Undercover Heat (29 page)

Langley cringed. “I realize that now.”

“And second, I don’t plan on going anywhere. I don’t know if she’ll have me, but I’m
asking Carrie Ann to marry me.”

Ty braced himself for protest, but none came. Langley simply nodded and pulled his gloves from his jacket poc
ket.

“Then you have to understand something too, Hollister. The decision I made when Carrie was in the hospital was made out of love, not hate. If someone told you that your child would certainly die, and you could somehow prevent that, well there really wasn’t anything to decide in the first place, was there?”

Ty nodded. He did understand. He also knew that this time, things would be different. “Look, I can’t guarantee she’d have a quiet life, but I’d make sure it will be a happy one.”

“Don’t tell me. It’s her decision.” He slipped his glove on his left hand, but stopped short with the right. He extended it to Ty. “Peace?”

Ty looked at it a moment, before looking Langley in the face. Slowly, he unfolded his arms and placed his hand in his. “Peace,” he mumbled, with a small but solid shake.

“Well, I have to head home,” Jordon said
.
“The Inn employs a small staff of parishioners to help in a pinch, but they could use an extra set of hands. Give my best to Carrie?”

“Of course.” Ty stood stunned while the Deacon headed out the door. He expected a showdown or at least a long winded scene, where he would have to bite his tongue and plead his case all at once. But instead he was offered an olive branch. Maybe the Deacon practi
ced what he preached after all.

He opened the door and shuffled into the hall. It was deserted now, and the artificial lights had softened for night time. The only sounds, the hum of chatter from the nurse’s station, and the muffled cries of newborn babies, echoing from the nurser
y at the other end of the hall.

The door to Lizzie’s room stood open a crack, just enough to see inside. Lizzie slept, while Carrie sat in the rocking chair by the window. The baby was in her arms, and if he had to guess, he’d say she’d probably been there for a while.

He stood there a moment, marveling at the love in Carrie’s eyes as she gazed at the tiny child. She was a natural mother. Caring, selfless. He realized she was never the one who needed him. Her illness, her travails, she would have come through just fine if he had never been there. She was the one who rescued him, all one hundred and two pounds of her. From the uncertainty of his life, and the hollowness of his existence. Without her, he’d be n
othing.

She was his Carrie.

“How long have you been standing there?”

Ty pushed himself off the doorframe and came into the room. “Not long. I didn’t want to wake Lizzie or the baby.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about either one. They both sleep like rocks.”

He crossed the shadowed room and slipped his hand over her shoulder. The baby breathed deeply with her little pink lips parted. The paleness of her skin against the new-born blush rem
inded him of peaches and cream.

“She has red hair you know.”

“Hm
m?”

“Red hair
,
” Carrie repeated and gently pushed her tiny hat aside to show him. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

“She’s your niece. I guess she’d have to be.”

For the first time, Carrie turned away from the baby and smile
d at Ty. “Where have you been?”

“I went to get a cup of coffee and had a talk with your father.
”

“God, he didn’t make a scene did he?”

“No,” Ty said and chuckled. “But I sort of did.”

“Goodness
Tyler
, do I have to hear this, or can I just read the account in tomorrow’s Page Six of The Times?”

“No, it’s not like that. We talked about a few things, and I think everything is going to work out okay.” He ran his hands over her hair. “I was proud of you this morning in the interview, by the way. That took a lot of guts.”

“I want things to be different this time. I want us to be happy and have a healthy baby. The stress of hiding everything was too much.”

He understood exactly what she meant. He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her. “May I?” He held out his hands for the baby.

“
Tyler
, she’s sleeping.”

“Let me hold the baby, Carrie.”

She rolled her eyes then eased the blanket into his arms. “Be careful of her head.”

The baby stirred then relaxed with a deep breath. Ty smiled. Man, did he want this more than anything. Carrie was right about keeping secrets and holding back. It was time to tell her t
he whole truth.

“I knew what your father did, Carrie.” The sound of his own voice echoed in his ears. He bit his lip and stared down at the sleeping child, to
o afraid to look anywhere else.

“What?”

His heart pounded, and his throat constricted to a lump. “I didn’t tell you I knew you had the baby, because I thought you’d be angry at me for letting it happen.”

“I don’t understand,” she said. “What are you telling me?”

Afraid his limbs would no longer be trustworthy, he stood up and eased the baby into the bassinette. This was it. The last secret. The last obstacle that stood between them and the truth.

“I know you thought I left because I was angry or disappointed in you, and at the time I thought it was better that way. You would hate me, and I was okay with that because I figured I had caused you enough grief. You had your family to take care of you.”

He looked down at the sleeping child and tucked the blanket tighter around her. Tears pooled in his eyes. Five years before he had stood in a room much like this one, staring down at a little creature who looked a lot like the one he stared down at now. “I knew your father authorized the birth. I hated him for it but I see now he had his reasons. But that was my child. Our daughter.”

In the light from the hospital hallway, he saw the tears reflect in her eyes. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “Oh, m
y god, you saw her? I mean, she...we had a baby girl?

“I bribed a nurse.” He dragged a finger across his damp cheek. “It was important to me that I knew she at least existed even if no one else did. I named her, Carrie.”

Carrie’s lips trembled. “Oh my God.”

“The nurse gave me a slip of paper with her official name and a piece of her hair in an envelope. I’ve carried it with me ever since.” He looked at her through cloudy eyes. “Jamie had red hair, too,” he whispered. “Just like her mother.”

He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out the yellowed paper. Carefully, he unfolded it in front of her. It read ‘Jamie Carrie Hollister, April
10’
and stuck in between the wrinkles were
the finest strands of red hair.

“Oh, my God.”

“Baby, in my heart I never left you. I knew it, Layla knew it, and now you do, too.”

“Your tattoo. J.H.” She pulled up the sleeve on his arm. “That’s not from some movie. That’s us.”

“I didn’t mean to lie to you about it. I just figured you’d never see it.” He brought her in close, resting hi
s cheek on the top of her head.

“I never gave up on you, Tyler. There were times I wanted to and needed to. But I couldn’t.”

It occurred to him that he was the one who had given up on himself. No one, not fame, money, or a material trappings, he could think of, could pull him from the grips of despair. It was the Herculean strength of this tiny woman’s love that redeemed him.

“I told your father I wanted to marry you.”

“You did?” She raised her brow and looked at him. “That was gutsy.”

“Safest place to do it. I figured if he came after me with a shot gun, the emergency room was clo
se by.”

“Maybe it was good to catch him now. He’s so excited about being a grandfather. What about you?”

Ty looked down at her. “What about me what?”

“Are you excited? I know this came out of nowhere. And if this affects your career-”

“Who cares about my career, Carrie Ann?” He brushed his hand over her cheek.
“
If there was ever a role I wanted to play
, t
his is it.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“I want to get married right away. I was thinking Chr
istmas if you aren’t too busy.”

“
Tyler
, if this is a proposal, the one we scripted in front of a camera was better than this.”

“Okay then, how about I start over and begin by telling you how much I love you?”

“That’s better.”

“And what if I told you, I can’t wait for you to have our baby, and I intend on taking care of you and our family for as long as I live.”

“Keep going.”

“And I want to marry you as soon as possible.”

She nodded her head, as if assessing his performance. “Very nice, Hollister. Well paced, very heartfelt. I especially like the little tremor in your voice and the tears in your eyes.”

“So what’s it going to be Lexie Love? Yes or no?”

“Yes!” she blurted and wrapped her hands around his n
eck. “Now hurry up and kiss me.

Epilogue

Ty awoke to the muffled sound of his newborn son’s cry, and the shift of the mattress as his wife attempted to answer it. “Hey, what are you doing?” he whispered. “You promised me you’d let the nurse take care of the baby over night.”

“But he’s crying.”

“If you were in the hospital like you should be, the baby would be in the nursery, and you wouldn’t even know he was crying in the first place. Now come on, you gave birth an hour ago and the nurses have to check him out before they let you have him back, anyway.” He wrapped his arms gently around her and eased her back on the pillow. “You know, you promised me if you had the baby here at the farmhouse you’d rest more.”

“I feel fine. I’m just a little sore. Pushing out your nine pound son was a lot more painful than I bargained for.”

“I noticed. I think you fractured my hand.”

“Sorry about that.” She looked up at Ty and smiled. “I also find it fitting that your name sake chose to make his debut in the wee small hours of the morning. He must b
e a night person like his dad.”

“We can only hope. Can I get anything for you? Something to drink, eat?”

“No, just you.” She pulled his arm around her, but when he grazed her breast she winced.

“They hurt, huh?”

“They’re just full already.”

“You want me to ask the nurse for some pain relievers.”

“No!” she said. “I don’t want anything to get in the milk for the baby.”

He felt helpless and hated it. “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do?”

After a moment she rolled over and brought her hand to his cheek. “Honey, I know you want to help, and believe me I want you to. But at this moment I’m perfectly content with being right here in your arms. That’s all I ask.”

When she lay back down, she moaned. He could tell the pain was a lot worse than she let on.
“How about a shower?” he asked.

“I’m too tired to take a shower.”

“Who says you have to do anything.” Gently, he slipped his arms under her, and scooped her off the bed. Instead of protesting, she snuggled against him, letting him carry her to the bathroom.

“You know, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you as my nurse.”

“Hey, let me remind you I have played a doctor twice in my illustrious career.”

She looked up at him with a wrinkled brow. “A coroner and a veterinarian.”

“Oh, and I thought you didn’t watch my movies.” He maneuvered the shower knobs until the water felt suitably warmed. He set her down on the tile, her feet adjusting like a newborn doe.

He loved how she felt against him. The fullness of her body, and the pride he felt for the duty it had performed. Carrie Ann was the mother of his child, and that alone made him want to worship
her. “You feel better?”

“Uh huh,” she muttered, and he felt the tension ease. He took the bar of soap and stroked it over her, then went for the bottle of lilac shampoo. “So the doctor said six weeks, right?”

He felt her smile against his chest. “Yes, and I trust you’ll behave for that long.”

“I’m not worried about me. It
might drive you crazy, though.”

She punched him playfully, and he kissed the top of her wet head.

“You know,” Ty said, “I meant to tell you. Now that the baby is born, I was thinking that I should probably think about getting back to work. I was talking with a few people about a new project.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes, well it’s sort of a sequel, or I guess a new movie with old characters. Problem is, I’m not sure if the other actor wants to reprise their role.”

“What’s the problem? They have other commitments?”

He rinsed the conditioner from her hair and wiped the remnants from her cheeks. “You could say that. Anyway, the producer thinks maybe the other actor could be talked into doing it, and suggested I take a shot.”

“Well, I suppose if it’s a good role, and the script is acceptabl
e. You can be very persuasive.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He took her face in his hands. “What do you say Lexie Love? Wanna be my costar?”

Spray from the shower stuck to her lashes. She was pale but her eyes bright, her pink lips formed a smile. “Honey, I don’t know. I just had a baby, and I have this place to run.”

“Four month shoot right here in
New York
. No travel. The baby stays here, and so do we. I already talked to Lizzie. She’s willing to help with babysitting.”

“Ty, Lizzie already has Emily to worry about.”

“And Manny is also really ex
c
ited about it. I think he thinks that a small baby is much easier to look after tha
n
a big one.”

“I’m curious about that myself.”

“Carrie, everything is all worked out. Just say the word.”

When she stumbled, he caught her, and swung her back in his arms. “Maybe we should get you back to bed, darlin’.” He turned off the water and wrapped her in a towel. With patient hands, he dressed her and dried her hair, before tucking her back under the sheets.

“You spoil me,” she mumbled.

“That’s the idea.”

He slid in next to her, stroking her arm to relax them both. “I’m right here,” he whispered in her ear, but realized the words were meant more for his own. He laced his fingers in her damp hair as if anchoring himself to what was his. “I’m not going anywhere, Carrie Ann. Never.”

As he drifted, he realized he never really had. He had always been there, hidden in her heart, belonging to her, and only her. And now he was finally home
.

The End