Chapter 37

Dexter waited for twenty minutes before going up to bed. He would have gone up with her, but he had a feeling she and Sandra wanted to talk.

He liked the woman. She was so sweet, and in a way sort of a mother to Roxie.

Roxie was still awake and lying in bed when he walked in. He got undressed and got in next to her.

Laying on his side with his head propped up in the palm of his hand, he looked at her. “How are you doing?”

She turned her head to look at him. She reached over and touched his cheek. “Much better now. You saved my life again. You’re my hero.”

“It’s my job as your husband to always protect you from danger. What you saw back at the house, when I had to kill Douglas… I’m so sorry you had to witness that.”

She swallowed hard, momentarily looking away from him. What she had witnessed, the way he so easily snapped Douglas’s neck, frightened her.

She knew it was his training and that he’d had to do these things on his missions, and probably had to do much worse.

But it was one thing to hear about it and another thing to actually witness it happening.

“I admit it was scary. You did it so effortlessly. I also know you had no other choice, since he was trying to kill me, and given the chance, he would have killed you too.”

She looked back at him. He was a good man, and she knew that he would never use these skills to hurt innocent people.

She also thanked God that he was out of the service and living a normal life with her.

“That’s right. It was either him or us, and I chose us.”

“Make love to me,” she said, pulling him down on top of her.

“After what you’ve just been through, you can think about making love?”

“It’s because of what happened that I need it more now than ever.

“We could have lost each other, so I need to feel you, feel your arms around me and your body on top of me to make me know that we survived.

“Unless you’re not in the mood. If that’s the case, I can wait.”

He laughed a little and kissed her lips softly.

“When have you ever known me not to be in the mood? I wanted to make love to you the moment I walked into this room, but I was worried that you might not want to.

“Do you feel that, my love? How hard I am for you? So yes, I am most definitely in the mood.”

The next morning, after they finished their breakfast, Dexter had to leave for work. Taking her hand in his, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it. “I really hate to leave you.”

“It’s okay. I know you have to go to work. I’ll be fine here with my father and Sandra.”

Sandra was sitting in the same room and heard them talking. “Dexter, I will take care of her. And we talked about going out today, so I’m going to take her shopping.”

Respecting Roxie’s request, she did not tell Dexter that they were going to the doctor. So instead, she made up another excuse.

He told her he’d be back as soon as the class was over and gave her a kiss goodbye.

Thomas was sitting there looking at the two women. He was so happy that the two of them were getting along, and he had fallen in love with Sandra and was hoping to someday marry her.

“Okay, what are you two women up to?”

Sandra smiled back at him. “Darling, I just thought having a girl’s day out would be good for Roxie after what she’s been through.

“Surely you must know that shopping is the best way to make a woman feel good and to forget her problems.”

“Okay, would you like me to drive you and Roxie into town?”

Roxie looked at Sandra with a worried look on her face. If her father drove them into town, he would know that they were going to the doctor’s and not shopping.

Sandra went over and gave him a hug. “That’s very sweet of you. But I have my car, so I can drive. Why don’t you get your staff to make a special dinner tonight just in case.”

Oops, she didn’t mean to say that. It just came out.

“Special dinner just in case? Just in case of what?” Thomas asked, looking from one woman to the other.

He knew there was something going on, but he also knew that he wasn’t going to get any information out of either one of them until they were ready to tell him.

As they were sitting in the doctor’s office, Roxie was feeling a little bit nervous. “Was it really necessary for us to come here today? I could have just taken a home pregnancy test.”

“If you are pregnant, and even if you are not, what you went through yesterday was very traumatic, and you were underwater for a certain amount of time.

“I also asked the doctor to give you a thorough checkup. It’s always best to be safe rather than sorry.”

When the receptionist said they were ready for her, she got up and turned to Sandra. “Thank you for being so kind and for bringing me here.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. Go on now, and I’ll be here waiting right here for you when you’re done.”

She followed the nurse into the doctor’s office and sat there waiting for him.

When he arrived, she looked up at him. He was an older doctor with gray hair and glasses, but he had a very friendly smile.

After talking for a few minutes and asking her about how long she’d had to hold her breath underwater, he sent her into the examination room and had her put on a gown.

Before that, she had to give a urine sample and was asked a few more questions.

He did the examination, and when it was over, he told her she could get dressed and he would meet her in his office in a few minutes.

She sat in the same chair as before, chewing on her fingernails. While he was examining her, he’d given no clue as to what he was thinking. His facial expression never changed.

Ten minutes later, he walked in carrying her chart and sat down behind the desk.

“Mrs. Sinclair, I have found nothing wrong, and you are in perfect health, and I’m so happy to inform you that you are indeed three weeks pregnant.”

Her heart began pounding inside her chest. She couldn’t explain the happiness that was running through her entire body and mind when she heard the word ~pregnant~.

They had planned on waiting a couple of years before starting a family, but she knew that Dexter would be happy regardless.

After thanking the doctor and promising to book her appointments, she went out into the waiting room and over to Sandra.

“Well, is everything okay? What did the doctor say?”

Her eyes filled with tears, tears of happiness. “Everything is fine, but I’m pregnant, three weeks,” she said, holding up three of her fingers.

Sandra threw her arms around her, giving her a motherly hug. “I am so happy for you. Did you want to drop by and see Dexter, so that you can tell him?”

She shook her head. “No, I want to wait until tonight, after dinner, when we go for a walk in the garden.”

“Are you going to tell your father when we get home?”

“I need to tell Dexter first.”

“I understand. I give you my word I won’t say anything. Now, since we’re out and we don’t have to be home yet, why don’t we go and have some lunch, my treat.”

Seeing the smile on Roxie’s face, she looped her arm through hers and they headed out.

Later that afternoon, when Dexter returned, it was all she could do not to tell him right then. So once they were done eating, she asked him to take a walk with her in the garden.

When they got there, she stopped and stood in front of him. “I have something important to tell you.”

“Nothing bad, I hope,” he said, putting his arms around her waist.

“No, nothing bad. It’s actually really good news. Instead of going shopping, Sandra took me to see a doctor. Dexter, we’re having a baby.”

“You’re pregnant?”

“That’s usually what it means when someone says they’re having a baby. I know we had planned on waiting, but it happened, and I’m happy about it. I hope you are too.”

A huge smile crossed his face. He cupped her face in his hands.

“Oh my God, of course I’m happy that we’re having a baby,” he said, kissing her for the longest time. “How far along are you?” He felt like the luckiest man alive.

“Three weeks.”

He picked her up in his arms and swung her around before putting her down. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that in your condition.”

He looked toward the house and could see Sandra and Thomas looking out. Both were smiling. “I gather they already know,” he said, pointing toward the house.

“Well, Sandra knew, and I guess she just told my dad.”

When they went back inside, her father pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair. His eyes were filled with tears.

“I’m so happy that you are making me a grandfather. And you and Dexter will make great parents.”

That night in bed, she laid her head on his chest. “When will we be able to go back home? We still haven’t spent our first night there.”

He played with her hair. He loved how it felt running his fingers through it.

“It’ll be two more days. Right now, they are draining the pool and cleaning it. Will you be okay living there after everything that went down?”

“I’m not going to let that man destroy our happiness. That’s our home, and we are going to make good memories in it. It’s where we will raise our family.”

They both fell asleep, but she woke up craving strawberries, so she snuck out of bed and went down to the kitchen. She was surprised to find her father there, snacking on ice cream.

“Dad, you’re up late. And should you be eating that?”

“Sweetheart, I couldn’t help myself. Sandra is always watching what I eat. She says she wants me healthy and around for a long time. Why are you up?”

“I had a craving for strawberries.”

He laughed. “Your mother was the same. Here, sit down and let me make you what I used to make for her,” he said, pulling out a chair for her.

He went over and took the berries from the fridge along with some ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream.

He cut the berries up, poured them over the ice cream with the syrup, and covered it with the whipped cream.

Her eyes widened in delight. “Yummy,” she said as she dug in. She looked up at her father. “You really like her, don’t you?”

He smiled, picking up a napkin. He wiped the chocolate from her chin.

“Yes, but it’s more than that. I’m in love with her. How would you feel if I were to ask her to marry me? She’s a wonderful woman, and she really likes you.”

“Dad, I like her too, and I think you deserve to be happy. If she makes you happy, then I think you should go ahead and ask her.

“She’s nothing like Claudia. She’s warm, loving, and not into you for your money. The way she looks at you, I can see how much she loves you.”

Thomas got up and went over and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Thank you. Now, don’t you eat too much of that, okay? Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“Night, Dad.” She finished her dessert, placed the bowl in the sink, turned off the lights, and headed to bed. She climbed in next to Dexter, who was sound asleep, or so she thought.

“So the cravings have started already,” he said. Opening his eyes, he turned his head to look at her.

“I thought you were sleeping. But you’re right about the craving.”

“Let me guess what you had.” He recited everything she had. “Ice cream, berries, and chocolate syrup.”

She giggled. “You missed one—the whipped cream.”

He pulled her down on top of him. “I’ll make sure to have the fridge stocked up, so that when your craving hits, you’ll have it. That way I won’t have to go out in the middle of the night to get it.

“Now, how about you ride the pony express,” he said, pulling off her nightgown.

Two days later they moved back home. She went to work, and when her staff heard the news that she was expecting, they were all happy for her.

Time flew by, and they were going to her doctor’s appointment to have another scan.

During the scan, the doctor looked at them and smiled. “I have what I think will be some good news, I hope.”

“What is it?” Dexter asked, taking hold of her hand.

“I see twins.”

“Twins?” both Dexter and Roxie said at the same time. He looked at her and smiled. “That’s fantastic. But I think we’re going to have to order extra baby stuff.”

Even though the doctor was right there, he didn’t care—he leaned over and gave her a kiss that lasted so long that the doctor had to clear his throat to get them to stop.

They left the office bubbling over with happiness. Having ~one~ was amazing, but ~two~ was nothing short of a miracle, and they couldn’t wait to tell everyone the good news.