Special Delivery (A Valentine's Short Story) (3 page)

Light flakes of snow began falling outside,
dotting the frosty air. The automatic windshield wipers clicked on
to combat them, but soon even they couldn’t keep up. “Wow,” Tammy
said, pulling away from the dock, “I had no clue it was going to
get heavy.”

“Just take it easy.” Logan patted her knee in
a reassuring gesture. “You’ll do fine.” Luke could tell from the
way Logan’s gaze lingered on Tammy that he’d missed her badly. It
was rough being away so long when you had a good woman at home.
Doubly rough when you had a tiny child waiting too. Yet there was
something so electrifying about doing a job you felt you were born
to do, and doing it well. Logan was a top gun. He was going to go
far. As would Luke, just not in the direction he’d initially
thought he was headed.

There was a long line of cars before them,
and their progress was slow. When Tammy finally turned out of the
parking lot, their wheels skidded, sending the rear of the SUV
sliding. “Jeez!” she cried, jamming on the brakes. “Where did that
ice come from?”

Logan checked the temperature on the dash.
“Only eighteen degrees out.” He studied the whitening sky.
“Everything’s going to be frozen solid soon, if it isn’t already.”
He checked the indicator light, saw that the four-wheel drive had
been disengaged, and punched it back on.

Tammy let out a puff of air.

“Still okay to drive?” Logan asked her.

“Yes, fine,” she said, shaking her head.
“I’ll try to watch it.”

Logan glanced over his shoulder at the baby,
then lifted an eyebrow.

“I
will
watch it, I mean. I know you
guys are beat.”

“Thanks, Tammy,” Luke said from the back.
“This means a lot to me. It will mean a lot to Amanda too.” At
least Luke hoped to goodness it would. For an instant, Luke feared
he’d done the wrong thing in not telling his wife about his early
return. But then he looked around him at the dismal weather and
thought this was no kind of night for Amanda to be out and about.
She would have insisted on coming to get him, and that would have
been nearly an hour-and-a-half round-trip. Not to mention the wait
while the ship disembarked and the delay in getting out of the
parking area. She wasn’t even comfortable driving anymore. The last
few times they’d talked, she’d said she barely fit behind the
wheel.

“Still don’t want to give her a call?” Tammy
asked Luke, but Logan answered for him.

“He wants to make it a surprise. Isn’t that
romantic
?” he asked with a teasing lilt.

“Yeah, I think it’s
very
romantic.
Especially on Valentine’s. Which reminds me…” She turned Logan’s
way with a playful pout. “What did you get me?”

Luke thought of the roses he’d ordered online
for Amanda, hoping they’d arrived in time. Although she wasn’t
aware he was coming home early, he still wanted her to know he’d
thought about her.

Logan pursed his lips a beat, then glanced
ahead. “Line’s moving now!”

Luke saw it was true. The other cars were
finally inching forward at more than just a crawl.

Tammy clucked her tongue. “Right.”

The back of Logan’s neck reddened. “Tammy,
honey, we were out… Couldn’t possibly have gotten you some... I
mean, it’s not like there’s a Duty Free on board.”

She put the SUV in gear with laugh. “I know,
you big silly! I was just teasing, that’s all.”

Logan reached over and fluffed his fingers
through Tammy’s curls before turning to Luke with a smirk. “Gotta
love the girl.”

“Yes, sir, you do.” He eyed the baby beside
him, who was already drifting off to sleep. “Both of them.”

Logan settled back in his seat with a
satisfied grin, so obviously glad to be home. “You bet,” he said
proudly. “They’re a pair.”

Amanda leaned against the bathroom sink and
gripped her phone in a panic. This was the third time she’d called
Katie, but the other woman had failed to pick up. She stared down
at the towels at her feet and the general mess around her. Amanda’s
water had broken, and she was in a scramble to pull things
together. While she thought she’d packed a hospital bag and put it
someplace accessible, now she couldn’t find it anywhere. To make
matters worse, the contractions were coming on stronger, doubling
her over in pain with each new burning twinge. It felt like her
back and belly were on fire, with lava-like flames wrapping
themselves around her middle. For a moment, Amanda felt faint. But
she steadied herself with her breathing. Finally, on the first ring
of the fourth call, Katie answered.

“Where have you been?” Amanda asked, her
voice rising.

“Out shoveling snow off my car just in case…
Wait a minute! Amanda?”

Amanda held her breath, then panted into the
mouthpiece, “Yes, yes. It’s time.”

“Eeeee!” Katie squealed so loud she nearly
shattered Amanda’s eardrum. That was all she needed, another thing
bursting. “Really?”

Amanda’s face flashed hot, then cold, then
hot again. “Really,” she said, puffing lightly. “
Really,
really. Can you get over here?”

“Give me ten minutes to heat up the car and
clear the rest of the ice off the windshield. Fifteen minutes,
tops. Don’t want to drive too fast on account of the snow.”

“All right, but hurry. Safely, I mean.”

“You just sit tight and breathe like we
practiced. Remember?”

That was easily said from the coaching end.
Amanda winced, steeling herself against a new bout of cramping. She
spoke between measured breaths. “I can’t…find…my bag.”

“In the closet, with your coat. You put it
there so you wouldn’t forget.”

“Right.”

“Just get yourself together and bundle up
warm. I’ll be there in a jiff.”

Ten miles down the road, Luke checked his
pilot’s watch and gauged that he’d be home soon. The snow was
coming down in droves, covering the cars passing them by in both
directions. Tammy was taking it nice and slow, and that was okay.
Better safe than sorry. Jocelyn snoozed in her car seat, the teddy
bear hat on her head drooping. And even Logan appeared to be
nodding off up front. It was no wonder. Tammy had it as hot as
blazes in here, with the heat cranked way up and the defroster
going full blast. Luke stared through the blurry windshield and
thought he spied something up ahead. Something dark bolting onto
the road, its silhouette illuminated by headlights in the cascading
snow. It was a buck! An enormous one, darting straight into the
lane in front of them.

“Tammy!” Luke called out to her, “Don’t—”

She saw it at the same time and did just what
he was going to advise against.

She hit the brakes.

Amanda struggled to pull herself together,
pausing periodically to breathe through her contractions. She was
excited but scared to death. She’d never had a baby before! Then
again, billions of other women had been in this position and
happily lived through it. By this time tomorrow, Amanda would be
holding her brand-new baby girl or boy. Oh! Lightning-bolt-like
cramps tore around her body, squeezing her like a vise. She waddled
into the living room, steadying herself along the furniture as she
went. Through the double French doors, snow was pounding outside.
She hoped the roads weren’t bad and that Katie wouldn’t have
trouble.

Something fierce wrenched in Amanda’s chest,
and she brought her hand to her heart. Without warning, she thought
of Luke. Her eyes burned, though she didn’t know what was wrong. It
was as if she had sixth sense he was in danger. But that was crazy!
She’d just Skyped with him last night, and he’d assured her he was
well out of harm’s way… She was probably just worried about the
baby or afraid of going through this alone. But she wouldn’t be by
herself. Katie would be with her. She’d arrive any minute. All
Amanda had to do was put on her coat and wait.

The SUV spiraled into a turn, spinning around
and around as headlights flashed and horns blared around them.
Logan snapped to attention and grasped the wheel to keep it steady,
despite the fact that Tammy’s white gloves still gripped it
fiercely. Their vehicle careened out of control. Luke’s heart
hammered harder as he sat there helplessly, his outstretched arm
bracing the wailing baby. She’d awakened too and was now screeching
at the top of her little lungs. The seconds spun out like hours as
their SUV turned in slower and slower revolutions. Gradually, the
landscape around them came into focus, and the SUV scraped to a
halt.

Luke realized with sudden horror they’d
crossed the center line and now faced the other way—straight into
oncoming traffic. A huge semi was headed toward them, its
headlights gleaming through slivers of blinding snow. The breathing
in the SUV was so loud it was audible. But they would get out of
this; he knew they would. Luke had to help them. Amanda and the
baby depended on him. He quickly judged the distance from where
they were to the side of the road. There wasn’t much of a shoulder,
but there was about five feet of ground between them and a large
stand of trees. If Tammy didn’t panic, they could make it. “Tammy,”
he said, just as calmly as he could. “Ease on the gas and steer to
the left.”

Her eyes darted sideways, then back to the
oncoming truck that was gaining on them. On the opposite side of
the highway, cars were flying by fast. “But there’s no room, we’ll
crash into those—”

“Tammy,” Logan instructed firmly. “Do what he
says.”

Hands trembling and arms shaking, Tammy drove
the SUV off the road. The shoulder was narrow, and their right
front tire slid into a ditch. They all pitched forward with a jolt.
Luke instinctively cupped Jocelyn’s head with his hand to protect
her. Tears streaked the child’s face, but she’d finally stopped
crying and was sucking in gasps of air.

Seconds later, the semi roared by at
breakneck speed, kicking up an icy splatter.

He hadn’t even seen them.

“Man,” Logan said between rapid breaths.
“That was close.”

Tammy was silent, tears streaming down her
cheeks. Logan lifted his glove to dry them. “It’s okay. We’re going
to be okay.”

Tammy stammered, her lips quaking, “I’m
sorry. So sorry. I shouldn’t have swerved to
—
”

“Shh, shhh…” Logan told her. “Everything’s
all right. Luke and I will get us out of this.” Then, much to
Luke’s relief, he added, “Then afterwards, I’m driving.”

Amanda heard a car door open and glanced out
the front window. It was a florist’s truck, of all things. It was
after five o’clock and awfully late for a delivery. Then Amanda
reminded herself it was Valentine’s Day. All the flower shops in
town had likely been working overtime trying to deliver their
overabundance of orders, particularly in this inclement weather.
She thought she heard footfalls on the path crunching through the
snow and ambled toward the door to open it. A tall deliveryman
stood there dusted in white and holding the most gorgeous
arrangement of roses before him. “Flowers for the lady of the
house.” Amanda’s heart bounded. That voice sounded just
like
—
”

The man slowly lowered the vase in his hands,
exposing that unbelievably handsome and familiar face. “Hello,
baby,” Luke said. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Her heart caught in her throat and tears
filled her eyes. Could this be a dream?

Over Luke’s shoulder, she spied the flower
deliveryman climbing back in his truck, as the light blue SUV
parked behind it slowly pulled away. Luke smiled at her, and dark
eyes twinkled. “I told the flower guy I’d take it from there.” He
shrugged toward the drive, then stepped inside and shut the door.
“I hope you don’t mind the personal delivery.”

“Oh, Luke!”

Luke set the flowers on a table, and Amanda
leapt into his arms. Despite the fact that his coat was freezing
cold and sopping wet, she squeezed him to her. She didn’t care if
he was Frosty the Snowman himself. She never wanted to let him go.
This was Luke.
Her Luke.
And by some Valentine’s miracle,
he’d made it home! “We’re expecting another one.”

He pulled back to look at her. “What?”

“The baby,” she said a bit breathlessly.
“It’s coming.”

Luke took in her overcoat, then his gaze
travelled to her bag by the door.” His face glowed brightly. “You
mean?”

Amanda nodded, still weeping. How could this
be? He was here! “But how did you…? I thought…?”

“We got an early shore leave. Time off for
good behavior.” He shot her a wink, and Amanda’s pulse fluttered,
just as it had that very first day.

Another car door popped open outdoors, then
footfalls raced up the front steps. “That’s Katie,” Amanda told
him, opening the door.

Katie entered the house, then fell back in
surprise. “Luke! Well, I’ll be! Isn’t this a Valentine’s
treat?”

“The very best,” Amanda said, drying her
eyes. Suddenly, another shock of pain hit her. “Argh!” she cried,
gripping her belly.

“Looks like we’d better get going.” Luke
briefly stepped outside to haul in the duffle he’d left on the
porch. “Katie?”

She looked uncertainly from one to the other.
“Oh, I… It looks like I’m no longer needed here.” But even as she
said it, she looked down about it, like she’d really been looking
forward to her role in supporting Amanda. “I’ll just head back home
and wait for your call.”

“Nonsense,” Luke said kindly. “I can
always
use a wingman, or woman, as the case may be.”

Katie viewed them both with expectation. “Are
you sure?”

Amanda lovingly studied her husband, then set
her gaze back on Katie. “He’s right. You know the drill. Luke may
even wind up being
your
wingman!”