“He’s a good-looking baby, Sean,” Rico said softly and his hand tightened imperceptibly on Teresa’s.
“Yeah.” Sean rocked on his heels and finally tore his gaze from his son. “He really is. You want to go see Melinda?”
They did and once in the private hospital room, Teresa and Rico stood on either side of the new mother’s bed.
“He’s beautiful,” Teresa said.
“I know!” Melinda smiled and sighed, then unnecessarily smoothed the blanket and sheet covering her. “I can’t believe he’s finally here.”
“What’s his name?” Teresa asked, looking from one new parent to the other.
“Stryker,” Sean announced with a secretive smile for his wife.
“It was my father’s name,” Melinda added, beaming at Sean. “My grandfather was really pleased when we told him what we were going to name the baby. And it means a lot to me, too.”
“It’s a big name for such a little guy,” Sean mused.
“I think he will grow into it,” Rico told him, with another slap on the shoulder. “Stryker King. It sounds strong.”
“Yeah.” Sean had a silly grin on his face. “It does.”
Teresa watched Rico and his family and wished that she really belonged in that circle of familiarity. But she was a temporary blip on the King family radar. She wouldn’t be here to watch Stryker grow up. She wouldn’t be here to build on the friendship she and Melinda had begun. In less than a month, she would be gone and the island would go on without her. As would Rico.
She took a breath and held it. To distract herself, she glanced around. The private room was a pale yellow and a single bedside light glowed, throwing soft shadows across Melinda’s features. She looked tired, but more happy than Teresa could have imagined.
Melinda grinned up at them and reached for Rico’s hand. “I’m so glad you guys stayed. But you must be exhausted.”
“You’re the one who did all the work,” Teresa pointed out.
“Hey, I was here too, you know,” Sean chimed in.
His wife gave him a smile usually reserved for heroes. “You were, sweetie, and you were great.” Then she sighed and leaned back into her pillow. “I am tired, but I’m so wired right now there’s no way I could sleep, you know?”
“Well, if you are not tired, I’m willing to bet that you are at least hungry,” Rico said.
“Oh, God.” Melinda laughed. “I’m so hungry if I had any chocolate syrup to drown them in, I’d eat the sheets right off the bed.”
Teresa laughed.
“But the nurse tells me that breakfast isn’t served for another couple of hours…” She glanced at her husband. “I’m going to get Sean to go home and bring me a nutrition bar. Or a bag of cookies. Or both.”
“I think we can do better than that.” Rico leaned over the metal bed rail and kissed Melinda’s forehead. Then he straightened and looked at Sean. “I will have our chef prepare something and it will be here within a half an hour.”
“Oh, boy! You are a god among men, Rico,” Melinda said on a sigh of gratitude.