Luckily Kristen’s old house had sold quickly, Annie helping with more than a few required repairs. Like rewall-papering the living room and hastily building a new kitchen. Still, time and expense aside, both Kristen and her old neighbors were happy the house now held a new couple who found the house’s recent history compelling. The husband was a reporter, the wife a writer. Abe shuddered. Let them have the house and good riddance.
Owen’s house had been sold as well, again to people who were welcome to it. He’d left it to Kristen with the stipulation she keep a portion of the proceeds from its sale and donate the rest to the community center where Leah and Timothy had socialized. She’d donated the portion to the community center, then used the rest to set up a fund for Kaplan’s child and Vincent’s ongoing physical therapy. Vincent had proved tougher than they’d thought, and though he’d never work in a diner again, with therapy he could have a somewhat normal life.
Abe stood back, looking at his handiwork. Double-masted with a hand crank to raise and lower her canvases, the easel could hold a canvas up to eight feet tall. Abe looked around at the canvases he’d pulled from the storage shed in Kristen’s old backyard. It had been what she’d hidden out there, locked with the enormous padlock. The canvases she’d completed in Italy and during her early years as an art major, portraits and landscapes so stunning they made his heart clench. Of course, he was the least little bit biased.
His wife was gifted. On so many levels. Her most recent work in progress sat on a makeshift easel in the corner of the room. She’d captured the beauty of Florence so effortlessly. It was the view from the hotel room where they’d honeymooned, making the piece that much more special.
The house itself wasn’t much to look at. Yet. Abe had no doubt that between them, Kristen and Annie would change that quickly. But at least she’d get along with their neighbors this time around. Their new house was located just a half a block away from his parents. Sean and Ruth lived just a few blocks farther. Life was good.
„Abe?“ The front door slammed downstairs.
„I’m up here, honey. Spare bedroom.“ Anxiously he watched as she climbed the stairs, anticipating her reaction to the new studio. But his anticipation quickly became a frown as she reached the landing. She was pale and trembling, despite the heat of the July day. „What’s wrong?“
She just looked at him, her expression distant and unreadable. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the spare bedroom, gently forcing her into a soft chair. He crouched down to stare at her pale face. „I said, what’s wrong?“
Her eyes traveled around the room and her breath caught. „Oh, Abe… Thank you.“
But the thank-you was said in a voice so paper-thin, it didn’t sound like hers. „Kristen, you’re scaring me. What is wrong?“
Her russet brows knit as she seemed to concentrate. „I’ve just come from the doctor.“
His heart stopped. Oh, God. His brain spun, his mind landing on the possibility he’d kept buried in the back of his mind. Her cancer had returned. „It’s back?“
She frowned at him. „What’s back?“
„Cervical cancer.“
Her face blanched, her shoulders sagging. „No, oh, no, Abe. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you like that. No, I’m fine, really.“ As his pulse slowed to normal, she looked around the room again, her mouth curving into a little smile. „You’ve been busy this morning. Too bad you’re going to have to move it all back down to the basement.“
Abe shook his head. „No way. I’ve been working on this all – “ He stopped himself, captured by the look in her eyes. It was a gleam he’d never seen before. Hope and… something else. His heart stuttered in his chest and he gently pushed the curls from her face, not wanting to hope himself. „Which doctor did you go see?“
Her eyes held his. „I went to the doctor to get tested for anemia. My mother used to have it, and I’ve been so tired since I got back from my last trip to Kansas.“
Abe didn’t want to think about that trip, about the showdown with her father who still refused to give her the love she deserved. Abe had wanted to break the man’s face, but in the end Kristen had just said good-bye. She’d continue going back to see her mother for as long as her mother lived, but she’d given up on her father as a lost cause. Her father’s loss. He’d end up alone. Kristen, on the other hand, had more relatives than she could count, having been absorbed into the Reagan family.
„And he said?“
„She said my iron was fine.“ An expression of wonder crossed her face. „Then she said I was pregnant“
Pregnant. The word just exploded inside his head. His heart. Elated, Abe wanted to shout, laugh, turn cartwheels, but she seemed so still. So he waited.
„I told her it was impossible, that I’d had most of my cervix removed. But she said they’d done something called a cone biopsy, and though it removed a lot, it didn’t interfere with conception.“ She said the words as if by rote, as if she still didn’t believe them. „She said the doctor should have explained all this to me ten years ago.“
„Did he?“
„Maybe. I was so devastated by the whole birth, adoption, and surgery experience that I probably didn’t listen. I just assumed… Then later, I just didn’t want to think about it.“
Abe couldn’t help it. A grin spread across his face and with a whoop he grabbed her into his arms and spun her around as if she was little Jeannette’s age. She laughed breathlessly as she threw her arms around his neck and clung.
He tilted her head back so he could look into her eyes. Green and glinting with tears. „I love you, you know.“
She blinked, sending the tears down her face. „I know. I love you, too. Oh, Abe, I just can’t believe it’s true.“
„When?“
„January.“
He quickly did the math. „Then you’re three months already?“
Her face looked awed again. „I heard the heartbeat, Abe.“ She spread a tentative hand across her belly. „We’re having a baby.“
He covered her hand with his, desperately wishing he’d been there at her side. „Next time I’m going with you so I can hear it, too. And every time after that.“
She grinned unexpectedly. „You’ll have to pay Mia back for covering for you during all those doctors’ appointments.“
„I’ll let her pick lunch.“ Abe leaned his forehead against hers, so happy he thought he would burst from it. „I love you.“
„I love you, too.“
„Can we tell everybody?“
Kristen pulled away and started for the door. „If Ruth hasn’t already.“
Abe grinned. „She was the doctor?“
Kristen grinned back. „What can I say? I get a family rate.“
About the Author
Karen Rose fell in love with books from the moment she learned to read, with Jo from Little Women and Nancy Drew becoming close childhood friends. She started writing stories of her own when the characters started talking in her head and just wouldn’t be silenced. When she’s not writing stories for readers, Karen writes stories for computers – programming keeps the other side of her brain out of trouble. She lives in sunny Florida with her fantastic husband, an avid fisherman, and two wonderful daughters who also love to read – and write! Karen would love to receive your e-mail at karen@karenrosebooks.com, and be sure to check out her Web site at www.karenrosebooks.com.
