Sunny Says by Jan Hudson Page B

Excellent, in fact.”
    High on adrenaline and the magic
of the miracle she’d just participated in, Sunny gave a saucy bobble of her
head and grinned smugly. “Not half bad, if I do say so myself.” She wiped the
baby with a soft towel and laid him across Estella’s tummy. “Do you have a
shoelace handy?” she asked Kale.
    “I’m wearing loafers. Why do you
need a shoelace?”
    “I think we have to tie the
cord. I read in a novel once where they used a shoelace.”
    Estella, breathing raggedly as
she stroked her newborn’s back, said, “Forget it. You’re not . . . using a
nasty shoelace . . . on my baby.”
    *    *    *
    A few minutes before midnight , Sunny and
Kale, arms around each other’s waists, stood at the hospital nursery window and
watched Ed Jones, Jr., sleep.
    “Isn’t he wonderful?” she asked,
resting her head against Kale. “Seven pounds and three ounces of perfect,
beautiful baby. Won’t Ed be thrilled when he gets the message?”
    Kale pulled her closer against
him and kissed the top of her head. “It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever
witnessed.”
    “It terrifies me to think what
might have happened if we hadn’t come home when we did.”
    “But we did, and everything
turned out fine. You heard her obstetrician say that it’s rare for a first baby
to come so quickly. And the doctor said that you did all the right things. I’m
very proud of you.”
    Sunny sniffed.
    “Are you crying?”
    She shook her head and sniffed
again.
    “Aw, sweetheart.” He turned to
her and gathered her close.
    She clung to him, feeling
comforted by his strength, bonded to him by the invisible golden threads of the
experience they’d shared. “Let’s go home.”
    *    *    *
    With Kale driving the Escort,
they pulled into the driveway of the big house facing the bay. Sunny said, “When
the ambulance came, I was in such an uproar that I forgot to ask you where you
found my keys.”
    “In the pantry on top of a can
of tuna. Why do you leave them in such strange places?”
    “I don’t know. I usually put
them down with the last thing in my hand and swear that I’ll remember, but I’m
always losing them. Even when I put my keys someplace special so that I won’t
forget, I do.” She yawned as he helped her out of the car.
    “Tired?”
    “Mmmm. But a good tired.” As
they walked to the back door, his arm was around her, and her head leaned
against his shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “I’d
love to have a glass of wine and a long soak in a bubble bath.”
    “Need someone to wash your back?”
    His question was the perfect
opening for her to put a damper on any intimate involvement between them, and
its playful tone would allow her to do so without making a big deal of it. But the
simple no didn’t come. She honestly didn’t want to say no. Instead she said, “Are
you a good back washer?”
    “The best there is. I learned my
skills from a pro in the Orient.”
    She laughed softly. “I’ll bet
you did.”
    He kissed her forehead and said,
“Use the tub in Ravinia’s room. It’s bigger. I’ll get the wine.”
    Upstairs, Sunny undressed and
put on a short lavender silk robe. By the time she’d walked down the hall to Ravinia’s
room, her heart was beating wildly. She opened the door cautiously and turned
on a Tiffany lamp, feeling a niggling disquiet about entering. But instead of
the sense of foreboding she expected, the room seemed alive and welcoming.
    The leaded-glass lamp shade cast
a muted, multicolored light over the room and illuminated the huge bed, with
its intricately carved headboard and gold silk spread. She could almost hear Ravinia’s
tinkling laughter and her melodious voice saying, “Come in, my dear. Enjoy!”
    She smiled and made her way to
the bathroom, which was almost as large as her own bedroom. She sat on the edge
of the immense sunken tub and sniffed the various decanters of bubble bath
until she found an herbal one