she should not be having postpregnancy hormonal shifts. But having Zane back in her life, even temporarily, was causing a seismic shift. She jerked in a quavering breath, still not daring to look her ex in the eye. “It’s lovely,” she murmured back huskily. “Thanks.”
He reached across the chasm of space between them, clasping her delicate hand in his rougher one. “So we’re good?”
Yes, Nora thought, her pulse racing despite herself. And no...
Luckily for her, she was saved from having to answer that by the ringing phone.
She rose to get it.
The news on the other end was not good.
* * *
“YOU HAVE TO go back to work now?” Zane asked.
Aware she had no time to don her scrubs again, Nora grabbed a belted cardigan-style jacket instead, looped the chained badge over her head and settled the ID between her breasts. She paused to pull on her favorite pair of Western boots. “It’s an emergency with a new resident. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to wait for a sitter to get here...so I’m going to have to take Liam with me.”
He followed her back to the Pack ’n Play. “Is that going to be a problem?”
Gently, Nora eased her son into a fleece jacket and cap. “No. He goes to Laramie Gardens with me every day.” It had been part of her employment deal, and the only way she would go back to work so soon. “I just usually have a sitter there with me. To keep an eye on him between feedings.” Which she usually did herself.
“Want me to go along and help?” Zane asked.
An extra pair of hands was always helpful, particularly when an infant was on the scene. Nodding, Nora collected the diaper bag and her purse, then gathered her son in her arms. “Actually, yes, if you wouldn’t mind. At least until I can get reinforcement.”
Together, they hurried out to the drive. Luckily, Liam seemed more dazed than unhappy to be woken up. Not always the case.
The pickup truck Zane had driven forever was parked behind her. “I’ll follow you over there,” he called.
Short minutes later, the two of them were walking into the home for senior citizens. Just before they entered the doors, Nora handed Liam, who was still strapped snugly into his infant carrier, off to Zane.
And not a moment too soon, it appeared. At the other end of the hall, a determined Russell Pierce was slapping a jaunty brown felt fedora on his head. In a safari shirt, khaki cargo pants and a worn leather jacket, he bore a striking resemblance to Harrison Ford. With a physical vigor belying his eighty-five years, he was arguing with the night charge nurse, Inez Garcia. “I’m telling you, nice as this visit has been, I have to go close up The Book Nook, and then get home to have dinner with Esther and the baby.”
Wordlessly, Nora directed Zane to take Liam into the community room, where help awaited him. “Hey, Mr. Pierce,” Nora said, sauntering closer.
“Well, hello there, young lady!” he said. “I was just about to call you. The rest of your special order came in.”
“Great.” Nora smiled and gently took his arm, attempting to orient him. “Do you know where we are?”
He looked around. Suddenly confused.
“Laramie Gardens, Home For Seniors,” she said.
He squinted, uncertain.
“Will you let me walk you back to your room so we can take your blood sugar and talk a moment?”
Mr. Pierce hesitated. “I still need to get home to Esther,” he said more urgently than ever.
“I know you miss her and want to be with her,” Nora said softly.
He nodded. Tears glistened.
Nora fought the lump rising in her throat. She put her arm through his, and together, they walked back toward his room.
An hour later, all was calm.
Nora went in search of Zane and the baby, hoping they were still in the community room. Only to hear sounds of what had increasingly become the norm.
“Yes, but it isn’t fair,” Wilbur Barnes said.
“All the activities are female oriented,” complained Kurtis Kelley.
“We want an equal-opportunity holiday around here!” Buck Franklin reiterated gruffly.
“Hey! We gave you fellas ample time to weigh in on the scheduled activities,” the always-elegant Miss Sadie said.
“You all refused,” retired librarian Miss Mim pointed out.
Nora crossed the threshold.
Zane stood in front of the fireplace, a wide-awake Liam cradled in his arms. The two of them were a picture of contentment. Leading Nora to secretly wish for the impossible...
“What do you think, Zane? You’ve got enough distance to lend perspective,” Darrell Enlow, the resident peacemaker, said.
Zane squinted at the group gathered around him. “I’m not sure you want to hear what I have to say.”
“Yes, we do!” everyone cried in unison.
Zane looked at Nora. Figuring it couldn’t hurt to get an outside opinion, she encouraged him with a nod.
He drew a breath, his attention focused solely on the thirty or so seniors gathered around him. “Well, when I hear you argue about whether hand-painting ornaments is an appropriate activity for guys I can’t help but think about all my fellow soldiers stationed around the world right now who are away from their families, who would give anything to be home with their loved ones. In fact,” he admitted, in a low, gravelly voice, “they’d be so damn grateful, they wouldn’t care what they were expected to do as long as they could spend time together.”
The ache in Nora’s throat came back, full force.
This was the Zane she had loved.
The big, strong guy with the heart as vast as the Lone Star State. The man who never let her—or anyone else who was depending on him—down. The soldier who was always ready and willing to render aid to someone else in need.
Who was helping her out with her son, even now.
Several throats cleared. More than one resident dabbed their eyes.
“You’re right,” Wilbur Barnes said finally. “We can do better.”
Zane shifted Liam a little higher in his arms. Her son reacted by resting his blond head contentedly against Zane’s broad chest. “Which isn’t to say I don’t understand your frustration,” he continued empathetically. “The holidays are a time when it’s just as easy to think about what you don’t have as it is to count your blessings.”
How true, Nora thought, aware right now she was acutely cognizant of how much she had missed him. And
