Discovering Sophie (39 page)

“They already adore you, especially since I told them I wasn’t good enough for you, but for some reason, you seem to love me anyway.”

“There are a lot of reasons why I love you.”

“I know, and I expect you to tell them every single one.”

“Wow.” She wound her arms around his neck again. “We’re getting married.”

“Yeah.” Jack settled his hands on her waist. “Thanks for saying yes, by the way.”

She laughed. “Before you even asked.”

Camille suddenly appeared, one hand on her hip and an indignant look on her face. “Everyone sent me out here to find out what the verdict is.”

“We’re coming in right now. But first—” Jack lowered his head and gazed into Sophie’s eyes. “—I believe my fiancée was just about to kiss me again.”

A beguiling smile curved Sophie’s lips before she pressed her mouth to his, kissing him in a way that staked her claim. Jack surrendered easily and decided to take his time. He was vaguely aware of Camille’s fading footsteps and the sound of a door opening.

“They won’t be coming in anytime soon,” Camille announced loudly. “But in case you’re wondering, she said yes.”

Epilogue: One year later

Sophie
had just barely closed her eyes when the crying started again. She moved to climb out of bed when Jack pulled her back down. “I’ll get him, honey.”

She didn’t argue. Their two and half month old son, Carson, had cut his first tooth and hadn’t been very happy about it. The tooth had finally emerged a few days ago, but Carson had grown used to having either his mom or dad hold him all the time, and now he didn’t like being left in his crib.

“He shouldn’t be hungry, but he might need a diaper change.”

“I got this,” Jack said as he leaned over and kissed her. “Now go to sleep.”

Her eyes were shut before Jack got up. As soon as the crying stopped, she let herself start to relax. Jack had the magic touch when it came to getting Carson to sleep. Just before she let go and gave into the fatigue, something else grabbed her attention.

She rose up on one elbow and listened to the baby monitor. Jack was singing a Christmas song to the baby.

She listened to the melody of
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
and decided she needed to see this for herself. There were times when she thought she’d heard him singing to Carson, but when she’d asked him, Jack would always smile and say she must have been dreaming.

Climbing out of bed, she tiptoed across the floor and down the hallway to the nursery. Staying as quiet as possible she peeked inside the room and felt her breath catch at the sight before her.

In the soft glow from the miniature Christmas tree sitting on the dresser, Jack stood with the baby pressed snuggly against his white tee, gently jostling him and singing the Christmas song. Carson didn’t make a sound as his father lulled him back to sleep.

Leaning against the doorjamb, she continued to watch her husband sing softly to their son. It was hard to believe that in a few days, she and Jack would celebrate their first wedding anniversary, and they would be celebrating it with a new baby.

When they’d gotten married last year, she and Jack had decided not to use anything to prevent pregnancy. Sophie was sure it would take her a while since she was older and hadn’t always had a regular cycle. The baby had been a honeymoon surprise, but both she and Jack had been thrilled with the prospect of becoming parents.

The singing stopped, and Jack stared down into their son’s face, watching the tiny little boy with an expression of awe and tenderness. After a few moments, he pressed a kiss against the baby’s downy hair and then carefully laid him back down in the crib.

Carson immediately started whimpering, and Jack leaned over and gently picked him up.

“Okay, little guy. You and me need to have a talk man to man.” He cradled the baby in one of his impressive arms and held out his pinkie finger for Carson to wrap his tiny hand around. “I know you love Mommy. So do I, but she needs her sleep or she’ll get real cranky.”

Sophie’s mouth dropped open, but she kept quiet, interested in what else Jack might say.

“She’s not cranky very often, and that’s the way we want to keep it.” Jack pressed a kiss to the baby’s forehead. “So how about you try to be a good boy and sleep for a few hours? Then maybe Mommy will be a good girl and go to sleep right now like she’s supposed to be.”

Busted.

Jack turned and winked at her, making her knees go weak. She smiled and walked across the room, still as madly in love with her husband as the day she had married him.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Jack whispered.

“I heard singing.”

He grinned. “So now you know my secret.”

“Yes I do.” She slipped her arms around him, resting the side of her face against his bicep so she could stare at their baby. “He’s so incredible.”

“Yeah, we make pretty cute babies.”

“We sure do.” Carson was a combination of both of them. He had Sophie’s nose and dark hair, but his eyes were the same color of blue as Jack’s.

The heat of Jack’s body warmed Sophie, and she found herself struggling to stay awake. The frequent middle of the night feedings was taking their toll. She wasn’t sure how she’d survived all those sleepless nights during her residency. Despite being exhausted, she was blissfully happy. Being a wife and mother was all she had dreamed about and more.

As soon as she’d found out she was pregnant, Sophie had negotiated her contract with the hospital to reduce her hours by half once she had the baby. After her three month maternity leave, she only had another year commitment, and then she planned to join a large pediatric practice where she would work one to two days a week and take weekend call every eight weeks.

On the days she worked, Jack would be taking care of Carson. Over the year, he’d expanded his business of guiding medical professionals and other humanitarian organizations through the jungle by making Hector a partner and hiring a couple of other men Hector had recommended. Jack didn’t actually lead any more expeditions, leaving that to Hector. He mainly focused on marketing and finding and coordinating the groups. He’d also turned his house into a rental property. That had been so successful Jack had purchased two other homes and was looking for another one. Hector’s wife, Isabelle, had turned out to be a great property manager.

“Let’s see if this little guy will stay asleep,” Jack said, gently laying the baby down. Carson squirmed a little but didn’t open his eyes or start to cry. Jack put his arm around Sophie, and she leaned close, taking in his familiar scent.

They watched the baby for several minutes, and Sophie had to fight the urge to reach out and stroke his soft cheek.

“I think you did it,” Sophie whispered.

“For now.” Jack guided Sophie out of the nursery. “You need to go back to bed and this time stay there.”

“I will, but if I have a hard time falling asleep, will you sing to me too?” Sophie teased.

A mischievous grin spread across Jack’s handsome face. “If you can’t fall asleep, I won’t be singing to you.”

Sophie’s laugh was cut off by Jack’s kiss. A few minutes later, Jack eased back and looked into her eyes. “Now, are you going to go to sleep?”

“Yes.” She could barely keep her eyes open.

“Good.” Jack took her hand and led her back to their bedroom. “There’s plenty of milk in the freezer, so I’ll get up with him for the next feeding.” He kissed Sophie on the forehead. “You need to get as much rest as possible. My family will be here tomorrow, and then I doubt either of us will get much down time.”

“Oh, it might be crazy and busy, but I have a feeling your mom and sister-in-law are going to spoil me.” Sophie climbed into bed, and Jack slid in next to her. “They’re insisting on doing all the cooking, and Julia has called dibs on Carson.”

Sophie snuggled up to Jack, and he tucked an arm around her. “Does that mean I can sneak off with you for a night to celebrate our anniversary?”

“I’ll sneak off with you anywhere, Jack Mathison,” Sophie said on a yawn.

He chuckled and tightened his hold on her. “I love you, Sophie.”

“I love you too.” Sophie snuggled closer and tried to go to sleep. After a few minutes, she said, “Jack, are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“I think you need to sing me to sleep.”

Jack laughed and kissed her instead.

I hope you enjoyed reading
Discovering Sophie
.
If you did, please consider leaving a positive review. Thank you.

You might also like to read
Fair Catch
.

And
Under a Georgia Moon
.

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Looking for more clean romance? Try
Cassie’s Cowboy Crave
by Kimberly Krey
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Fair Catch

By

Cindy Roland Anderson

Chapter One

Ellie
Garrett’s feet pounded rhythmically against the pavement, her anger growing with each step as her mind replayed the frustrating phone call she had received thirty minutes ago. Sweat trickled down her back as she made another loop around the jogging trail. She wiped her hand across her forehead and slowed her tempo. She needed to cool down—in more ways than one.

Thomas Garrett, her ex-husband, had done it again. He’d managed to make her angry, disappoint their son Cade, and place the blame on Ellie’s shoulders. She already had too much weight on her shoulders. Raising her four-year-old son by herself was more than enough.

Decreasing her pace down to a brisk walk, Ellie slowly blew out her breath and looked around the affluent area where she now resided. She was definitely the little fish in the big pond. Six months ago her dad, a professor of ancient history at the University of Colorado, fulfilled a life-long dream by taking a position in England for the next two years, teaching at Cambridge.

When her parents left, Ellie and Cade moved from their tiny condo in Boulder, Colorado to her parents’ house in Pleasant Wood, a suburb of Denver, allowing her to quit her part-time job.

So now, according to Thomas, she was rolling in the money and could take Cade to Disneyland herself. She added delusional to his list of defective qualities.

Glancing at her watch, she noted it was almost time to pick up Cade from preschool. Inevitably, he would ask about going to Disneyland with his dad. How was she supposed to explain to her little boy that his father had another pressing obligation and wouldn’t be coming?

“Father. Right,” Ellie muttered. She wished for once in his life Thomas would try to be a father. Currently, he lived in Australia, enjoying the life he’d always dreamed about. Translation: Single with zero responsibilities.

A derisive puff of air escaped between her lips when she thought about his lame excuses. Ellie couldn’t relate. Cade—their son—was her only obligation. More than likely, Thomas’s urgent business involved a woman.

Pulling the band from her ponytail, she finger combed a few blonde strands of her long curly hair away from her face. The mild breeze sifted through her curls and cooled her off. A young couple, pushing a toddler in a stroller, walked in front of her. When Cade had been that size, Ellie had been all alone.

Twisting the band back around her hair, she set off at a slow jog toward home. She needed a shower. And chocolate.

Coming up behind her neighbor’s house, tiny branches and pebbles crunched beneath her shoes as she veered off the paved trail. As she entered the secluded cul-de-sac, Ellie saw a large moving truck parked at the enormous two-story house across the street from her parents’ home. She stopped running and stared at the gorgeous French Country manor. Made of gray stone, it resembled a small castle, complete with a stone turret bordering the left side. On the market for nearly two years, everyone was anxious to meet the new owner, especially since the sale was confidential.

Ellie squinted against the bright May sun, looking for any kind of evidence the new owners had children. She couldn’t tell, but maybe her friend would know something.

Betsy Stewart stood on the sidewalk, no doubt trying to be the first one to welcome the mystery home-owners before anyone else. Her husband, Owen, was the pastor of Pleasant Wood Community Church, and knew the identity of the anonymous buyer. He wasn’t allowed to say anything to anyone—including his wife. The suspense was killing Betsy.

Cutting across the road, Ellie headed toward her neighbor. Betsy’s short, auburn hair swayed as she whirled around, a wide smile stretched across her tanned face. “Ellie, can you believe we’ll finally get to meet the new owners?”

>
Ellie wasn’t as intrigued as Betsy. She just hoped the new neighbor wouldn’t mind a precocious four-year-old who, on occasion, wandered into houses without his mother’s knowledge.

“It’ll be nice to meet them. If I’m lucky, Cade will get a playmate.”

While she watched the movers carry in an entertainment center, Ellie pulled at the front of her sweat-dampened T-shirt, allowing cool air to pass through. Sure, having the empty house occupied would be a good thing, but as far as Ellie was concerned, the cul-de-sac she lived in was perfect just the way it was. The Stewarts lived on one side. The Colemans, a nice jet-setting retired couple, lived on the other.

The gorgeous house across the street was flanked by a huge yard. The entire property actually consisted of the other three lots that had been available when her parents had built their home. The asking price was astronomical, and she felt a little intimidated by the kind of people who could afford such a home.