Page 22 of Miracles and Marriage (Making a Family #5)

Cal hated to leave before dawn. Zoe was asleep, curled next to him, one hand on his arm. He woke early, knowing he’d have to hustle to get home, shower and change and make it to work before the call came through. But he didn’t want to move.

He took a breath, smelling the perfume she wore.

Or was it her own special scent? He wished it were light enough to see her sleeping.

He remembered how she’d looked at the cottage one morning.

Her eyelashes were long and thick. Her cheeks had held faint color.

Her hair had been tousled and spread across the pillow.

He sucked in another breath and slipped from the bed. Any further reminiscing and he’d never leave.

The streets were almost empty of traffic, it was too early for the morning commute to be in full swing. He made it to his flat in record time, trying to focus on the aspects of the important call, but his mind kept drifting back to Zoe.

Tomorrow she was moving into his flat. He wouldn’t have to leave in the cold dark of predawn in the future.

He could have those extra minutes he’d wanted.

He knew he’d offered the second bedroom, but either she’d sleep in his, or he’d sleep in hers.

A year ago having a baby was the farthest thing from his mind.

Now his uncle was dead, Suzanne was no longer in the picture and the most important goal he could go for right now was having a baby with Zoe.

And then what?

Cal took a quick shower, shaved and dressed in under twenty minutes, focused on the call coming in, he deliberately turned his mind away from thinking about the future. Time enough to think about that after the baby was born.

When Zoe woke, she was alone. Lying in bed to claim a few more minutes before she had to get up, she began to think about what she’d agreed to.

She wasn’t at all sure she should have said she’d move into Cal’s apartment.

They were playing with fire, trying to build a relationship with the chance of having a child together not a sure thing.

What was he going to do if they tried for months and nothing happened?

She couldn’t go on forever dealing with the pain.

Sooner or later she had to take her doctor’s advice.

It was early yet—she couldn’t say she’d given getting pregnant much of a chance so far.

But she was becoming more involved with Cal and if things didn’t cool down a bit, she was afraid of what might happen.

Not that she thought Cal would give any complaints.

She worried about her own feelings—what if she fell in love with the man? It wasn’t a bad thing to love a baby’s father, but usually that came about before a baby was born—and the feeling was shared.

When she arrived at work, she put the matter from her mind.

There were a flurry of notes on her normally cleared desk.

The situation in the Balkans was heating up again and they had an operative there guarding from an assassination attempt.

She scanned the messages and began calling up every scrap of recent information she had on the politician they were guarding, and the terrorist activities in the area.

Shortly after nine, Emily called her.

“Cal wants to see you.”

“I’m busy right now,” Zoe said, glancing between her computer screen and the notes she jotted down a couple of weeks ago.

“He’s leaving soon. He says he needs to see you now,” Emily said.

“Leaving? Okay, I need to talk to him anyway. I’ll be right there.”

She gathered some notes and a printout of the latest AP report of activity in the area and headed for Cal’s office.

“Go on in,” Emily said when Zoe arrived. “He doesn’t have much time.”

Zoe opened the door and stepped inside.

Cal was putting files into a briefcase. He glanced up when she entered.

“Close the door,” he said, reaching for another stack of papers.

“What’s up?” Zoe asked.

“That call from London changes a few things. I need to get to Europe.”

“I brought intel on the situation in the Balkans. Is that why you’re going?”

He looked up at that.

“No. What’s going on there?”

She brought him up to speed and handed him the papers she’d brought. He glanced at them and stuffed them in his briefcase.

“Emily made reservations for an early afternoon flight to London. I barely have time to get home to grab some clothes before I have to be at Dulles.”

“How long will you be gone?” Zoe asked.

“I’m not sure.”

She watched him. He seemed to have all he needed. He opened his drawer and pulled out his passport.

“That’s everything,” Cal said, putting it in his inside coat pocket.

He looked at her again.

“I’ll do my best to be back in time.”

“You could be gone for a week or longer?”

They hadn’t considered him being gone during her fertile time.

“I have no idea,” he said.

“What is going on?”

“Some things I can’t discuss right now. I’ll let you know when I can.”

He came around the desk stopping beside her.

Zoe knew it was selfish to think of herself at a critical time like this. Cal didn’t up and jaunt off to Europe without a moment’s notice unless it was extremely important. But he couldn’t even tell her if he’d be back when she’d need him.

She shook her head impatiently. She sounded like some farmer trying to breed a cow or something. He hadn’t built a stellar company by neglecting client needs.

“Go. If you don’t make it back in time, there’s always next month,” she said.

“And the one after, if we don’t succeed next time. Take care of yourself,” he said.

She nodded, holding her breath. Was he going to kiss her?

Emily tapped on the door and opened it without waiting.

“Here’s the info on your flight. Let me know when to reserve a return.”

She handed him a folder with the itinerary on top.

“This has all you requested. When you get there, call if you need anything else. I’ll hang around tonight until I hear from you.”

“I’ll call you at home if I need anything,” Cal said.

He glanced at Zoe, said goodbye and then left.

“Whew, we haven’t had that tight a schedule in a while,” Emily said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t find available space today. It’s surprising how full the flights are this time of year. Who wants to go to Europe in October?”

“Let me know if I can help in any way,” Zoe said.

She returned to her office, curious as to the emergency, yet more concerned about Cal. He wasn’t going into danger, was he?

The following days seemed to fly by. The situation in the Balkans was worsening.

Several of the analysts conferred and finally made the recommendation to get the client to a safer country.

It was a wise move. Their field operative and the client were no sooner in Brussels than the airport closed in the troubled city.

If they’d waited, it might have been too late.

But that wasn’t the situation Cal was dealing with, Zoe realized. What else was going on in Europe that required his presence?

Each day she crossed off the date on her calendar. She hadn’t spoken to Cal since he’d been gone. There was enough to do with all the other situations, but she wished she could have talked to him at least once when he checked in with Emily.

By Friday evening, Zoe still didn’t know when Cal might return. She stopped by Emily’s desk on her way out, but his secretary had left early to make up for long hours earlier in the week.

Shortly after arriving home, and changing, she called Chloe.

“Hi. What’s up?”

“I was wondering what you are doing tonight,” Zoe said.

She wanted to talk to someone. Who better than her twin?

“Gabe and I are cooking on the grill. Come on over, I’ll add another steak. We plan a lazy evening doing nothing.”

“Would I be intruding?”

Zoe knew sometimes her sister and her husband liked alone time, especially when Gabe had been gone for a while. Honeymoon time, her mother called it, though they’d been married for years.

“Not at all. In fact—” Chloe lowered her voice slightly “—you’d be doing me a favor. Things are a little tense around here right now.”

“Oh?”

Chloe and Gabe had a passionate relationship. Sometimes too much so, especially when they fought. It didn’t happen often, but when they did fight, it could really be strained around their place.

“I’m not sure I want to be a buffer,” she said.

“It’s not that bad. Come on over.”

Zoe went. It beat sitting around her apartment wondering about Cal.

Gabe greeted her at the door with a kiss on the cheek.

“Congratulations are in order, I hear. But secretly,” he said as he ushered her into the spacious flat.

Chloe gave her a hug and looked rueful.

“I told. I tell Gabe everything.”

“It’s okay. I’m wondering if I’m going about this wrong. Maybe we should have made sure I could get pregnant before doing anything. Though Cal wanted it legal and all.”

“Where is he? He would be welcomed here as well,” Gabe said.

“Business in Europe,” Zoe replied vaguely.

She knew from years of experience not to say anything that could be used as intel by others. Even family. Not that she worried about anyone in her family, but as Cal had emphasized time and again, no one knew completely who was listening.

“See, it’s a way of life for our generation,” Gabe said to Chloe.

“What is?” Zoe asked, shedding her jacket and laying it across one of the chairs.

“That couples are too busy flying around the world to settle down and start a family,” Chloe said.

“Huh?”

“I mentioned considering a baby and he about exploded,” she said.

“I did not. Merely that our lifestyle isn’t suitable for children. I’m gone half the month on average and you work all kinds of hours.”

“I need to show clients the homes when best for them,” Chloe said defensively.

“I’m not complaining, love, just saying.”

Zoe moved into the lounge area and sat on one of the modern chairs. She enjoyed visiting her sister’s flat because the furnishings were so different from her own more traditional pieces. Despite a minimalistic look, the place was welcoming and comfortable.