Liberty Blake's Blog
February 13, 2019
Valentine's Day or Galentine's Day
Once upon a time I was a cocktail waitress in a blue collar, country music bar.
It wasn't really a date night type of place, although Saturdays were when you found established couples, not the regulars who tended to take their dates somewhere else because Mr. G's was the place they went to hook up on Fridays. (They also loved Tuesdays, which was "ladies' night.")
Valentine's Day is a happy place in upscale bars, but it's very sad in a hook-up establishment. If you were in Mr. G's on Valentine's Day it was because no one cared enough to want to spend time with you, if you were a woman. And a place for desperate men who thought they were finally going to score.
There is nothing worse than a holiday that causes good women to feel the devastation they feel when they are alone on Valentine's Day, although the next day at work might be even worse if the woman at the next desk received a diamond.
It is much better since Parks and Rec created Galentine's Day. I'd rather see people celebrating friendship than watch the despair and desperation of people who are made to feel like failures because they aren't being wined and dined on a day the ancient Roman's chose as their start of spring.
It doesn't matter if you are celebrating with a lover or with friends. The most important person you need to love is yourself.
It wasn't really a date night type of place, although Saturdays were when you found established couples, not the regulars who tended to take their dates somewhere else because Mr. G's was the place they went to hook up on Fridays. (They also loved Tuesdays, which was "ladies' night.")
Valentine's Day is a happy place in upscale bars, but it's very sad in a hook-up establishment. If you were in Mr. G's on Valentine's Day it was because no one cared enough to want to spend time with you, if you were a woman. And a place for desperate men who thought they were finally going to score.
There is nothing worse than a holiday that causes good women to feel the devastation they feel when they are alone on Valentine's Day, although the next day at work might be even worse if the woman at the next desk received a diamond.
It is much better since Parks and Rec created Galentine's Day. I'd rather see people celebrating friendship than watch the despair and desperation of people who are made to feel like failures because they aren't being wined and dined on a day the ancient Roman's chose as their start of spring.
It doesn't matter if you are celebrating with a lover or with friends. The most important person you need to love is yourself.
February 7, 2019
What a Year!
Please forgive me while I whine for a few lines.
In the past year I had a major household move, a concussion which is still affecting me eight months later, a hospitalization for a heart issue, and I lost a brother.
I have never left you, but I have had to take time off.
While I was grounded due to the concussion my librarian turned me onto "Playaway". A small devise which has an entire book loaded onto it.
If you haven't tried one yet, ask your librarian if they can get you a few. They're great in the car, at the beach, or if your doctor says "No reading."
I have found listening to books not only entertaining, but better for my knitting than television, which occasionally makes me look at it.
To paraphrase a slogan from Timex--I can take a licking and keep on ticking.
I am easing back into writing and blogging. I hope you will stay with me while I do.
Until next time--Keep on Reading!
In the past year I had a major household move, a concussion which is still affecting me eight months later, a hospitalization for a heart issue, and I lost a brother.
I have never left you, but I have had to take time off.
While I was grounded due to the concussion my librarian turned me onto "Playaway". A small devise which has an entire book loaded onto it.
If you haven't tried one yet, ask your librarian if they can get you a few. They're great in the car, at the beach, or if your doctor says "No reading."I have found listening to books not only entertaining, but better for my knitting than television, which occasionally makes me look at it.
To paraphrase a slogan from Timex--I can take a licking and keep on ticking.
I am easing back into writing and blogging. I hope you will stay with me while I do.
Until next time--Keep on Reading!
January 18, 2018
A New Year (Belated)
It's still January, so this isn't as belated as it could be--after all, I am getting it done before July.
The first month of the year has passed the two-thirds mark and I have not met my goals for the last half of 2017. There is good news, my characters have not forsaken me. They and I shall come back stronger than ever in February.
In the meantime, if you too have felt as if life has been keeping you from achieving your goals, sometimes you have to just go with the ebb tide and see where it takes you.
Ebb Tide at the Atlantic Beach, Newport, Rhode Island
Tomorrow is another day when you can set new goals.
(A special thanks to all of you who have been hanging in there with me.)
The first month of the year has passed the two-thirds mark and I have not met my goals for the last half of 2017. There is good news, my characters have not forsaken me. They and I shall come back stronger than ever in February.
In the meantime, if you too have felt as if life has been keeping you from achieving your goals, sometimes you have to just go with the ebb tide and see where it takes you.
Ebb Tide at the Atlantic Beach, Newport, Rhode IslandTomorrow is another day when you can set new goals.
(A special thanks to all of you who have been hanging in there with me.)
June 30, 2017
My New Name
Last July, right be before I headed out to Nationals I did the thing I had wanted to do for decades--I dyed my hair purple. Not all of it, just underneath the back. Where it could be hidden if I didn't like it. (Small chance of that, but I listened to my adviser.) Since my hair is waist length, that is still quite a bit of purple hair.
The purple was still in my hair (the color stayed nicely) a few weeks ago when I decided to refresh the color. Now it is so bright it glows in the sun!
Yes, that is my real hair, the day after it was colored and trimmed.
Yesterday I had a business meeting I drove to in an unairconditioned car. I had pulled my hair into a high pony to avoid knotting and being blinded by it when it blew in my face because I had to drive with all the windows open, listening to NPR.
The traffic on 95 was a tad unpleasant until a car with three men rushed up beside me, and one of the guys yelled out his window, "I love your hair!"
I have reached the age where an unsolicited compliment can make my day, even if it could be classified as a cat call.
I switched the radio to an "oldies" channel and the first song I heard was Mellencamp singing "Hurts So Good." Needless to say I started rocking out in the car and played drum on the roof while drivers played cat and mouse with openings in the road.
I am not a sedate woman, as any of my children will tell you. In fact, I can sometimes be downright embarrassing. (Think Auntie Mame!)
Last week my daughter Amanda Torrey dubbed me Nannylicious, much to the distress of my teenage grandsons. But you know what? I like it.
And so I enter the next stage of my life as Nannylicious.
Who do you plan to be?
The purple was still in my hair (the color stayed nicely) a few weeks ago when I decided to refresh the color. Now it is so bright it glows in the sun!
Yes, that is my real hair, the day after it was colored and trimmed.Yesterday I had a business meeting I drove to in an unairconditioned car. I had pulled my hair into a high pony to avoid knotting and being blinded by it when it blew in my face because I had to drive with all the windows open, listening to NPR.
The traffic on 95 was a tad unpleasant until a car with three men rushed up beside me, and one of the guys yelled out his window, "I love your hair!"
I have reached the age where an unsolicited compliment can make my day, even if it could be classified as a cat call.
I switched the radio to an "oldies" channel and the first song I heard was Mellencamp singing "Hurts So Good." Needless to say I started rocking out in the car and played drum on the roof while drivers played cat and mouse with openings in the road.
I am not a sedate woman, as any of my children will tell you. In fact, I can sometimes be downright embarrassing. (Think Auntie Mame!)
Last week my daughter Amanda Torrey dubbed me Nannylicious, much to the distress of my teenage grandsons. But you know what? I like it.
And so I enter the next stage of my life as Nannylicious.
Who do you plan to be?
June 21, 2017
Cover Reveal
I am pleased to announce The Designer Bride, book five in the Boundless Billionaire series, will be released in July!!!
May 31, 2017
Busy Times!
May was a busy month! Two daughters in less than two weeks had to have major surgery. Both are fine, but it is very nerve racking for Mama.
Tomorrow a good friend is going into surgery.
I don't write medical romance, nor do I watch medical shows on television, even though back in my club hopping days all my friends were in nursing school. (I refused to be in the lab when my biology partner dissected the earth worm and the frog, I just transcribed his notes into passable reading material. Which is why I didn't even consider being a nurse.)
Even though I do not write medical romance, I do enjoy reading a good one, thanks to years of reading Betty Neels.
Last week at the Maine Romance Writers Retreat I met the lovely Susan Carlisle. I highly recommend her newest book, THE SURGEON'S CINDERELLA.
http://amzn.to/2qCFuMh
Tomorrow a good friend is going into surgery.
I don't write medical romance, nor do I watch medical shows on television, even though back in my club hopping days all my friends were in nursing school. (I refused to be in the lab when my biology partner dissected the earth worm and the frog, I just transcribed his notes into passable reading material. Which is why I didn't even consider being a nurse.)
Even though I do not write medical romance, I do enjoy reading a good one, thanks to years of reading Betty Neels.
Last week at the Maine Romance Writers Retreat I met the lovely Susan Carlisle. I highly recommend her newest book, THE SURGEON'S CINDERELLA.
http://amzn.to/2qCFuMh
May 23, 2017
Maine Retreat Intro
I love Maine!!! Especially when it allows me to enjoy a second spring.
My lilacs had just passed from blooms to none, but the ones in Maine opened to full glory while I was there.
I hope you are enjoying spring where you are.
My lilacs had just passed from blooms to none, but the ones in Maine opened to full glory while I was there.
I hope you are enjoying spring where you are.
April 13, 2017
Home Schooling Nanny
Sounds like an excellent title for an erotica, doesn't it? (I'll have to remember it just in case I decide to write one.)
However, this blog is not about that, it is about how I, in my dotage, have become a grandmother who is homeschooling three grands.
It is fun and invigorating, but it also eats up a great deal of energy.
We visit the library an average of three times a week. That's three times a week for the children, my own personal trips add another three visits a week. My library is only open five days, one of them is Saturday, and I don't go on Saturday and usually not on Fridays, so yes, I spend a lot of time there.
We also travel into Boston to attend art classes at the Museum of Fine Arts, we have skating every other week, and weekly park days, which are about to become twice a week.
We do not lack socializing opportunities.
We have organic classes in the car, at Starbucks, or walking on the beach.
The children are happier and learning things they would never get in school.
And best of all, I get to spend a lot of time with three wonderful children.
And occasionally I get to write.
Do you, or have you ever considered, home schooling?
However, this blog is not about that, it is about how I, in my dotage, have become a grandmother who is homeschooling three grands.
It is fun and invigorating, but it also eats up a great deal of energy.
We visit the library an average of three times a week. That's three times a week for the children, my own personal trips add another three visits a week. My library is only open five days, one of them is Saturday, and I don't go on Saturday and usually not on Fridays, so yes, I spend a lot of time there.
We also travel into Boston to attend art classes at the Museum of Fine Arts, we have skating every other week, and weekly park days, which are about to become twice a week.
We do not lack socializing opportunities.
We have organic classes in the car, at Starbucks, or walking on the beach.
The children are happier and learning things they would never get in school.
And best of all, I get to spend a lot of time with three wonderful children.
And occasionally I get to write.
Do you, or have you ever considered, home schooling?
February 5, 2017
Hearts & Flowers
My sister Divas and I decided to write shorty-short Valentine stories for our friends and readers. Unfortunately, I don't write short enough, so the newsletter has the first two paragraphs.
Hopefully that was enough to whet your appetite.
Hearts & Flowers is about Cassidy and Theron's first Valentine's Day together, and it's a dozy. (Cassidy and Theron are the heroine and hero in The Counterfeit Bride.)
I hope if you enjoy this story will become a follower of my blog. Every so often I will post another shorty-short here and I wouldn't want you to miss it.
Hearts & Flowers(A Snippet from The Counterfeit Bride Short-Short)Liberty Blake
Even though Theron had replaced her old lumpy mattress with the Cadillac of mattresses, Cassidy shifted her weighty belly seeking a comfortable position. She hadn’t been able to find a comfortable position for the last four months, so one would think she’d be used to it by now. But her back hurt and the constant trips to the bathroom all night had made her cranky.She had gotten out of bed ten minutes ago to relieve her poor besieged bladder, and now she felt that pressure to run into the bathroom again. It was only three-thirty in the morning. The sun wasn’t even hinting that it was about to rise and shine.Maybe after this trip she wouldn’t fall victim to Theron’s enticement to return to bed. Instead she would go out to the kitchen and slice up potatoes and onions for home fries, get the fixings out for French toast. And bacon. There had to be bacon. She should probably cut up a lot of fruit for Zio. As long as he had cantaloupe and strawberries he wouldn’t be trying to steal his daddy’s bacon. And steak. She really wanted steak this morning.She suppressed her sigh as she slid out of bed—trying not to disturb her sleeping husband—and crept into the bathroom. Three drops! Her bladder made her get up for three drops!Cassidy pulled her favorite sweatshirt off the hook on the bathroom door and slipped her arms into it. Too bad the front wouldn’t close, but then again, her belly wasn’t cold, only her arms and feet. She couldn’t go back into the bedroom to get her bunny slipper, because Theron and his warm eyes would get her back into bed. But this was a working ranch and ranchers ate early. She was going to make a ginormous breakfast for her family before Mountain Man, her ranch foreman, took off for a farrier job he had been commissioned to do in east Texas. Then she would bathe Zio because the toddler always made a mess of himself when he had fruit and French toast—fruit compote! She slapped her forehead. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She had blueberries and apples. Fruit compote instead of maple syrup. Fantastic!A few minutes later she was elbow deep in chopped fruits and veggies when a shirtless Theron walked into the kitchen.“Agape mou, what are you doing?” She loved his sleep blurred face. She loved his throaty voice. The way his sleep pants hung below his hip bones, just hinting at the delights barely hidden behind the flannel. She loved the way he had adapted to flannel. She loved him naked, but not right now.“I’m making breakfast. What else would I be doing at this time in the morning?”Theron pointedly looked at the large clock hanging on the wall over the sink.“Sleeping.”Cassidy narrowed her eyes and fought down the urge to throw the heavy flour canister at the person responsible for her extreme discomfort. He was the one who planted not one, but two babies in her. They were the reason she couldn’t sleep, her sweatshirt wouldn’t close, and her ankles were the size of the dome on the Kremlin.“Ah, I see by the fire shooting out of your beautiful violet eyes that my manhood may be in danger.” He didn’t chuckle and the corner of his fine lips didn’t quiver even once, but Cassidy knew he was holding it back. He was placating her. Her hand reached for the crockery, but he had moved swiftly and swooped in for a kiss.Ummm. The rat had stopped in the bathroom before coming to the kitchen. His morning breath was peppermint flavored and delicious.Her hands crept up around his neck and she tried to snuggle into his embrace; that is until he jumped back in reaction to a tiny fist or foot nailing him. And by the look on his face it hit somewhere vulnerable.Cassidy laughed as she went back to her potatoes. The cast iron skillet was sizzling; time to add the tasty tidbits. She smiled and blew Theron a kiss as he headed into Zio’s room. Poor little guy must have heard them in the kitchen and now he was awake crying.Half an hour later the table was groaning under platters of French toast, flapjacks, oatmeal, fresh cut fruit and hot fruit compote, steak, ham, and bacon. All that in between Cassidy’s frequent potty breaks.The banana bread smelled delicious. She stood up from the chair she had been resting in and had to pause to rub her back. The pressure was intense and when she reached the stove she couldn’t bend to get the loaf pans out of the oven.“Pyrotechnia mou, what are you doing?” Theron carried a freshly bathed Zio into the kitchen. He kissed her forehead and Zio wrapped his little arms around her neck. “You did not leave room at the table for Z.”“He can sit in his high chair this morning.” Tears welled in Cassidy’s eyes. She wanted to put her son into his highchair and she needed to get the banana bread out of the oven, but she couldn’t bend.Her lower lip quivered. Theron’s hand wrapped around the back of her head as his thumb swiped a tear off her lashes.“My bread is burning and I can’t get it out of the oven.”“Sit.” Theron commanded. She so wanted to lash out and rebel, but she was beginning to feel her lack of sleep. “Z and I will help you.”Theron held Cassidy’s elbow as she cautiously lowered herself onto the chair. Zio reached his arms out to her. “Mama.”Her son’s happy smile made the pain in her back go away as she cuddled him in her arms. The spontaneous hug ended abruptly when he saw his dada at the stove and he slid off Cassidy’s lap and toddled over to “help.”After placing the loaf pans on the racks on the counter, Theron busied himself on the other side of the kitchen and Cassidy dozed off in her chair. The urge to pee woke her up. She placed her hands on the arms of the captain’s chair and pushed herself out of the chair. The porcelain throne had become her favorite seat in the house.After piddling the few drops that were all she had in her bladder, she washed her hands thoroughly before turning the doorknob to leave the room. The sound of the toilet still running annoyed her. The winter had been wet, but not wet enough that she would allow water to be wasted. Cassidy lifted the lid and fished around in the tank until she found the chain that should have been attached to the rubber ball. Once she attached the chain and resettled the ball there was peace in the room. She replaced the lid and turned back to the sink to rewash her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror as she scrubbed her hands. Her hair looked like a rat had ripped apart a ball of red yarn. She grabbed her hairbrush and started pulling it through the knots.Why didn’t Theron tell her she was a mess?Probably because the last time he said something to her she bit off his head. Yuck! Streaks on the mirror.Cassidy was on her knees scrubbing the floor when a knock on the door made her jump. “Agape mou, are you all right?”“I’m just finishing the floor. I’ll be out in a minute.”The door opened and Theron’s head appeared cautiously in the breech. “Go sit with Zio and I will finish the floor for you.”Treating her like a fragile invalid was getting old. “I am perfectly capable of cleaning my own house.” She almost threw the scrub brush at him, but the thought of the mess that would make stopped her.The floor looked good, but she couldn’t stand up. Why wouldn’t her body do what she wanted it to? The babies shifted. Oh yeah, that’s why.The door opened wider, but this time Theron didn’t say a word. He lifted her in his arms like he had on their wedding night, even though she weighed a lot more and her girth was the size of her favorite mare, currently pregnant out in the barn.“You don’t have to carry me.”“You are my heart, I carry you everywhere I go.”She fought an inner battle and lost when she couldn’t suppress her smile.“I know a line when I hear one. I own a bar, remember?” She grinned at him. “Has a line like that ever worked for you?”“I wouldn’t know, you are the only woman I have ever said anything like that to.” He stopped in the middle of the kitchen. “Do you want to sit at the table, in the living room, or go back to bed?”Bed sounded good, but then she felt the urge to tinkle again.“I have to go back in the bathroom.”“Cassidy, are you sure you are well? Perhaps we should call your doctor.”“The babies are playing with my bladder, that’s all. I’ll be glad next week when I go in for the C-section.” Theron looked doubtful. “If it makes you feel better you can wait right outside the door.”“I would prefer to remain in the room with you.” He turned to take her back to the bathroom.“Yuck! Watching someone else go potty would totally ruin the romance.” Cassidy knew it bothered him that she insisted on her privacy, but too bad. It was her choice.“I will not watch you, I will turn my back. I just wish to keep you safe.”“I promise, if I fall in I will yell for you.”He reluctantly lowered her to the floor and left the room.A few minutes later she walked into the kitchen and found her three men sitting at the table. Mountain Man and Theron drinking coffee and Zio devouring a banana. She shook her head. All that food she had prepared and the kid was eating a banana.“Come,” Theron patted his lap. “Come sit.” Cassidy eyed him evilly. It would serve him right if she did sit on his lap and the chair broke. She walked close thinking to tease him, but her husband was quick and had her on his lap before she could evade him. “Thanks for the breakfast, but I’m going to grab my little buddy here and head out. The sooner I get to Linden the sooner I can get back home.”Cassidy snapped her head around as MM lifted Zio out of his highchair. “You’re not taking my son to Linden.”“No, I’m not. He’s gonna spend the day with Linda so you and Theron can spend Valentine’s Day together.”Cassidy turned to glare at Theron with narrowed eyes. “You’re sending my son away?”“Not him, he was jest as surprised as y’all. Linda called me and tole me to bring ’im to her,” Mountain Man said over his shoulder as he walked out the door into the early morning Texas sunshine.“I guess it’s better to leave Z with Linda. It will give me more time to decorate the bar,” Cassidy buried her face in Theron’s neck so he wouldn’t see her grimace as a ripple of pain frog-hopped down her spine.“I had hoped we could spend the day here, just the two of us. Let Sandy handle the decorating.”“Sandy? His idea of decorating is having the wait staff put clean sawdust on the floor.”“Cassiopeia,” Theron’s voice was warm and throaty, “Sandy has been your lead bartender and unofficial manager for the past eight months. Trust him.”There was nothing that Cassidy wanted more than to stay wrapped in her husband’s arms all day, but the Scorpion’s Tail was her business and only source of income. Except for the survivor’s benefits she received from the Texas Ranger’s Widow and Ophan Fund for Zio.“But we’re completely booked for tonight.”“When the babies are cleared to travel we must return to Athens. I have been here for too long and my business is beginning to suffer. Give Sandy a chance to be manager. If he has any problems he will call.”“Okay,” she mumbled as her head slumped onto his shoulder and her breathing evened out.♥“Oh, oh, that’s soooo good,” Cassidy sighed. “Don’t stop.”Theron applied more olive oil to his palms before continuing the deep foot rub his wife was enjoying. He was worried. She had fallen asleep in his arms this morning and remained sleeping for a few hours, but it was not a deep sleep. She moaned in her sleep and her body tightened up every ten minutes or so. When she had awakened she made a mad dash for the facilities to be quickly followed by many more. They were hours away from the hospital and doctor, but Cassiopeia assured him it was just pressure.He wasn’t so sure; he had read the pregnancy books. In a little while he would suggest they go for a ride and he would take her to the hospital. In business he was not a coward, but when it came to his pyrotechnia, he did not wish to upset his little firecracker when she was so close to her time.As anxious as he was to meet his children, he was willing to wait another week.His fingers left the arch of her foot, glazed over her ankles, until they could play with her calves. He closed his eyes as her scent encapsulated him. Theron wanted his wife, but with her time so close—The sound of the door chimes made his eyes open. Nobody ever came to the front door of the rustic ranch house. Friends and neighbors and even delivery drivers always came to the kitchen door.He gently lifted his wife’s (Theos! He loved calling this woman his.) feet and placed them on the cushion. The shock of seeing eyes almost as violet as Cassiopeia’s on the woman standing on the front porch left him speechless. He did not think Cassidy would be happy to see her biological mother Kelley.“I’ve come bearing gifts,” the woman rushed to say.“Thank you, but we are content with what we have.” Theron was about to close the door on the woman who had abandoned her child at birth when he felt Cassiopeia’s presence at his back.“Let her in.” Cassidy surprised him.“You are the one always talking about not trusting Greeks bearing gifts,” he smiled at his volatile wife. His Cassidy was a woman who was not afraid to stand up for herself and others, but today she was bouncing from one emotional extreme to the other in the same breath.“I’m not Greek,” Kelley said as she pushed her way through the door. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my dear.” Her gasp sounded like an explosion when she saw Cassidy’s condition. “You’re having a baby! Why didn’t you let me know?”“When have you ever been interested in knowing about anything in my life?” Good—temper and not tears. Cassidy was herself.“My darling girl, I have always been interested. I lived for the days when letters from your grandmother arrived with news of all the new and wondrous things you were doing. I grieved when my mother died, not just for the loss of her, but because her letters stopped. Patsy’s correspondence always included a plea for more money.” “Then perhaps you should have actually been a mother.”“You wouldn’t have liked that. I was too self-consumed and trying desperately to hold onto your father.”“A child should always come first.” Cassiopeia straightened her shoulders. “You can leave now.” “I’m not leaving. At a time like this a woman needs her mother.” Kelley moved further into the house. “Besides that, I haven’t given you and Christofides your wedding present, and apparently you have both lived up to the original terms Theron and Costas agreed to.”She reached into her designer tote bag and pulled out a large manila envelope. “Here is the deed.”Theron accepted the envelope, but the look on Cassiopeia’s face made it feel like he had just touched fire.“She’s here because you contacted her. That’s why you’re in such a big hurry to return to Greece?”“He had nothing to do with this. I’m the one who got the signed deed.” Kelley flared, proving the red-haired temperament was in the DNA along with the violet eyes. “I’m the one who got the EU to insist Costas had to either clean up his own mess or pass it along to someone else. I know I didn’t really do you a favor, passing this cost over to you, Theron, but you wanted it.”“Oh no.”Cassiopeia fingers dug into his arm. Her face was pale. He followed her glance to her feet and saw the puddle she stood in. He was not going to faint.“Is that what I think it is?” Kelley screeched. “I can’t believe that just happened. I’ve been in the bathroom every five minutes.” Cassiopeia’s red face clashed with her hair. Her face shouted embarrassment while her eyes were sad and her mouth was about to spout something profane.Those were not the first words Theron wanted his children to hear. He wrapped his hand around her head and kissed her passionately on the lips. Now was not the time for gentleness—he needed to knock the shock out of her.“Come, pyrotechnia mou, we will get you changed into dry clothes and then we will go to the hospital.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her to their bedroom.“Thee, I don’t need to go to the hospital just because I wet my pants.”“You have been squirming and complaining about pressure all day.” He decided to leave out any comment about her irrational mood swings. “The babies are in a hurry to meet their Mama and Papa.”“Babies?” Kelley mumbled from behind them. “Plural.”“I’m not having the babies today. I’m scheduled for next week. I have a packed bar to run tonight.”Her face scrunched up as her body folded inward.“How far away is the hospital?” Kelley asked.“It’s almost two hours by car,” Theron’s answered.“Did you say babies?” “We are having twins.” Theron held Cassiopeia until her body uncoiled. Hopefully the pain had ended. Her face still had a pinched look when he placed her on the bed, but her body was not as tense. He turned to the dresser in search of clean undies when Kelley placed a hand on his arm and whispered. “Can you get a helicopter here? I don’t know much about having babies, but I do know that once the water has broken there isn’t that much time. Especially not with the kind of pain she just had.”“I will call for a helicopter after I get Cassiopeia dressed.”“I can help her while you make the call.”“My little firecracker does not like others to see her naked.”“I’m her mother.”“You are the mother who abandoned her at birth and so you are more stranger than mother.”A gasp escaped Cassiopeia and they turned to find her clutching her knees to her belly. “I will call now.”♥“Cassie, I have some clean clothes for you.”“Nobody calls me Cassie.”“I have. I called you Cassie when you were born and every day since then when I thought about you.”Cassidy gave an inelegant snort.“Let me help you.” Kelley’s voice was tentative, gentle.Theron rushed into the room clutching a pile of towels.“There has been a major accident and the helicopter will not arrive for hours. The hospital said to keep you warm and comfortable. Do you want one of my shirts or a nightgown?”“That’s it? Towels and a nightgown?” Kelley asked.“After I have made my wife comfortable I am to check her dilation.” His golden face paled.“I’ll help,” Kelley said.Theron nodded. “I will change my wife while you lay these towels on the bed.”As he helped Cassidy to her feet she mumbled, “I wish Mountain Man were here. At least he’s delivered foals.”“Do not lose faith in me, my heart.” He whispered for her ears alone.“I do have faith in you.” She gasped as another pain ripped across her back and into her abdomen.Theron massaged her back until he felt the tightness loosen. Then he stripped her clothes off her and pulled one of her oversized tees over her head.He placed her on top of the towels Kelley had laid out on the mattress and held her hand until a little color had come back to her cheeks.“Agape mou, I must check you now.”“I know.”He moved to her knees and gulped. “Kelley.” He called to the woman outside the door.“Yes.”“I left my Bluetooth on the kitchen table. I need it now.” She rushed out and then returned with the required technology dangling from her hand.“Stay with Cassiopeia while I make a call.” Cassidy recognized panic when she heard it.♥“I could not check the dilation, there was a blockage in the way.” Theron wanted desperately to shout, but he didn’t want to frighten Cassiopeia.“Sounds like the head is crowning.” The doctor replied.“I thought we were to keep her calm while we waited for the helicopter?” His wife needed a doctor and a hospital and she needed them now.“Mr. Christofides, I will stay on the phone with you. If you turn on the camera on your phone or computer I’ll be able to see what’s going on and guide you.”The woman was crazy. His wife needed someone who knew what they were doing. Not a Greek tycoon who had built a fortune with his brawn and a lot of good luck.“Did I tell you my wife is having twins?” he asked, hoping the panic didn’t show in his voice.“Yes you did. We have called the local sheriff and he is sending someone out there to transport your wife, but until he arrives you need to remain calm in order to keep her calm.”Calm? He was calm. He just wanted someone there to give Cassidy the medication she needed to ease her pain and deliver the babies safely.“Take me into the room with your wife.”He did as instructed.“Do you have receiving blankets?” the doctor asked. “This is going to go quickly and the baby will need to be wrapped securely and kept warm.”Theron told Kelley what was needed and where to find them. She released her hold on Cassidy’s hand and rushed to get the items.“When the next pain starts tell your wife to push.”“Push, Cassiopeia.”“Stop. Tell her to stop.” The doctor’s voice was calm, soothing.“Stop,” Theron parroted.“Breathe,” the doctor instructed.“Breathe, agape mou.” “Push.” “Push again, my love.”“Gently turn the shoulders,” the doctor said. “That’s it. Nice job.”“We have a son, Cassiopeia. We have another son.” “Let me see him. I want to hold him.”“You can give the baby to your wife to snuggle if she is feeling up to it.”“Cassie, he’s beautiful,” Kelley crooned as she covered the baby with a receiving blanket.“How is your wife doing?” “She is beautiful,” Theron answered, the glow of pride showing in his voice.Cassidy cried out as another pain ripped through her. Kelley took the baby and wrapped the flannel blanket around him, being careful of the still-attached cord. Theron kissed his wife before returning to the foot of the bed.“It’s time to cut and clamp the cord. It looks like baby number two is also impatient to join the family.”“What do I use for a clamp?” Why did the infernal doctor not mention clamps before?”“A new shoelace, a plastic zip tie, a potato chip clip, anything like that would make a good clamp.”Theron completed the task as the doctor carefully guided him through the phone.“Now take the cord that is still attached to your wife and hold it to the side. You don’t want the other baby hindered from joining brother. After that you will have to break the water sac for baby.”“What?” The word came out sounding like a squeal.“You will have to insert an instrument to break the water and speed baby into the world.”Cassiopeia’s face twisted in agony while Theron tried to think of something he could use. What if he did something wrong and hurt Cassiopeia or killed his baby? “Wait out the contraction.”Almost immediately there was another contraction.“At this speed you may not have to break the water.”The contraction came in waves, one right after the other.Cassiopeia threatened his life and his manhood seven different times, before he shouted, “It’s a girl! I have a daughter.” Theron’s joyful smile brought tears to Cassidy’s eyes.“You mean we have a daughter.”“But of course. Everything that is mine is also yours.”“Then please bring me our daughter. I can’t wait to hold her any longer.”As they kissed and cooed over their little bundles of joy, a loud knock interrupted their kiss.“I’ll get it,” Kelley said from the bedroom door.“Howdy, mam. I’m Sheriff Burgess. Sorry it took me so long to get here. I stopped to pick up Miss Ellie. She’s a midwife. Thought she might be more useful than me.”Miss Ellie bustled into the bedroom and beamed at Cassidy and her family.“Looks like you’ve already done all the work and left the cleaning up to me.” Miss Ellie smiled. “After we get the placentas safely delivered I’ll clean you up, Little Mama, then I’ll check on the little ones and give them a good cleaning too before the Sheriff drives you off to the hospital. Though by the look of y’all it will be a wasted trip. Those two look like they will both weigh in at around eight pounds.”Later that night, Cassidy turned to her husband lying on the hospital bed next to her. “I’m sorry I ruined all your plans for our first Valentine’s Day together.”“You have given me two of my greatest treasures today. I do not call that ruining my day.”“Zio wouldn’t look at the babies.” “That is common with siblings. He may ignore them for six months, but once he acknowledges them he will be the best big brother.”“How do you know all that?” she asked.“I read the books,” he said smugly. “And it is a good thing I did, too. Now you get to tell all my friends what a wonderful doctor I would have made.”“You expect me to brag to all your friends about you?”“But of course. I am much too modest to brag about my own achievements. And I shall tell all your friends just how lucky you are to have me.”“Ugh! Where’s my Louisville Slugger when I need it?”“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” he said before he kissed her. “I wanted to give you hearts and flowers, but instead you had to suffer pain and agony all day.”“What pain?” She mumbled. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she sighed as her eyes shut and she drifted off into sleep.♥ ♥ ♥
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Hopefully that was enough to whet your appetite.
Hearts & Flowers is about Cassidy and Theron's first Valentine's Day together, and it's a dozy. (Cassidy and Theron are the heroine and hero in The Counterfeit Bride.)
I hope if you enjoy this story will become a follower of my blog. Every so often I will post another shorty-short here and I wouldn't want you to miss it.
Hearts & Flowers(A Snippet from The Counterfeit Bride Short-Short)Liberty Blake
Even though Theron had replaced her old lumpy mattress with the Cadillac of mattresses, Cassidy shifted her weighty belly seeking a comfortable position. She hadn’t been able to find a comfortable position for the last four months, so one would think she’d be used to it by now. But her back hurt and the constant trips to the bathroom all night had made her cranky.She had gotten out of bed ten minutes ago to relieve her poor besieged bladder, and now she felt that pressure to run into the bathroom again. It was only three-thirty in the morning. The sun wasn’t even hinting that it was about to rise and shine.Maybe after this trip she wouldn’t fall victim to Theron’s enticement to return to bed. Instead she would go out to the kitchen and slice up potatoes and onions for home fries, get the fixings out for French toast. And bacon. There had to be bacon. She should probably cut up a lot of fruit for Zio. As long as he had cantaloupe and strawberries he wouldn’t be trying to steal his daddy’s bacon. And steak. She really wanted steak this morning.She suppressed her sigh as she slid out of bed—trying not to disturb her sleeping husband—and crept into the bathroom. Three drops! Her bladder made her get up for three drops!Cassidy pulled her favorite sweatshirt off the hook on the bathroom door and slipped her arms into it. Too bad the front wouldn’t close, but then again, her belly wasn’t cold, only her arms and feet. She couldn’t go back into the bedroom to get her bunny slipper, because Theron and his warm eyes would get her back into bed. But this was a working ranch and ranchers ate early. She was going to make a ginormous breakfast for her family before Mountain Man, her ranch foreman, took off for a farrier job he had been commissioned to do in east Texas. Then she would bathe Zio because the toddler always made a mess of himself when he had fruit and French toast—fruit compote! She slapped her forehead. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She had blueberries and apples. Fruit compote instead of maple syrup. Fantastic!A few minutes later she was elbow deep in chopped fruits and veggies when a shirtless Theron walked into the kitchen.“Agape mou, what are you doing?” She loved his sleep blurred face. She loved his throaty voice. The way his sleep pants hung below his hip bones, just hinting at the delights barely hidden behind the flannel. She loved the way he had adapted to flannel. She loved him naked, but not right now.“I’m making breakfast. What else would I be doing at this time in the morning?”Theron pointedly looked at the large clock hanging on the wall over the sink.“Sleeping.”Cassidy narrowed her eyes and fought down the urge to throw the heavy flour canister at the person responsible for her extreme discomfort. He was the one who planted not one, but two babies in her. They were the reason she couldn’t sleep, her sweatshirt wouldn’t close, and her ankles were the size of the dome on the Kremlin.“Ah, I see by the fire shooting out of your beautiful violet eyes that my manhood may be in danger.” He didn’t chuckle and the corner of his fine lips didn’t quiver even once, but Cassidy knew he was holding it back. He was placating her. Her hand reached for the crockery, but he had moved swiftly and swooped in for a kiss.Ummm. The rat had stopped in the bathroom before coming to the kitchen. His morning breath was peppermint flavored and delicious.Her hands crept up around his neck and she tried to snuggle into his embrace; that is until he jumped back in reaction to a tiny fist or foot nailing him. And by the look on his face it hit somewhere vulnerable.Cassidy laughed as she went back to her potatoes. The cast iron skillet was sizzling; time to add the tasty tidbits. She smiled and blew Theron a kiss as he headed into Zio’s room. Poor little guy must have heard them in the kitchen and now he was awake crying.Half an hour later the table was groaning under platters of French toast, flapjacks, oatmeal, fresh cut fruit and hot fruit compote, steak, ham, and bacon. All that in between Cassidy’s frequent potty breaks.The banana bread smelled delicious. She stood up from the chair she had been resting in and had to pause to rub her back. The pressure was intense and when she reached the stove she couldn’t bend to get the loaf pans out of the oven.“Pyrotechnia mou, what are you doing?” Theron carried a freshly bathed Zio into the kitchen. He kissed her forehead and Zio wrapped his little arms around her neck. “You did not leave room at the table for Z.”“He can sit in his high chair this morning.” Tears welled in Cassidy’s eyes. She wanted to put her son into his highchair and she needed to get the banana bread out of the oven, but she couldn’t bend.Her lower lip quivered. Theron’s hand wrapped around the back of her head as his thumb swiped a tear off her lashes.“My bread is burning and I can’t get it out of the oven.”“Sit.” Theron commanded. She so wanted to lash out and rebel, but she was beginning to feel her lack of sleep. “Z and I will help you.”Theron held Cassidy’s elbow as she cautiously lowered herself onto the chair. Zio reached his arms out to her. “Mama.”Her son’s happy smile made the pain in her back go away as she cuddled him in her arms. The spontaneous hug ended abruptly when he saw his dada at the stove and he slid off Cassidy’s lap and toddled over to “help.”After placing the loaf pans on the racks on the counter, Theron busied himself on the other side of the kitchen and Cassidy dozed off in her chair. The urge to pee woke her up. She placed her hands on the arms of the captain’s chair and pushed herself out of the chair. The porcelain throne had become her favorite seat in the house.After piddling the few drops that were all she had in her bladder, she washed her hands thoroughly before turning the doorknob to leave the room. The sound of the toilet still running annoyed her. The winter had been wet, but not wet enough that she would allow water to be wasted. Cassidy lifted the lid and fished around in the tank until she found the chain that should have been attached to the rubber ball. Once she attached the chain and resettled the ball there was peace in the room. She replaced the lid and turned back to the sink to rewash her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror as she scrubbed her hands. Her hair looked like a rat had ripped apart a ball of red yarn. She grabbed her hairbrush and started pulling it through the knots.Why didn’t Theron tell her she was a mess?Probably because the last time he said something to her she bit off his head. Yuck! Streaks on the mirror.Cassidy was on her knees scrubbing the floor when a knock on the door made her jump. “Agape mou, are you all right?”“I’m just finishing the floor. I’ll be out in a minute.”The door opened and Theron’s head appeared cautiously in the breech. “Go sit with Zio and I will finish the floor for you.”Treating her like a fragile invalid was getting old. “I am perfectly capable of cleaning my own house.” She almost threw the scrub brush at him, but the thought of the mess that would make stopped her.The floor looked good, but she couldn’t stand up. Why wouldn’t her body do what she wanted it to? The babies shifted. Oh yeah, that’s why.The door opened wider, but this time Theron didn’t say a word. He lifted her in his arms like he had on their wedding night, even though she weighed a lot more and her girth was the size of her favorite mare, currently pregnant out in the barn.“You don’t have to carry me.”“You are my heart, I carry you everywhere I go.”She fought an inner battle and lost when she couldn’t suppress her smile.“I know a line when I hear one. I own a bar, remember?” She grinned at him. “Has a line like that ever worked for you?”“I wouldn’t know, you are the only woman I have ever said anything like that to.” He stopped in the middle of the kitchen. “Do you want to sit at the table, in the living room, or go back to bed?”Bed sounded good, but then she felt the urge to tinkle again.“I have to go back in the bathroom.”“Cassidy, are you sure you are well? Perhaps we should call your doctor.”“The babies are playing with my bladder, that’s all. I’ll be glad next week when I go in for the C-section.” Theron looked doubtful. “If it makes you feel better you can wait right outside the door.”“I would prefer to remain in the room with you.” He turned to take her back to the bathroom.“Yuck! Watching someone else go potty would totally ruin the romance.” Cassidy knew it bothered him that she insisted on her privacy, but too bad. It was her choice.“I will not watch you, I will turn my back. I just wish to keep you safe.”“I promise, if I fall in I will yell for you.”He reluctantly lowered her to the floor and left the room.A few minutes later she walked into the kitchen and found her three men sitting at the table. Mountain Man and Theron drinking coffee and Zio devouring a banana. She shook her head. All that food she had prepared and the kid was eating a banana.“Come,” Theron patted his lap. “Come sit.” Cassidy eyed him evilly. It would serve him right if she did sit on his lap and the chair broke. She walked close thinking to tease him, but her husband was quick and had her on his lap before she could evade him. “Thanks for the breakfast, but I’m going to grab my little buddy here and head out. The sooner I get to Linden the sooner I can get back home.”Cassidy snapped her head around as MM lifted Zio out of his highchair. “You’re not taking my son to Linden.”“No, I’m not. He’s gonna spend the day with Linda so you and Theron can spend Valentine’s Day together.”Cassidy turned to glare at Theron with narrowed eyes. “You’re sending my son away?”“Not him, he was jest as surprised as y’all. Linda called me and tole me to bring ’im to her,” Mountain Man said over his shoulder as he walked out the door into the early morning Texas sunshine.“I guess it’s better to leave Z with Linda. It will give me more time to decorate the bar,” Cassidy buried her face in Theron’s neck so he wouldn’t see her grimace as a ripple of pain frog-hopped down her spine.“I had hoped we could spend the day here, just the two of us. Let Sandy handle the decorating.”“Sandy? His idea of decorating is having the wait staff put clean sawdust on the floor.”“Cassiopeia,” Theron’s voice was warm and throaty, “Sandy has been your lead bartender and unofficial manager for the past eight months. Trust him.”There was nothing that Cassidy wanted more than to stay wrapped in her husband’s arms all day, but the Scorpion’s Tail was her business and only source of income. Except for the survivor’s benefits she received from the Texas Ranger’s Widow and Ophan Fund for Zio.“But we’re completely booked for tonight.”“When the babies are cleared to travel we must return to Athens. I have been here for too long and my business is beginning to suffer. Give Sandy a chance to be manager. If he has any problems he will call.”“Okay,” she mumbled as her head slumped onto his shoulder and her breathing evened out.♥“Oh, oh, that’s soooo good,” Cassidy sighed. “Don’t stop.”Theron applied more olive oil to his palms before continuing the deep foot rub his wife was enjoying. He was worried. She had fallen asleep in his arms this morning and remained sleeping for a few hours, but it was not a deep sleep. She moaned in her sleep and her body tightened up every ten minutes or so. When she had awakened she made a mad dash for the facilities to be quickly followed by many more. They were hours away from the hospital and doctor, but Cassiopeia assured him it was just pressure.He wasn’t so sure; he had read the pregnancy books. In a little while he would suggest they go for a ride and he would take her to the hospital. In business he was not a coward, but when it came to his pyrotechnia, he did not wish to upset his little firecracker when she was so close to her time.As anxious as he was to meet his children, he was willing to wait another week.His fingers left the arch of her foot, glazed over her ankles, until they could play with her calves. He closed his eyes as her scent encapsulated him. Theron wanted his wife, but with her time so close—The sound of the door chimes made his eyes open. Nobody ever came to the front door of the rustic ranch house. Friends and neighbors and even delivery drivers always came to the kitchen door.He gently lifted his wife’s (Theos! He loved calling this woman his.) feet and placed them on the cushion. The shock of seeing eyes almost as violet as Cassiopeia’s on the woman standing on the front porch left him speechless. He did not think Cassidy would be happy to see her biological mother Kelley.“I’ve come bearing gifts,” the woman rushed to say.“Thank you, but we are content with what we have.” Theron was about to close the door on the woman who had abandoned her child at birth when he felt Cassiopeia’s presence at his back.“Let her in.” Cassidy surprised him.“You are the one always talking about not trusting Greeks bearing gifts,” he smiled at his volatile wife. His Cassidy was a woman who was not afraid to stand up for herself and others, but today she was bouncing from one emotional extreme to the other in the same breath.“I’m not Greek,” Kelley said as she pushed her way through the door. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my dear.” Her gasp sounded like an explosion when she saw Cassidy’s condition. “You’re having a baby! Why didn’t you let me know?”“When have you ever been interested in knowing about anything in my life?” Good—temper and not tears. Cassidy was herself.“My darling girl, I have always been interested. I lived for the days when letters from your grandmother arrived with news of all the new and wondrous things you were doing. I grieved when my mother died, not just for the loss of her, but because her letters stopped. Patsy’s correspondence always included a plea for more money.” “Then perhaps you should have actually been a mother.”“You wouldn’t have liked that. I was too self-consumed and trying desperately to hold onto your father.”“A child should always come first.” Cassiopeia straightened her shoulders. “You can leave now.” “I’m not leaving. At a time like this a woman needs her mother.” Kelley moved further into the house. “Besides that, I haven’t given you and Christofides your wedding present, and apparently you have both lived up to the original terms Theron and Costas agreed to.”She reached into her designer tote bag and pulled out a large manila envelope. “Here is the deed.”Theron accepted the envelope, but the look on Cassiopeia’s face made it feel like he had just touched fire.“She’s here because you contacted her. That’s why you’re in such a big hurry to return to Greece?”“He had nothing to do with this. I’m the one who got the signed deed.” Kelley flared, proving the red-haired temperament was in the DNA along with the violet eyes. “I’m the one who got the EU to insist Costas had to either clean up his own mess or pass it along to someone else. I know I didn’t really do you a favor, passing this cost over to you, Theron, but you wanted it.”“Oh no.”Cassiopeia fingers dug into his arm. Her face was pale. He followed her glance to her feet and saw the puddle she stood in. He was not going to faint.“Is that what I think it is?” Kelley screeched. “I can’t believe that just happened. I’ve been in the bathroom every five minutes.” Cassiopeia’s red face clashed with her hair. Her face shouted embarrassment while her eyes were sad and her mouth was about to spout something profane.Those were not the first words Theron wanted his children to hear. He wrapped his hand around her head and kissed her passionately on the lips. Now was not the time for gentleness—he needed to knock the shock out of her.“Come, pyrotechnia mou, we will get you changed into dry clothes and then we will go to the hospital.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her to their bedroom.“Thee, I don’t need to go to the hospital just because I wet my pants.”“You have been squirming and complaining about pressure all day.” He decided to leave out any comment about her irrational mood swings. “The babies are in a hurry to meet their Mama and Papa.”“Babies?” Kelley mumbled from behind them. “Plural.”“I’m not having the babies today. I’m scheduled for next week. I have a packed bar to run tonight.”Her face scrunched up as her body folded inward.“How far away is the hospital?” Kelley asked.“It’s almost two hours by car,” Theron’s answered.“Did you say babies?” “We are having twins.” Theron held Cassiopeia until her body uncoiled. Hopefully the pain had ended. Her face still had a pinched look when he placed her on the bed, but her body was not as tense. He turned to the dresser in search of clean undies when Kelley placed a hand on his arm and whispered. “Can you get a helicopter here? I don’t know much about having babies, but I do know that once the water has broken there isn’t that much time. Especially not with the kind of pain she just had.”“I will call for a helicopter after I get Cassiopeia dressed.”“I can help her while you make the call.”“My little firecracker does not like others to see her naked.”“I’m her mother.”“You are the mother who abandoned her at birth and so you are more stranger than mother.”A gasp escaped Cassiopeia and they turned to find her clutching her knees to her belly. “I will call now.”♥“Cassie, I have some clean clothes for you.”“Nobody calls me Cassie.”“I have. I called you Cassie when you were born and every day since then when I thought about you.”Cassidy gave an inelegant snort.“Let me help you.” Kelley’s voice was tentative, gentle.Theron rushed into the room clutching a pile of towels.“There has been a major accident and the helicopter will not arrive for hours. The hospital said to keep you warm and comfortable. Do you want one of my shirts or a nightgown?”“That’s it? Towels and a nightgown?” Kelley asked.“After I have made my wife comfortable I am to check her dilation.” His golden face paled.“I’ll help,” Kelley said.Theron nodded. “I will change my wife while you lay these towels on the bed.”As he helped Cassidy to her feet she mumbled, “I wish Mountain Man were here. At least he’s delivered foals.”“Do not lose faith in me, my heart.” He whispered for her ears alone.“I do have faith in you.” She gasped as another pain ripped across her back and into her abdomen.Theron massaged her back until he felt the tightness loosen. Then he stripped her clothes off her and pulled one of her oversized tees over her head.He placed her on top of the towels Kelley had laid out on the mattress and held her hand until a little color had come back to her cheeks.“Agape mou, I must check you now.”“I know.”He moved to her knees and gulped. “Kelley.” He called to the woman outside the door.“Yes.”“I left my Bluetooth on the kitchen table. I need it now.” She rushed out and then returned with the required technology dangling from her hand.“Stay with Cassiopeia while I make a call.” Cassidy recognized panic when she heard it.♥“I could not check the dilation, there was a blockage in the way.” Theron wanted desperately to shout, but he didn’t want to frighten Cassiopeia.“Sounds like the head is crowning.” The doctor replied.“I thought we were to keep her calm while we waited for the helicopter?” His wife needed a doctor and a hospital and she needed them now.“Mr. Christofides, I will stay on the phone with you. If you turn on the camera on your phone or computer I’ll be able to see what’s going on and guide you.”The woman was crazy. His wife needed someone who knew what they were doing. Not a Greek tycoon who had built a fortune with his brawn and a lot of good luck.“Did I tell you my wife is having twins?” he asked, hoping the panic didn’t show in his voice.“Yes you did. We have called the local sheriff and he is sending someone out there to transport your wife, but until he arrives you need to remain calm in order to keep her calm.”Calm? He was calm. He just wanted someone there to give Cassidy the medication she needed to ease her pain and deliver the babies safely.“Take me into the room with your wife.”He did as instructed.“Do you have receiving blankets?” the doctor asked. “This is going to go quickly and the baby will need to be wrapped securely and kept warm.”Theron told Kelley what was needed and where to find them. She released her hold on Cassidy’s hand and rushed to get the items.“When the next pain starts tell your wife to push.”“Push, Cassiopeia.”“Stop. Tell her to stop.” The doctor’s voice was calm, soothing.“Stop,” Theron parroted.“Breathe,” the doctor instructed.“Breathe, agape mou.” “Push.” “Push again, my love.”“Gently turn the shoulders,” the doctor said. “That’s it. Nice job.”“We have a son, Cassiopeia. We have another son.” “Let me see him. I want to hold him.”“You can give the baby to your wife to snuggle if she is feeling up to it.”“Cassie, he’s beautiful,” Kelley crooned as she covered the baby with a receiving blanket.“How is your wife doing?” “She is beautiful,” Theron answered, the glow of pride showing in his voice.Cassidy cried out as another pain ripped through her. Kelley took the baby and wrapped the flannel blanket around him, being careful of the still-attached cord. Theron kissed his wife before returning to the foot of the bed.“It’s time to cut and clamp the cord. It looks like baby number two is also impatient to join the family.”“What do I use for a clamp?” Why did the infernal doctor not mention clamps before?”“A new shoelace, a plastic zip tie, a potato chip clip, anything like that would make a good clamp.”Theron completed the task as the doctor carefully guided him through the phone.“Now take the cord that is still attached to your wife and hold it to the side. You don’t want the other baby hindered from joining brother. After that you will have to break the water sac for baby.”“What?” The word came out sounding like a squeal.“You will have to insert an instrument to break the water and speed baby into the world.”Cassiopeia’s face twisted in agony while Theron tried to think of something he could use. What if he did something wrong and hurt Cassiopeia or killed his baby? “Wait out the contraction.”Almost immediately there was another contraction.“At this speed you may not have to break the water.”The contraction came in waves, one right after the other.Cassiopeia threatened his life and his manhood seven different times, before he shouted, “It’s a girl! I have a daughter.” Theron’s joyful smile brought tears to Cassidy’s eyes.“You mean we have a daughter.”“But of course. Everything that is mine is also yours.”“Then please bring me our daughter. I can’t wait to hold her any longer.”As they kissed and cooed over their little bundles of joy, a loud knock interrupted their kiss.“I’ll get it,” Kelley said from the bedroom door.“Howdy, mam. I’m Sheriff Burgess. Sorry it took me so long to get here. I stopped to pick up Miss Ellie. She’s a midwife. Thought she might be more useful than me.”Miss Ellie bustled into the bedroom and beamed at Cassidy and her family.“Looks like you’ve already done all the work and left the cleaning up to me.” Miss Ellie smiled. “After we get the placentas safely delivered I’ll clean you up, Little Mama, then I’ll check on the little ones and give them a good cleaning too before the Sheriff drives you off to the hospital. Though by the look of y’all it will be a wasted trip. Those two look like they will both weigh in at around eight pounds.”Later that night, Cassidy turned to her husband lying on the hospital bed next to her. “I’m sorry I ruined all your plans for our first Valentine’s Day together.”“You have given me two of my greatest treasures today. I do not call that ruining my day.”“Zio wouldn’t look at the babies.” “That is common with siblings. He may ignore them for six months, but once he acknowledges them he will be the best big brother.”“How do you know all that?” she asked.“I read the books,” he said smugly. “And it is a good thing I did, too. Now you get to tell all my friends what a wonderful doctor I would have made.”“You expect me to brag to all your friends about you?”“But of course. I am much too modest to brag about my own achievements. And I shall tell all your friends just how lucky you are to have me.”“Ugh! Where’s my Louisville Slugger when I need it?”“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” he said before he kissed her. “I wanted to give you hearts and flowers, but instead you had to suffer pain and agony all day.”“What pain?” She mumbled. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” she sighed as her eyes shut and she drifted off into sleep.♥ ♥ ♥
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RIRW Retreat
Hello friends. Welcome back to Liberty's Spell Room.
I just arrived home from the Rhode Island Romance Writers Retreat. I would like to say it was the best retreat EVER, but that would be immodest since I organized it with the assistance of Christine Donovan.
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The retreat began in the 90s and was organized by Blanche Marriott, author of April's Fool.
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We used to go to our regular February meeting and then retire to a local hotel or bed and breakfast and do writerly stuff.
After some time had passed other people took over the running of our "unofficial" retreat.
Eight years ago the baton was passed to me. I continued the Saturday night party for a few years, but I always dreamed of a retreat that lasted a weekend.
I approached the group and gently suggested the change. We now have a retreat that starts Friday evening and ends on Sunday. We have great food, wonderful speakers, and lots of writerly stuff.
Saturday night we had a Murder Mystery Bash written by our very own Jennilee Brown. She set it up perfectly, we all participated, and it was a great deal of fun. (If you would like Jennilee to write a Murder Mystery Bash for you, let me know and I will hook you up.)
So it is with a great deal of sadness, relief, and joy that I put Retreat 2017, The Magical Mystery Bash to bed.
Time to start planning for 2018.
I just arrived home from the Rhode Island Romance Writers Retreat. I would like to say it was the best retreat EVER, but that would be immodest since I organized it with the assistance of Christine Donovan.
http://a.co/aG4dbaCThe retreat began in the 90s and was organized by Blanche Marriott, author of April's Fool.
http://a.co/1JcnVkhWe used to go to our regular February meeting and then retire to a local hotel or bed and breakfast and do writerly stuff.
After some time had passed other people took over the running of our "unofficial" retreat.
Eight years ago the baton was passed to me. I continued the Saturday night party for a few years, but I always dreamed of a retreat that lasted a weekend.
I approached the group and gently suggested the change. We now have a retreat that starts Friday evening and ends on Sunday. We have great food, wonderful speakers, and lots of writerly stuff.
Saturday night we had a Murder Mystery Bash written by our very own Jennilee Brown. She set it up perfectly, we all participated, and it was a great deal of fun. (If you would like Jennilee to write a Murder Mystery Bash for you, let me know and I will hook you up.)
So it is with a great deal of sadness, relief, and joy that I put Retreat 2017, The Magical Mystery Bash to bed.
Time to start planning for 2018.
