THE M.D. SHE HAD TO MARRY Page 7

  By the time Logan and Tess tiptoed out, Lacey was as deep in sleep as Rosie. She didn't even hear them bring in all the baby things.

  * * *

  Lacey woke when Rosie did, about three hours after she'd fallen asleep.

  She looked down at the fuzzy, misshapen little head of her daughter and groused, "You aren't going to turn out to be a day person like your father, are you?"

  Rosie opened her tiny mouth—first for a big yawn, and right after that, to let out a wail.

  The curtain slid back and Logan was there, looking tired and rumpled and absolutely wonderful. "Good morning."

  Lacey gave him a smile with all of her newly revealed love in it. "This baby is hungry."

  "That's the way babies are. What about you?"

  "I'm starved. But I think she's going to insist on eating first. Let's try it in the rocker this time."

  It was quite an experience, getting out of that bed. Lacey's body felt as if she'd done something horrible to it—like go through childbirth. Her uterus was still cramping, everything lower down ached from all that pushing—and the last thing she ever wanted to do again was to stand up straight.

  Logan chuckled. "I hope you don't feel as bad as you look."

  She moaned and muttered under her breath, "Men. And all they'll never have to suffer…"

  "I do sympathize."

  "Why doesn't that help?"

  She left him to comfort the squalling Rosie as she hobbled outside to the bathroom, where she used the facilities, changed her menstrual pad and then forced herself to straighten her spine. Every overworked muscle protested. But she did it. And she stayed upright all the way back to the main room.

  Logan built up last night's fire and got started on the breakfast as Lacey and Rosie practiced nursing. By the time she'd changed the baby—on the bureau/changing table that Zach had brought over while she was sleeping—Logan was cracking eggs into a pan.

  "How many?" he asked.

  "Four."

  He laughed. "I see you've gotten over your aversion to eggs."

  "And toast, please. And juice and some of that applesauce that's up in the cupboard. And maybe, after that, a big bowl of cereal…"

  * * *

  Tess and Edna arrived at a little after ten. By then, Rosie had been through three diaper changes and two more short nursing sessions. Between the feeding and the changing, Lacey faded in and out of a drowsy half-sleep. She felt sore and tired and utterly content, with her baby in her arms and Logan to take care of them both.

  Tess and Edna told Lacey she was not to get up. She ignored them and pulled on her robe. "I need to move around a little." She tried not to groan as she pulled herself straight for the walk across the floor to the rocking chair.

  The visitors each held Rosie, cooing over her shamelessly and declaring her the most beautiful child they'd ever seen.

  Lacey couldn't help laughing—which hurt her poor tummy. "Why is it people always say that new babies are beautiful? They have rashy red skin and squashed faces and this one even has a point on the top of her head."

  Edna was holding Rosie right then. She clucked her tongue and rocked back and forth. "There, there," she told the baby, "don't you listen to Mommy. She knows you're beautiful. She just doesn't want you to become vain about it. And don't you worry about this point on your head. It won't be there for long." She stroked Rosie's fuzzy head. "Of course, Jobeth and Starr can't wait to meet you…"

  Tess added, smiling at Lacey, "We told them maybe tomorrow, after you've both had a little more time to recuperate."

  When they were through fussing over the baby, they handed her back to Lacey and enlisted Logan's aid in making up a grocery list. "We're going into town this afternoon," Edna said. "We'll pick up whatever you need. Anything else we can do?"

  Jenna, Lacey thought. She stopped her lazy rocking. Over eight hours since Rosie had come into the world and her Aunt Jenna didn't even know that the momentous event had occurred.

  Lacey shot a swift, guilty glance at Logan—and then instantly wondered what was the matter with her. She was not going to put off sharing the wonderful news with her sister just because the mention of Jenna's name might cause Logan a little emotional discomfort.

  She spoke firmly. "You can take me over to the main house for a few minutes. I need to make a phone call to Florida, to give Jenna and Mack the news."

  Edna frowned in disapproval. "But don't you have one of those portable phones?"

  Lacey put Rosie on her shoulder, pushed herself from the rocker and drew her sore body up tall. "I hate to use a cell phone. When it does work, it tends to cut in and out. And then there's an irritating delay on and off, too. It's no fun trying to talk on it, especially for something like this. Logan, if you'll take the baby, I'll just get into some clothes and then—"

  Edna clucked her tongue and bustled over. "You sit back down, young lady. You're in no shape to go traipsing down the road right yet."

  Logan and Tess stayed where they were, over by the counter. Neither of them spoke—Logan for reasons Lacey didn't really want to examine. And Tess … well, Lacey had told her about Logan's feelings for Jenna just yesterday. No doubt Tess didn't know what to say.

  But Edna was blithely ignorant of the emotional minefield they were forging across here. "Why don't you let Logan or Tess make the call for you right now? Then you can call again yourself in a day or two, when you're feeling up to it."

  Tess finally decided to speak up. "Uh, Edna, I think Lacey wants to be the one to give her sister the big news."

  Lacey sent Zach's wife a grateful smile. "Yes, I do. I want to tell her myself. And if you'll just drive me over there and then drive me back … please. It won't take long. I'm sure I'm up to it."

  She glanced Logan's way again. His face betrayed nothing—not the usual concern for her welfare, and certainly not whatever emotions all this talk about Jenna called up in him. "Logan, do you think you could look after Rosie on your own for a little while?"

  He did move then. He strode toward her. "I think I can handle it." His voice, like his expression, gave her nothing. But at least he wasn't trying to talk her out of it. He took Rosie from her, carefully laying a diaper and then the baby on his broad shoulder.

  Lacey found herself staring at his fine, large hands, thinking how small—and how safe—their daughter looked cradled in them. Her love was an ache right then. It filled her with warmth—and it hurt, too.

  "Great," Lacey said brightly. "I'll be dressed in a flash."

  * * *

  Tess let Lacey use the phone in Zach's office, off the dining room, where she could close the door and enjoy complete privacy.

  Her sister answered on the second ring. Just the sound of that soft, clear voice brought tears to Lacey's eyes.

  "Hello?"

  "Jen. It's me."

  "Lace. Hello."

  Lacey closed her eyes, picturing her big sister's gorgeous wide-open smile. Nobody smiled quite like Jenna. Nobody in the world.

  Lacey said, "So tell me. How are you feeling?"

  Jenna laughed. "Great. Considering I'm as big as a house. How about you?"

  Lacey breathed deep. "Well, let me put it this way. I'm not quite as big today as I was yesterday."

  Jenna gasped. "The baby? You had the—"

  "Yes. This morning at about two. A baby girl. Seven pounds, two ounces."

  "Omigod. I can't believe it. How do you feel? Are you okay? You're calling from the hospital, then? And the baby. How is the baby?"

  "We're both fine. I'm at the main ranch house now. Tess brought me over, to call you. We never made it to the hospital. I had the baby in the cabin."

  "Oh, dear Lord. You didn't."

  "I did. It all happened really fast. I went to sleep at around eleven last night and I woke up when my water broke, two hours later. And an hour after that, I was holding my baby in my arms. And she's perfect. Absolutely beautiful … even if she is the ugliest thing I've ever seen."

  Jenna was la
ughing and sighing at the same time. "Oh, Lace. I … I don't have the words. Hold on. I have to tell Mack."

  Lacey heard her sister call her husband, then the excited exchange of information. Then Mack came on the line. "Congratulations, sister-in-law."

  She smiled. "Thanks, Mack."

  "Take it easy, now. Get lots of rest."

  "Yeah. With a newborn. Right."

  "Well, get as much rest as you can, at least—and I have to go now. Jenna's trying to rip the phone out of my hands."

  "Bye, Mack."

  "Take care."

  "Tell me you named her after Mother—" it was Jenna again "—that you didn't forget what we agreed."

  "How could I forget? If I had a girl, she'd be Margaret. If I didn't and you did, then my niece would be Margaret. I did. So she's Margaret. Margaret Rose. We're calling her Rosie."

  "Rosie. I like it."

  It didn't even occur to Lacey to dissemble. Not with Jenna. She could tell Jenna anything. "Maybe you remember. Rose was Logan's mother's name."

  "Of course I remember. And I think it's a good choice."

  Lacey gulped. "He's here, Jenna."

  A pause. "You mean Logan?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "You finally told him."

  "And he came right away."

  "Naturally. Oh, Lace. I'm so glad you did it."

  "You know what? So am I."

  "Will you marry him? He has asked you, hasn't he?"

  "Demanded is more like it. I told him no. About a hundred times. I finally got him to back off on the subject, as a condition of letting him stick around."

  "So what are you saying? You won't marry him? You're firm on that?"

  "Oh, Jen, I was firm. At first. But he's been … so incredibly supportive. Right with me through everything. True and steady, you know how he is. The kind of man you can lean on, count on, through the toughest times, no matter what."

  "Yes. Yes, I do know."

  "A total ant."

  "What?"

  Lacey laughed. "Oh, nothing." And then she felt her smile fade. She clutched the phone tighter. "I … I told him. That I love him."

  "That's good."

  "You think so?"

  "Absolutely."

  "He still loves you, Jenna."

  "Did he say that?"

  "No, but I know he does."

  "You're assuming."

  "Stop. You sound like Tess."

  "You talked with Tess about it? What did she say?"

  "She said I should say yes. That Logan and I should get married and I should … give love a place to grow."

  Jenna sighed. "Give love a place to grow. I like that."

  "So do I. Probably too much. Having a baby has turned me into a sentimental fool."

  "You love him. He wants to marry you. He will be good to you, Lacey. I know that he will. And if he doesn't know that he loves you now, he'll figure it out, if you give it time."

  "But he doesn't love me. He loves—"

  "Lace."

  "What?"

  "I want you to listen to me. Listen to me closely."

  Lacey shifted the phone to her other ear and grumbled, "What?"

  "I know that man."

  "I'm aware of that."

  "Don't become defensive. Please."

  Lacey shifted the phone back where she'd had it before. "All right. I'm sorry. It's a sensitive subject for me."

  "I know. And maybe you don't want to hear this now. Is that it? You had a baby a few hours ago and the last thing you need right now is a lecture from your big sister."

  "You know, that's true, I really don't want to hear it. I'll probably never want to hear it. But I probably should hear it, for my own good, right?"

  "Does that mean you're listening?"

  "Yes. Go on. I can take it."

  Jenna let a moment of silence elapse. Then she started over. "I know Logan. And I tried, for so long, to love him the way that you do, because I thought that he and I were right for each other. He thought so, too. And when Logan Severance gets an idea in his head, well, you know what he's like."

  Lacey made a noise of agreement. "Do I ever. Certain words come to mind—'relentless' among them."

  "Exactly. He never gives up. And he's loyal until death. These are wonderful qualities. But they can also make it so a man can't see the nose in front of his face."

  Lacey couldn't help interjecting, "The man is bullheaded."

  Her sister thoroughly agreed. "That would be the word. You know how he was in high school. Every girl's dream. Handsome to die for, kind to everyone and her mother, and destined for professional success. Even after he and I started going steady, all the other girls were after him. Some of them were shameless. But I never felt jealous. I knew he had made up his mind to love me and he wouldn't even look twice at any of them. He didn't. In fact, there's only one other woman he ever seemed to pay more attention to than he did to me."

  Lacey had been wrapping the phone cord slowly around her finger. She pulled it free. "Logan? Give more than the time of day to a woman who wasn't you? Never."

  "Yes, he did."

  "Who?"

  "You."

  Lacey let out a low cry of disbelief. "That's ridiculous."

  "No. Think about it. He was always and forever asking about you. Sometimes it used to really get on my nerves." Jenna cleared her throat and imitated Logan's deep voice. "'How's Lacey? Don't tell me she's run away again? When is she going to take her schoolwork more seriously? Don't you think it's about time she stopped getting into trouble? She needs a college education. And I think we ought to talk to her about getting herself a real job…' And on and on and on. I'm telling you, it never stopped."

  Lacey couldn't see how that added up to proof of Logan's romantic interest in her. "He was just playing big brother, that's all."

  "He took the role a little too seriously, if you ask me. In fact, in retrospect, it seems to me that he took it way too seriously. Did it ever occur to you that maybe he's been crazy about you for years now and he's just too obstinate to admit that he chose the wrong sister? After all, he's Logan Severance. And Logan Severance is perfect. He doesn't make mistakes."

  "Jen. I always got on his nerves. He wanted to reform me."

  "He wanted to do a lot more than reform you—he just wouldn't admit it to himself."

  "Wait a minute. I'm starting to see the light here. You're saying all this because you think I should say yes to him."

  "I'm saying it because I think it's true."

  "You know, I can't help recalling what I told you last September—that if I thought Logan loved me, then nothing could keep me away from him."

  "Lace. I have not made all this up to get you to marry him. I honestly haven't. I've been thinking a lot about this and I truly believe there's something to it. You're the one Logan really wants."

  "And you are my big sister, who loves me and thinks I'd be better off if I married the nice, handsome, stable M.D. who is the father of my baby—even if he is still in love with you."

  Jenna let out a grunt of pure frustration. "I could easily become perturbed with you. He's not in love with me. He only thinks he is."

  Lacey wasn't buying. "And what is love anyway, but something you think? Where else does it exist … except in a person's mind, in whatever it is we call the 'heart'?"

  "No," Jenna said. "I'm sorry. I can't agree with you on that."

  "What's not to agree with?"

  "Most of all, love is what you do. It's a verb. An action word. If you really love, you behave in a loving way."

  That hit home. Lacey stared out the window at the side yard, where a few of Tess's chickens pecked the ground. In the distance, off to the northwest, the snowy crests of the Big Horn Mountains reflected back the morning sun.

  If love came down to action, she could find no fault with the way that Logan Severance "loved" her. As soon as she'd told him about the baby, he'd put his life and his work on hold to come to her. He'd looked after her from the moment of h
is arrival here. He'd delivered their baby, and he'd done a beautiful job of it. Now, he was back at the cabin, watching the baby, while she broke the news of the birth to her sister—who also just happened to be the woman who had left him for another man.

  "Lace. You still there?"

  "I'm here."

  "Will you just think about what I said?"

  "Yes. I will. I'll think about it."

  "I do understand how you are, too, Lace. How important your independence is to you, how you've never been one to take the traditional way. Maybe the real issue here is that marriage just isn't for you."

  "I never said marriage wasn't for me. I've always thought I would marry. Someday. When the right man came along."

  "To me it seems pretty obvious that Logan is the right man."

  "I'm getting that loud and clear."

  Jenna took in a long breath and let it out slowly. "Listen. Remember how you told me once that there was something lukewarm between me and Logan?"

  "Jenna—"

  "Just bear with me for a minute more. Do you remember?"

  "Yes. All right. I remember."

  "And remember how you laughed when I admitted that Logan and I had never made love?"

  "It surprised me, that's all."

  "Because you couldn't imagine anyone passing up the chance to be in his arms. Am I right?"

  "I didn't think that at the time. I swear."

  "I know you didn't, not consciously. Then, he was my fiancé, after all. But now. Looking back on it. What do you think now?"

  "All right," Lacey conceded reluctantly. "Maybe."

  "Maybe what?"

  "Jenna, you have made your point. And I really have to—"

  "You have to go. I know. But please. Just think about what I've said."

  "I will. I promise."

  "Great. And kiss my niece for me. "

  "Will do."

  "I can't wait to meet her."

  "Soon," Lacey said, and felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

  Would it really be soon? She and Jenna lived on opposite sides of the country now. Lacey had a new baby and Jenna was fast approaching her own delivery date. For a while, anyway, life itself would get in the way of their visiting each other.

  And if Lacey did marry Logan…

  Well, then, it would probably be awkward at best and awful at worst, for her and Logan to get together with Jenna and Mack.