Part 12 (1/2)
He answered with a question of his own. ”Do you like it?”
And she had to confess, ”I do. Oh,Logan. Thank you. I like it very much.”
The Reverend Applegate coughed to get their attention. ”And now,” the reverend intoned, ”You may kiss the bride.”
Logankissed her. Pure heaven,Logan's kiss. She threw her arms around him and kissed him back. The Reverend had to cough again to remind them that they'd been kissing long enough. As they drew apart, Lacey heard chuckling from more than one of the guests. And sniffling, too-Edna or Tess, probably.
After the ceremony, they all sat down to dinner at the long table in the dining room. Tess and Edna had put out the best china and silver. There were candles, twelve in all, thin white tapers in antique silver candlesticks. In their warm light, the china gleamed and the fine, old family linen gave off an ivory glow.
The cousins and their wives took turns toasting the happy couple. ”To Lacey andLogan...” ”To the bride and groom...” ”To happiness...” ”Eternal love...” Loganlaid his hand over Lacey's. She twined her fingers with his. It will all work out, she told herself. I love him and he ... well, he cares for me. And he wants to take care of me. And there's Rosie. She needs us both. I'll take Tess's advice, she promised herself, as Zach stood to propose another toast.
I'll do everything I can to give love a place to grow...
Chapter 9.
They left forCaliforniaearly Monday morning,Loganfollowing behind Lacey in his rental car toBuffalo, where he'd made arrangements to drop the car off. InBuffalo,Logantook the wheel of the SUV. They made surprisingly good time the first day, considering that they had a newborn as a pa.s.senger. They stayed inSalt Lake Citythat night, in a nice hotel that provided excellent room service. They ate by candlelight, in the sitting room of their suite. Lacey said, ”This is getting to be a habit with us, romantic dinners with candles on the table...” She had her shoes off by then and she reached out her toe and hooked it under the cuff ofLogan's trouser leg.
He gave her a smoldering look from under those sinfully thick, dark lashes of his. ”If you keep that up, you won't get a chance to finish your dinner.” She laughed, a thoroughly naughty laugh, a laugh that made his dark eyes smolder all the more.
Of course, it was too soon after Rosie's birth to make love in the fullest sense. But Lacey had always been an imaginative woman. She liked giving pleasure as much as she enjoyed receiving it.
On their wedding night, by the time they finally got into bed together in the cabin, she'd been too tired to think of anything but curling up close toLoganand trying to catch a few winks before Rosie woke and demanded feeding again. But in the morning she'd felt a little friskier. She'd been able to remind her new husband of how much he appreciated what she could do with her lips and her hands.
She'd reminded him more than once since then.
He said she was insatiable.
She patiently explained to him that, no,he was insatiable. She was merely helpful.
”Eat your dinner,” he commanded gruffly.
She shrugged and picked up her fork.
Later, after Rosie had been fed and diapered for what seemed like the hundredth time that day,Logan took Lacey's hand and led her to the king-size bed. She had planned, once again, to show him just how helpful she could be.
But her body, evidently, wasn't quiteso willing as her mind. She closed her eyes when her head hit the pillow. And that was it. She didn't open them again until Rosie started crying for her next feeding.
Tuesday, they ended up inWinnemucca,Nevada. They shared a pizza in the room and fell asleep watching television-with the sound down very low, of course, in order not to disturb their slumbering daughter.
Wednesday, they were on the road good and early. InReno, at a little aftereleven o'clock, they made a brief stop at the airport to pick upLogan's Cadillac. And by early Wednesday afternoon, Lacey was pulling her SUV into the tree-shaded driveway ofLogan's two-story house inMeadowValley, just a block and a half from the old Queen Anne Victorian where she had grown up.Logannosed his Cadillac in beside her.
He had their luggage and all the baby's things out of the back of the SUV and stacked in theskylighted two-story front foyer in no time at all. ”I thought we'd put Rosie in the east bedroom, the one that overlooks the back deck. It's the closest one to the master suite, so that'll minimize the running back and forth.”
”Sounds fine,” Lacey said. ”The closer the better.”
Rosie was right there in the foyer with them, lying on her back in the ba.s.sinet that Tess had given her, making little cooing sounds and staring up toward the skylight.
”She's happy,” Lacey said. ”Let's get moving before she decides she's hungry again.” She picked up a big suitcase.
Logantook it from her. ”No heavy lifting for you.”
She made a face at him. ”I'm fine.” ”Take that stack of baby blankets and come on. You can start putting things in drawers while I carry it all up there.” * * * ”We'll have to fix this room up for a baby,” Logan said half an hour later, as Lacey was changing their daughter on the queen-size bed in the room Logan had chosen for her. ”We need a crib, and a changing table-”
Lacey nodded. ”And a dresser or two, some cute kid's-room curtains, new paint-the works.” She pressed the tab on the diaper and straightened Rosie's little pink T-s.h.i.+rt. ”There. All clean.”
Logansaid, ”Listen...”
She put the baby on her shoulder and smiled at him. ”What?”
”I want to check in at my office for a while. Will you be all right?”
”Sure.”
”The refrigerator should be fully stocked.” He had called his housekeeper, Mrs. Hopper, before they left Wyoming, to ask her to have everything ready for them.
”I'll be fine,” Lacey said.
”I need to ... have a talk with my partners. I thought maybe I'd take them to dinner, if I can catch them and they can make the time.” Dinner? That was hours away. ”You'll be gone until sometime in the evening, then? Is that what you're saying?” She really did try not to sound as bewildered as his sudden decision to take off for so long made her feel.
”Lace. I've left them high and dry for two weeks-after giving them virtually no notice that I was leaving and no reason why. I only said I had some personal problems that couldn't wait. I owe them an explanation and I want to get it taken care of as soon as possible.”
Lacey forced an understanding smile. ”Hey. It's okay, really.” And it was. If only she didn't feel so disoriented suddenly. As if she'd woken up and out of nowhere found herself in some other woman's skin.
Lord. Married toLogan. The mother of his baby. Standing here in his beautiful house on Orchard Street with its s.p.a.cious rooms and high ceilings, its skylights and arched windows, its walk-in closets in every room-the house where he and Jenna were supposed to have lived.
Loganwas watching her, a frown marring his brow. ”I'm sorry,” he said. ”If you're really uncomfortable with my leaving right now, it can wait until tomorrow.”
Lacey shook herself. What was the matter with her? He was a doctor. If she couldn't get used to his being gone for long stretches of time, she'd be in big trouble.
And this was her hometown, for heaven's sake. If she got too lonely, she could call an old friend-one of the twins, her high school buddies, Mira or Maud.
But then again, maybe not. Not right away, anyway.
The twinshad mellowed a lot in recent years. They no longer automatically despised anyone who embraced what they considered to be ”establishment” values. But they still consideredLogansomething of a stuffed s.h.i.+rt. AndLogandidn't think too highly of them, either.
She didn't know if she was ready right yet to listen to what they'd have to say to her when they learned that not only had she given birth to Mr. Straight-Arrow's baby, she'd gone and married him as well. ”Give me Rosie,”Logansaid. ”I'll rock her for a while and you can go on in and lie down.” She granted him her best rebellious scowl. ”Get out of here. Rosie and I can manage just fine.” Relief brought a smile to that s.e.xy mouth of his. ”You're sure?” ”Positive.” He leaned toward her and brushed a kiss at her temple. A moment later, he was gone. * * *
Loganfound Dan on duty at the office.
”Great. You're here.” The other doctor clappedLoganheartily on the back. ”Safe and sound. And a day early, too. Listen, I've got five of your patients scheduled for this afternoon, but since you're here now...” He let the suggestion finish itself.
”No problem. I'll take them.”
”Good. And we'll need some consulting time, tomorrow morning, if possible. Get it out of the way. You've got a few surgeries to schedule and a mountain of charts we need to go over.”
”Tomorrow morning's fine. Where's Helen?”