Page 26 of Nightfire

Ellen rushed over, took the baby from the young woman and cradled her, murmuring softly. The wails grew heartbreaking.

Harry put his hand on Ellen’s shoulder and looked down at his daughter.

Chloe couldn’t help it. She stepped closer, touching the soft pale pink blanket, then cradling the child’s head in the palm of her hand. The wailing quieted, the tiny feet stopped kicking.

It was a wrench to tear her gaze away from the baby to focus on Ellen’s face. “May I?” She meant—may I touch her?

And Ellen, without a second thought, transferred the tiny bundle to Chloe’s arms, not realizing that Chloe had never held a baby before.

The baby fit into her arms perfectly. A small, warm, living bundle, the tiniest human Chloe had ever seen.

She cradled the baby in her left arm and pulled away the blanket from the baby’s face. When she looked down, she felt her stomach swoop, her lungs constrict, her heart plunge instantly in love. The whole world just melted away, the only real thing the warm little creature in her arms.

From a huge distance she heard Ellen’s voice, a little choked. “Chloe, meet your niece, Grace Christine. We call her Gracie. Gracie, meet your Aunt Chloe.”

Chloe stared down at the tiny, perfect face staring right back at her. It was astounding to see the little face so very like her own, the color of her eyes exactly like hers—a light brown that looked almost golden in the sun streaming in through the huge picture windows.

All the doctors had told Chloe that she could never have children. Her injuries had been too severe. She had been told this from childhood on and it was as much a part of her as her eyes and hands and feet.

She would never have children.

So she had never, ever thought she could ever hold in her arms a beautiful little girl who looked just like her. A dream so impossible she’d never even had it, never even thought of it.

And yet, here it was. A tiny miracle, in her arms. Grace.

Gracie wriggled a little, kicking madly, then suddenly settled, eyes wide open and fixed on her face as if upon a star. Chloe watched her perfect little face and, to the end of her days would swear that Gracie smiled at up her, a large, gummy toothless smile that simply clenched Chloe’s heart in an iron grip, never to let go.

And Chloe knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she wanted to be as much a part of this little girl’s life as her parents would allow. And, judging by the pleased look on Harry’s and Ellen’s faces, that would be a lot.

Gracie’s crying wound down to gentle cooing as Chloe rocked her. She lost track of time, forgot they were expected upstairs for a meal, forgot that she should settle into her bedroom, forgot everything as she stared into Gracie’s beautiful golden eyes, stroking her cheek, marveling that human skin could be so soft, drowning in the waves of love going back and forth between her and her niece.

Suddenly, the utter silence in the room caused her to break away from Gracie’s magnetic gaze and look up. Harry stood with his arm around Ellen, whose cheeks were wet. She, Harry and Mike were staring at her, Mike with a laser-like intensity.

“What?” Why were they looking at her?

Ellen swiped at her cheeks. “Gracie’s been fussing and crying for days now. She stopped crying the instant you held her in your arms. You have a natural way with children, Chloe.”

Wow, how wrong could a woman be? Chloe had no way with kids, none at all. She’d never been around kids, knew nothing about them. Everything she’d done with Gracie had been pure instinct.

Like with Mike.

She blushed to the roots of her hair, bending over Gracie so they wouldn’t see.

A cell phone rang and Harry’s deep voice answered. “Yep, introducing Gracie to Chloe. Yeah, they liked each other. Coming right up.”

He clapped his big hands together. “Okay guys, Sam is sucking up all the champagne and Manuela’s food is getting cold. Chloe, honey, you can get settled in here after lunch. Is that all right with you? You hungry?”

Chloe lifted her head, surprised. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

And she was. Chloe was never hungry. In the hospital she’d sometimes been put on drips because she couldn’t eat. Even now, she ate little and rarely felt hunger. Often her stomach clenched tightly closed in protest at the thought of food.

Now she was ravenous. Mike’s kiss, the orgasm, holding a child in her arms who looked just like her—it had opened up a huge hole in her stomach and the thought of food upstairs, to be eaten with these happy, welcoming, magical people…

“Let’s go, then.” Harry started ushering them to the door.

Chloe looked down at the little girl in her arms. Gracie’s translucent eyelids were almost completely closed. She gave a gusty little sigh and smiled again.

“Chloe?” Harry stood at the door, Ellen beside him. Mike was by her side.