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“Sleeping. You can see her for a moment, if you want.”
Recovering quickly, Ian stood and rubbed his face. “I don’t know about you, young man, but I can’t remember a more wretched night.”
Jordan disagreed. This had to be one of the most fantastic nights of his life.
“I’m headed home, and the minute I get there I’m pouring myself a stiff Scotch.” He threw his arm companionably over Jordan’s shoulders. “Care to join me?”
Jordan was sorely tempted. “Give me a rain check. I think I’ll stick around here for a while. I want to watchBethany have her first bath. The nurse said she’d let me hold her again when they’re finished.”
Ian slapped his back affectionately. “What about you and Molly? Are you going to be all right?”
“I think so.”
“Good.” With a farewell nod, Ian left the hospital.
Jordan spent the next hour with his newborn daughter, then slipped into Molly’s room. As he suspected, his wife was still asleep. He’d intended only to stay long enough to be sure she was resting comfortably. They could talk in the morning. But he soon discovered he couldn’t make himself leave.
He felt extraordinarily happy. Tired, too, but unlike any other tiredness he’d ever experienced. Sitting beside her, he studied the face of the woman he loved, his heart full of wonder.
He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew Molly’s hand was on his head.
“Jordan,” she whispered, sounding dreamy and vague, “what are you doing here?”
He’d closed his eyes, he recalled, crossed his arms against the side of the bed and leaned forward, but he hadn’t intended to rest more than five minutes.
“It seems to me,” he said, yawning, “this was where the conversation got started sometime yesterday afternoon. You asked me what I was doing here then, too.”
Her smile was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen, with only one exception—when she’d held Bethany immediately following her birth.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
She didn’t answer him. “You were crying.”
The display of tears embarrassed him, but he didn’tregret them. They’d come of their own accord; he hadn’t even realized what was happening. His emotions had taken control more than once in the past few weeks.
“I’ve never seen you cry before,” she continued.
His male image had been too important for that. “I’ve done my fair share of weeping lately,” he confessed, “sitting in Jeffrey’s nursery.…”
Molly looked about to break into tears herself. They should be celebrating instead of crying, he thought, but this acknowledgment, these tears, were a necessary thing.
“I’m sorry, Molly, for being such a jerk,” he said in a low voice. “Can you forgive me?”
“Yes,” she said. “It’s past and forgotten.”
“I’ll find a way of making it all up to you. I have a lot of ground to cover, starting from the moment you found Jeffrey’s body until a few months ago.”
She smiled through her tears. “I hope you’re aware that could take some doing.”
“You could sentence me to a life term—with you.”
“Consider yourself sentenced.” She raised her arms and Jordan wrapped her in his embrace.
“You never tried to call me,” she whispered, “not even once.”
“When?”
“These past few months. I needed you the most then.”
“But you said you didn’twantto see me!” Staying away had been torment, but he’d felt he had no choice other than to abide by her wishes. Now she was telling him she’d wanted him.
Before she could explain, he reassured her. “You won’t have to worry about that happening again,” he said. “I’ve got a life sentence—of the best kind—and I’m not about to be cheated out of a single day.”
Molly smiled softly and directed his mouth to hers. “The penalty should begin soon, don’t you think?”
Jordan laughed and then his lips met hers. Being with this woman for the rest of his life wasn’t a penalty, it was a gift. The greatest gift of all.
* * * * *
