee. You know me."

  Dionne wiped a tear from her face. "Yeah, but I needed to hear it." She pulled some papers from her purse and handed them to Rob. "This is the revised custody agreement. I get her every other weekend, we'll alternate holidays, and I'll take her for two weeks in the summer, unless I can get more time off. I'd appreciate a little flexibility."

  Rob took the papers and stared at them.

  Maddie saw a shocked expression on his face.

  Dionne continued, "You'll need to sign them in front of a witness and have your lawyer file them. And there's just one other thing."

  "What?" He glanced at Maddie and they both looked at Dionne, waiting for the bomb to drop.

  Dionne was crying as she said, "You'll have to tell Sophie. I couldn't bear to have her think I was a bad mother, who gave her away."

  No bomb. Maddie inhaled and released the breath slowly.

  Rob took a step toward Dionne. "No one will ever call you a bad mother. You're doing what we all think is best for Sophie."

  She nodded, tears still streaming down her face. "But, if somewhere down the line, it isn't the best thing for Sophie, can we agree to re-evaluate?"

  "Of course. We'll never keep her from you, Dee."

  Maddie stepped closer. "And we'll never utter an unkind word about you in this house. You're not a bad mother. You're being a very good mother."

  Dionne swiped at her tears. "Will you promise to be a very good mother to my Sophie?"

  "Of course, I will. I promise with all my heart."

  Rob put his arm around her. "That's a pretty big promise, Dee."

  The woman nodded. "I know it is. All right, then." She took a step toward the door.

  Maddie glanced at Rob. She'd understand if he gave Dionne a little hug or a kiss on the cheek before she left, but he didn't budge from her side. He simply said, "Thank you."

  Dionne nodded. "Call me to arrange to get her stuff. We'll need to decide what she'll want to bring here from my place."

  "I'll call you." He nodded, and they watched her go. He looked at Maddie with wonder in his eyes.

  She smiled up at him. This is a wise man I'm marrying, a very wise man.

  "Can you believe it?"

  "Not really. I was getting all set to have my heart broken again."

  He gave her a look. "You should have told me when she got here. I don't expect you to deal with her."

  Maddie slipped her arms around his waist. "I can deal with anything. I feel invincible right now."

  He smiled. "And how is your heart?"

  "Good. Very good. The super glue is holding quite nicely."

  He rubbed his thumb over her cheek. "I can't believe you ever thought—"

  "Shh." She put a finger to his lips. "Never mind. I told you, when I'm pregnant, I think crazy thoughts."

  "We'll chalk it up to the pregnancy, then."

  "Yes, we will." She stared into his eyes dreamily.

  "You look beautiful." He admired her.

  "So do you." She ran a hand over his stubbly face. "And by the way, after what you said in here today, we don't need to recite vows. Just say 'eh, I'll take her' and that'll be good enough for me."

  He chuckled. "I'll try to memorize that.'Eh, I'll take her'." He leaned in for a kiss, but Fred interrupted them.

  "Excuse me," he said sheepishly. "Everything okay in here?"

  "Everything is perfect." Maddie put her head on Rob's shoulder.

  "Dionne gave us custody of Sophie!" Rob said, still sounding amazed.

  "Wonderful! I'm happy for you. But there are a couple of things going on out here that you should know about. First, the judge is here."

  "Good!" Rob looked at Maddie. "We have a wedding to get to."

  "Second," Fred continued "Coop Senior and the Mrs. just pulled up out front. They aren't alone. Thought you might want to know that."

  "Jesus H. Christ!" Rob muttered and went to the front window to look out. "They couldn't have just phoned in their congratulations?"

  Maddie looked through the window over Rob's shoulder. She watched Mr. and Mrs. Cooper get out of their Lincoln and glance around. He was dressed nicely in a dark suit and tie. Rob's mother wore a fashionable blue dress. "Maybe we should have put 'casual' on the invitation."

  "Who is that?" Rob tried to see who got out of the back seat. Another man in a suit and a woman in a dress.

  "Oh my God!" Maddie squealed. She grabbed Rob by the hand and pulled him out the door after her. "Mom!" Maddie let go of Rob and hugged her mother.

  "Look at you!" Her mother hugged her tightly.

  Maddie tried to blink back her tears, but it wasn't possible. She hugged her mother and felt six years of absence between them slip away.

  Her father stepped forward. "I almost wouldn't have recognized you."


  Maddie moved from her mother's arms to her father's, and he hugged her in his strong grasp. "But it's really you, isn't it? My baby, my little Maddie."

  She sniffed and pulled back. "It's really me, all right." She smiled at her father. He looked well. His thick wavy hair was gray at the temples, but it suited him. He looked trim and well-dressed and Maddie hugged him quickly one more time.

  He finally got her at arm's length and said, "You look as beautiful and as happy as I've ever seen you." He smiled at Rob. "I presume I have you to thank for this?"

  Maddie wiped at her tears. "Daddy, this is Robert Cooper. Rob, these are my parents Michael and Megan Stewart."

  Rob extended his hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Sir. Maddie's told me good things about you."

  "She has?" He looked at his daughter questioningly.

  "Absolutely," Rob added quickly. "And we're honored that you came all this way to be with us tonight."

  Maddie's mother added, "Of course we'd want to be here. Our only daughter is getting married, and we received such a delightful invitation."

  "Meg." Michael Stewart put a hand on his wife's arm.

  Maddie looked at her mother. Time had not been cruel to Meg, she looked better than ever with her mid-length red hair brushed away from her face. Maddie smiled. "I'm sorry we didn't have proper invitations. We've been a little busy this summer."

  Andrea Cooper stepped forward. "They got the same amusing little note we received. This is how it is, like it or leave it. Quaint, Robert."

  "Hello, mother." Rob smiled at her sarcastically. "You remember, Maddie."

  "No, I really don't." Mrs. Cooper looked Maddie up and down. "The tattoo I remember, but the rest looks different."

  "Tattoo?" Meg Stewart hollered.

  Her husband steadied her with his arm.

  Maddie's hand flew up to cover the little heart, but Rob stepped behind her and pulled her hand away. He ran a finger over the tattoo. "I like it." He drew her into his arms. "She's become so respectable with her grown up haircut and the children. The tattoo reminds me of her fun side."

  Meg took a step forward and inspected the heart. "That's not so bad," she admitted. "Is that what people do here in Oklahoma?"

  Maddie smiled. "Actually, I got the tat when I was at Harvard. I suppose people in Oklahoma get them, too."