“I think he was talking to Martin,” Franny said with a frown.
“Oh, well. That explains it. He always yells at Martin.” Sara shook her head as she finished diapering a baby. “It’s not a normal legal relationship those two have, that’s for sure. I don’t yell at my lawyer. He’s too…uninvolved for me to yell at. I say what I want, and he does it.”
“Well, Sam never did what anyone wanted him to,” Franny asserted. “And Martin merely does his best to advise Sam, who is usually intractable, and I mean no insult to you and Severn. Sam is Sam and I’m sure he had Martin’s head in a vise for good reason. Now, dear, I’m positive Sam is simply trying to come up to speed on the fact that he’s a father, and he’s not angry with anyone.”
Maddie wanted to believe Franny’s words, yet was painfully aware of the wounds their marriage had suffered. “Mother, haven’t you ever heard the old saying there’s no going back?”
“Nope. Haven’t heard that one. I have heard that the second time’s the charm,” Franny said brightly.
“I don’t know. Something’s not right,” Maddie murmured. “We’re not on the same track anymore. Sam and I used to be compatible. We were very comfortable with each other. We’re just awkward now.” She glanced up at Sara and Franny. “Out of whack.”
“Out of whack?” Sara repeated.
“Not on the same wavelength,” Maddie clarified. “I have a funny feeling Sam called Martin about the babies.”
“Maybe he wanted to brag,” Sara suggested.
“Not if he was yelling. And that’s what makes me nervous. Sam never yelled before. He’s a very civilized person.”
“Well, Martin could drive a body to yell,” Franny pointed out.
“Custody agreements can’t be instated at this point, can they? Since the babies came after our separation?”
“Oh, Sam wouldn’t want to take the children away from you,” Sara said. “He wouldn’t think it was right for a mother and her children to be separated.”
“Well, they’re not just her children,” Franny said slowly. “As much as she thinks she did it on her own, she did require help. And that help was Sam’s doing. Reckon he has some rights where the boys are concerned. Maybe he just wants to know for sure, and that’s why he called Martin.”
“Oh, dear,” Maddie said. “I wouldn’t want my babies going to France for their visitations.”
“I’m sure Sam would let you come along,” Sara exclaimed. “Wouldn’t that be fun? The two of you and the children in such a romantic place?”
“You’re not helping,” Maddie said gently. “Sam and I do not want to take trips together.”
“Sam and I don’t want to do what?” Sam asked as he entered the room after briefly knocking.
“Don’t want to go to France together,” Maddie explained.
“No. We wouldn’t want to do that,” he concurred. “I just told Martin to rescind the offer to Jardin Wineries. I need to be here with the boys.” He looked fondly into the baby blanket Sara held and spoke soft gibberish to his son.
Sara and Franny both sent triumphant smiles at Maddie, before quietly exiting the room.
“Glad we got that all straightened out,” Maddie grumbled, not glad at all for some reason. In fact, now she felt grouchier than ever. Sam being around all the time meant he’d be underfoot all the time. She’d expected him to pop in and then pop out of her life.
It appeared he planned on staying. Her heart rate elevated, the blood singing through her body in giddy anticipation.
“And I also instructed Martin to draw up a will that includes my children. I want to make certain they’re taken care of should anything ever happen to me.”
Maddie’s blood stopped cold. Here she’d been thinking about Sam trying to obtain custodial rights, and he’d been thinking of the children’s well-being. “Oh, Sam,” she said. “You are a good man.”
“Not really.” His expression was a trifle sheepish. “I was just explaining to Martin the difference between a louse and a hero.”
“You’re not a louse.”
“Sometimes I am. You’re just seeing everything in a rosy light because you’ve just been through the miraculous process of birth. Amazing that little fellows like these can grow from…” He shook his head in silent, awed admiration as he stared over at his sons.
“I think I’m the louse,” Maddie said sadly. “I was thinking all kinds of bad thoughts about you when they told me you’d been on the phone yelling at Martin.”
“I yell at Martin when he aggravates the hell out of me, which he does frequently. He wants me to have the babies’ DNA matched to mine, in case there was a screwup in the Maitland blender.”
“Oh.” Maddie’s brows rose. “I would be very surprised if Maitland made a mistake such as that.”
“I told him it wouldn’t matter to me, anyway. You had those children, and you love them. They have my name on the birth certificate. If they’re not born from my cells, then it’s no different than if we’d adopted. Martin understands this now.”
“Oh, Sam.” Her eyes sparkled at him. “You have no louse potential at all.”
“I do,” he assured her. “I also told him I didn’t want any more withdrawals made from my account.”
Maddie lowered her head after staring into Sam’s eyes for a moment.
“Well, I wish you felt differently, of course. But I certainly understand.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “And when I’m ready to have more children, I’ll have Dr. Abby help me select another appropriate donor. Of course, I doubt there’s a man alive who could give me better children than you, but I certainly—”
“Maddie!” he bellowed. “You are not running a stud farm around here!”
“Sam—”
“This entire discussion infuriates me!” He glared at her. “Pardon me for having an adverse reaction to the idea of you blithely shopping for sperm!” He took a deep breath and glared at her again.
“Well, I’m not planning to try to become pregnant for quite a while, anyway. So there’s no need to be upset.”
“Until you leave one afternoon to go shopping. I won’t be thinking Neiman Marcus, I’m sure,” he grumbled.
She put a hand on his arm, and instinctively he reached to take that hand in his. When she realized he’d done it out of habit, reacting comfortably as he had hundreds of times before, she stiffened, then relaxed. It felt right to let Sam hold her hand. Their marriage had been close and loving. He was a good man, even if he had a slick lawyer. “I’m going to take a shower. Our mothers say I need to relax.”
“You definitely need to slow down. You keep me turning in circles.”
“I don’t mean to.”
“Don’t you?” He eyed her carefully. “Somehow I thought you were enjoying torturing me.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Not torturing. Although the occasional good-humored teasing does bring to your eyes a fire I remember well.”
He sank onto the bed, his shoulders slumped. “Just don’t let me find any lists lying around for a while, unless they’re for the grocery. Okay? And even then I’ll be doing the shopping for quite some time.”
“Safer that way?”