Make Way For Babies!

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, appalled that she wanted to bite him. It was something she’d never done.

“No, it’s okay. That didn’t hurt. Bite me some more. I like it. I like anything you do.”

His smile flashed white and quick in the deepening night. Her smile was hesitant. She’d never felt this way, so certain and yet so unsure. It was odd…

He dipped his head and nibbled at her lips. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and sucked. He drew a harsh breath. Against her breasts, his heart bucked like a rodeo bronco gone wild. Hers went wild with him.

“Ally, I want to see you. Do you mind?”

The question was undemanding, eager but patient. Tears sprang into her eyes. “You are so gentle,” she said.

“I want to be gentle. I wouldn’t do anything to scare you. Do you believe me?”

“Yes.”

He urged her to rest against the car door. His hands went to her blouse. One by one, he unfastened the row of tiny buttons shaped like bows, white against the blue cotton. Her white bra looked dainty, almost flimsy against her tan. She moved instinctively to cross her hands over her chest, then placed them instead around him, sliding one behind him, the other resting on his upper arm.

He smiled again, his gaze catching hers and holding it while he laid a broad hand over her tummy and caressed. “You are so innocent,” he said, almost as if he spoke to himself.

“I am…I mean, I haven’t…”

“I know what you mean. Neither have I.”

He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth, then, looking into her eyes, slid his hands behind her. She felt him pause, then his fingers glided beneath her bra on each side of the hook that held it closed.

“Are you comfortable with this? I can stop at any time. Just say the word.”

She considered, then shook her head, not wanting him to stop. He understood her meaning.

After unfastening the hooks he pushed the blouse off her shoulders. The bra came with it. He carefully laid them over the steering wheel. His eyes came back to her.

“I’m not—”

“Shh,” he said. “You’re beautiful. May I?”

Spellbound, she watched as he tested each tip with his tongue. She closed her eyes and rubbed his shoulders, his neck, threaded her fingers into his hair. He kissed her breasts until they tingled. He drew magic circles that spun off madly into her body and collided with the spirals he’d already caused.

“I want us to touch…my skin, yours,” she tried to explain. “I need to touch all over….”

He leaned away from the seat and stripped his T-shirt off over his head. When he pulled her against him, hot smooth flesh against hot smooth flesh, she trembled as their need reached the flaming point.

“Spence, that’s…that’s…it feels…”

“Incredible,” he murmured. “Ah, Ally, you are so incredibly sweet.”

She writhed against him. He caressed her with sweet movements and shrugs of his body against hers, satisfying and feeding her passion at the same instant.

He fed on her lips. She sipped from his. She learned the shape of his teeth, the points and edges, that the bottom one wasn’t quite even with the others. He explored the texture of her mouth, the smooth flesh behind her lips, showed her the velvety tracing of tongue on tongue.

His movements were sure. There was a maturity about him, a manliness, she had never noticed. It reached deep into her soul.

In turn, she felt a blossoming inside, in a hidden glen that now felt the kiss of the sun warming the loamy earth, readying it for spring and new growth.

“Straddle me,” he requested.

His hands on her waist lifted her. He had strength she hadn’t suspected, her weight easy to him. She swung her leg over his thighs. He settled her against him.

“Oh,” she said as entirely new sensations erupted.

“Now be still,” he ordered and gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. “You have me on the edge. One slip and I’ll go right over.”

His confession thrilled her in ways she couldn’t name. Her blood flowed with golden lava, with champagne bubbles and laughter.

“Me, too,” she said, biting desperately, carefully, on his shoulder. “I’m the same, so…so…” She didn’t know the words.

“Very much so,” he agreed.

He found the bow that closed the drawstring to her summer slacks. It opened when he tugged. Then he slipped his hands inside the material and cupped her bottom. She fit her breasts to his chest.

“We’re hot, you and I,” she whispered. “Our skin, it’s like fire on fire.”

“I went up in smoke a long time ago. You’re just now catching up.”

When he moved slightly, she gasped as tremor after tremor of need arced through her.

“See?” he said.

He smiled again, and it was so tender she could have wept had there been time. But he was kissing her again, and the stars dropped from their orbits and into her soul.

She didn’t know how long they kissed and touched each other. Forever, it seemed.

The moon spread a molten path of silver across the river as it rose higher. Still they kissed.

And kissed.

At last she knew it had to stop or they had to go further. “This isn’t enough,” she complained, panting lightly, placing carefully spaced kisses along his collarbone and down his chest as far as she could reach. “This has got to…to finish.”

He groaned and caught her to him, pulling her hands behind her back and holding them there.

“Let me touch you,” she requested and pressed hard against the ridge in his jeans.

“No.”

She rose slightly on her knees and rubbed against him.

“Don’t.”

This time the tone was stern, older, the disciplined male taking command instead of letting her do as she wished in their love play.

“Why?”

He kissed her eyes instead of answering when she stared at him in the shadowy moonlight. She leaned farther back and looked at him, beginning to feel hurt and confused.

“Don’t hate me,” he said.

She was surprised. “I don’t. I never would—”

He laid his mouth over hers until the words were stilled. “We have something special. We shouldn’t have…It was my fault. I shouldn’t have let it go this far. I didn’t mean to—”

“What did you mean to do?”

“Talk.” He smiled briefly, almost sadly. “Share a kiss for old times’ sake. Not this…not this far, not this much. It was a…surprise.”

His explanation made no sense. “What?” she asked. “What was a surprise?”

He lifted her from him and moved to his seat. She suddenly felt chilled. When he handed her the clothing, she pulled it on hurriedly. After yanking his T-shirt over his head, he turned back to her, lifting her face to his with a finger under her chin. His expression was gentle, kind.

“Don’t be ashamed,” he ordered, reading her reaction correctly. “This was natural. It just wasn’t what I had planned. You’re my friend. I want to keep it that way.”

Pride made her face him without flinching. “I understand. I’d better get home. I have to get up at five to pick up my papers.” Fatigue swept over her as reality shoved its way into her consciousness.

He had driven them to town, away from the moonlight and its induced madness, her heart too numb to ache. Yet…

Ally picked up her coffee cup. It was empty. She realized she’d been sitting there for an hour, reliving the past. Frowning, she jumped to her feet. The day was wasting. Where were the men who were supposed to be working on the house?

The ringing of the doorbell jarred Ally out of a sound sleep. She sat up on the sofa and wondered who was so darned impatient at her front door. She noted the afternoon was half over and still no carpenters.

She checked the peephole and opened the door. “Hello, James. What happened to you?”

The carpenter’s son stood on the porch, his arm in a cast from fingers to elbow. “Uh, Dad and I, we had a wreck this morning on our way over.”

“Oh, no! How’s your father? Is he hurt?”

James nodded, his summer-blond hair falling over his forehead in a carefree manner, belying the seriousness of his face. “He’s in the hospital, leg broke in three places. They’ll have to put pins in it.”

“I’m so sorry. Was anyone else in the truck? Your mom?”

“No, just the two of us. The guy in the dump truck wasn’t hurt at all. He just barged through a red light and mowed us down.”

She tsked in sympathy. “Come in out of the heat,” she invited, opening the door wider. “I have some tea—”

“I need to get back to the hospital and stay with my mom. They’re gonna operate on the old man as soon as the surgeon gets there. He’s out playing golf or something.” He gestured vaguely with one hand. “I don’t think we’ll get back to your job for two or three months.”

She thought that was an optimistic estimate. “Don’t worry about it. I can do the painting myself.”

He nodded, looking miserable. “I called several buddies but they’re all working on the new construction job over on the other side of town. You know, the fancy apartment complex they put in over by the lake.”

She knew where he meant. Spence had moved into a bachelor apartment there last February. The planned community was modern and had lots of activities for singles, she’d heard.

“Don’t worry about a thing here,” she assured the young carpenter. “I’ll take care of it. Or it’ll be waiting for you when you’re able to work again.”

“Thanks. Well, I’d better run.”

“Tell your dad I said hello and to take care. You, too.”

He nodded and loped off, his hair flopping against his collar until he pulled on a baseball cap, the bill backwards. She smiled, feeling much older than the injured twenty-five-year-old. Seven years. It could be the difference between one lifetime and the next.

Of course, one night could do the same.

After those wild kisses, from the time Spence had dropped her off, making sure she was safely inside her aunt’s house, and the dawn of the next day, she had aged considerably. The bubbles had evaporated from her blood and her mind. She had taken a good hard look at herself.

Her looks were not extraordinary. Her thick hair, which had some natural curl, was okay, she supposed. And when she was eighteen, it still had some gold in it. Her friends at school had been envious. Big blond hair was in.

Her eyes were a nice shade of blue, but her lashes were short and a medium sort of brown. So were her eyebrows. Her hair would probably be the same when she grew older.

But she didn’t mind working hard. And she was well-organized. She could take on a lot of tasks, even drudgery.

With her aunt’s blessings and some savings left over from her parents’ insurance, plus her paper route, baby-sitting and lawn mowing money, she’d started classes at the local college the week after graduation and had devoted the next six years of her life to earning degrees, with only a short break for a honeymoon between classes.

Going into the bedroom to change into fresh clothes before picking up the twins, she wondered when she’d had time to date Jack, not to mention get married and take over home responsibilities, too. She must have been crazy…..

No. Lonely. The haunting sadness strummed through her again. Her college days had been busy, but she lived them basically alone, running from work to class and back to work. There’d been little time for fun.

During her senior year, her aunt had decided to sell the house, the only home Ally had known since she was eleven, and move to a retirement community in a warmer climate.

When her aunt had told her, Ally had realized she would have no one nearby. She’d lived in an apartment in Durango while completing her studies, but she’d spent one Sunday each month with her only relative.

At least it had been contact with a person who had some kind of bond with her. In fact, she and her aunt had dealt very well with each other once she was grown.

Ally thought the responsibility for rearing a child had weighed on her aunt, who had never been around children much. Now they visited once or twice a year, usually with Ally going down to the senior citizens’ community at Tucson in early spring and her aunt coming to Buttonwood for Thanksgiving. It was a satisfying arrangement.

She wondered if the visits would continue now that she had two children to raise. That would probably frighten her aunt into moving to Florida or somewhere equally remote.

Grabbing her handbag, she headed for the garage, her spirits high once more as she went to claim the children she’d wanted for so long. She laughed as she backed out of the drive, the two infant seats already strapped into the back of the family-size vehicle.

One thing for sure, she wouldn’t be lonely for the next eighteen to twenty years.

Chapter Three

Ally discovered Rose wasn’t at the clinic when she stopped by the administrative office after signing the insurance forms and paying the hospital bills. The older woman had gone home with a migraine.

A tremor of unease ran over her. Her mom-in-law was supposed to help her with the twins that evening, in case she had trouble getting them settled.

She could manage. After all, babies slept most of the time. She had a fresh supply of formula in neat little plastic pouches, the twin bassinets were ready and boxes of diapers and infant gowns were stored in the closet.

“Is Taylor still here?” she asked Rose’s secretary.

“She’s checked out. She said to tell you she had a paper to turn in tomorrow, but would be in touch.”

Ally nodded and smiled as if she didn’t have a qualm in the world about taking home two babies and being responsible for them for the next eighteen years…all by herself.

She suddenly felt young and vulnerable, the way she had at eleven when she’d arrived in Buttonwood, with only her clothes and a favorite doll, to live with her aunt. Or when she went off to college, living in one room in an old Victorian house and working two jobs to make her own way.

This was a far cry from those days, she reminded herself. She was an adult and a child psychologist. She knew all about children. Sure, from a textbook standpoint, a less confident part of her replied.

Yes, well…

She hurried down the corridor to the nursery. Rachel Arquette was on duty. The nurse was pretty, young, single…and pregnant. She wasn’t saying a word about the father. Although Ally had heard the gossip going around, she didn’t believe for an instant it could be Dennis Reid, who was chief of staff at the clinic. He was old enough to be Rachel’s father, for Pete’s sake.

“Rachel, hi,” Ally said upon reaching the desk. “How are the twins?”

Rachel put away the folder she’d been reading. Although she smiled, her eyes had a certain harried look. Ally had always felt a kinship with the quiet nurse…maybe as one lost soul to another?

She pushed the thought aside as another nurse bustled out of the nursery. Ally smiled in relief at seeing Nell Hastings on duty.

Nell had taken care of the twins at the birthing. She was a delight to work with—calm in an emergency, soothing and kind in her dealings with nervous mothers and fathers, and simply wonderful with newborns.

“Well, here’s our mom,” Nell said cheerfully. “Hope you had a good night’s sleep.”

Her eyes twinkled with humor. Nell was such a contrast to her older sister, Blanche, who was one of the town’s two main gossips.

“Are the twins ready to go?” Ally asked with more poise than she felt.

“Yep, fed, burped and changed. The little angels are sleeping. Finally,” Nell added with a chuckle.

Ally’s heart lurched. “Did they have a restless night?”

“A tad,” Rachel spoke up. “They’ll be okay.”

“I’ll help you out to the car,” Nell volunteered. “Are you parked at the front?”

“Yes. I signed all the papers before coming up.”

“The office called up clearance.” Nell bustled off. “Let’s get the babies. You have any questions?”

“Not that I can think of.”

Ally took one baby, her hands shaking just a tiny bit, while Nell carried the other. At the car, the nurse strapped them into the infant seats with the skill of long practice. The darlings slept right through the process.

“Well, thanks,” Ally said.

Nell patted her back. “Sleep when they do, if you can. Tuck them against you if they get to crying. They’re used to sleeping in cramped quarters.” Her smile was reassuring.

“Right.”

Ally drove off at five miles per hour, suddenly afraid that someone was going to hit her car and injure the twins, afraid she wouldn’t see them in time, afraid she wouldn’t notice a red light and would run through it….

Her knuckles were white all the way to the cottage. She parked at home with a sigh of relief, as if she’d completed a major and dangerous feat.

Unbuckling Nicholas, she carried him into the house and gently tucked him into a bassinet, then returned for Hannah. Both slept peacefully throughout the transition. Ally checked that the baby monitor was on, then tiptoed out of the nursery and into the kitchen.

Well, there was nothing to this, she decided four hours later, checking the sleeping twins for the umpteenth time. She’d been worried for nothing. She could relax.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. She closed the nursery door and dashed lightly into the living room. Her eyes widened when she recognized Spence outside the door.

“Hi,” she said, opening up and letting him in. “What are you doing in this neighborhood?”

Stupid question. His mother lived a quarter mile up the road. He was on his way there, most likely. He was dressed in blue shorts and a polo shirt. She noticed that his arms and legs were very tan. She imagined him playing golf or tennis with all the attractive single women at the apartment complex.

“Providing dinner,” he explained. “I didn’t know if you would remember to eat, this being your first night with the twins. I brought over sandwiches—beef tongue, sliced eggs, kosher dills and hot mustard with a touch of garlic.”

Ally hid a smile. Spence prided himself on his gourmet touch with sandwiches. His friends thought his combinations were weird. Spence cheerfully ignored their comments.

“Oh, thanks. That was thoughtful of you. The twins are sleeping, so everything is fine.”

“Great. Got a cold beer? It’s a furnace out today.”

Ally stared after him while he walked in, closed the door and kicked off his sneakers. He headed for the kitchen. She followed, her mind in a whirl.

“I don’t have any beer. Have you been playing tennis?” she asked, placing the bag of food on the table.

Another stupid question. It was none of her business.

“No, helping Johnny put in a drip system over at his place. Claire wants to do a native plant garden. Your aunt knew a lot about that stuff. I told Claire you could give her some advice on what to plant.”

He helped himself to a can of soda and rubbed the icy container over his forehead before popping it open and taking a long drink.

“Well, I know a little,” she admitted. “My aunt let me help her pick out plants. How are Claire and Johnny doing with their new baby? Lucy—isn’t that her name?”

“Yes. They’re doing okay. Johnny says she’s sleeping all night now. You want a root beer?”

When she nodded, he plucked one from the fridge, nudged the door shut with his hip and settled at the table.

“I’m starved,” he continued. “Don’t bother with a plate for me. I won’t need one.” He dug in.

Ally put two paper plates on the table anyway and took a seat across from him. She felt funny with him there. It was the first time they’d been alone since…since…high-school graduation night.

Heat rushed to her face for no reason. That ill-advised episode was behind them. She would be wise to forget it had ever happened, just as he had.

She took a sip of root beer, then unwrapped the other sandwich, touched again by his thoughtfulness. The inexplicable tenderness she’d experienced toward him at the hospital returned.

From the baby monitor, she heard soft noises, as if one of the twins was restless. She tensed, but neither cried. They were certainly sleeping a long time.

She wanted to comment on this, but Spence had made it clear with his brief responses to her questions about the other couple that he wasn’t interested in discussing babies and such. The silence stretched between them. He didn’t seem to notice.

Irritation pricked at her. She knew it was perfectly irrational, but his hearty appetite and indifference to conversation made her angry. She was jumpy with the sleeping children in the house. It would have been nice to discuss this natural state caused by being a new parent. Once, she wouldn’t have hesitated to pour her heart out to him.

But not now.

After eating the meal, she tossed her used plate in the trash and sipped the root beer. Spence polished off his food in short order.

“Ahh,” he murmured. “I might make it through the night. Got any dessert?”

“There’s sherbet in the freezer, cookies in the pantry.” She frowned as he rummaged through her shelves.

“Nonfat,” he said, reading the label on the cookies with a grimace. “What’s wrong with good old-fashioned butter? Has everyone gone mad?”

He was teasing. She knew that. It didn’t make her feel any better. “Some of us have to watch our weight,” she informed him rather tartly, although she forced herself to put a smile behind the words.

He swung around and looked her over from head to foot. “Do you watch yours?”

“Yes.”

The heat poured over her again as his eyes continued to study her. Once she would have told him all her worries. Not that she had any great ones, she quickly assured herself. She was just jumpy because of the twins.

“Do you think the twins are sleeping a long time?” she asked, then wished she hadn’t.

“How long have they been asleep?”

“Since I brought them home from the hospital.” She glanced at the clock. “Four hours.”

“Hmm, that doesn’t sound long.”

“Babies usually eat every three or four hours.” She stared at the monitor, then the clock again.

Spence narrowed his eyes and observed her for a long minute. “Well, let’s go look at them.”

She stood when he did. He motioned for her to lead the way. They walked down the short hall. Since he was in his socks, he made no sound at all. She tried to walk as softly.

After easing the door open, she tiptoed across the nursery and surveyed the sleeping babies. Her heart melted. They looked like cherubs, sweet and innocent and trusting. She smiled at Spence and pointed toward the door. They quietly left. He closed the door behind them.

“What are you thinking?” Spence asked, a curious note in his baritone voice as they returned to the kitchen.

“How innocent they are. How trusting.” She shook her head. “I don’t feel worthy of it.”

“Mom said you would make the perfect mother.”

Ally glanced up at him in surprise. “You discussed me and the children with Rose?”

“Of course.” His eyes locked with hers. “She worried about you during the winter. After Jack was gone. She said your grief was very deep and very lonely.”

Ally looked away from his probing gaze, feeling the strange loneliness descend on her again. She didn’t understand it at all.

“He was at work. Alone. We had both worked late that day. I didn’t think to check on him when I got in and he wasn’t home.”

She stopped, wondering if she’d given too much away about the last months and years of her marriage. She would never discuss her relationship with Jack with anyone, especially Spence. Although he had never said anything, she had always sensed his disapproval of the marriage.

“Let it go,” Spence advised. “It was an accident, one of those things that happen and you can’t do a damned thing about it because it’s too late.”

The harshness of his voice startled her. She wondered what had happened in his personal life to make him speak in that tone of unrelenting certainty and bitter regret.