The Pretenders (29 page)

“Deb.” His smile was radiant.

I walked over to join the two of them by the window.

“It’s almost time for her to eat,” I said. ”That’s why I came in.”

“I know. She was crying a little, but when I put my finger in her mouth she sucked on it and stopped.”

I rested my cheek on his shoulder and the two of us looked at our baby.

“I never thought I would feel this way about her.” he said a little wonderingly. ”She’s … she’s like a miracle to me.”

I looked at Helen Maria Elizabeth Ann Lambeth, and thought that perhaps she was a miracle. Even more for Reeve than she was for me. For me, she was my deeply loved child. For Reeve, in some strange way, she was redemption.

The miracle fluttered her eyelashes and began to cry.

“The finger trick lasts for just so long.” I informed my husband. ”I’m afraid you’re going to have to hand her over to me.”

He grinned at me. I looked at that boyish, happy expression, and my heart rejoiced.

No one was ever going to call him the Corsair again.