A Midwife Crisis by Lisa Cooke Page A

didn’t say anything about the other way around.”
    John laughed and Katie’s eyes shone.
    “Is that all you need on your list?”
    “No,” she answered, suddenly turning serious.
    “What’s missing?”
    “He has to be a good kisser.”
    Kisser? His eyes riveted to her mouth as he thought of kissing her full, soft lips. Her tongue darted out to moisten the lower one, and he felt it in his gut…or maybe a little lower. Would she like his kiss? He suspected he would like hers. Clearing his throat, he attempted to jerk his mind back from its sidetrack. “Why would that matter?”
    She blushed, and he realized what a stupid question he’d asked. “I want children,” she murmured, writing the last item on her list. “I imagine some kissing would be expected.”
    “Yes, well.” He searched for the perfect comeback.Finding none, he simply said, “Now that you have your list, maybe we should get back to work. You can always add more to it later.”
    Katie knew exactly what she would be adding to her list later. When her husband looked at her the way John had, it had to do things to her insides the way John did. Those warm bubbles stayed in her insides until they stopped for lunch, and Julia bounced into the library ready for her walk.
    They hadn’t accomplished much. Between her list making and John’s snail pace, very few books had been sorted and none had been put away. It was odd really, how a man as big as John could have no more strength than he did. She carried stacks of books as big as the ones he carried, if not bigger. Maybe he had a bad back like Pa.
    “Mrs. Adkins told me what she wants from Mr. Davis’s store,” Julia said, her coat already buttoned under her chin, “but she said I couldn’t tell you until we get there.”
    “Oh,” Katie said, raising her brows. “Then we’d better hurry in case it’s something important for dinner.”
    Julia’s excitement was contagious and by the time they’d put on their coats and headed toward the store, there were smiles on each face. Julia grabbed Katie’s hand, then John’s, forming a human link that allowed her to lift her feet occasionally and dangle between them to avoid water puddles. Of course there were no water puddles, but one can’t be too careful at the age of five.
    “Oh, look!” Julia squealed, as a butterfly flitteredpast. She pulled Katie’s and John’s hands together instructing them to “Hold my spot” as she chased after the elusive insect.
    Their pace slowed considerably. John’s large hand engulfed Katie’s, and she suspected he was as uncomfortable with this as she was. Should she pull away? She didn’t want to, but they weren’t courting, and what would her fiancés say if they heard about this? Maybe if she loosened her grip, he could release her hand if he chose.
    He didn’t.
    Instead he tightened his hold as they followed Julia down the street. Katie could feel her face heating and just when his thumb rubbed a small circle on the back of her hand, Julia bounded back to reclaim her spot. Her bounding didn’t stop until they were inside Frank’s store, and it was finally time to share Mrs. Adkins’s secret instructions.
    Frank leaned over the counter to hear the little messenger better. “And what is it you need, Miss Julia?”
    She beamed and announced, “Three peppermint sticks, please.”
    “Peppermint?” John asked.
    Julia nodded her head with utmost seriousness. “And she said we weren’t to come back until we’d ’et ’em clear gone.”

Chapter Fourteen
    In the two days since she’d seen John, Katie had done a lot of thinking. As a result, she decided she needed to quit thinking so much about John. It was interfering with her decisions concerning her fiancés, and it wasn’t helping get her chores done either.
    Of course not thinking about him was going to be tough, especially today since she was heading into town to work for him. She’d just have to think about his library and Julia, and what