Willow Brook Road(122)

And at the very first opportunity, he was going to claim the happiness that just a few short hours ago he hadn’t felt he deserved. He just prayed he wasn’t too late.



Susie was clinging so tightly to Mack’s hand, she’d almost cut off the circulation.

“What’s taking so long?” she asked for what had to be the tenth time.

“It’s not as if we’re picking up produce at a farm stand,” Mack soothed. “I’m sure there’s a lot of paperwork and Connor’s probably doing everything he can to make sure we’re protected.”

They were sitting in a conference room at Connor’s old law offices in Baltimore, waiting for the moment when they would finally hold their baby.

“Do you suppose we’ll have to see the mom?” Susie asked.

“Do you want to?”

“I do and I don’t. I want to thank her for doing this, for giving us this amazing gift. Then I think about all the heartache and I want to snatch the hair right off her head.”

Mack knew she wasn’t entirely joking. He was pretty much filled with mixed emotions, too. “Let’s just focus on the gratitude,” he suggested.

Just then the door opened and Connor walked in, a baby girl—their baby girl—cradled in his arms.

“Susie, Mack, I’d like you to meet your daughter. Her mom’s given her a name, but you’re free to change it. I’m thinking you might not want to.”

Mack watched as his wife took a hesitant step forward, then reached out and gently brushed a finger along the baby’s cheek. Tears were streaming down Susie’s face. His own eyes were welling up—at this incredible, long-awaited moment and at the joy shining in Susie’s eyes right along with those tears.

Susie held out her arms and Connor carefully placed the baby into them. “I’m shaking,” Susie whispered.

“You’re doing fine,” Connor assured her. His eyes looked a little damp, too.

“What did the mom name her?” Susie asked.

“Josephine,” Connor said. “She’s been calling her Jo.”

Susie’s gaze lifted in shock. “My mom’s name?”

Connor nodded.

“I think it’s perfect,” Mack said. “What do you think, Suze?”

Blinking back tears, she looked into his eyes. “I think this was meant to be, don’t you?”

His throat tightened at the pure joy on her face. “I think it’s the miracle we’ve all been praying for.” He cast a quick look in Connor’s direction. “It is, isn’t it?”

“It’s as airtight as I can possibly make it,” Connor promised. “She’s yours.”

Mack moved to his wife’s side and gazed down into that sweet, precious little face that had captivated him from the instant he’d set eyes on her tiny picture. He put an arm around his wife, then tucked his other hand beneath the baby, feeling the weight of her, close enough now to draw in that baby smell that women always grew so nostalgic about. Susie looked up into his eyes, then down into the face of their daughter.

“Jo, I’m your mom and this is your dad. We’re going to love you so much it’ll probably make you crazy, but you are our gift from God, and we’ll never forget that.”

“Never,” Mack said, his heart suddenly so full he couldn’t help wondering how he’d ever thought their life would be complete without this tiny little princess in his wife’s arms.

Now, at long last, they had their family.



On Sunday, Sam once again found himself at the big family dinner at Mick O’Brien’s, though this time it was Mack who’d insisted he come.

“We’re celebrating the opening of Carrie’s day-care center. You should be there,” Mack had said. “I don’t care what sort of disagreement the two of you had. Today’s a day for showing that we support her.”

“Shouldn’t the focus be on you and Susie and your new baby?” Sam had asked. Though he was eager to make things right with Carrie, he wasn’t sure this was the occasion for it. “This will be her introduction to the family, right?”

The bemused look of a new dad passed across Mack’s face. “Believe me, everybody in the family has been by the house at least once to get a peek at her. The christening is coming up in a couple of months, once we’re certain the adoption is going to be finalized. I imagine she’s going to get passed around to every female present on Sunday, but the day is really about Carrie. I know you care about her. Be there to share this with her.”

Sam had been just desperate enough for a glimpse of Carrie to agree. She’d been surprisingly elusive ever since she’d walked out of his house a few days earlier. No question that she’d been deliberately avoiding him. What else had he expected since he’d all but told her that he didn’t intend to get involved in anything serious.