Falling For Zoe (The Camerons of Tide's Way #1) (25 page)

Epilogue

WHAT’S THAT BIG machine, Daddy?
three-year-old Molly signed with agitated hands. Her huge blue eyes darted between Jake and the ultrasound equipment. A worried frown creased her little forehead.

Jake dropped to one knee beside Molly and signed back.
It’s the funny camera I told you about. The one that will let us see the babies inside Mommy’s tummy.

“We forgot to tell her it was a really
big
camera,” Jake told Zoe, as she settled herself onto the padded table in her obstetrician’s sonogram room.

Where do we see the pictures?
Molly asked, the frown turning more inquisitive than worried.
Will we get one to take home with us? I want to show it to Lynn and Lori. Can we take a picture to show Grandma Celia? And Daddy, we need one to send to Ava, too. She will be so excited she will want to come home right away. How can the camera see the babies? Will it hurt Mommy?
Her little hands flew fluently through the questions, even as her gaze zipped about the room, taking in all the intriguing paraphernalia.

Jake answered all her questions just as fluently. Molly was such a bright little girl. Full of questions. Full of a zest for life and every adventure it brought her way. Deafness hadn’t seemed to slow her down one bit. Jake thought she was way smarter than the average three-year-old, and a lot braver, too. Of course, he could be prejudiced. He felt that way about all his daughters, but Molly was special.

Every once in a while he remembered the incredibly stupid remark he’d once made to Zoe about Molly not being his. He’d been so wrong. Molly had been his from the moment he’d held her, bawling and wet and beautiful.

He’d been wrong about a lot of things in his life, but he had Zoe to keep him from blundering into dumb mistakes now. She was the wisest, most loving woman he’d ever known.

Zoe had been right about how Celia would flourish in the assisted living facility. Celia no longer remembered Jake’s name or where he fit into her life, but she never failed to greet him with the same loving smile and fierce hug. She didn’t remember the girls’ names, or Zoe’s either, but it never seemed to matter to any of them. Visiting Celia and the rest of the crew at Safe Haven was just a part of their lives, one that everyone had adjusted to, even himself.

Zoe had been pretty smart about teenage girls, too. Smart about what Ava needed from her father, anyway. Travis was a distant memory, and Ava was a bright, confident young woman with a healthy attitude toward boyfriends and life. She was in her first year of college and had met a new young man who seemed pretty special. Jake had liked him when Ava brought him home for a weekend visit, but as she’d gotten ready to return to school, she’d hugged her dad and told him he was still her best boyfriend. At least for now.

Jake simply couldn’t imagine his life without Zoe in it. He didn’t want to imagine life without her. His father had been right, too. A man could be married to his best friend. Jake bent to kiss his guiding star, then pulled a chair close to her side.

Come sit with me,
he signed to his youngest daughter as he sat down so Molly could scramble into his lap.

“Want to place any bets?” Zoe reached out to slip her hand into Jake’s. “I hope you aren’t going to be disappointed if we get two more girls.”

Jake leaned forward to plant a kiss on Zoe’s brow. “Never,” he promised. “If they’re as pretty as their mother and as clever as Molly, what’s not to love?”

But in spite of his glib assurances, he felt the tightening of longing in his gut. It would be nice to have a son. Not that he would love a son more than his girls, but still . . .

“Good morning!” The technician pushed her way into the room carrying an open laptop. “You ready to check out the twins?” Then she noticed Molly sitting on her father’s lap. “And who is this young lady?” She extended her hand toward Molly.

“This is my daughter, Molly,” Zoe began. “She can’t—”

“Oh, that’s right. Doctor Whalen told me.” The woman squatted to Molly’s level and began signing,
I’m Cathy. What’s your name?

Molly grinned and told Cathy in a sturdy, confident voice. “I am Molly Ann Cameron.” Saying it out loud was something she practiced regularly.

Cathy smiled and signed again.
That’s a lovely name for a very smart little girl.
Then she straightened.

“You know American Sign Language,” Zoe asked, sounding surprised.

The technician busied herself connecting the laptop to the machine. “We had a deaf patient my first year on the job. Learning the basics turned out to be the easiest way to converse with her.”

Cathy seated herself on a chair at Zoe’s other side and began applying jelly to the transducer. “Do you want to know the sex?” Cathy paused to look at Zoe then glanced at Jake with her eyebrows raised in question.

“I was never any good at waiting to open my presents at Christmas. I don’t think I could last until April not knowing,” Zoe answered.

“Me either,” Cathy chuckled as she pushed Zoe’s jersey up to bare her belly and began moving the transducer over Zoe’s distended stomach.

Jake leaned closer, clutching Molly against his chest and squeezing Zoe’s hand.

Two heads appeared, facing each other as if whispering together. He realized he was holding his breath and let it out slowly.
As long as they’re healthy
, he reminded himself
. It will be fine if they’re girls. I love my girls
. He hugged Molly closer.

“Well?” Zoe asked.

“One of them is sucking its thumb.” Cathy pointed to the screen.

“Amazing,” Jake breathed in awe. More than amazing. His heart swelled as he gazed at the two little lives created by the love he and Zoe shared.

The technician moved the transducer, and the view changed. Cathy pointed to a spot on the large monitor. “Hard to tell about either one from this angle.”

Jake had no idea what he was looking at. The technician adjusted the view again, prodded Zoe’s belly, moved the transducer, and wiggled it tight against Zoe’s skin. She told Zoe to roll over and face Jake.

“Gotta be boys!” Zoe heaved herself onto her side. “Men never tell you anything unless you drag it out of them.” She winked at Jake and blew him a kiss.

Molly’s head swiveled from Jake to Zoe to Cathy and back. The worried frown had returned.

Nothing to worry about,
Cathy signed.
We just want to take a look from the other side.

Everything’s okay, sweetie,
Jake added, giving Molly a quick squeeze. Then he reached out to reclaim Zoe’s hand.

Zoe held her other hand up, fingers crossed.

“Aha! Now that’s better.” Cathy pointed at the screen again and then looked at Jake with a grin stretched across her face. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into. Twin boys can be a handful!”

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Honey Spice Snaps

Jake’s favorite cookies from the kitchen of his mother, Sandy Marshall Cameron

Cream together: 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar and ¾ cup shortening

Blend in: 1 unbeaten egg and 1/4 cup honey

Add and stir well: 2 1/4 cups flour, 1-1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp cloves.

Chill, then roll into walnut size balls, dip first in water, then in sugar. Place on cookie sheet sugar side up.

Bake 12-15 minutes at 350˚

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Acknowledgments

Although he will never know it, I owe a great deal of gratitude to my high school English teacher, Fred Keyes, who spent two years teaching me the joy of creative writing, and the magic of words.

Sincere thanks to my editor Deborah Smith for her patience and care with this book, but even more for reaching out and taking the time to find out what I was working on at a time when my life had been so shattered by tragedy that I couldn’t pull myself together to make a pitch. Thank you also to Deb Dixon for seeing promise in me and for designing the perfect cover in spite of my dithering.  

Thanks also to my wonderful circle of writing friends: Elizabeth Sinclair for painstaking critique, Nancy Quatrano for helping me to keep the conflict in sight and cheering when I got it right, and Dolores Wilson and Vickie King for their unselfish interest and encouragement.  

And to my children with love: Lori, Alex, Rebecca, Bobbi, Noel and Jeff—my biggest cheerleaders. 

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About the Author

Skye Taylor has been a member of Romance Writers of America since 1995 and of the Ancient City chapter in St. Augustine, Florida, for the last four and a half years, where she has served as secretary, conference chair and treasurer. Her publishing credits to date include several non-fiction essays about life as a Peace Corps Volunteer and one mainstream political intrigue, WHATEVER IT TAKES, published in June 2012 by Wings Press. Although she has received several queries about a possible sequel, most of her writing has been romance and women’s fiction and it is in those genres she wants to concentrate her future efforts.