MacKenzie's Lady (23 page)

"
Y
ou're such a good little boy. I just don't know what I ever did to deserve a baby as sweet as you."

"You married me."

Holly straightened up and turned away from the crib, frowning at Mac. "You scared me out of six years' growth," she scolded lightly. "What if I'd been holding the baby? I might have dropped him on his head. When did you get home?"

Mac grinned and crossed the room to drop a kiss on her nose before leaning over the crib to admire his son. "A few minutes ago. Anyway, I waited until you'd put him down. Is it going to create some hideous trauma if I pick him up again?"

Holly pretended to consider the matter before giving in with a laugh. "I suppose not. Just don't get him too excited or I'll never get him to sleep."

As always, she found herself entranced by the contrast of Mac's broad hands against Michael's tiny frame. He picked the baby up gently, supporting his head with one palm before cradling him in his arms.

"He looks as if he's grown another inch since this morning."

"Not quite, but my mother swears he's going to be at least as big as his father. She claims she can tell by his feet."

Mac looked up from the baby, his eyes bright with amusement. "His feet? You mean like a puppy?"

Holly nodded solemnly. "She says you can always tell that way."

Michael blinked up at his father. At six weeks his eyes were beginning to darken and show signs of matching the brilliant blue of Mac's. With his dark hair and those eyes, there was no doubt about whose child he was. Watching the two of them now, Holly had to blink back tears. Mac was such a good father.

He ran his finger gently over the baby's soft cheek, murmuring nonsense words to him for a few minutes before replacing him carefully in the crib and arranging the blanket just so. He ignored the fact that in a matter of minutes, Michael would kick it off.

Did he ever think about the son he'd never know? Holly wondered. Did he look at Michael and wonder what the other boy had looked like as a baby, what he was like now, where he was and what he was doing?

Mac looked up, his brows coming together when he saw the tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's the matter?" He hooked his hand behind her neck to pull her close, his thumb brushing a lone tear from her cheek. "What's this?"

She shook her head. "I was just being silly."

"You're always silly," he teased softly. "But you don't always cry. What's wrong?"

She hesitated, her eyes searching his. He had told her about the other child, but he had never again mentioned him. Was she treading on thin ice by bringing him up?

"I was just thinking about the other boy." His fingers tensed against the back of her neck and his lashes fell, shielding his eyes, but she had come too far to back out. She drew a deep breath and went on. "Do you think about him when you look at Michael?"

There was a tense moment of silence, and then he shook his head. "No, not really. Once in a while I wonder what he looked like at Michael's age, but I've come to terms with the fact that things can't be changed."

He shook his head, dispelling the faintly melancholy atmosphere. "Come on, I've got champagne in the fridge and I brought dinner home." His arm slid around her back and urged her out of the room.

Holly fell into his mood easily. "What are we celebrating?"

"Today I have joined the ranks of the unemployed."

She came to a halt in the living room, turning to look at him, her eyes dark with concern. "Oh, Mac, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Hey, don't look so serious. I didn't get fired. I quit. Remember?"

She let him lead her toward the kitchen, but her brow stayed wrinkled. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want? I don't want you to quit just for my sake."

"Holly, we've been over this before. This is what I want. I'm getting old and tired and I don't want to become another statistic on burned-out agents, or dead ones. And after what happened to you, I'd never be able to concentrate as wholeheartedly as I'd need to."

She ran her fingers restlessly over the smooth wood of the breakfast bar while he got the champagne out of the refrigerator. "I should argue some more, but I'm selfish enough to admit that your job scares me to death."

"It had begun to scare me to death, and that's a sign that it's time to get out. I want to be here for you and Michael and any other children we might have. Besides, I've always wanted to run my own business. I've already made a bunch of contacts, and in less than a month I'll have all the licenses we need to start consulting like crazy." The sentence was punctuated by a bang as the cork popped out of the champagne. "Ken is going to work at it part-time until things stabilize enough to support both of us, and then he's going to quit and the firm of Donahue and Richardson will soon join the ranks of the Fortune five hundred."

Holly laughed, taking the glass he handed her and lifting it in a toast.

"To us," Mac offered. "We've come a long way together. May we go much farther."

"What's for dinner?"

"Pizza."

"With champagne?"

"A gourmet delight," he assured her as he lifted the pie out of the oven. She watched him cut it, admiring the play of muscles beneath his shirt and remembering the first night they had eaten pizza and then made love.

"James called today."

"Wonderful. Did you tell him he had a wrong number?"

"Mac, he really did think he was doing the right thing," she coaxed.

"Napoleon probably thought he was doing the right thing, too."

"Don't you think you could forgive him?" She accepted a plate from him and set it on the bar, pushing a stray mushroom around the plate. "Everything worked out."

"But not until you almost got killed," he snapped, feeling his skin tighten with anger at the memory of the fraught hours after she had been kidnapped. "If your brother hadn't been so anxious to play Superspy, you wouldn't have been put in that kind of danger." He drew in his breath and let it out in a sigh, seeing the distress in her eyes. He reached across the bar and caught her hand in his, running his thumb lightly over her wrist in an unconscious caress.

"I'm sorry. I know it wasn't all his fault. I take a large share of the blame myself. But it would have saved so much trouble if he'd gone to the authorities when he first suspected something was wrong." He forced a rueful smile.

"I'll get over it. It may take a while, but I'll get over it. Who knows, give me a while and I may even decide that James is a great guy. He made up for a lot by being so impressed by Michael. He can't be all bad, I suppose. Now, are we going to eat this celebratory feast before or after it gets cold?"

Holly drew her hand away from his and let her fingers drift casually to the neck of her soft blouse. "I suppose we could celebrate with a pizza, but I had something a little more adult in mind," she murmured, slipping the buttons loose.

"Holly?" Mac's voice was husky, his eyes never leaving her tantalizing movements.

"I saw the doctor today and she gave me a clean bill of health. I thought I might slip into something more comfortable and then we could..."

A muscle worked in Mac's jaw as she slid the last button free and began to ease the blouse off her shoulders. "We could..."

"We could go for a swim. The pool should be nice and cold this time of year." Her eyes sparkled with mischief as he swung around the counter and caught her up in his arms, startling a muffled squeal from her.

"Brat. It would serve you right if I threw you into the pool." His arms tightened, pulling her closer to his chest. "Is it really safe?"

She nodded, feeling suddenly shy beneath the warm hunger in his eyes. Her arms came up to circle his neck as he carried her down the hall to their bedroom.

"I love you, Mac."

He placed her gently on the bed, leaning over her, his figure outlined against the light from the doorway.

"I love you."

She caught a glimpse of the tender expression in his eyes just before his mouth claimed hers. Those brilliant eyes had haunted her dreams for over a year. From a tacky bar in Tijuana, they had followed her everywhere she went, promising heaven if only she could find the key. She had found that key, and it wasn't the baby who lay sleeping in the next room. It was simply love, a love that would grow for a long time to come. It had been a long, sometimes rocky road, but it had been worth every step. She was his lady and she couldn't ask for anything more.