Holiday Trilogy Special Edition Page 17

  "Come here." She opened her arms to him, and he sat with his back to her chest so she could wrap her arms and legs around him. "Feel like talking about it? Or would you rather wait until morning?"

  "Waiting won't change anything, might as well get it all out, now. My parents read the note in front of me, then sent Sophie out of the room so they could yell a little bit. They don't seem so concerned that it's you, just that I'm marrying anybody and have a child they didn't know about. They couldn't get over that fact."

  "What did you do?" she asked softly, rubbing her hands over his chest.

  "I kept telling them how happy I am, and that I love you and Sam with all my heart. They are so stubborn. I finally just left. When I went back to pick up Soph, they tried to start up the argument again. I wouldn't talk about it, just took the kid and went. I guess they pumped Sophie for information all through dinner, which really makes me angry."

  "Tacky use for a little kid."

  "Yeah. I don't know, Mad. I have to hope, with some time, they'll calm down and figure out what's really important here. Not that they don't like the way I told them, which makes a rat's ass in the grand scheme of things."

  "You're right," she said into his ear, kissing it gently. "So, tell me how it went with Dionne."

  "I laid it out for her, just like we talked about. Sophie loves living here, she'd never have to go to a babysitter, she'd be with family, have a good school…and Dionne could have her as many weekends as she wanted. I felt safe offering that because I knew she wouldn't want more than every other, or so."

  "And how did she react to all that?"

  "I'm guessing she hasn't stopped laughing yet."

  "I see." Maddie ran her hands through Rob's hair, and brushed it away from his face. "How did you leave things with her?"

  "She promised to think about it. But I'm not real hopeful."

  "What are you going to do?"

  He leaned his head back on her shoulder. "Nothing, right now. We're going to get married, then I'll try to talk to her, one more time, before I call my lawyer. That process could take a long time. I was really hoping Dee would be sensible and realize what's best for Soph."

  "I'm sure she doesn't see it that way. I couldn't imagine giving up Sam. I never could."

  "You are not Dee. She has different priorities than you do, believe me."

  "It's scary to think about losing your child," Maddie said softly into Rob's ear. "I had nightmares that you and Dionne teamed up to take Sam away from me."

  "I told you I would never have done that to you."

  "I didn't know how things were with you guys. I just wasn't sure."

  He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I want to take a shower and wash off this night. Care to join me?"

  "Yeah, that sounds good."

  He stood, reached for her hand, and pulled her up into his arms. They kissed gently, and walked toward their room.

  Sophie's fifth birthday and the Fourth of July landed on a Tuesday. Rob and Maddie planned a small swim party with just Fred, Emma, Rosa and Smoky. The rest of his crew went to a keg party somewhere else, which Rob said was fine with him. He wasn't having any beer at this party. They got Sophie some presents, cake and ice cream, and a few fireworks. They swam while Emma, who was not a swimmer, held Sam on the deck. It was a quiet, laid-back evening, and Maddie was glad to have another birthday of Sophie's behind her, one she could remember fondly.

  They made plans for a small, informal wedding. Rob called and invited his friends. Maddie invited Sandy and Suzie from the TLC center, and told them to bring their families. It was going to be a simple ceremony with a cookout and wedding cake at the reception. Smoky volunteered to be in charge of the cookout, and Rosa and Fred would stand up as witnesses.

  Rob rented some things to turn the backyard into Maddie's ideal romantic wedding location. A white lattice archway graced one end, the bride and groom would stand in front of it for the ceremony. Maddie and Sophie wove silk roses through the lattice until they thought it looked romantic enough.

  They left an aisle up the center and put twenty chairs on either side for the guests. Rob put up garden canopies over the chairs; it was late July in Oklahoma, and an evening wedding would still be hot and the sun brutal.

  He hung several strings of patio lights around the yard, for when it got dark. They brought out a stereo system to play music, and tested the speakers.

  Maddie looked around the yard and declared everything was perfect.

  "I hope so," Rob told her. "Because I'm done. All I have to do now is get married."

  "And write your vows," she reminded him.

  "Shit!"

  She laughed. "You don't have to, you know. We can use the ordinary vows. You were the one who said—"

  "I know what I said," he interrupted her. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. But now I'm struggling."

  "Aw." She cradled him in her arms. "I hate to see you struggle. Don't worry about it."

  "I wonder if you'd notice if I used the words from a Keith Urban song."

  Maddie laughed. "Depends which song."

  He grinned. "I was thinking of the first weekend we spent here at the house. He has one song called, 'You Look Good in my Shirt'."

  She laughed again. "Now that sounds appropriate for a wedding."

  He spun her around in a dance move. "What about, 'I Wanna be your Everything', or, 'I'll Earn Your Trust Making Memories of Us'?"

  "That's more like it." She danced with him. "Why don't we dance to Keith, and you write your own vows?"

  "Oh, all right." He pulled her close and hummed in her ear as they swayed to the music.

  "Rosa told me once she thought you looked like Keith Urban," Maddie teased.

  He pulled back and looked at her. "Get out," he muttered, but Maddie saw a little blush color his cheeks.

  She drew him closer. "Keep singing, baby. I'm in the mood to dance."

  "Me, too!" Sophie ran into the yard heading toward them.

  "Come on." Rob scooped her into his arms, holding her on one side and Maddie on the other. "Dancing with my two best girls. What could be better than this?"

  Maddie leaned in to kiss his cheek. "You're not going to get out of writing those vows, you know."

  He gave her a look, and danced them across the lawn.

  Chapter Ten

  The Saturday of their wedding dawned sunny and bright.

  Maddie lay in bed feeling as happy as she had ever felt in her life. She smiled at Rob as he climbed up from underneath the covers, kissing her everywhere, ending with her tattoo then her mouth. She savored the taste of him mingled with the taste of her on his tongue. She kissed him long and hard for several minutes, until they both needed air.

  She stretched. "God, I feel good."

  "Yes you do." He kissed her neck.

  "Whoever said it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride on their wedding day, before the wedding, was crazy."

  Rob grinned. "I've seen you from just about every angle imaginable this morning, and I feel lucky as hell."

  "Oh, me too." She stretched again, and wrapped herself around him. "You make me very, very happy."

  "Right back at you, babe." He ran his hands through her hair.

  "You finish those vows?"

  "Maybe."

  There was a small knock at their door, and they smiled at each other. "Come in," Rob called, pulling the sheet over Maddie.

  "It's our wedding day!" Sophie hollered, and jumped in bed with them. She was wearing the white dress with pastel flowers Maddie got her for the wedding.

  "Yes it is." Rob chuckled and kissed the side of her head. "Excited to walk down the aisle?"

  "I'm going to be the bestest flower girl, ever!" she announced, and rolled over close to Maddie. "Are you going to help me fix my hair?"

  "Of course. But not until later, okay? We need to hang up your dress and put on some shorts. We don't want the dress to get dirty."

  "Aw, I want to wear it!
"

  "Tonight, I promise. We have lots to do before then. Fred and Emma are coming over to help us get ready, and Smoky and Rosa. If you want them to push you in your swing, you have to be wearing shorts."

  "Oh, yeah! Smoky pushes me high!"

  Rob leaned back. "Smoky's going to be dead meat if you fall out and break your arm on our wedding day."

  "I won't." Sophie giggled.

  Maddie said, "Please go change real quick for me, okay? I'll get up and make us some breakfast."

  "Okay." Sophie ran back to her room.

  Sam cried and Maddie looked at Rob. "You're being paged."

  "You're being stalked." He rolled on top of her and tickled her. "Every chance I get today I plan to grab you and make out. Possibly do more, if the opportunity presents itself."

  She chuckled as he nuzzled her. "Save some excitement for the honeymoon, will ya?"

  He rolled off her and flopped back on the bed. "Some honeymoon. We'll put the kids to bed and come in here as usual."

  "Bored already?" she teased.

  "Never. Just realizing that with two or three kids running around, our opportunities for porch sex are limited."

  Maddie chuckled. "We'll learn to be creative. We're two smart, horny people. We can figure this out."

  Sam cried louder and Rob rolled off the bed and stood. He leaned down to Maddie for a kiss, then stuck his head under the sheet and kissed her stomach. "Good morning, new baby. It's our wedding day. Be nice, now, and don't make mommy sick."

  "No promises!" Maddie squeaked, and he grinned at her as he slipped into pajama bottoms. He held up her robe and wrapped it around her as she got out of bed. He tied her belt and pulled her to him for one more kiss. They smiled at each other and went their separate ways.

  Maddie made sure Sophie's dress was hung up, then let the child help make pancakes. She kissed Sam on the head as the boys came to the kitchen to get a baby bottle. "Here you go." She handed one to Rob. "All warmed up and ready to go."

  He grabbed her butt with one hand and kissed her on the mouth firmly. "Exactly how I like my baby bottles and my women."

  "That's 'woman', singular," she reminded him. "Only one woman, from here on out."

  "I think I can deal with it," he called back, grinned at her, and went to the living room to feed Sam.

  They ate breakfast and straightened up the house together. Maddie went over the list, and everything seemed under control. She wandered through the back yard and marveled at how beautiful it looked.

  "Everything ready?" Rob joined her outside.

  "Far as I can tell. Rosa and Smoky are bringing the cake and the food. I'm letting them worry about that. Everything else looks fine. Oh, I was going to double check the lock on the pool. We don't need people jumping in there tonight."

  "It should be locked." Rob went and checked it. "Yeah, it's fine. Well, the kids are down for naps, so you know what I was thinking?"

  "Probably, yeah." She grinned.

  "No, you don't." He put her arm around her and led her toward the house. "I was thinking we might want to catch a nap, too. We'll be up late tonight, and I don't want to tire you out."

  "You were not thinking that!" She shoved him playfully, and they went into their room.

  "I was." He flopped on the bed. "You've been tired lately, and I'm concerned about you. Would you at least try to rest?"

  She lay down next to him. "That's it? A nap? What happened to the stalker who was going to jump me every chance he got?"

  "You were right. We need to save something for the honeymoon." He brushed her hair back from her face. "Besides, I heard you throw up after breakfast. I'm worried about you."

  She snuggled next to him. "I'm okay. I was sick for a long time with Sam. New baby isn't tossing me any breaks in that department."

  "Okay, so we rest a little bit, now." He held her tightly, and buried his face in her hair.

  "I could rest." She closed her eyes, feeling secure and loved.

  Maddie woke up alone and looked around her room. It made her smile just calling it, 'her room'. She heard voices in the kitchen, and listened to see who they belonged to. She heard Smoky, Fred and Rob talking. Sam squawked and was quickly silenced by a woman. Maddie couldn't tell who, but it didn't matter. She smiled, and relaxed. It's my wedding day. She felt like a princess. She thought about getting up, but it was luxurious just to lie there, so she did.

  Eventually, she made her way out to the kitchen, where her family and friends had gathered. "Hey, gorgeous." Rob smiled at her. "Have a good nap?"

  "Yes, I did, thank you." She glanced around. "Whoever's watching the kids, thank you, too."

  Rosa smiled. "Leonard is pushing Sophie on the swing. I think Fred is walking Sam around, filling him in on nature facts."

  "Glad someone can do it." She shook her head, and yawned.

  "Jesus, I wish I looked that good just waking up." Rosa said to Emma.

  "She's glowing, that's for sure." Emma nodded.

  "But she's awfully tired," Rosa added.

  "Someone as young as her shouldn't be that tired," Emma agreed.

  "I think I need to get the hell out of Dodge." Rob stood up.

  "Don't leave me alone with them!" Maddie looked at him, feigning panic.

  He grinned and shrugged. "They're going to peck and peck at you until you tell them what they want to know. Be my guest." He kissed the side of her head and went through the back door.

  Maddie looked at Rosa and Emma, who smiled at her expectantly. "All right! I'm pregnant, again! I know we're freaking crazy—" She was interrupted by the hugs of her two friends.

  "You are going to have such a beautiful family!" Emma squeezed her.

  "God, I haven't even popped out one and you're on your second." Rosa slapped her shoulder lightly, then hugged her. "Leonard's going to be so jealous."

  "Rob is really excited." Maddie smiled. "He wants a whole houseful of kids. We agreed to take them one at a time, and see how it goes."

  "This truly is a great day!" Emma clapped her hands.

  "I hope so." Maddie looked around nervously. "Something in the pit of my stomach says things are going too smoothly. What's going to happen to screw it up?"

  "Nothing!" Rosa and Emma both said.

  "Okay." Maddie chuckled. "You guys seem to have a pretty good handle on things. I'll take your word for it."

  Sophie ran into the kitchen."When can I put my dress on?"

  Maddie looked at the clock. "How about now?"

  "Yippee!" The child hopped up and down repeatedly.

  "Oh my God." Maddie moaned to herself. "Who wants to help me with the Energizer Bunny, here?"

  "We both will." Emma scooted Sophie to her room.

  Rosa put her arm around Maddie. "Come on mama. This is going to be fun."

  "I think I might get sick again." Maddie complained.

  "Just do it before we fix your make-up, okay?"

  Maddie gave Rosa a look, and they went to Sophie's room.

  Emma and Rosa took charge, and before long, Sophie was looking the part of the princess. They curled her hair, painted her nails and gave her a touch of make-up, which thrilled Sophie to no end. "Can I go show daddy?" She looked in the mirror and preened.

  "Don't you want to surprise him when you walk down the aisle?" Emma asked her.

  "No," Sophie replied.

  Maddie laughed. "We can't possibly pull off a surprise. Rob's too nosy. He'll probably be in here any minute."

  "He is not going to see you!" Rosa insisted.

  Maddie laughed again and shook her head. "We don't believe in the bad luck business. We have a lot of good luck going on right now, and we're concentrating on that."

  Emma told Sophie. "You can go outside, sugar. We're going to get Maddie ready."

  "Thank you!" Sophie yelled as she ran out.

  Maddie shook her head and walked to her room. "That girl has so much energy!"

  "This is a wonderful place for her grow up," Emma said. "So much room to r
un and play."

  Maddie looked at her. "Did you know Rob asked Dionne for custody? He thought it would be better for Soph to be here with us than with a babysitter night and day in the city."

  "I'm so glad! Fred and I thought he should do that. What happened?"

  "Rob says she's probably still laughing." Maddie pulled her new dress from the closet.

  "Damn, that woman!" Emma said harshly, and Maddie and Rosa laughed. Emma never swore.

  "Let's see your dress!" Rosa helped Maddie remove it from the bag. It was white with tiny roses on it. The neckline was off the shoulders elastic, the fabric was loose in the bust, shirred tightly around the waist, and flowed downward from there to a three-quarter length.

  "It's just beautiful!" Rosa murmured, and Emma nodded agreement.

  Maddie touched the tight waist and said "Won't be wearing this for much longer."

  "As long as it fits today." Emma patted her shoulder.

  Maddie wagged her brows and went to the bathroom to get dressed. She removed her bra and slipped into the dress, pulling it up carefully while holding her breath that it still fit. It does. She turned around a couple of times and liked the way she looked. She hadn't gone bra-less for ages, but now that she wasn't nursing Sam, she thought she could again. "Well?" She stepped out.

  "Beautiful!" Emma said, and Rosa nodded.

  "Coop's eyes are going to pop." Rosa grinned. "Let's do your hair and make-up real quick, before he comes nosing around."

  Maddie chuckled and let them take care of her. She wanted her hair full and fluffy, and Rosa got it that way. "Not too much hairspray!" Maddie coughed and waved it away.

  "It'll be fine, stop it." Rosa sprayed her again. They gave Maddie just a little make-up, she didn't need it, but it brightened her face a bit.

  She twirled around in the bedroom in front of the mirror. "Love it!" Maddie grinned. "You two do good work."

  "When you've got a good model to work on, sure." Emma patted her shoulder.

  "What's going on in here?" Rob came to the bedroom door.

  Rosa dived for him and covered his eyes with her hand. "You are not supposed to see her!"

  He laughed, and tried to pull her hands down. "Maddie and I don't go for that bad luck crap."