A Baby for Christmas

by Joanna Sims

  “He kind of looks like a raisin, if you ask me. Did Daniel and Luke look like raisins when they were born?” Jordan asked with a playful glint in her eye.

  Barbara frowned at her youngest daughter. “Go find your father, Jordy.” That was her way of saying “beat it.” Jordan took the hint and went off in search of Hank and Tyler.

  Barbara squeezed Luke’s arm; he shifted his gaze from his nephew to his mom. “It was wonderful for Sophia to let you be in the room. Daniel would have been so happy about that.”

  Luke covered her hand with his. “She did a good job, didn’t she?”

  “A fantastic job,” Barbara agreed. “He’s absolutely perfect.”

  Luke and his mother stood together and silently admired Daniel’s son. Luke hadn’t slept, but instead of resting, he watched little Danny; he couldn’t seem to get enough. It was going to be tough to leave Sophia and her son when it was time to ship off to rehab. For the first time in his career, it was going to be tough to return to active duty. Luke believed that it was going to be the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life.

  “I just wish that she would consider staying at the ranch with us. There are plenty of disturbed individuals in Montana who need counseling,” Barb said. “I’m not going to name names, but there are several cookoo-noodles within a ten-mile radius of the ranch!”

  “Mom... Don’t bug her about it. She’s been through a tough enough time without you laying a guilt trip on her. She’s going back to Boston. Besides, seeing Danny will give you the perfect excuse to get back to the city.”

  Barb thought for a moment. “They do have very excellent shopping in Boston.”

  “There you go.”

  “Wonderful restaurants,” Barb added.

  “Dad’ll hate it, you’ll love it.”

  Barb chuckled. “Your father will absolutely hate it. But he’ll tag along just to see his grandson. And to make certain I don’t melt my credit cards.” Barb turned away from the window and faced her son. “Changing the subject, what is going on with Sophia and you? I’ve tried to keep out of it....”

  “You’ve done amazingly well....”

  “But enough is enough. What’s going on with you two? Are the two of you going to raise Danny together?”

  “We’re not there yet, Mom.”

  “Why not?” Barb demanded. “It’s not rocket science.”

  “Mom...stuff like this takes time. It’s new to both of us. There’s a lot to work out.”

  “Have the two of you already...” Barb lifted one suggestive brow. “You know...”

  Luke looked down at his mom; a sense of absolute horror rolled around in his gut. “Have the two of us...what?”

  “Oh, don’t be obtuse, Luke! Have the two of you ‘sealed the deal,’ I believe your generation calls it....”

  For the first time since he was a teenager, Luke felt the tips of his ears turn red with embarrassment. “Mom...”

  “What?”

  “You’ve crossed into a restricted area.”

  “Oh, please! I gave birth to you. I changed your diapers. I bathed you. I took your temperature with an anal thermometer! I don’t have any restricted areas when it comes to my children.”

  “Well, you do now!”

  Barb waved her hand and ignored his comment. “If you want my advice...”

  “I’m not really in the market for it right now, so no...”

  Barb’s eyes sharpened, and it made Luke back down a bit. “If you want my advice...” She started over again with very pointed, precise speech. “And you’re going to get it whether you like it or not, because, no matter how old you are, I’m still your mother and you will always be my business....”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Luke said respectfully.

  Barb pulled out a small box from her purse and handed it to Luke. “I suggest you march right into that hospital room, get down on one knee and ask Sophia to marry you.”

  Luke cracked open the ring box and looked inside. “This is Grandma’s engagement ring.”

  “Yes.” Barb looked lovingly at the ring.

  “Dan wanted to give this to Sophia when they were first engaged.”

  “I know,” Barb said with her eyes still on the antique platinum-and-diamond ring. “I know he did. I just couldn’t part with it then.”

  “But you can now?” Luke closed the lid of the box and slipped it into his pocket.

  “Yes, I can. Perhaps that ring was always meant for Sophia.” Barb’s eyes drifted back to her grandson, who was stretching his legs and yawning. Her voice took on a poignant tone. “Don’t let her slip away, Lucas. Seize this opportunity. This is your moment with Sophia. Don’t let her go out of some false loyalty to Daniel. Daniel loved both of you and, as I have told Sophia, he would want the two of you to be together. He would want you to raise his son.” Barbara sought out her son’s eyes. “You do love her still, don’t you, son?”

  “More now than ever,” Luke said without hesitation.

  “Then, marry her, Lucas. Do whatever it takes to make her your wife, to make this boy your son.” Barb squeezed her son’s arm again and gave it a slight shake. “This is your fork in the road, darling; we all come to them if we live long enough. Think hard and choose wisely, because you will never pass this way again.”

  * * *

  Luke knocked lightly on the hospital room door before he opened it. At the sound of the door opening, Sophia opened her eyes and smiled weakly at Luke.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  Luke sat down in the seat next to the bed and took Sophia’s outreached hand. “Hi. How are you feeling?”

  “Probably a heck of a lot better than I look,” Sophia said with a self-effacing chuckle.

  “You look beautiful to me.”

  Sophia’s eyes softened as she looked at him. “Thank you.” She squeezed his hand. “Were you with him?”

  Luke nodded. “I just came from seeing him. God, Sophia, he’s incredible. Perfect.”

  “He is, isn’t he? Barb showed me a baby picture of Daniel and you. Little Danny could be a triplet!”

  Luke winked at her. “He’s bound to be handsome.”

  “Bound to be.” Sophia laughed before her expression turned more serious. “Listen, there’s something I’ve been thinking about and I’d like to run it by you....”

  “Shoot.”

  “I would like to name him Daniel Lucas Brand. How would you feel about that?”

  Stunned temporarily speechless, Luke could only stare at the woman he loved. It never occurred to him that she would want to name her son after him; it was more than he could have ever hoped for. “Soph...you don’t have to do that....”

  She pushed herself up a bit in the bed. “But I want to. I can’t imagine a better name for my son. Unless you’d rather I not...”

  Luke pressed his lips hard against the back of her hand before he clasped it in both of his hands. “It’s an honor that I never expected to have.”

  “So, it’s okay with you?”

  Luke leaned forward, pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear and then kissed her gently on her mouth. “Are you kidding? I’m blown away. I would love nothing more than to have your son carry my name. You’re an amazing woman and I love you.”

  Sophia rested her palm against his stubbly cheek. “I love you, too, Luke.”

  Luke looked into her eyes as if he were trying to see into her soul. “I’m glad that you do, because there’s something...” Luke began to reach into his pocket to pull out the ring box.

  Sophia placed her hand on his chest, halting his words. “Oh! Hold that thought!” She had an excited sparkle in her eyes. “I have a Christmas present for you!”

  “I told you I have everything I need....”

  Sophia hit him on the arm playfully. “Quit spoiling this for me! I have the perfect gift for you!”

  “You and Danny are the only gifts I need....”

  Sophia made a frustrated noise and pointed. “Please go over to my pants and look
in the pocket. I brought it with me for good luck.”

  Luke complied and searched Sophia’s pockets. He pulled out a coin and examined it. He looked over to her, his teasing mood temporarily on hold. “This is Dan’s Ranger coin.”

  “Merry Christmas!” Sophia said happily.

  Luke came back to her bedside. “I can’t accept this.”

  “Yes, you can. I want you to have it.”

  “You should hold on to this for Danny.”

  Sophia saw how Luke held the coin his brother had earned when he became a ranger with reverence. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you hold on to it for him?”

  Luke turned the coin over in his hand. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Luke took one last look at the coin before he put it in his pocket and leaned over to kiss Sophia. “I don’t know what to say other than thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Sophia wrapped her arms around Luke and hugged him tightly. “Thank you for being here with me, Luke. You made everything easier for me.”

  “This is where I was meant to be.”

  As Luke hugged Sophia, he thought about what his mother had said to him in the hospital corridor. This was his moment. This was his woman. He couldn’t let her slip away from him a second time. Luke broke the hug, but held on to Sophia’s hand. His heart began to pound hard in his chest at the thought of proposing to Sophia. He’d never proposed before, and he felt a wave of nerves and nausea hit him.

  No matter what he had faced in combat, nothing compared with asking the woman he loved to be his wife. This was the most fear-producing mission he’d ever faced.

  Sophia was eyeing him curiously. “I don’t like your pallor, Luke. Have you eaten?”

  “I’m not hungry. I’m nervous.”

  “Nervous!” Sophia said with a laugh. “When has Captain Luke Brand ever been nervous?”

  “Right now.”

  Those words, along with Luke’s serious demeanor, made Sophia’s expression change from playful to one of concern. Now she felt nervous. “What’s going on, Luke? You’re scaring me. Are you leaving? Is that it?”

  Luke grabbed her hands. “No. I’m not leaving. Not yet, anyway.”

  Sophia didn’t like the “not yet” part, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew she would be saying goodbye to Luke sooner or later.

  “Then, what’s going on?”

  Luke pulled the ring box out of his pocket. “You had something in your pocket for me. And, as it turns out, I have something in my pocket for you....”

  Sophia’s eyes widened and her face drained of color. She couldn’t take her eyes off the box in Luke’s hand. “Luke...”

  “Before you start psychoanalyzing the situation to death, could you just hear me out, please? Let me get through this uninterrupted. Can you do that for me?”

  Sophia could only nod. Her tongue felt heavy and her mouth was suddenly dry; when she tried to swallow, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, as if her saliva had turned to glue. She couldn’t have gotten two words out if she had tried.

  It never occurred to her that Luke might propose marriage; she was stunned. And completely unprepared.

  Luke opened the box and held it out for Sophia to see. Sophia immediately recognized the ring and knew that there was only one person who could have given it to Luke: Barb.

  “Sophia, I fell in love with you the minute I saw you, and I’ve loved you every day since. I never thought that I would have a second chance to make you mine, but now that I have it, I can’t let you slip away. I have to try to make this work. I love you, Sophia, more than anything or anyone on this planet. I can’t imagine my life without you in it; I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it. I want you to be my wife, Sophia. I want to be your husband. I want us to live the rest of our lives together watching Danny grow.” His eyes swept her body. “I want to watch you grow another child. Our child. I am going to love you until the day I die. I’m asking you to marry me, Sophia. I’m asking you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

  Unshed tears swam in Sophia’s eyes as she looked between the ring and the man she loved. She couldn’t seem to say a word, because she knew that the words she would say were going to hurt Luke. Luke’s eyes were trained on her face; she could tell he was analyzing every flicker of emotion he read in her eyes. After a minute of silence, Luke sat back and snapped the lid of the box shut. Sophia jumped a bit at the noise the box made when it snapped shut. At the same time the box closed, Luke’s expression became guarded.

  She reached out for him instinctively. “Please, Luke...don’t pull away from me, I...”

  “You don’t have to say anything to me, Sophia,” Luke said in that unemotional tone he had picked up in the Marines. “Anything other than a ‘yes’ doesn’t require an explanation.”

  Sophia felt her temper flare. “You ask me to marry you, and because I don’t jump on the offer like some irrational, bubbleheaded teenager, you’re going to shut me out? I’ll explain myself if I bloody well want to, Brand, and you’ll listen!”

  Luke stood up, leaned against the windowsill and waited. “So, explain.”

  “Don’t boss me around!” Sophia snapped. Luke could still get her blood boiling quicker than anyone else. After a moment, Sophia composed herself and said in a controlled, irritated tone. “You know, I didn’t expect this—” she waved her hand between the two of them “—to happen.”

  “I didn’t say you did.”

  “Can I please speak without you interrupting me? I didn’t interrupt you.”

  Luke nodded his agreement.

  “Thank you,” she snapped. “Like I was saying, this thing between us is a complete shock to me. I didn’t have any intention of falling in love with you. But I did. I love you, Luke. It’s as much a surprise to me as it is to you, but there it is. And I won’t regret it now. Loving you seems to be as natural as breathing for me.” She clasped her hands together and rested them in her lap. “But let’s be realistic, Luke. We’re not kids anymore. We both know that it takes a lot more than love and a good romp in bed to make a marriage work.”

  “I’m aware of this.”

  “So am I. That’s why, as much as I love you Luke, and I do...I really do, I can’t be your wife. I can’t stand the thought of marrying you and then losing you.” The thought of Luke dying in combat overwhelmed her, and the tears she had been holding back slipped out of her eyes without her consent.

  Luke was quick to offer her a tissue box. She pulled a tissue out roughly from the box and blew her nose loudly. “Thank you.”

  “So, let me get this straight... You won’t marry me because of my career? That’s the only thing holding you back?”

  Sophia blew her nose again. “I just can’t do it, Luke. I can’t lose another husband like that.” She balled the tissue up into her hand and gave him a disgruntled look. “As a matter of fact, it’s actually pretty insensitive of you to ask me to marry another military man after what I’ve just lived through, don’t you think?”

  “I’d like to say something in own defense now, if you don’t mind,” Luke said.

  Sophia nodded with a loud sniff.

  “I made a decision last night. I’m not going to re-up, Soph. When my time is up, I’m leaving the Corps.”

  Sophia’s heart started to flutter in her chest. “Are you serious? I can’t let you do that....”

  “It’s not your choice. It’s mine. I’m doing it for me. I’m doing it for us.”

  “I don’t know what to say....”

  Luke crossed to her side. He loomed over her, his handsome face tense; his eyes had darkened to a stormy midnight blue. “Say that you love me.”

  “I do love you, Luke. I’m crazy about you....”

  Luke clasped her hand in his. “Then, be my wife, Sophia. Put me out of my misery and marry me! Nothing in this world matters to me more than you and Danny. I want us to be a family. Leaving the Marines isn’t a big deal if you’re the pr
ize waiting for me at the end of that road.” He pressed his lips to her hand; his eyes blazed with passion for her. “Say you’ll marry me, Sophia.”

  “Yes.” The word popped out of her mouth without a second thought.

  “Yes?”

  Sophia started to laugh. “Yes, Luke. God help me, I will marry you.”

  “I’d better get this on your finger quick before you change your mind or start to accuse me of being insensitive for proposing to you again.” Luke pulled the box out of his pocket and slid the ring onto her finger. “I play for keeps, Sophia. You’re never getting rid of me, no matter how angry I make you. No matter how many knock-down, drag-out fights we have, I’m never going to leave your side. Can you handle that?”

  She wiggled her finger and watched the fire in the diamond reflect purple and blue and gold. “I can handle anything you throw at me, Captain. But are you really going to give up your career? For me?”

  “For you. For me. For all of us.”

  Sophia reached up and put her hands on each side of his face; the flawless, colorless brilliant cut diamond winked at her as she said, “How could I be so lucky to fall madly in love twice in my life?”

  Luke captured her mouth and kissed her breathless. “I’m the lucky one. I’m going to have a beautiful wife and a handsome new son. That’s all I need. It’s all I ever wanted....” He pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

  Sophia shook her head as Luke gathered her into his strong arms. She relaxed into his embrace with a contented sigh, just as a shiver of excitement raced up her spine when Luke’s lips brushed against her earlobe. He whispered into her ear, “I’m going to show you for the rest of my life how much I love you, my beauty. Every day until I take my last breath.”

  Sophia smiled as he kissed the line of her jaw; she hugged him until her arms hurt. “You believe me, don’t you?” Luke asked as he kissed the corner of her mouth.

  “Yes,” she said in a breathy voice. “I do.”

  “You’d better,” Luke growled against her lips. Luke pulled her closer to him, molded her body tightly to his, as if he were afraid that she was going to disappear. Sophia pressed her lips to his, and held on to him as tightly as he was holding on to her. For the first time in a long time, Sophia felt safe. She felt secure. She was finally home. Wrapped up in his strong arms, Sophia knew that this loving embrace with Luke was going to last her a lifetime.