A Lawman for Christmas

“Not until you give me the address,” she answered.

He’d forgotten about that. Morgan rattled off the address. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Kelsey hesitated. “Got a better idea. You lead the way, I’ll follow. If the car dies, I’ll honk the horn to let you know.”

It made no difference to him which way they did it. He just thought she’d prefer to be out front, but her way would still allow him to call in without fear of losing sight of her. He needed to let dispatch know why he was going to be late getting the squad car back to the precinct.

“Okay,” he nodded. “Give me a second.”

Crossing back to the squad car, Morgan started the vehicle and then swung it around in front of her. It was time for her to play follow the leader, he thought, a smile curving his mouth.

“Where were you?” Kate asked when her daughter finally walked into the house.

“Busy playing musical cars with Officer Donnelly,” Kelsey quipped. “First he took me to your car—it doesn’t look happy,” she confided. “Then I followed him to his house—”

“His house?” Kate did her best not to look pleased. Nothing put Kelsey off faster than when she believed she was being manipulated. Still, Kelsey could do a lot worse than the young officer.

Kelsey tossed down her purse and straddled the arm of the sofa. “Turns out he’s a closet mechanic and will fix the car for you. He almost insisted on it. You created quite an impression on him, Mom,” she said with a grin. “Anyway, then he brought me back here.” Kelsey shrugged. “Not much of a story really.” Her voice grew more serious as she appraised her mother. “How are you feeling?”

Kate ran her hand along her extremely flat stomach, trying to smooth down the unsettling churning.

“Like I’m going to throw up.” She pressed her lips together, trying to think of other things.

Kelsey wondered if she should bring over a pail or the wastepaper basket from the kitchen. “I thought that only happened with first babies.”

Kate took in a long, cleansing breath. She longed for some tea to settle her stomach. “Seeing as how it’s been twenty-six years between pregnancies, this is practically like having a first baby.”

“For the second time around,” Kelsey commented. This whole thing was crazy, as if the world was somehow out of whack. And yet, there was this small, solid starburst of joy smack in the center of her being.

There was no denying it. She loved children almost as much as her mother did.

“But that’s not why I feel like I’m going to throw up,” Kate confided in a lowered voice, despite the fact that only the two of them were in the house.

“Oh?” And then Kelsey guessed what caused her mother’s unease. “You’re afraid of what Dad’s going to say.”

“Not say so much as feel,” Kate admitted. She twisted her fingers together. “This is a lot to spring on him.”

Kelsey had always been honest with her mother. She saw no reason to change now, even if this wasn’t the easiest of subjects for a daughter to discuss with her mother.

“This is a lot to spring on all of us, Mom.” Her mother looked a bit distressed. Kelsey quickly continued. “I mean, I know you guys love each other and all that, but I guess at this point in your married lives, I thought that your expressions of love were more or less restricted to holding hands and occasionally indulging in deep, soulful kisses.”

Shaking her head in amusement, Kate ran her hands through the girl’s hair. “Someday, my darling daughter, when your skin isn’t quite as flawless as it is today, you’ll come to realize the true meaning in that poem.”

That had come completely out of left field. “What poem?”

“‘Come grow old along with me, the best is yet to be,’” Kate said, reciting her favorite line out of a poem by Robert Browning. And then she patted Kelsey’s hand. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to school? I don’t need a babysitter, honey.”

“I’m not babysitting,” she protested a bit too quickly. “I told them at the school I didn’t know if I was going to be back today.” And then she backtracked a little. “At least I think I did. Everything after talking to you on the phone is still a little hazy. Besides,” she staked out a place on the sofa, “I thought I’d hang around here today, see if you need anything, need someone to catch you in case you faint again, things like that.”

Kate took her daughter’s hand and drew her up to her feet. “I’m fine, really. Go back to work.”

Well, she had left them in a bad way. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to get rid of me, Mom.”

Kate grinned. She was gently guiding her daughter to the front door. “I am. I’ve changed my mind. I can handle this. Thank you for coming as quickly as you did—now go.”

Kelsey paused in the doorway. She didn’t want her mother to think she was hovering, but she didn’t feel good about just leaving her. “You sure you don’t need anything?”

Kate smiled. When she spoke, her accent was particularly strong. “Oh, a shot of my da’s liquid courage, maybe.” She reconsidered her words and gave Kelsey a rueful expression. “But then, I can’t have that for the next nine months.”

“Speaking of ‘da,’ when are you going to tell Dad?” Kelsey asked.

“Today,” Kate answered. She’d already made up her mind. But suddenly weary, she took a deep breath. “I just have to find the right words.”

“How about ‘Hi, honey, I’ve got a new tax deduction for you’?”

Kate shook her head. “Very funny, Kelsey.”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” Kelsey told her mother. “I was trying to temper the shock with a positive piece of information.”

“He’s not going to be in shock,” Kate protested. But then her words echoed back to her. “He’s going to be in shock, isn’t he?”

“Can’t really blame him, Mom. You were in shock when you found out,” Kelsey reminded.

But that was different. “It was for just a few seconds.”

“With luck,” Kelsey deadpanned, “Dad’ll come out of his shock just before he has to rush you into the delivery room.” Kelsey leaned over and pressed a kiss to her mother’s temple. “Just kidding, Mom. After he realizes you haven’t just developed a weird sense of humor, he’ll be thrilled.”

Thrilled was a rather powerful word. “I don’t know if I’d go that far…”

Kelsey gave her a vague little shrug. “Might as well keep a positive attitude about this.” Reaching for the doorknob, she paused as a thought hit her. “Just make me a promise.”

Raising five children had taught Kate never to make a promise until she heard all the details. “Yes?”

“Don’t tell the guys without me there. I want to see their reaction. You can tell Dad,” she realized they needed their privacy for this, “but not Mike and the others unless I’m there. Please,” she added in case her mother didn’t think she was serious.