Page 58 of Leon
"Yes." She smiled tremulously. "He stood up for us. Your sister—" Her mouth trembled. "She went to him and demanded that he fix things."
His hands were not quite steady—Christ, his heart was not steady. He told her that he had concluded that he would be a fool to let her go. "I was taking tonight to rest and was coming to get you tomorrow."
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
"Hmm." He kissed her softly. "I cannot live without you."
Her lips trembled. "There's something else." She leaned in and kissed him. "We're having a baby."
He went still, his heart simply stopping before speeding up. "I love you," he whispered thickly. "I love you."
*****
Their son Leon Robert was born seven months later. It took that much time for her father to come around, and even so, the relationship was tentative. But at least they were talking. And he had softened enough to roughly apologize.
"Tired, babe?" Her husband came into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her cheek gently. Their son was sleeping inside his cot, his little fists clenched. Their combined family had finally left. Lisa with her month-old baby girl and her husband had been the last to leave.
"A little." She placed her hand over his and closed her eyes as she breathed in his scent. Tears burned the back of her throat as she thought about the last seven months and the time they had wasted.
"Sweetheart—" Alarm spread across his face as he got into bed next to her. "Are you in pain? Goddammit, darling, I told you—the visitors were too much—"
"No." Her voice was husky. She clung to him and buried her face in his chest. "I love you," she whispered. "You have given me so much, I can't—"
He was shaken when she burst into tears and clung even tighter. The time he spent with her, the pregnancy, living with her had changed him completely. He felt as if his life had started when she came into it.
He waited her out, until the tears had eased to sniffles, before lifting her chin. Her cheeks were wet, lashes spiky with moisture, and to him, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. And completely his.
"My darling," he whispered, kissing the tear-stained cheeks. "My life, my everything." Gathering her against him, he held her close, his heart and life complete.
The end… but wait:
