Baby On The Way (13 page)

F
or the next two days Libby was the happiest woman in the state, in the country, in the whole world. Del stayed almost constantly by her side, and Libby smiled almost continually, enjoying the sense of being a family. She never ceased to be amazed by her small daughter. Nikki’s expressions, her sounds, her movements—all were miraculous and new. And her heart filled with tenderness whenever she watched Del with his little daughter as he changed a tiny diaper or carefully wrapped Nikki up. Life was absolutely perfect.

On the last morning before Del arrived, the nurse handed Libby a form. “It’s for the birth certificate,” the nurse explained. “Fill it out and leave it at the desk before you check out today.”

Lying in the hospital bed, Libby stared at the form for a long time before laying it down and picking back up the birth announcement she’d been trying to fill out She nibbled her pen, studying the blanks on the pink card. The baby’s weight was no problem. Nikki had weighed in at a solid six pounds, four ounces. Libby jotted down Nikki’s length, too-an impressive eighteen inches. The date and time were easy. Nikki had
made her appearance on October 19, at precisely 8:00 a.m.

No, it was the blank for the name that made Libby pause. Nicole Elizabeth…Sinclair. That sounded pretty. Nicole Elizabeth Delaney. That sounded even better.

Libby chewed on her pen again. Del would certainly think so…wouldn’t he? But if so, then why hadn’t he mentioned marriage again? He’d certainly been all for it a few weeks ago. Could he have changed his mind?

Of course not. She didn’t doubt he loved the baby. There was too much tenderness in his face when he looked at her for there to be any question on that score. And surely now that Nikki was here, he could see how important it was to be with a child every day. Why, already she was changing. She’d lost the pointyheaded look, for one thing.

He was probably just waiting for the right time to ask Libby to marry him again.

She hastily shoved all the papers under the covers when he suddenly appeared at the door. “Hey, aren’t my girls ready to go yet?” he asked, heading directly for Nikki’s bassinet next to the bed. He smiled down at his daughter, saying over his shoulder to Libby, “I thought you were ready to blow this joint.”

“I am,” Libby answered. “Nikki’s all ready. Would you mind taking her for a little walk or something while I get dressed and take a shower?”

“Sure.” He reached down and wrapped Nikki up in a receiving blanket, nice and tight like a little mummy. Not even Libby could do a wrap job like he could, he thought proudly.

He scooped her up, cradling her head in his hand and tucking her body along his arm like a football.
“We’ll be back in about half an hour,” he told Libby and strode out into the corridor.

Not much going on here, he decided, looking up and down the empty hall. He glanced down into the baby’s face. “Wanna go see some other babies?” he asked.

He took Nikki over to the nursery window. Five or so babies were lined up in baskets—like loaves of bread in a bakery window, Del thought indulgently. “So, what do you think of the other kids? All kinds of babies here. Little ones, big ones—Whoa! Get a load of that chunky one in the corner!” He held Nikki up a little so she could see.

Nikki yawned.

“Not interested, huh?” Del nuzzled her swatch of hair, shutting his eyes to take a deep breath. She smelled like baby powder and milk. He gently dropped a kiss on her little head.

“Why, hello. You’re here, too?” someone asked from behind him.

Del turned around. Ken was standing there, beaming at him. “Looks like we both graduated from class early,” Ken said, noticing the baby in Del’s arm. “There’s my son, Kenneth, Jr., right there.” He proudly pointed through the window at the chubby, blond baby that seemed to almost fill the whole bassinet.

Kind of a plain little guy, Del thought, politely checking him out. “He looks just like you,” he told Ken.

Ken smiled smugly. “We think so. And who’s that?”

Happy to show Ken what a baby
should
look like, Del pulled back the blanket to display his daughter’s
face. “This is Nicole Elizabeth,” he said proudly. “I named her.”

Ken regarded her rather doubtfully. “She’s.nice. But isn’t she a bit undersized?”

“She’s
petite.”

“Oh.” Ken glanced at his son again, adding in satisfaction, “Yeah, well, not Kenneth. He weighed in at ten pounds, five ounces.”

Del gave a low whistle. “Barbie must have enjoyed that.”

Ken stiffened. “She handled herself with. decorum.”

“Yeah,” Del answered. “Libby, too. We heard Barbie come in. Nikki was already here by then, of course. She came through the gate at 8:00 a.m.” He paused. “When did junior clock in?”

“Eleven something,” Ken admitted.

Del smiled in satisfaction. “Looks like we were the first to deliver. Well, we have to get going. See you later, Ken…Kip…”

“You, too, Del…Ned.”

Del paused. “Ned?”

Ken took off his glasses to polish them. “Sure. Her initials are N.E.D., aren’t they? Your last name
is
Delaney, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Del agreed. But
Libby’s
wasn’t. Still, after all they’d been through together, she’d be bound to give Nikki his name.wouldn’t she?

“Talk to you later,” he said abruptly. With a nod in Ken’s direction, he headed back toward Libby’s room, his scowl deepening. His expression darkened even more when he noticed the tag on Nikki’s wrist. Around a corner and out of sight of the nursery, he
stopped to check it.
^Sinclair.
Damn it, Libby had put Sinclair on
^his
baby.

Libby looked up as he strode into the room. She was dressed in a yellow blouse he’d never seen before and her blue maternity pants. She said, ruefully, “I couldn’t get into my regular pants, but at least this blouse fits.” Self-consciously, she fingered the buttons straining across her breasts, smiling almost shyly up at him. Her smile faded, however, when she caught sight of his expression. “What’s wrong? Is it the baby?” She reached out automatically for her daughter.

“No—well, sort of,” he said, relinquishing Nikki. When Libby’s gaze shot to his in alarm, he amended, “What I mean is—damn it, Libby, will you marry me?”

Her eyes widened with surprise. “Why…Del. Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I want Nikki—and you—to have my name. I want you to be my wife. I want everyone to know—” especially other men, he added silently “—that we’re a family. So will you do it?”

Her brown eyes softened. Her smile glowed. “Yes.”

He caught her in his arms for a deep kiss, careful not to crush Nikki between them. When he finished, he held Libby gently by the shoulders, saying, “I’ll call city hall. Maybe we can do the deed tomorrow—”

“No, let’s wait and have a church ceremony next week,” Libby said excitedly. “I want Chris to be there—and maybe my mother. What wrong?”

Del was shaking his head.

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “You don’t want a church ceremony?”

“We don’t have time for one. I have to be in Hawaii by Thursday to board a MAC flight.”

Her eyes widened in bewilderment. “But you can’t. You asked me to marry you…I thought you’d decided to stay.”

“I can’t stay, Libby. I’ll lose my promotion if don’t return.” He put his hand on her arm. “But I’ll be back…”

She moved away and his hand dropped. Libby’s eyes were wet, but her chin lifted and her mouth firmed as she asked, “When? Next week?”

He slowly shook his head.

“Next month? Next year?” She stared at him with angry eyes. “You still want it all your own way, don’t you, Del? Well, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to decline your flattering offer.”

His face darkened. “Nicole’s my daughter, too, Libby, and whether you like it or not you’re going to have to admit it. I’ll take the matter to court if I have to.”

The baby started crying, startled perhaps by the harshness in his voice. Libby glanced away without answering, patting her daughter soothingly. She swallowed, trying to force down the lump lodged in her throat and bent to pick up the baby bag.

A stack of pink cards, tucked underneath, slid off the bed and onto the floor.

Del picked one up, automatically scanning the information she’d printed inside. The name Nicole Elizabeth Delaney leapt up at him.

His astonished gaze lifted to Libby’s. She smiled without humor. “Don’t worry. I’d already decided it was stupid not to admit the truth. The few times a year you’re home, you’ll have your daughter.”

“Libby…” Arms outstretched he took a step toward her.

She stepped back. “But you won’t have me.”

She wouldn’t speak to him after that. Nothing beyond the barest necessities. She ignored him all the way home, and once there, Libby barricaded herself behind the baby, Christine and a steady stream of visiting women.

Del kept waiting for Libby to relent. Surely she’d settle this before he left. She had to realize there was nothing else he could do. Libby would change her mind. He was so sure of it that when footsteps crunched across the graveled driveway early the next morning as he was getting the truck ready to drive to the airport, he turned, expecting to see her.

For a moment, in the hazy dawn light, he thought the small, brown-hooded figure was Libby and his heart jumped in hope. Then she spoke, and he realized it was Dorrie Jean.

“Hello, Del,” she said. “Are you leaving again already?”

There was no accusation in her tone, but for some reason the question made him feel slightly defensive. “I’ve been here almost a month,” he said. Turning away, he resumed wiping the ice off the windshield. “What are you doing up so early?”

Her breath misted out like smoke as she replied, “I’m usually up at this time. I like to take walks when no one is around”

Del grunted, not really interested in Dorrie Jean’s morning habits. Although the glass was clear now, he kept wiping, sending a glance toward his house. If Libby was going to come out, she should do it any
minute, he thought. She’d come out the last time to say goodbye.

As if she could read his thoughts, Dorrie said suddenly, “I saw you leave after the blizzard, you know. When Libby came out to help you shovel out the truck.”

Del paused, turning to look at his neighbor. Dorrie Jean was watching him solemnly, her hands thrust deep into her coat pockets, her shoulders hunched against the cold.

“You knew I was here?”

She nodded. “I figured you were probably the father of the baby.”

He gave the glass a couple more swipes. “So why didn’t you say anything?”

“It was none of my business. Just like it’s none of my business that you’re leaving again.”

He slanted her a sardonic look. “But you think I’m being unfair to Libby.”

To his surprise, she shook her head. “No, I think if you want to go, you should. Libby will do fine without you.”

It was what he’d thought, too, but somehow when she put it into words, he didn’t quite like the idea. “Christine will help her,” he said, as if she had argued. “And I know you will, too.”

Dorrie Jean nodded. “Yes. Everyone cares about Libby—she wants so much for people to like her. And Nicole is darling. You won’t need to worry about them being lonely.”

“Good,” he said shortly. He scrubbed harder. “I’m providing for her financially, you know,” he said.

Dorrie Jean nodded, looking thoughtful. “That’s nice…but I don’t think Libby is looking for financial
support. What she needs is more emotional. She hasn’t been as spoiled as you.”

Spoiled? Del straightened, intending to ask Dorrie what the hell she meant by that, but before he could, she glanced at her house, saying, “Uh-oh. The kitchen light is on. Mother is going to wonder where I am.”

She strode off, calling over her shoulder, “Bye, Del. See you whenever you get back.”

He watched until she disappeared into her house, then glanced at his own. No lights were on there. Each window yawned dark and silent.

Libby wasn’t coming out.

He threw the wet cloth onto the floor in the back seat. Fine, he couldn’t wait any longer for her, anyway. He’d have a hard time catching his plane as it was.

Yet when he started the truck and backed out of the driveway, he couldn’t stop himself from looking back one last time. Never before had he felt so reluctant to leave home. In the past, he’d been focused on where he was going, not on what he was leaving behind. Yet, he couldn’t get his mind off Libby.

Of course she would do fine without him. She had the last time…He frowned. Or had she? She’d been pregnant the last time he’d left. And she’d never even called to let him know.

Still, this time she’d do okay. Like Dorrie Jean said, everyone liked Libby. Christine, Mrs. Peyton, Susan…that damn doctor. He scowled. Hopefully,
^he

wouldn’t be coming around, but still…what was there to stop him? Libby wasn’t married, after all. And Dorrie Jean claimed she was looking for-what was it she’d called it? Emotional support? Whatever the hell that meant?

And why had she called him spoiled? Libby’s mother had been the one with money. He’d come from a middle-class family with old-fashioned values. His parents had taught both him and Chris that, with hard work and perseverance, they could achieve whatever they set out to do. And he had. Why else would he be flying off now to the ends of the earth to meet the obligations of his well-paying job?

He reached the Portland airport and went through the boarding process almost automatically, still trying to figure out what Dorrie Jean had meant. It wasn’t until he was on the commercial three-hour flight to Hawaii that he really became aware of his surroundings again.

A baby’s cry brought him out of his abstraction. Across the aisle, a young mother was trying to quiet her fussy infant. The sounds reminded him of Nikki, and his heart seemed to tighten. How was
his
baby doing? She’d be okay with her mother, of course-but what about when Libby was really tired? He knew how to get Nikki to sleep. She really liked it when he stroked her temple with his finger and thumb, down the sides of her little face to her chin. Her blue eyes would widen, and gradually drift shut.