Mother's Day Babies (Holiday Babies Series) (17 page)

Her gaze fell on the picture
lying on her night table—Lou with her in front of the Eiffel Tower. She’d
forgotten to tuck it away last night. Tears moistened her eyes. Her children,
grandchildren, and relatives waited for her, all so dear to her heart and
yet...

I miss you, Lou. I need you
.

Unable to stay another minute
without hearing his voice, she grabbed her cell phone and called his number.
The phone rang and rang, but only his voicemail answered. “Lou Roland speaking.
Please, leave a message.”

Her heart thumped furiously and she
whispered, “I love you, Lou. I miss you so much. I want to be with you,
anywhere you go.” She shut the connection with a sigh.

What’s the use
? He was too
far away.

By the time she went downstairs,
her sister Jaclyn and family had arrived. Her two married nieces chatted with Madelyn
and Heather. Jake, her handsome nephew, held Baby Chris and laughed at
something Monica said. He was a smart young man about to graduate from med
school.

Why not?
Aunt Barbara
smiled indulgently at the young couple.

Barbara greeted her sister and
family. Intimidated by the many compliments on her stunning figure and red
dress, she took refuge in her kitchen and warmed the food.

 When the door bell chimed a
moment later, Roxanne checked her watch. “The photographer is coming an hour
early. Let’s gather in the living room.”

“I’ll open for him,” Tiffany said
as she hastened to the foyer.

The door opened and then banged.
Tiffany returned with a frown. “There’s a man at the door who claims to be
Monica’s father.”

“Lou!” Barbara squealed.

“Dad!” Monica set Baby Lou in
Jake’s other arm and darted to the front door.

“Oh God, you left my boss at the
door,” Roxanne wailed.

Chapter Fourteen

Rooted in place, Lou stared at
the front door and cursed. The pretty girl had opened a crack without unhooking
the safety chain, scowled, and immediately shut the door in his face, saying
that she had to check if anyone knew him.

Damn, his daughter and grandsons
were inside, with the love of his life. To travel for eighteen hours, only to
be barred entrance to Barbara’s house and be treated like an unwanted beggar, was
unheard of. He’d even switched his phone off so that the KNR staff wouldn’t
bother him with demands. He balled his hands and banged on the door, then
heaved a deep breath.

Patience, man. You’re at the
end of the road.
He’d coped with days of frustration away from Barbara.
Bitter words had flown between him and Monte Damon when he’d decided that
Barbara was more important than his position at KNR. In the plane, he’d rehearsed
what he’d say and do when he finally surprised her by arriving in time for the
Mother’s Day dinner. And now...

Determined to look at the bright
side of things—the way Barbara always did—he burst out laughing. This would
make for a terrific story to tell his grandchildren one day.

 The door was snatched opened. The
aroma of home-cooked food invaded the doorway and unfurled a familiar longing
to relax in Barbara’s cozy kitchen.

“Dad, daddy, you came.” Monica
wrapped her arms around his neck for a wonderful hug. “Sorry, Dad. Tiffany had
to check before letting you in, according to our house’s instructions.”

“Don’t worry, baby.” He kept his
arm around her shoulders and let her guide him to the living room. So many
people gathered there watching him curiously. He immediately recognized Roxanne
and her sister Heather whom he’d met a few weeks ago.

“Lou, you came.” Barbara’s voice
reached him before he saw her. She ran toward him and he received her in his
arms. Her perfume encircled him and sealed his mind from the outside world.

“I missed you, darling,” he
whispered before covering her mouth. She laced her fingers behind his nape and
returned kiss for kiss. A deep silence shielded them. People must have
discretely left the room.

When he released Barbara to breathe,
he glanced above her shoulder. They were all there, eyes round, jaws slack,
mouths gaping, eyebrows scowling.

“I think we’ve shocked the hell
out of your family,” he murmured against her ear. “Let me clarify things before
they attack me with kitchen knives.”

Keeping his arm around her back,
he spoke louder, “Please, Barbara, why don’t you introduce me to your family? I
need to talk to them.”

But Roxanne was already walking
toward him, her arms crossed on her chest. “Yes, you should explain yourself,”
she spat, her eyes sending daggers. “May I introduce my boss, Mr. Lou Roland,
the News Director at KNR.”

“Dad, the one who shot the door
in your face, is the youngest sister, Tiffany,” Monica said with a chuckle.

“Ouch, I’m sorry, Mr. Roland.”
Tiffany blushed to her ears.

“No problem. You did well, Tiffany,
checking for intruders.”

“I’m Madelyn Ramsay Preston, the
eldest of the Ramsay clan, and this is my husband, Dr. Nick Preston.” Madelyn
came forward and shook his hand. Her husband followed suit.

“And here is Claire, our number
four,” Roxanne said with a softer tone than previously. “Our aunt, Jaclyn,
cousins Laura and Kathy. The young man holding your grandsons is my cousin,
Jake.”

“Sorry, I can’t shake hands with
you, Mr. Roland. As you can see, I’m too busy holding these darlings.” The
young man wriggled his head to save his glasses from Baby Chris’s probing hands
while Baby Lou’s fingers poked at his nose.

“Monica, your monsters are
attacking this young man from all sides. I think you should help,” Lou said
with an approving smile.
Nice young man
.

Lou scanned his audience. They
stared back, not scowling but not smiling either. He felt like he was in court
waiting for the jury’s verdict. Time to present his case.

“I was supposed to be in Tel Aviv
today for the most important interview of my career. I managed to get out of it,
because I couldn’t stand another day away from this lovely lady who owns my
heart.”

He turned to face Barbara. Her
eyes glistened with tears.

“Barbara, I love you more than
life itself, more than my career and more than I ever thought I could love a
woman.”

“Oh Lou, I love you too.”

Silence danced around them again,
but this time there were big smiles on every face.

Lou took both her hands in his,
and looked at his audience. “Dr. Madelyn, Roxanne, Heather, Claire, Tiffany,
may I ask for the hand of your mother in marriage?”

“Yes,” Madelyn and Roxanne
answered together.

“Oh my God,” Heather crossed her
hands while the two younger siblings beamed.

“It’s about time,” Monica
snapped.

“Quite, little girl.” Determined
to do it right, Lou dropped on one knee and kept Barbara’s hand in his. “Barbara,
my love, I’m miserable without you. Would you marry me?”

“Yes, Lou. Any time. I can’t live
without you, too.”

“Kiss her, daddy, kiss her,” Monica
ordered.

“Yes, kiss her,” several voices
echoed.

He stood and obliged with a long
tender kiss.

A knock on the door startled them
all. “I’ll get it,” Nick Preston said.

He returned with the
photographer.

“Are you ready for the family
portrait?” the man asked.

“Yes,” Barbara said. “Lou, I want
you beside me with all our kids and grandkids around us.”

Lou smiled. A strange wetness
tickled his eyes.

Behind him, Monica murmured,
“Dad, it’s so wonderful to have a family.” As always his daughter expressed his
exact feelings.

“Happy Mother’s Day, Barbara,” he
said, his voice strangely hoarse.

****

An hour later, Barbara still
walked on cloud nine.

“Dinner time,” Heather declared.
“But you, Mom, are our guest of honor. You sit at the head of the table with
Mr. Roland next to you. Madelyn and Roxanne are feeding the little ones.
Tiffany and Claire will warm and serve the food. And I’m making sure everything
is run the way you’d want it.”

Barbara didn’t try to protest.
Holding Lou’s hand, she sat him next to her. “I’m blessed with amazing
daughters. Aren’t they all adorable, pampering me like a delicate doll?”

“Let them do it, darling. My
dream has finally come true. I can’t thank you enough for making me part of
your loving family.”

“We have Monica to thank for it
too.”

“Talk about Monica.” Lou scanned
the dining room and lifted his chin high to have a glimpse of the living room.
“Where’s my daughter?”

“I saw her going upstairs to
breastfeed. Jake was carrying the babies for her.”

Lou’s eyebrows shot up. “For how
long has she known you nephew?”

“They just met today.” Barbara
chuckled. “She had him wrapped around her little finger in less than an hour.
He’s been holding the babies and following her non-stop.”

“Boys again and more trouble
probably. And here I’d hoped she’d follow your daughters’ example and make
something of herself with a good education.”

“Don’t misjudge her, Lou. In
July, she’ll be going to the University of Kentucky for two classes with
Heather, and she’ll start full time in September for a degree in journalism.”

“Really? Thank you, Barbara.
That’s good news.” A proud daddy’s smile replaced his frown. “And what’s Jake
doing in life?”

“He’s graduating from med school
in a month and starting a residency in pediatrics in Fort Lauderdale. He’ll be
working for Madelyn.”

“Really?” Lou repeated with
obvious enthusiasm. “Not bad at all. Maybe I’ll take Monica and the babies for
a vacation in Florida before she starts college in September.”

Barbara tilted her head.
“Matchmaking already?”

He burst out laughing. “She
doesn’t need me to hook a man, but I want to make sure she lands with the right
man like Roxanne.” He glanced at Roxy who’s just walked by.

“I’m done feeding and cleaning
Lucia and Julia. Now they’re playing with Madelyn’s twins in the backyard and
the dads are supervising.” She pulled a chair and sat next to them. “Lou, I
need your professional opinion.” Roxanne showed him a typed sheet of paper.

“Wrong time, Roxanne.” He shook
his head. “Today I’m on vacation. I refuse to talk business.”

“Just have a look at this. It’s a
person applying for a trainee position. You’ll be surprised.”

He glanced at the paper, then
took it and read it. Delighted at Roxanne’s initiative, Barbara smiled waiting
for his reaction.

“This is excellent. This guy is
gifted. Hire him.”

“It’s a she, and I gave her my
test. To write the same article for young adult and then for older readers. She
passed with flying colors although it needs some editing.”

“Hire her. You have my blessing.”

At that moment, Monica came downstairs
with Jake in tow, each carrying a baby.

“Would you like to meet the
author? Monica, come here,” Roxanne called.

“Really?” Lou jumped from his
chair. “You wrote this Monica? Oh my little girl. You have it in your genes. I
don’t need a DNA test after seeing this paper.”

“Would you hire me, Dad?”

“I already told Roxanne to do it
without hesitation, but you need a degree.”

“I’ll get it. I’m registered at
UK for journalism. I’ll write under Monica Jackson because I want to do it on
my own without the backing of your name.”

“Great determination, Monica. I
commend you for that. But I was hoping to adopt you since my name is not on
your birth certificate.”

“Oh daddy, I’d love to be
officially recognized as your daughter.” She hugged him. “Monica Roland, it has
a nice sound to it.”

Barbara knew now that Lou had
finally made peace with his past and turned the page.

“Dinner’s ready,” Claire
announced as she and Tiffany set the various dishes on the plate warmers
prepared on the credenza. “Ladies and gentlemen take your seats. Nick and Jeff
are serving the wine.”

“Lou, how did you get out of the
interview?” Barbara asked while Roxanne listened with interest.

“Ah, God was on my side that
Friday. I had just finished interviewing a member of their parliament when I
saw the Prime Minister coming out of a room with a group. I went to him,
introduced myself, and reminded him of our Monday interview. He said he hated
official interviews with us foreign reporters. They were waste of time.” Lou
took a sip of water and continued while Barbara, Roxanne and Monica hung on his
words.

“I told him, ‘Sir, if you give me
two minutes of your time now for a few questions, we can cancel Monday’s
meeting and I can go home and ask the woman I love to marry me.”

Barbara gasped. “You didn’t?”

He nodded. “I had already decided
we’d get married as soon as I returned. Anyhow, the PM burst out laughing and
said, ‘A shrewd reporter in love. Maybe you’ll be easier on me. Come I’ll give you
five minutes. Shoot your questions.’ Half an hour later I was at the airport. I
canceled the rest of my schedule and had to cope with the producer’s shouting
that I couldn’t mess up our news to suit myself. I told him I was quitting and
hung up on him.”

“You can’t quit,” Roxanne
snapped. “KNR TV network would collapse without you.”

Barbara grasped his arm. “Lou, I
don’t want you to quit. I’ll travel with you. I said it in my phone message.”

“What message? I had my phone off
in order not to be bothered by Monte Damon and others.”

Delighted, Barbara smiled. Lou
had come to her before she’d called him. “What if you work less? Can you do
that?”

“That’s my plan. I want to spend
more time with you and our family. I’ll need an Assistant Director. Can you
recommend a good one?” He arched an eyebrow and threw a pointed look at Roxanne
who beamed.

“Me? Oh my God.” Roxanne clapped
her hand on her mouth. “I’ll be honored, thank you, Lou, for a great
opportunity. I think it means we’ll have to move to Atlanta.” She bit her lip
and turned to her husband. “Greg, what do you think?”