Step by Step by Candace Calvert

Author:Candace Calvert [Calvert, Candace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2016-03-28T04:00:00+00:00

“First molar, first fever . . . new mom,” Taylor told Seth, cuddling the chubby, naked, and dripping-wet baby girl against her scrub top. They’d been sponging her to bring her body temperature down. “I told the mother to go grab herself some juice. The lab’s going to draw a blood sample and—”

“You wanted to spare her that,” Seth finished, the warmth in his knowing smile causing Taylor’s stomach to quiver unexpectedly. Probably because of all they’d shared with each other on that beach. About how they’d both wanted children, but tragedy had intervened. She took a breath, half-expecting to catch the scent of the leather jacket he’d worn last night. The baby burrowed her damp face into Taylor’s shoulder. “Poor thing, she’s so tired.”

Seth leaned against the exam room doorway, studying Taylor’s face. “You must be too. You probably got five hours of sleep.”

“I’ll live.”

She’d slept less than three; her brain had refused to shut down. It had run in an endless sensory loop: the heartbreaking image of the young couple cradling their dead infant, the chill whipping of salty air as Seth’s motorcycle sped over the bridge toward Coronado Island, the feel of gritty-soft sand and the scent of woodsmoke as they sat side by side on the beach . . . the sparks rising from the fire, and even strains of Rachmaninoff’s rhapsody. It had all melded somehow into an ache, even a yearning, that confused Taylor.

“Why are you here?” she asked, shifting the baby in her arms. “I thought you were busy at the training site today.”

“I was. And I’m going back but . . .”

Seth’s dark eyes met hers, an instant reminder of the scratchy-warm feel of his cheek against her lips. It had been another curious curve in the endless loop of memories that kept her awake.

“I thought I should stop by and see how you were,” Seth continued. His brows pinched. “No. That sounded like a debriefing. It’s not like that at all. What I meant was I wanted to see you because I—”

“Lab here. Excuse me. Have to get by, sir,” a tech interrupted, sliding into the doorway beside Seth. Dwarfed by his height, she angled her head backward to squint up at him through her glasses. “Are you Dad?”

“No, no.” Seth shot Taylor a sheepish look. “I’m—”

“He’s a chaplain,” Taylor explained.

“Oh, dear.” The tech’s eyes shifted to the sleeping child. “Is she . . . ?”

“She’s fine,” Taylor said quickly, understanding the anxious assumption. A chaplain’s presence could signify a number of things, some worrisome. “Seth’s not here officially.” She met his gaze as the tech stepped inside the room and began to assemble her equipment with a hollow tinkle of glass tubes. “He’s . . .”

“On my way out—we’ll catch up later.”

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