Baby Makes Six (14 page)

Bullet wounds sucked. There was no other way to describe it. His shoulder and side burned like the devil and the surrounding tissue was bruised and swollen.

After recuperating another two days at the hospital, he’d been discharged with strict orders to take things easy and rest as much as possible.

He’d been home four days. His parents had insisted he go home with them, and knowing the state he was in, Eddie didn’t put up much of a fight. The first twenty-four hours he could hardly roll over without assistance. His mother and sister had taken turns changing his bandages, monitoring his pain medication and bringing him crushed ice and water.

To his shame, his dad had been on duty, too, helping him into the bathroom a few times a day. He’d never seen his dad so patient or quiet.

Now he was out of his old bedroom and sitting on the couch, a TV tray with chicken noodle soup beside him, some crackers and a Diet Coke. To his right, Melanie was eating a plate of lasagna. He was starving and his mom’s pasta sauce smelled like heaven. “Give me some of that.”

Like a kid, she pulled it a little closer to herself. “No
way. Mom said you have to have soup tonight. You’ll get sick eating lasagna.”

“The hell I will. Mel, I’m sick of soup. And what’s up with Diet Coke? I bet I’ve lost five pounds since I got shot. You know that’s not good. I need some calories.”

“Why don’t you just rub your weight loss in a little harder?”

Though Melanie certainly didn’t have anything to worry about, Eddie pretended to look contrite. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you self-conscious. When you get shot twice, I’ll salute you. Believe me, then you won’t care a thing about dieting.”

She rolled her eyes. “You must be feeling better.”

“Only a little. Remember, I have multiple bullet wounds,” he said with a grin.

“The second wound wasn’t that bad. I heard it was practically a scratch.”

“So can I have some pasta?”

“Not on your life. Drink your soup and don’t fuss about the Diet Coke. You know it’s Mom’s cure-all.”

“Hell, Melanie, it’s a good thing you aren’t a nurse, ’cause you’ve got just about the worst bedside manner ever. And just for the record, the first hole is bad enough for two. I almost died, you know.”

All traces of humor fled and she visibly paled. “You’re not being funny, Ed. Don’t talk about almost dying again.”

“Why? It’s true.”

“Ed, you weren’t there. You don’t know what it’s like to see someone in the hospital and not be able to do a thing for him.”

“I’ve got an idea,” he said dryly. “It wasn’t that long ago that you were in the hospital getting stitched up.” But as soon as he said the words, he wished he
could take them back. He knew she was still traumatized by the mugging. And Shawn had told him that she was still very sensitive about her scars. “Hey, sorry I brought that up.”

“Don’t be. I’m good now, and so are you. Let’s just try to stay out of hospital for a while, okay?”

“I’m fine with that. So I heard you and John were quite the pair in the waiting room.”

“I do not want to talk about John.”

Sipping his soda, he grew concerned. “Why? Did he hurt you?”

She waved a hand. “Oh, stop. Of course he didn’t hurt me. He’s been great. Fine. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I’m just not ready, Ed.”

“Mel, you’ve got to trust somebody soon. You know all men aren’t like that piece of scum who attacked you.”

She looked away. “I know. Even the counselor said I need to step up and take some chances. But it’s still hard.”

“That’s just because you need a little push.” Happy to be talking about anything other than himself, he warmed up to the idea. “If Nelson isn’t for you…how about Mark or Steve? I know either of them would love to take you out.” He could trust them to be gentlemen, too.

But instead of even saying she’d think about it, she shook her head. “No way am I dating more than one cop at a time.”

“Why not? You know what they say about cops—they’re always wanting to give you a hand.”

Melanie groaned. “Shut up. And save me from any more lame jokes, too.” Pointing to his bowl, she said, “Eat.”

“Mel—”

“I hear you, Ed. And I do want to date. Just not yet.”

“All right.”

The ever-present voice of wisdom called up from the kitchen. “Children? Are you two arguing again?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. He was thirty, for crying out loud.

Melanie answered that one. “No, we are not.”

“Be careful with Eddie. He’s been shot, you know.”

“I will,” Melanie called before glaring at him. “When will Mom ever stop babying you?”

“Hopefully never. So don’t forget to be careful with me,” he warned with a smirk.

“I am being careful. I’m just trying to eat lasagna.”

“I want lasagna, Ma,” he called. “Please? I’m sick of soup.”

“Oh, Eddie, I don’t know.”

“Please, Ma?”

To his surprise, his mom appeared a moment later with a sliver of lasagna and a thick piece of bread, generously slathered with butter, before he could whine another minute. “Here you go, son. Eat up, now. Shawn’s going to stop by, you know.”

His pulse leaped a bit. He didn’t dare wonder if his enthusiasm was for the girls or for his ex-wife. “It will be good to see her.”

His mom sat on the edge of his bed almost between him and Melanie. She watched while he tore off a piece of bread and experimentally chewed. Once he took another bite, she spoke again. “She said she had a good visit with you the other day.”

“We watched a little baseball.” He chuckled. “Now that I think about it, she hardly said a word about my injuries.”

“I bet she figured you’d already suffered through enough of those questions.”

Images floated in his head, mixed up and imprinted
themselves. “She’s a good cop’s wife,” he agreed. “A lot of other officers complain about their spouses not understanding, but she always was good in a crisis. In some ways, she can be as tough as nails.”

“She’s the best. I’ve never heard her complain about your job, never.”

“She made me a picnic basket once when I was doing a wiretap. That thing was so jam-packed with brownies and sandwiches, we had cops who didn’t want to leave.” Forking a piece of pasta in his mouth, he mumbled, “I’d forgotten about things like that.”

“Maybe you forgot too much,” Melanie interjected. “When you two were separated, it always seemed like you only cared about things Shawn didn’t do. You were hard on her.”

“It was a difficult time. Losing that baby tore us up. Mom, when did Shawn say she was coming?”

“Sometime this afternoon.” As if on cue, they heard the back door open.

“Mom? Mel? Are you here?”

“We’re in the living room with Eddie.”

Eddie turned to see Shawn’s face explode in a wreath of happy smiles. “You’re out of bed!”

Before he could say a word, his three little girls scampered on through, each one looking more jubilant than the next.

“Daddy!” Elsie cried. “Daddy!”

Sharon stood up to run interference. He braced himself to get leaped on. But to his surprise, all three skidded to a stop inches in front of his bed. “I’m sure glad you didn’t jump on me,” he said.

“Mommy made us practice seeing you,” Kit explained.

Shawn blushed. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I can give hugs if they’re sweet.”

One by one, each of his precious girls gave him a sweet hug and a tiny kiss on the cheek. They smelled of baby powder and lemonade and Downy. Shawn had obviously gotten them in super shape to pay him a visit.

“I wanna see your bandages!” Mary cried.

Because he’d been young once, he obligingly pulled off his shirt. Little Elsie’s eyes widened and her mouth formed a little O as she stepped closer. “Hurt?”

“Uh-huh.”

Y
OU ARE A BAD WOMAN,
Shawn told herself sternly as she watched Mary and Kit gently pat the center of their daddy’s smooth bronze chest. He’s injured. He’s with your children. You are divorced!

But she couldn’t stop looking at that very faint line of blond hair that made its way down the center of his belly and snaked down past the waistband of his pajama bottoms. All she could remember was when his body was hers to touch.

When Melanie coughed and exited the room, Shawn reddened. She’d been spotted staring! Now that was embarrassing. “Girls, why don’t you go get your bags? We’ll give our presents to Daddy.”

All three trotted off.

“I’m glad you came by,” he said.

“I am, too.”

He scanned her face. “Didn’t you have to work?”

“I traded with some girls.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m glad I came over.” Smiling at Sharon, who’d remained suspiciously quiet, Shawn said, “So how’s our patient been doing today?”

“He’s been crabby.”

Unable to stop herself, she combed away a stray curl
from his forehead with her fingers. “You need to try and be patient, don’t you think?”

Slowly he took her hand and slipped it in between his two palms. “I’ll try.”

The girls flew in again, and after unwrapping three colorful get-well pictures, a box of chocolates and a deck of cards, Eddie glanced toward her. “What are the cards for?”

“Thought you might want to play a round of gin rummy.”

“You got time?”

“Always.”

Looking pleased, Sharon said, “I’ll bring over some lasagna for you, Shawn. Girls, want to eat some dinner in the kitchen and watch Disney?”

As expected, the girls followed their grandmother as if she were the Pied Piper.

So she wouldn’t be tempted to hold his hand again, Shawn got to business shuffling cards. “You’re full of surprises, that’s a fact.”

“So are you,” he said after he picked up his ten cards. “First you visit at the hospital, now you’re playing gin.”

“Melanie told me that you broke things off with Jayne.”

He discarded a four. “You heard right.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

He shrugged. “It was probably for the best. When she showed up in recovery and then found out that I’d been calling for you, I think we both realized that I’m not ready to move on. Plus, three daughters and a baby on the way is a bit much for someone to take on, don’t you think?”

“I guess it depends on what a gal wants in a husband,” Shawn said while discarding a king of hearts and replacing it with a seven of spades.

“Long ago…what did you want, Shawn?”

That was easy. “Me? I wanted a man to love me.”

“I did. I loved you a lot.”

“I know. At one time we certainly loved each other a lot, didn’t we?”

“At one time, I didn’t think it would be possible to stop.”

She’d won the game. Laying down her winning cards, she murmured, “I didn’t think I’d ever stop, either.” Looking into his eyes, she murmured, “I guess anything can happen, huh? Anything at all.”

He wasn’t dating Jayne. It was over.

For the next two weeks those two statements kept rolling through her head as she went about her days.

Though there could have been a number of reasons things with the kindergarten teacher went south, Shawn’s heart knew there was only one real reason. The baby.

But had Jayne been upset that Shawn and Eddie had gotten together one night after they’d divorced? Or had Eddie called things off because his feelings about Shawn had changed?

Shawn had no way of knowing. And none of it was her business. But, gosh, she sure wished she knew.

Seeing how stressed she was, Ramona encouraged Shawn to take a leave of absence, reminding Shawn that she’d be putting in even more hours when she came off maternity leave. With that in mind, Shawn had called Bill and Sharon, asked if she could stay at their condo for a while and then packed up the girls.

Now their days were a little less stressful and a whole lot more sandy and sunny.

“Mommy, look at me!” Mary called out from her left, bringing Shawn’s attention back to their spot on the beach.

“I do see you! Well, at least some of you! Mary,
honey, you look like a mummy,” Shawn teased as Kit and Elsie patted more and more sand on top of her. “Mind Mary’s eyes, now,” she warned, more out of habit than anything else. The girls had been covering each other up in the sand from the time they’d started playing in it.

Satisfied everyone was happy for a few moments, Shawn tried to concentrate on the rolling waves in front of her and the whispering voice of the surf. As usual, the sound was hypnotizing, lulling her nerves and encouraging her to think just a little bit more about the decisions she’d been making in life.

Lately she’d made some doozies. Maybe it was time to give everything another bit of reflection.

She’d never been one to think about fate, but she did have to wonder if maybe this baby was meant to be, a sign that she and Eddie did have a good thing together.

His wounds had shaken her something awful, too. She’d felt like she’d aged twenty years in the fifteen minutes it had taken her to get to the hospital. Thank goodness Tricia had volunteered to drive her. As they’d crossed the city from the Carnegie offices to the hospital, she’d felt numb and as if she was in a dream.

Later, when she and Eddie had watched the ball game, everything had seemed so…normal—like it was the only place on earth she needed to be.

How had things gotten so screwed up?

What had been wrong with their marriage? Miscommunication? Just plain exhaustion? Too much hurt from the miscarriage? Had they grown apart, or had they ever grown together?

The girls’ laughter caused her attention to shift. Her middle daughter was anxiously trying to lift her arms out of their covering but not having much luck. “Mary, are you ready to be free?”

“Uh-huh.”

“She’s trapped, Mommy!”

“I know, Kit, but you need to dig Mary out.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“I want out!” Mary cried, her voice shrill.

“Now, please.”

“All right.” In short order, Kit rolled to her knees, quickly pushed away the sand and freed her little sister. “You’re out now.”

Mary scrambled out. Rubbing her arms and legs, she wrinkled her nose. “The sand got itchy.”

“And you, my dear, are going to be even more itchy if we don’t get you some help.” With effort, Shawn got her feet and held out her hand. “Let’s go wash you off in the surf. Elsie, Kit? Want to go stick your legs in the water?”

As expected, all three agreed happily. Elsie giggled as she ran to catch Shawn’s other hand. In no time Shawn had washed the fine sandy covering off Mary and the four of them were walking along the beach, zigzagging their trail as the tide rolled in and back out.

An almost whole sand dollar stopped their walk, which led to the spotting of a mess of seaweed, which led to another inspection. As the water lapped their toes and a tiny fish had the misfortune of swimming among them, they laughed and stomped and splashed.

This was the type of moment Shawn loved. She loved exploring with her girls, playing with them. Letting them be outside and loud and curious. Moments like this helped her realize that things were going to be okay when there was a fourth one in tow.

Things were going to be okay no matter what happened with Eddie.

“You think things are gonna be different when we
get the baby?” Kit asked, eyeing Shawn’s basketball-size stomach.

“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly. “I don’t imagine much different, though. I bet we’ll still do the same things as always.”

“I’ll be one of the big sisters, instead of in the middle,” Mary stated.

“That’s true. I’ll be depending on you even more than I do right now, I suspect.”

Kit kicked her foot into the oncoming wave, spraying salt water in the air. “But we won’t have Daddy.”

“We already talked about this, remember? You’ll have Daddy, he just won’t be here. But we’re getting used to him not being around, right?”

“I’m not,” Kit said. “I miss him.”

Mary’s lip trembled. “Me, too. I love him.”

“I love him, too,” Kit said.

Elsie just looked sad.

Wrapping an arm around her tiny sister, Kit said to Shawn, “Do you still love Daddy?”

Shawn’s usual reaction was to ask them not to think about that. To try not to dwell on things that were confusing or hard to explain. To stay away from things that made them sad.

But maybe that was wrong, after all. Even all the sun and sand and ocean creatures couldn’t replace what was in their hearts or turn off unwelcome feelings.

But the time to do that was long gone.

Shoot. If she was going to face the truth, she might as well face it front and center. “I do love your daddy. I still love him a lot. We just couldn’t live together.”

“Poor Daddy,” Kit said sorrowfully. “Poor Daddy will still be all alone.”

H
IS GIRLS WERE
on the beach. That’s how Eddie always thought of them, too.
His girls
. Before the miscarriage, he used to like to find them when Shawn least expected it, just so he could see the look of delight in her eyes when he’d come upon her. That look would be followed by one of her sweet, sexy-as-sin hugs, which would reaffirm that he was, indeed, the luckiest guy in the world.

Now things were different.

Still moving slowly from the bullet wound, he was off work another week and taking the opportunity to organize his living room. Since he was neat by nature and hadn’t taken too much out of the house, that little project had taken an hour, tops.

Now he was reduced to playing Peeping Tom because he wasn’t sure what to do. When he spied all four of them sitting in the water and Shawn looked to be on the verge of tears, he stepped out of the shadows. Anything was better than sitting there, watching. Wishing he was included. Wishing they could go back in time—at least until he could remember again why he’d been so sure that things could never be good between them.

As he got close to them, he called out a question. “There a reason y’all are sitting in the water?”

“We’re just telling Mommy that we don’t like being apart from you, Daddy,” Kit said.

The innocent explanation slammed into him. Funny how adults thought—especially grown men. They assumed once a decision had been made and legitimized, all discussion about it was done. History. Emotionally off-limits.

How foolish that was.

Kneeling in front of them all, Eddie tried to play it cool. “I thought things were going okay.”

“They are. Things are just hard, that’s all.” Waving a hand, Shawn sniffed. “You in the hospital, me getting as big as a house…it’s just a lot, you know?”

“Mommy’s cryin’.” Mary said.

Shawn wiped the tears away with a fist. “These darn hormones. If my back doesn’t kill me, these tears sure will.”

Her comment about her back worried him. “Hey, why don’t you go lie down for a bit and take a rest? I’ll bring the girls up in a while.”

“Sure?”

“Positive.” Noticing that the ice-cream shack had a green flag flying high—the sign that it was open—he turned to the girls. “I’ve got a ten in my pocket. Who thinks they can eat an ice-cream cone?”

“I do!” they chorused, effectively bringing the conversation to a stop—and giving Shawn an easy way out.

Bending down, he reached for her hand, then curved an arm around her back, low, the way he used to do. To his relief, Shawn leaned into him, letting him support her as she got awkwardly to her feet. “Go inside and take a nap, baby,” he whispered before he could think better of it. “When you wake up, I’ll have some ice cream waiting for you and Four.”

“Chocolate?”

“Uh-huh.” He smiled. Oh, but she loved chocolate ice cream.

She didn’t say much, but he did notice that she wrapped a hand around his for a moment longer than necessary and seemed to draw comfort from his strength. “Thanks, Eddie.” After saying something silly to the girls about mommy nap times, she left them, waddling slowly toward the condo entrance.

She looked cute.

And her cheeks had flushed when he’d wrapped an arm around her. Her breath had quickened when he’d leaned close to support her.

Just like his had.

And then reality hit him. He’d fallen in love with his ex-wife.

Again.