Kevin had pretended to be sympathetic when Cal had been helped off the field, but Jane wasn’t fooled. Kevin reveled in every moment of playing time he could get, and she knew he would make the most of the next two weeks while Cal was out. If she weren’t so annoyed with him, she’d be proud of his progress this season. Even Cal was proud of him, although he’d never admit it.

Sometimes she thought Kevin spent more time at their house than he spent at his own. They had sold her home in Glen Ellyn and settled in Cal’s condo until they decided where they were going to live permanently. For some reason, Cal had insisted on participating in every decision about paint color and furniture purchases, right down to throw pillows. He and Kevin had assembled the baby’s crib together, and put up bright yellow shutters in the sunny second-story bedroom that was to be the nursery.

Even Kevin didn’t know that Cal was going to announce his retirement at the end of the season. Cal wasn’t entirely happy about it, since he still didn’t know what he would do with himself, but he was tired of fighting his injuries. He also said he’d learned there were more important things in life than playing football.

“Women are not supposed to fly when they’re nine months pregnant,” he growled. “It’s a wonder they didn’t arrest me for bringing you on that plane.”

“They wouldn’t have dared. You celebrities can get away with anything.” She gave him the pouty lip that made her feel so deliciously like a bimbo. “Yesterday I realized I couldn’t stand the idea of having our baby in Chicago. I want to be near family.”

He was a sucker for the pouty lip, and he nipped it between his own before he went on with his complaint. “You could have decided that a month ago, and I’d have sent you out here while it was still safe to travel.”

“Then we’d have been split up, and neither of us could have stood that.”

It was true. They needed each other in more ways than they could ever have imagined. Not only had they found passion together, but they’d found contentment, as well as an energy that had spilled over into their jobs. Cal was well on his way to breaking his all-time passing record, and her work had never gone better.

Just after they’d returned to Chicago, she’d been awarded the Coates’ Prize in Physics for a paper she’d done on duality. Unbeknownst to her, the rumors about the prize had been circulating for weeks, making Jerry Miles’s vendetta against her look foolish. In August, he’d been dismissed and replaced with one of the most respected physicists in the country, a man who had convinced Jane to take a permanent position at Preeze. He’d even gone so far as to bribe her with several eager young physicists to serve as her staff.

At that moment, however, Cal didn’t have his wife’s blossoming professional career on his mind, but her physical well-being, and she tried to ease his worries.“Be logical, Cal. I talked to Dr. Vogler this morning. She knows my medical history, and she’s perfectly capable of delivering this baby.”

“I still say you could have made up your mind about this a long time ago.”

Her desire to have their baby here had grown stronger as her pregnancy advanced, but she wouldn’t even consider leaving Cal behind in Chicago. His injury over the weekend had given her the chance she needed.

The baby twisted, and her spine felt as if it were being clamped by a giant fist. He’d go ballistic if he realized she was in this much pain, and she barely bit back a gasp.

It was gradually occurring to her that Cal was right, and getting on that plane had been a stupid thing to do. Still, first-time labor took forever, and Jim and Lynn would be waiting for her. Her father-in-law would tell her if he thought she should call Vogler.

Luckily, Cal was distracted and didn’t notice anything wrong. “What’s that on the inside of your wrist?” He picked up her hand.

She could barely catch her breath. “Uh… It’s nothing.” She tried to snatch it away, but he held fast. “It’s just a little pen mark. I must have marked myself accidentally.”

“Now that’s real strange. This looks a lot more like an equation than an accidental squiggle.”

“We were coming in for landing,” she sniffed, “and I couldn’t get to my notebook.”She caught her breath as the baby scored a 9.7 with a triple axel double toe loop. This time her back pain hit along with a fierce contraction that seemed to last forever, but might still only be a Braxton-Hicks. She swallowed a groan, which would really upset him, and distracted herself from the pain by trying to start a quarrel.

“You don’t fight with me anymore.”

“That’s not true, sweetheart. We’ve been fighting ever since you told me we had to go on this trip.”

“We’ve been arguing, not fighting. You haven’t yelled once. You never yell anymore.”

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t seem to work up a good mad at you.”

“Why not? Even I can’t stand myself!”

“Crazy, isn’t it. I can’t explain.”

She glared at him. “You’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“That thing that irritates me.”

“Smiling?”

“Yes. That.”

“Sorry.”His hand settled over her drum-tight abdomen. “I’m so happy, I can’t seem to stop.”

“Try harder!”

She suppressed her own smile. Who would ever have thought a warrior like Cal Bonner would put up with this much nonsense? But he didn’t seem to mind. Maybe he understood how wonderful it felt to be completely unreasonable and still see all that unqualified love shining back. How could she ever have doubted his feelings for her? When Cal Bonner made up his mind he was in love, he stuck to it.

Cal had talked her out of her fear of having a brilliant child by making her understand that most of the misery in her childhood came, not from her intelligence, but from being raised by a distant, unfeeling parent. That was something their child would never have to worry about.

He leaned forward and peered out the window. “Damn!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Can’t you see? It’s starting to rain!” His voice grew agitated. “What if we’re up on that mountain and you decide to go into labor, but the road gets washed out so we can’t get back down? What are we going to do then?”

“That only happens in books.”

“I was crazy to let you talk me into this.”

“We had to come. I told you. I want to have the baby here. And I dreamed Annie was on her deathbed.”

“You called her as soon as you woke up this morning. You know she’s all right.”

“She sounded tired.”

“She probably stayed up all night planning a new hate crime against our father.”

She smiled. He always did that now. He referred to his mother and father as if they belonged to her as well. Not only had he given her his love, he’d given her his parents, too.

Emotions she couldn’t control bubbled up inside her. Her smiled faded, and she started to cry. “You’re the most wonderful husband in the world, and I don’t deserve you.”

She thought she heard a long-suffering sigh, but it could have been the hiss of tires on wet pavement.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that I’m writing down every unreasonable thing you’ve done this past month, and I promise to take it out of your hide as soon as you’re back to normal?”

She nodded.

He laughed and kissed her again as the limousine began to climb Heartache Mountain. “I love you, Janie Bonner. I really do. The night you barged into my house with that pink bow tied around your neck was the luckiest night of my life.”

“Mine, too,” she sniffed.

All the lights were on at Annie’s, and Jim’s red Blazer was parked in front. She’d seen her in-laws two weeks earlier when they’d flown to Chicago to watch Cal play and behaved like newlyweds the whole time. That night, Cal had thrown a pillow over his head and announced that they were buying a new guest room bed. One that didn’t squeak!

She was anxious to see Jim and Lynn, and she didn’t wait for the driver to open the door for her.

“Hold on, Jane! It’s raining, and-”

She was already waddling toward the porch. Even though Cal was limping on his bandaged leg, he caught her elbow before she reached the steps and steadied her. The door burst open, and Lynn flew out.

“Cal, what were you thinking of? How could you have let her do this?”

Jane burst into tears. “I want to have my baby here!”

Lynn exchanged a look with Cal over the top of her head.

“The smarter they are,” he murmured, “the harder those hormones hit ’em.”

Jim appeared behind Lynn and hugged Jane as he drew her inside. Another spasm hit her. She groaned and sagged against him.

He caught her shoulders and pushed back far enough so he could look down at her.“Are you having contractions?”

“Some back pain, that’s all. A few Braxton-Hicks.”

Annie cackled from her rocker by the TV. Jane lumbered over, intending to give her a hug, but found she couldn’t lean down that far. Annie squeezed her hand instead. “ ’Bout time you come back to see me.”

“How often are you having these back pains?” Jim asked from behind her.

“Every couple of minutes, I guess.” She gasped and pressed her hand to her back. “Bugger!”

Cal limped across the carpet. “Are you trying to tell me she’s in labor now?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Jim steered her away from Annie and sat her on the couch, where he put his hand on her abdomen and glanced at his watch.

Cal looked wild-eyed. “The county hospital’s a good ten miles from here! Ten miles on these roads’ll take us at least twenty minutes! Why didn’t you say something, honey? Why didn’t you tell me you were having contractions?”

“Because you’d rush me off to the hospital, and they’d send me home. Most of this back pain is from that airline seat, anyway. Owww!”

Jim checked his watch. Cal’s expression was frantic. “Dad, we’ve got to get her off the mountain before the road washes out in the rain!”

“It’s barely sprinkling, Cal,” his mother pointed out, “and that road hasn’t washed out in ten years. Besides, first babies take their time.”

He paid no attention, darting to the door instead. “The limo’s already left! We’ll put her in the Blazer. You drive, Dad. I’ll get in the backseat with her.”

“No! I want to have our baby here!” Jane wailed.

Cal shot her a horrified glance. “Here!”

She sniffed and nodded.

“Wait just a minute.” His voice grew dangerously low, giving her a small thrill of pleasure that penetrated her misery. “When you kept saying you wanted to have our baby here, I thought you meant this area in general and, more specifically, the county hospital!”

“No! I meant here! Annie’s house.” She hadn’t meant any such thing until just this moment, but now she knew she couldn’t find a more perfect birthing nest.

Cal’s eyes reflected a weird combination of frenzy and fear as he twisted toward his father. “My God! She’s on her way to becoming the most famous physicist in the country, and she’s dumb as a post! You are not having your baby in this house! You’re having it at the county hospital!”

“Okay.”She smiled at him through her tears. “You’re yelling at me.”

He groaned.

Jim patted her hand. “Just to be safe, why don’t you let me check you first, honey? Is that all right? Do you mind going into the bedroom so I can see how far along you are?”

“Can Cal come, too?”

“Of course.”

“And Lynn? I want Lynn there.”

“Lynn, too.”

“And Annie.”

Jim sighed. “Let’s go, everybody.”

Cal put his arm around her and led her toward Lynn’s old room. Just as they passed through the door, a spasm hit her that was so strong she gasped and grabbed the doorframe. This one lasted forever, and only after it was over did she notice what else had happened.

“Cal?”

“What, sweetheart?”

“Look down. Are my feet wet?”

“Your feet? Are your-” He made a queer, strangled sound. “Your water broke. Dad! Jane’s water broke!”

Jim had gone into the bathroom to wash, but Cal had yelled so loudly he had no difficulty hearing him. “All right, Cal. I’ll be there in a minute. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time to get her to the hospital.”

“If you’re so damn sure, why do you have to check her first?”

“Just to be safe. The contractions are fairly close.”

Cal’s muscles went rigid. He steered her toward the double bed, while Lynn fetched a stack of towels, and Annie pulled back the wedding ring quilt. Jane refused to sit until Lynn had the bed protected, so Cal reached under her dress and pulled down the sodden brown maternity tights he’d helped her into that morning. By the time he had them off, along with her shoes and panties, Lynn had spread a piece of plastic sheeting and some towels over the bed. Cal eased her down on it.