Скачать книгу

it was nearing six, Emma knew she should start dinner, but she hated to disturb the baby, who had finally fallen asleep.

      A key sounded in the front-door lock, and in walked Jace, wearing his usual grin. His complexion looked sun-kissed, as if he’d spent the day outdoors. “Hey,” he said, setting his flight bag on the tiled entry floor. “How’re my girls?”

      “Better now,” Emma said, her voice soft so as not to wake Beatrice. “This one’s had a rough day.”

      “She’s not sick is she?” Jace crossed the short distance to the recliner, kneeling alongside it, putting his hand on the infant’s forehead. “She doesn’t feel hot.”

      “No. Maybe she just misses her mom. I suppose it’s only natural.”

      Jace stayed quiet.

      “No word from the PI?”

      “Nope.” Exhaustion weighing his shoulders, he rose, then dropped onto the sofa, unlacing his boots.

      “How would you feel if Vicki abruptly showed up?”

      He shrugged. “It’s a fluid situation. At first, I was panicked enough by the girls’ tag-team screaming that I probably would’ve given Vicki another chance at motherhood. But now…” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

      “You all right?” Emma asked. “You look pasty.”

      “I feel pasty.” In a decidedly un-Marine-like pose of vulnerability, he covered his face with his hands. “Em? What if I never figure out how to be a good dad? What if I lack the parental gene?”

      Beatrice still in her arms, Emma rocked up and out of the chair to sit alongside Jace. “When you held this one in the park—really held her—she nestled against you like she’d known you forever. Because she has. You’re her father, Jace. Your DNA is hers—and her sister’s. You can’t help but grow into an amazing father.”

      He snorted.

      “What?”

      “Your logic is ludicrous. If all it took to be a perfect parent was DNA, then what was Vicki’s excuse?”

      Emma lowered her gaze. Agreed with him, did she?

      Jace knew he’d have been laughed out of the Corps for admitting it, but right at that moment, he was jealous of a six-month-old for being held by Emma. In three tours of duty in hellacious war zones, he couldn’t remember ever having been this scared.

      “Trust me,” Emma said. “Stop a second to look at who you are. What you do. If you have enough intellect and courage to fly a helicopter in the most dangerous parts of the world, then can’t you use that same chutzpah to raise two amazing babies into well-rounded, happy and healthy grown women?”

      Eyes stinging, throat tight, Jace nodded.

      “So then you’re feeling better about the whole situation?”

      “Sure,” he lied. “Only how am I going to pay for two sets of braces? Two cars? Two college degrees?” Cheeks flaming, he added, “Holy hell, what if one—or both—want to become doctors or lawyers? But then, that might be a good thing, right? Because they’ll have nice, safe jobs and meet straight-laced types who—”

      “Whoa.” Emma curved her hand around his shoulder, telling herself the jolt of heat was imagined. “The girls are six months old, Jace. You’re getting ahead of yourself on the old worry tree. For now, let’s stick with introducing a few more solid foods and baby-proofing all of your cabinets and electrical outlets.”

      “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Baby-proofing. Good plan.”

      “Jace…” her tone was soft. A verbal pillow on which to rest his turbulent emotions. “Trust me, down the line—weeks from now, maybe even months—you’ll never be able to imagine your life before Bea and Bronwyn entered it. Being a parent is…” In the living room’s dim light, her eyes shone. Was she on the verge of crying? “…the most wonderful thing you can imagine. Through these angels’ eyes, you’ll experience everything anew. Their first Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas. And just think, with every year, every occasion will be new again because the girls will be at a fresh stage of life. There will be trick-or-treating and baking cookies for Santa. Holding out your arms to them when they run off the school bus ecstatic to see you.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she turned to brush them away. “Anyway,” she added with a sniffle, “you have lots of good times ahead of you. I’m actually a little jealous.”

      “In that case,” he said, sensing that for whatever reason, she needed him to lighten the moment, “how about I give you the honor of handling the good—and stinky—surprise I’m guessing Bea just left in her diaper.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEAYABgAAD/4SB5RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMyBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTI6MTE6MDEgMTc6MzI6MTUAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAFeKADAAQAAAAB AAAHqAAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAAB9DAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoAByAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQACP/EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8A4naUavFyX492UytzqMYsbfaB7WmyRVu/rbUNrw74rpujdWwa ugXYjmUjIrbaw0WnazI9Vpe26y91tfuqbTs9D07P0vpel+kurUAFnXRtGRAFC3nG8ozCFYZm4Xos rfgMc5tZrdYHbXHdVTjOu+g79YrfTbk4/wCZXfkfpK7bP0llg9TwnvFn7PYwgPG1uzadzK6g4t9H /Bur9Zn/AAl1iYQO7LGR7NVo1Vul54KOzqHTHAO+yhhY/wBRteytwIO5v2T1Gtb+r17v0VlrPW/0 3qpPzKraxXVi1Uk6PsABcQBXs2+1vo27qn+pZV/PMs+h/O2WwziO7PCRvZsUuB5UM/IxKW7b8iqm ez3AO/zPpqrfkuxMa7JADjSwuAPBI+j/ANJcpTj5GVa6za615O6x/JJOplNxYOMmRlwxiuzcyYAR EeKUvydlvU+mOfrZY2sRL/TJ0J8J3blq+hj3dIstxbW2treLNDD9pj+eq+lv2u3Lkr8V9JAsaW7v o+CtYVOQy0PqYQ4cvbpyf5vcB9J6sTwxoGMiKN67aNWGeVkSiDYrTdvuGunCjCt20VS19b3Gh8je 5u0h7QDZXt+j7d3sf+ermD0h+TT6jobU5xaH6Tp+5+d9L99NlkjEWTovjAzNBq4PTMzJLbK6nOqL tm8Rzp7f+kp9S6XlYzmPe2a7B7CCD2nsugwKh0vbU+wWsdLgDLQXD/Bu/q/TRMt2F1BoDfaXe01P B3FzR7gyyyWO/qPVY8z6gQLj5fo92wOXHDwnc/8ASeKSXT/sjp/+jP8AO+f0/wBzj+a/8DSUv3uH aTH91n3D/9DhdZRqzAlxAjklDhSxsYZWQQ8bq6+G9p8XKGVAElsxOopI3Ixi4NFrS46AT3R4IJBE EGCDpBC08Ho3RwWufV6lsyC/dt/sN9ta08jouNn4WdfjwzNwmtu0Pteydttdn7r9vuqeoJZI3Qvz LPHHLhskfR51shHregM1EjgqaEgviaZdSsH7Pvb+82PkS2SgdOrfj4te8hos94k9j9FTyKfXqLS8 MkFpJEkh2gaP+u7N6nm4ga5tFj9oxgGNYPzhA926HeCdGhjrxtErM+L+rTs4NXq+21jbGtjUgHTs uu6bhYe1pFTHh3ALRB/BcD9V6MmvqtOO64nGyLA00DUgHwf+Y5dxh9P6ueoH9Z9Kit4a3FcSWlu4 bHV7Hbt+zd+kcqmWPrq76hmEgcf7p6uF9aMPAb1N9GORi1Uudo0OeDY+HHeJ/R8MYsW2w0Oe3HLm 0/RdJJDiIl3u/lLoupZ+L+2sx7GNcBa5rnQGglpguf8Amvs9T271DqGO65tNuJXDdzg4wSJPudYW x9LduTvd4ZCMh6davSP7yo47hYPq0uvmcBmXkNt9bRxiHSNONv0Qg5ORZcNSY5I8/HRFy6hXYWtk eIKA0S7UD5iQrMYx0kAGC

Скачать книгу