A Country Affair(101)

“Kate,” he yelled. “Don’t wander off.”

“Luke, I just want to get my things before we leave.” A pain began to work its way around her back and she paused, flattening her hands across her abdomen. She raised her head and smiled up at her husband. “Oh, Luke, the baby...”

Luke dropped the receiver and rushed to her side. “Now?”

“No.” She laughed and touched his face. “It’ll be hours yet. Oh! I just felt another pain—a bad one.”

He swallowed hard and gripped both her hands in his own. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment for nine months, but I swear to you, Kate, I’ve never been more frightened in my life.”

“Don’t worry.” Her hands caressed his face and she kissed him, offering what reassurance she could.

He exhaled noisily, then gave her a brisk little nod. Without warning, he lifted her in his arms, ignoring her protests, and carried her out the door to the truck. Once he’d settled her in the seat, he returned to the house for her bag.

“Luke,” she called after him, “I really would like to talk to Dad and Dorothea.”

“I’ll phone them from the hospital. No more arguing, Kate. I’m in charge here.”

Only another sharp pain—and her regard for Luke’s feelings—kept her from breaking out in laughter.

Ten long hours later, Kate lay in the hospital bed, eyes closed in exhaustion. When she opened them, she discovered her father standing over her. Dorothea was next to him, looking as pleased and proud as Kate’s father. Devin took his daughter’s hand in his own and squeezed it gently. “How do you feel, little mother?”

“Wonderful. Did they let you see him? Oh, Dad, he’s so beautiful!”

Her father nodded. For a moment he seemed unable to speak. “Luke’s with Matthew now. He looks so big sitting in that rocking chair, holding his son.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Luke wear an expression quite like that before,” Dorothea murmured. “So tender and loving.”

Devin concurred with a nod of his head. “When Luke came into the waiting room to tell us Matthew Devin had been born, there were tears in his eyes. I’ll tell you, Kate, that man loves you.”

“I know, Dad, and I love him, too.”

Devin patted her hand. “You go ahead and rest, Princess. Dorothea and I’ll be back tomorrow.”

When Kate opened her eyes a second time, Luke was there. She held out her hand to him and smiled dreamily. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for staying with me.”

“Staying with you,” he echoed, his fingers brushing the tousled curls from her face. “Nothing on earth could have kept me away. I would’ve done anything to spare you that pain, Kate. Anything.” His voice was raw with the memory of those last hours.

Her smile was one of comfort. “It only lasted a little while and we have a beautiful son to show for it.”

“All these months when we’ve talked about the baby,” he said, his eyes glazed, “he seemed so unreal to me, and then you were in the delivery room and in so much agony. I felt so helpless. I wanted to help you and there was nothing I could do. Then Matthew was born and, Kate, I looked at him and I swear something happened to my heart. The love I felt for that baby, that tiny person, was so strong, so powerful, I could hardly breathe. I thought I was going to break down right there in front of everyone.”

“Oh, Luke.”

“There’s no way I could ever thank you for all you’ve given me, Kate Rivers.”

“Yes, there is,” she said with a smile. “Just love me.”

“I do,” he whispered, his voice husky with emotion. “And I always will.”

Read on for a sneak peek at
One Charmed Christmas,
a heartwarming holiday romance from
USA TODAY bestselling author Sheila Roberts.




One Charmed Christmas



by Sheila Roberts


One


“Your kids are twits,” Catherine Pine’s friend Denise informed her. “They shouldn’t be leaving you at Christmas, not after what you’ve been through.”

“It’s been a rough year,” Catherine admitted.

Coping with widowhood and then, right after her sixtieth birthday, getting hit with uterine cancer. Not the best year of Catherine’s life, for sure. And chemo and radiation awaited her in the new year.

“All the more reason they should be with you,” Denise said.

“They have lives of their own,” Catherine said in her children’s defense.

Denise gave a snort and took a gulp from her latte. “Which they’re happy to make you a part of when it suits them.”

Catherine frowned. Denise was her best friend and best friends were like sisters. Not that Catherine had a sister—only a brother who’d never bothered to marry—but that was what she’d always thought. Still, there were times when best friends and probably even sisters needed to keep their mouths shut. Morning lattes together at Starbucks and diet accountability didn’t give a woman the right to diss her friend’s children. Even if they were twits sometimes. Denise’s daughter wasn’t so perfect. She’d gone through two husbands in twelve years.

Denise pointed an acrylic-nail-tipped finger at Catherine. “They were barely there for you after your surgery.”