Page 110 of Deadly Attraction
Chapter Twenty-three
Three months later
The timer went off and Emma and Mitch exchanged a look. Outside the dogs were playing Frisbee with Will and Jane. Danika was due for her normal Wednesday session any minute. Second Chance and Hope were running in the pasture as Zig Zag, the new horse, chased them playfully.
“I can’t look,” Emma said, covering her eyes with her hands. Her stomach was tied in knots. This couldn’t be happening. “You do it.”
Mitch peeled one of her hands away from her face. “We’ll do it together.”
He drew her off the bed and toward the bathroom where the little white stick sat on the vanity. He stopped, bent forward and squinted. “Oh boy.”
Emma snuck a peek over his shoulder. “Or girl.”
Mitch picked her up, twirling her in his arms and making her squeal. “Congratulations, Doc. Looks like we’re adding to your menagerie.”
Miracles really did happen, because that’s what this was. After miscarrying Skye, the doctor had told her she’d never have another child, and yet, here she was with a very clear plus sign on the pregnancy stick. “I can’t believe it.”
Mitch kissed her, set her down, and said, “A plus sign means positive. I read that to you six times. Guess my considerable skills extend even farther than I realized.”
“Not sure you should list impregnating the barren on your resume, Holden.”
“Seriously? I mean, you have to admit, that’s pretty impressive shit.”
She laughed, enjoying the teasing light in his eyes. She saw that a lot more these days, the past having less hold on him. He was focused on the future now. So was she.
“We should call your mom.”
Mitch grimaced. “She’ll be here next week. I’d rather break the news in person, if you don’t mind. She’s going to freak and ask a million questions, and well, you know how she is.”
The mother and son were on the road to reconciling, and Emma had learned a lot about what made each of them tick. Their mutual love for Mac had initially torn them apart; now, it was forging a bond between them. The baby would no doubt strengthen that.
“How about we call your parents?” Mitch said.
“Later.” Emma grabbed his hand and tugged him along after her. “I think Will and Jane should be the first to know.”
The spring had been a wet one so far, the wildfires already a distant memory as the hills and valleys bloomed with new life.
As she and Mitch stood on the front porch, the dogs came running, all except Lady, who stayed by Will’s side.
Jane looked over, face flushed with fun. She put a hand up to shade her face from the sun. “What’s up? You coming out to play?”
Will stalked toward them, a frown on his face. “Everything okay?”
He was always on alert, much like Mitch. So far, Emma’s name hadn’t made it into the papers or onto the Internet in connection with Chris’s death. Victor had spun the story, and the world believed Linda Brown had killed Chris. Fans of their series were devastated, both that their hero was dead and that a woman who claimed to be his number one fan and believed she was the legitimate mother of Tom Monahan, had been the killer.
Cyborgs. They were everywhere.
While she had no doubt Linda had been a stone-cold murderer, there were times when Emma wondered if she’d misdiagnosed Chris. She’d been so sure he was fooling her colleagues, but after finding those toy soldiers under her bed, she now had doubts.
If it hadn’t been Chris, it had been Linda playing with those action figurines. Either way, she knew between the two of them, they had planned to kill her. Because of their actions, several good men had died. Danika had almost died as well.
Sociopath or just a damn good actor? She would never know for sure, but a part of her stuck to her original diagnosis. She knew criminals and she trusted her training and her gut instincts. Like Mitch had said to her a dozen times before, some people were just fuckin’ crazy.
Standing there on the porch, she grinned as Mitch wrapped his arms around her waist. “We have an announcement.”
Jane caught up to Will and the two of them stopped at the bottom of the steps. Lady laid down at Will’s feet and the veteran and veterinarian both stared at them. Jane clapped her hands together. “Wait, let me guess. You’re getting married!”
Mitch made a face and looked at Emma. “Are we getting married? We probably should, shouldn’t we?”
