Mommy Midwife Read Free Page A

intruders had turned that lamp on, they would have been here after dark. Not that long ago. He hoped there hadn’t been a break-in. More likely, this was a simple case of Olivia leaving the light on and forgetting that she’d done so. Still, he knew better than to dismiss a threat without thoroughly checking it out.
    The second bedroom was painted a soft blue, not unlike the color of her eyes. It was the nursery, the room where his baby boy would sleep. Would their son have her eyes? Troy swallowed the lump in his throat that came whenever he thought of the baby. Never in his life had he been the least bit sentimental, and he’d given considerable thought to why he was touched by the idea of having a family.
    His age had something to do with these feelings. On his last birthday, Troy turned thirty-six. In most professions, he’d still be considered young, but that wasn’t true for special ops. His vision wasn’t as sharp as it should be for a sniper. His reflexes had slowed by a few milliseconds, enough that it made a difference. He wasn’t at his physical peak, and he realized that it was time for him to step back and take a more supervisory role. Becoming a father and having a family seemed like the natural next step in his life.
    He liked the simple, clean furnishings in the nursery: a dark oak crib, matching changing table and rocking chair. Seated in the rocker was the teddy bear he’d sent—fuzzy and brown and dressed in camo fatigues. He wanted to see his son holding the bear, wanted to show him how to play catch and to take him fishing. He wanted to be a real part of his child’s life. Somehow, he had to convince Olivia.
    He returned to her SUV where she had prudently stayed behind the steering wheel with the doors locked. With wide eyes, she peered through the driver’s side window.
    “There’s nobody inside,” he said. He looked to the next obvious hiding place for an intruder. “Do you usually park in the garage?”
    “Not when the weather is nice.”
    “Leave your headlights on and hit the automatic door opener.”
    Holding his weapon at the ready, he moved to the side of the square structure. The garage door squawked and rumbled as it folded up on itself. The interior held the typical junk that accumulates in a garage as well as ski equipment and a very nice mountain bike with heavy-duty tires.
    Troy noticed the outline of a footprint in the dust on the concrete floor. It appeared to be a man-size boot, too large for Olivia. The print could have been made today or last week or a month ago. He checked the side door to the garage. It was open.
    “Olivia,” he called to her. “Is this door usually locked?”
    “It should be,” she yelled back to him. “But I usually don’t bother.”
    None of the boxes or tools in the garage looked like they’d been disturbed. If an intruder had searched in here, he’d been incredibly careful. And why bother being so stealthy in a garage? It didn’t make sense.
    Troy decided against mentioning the footprint. Not right now, anyway. He returned to her SUV. “I think we’re okay.”
    “Are you sure? Could you tell if anything was stolen?”
    “It doesn’t look like it.” Her nervousness seemed out of proportion for a light left on in a window, and it wasn’t like her to panic for no reason. “What’s going on? Have you been threatened before this?”
    “Why would I be threatened? I’m just a midwife.”
    As she pushed open her car door and climbed out, his gaze focused on her belly. He hadn’t seen her for two months, and she’d swelled up like a watermelon. His fingers itched to touch her roundness. “You look beautiful.”
    “Yeah, right.” She lurched past him toward the cabin. “I’m gorgeous if you’re into pre-Columbian fertility goddesses.”
    He followed in her wake, watching the sway of her hips under her purple scrubs. Pregnant women didn’t usually excite him, but he had an overpowering urge to caress her and hold her miraculous