Teddy Bear Heir (23 page)

Mrs. Monahan stifled a decidedly un-elflike laugh.

"She'll possess a strong will and be quite a handful."

"As have all the Blacks since time immemorial. And it will serve my grandson right."

Mrs. Monahan sighed as she looked at the peacefully sleeping infant. "And she's an old soul. That twelfth house moon does it every time."

"She’s just what they need, Mrs. M. And isn't it amazing how the universe always seems to give us exactly what we need—if we're smart enough to ask for it."

"It is, indeed."

* * *

He couldn’t believe she was smiling at him after all the pain she'd endured.

"So you'll still sleep in the same bed with me?" he said, his tone light. He hoped she wouldn't realize he was only partly joking.

"Please. I've crossed the bridge to the heavens, or whatever that thing was called. Labor and delivery were a snap compared to that."

"It didn't look like a snap."

"I'd have three or four more before I'd even look at that gorge again." Her eyes brightened and she sat up in bed as the night nurse carried the newest addition to the Black family into the private room, Julian and Mrs. Monahan at her heels.

"Now what have you been up to?" she teased her grandfather-in-law.

"He's only promised every single child admitted to surgery a huge teddy bear and any sundae they want at Ghiradelli Square," Mrs. Monahan said, looking at Julian fondly and shaking her head.

"That's a lot of ice cream," Cameron remarked.

"No, my boy, that's a lot of hope." Julian's eyes softened as he gazed at his great-granddaughter. "I do believe she has Mike's eyes. And Mary's nose."

"How fortunate it wasn't the other way around," Cameron remarked, and Michaela laughed.

After Mary Fiona had nursed her fill and settled down to sleep in her mother's arms, Mrs. Monahan gave Julian a gentle pinch in the ribs.

"Weren't you going to take me to that new Southern restaurant everyone's raving about so we can celebrate this event properly?"

"Sapphire's Place. Of course, of course. Nancy promised they'd keep the kitchen open for us no matter how late we arrived." Julian took the hint quickly and gave Cameron a quick pat on the shoulder. "We'll leave you three alone."

They were gone within minutes, leaving him alone with his wife and daughter. Michaela lay quietly in bed, propped up on pillows, her eyes closed. For a moment he thought she'd fallen asleep.

"Would you do it again?" she whispered. He smiled, then leaned over, brushed the hair off her forehead and kissed her gently. She looked so tired and deserved to rest.

"Would you?" he asked softly. She opened one eye and he smiled down at her. "After all, you were the one who made the first move."

She opened her other eye and sat up a little more in bed.

"I did, didn't I?" She sounded so pleased with herself. "And I would. I would do anything, anything at all, to arrive at this place with you." Tears glinted in her eyes as she looked down at the infant sleeping in her arms.

"Thank you for giving me our daughter, Cameron."

He could barely speak he was so overcome with emotion. Then he found his voice and knew the one thing he had to say, the one thing he had to let her know.

"Thank you for giving me back to myself, Michaela."

"Oh, Cameron," she whispered just before he kissed her.

To my Readers:

For your special enjoyment, I'm including a preview from my
Baby Collection
series.

In both
Teddy Bear Heir
and
Bachelor Mother
, two very different heroines get pregnant by heroes they adore. But the road to a happy relationship is filled with twists and turns! Each woman experiences pregnancy and motherhood as she falls deeper and deeper in love with the father of her child.

You've just finished
Teddy Bear Heir
. I've included the first chapter of
Bachelor Mother
for you to enjoy.

Happy reading!

Do it.

Melanie Randell twirled the delicate wineglass in her hands. She’d thought some Pinot Noir would give her courage, but she’d been wrong.

Bubba won’t laugh at you. Just explain the situation to him.

But this was so personal.

She sighed and set her glass down. How had she managed to get herself into this mess? It was a simple quirk of fate, a trick played by Mother Nature. Here she’d thought she had all the time in the world, only to have the proverbial rug pulled right out from underneath her feet.

So ask him, dodo. The worst thing he can do is tell you to forget it.

Melanie got up off the couch in her living room and walked over to the sliding glass door leading to her patio and redwood deck. Sliding the glass door open, she headed to the edge of the deck and leaned on the railing. Glancing over at Bubba’s house next door, she smiled.

Soft rock music escaped from an open window. There were lights on low in Bubba’s living room. As Melanie listened, she heard soft, throaty feminine laughter.

She could picture Bubba with his latest conquest. She’d be the type who filled out a brief bikini to perfection. Just as Bubba epitomized the all-American surfer, the women he went out with looked like Baywatch babes. She’d always teased him about the succession of Gidgets in his life and he took her ribbing with good-natured tolerance. Nothing ruffled Bubba.

What you’re going to ask him to do just might.

Another breathy giggle floated across the cool evening air. June in Southern California could be uncomfortably warm. But as both their houses were less than six blocks from the beach in Santa Monica, she and Bubba always escaped the worst of the heat.

Melanie stared up at the sky and tried to will herself into action.

What if he says no? You’ve already exhausted all your other options.

As quickly as the first thought entered her mind, the second followed.

But he’s always been there for you. So why wouldn’t he help you now?

It was true. Her older brother Donnie had dragged Bubba – Robert Jonathan Williams, actually, but they’d always called him Bubba – home with him one day after school. It seemed as if he’d never left. They’d both been in the third grade and sat next to each other in their classroom.

Melanie, six years younger than her brother, had never known a time when Bubba wasn’t around. She’d toddled after him as a toddler, annoyed him as a little girl, and gone to him with boy problems as an adolescent. He’d rumpled her hair or teased her playfully. He’d even taken her side against Donnie a few times, especially when she’d insisted she was old enough to leave home and start living her own life.

She glanced quickly at her watch, squinting against the soft light from the living room. Ten forty-six. Gidget was going to spend the night.

You can’t just barge in and interrupt them.

Melanie sighed.

That’s right, look for the perfect time. Only there never is a perfect time. Ask him now.

As if someone else was responsible for her movements, Melanie went back inside her house and locked the sliding door. Grabbing a light blue hand-knit sweater, she pulled it over her head and reached for her keys.

Hesitating just a moment, she glanced quickly into the hallway mirror.

You look fine.
Her long blond hair was mussed and she hadn’t bothered with makeup. There were slight shadows underneath her deep blue eyes, evidence of several sleepless nights. As she studied herself she bit her lip, still not sure what she was about to do was the smartest thing.

Without giving herself too much time to think, she walked quickly to the front door and let herself out.

The walk to Bubba’s front door took less than a minute. Melanie rubbed her damp palms against her faded jeans and rang the bell.

The first ring didn’t bring Bubba to the door. She waited almost thirty seconds, then knocked.

Listening carefully, she heard footsteps. As Bubba swung the door open, she stepped back.

“Hey, Mel! I haven’t seen you for at least a couple of hours.”

He smiled and she felt herself relax. He wasn’t mad at her for interrupting him during a private moment. It
was
  Friday night, after all.

Bubba leaned against the doorjamb, his entire manner relaxed, wearing a faded pair of cut-offs, his chest and feet bare. That muscled chest was covered with dark blond hair. Melanie noticed he needed a haircut. Perhaps she could cut it on Sunday.

When he spoke again she realized she hadn’t said anything.

“Mel?” He touched her upper arm gently. “You look like hell.”

She couldn’t say what she had to say in public, on his front steps. Something this momentous – well, at least they should be sitting down.

She took a deep breath. “Bubba, could I talk to you for a moment?”

He looked puzzled. “Sure. Listen, Mel, if it’s about Henry getting into your garbage, I – ”

“No, this has nothing to do with your cat. But it’s – ” She glanced beyond Bubba, down the hall to the softly lit living room. “It’s kind of private.”

“Okay, I get it. Come on inside.” He stepped back, allowing her to walk in front of him down the short hall to the living room. Melanie recognized Joanie, one of Bubba’s girlfriends, curled up on the couch. The remains of a pizza in a cardboard container and two empty wineglasses were scattered over the glass-topped coffee table.

“Hi, Mel.” She didn’t look up from the glossy magazine she was reading.

“Hi, Joanie. I like your hair.”

None of Bubba’s girlfriends looked at her as a threat, probably because she and Bubba were in and out of each other’s houses on a regular basis. “Living out of each other’s pockets,” as her brother Donnie said.

Bubba disappeared into the kitchen and came back with another glass of wine. He handed it to Melanie, then picked up Joanie’s glass.

“Nope. I’m leaving.” Joanie swung her long, tanned legs off the couch and stood up gracefully. She flashed a dazzling smile at Bubba.

“Walk me to the door, babe. A day at the beach with you has just about fried my brains.”

“Joanie, you’re going to give me a swelled head,” Bubba teased.

“Among other things, I hope.”

Mel laughed, then sat down on the couch as Joanie picked up her oversize bag and sweatshirt. Once they were in the hallway, Melanie closed her eyes and set her glass down. She tried not to eavesdrop but she heard Bubba give Joanie a good-bye kiss. She knew he would stand in the open doorway and make sure she got safely into her car.

When the door closed, Mel jumped.

Bubba walked into the living room with the grace of a natural athlete. She watched him as he turned off the stereo and came back to the couch. He sat down next to her, his arm along the top of the couch as he caught a strand of her hair.

“So what’s bugging you, Mel?”

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

He studied her face. She could tell he was worried. “Mel, is it Phillip?”

She was sure her face reflected her disgust as she reached for her wine. “No. That’s been over for almost a week.”

“I thought he hadn’t been coming over as much.”

“Ah, he’s ancient history,” she replied, taking a sip of her wine. She had to do something to stifle her nervousness.

“Is it something at work?” he asked.

“No, everything’s fine.” This was getting nowhere. The way she was orchestrating this conversation, she and Bubba would be playing twenty questions all night.

Get to the point.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you a really big personal favor.”

“Anything.” He squeezed her shoulder.

“Bubba, don’t agree until you hear what it is.”

“Aw, come on, Mel, you know I’d do anything for you. Is it another problem with Donnie?”

She smiled, touched by his loyalty. How many times had Bubba gotten her out of a mess while they were growing up? How ironic that their very personal pattern was once again being repeated.

She set her wineglass down and looked him straight in the eye. “It’s serious, Bubba. And it’s something very important to me.”

“Okay.” He was silent, waiting for her to continue.

She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. “Six months ago, I went to my doctor for a checkup. He told me I only have a couple of months – ”

“Oh my God!” Before she could continue, she was enfolded in a pair of warm, hard arms. His chin was on top of her head as he raised one hand and stroked her hair. “God, Mel.”

She broke away but he didn’t release her completely from the circle of his arms. “No, it’s nothing like that.”

Bubba looked truly shaken. His tanned face was pale, his blue-gray eyes dark with emotion. “Then what is it? You only have a couple of months to – ”

“Get pregnant.” She finished the sentence for him, relieved the truth was finally out in the open.

“What?” Bubba looked thunderstruck.

She took advantage of his silence to quickly fill him in on the details.

“My gynecologist found an ovarian tumor. It’s nothing fatal, but he told me that if I had any intentions of having a family, it was best if I got pregnant within the next few months.”

A short silence ensued, then Bubba said softly, “And if you don’t?”

Her shoulders slumped as she looked down at her hands in her lap. It hurt, putting her worst fears into words. “Then I take the chance I may never be able to have children.”

“Oh, no, Mel.”

She knew Bubba was aware of how devastating this would be. When she was a child, hadn’t she always been surrounded by her dolls and stuffed animals? Nurturing, her friends called her. She’d never doubted that someday she wanted to become a mother, have children. But at twenty-six, she’d thought she had plenty of time.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked.

She nodded her head. “I got a second opinion, and a third.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I was so scared, then so angry. I kept thinking, why did it have to happen to me?”

He gave her a brief, hard hug, then released her. “So that’s why Phillip hit the road, right? He didn’t want an instant family.”