A Hunka Hunka Nursing Love (Women's Fiction) (24 page)

His eyebrows drew together. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Shit. Now he looks mad
. “I wanted to wait until I was pretty confident I wouldn’t lose it. I just had the ultrasound this morning.”

His mouth hung ajar as his gaze fell to her abdomen.

Say something
, she wanted to scream. But she remained silent.

When he raised his eyes to meet hers again, the corners of his mouth inched up until they spread into a huge smile.

“So you’re not mad?” she squeaked.

“Mad? Are you kidding? I’m thrilled! Why would I be mad?”

The tightness in her neck eased and she could breathe again. “Well, because we’re not married, and you told me you weren’t a hundred percent sure you wanted kids. I also didn’t want you to think this is why I wanted you back. I didn’t even know for sure I was pregnant until about a week ago. The reason I went to the doctor in the first place was because I was having some pain down there, and after what happened to Mom, I was afraid . . .”

“Oh, Valerie.” He placed a hand on her cheek. “You were afraid you had cancer?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure what it was. I never dreamed . . .”

“Me, either. Are you sure you want to have a child, at this point in your life?”

“Oh, absolutely. There are a lot of women in their forties doing it nowadays. If I can run two businesses, I can certainly raise one child. With help, of course. I just so happen to know of a great child-care center.”

He returned her grin.

“And,” she continued, “I have a feeling Pam and Wanda will be excellent godparents. And I know you’ll be a great dad.” Or was she jumping to conclusions? “That is, if you want to be involved in this child’s life.”

“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I know you wanted the child you and Lina lost, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it now.”

He took hold of her shoulders. “Believe me, I want this. And I know you’ll make a wonderful mom.”

“Oh, Keith.” She hugged him with the intensity of a giddy child. “I feel guilty being happy on the day of my mom’s funeral, but at the same time, I sort of think this was meant to be. One life ends and another begins.”

He smiled. “The circle of life.”

“Right. And if this kid is anything like it’s dearly departed grandmother, it’ll keep both of us running in circles.”

He chuckled and nodded in agreement. “A mini Helen.”

“Actually, I was thinking today that if it is a girl, I’d like to name her Helen.”

He smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

She placed a hand on her belly. “I hope to God I don’t lose it. But I’ve decided that if I do, I’m going to adopt. I’m not going to let anything keep me from becoming a mother this time.”

His eyes mirrored her enthusiasm. “Good for you. For
us
.”

For us. How wonderful that sounds
. “It recently hit me that Greg’s refusal to even consider adoption was probably the main reason I fell out of love with him.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that with me. I’m big on adoption. There are so many kids in the world who need a good home.”

“True. Although I do worry it might be a lot harder for someone my age to get a baby.”

“Oh, stop worrying about what
might
happen.”

“Jesus, you sound just like Mom now.”

He tilted his head. “She was a wise woman.”

She felt that tug in her chest again, but the ache had softened a touch. “Yeah. She was.”

He gathered her into his arms and leaned back against the couch. “If you’re always worried about the future, you can’t enjoy the present. Let’s just focus on the joy we have right now.”

“Yes.” She snuggled as close to him as possible. “Let’s.”

Epilogue

Helen Marie Palka-Nuber looked like a preemie in the hefty arms of her “Great Uncle” Charlie, even though her birth weight had been slightly above average. He tapped the tip of her nose as gingerly as he might test the heat of a burner. “I think she has her grandmother’s nose.”

Valerie glanced with amusement at the others gathered around her hospital bed—Keith, Pam, and Wanda. “I think you’re absolutely right.”

Charlie shifted his attention to Valerie. “So how was the delivery?”

“Well, she certainly gave me a hard time. But considering who she’s named after, that’s not surprising.”

Pam crossed her arms. “So what exactly are godparents supposed to do, besides take over if you guys kick the bucket?”

“I’m pretty sure they have to babysit every weekend, right?” Keith asked.

“Right,” Valerie said. And considering how nearly every muscle in her body ached at the moment, she almost meant it.

Wanda reached over and stroked Helen’s cheek with the back of her fingers. “That would be fine with me.”

Valerie chuckled. “You might want to wait and see how much of my mom’s stubbornness she inherited before making any commitments. And, speaking of commitments, Keith and I were talking about how we’d like to do something more formal than the quickie courthouse wedding we had, and we were wondering if you guys might like to do a double commitment ceremony.”

Pam and Wanda looked at each other with wide eyes. “Uh,” Pam said, “we’ll have to think about it.”

“Oh, fuck that,” Wanda said. “Let’s do it. We’ve been talking about it for ten years. What are we waiting for?”

A smile slowly gained traction on Pam’s face. “Okay then.” She turned to Valerie and Keith. “I guess we’ll do it.”

Pam and Wanda then embraced while the others clapped and cheered, which, unfortunately, woke the baby.

“Oh, dear.” Charlie delivered her back to her mother’s arms. “A crying female always gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

Valerie gladly accepted the return of her little blessing, and Helen responded by settling down.

Pam touched Valerie’s upper arm. “We should get going so you can get some rest.”

“Okay,” Valerie nodded. “Thanks for coming, and for the truffles.”

They all said their farewells, and soon it was just the three of them.

Keith stood at the head of the bed with his arm draped above Valerie’s shoulders. “I’m sure every parent in history has said this, but, honestly, I think she’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen.”

“Hmm. That’s because she is.” She glanced up at him. “You should probably head on home, too. I know you’re as exhausted as I am.”

“No, I’ll stay here tonight. That’s the whole point of having that sleeping chair in the room.”

“I just didn’t know if you’d really be comfortable in that thing.”

“After what you went through, I think I can handle a little discomfort. Besides, this is where it all started.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is where we met. Down in the ER.”

“Oh, right!” She gently rocked Helen side to side. “I think Mom would have been thrilled to know her mishap led to this little angel.”

“Let’s assume she does know.”

Valerie looked up at Keith’s placid face and then back down at her precious daughter. “Yes.” She kissed the tiny nose. “Let’s.”

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A Hunka Hunka Nursing Love.
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