Beauty & the Blue Angel Read online

  When the elevator stopped and Alex threw the iron gate open, the first thing Daisy saw was his sister’s sympathetic smile. “You poor thing. Don’t you worry about anything, all right? You’re safe.”

  Strange, Daisy thought. But she’d felt safe since the moment she’d first seen Alex back at Antonio’s.

  Three

  Daisy barely had time to say hello before Alex’s two sisters had swept her off and planted her in bed. Which was just as well, since she wasn’t entirely sure she could speak without releasing the screams gathering at the back of her throat.

  So she gritted her teeth and kept quiet as Alex left her in his sisters’ care. In just a couple of minutes, the two women helped Daisy into a nightgown and tucked her into what was apparently yet a third sister’s bed. The wide, brass bed creaked comfortably as she shifted higher onto the pillows and looked around the room. A large, cherry armoire stood against one wall and luxurious Turkish rugs dotted the shining wooden floors. It was a big, beautiful room. Nothing at all like her own small efficiency apartment.

  “I don’t feel right about this,” she managed to say, and looked from one to the other of the women standing on either side of the bed.

  The older of the two—Rita, that was her name—said, “Don’t you worry, Daisy. This was our sister Gina’s apartment, but she got married and moved out. For tonight, just consider it yours.”

  “I don’t know…” But then the child within made another attempt at escape, and Daisy forgot all about feeling oddly out of place. Nothing was more important than the coming birth. Nothing.

  “Do you want me to call anyone?”

  Again Daisy looked at Rita. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her chocolate-brown eyes were warm with concern. She smiled, and Daisy saw the resemblance between her and Alex.

  “Sarah,” Daisy said. “My midwife. Number’s in my purse.”

  “Got it,” the woman said. “Husband? Boyfriend?”

  “No,” Daisy said. “There’s no one.”

  Rita shot her sister a quick look, then said, “Okay then, I’ll call the midwife.”

  “Try not to worry, okay? I mean, just concentrate on your baby,” the other sister, Maria, said, plumping the pillow beneath Daisy’s head as Rita hurried out of the room. “I know this must be hard, but honest to God, we’re gonna take care of you. And remember, Rita’s a nurse.”

  “Thanks,” Daisy muttered as the last of a contraction faded into the soft haze that signaled not the end, but the beginnings of yet another, stronger pain to come.

  Maria, a shorter, younger version of her sister, bustled around for a few more minutes. She tucked and untucked blankets, smoothed sheets and patted Daisy’s hand in a distracted, nervous sort of way. Finally, when she’d run out of things to straighten, she announced, “I’m going to go make you some tea,” and left the room.

  This just wasn’t working out at all the way she’d planned it, Daisy thought. And she’d spent plenty of time planning for the birth of her child. She’d been to a clinic for regular checkups and had even arranged for a midwife to come to her apartment to deliver the baby. Sure, some of her friends had been aghast at the idea of her delivering at home. But a trained midwife was every bit as good as an obstetrician—especially when the mother was young and healthy, and no problems were expected. Sarah Lovell was an excellent midwife, warm and caring and far less expensive than an unnecessary hospital stay. Which was an important consideration for a single woman with limited health benefits.

  Besides, Daisy had wanted to go through labor and delivery surrounded by familiar things. After all, she’d assumed that she’d be alone when giving birth, and at least in her own home, she’d feel safe…comfortable.

  Instead, though, she was lying on a stranger’s bed, with even more strangers hovering over her, asking if she was all right. All right? She was so far from all right she wasn’t even in the same universe. Then Alex entered the room, pausing briefly in the open doorway. Her gaze met his and she felt a little bit better as she watched him cross the room in a few long strides. Funny how just a couple of hours ago she hadn’t known he existed. Now his was the only familiar face in a world gone suddenly very weird.

  “How you doin’?” he asked, leaning over her and brushing her hair back from her face.

  “I’ve been better.”

  He smiled, and she thought, That’s easy for you to do. Then the next pain hit and she bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep a screech from erupting.

  He took her hand, enfolding it in his. Just having him hold on to her helped, and she drew on his strength when her own started to ebb.

  “Squeeze my hand,” she whispered through gritted teeth. The midwife had told her that during delivery she should try to keep her muscles as relaxed as possible, so she couldn’t hold on to him.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, but tightened his grip nonetheless.

  “You won’t. Tighter.” His fingers clenched harder and it actually helped to distract her from the real spasms twisting her middle. Closing her eyes, she arched with the pain, trying not to fight it. Trying to remember that when this was all over, she would have her baby. She’d never be alone again. She would have someone to love. Someone who would love her back.

  “Rita?” Alex turned to look at his sister as she hurried back into the bedroom.

  “The midwife was out on another delivery. I left a message,” she said, forcing a smile for Daisy before looking at her brother. “Alex, go away.”

  “What?”

  “I want to check her progress. Leave.”

  “No,” Daisy said, and could hardly believe she was saying it. But she simply didn’t want to go through this alone. His warm strength reached down into the cold, dark corners inside her, and Daisy couldn’t imagine letting go of that feeling. Not now. “Stay. Just don’t let go of my hand.”

  Alex looked down into those pain-filled blue-green eyes and knew he wasn’t going anywhere. She seemed so small, so alone. And yet she faced each pain as bravely as any military man he’d ever seen. She didn’t back down. She didn’t scream or complain. She simply braced herself and rolled with each progressively stronger contraction.

  He looked down at her small hand as his fingers tightened around her fragile bones and a part of him wondered at the strength in her. Alone. No one to help her. No one to help raise this baby. She faced it all bravely—even though she was going through the biggest moment in her life surrounded by strangers.

  “I’m not goin’ anywhere, Rita.”

  Rita scowled at her brother, then smiled at Daisy. “It’s okay. The midwife will get here eventually. But until she does, we’ll do fine. I’ve helped to deliver lots of babies and even done a couple on my own in the ER. Mothers and babies are doing nicely.”

  Good to know. Very good, Daisy thought as another pain crested and she arched her back, riding it as though it were some invisible bucking bronco in a rodeo.

  Her world became nothing more than the pain and Alex’s grip on her hand. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else registered. Not Rita’s tender hands or whispered words of encouragement. Nine long months had come down to this one moment in time.

  Daisy’s brain raced, trying to stay one step ahead of the pain, trying to remember that every contraction brought her one step closer to being a family. That any minute now she’d be holding her baby in her arms and the pain would be only a memory. Oh, she wished it was just a memory.

  But that sense of peace hadn’t hit her yet. What she needed at the moment was a distraction. Any distraction.

  “Talk to me.” She looked up at Alex and forced the words through gritted teeth.

  He grabbed a nearby chair and drew it close to the bed. Sitting down, he kept a firm grip on her hand and said, “Sure. What should I talk about?”

  “Anything. Everything.” She sucked in a greedy gulp of air. “Just talk to me.”

  “Right.” Alex shot a glance to the foot of the bed, where Rita w
as stacking clean towels and arranging a lamp for the best possible light. Maria was in the other room, probably pacing a trench in Gina’s carpet. He shifted his gaze back to Daisy, smiled and started talking.

  His words flowed over her, creating wonderful pictures that took her out of the lovely bedroom, away from the body-twisting agony of labor and into worlds and places she’d never seen before. She could almost see Alex at the commands of a navy jet. She nearly felt the G forces of takeoff and the meteoric rise as the jet climbed toward heaven. She sensed the freedom that flying gave him and she heard the joy in his voice as he described being a member of the navy’s elite flight team, the Blue Angels.

  He painted word pictures for her and she saw the incredible stunts he and his team performed miles above the earth. She could hear the oohs and aahs of the crowd as they stared, transfixed, at the intricately choreographed maneuvers the pilots made. And she sensed his regret that his time on the team was over. But the stories he told, the magic in his voice, were enough to take her mind off the torment in her own body, and for that, she’d always be grateful.

  “I’ll be reassigned when my leave’s up,” he continued, leaning in close to her, making her concentrate on his words rather than the pain. “Don’t know yet where I’ll end up, but—”

  Daisy nearly flew off the bed. A sudden, desperate urge to push grabbed her and she clutched at Alex’s forearm with a frantic grip. “Oh…oh God. Something…something’s changed. It’s different now. And…I think it’s coming and—”

  “Rita…”

  Already in position, Rita lifted the edge of the thin blanket covering Daisy’s legs, and when she straightened up again, she had a determined glint in her eyes. “Okay, honey. This is it. The baby’s crowning.”

  “Oh, God.” Finally. Her child. So close. Daisy’s arms ached to hold it.

  “Whatever it is,” Rita added with a quick smile, “it’s got a lot of hair.”

  Daisy’s breath hitched and tears stung the backs of her eyes. Her baby. A tiny person. Almost ready to enter the world.

  And she had to help.

  “Have to push,” she said. “Have to push now.”

  “You can’t. Not yet. Just breathe, Daisy,” Rita told her. “Let the baby ease down. It’ll do most of the work now, if you just try to relax and let it.”

  “Relax?”

  “I know,” Rita said with a short laugh. “Easy for me to say. But you have to try. Pant. Short, sharp breaths. You can do it, Daisy.”

  “You can,” Alex said, standing up to lean over her, drawing her gaze to his face. “You’re plenty amazing, Daisy. You can do this.”

  She didn’t want to. She wanted to push. She wanted the miracle over already. She wanted the pain to stop and her baby to be born. Oh God, she wanted to get up out of her body and run away.

  Daisy twisted and writhed on the bed, planting her feet and rolling from side to side with the pain.

  “Just a little longer, Daisy,” Rita said. “You’re doing great. Everything’s terrific. Just a little longer. Be tough, okay?”

  “Push,” she whispered between pants as the driving, instinctive urge grabbed hold of her and demanded to be obeyed.

  “Soon.”

  “Now.”

  “Look at me, Daisy.” It was Alex’s voice again, and she turned her head to look at him. Staring into his dark brown eyes, she concentrated on the way the light seemed to fill them, how warmth pooled in their centers and radiated toward her. “Concentrate on me, Daisy. You can do it. It’s almost time. You’ve been great and now it’s almost over. Just stay strong.”

  “Alex…” She said his name with an exhaled breath and it felt almost like a prayer.

  Seconds ticked past into eternity and Daisy fought her body’s instincts, trying to hold in the life fighting to get out. It made no sense, she thought wildly. It’s time. “Have to—have to—”

  “Okay, here it comes,” Rita said, then added the most beautiful words Daisy had ever heard. “Push, Daisy. Push hard.”

  She did and felt her body tighten, grow stronger, as if a closely reined-in Thoroughbred had suddenly been turned loose and allowed to run. Pressure built to an unbelievable level until she heard Rita say, “Okay, now wait. The baby’s turning. Pant, Daisy. Don’t push. Hold on, hold on.”

  Alex stayed in her line of vision, forcing her to meet his gaze. She stared up at him and wondered how he’d come to be such an important part of her life in a few short hours. He was here. Sharing this moment with her. Making it his own as well as hers. And though she knew that it was only because they’d all been caught up in an emergency and that this sense of closeness wouldn’t last, a part of her wished it could. Wished that somehow Alex and she were connected by more than a chance meeting at a restaurant.

  “You’re doing great,” he said, and smiled in admiration. “Just hang on a few more minutes.”

  “I can’t,” she said, knowing it was true, feeling it down to her bones. She just couldn’t do this for another minute. It was too hard. Too much. She wanted to stop now. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep. She wanted this to be over.

  “Oh, yes you can.” He leaned down closer until his face was just a kiss away from hers. “Daisy, I think you can do anything.”

  “One thing you can do,” Rita said loudly from the foot of the bed, “is push. A couple more big ones will deliver your baby, Daisy.”

  “I’m tired….”

  “I know.” Rita glanced at her brother. “Sit behind her and prop her up. It’ll help.”

  He took orders without question. A military thing, he guessed. Easing down onto the bed, he held Daisy against his chest and looked down, beyond the edge of the blankets just covering her modesty. And as he held her, he felt her body tense, felt her strength gather.

  “Here it comes, Daisy,” Rita called out, sounding like the cheering section at Fenway Park. “Keep going, keep going.”

  Stunned, Alex watched in silent awe as a squirming, furious baby slipped from Daisy’s body, took a deep breath and released an impressively loud screech of outrage. Laughing, Rita held the baby up for Daisy to see, and announced, “It’s a girl and she’s a beauty!”

  “Oh, look at her,” Daisy said, and collapsed against him.

  Alex wrapped his arms around her and laughed along with his sister as the tiny, squalling piece of humanity let everyone know she thought the world was too bright and too loud and too cold. Rita worked quickly, taking care of the little things that had to be done, then wrapping the baby snugly in a soft towel. Laying the child in the crook of her mother’s arm, Rita went about cleaning up the room while Daisy lay stunned, holding her family in the circle of her arms.

  Four

  Two hours later, the midwife had come and gone, and the room where Daisy lay with her daughter was quiet and shadow filled. The Barones had left her alone for a while, sensing, she thought, that she needed a little quiet time with her baby.

  Daisy looked down at her daughter, cradled in her arms, and felt completely overwhelmed by the most powerful rush of love she’d ever experienced. She’d had no idea that the feeling would be so intense. So stunning in its ferocity. She felt as though she could do battle with a bear for this child and come out the winner. In an hour or two.

  The baby screwed up her face and wiggled, and Daisy thought it was all a miracle. The wonder of this child. The unbelievable kindness of the Barones, taking her into their home and treating her like royalty. Better. Like family. Something she’d never known—but recognized when she saw it.

  Sarah, the midwife, had efficiently filled out the paperwork, given the new baby a thorough checkup and pronounced both mother and child in excellent health.

  But Daisy could have told her that. She’d never felt better. Oh, exhaustion hovered at the edges of her mind, but all in all, she’d never felt more…alive. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins and she didn’t think she could sleep even if she tried to close her eyes. Which she wasn’t about to do. She was fa
r too interested in staring at her little girl. She examined every finger and toe. Admired the sweet shape of her face and the curve of her tiny mouth. Mine, Daisy thought, and felt the flush of pride that she’d had a hand in producing this tiny, miraculous being.

  In the soft glow of a dimly lit lamp, Daisy’s gaze drifted over the sleeping baby. A soft brush of dark blond hair crowned her head. With her milky-blue eyes closed, her dark lashes spread like tiny fans on her cheeks, and her perfect rosebud mouth puckered and pouted as she dreamed of— What did babies dream of? Daisy wondered. Did memories of heaven flit through their minds? That would certainly explain why sleeping babies so often smiled. And it was a much nicer explanation than the gas theory most adults subscribed to.

  Smoothing her fingertips across her baby’s hands, Daisy marveled at the miracle of ten tiny fingernails. A soft breath puffed from her daughter’s button nose and Daisy smiled. Such perfection. The baby screwed up her features, blew a spit bubble, then settled down again, and with every small movement, wormed her way further into her mother’s heart.

  How was it possible to love so deeply, so quickly? From the moment Daisy had laid eyes on her child, she’d known there was absolutely nothing on earth she wouldn’t do for her. And the depth of that feeling was staggering.

  “A dollar for your thoughts.”

  Daisy looked up as Maria stepped quietly into the room. Smiling, she asked, “A dollar? Didn’t that used to be a penny?”

  “Inflation.” Maria grinned back and stopped beside the bed to carefully, tenderly, stroke one finger along the baby’s soft cheek. She sighed wistfully. “So, Mom, how’re you feeling?”

  “Mom.” Daisy repeated the word just to hear it again. It sounded…good. “I feel wonderful.”

  Maria shook her head and sat down on the chair beside the bed. “I don’t know how you did it. When it’s my turn—if it’s ever my turn—I want a hospital bed, an operating room, a team of doctors and every single drug in the place.”

  Daisy laughed and winced as parts of her body ached in response. “That might have been nice,” she admitted, but, glancing down at her baby, she said, “I wouldn’t change a thing, though.” Then she added a little guiltily, “Well, except for moving in on you guys. I’m really sorry about this. The baby and I will leave first thing in the morning, I swear.”