RACHEL and Gabriel’s first child was born nine months later. And Gabriel was at his wife’s bedside when his lusty second son came into the world. At eight pounds, ten ounces, and with a mass of dark hair, the baby was the image of his father, and Rachel thought how lucky she was to have two such attractive males in her life.
Hannah loved the baby on sight. For years she had envied friends who had younger or older brothers and sisters, and her first question when Rachel was up and about again was to ask if they could have a baby girl next time.
‘We’ll see,’ said her stepfather drily, drawing the little girl onto his lap. ‘But I think we should let your mother get used to having two children before we give her three, don’t you?’
‘Indeed we should,’ agreed Rachel’s mother, who had been staying at Copleys to look after her granddaughter while Rachel was recovering her strength. ‘Besides, since you started walking yourself, we never know where you are.’
Hannah looked smug. ‘Well, I’m usually at the stables,’ she admitted thoughtfully. ‘Do you know, Katy says I’m going to make a good rider?’ She frowned. ‘One of these days, anyway.’
‘So long as you don’t do anything silly,’ put in Mrs Redfern, before Rachel could respond. ‘And now come along. I think we should go and find Joseph and let your mother and father have a few minutes to themselves. Having a baby can be a tiring thing. Your mother needs to rest.’
Hannah followed her grandmother obediently out of the room, with only a fleeting backward glance for her parents. Rachel guessed she was already estimating how long she need stay with the older woman before she could escape to the stables again. She and Katy had become firm friends, and Rachel knew she could trust the young groom to keep a weather eye on her daughter.
Gabriel got up from the chair he had been occupying as soon as the others left the room. He came to stand looking down at his wife, who was reclining on one of the soft leather sofas in the drawing room at Copleys.
‘Is your mother right?’ he asked concernedly, coming down on his haunches beside her and taking one of her hands to his lips. ‘Are you tired? It has been only a few days. Shouldn’t you still be in bed?’
‘I’m fine,’ Rachel assured him, although having their son had been an exhausting experience. ‘Don’t you know some women have their babies and then get up and do a day’s work?’
‘I trust you’re not planning on going back to work in the near future?’ Gabriel responded warningly. ‘I’m hoping I’ll have you to myself for a few more weeks yet.’
‘No.’ Rachel smiled. ‘Stephanie can hold the fort for as long as necessary. As a matter of fact, I think she likes being in charge. It’s a new experience for her.’
‘Good.’ Gabriel eased onto the sofa beside her, his hip warm against her thigh. ‘Because I was wondering how you’d feel about spending a few days in London next week. I’ve got some meetings I can’t avoid, and you know I don’t like leaving you behind.’
Ever since he and Rachel had got married Gabriel had commuted between Kingsbridge and London, only going into the city when his business commitments couldn’t be conducted by phone, fax, or via the Internet. Like Rachel, he had learned to delegate, and Rachel was making sure he didn’t get the chance to overwork again.
‘But what about—?’
‘Our son?’ Gabriel grinned. ‘We really will have to choose a name for him.’ He paused. ‘We’ll take him with us, of course. Hannah, too, if she can drag herself away from the horses.’
Rachel leant forward and rested her cheek against his shoulder. She was so lucky, she thought contentedly. She had a daughter who could now walk again, a darling baby son, and the best and most thoughtful husband in the world.
The last nine months hadn’t been without incident, however.
First there had been the results of Hannah’s examination by the psychologist to deal with. Under hypnosis, the little girl had initially become quite hysterical, and it had taken a great deal of care and patience to calm her fears. But Dr Matthews was an expert in his field, and over a period of weeks he had eventually discovered what he believed to be the reason for Hannah’s self-imposed paralysis.
Rachel had been shocked to learn that Larry had been planning to leave her and take Hannah with him. He had apparently been talking about it just before the accident. Dr Matthews believed that because the child hadn’t known her father had been killed in the crash she had lost the use of her legs deliberately, believing that if she couldn’t walk she couldn’t get into a car and he couldn’t take her with him.
There was much more to it than that, of course, but Rachel had been stunned by these revelations. She had known she and Larry were having problems, but she hadn’t suspected that there might be someone else. Dr Matthews had said Hannah had talked about her father telling her she was going to get a new mother. Rachel was left with the belated knowledge that one of the women from the insurance office where Larry had worked, and who had attended his funeral, had probably had more to grieve about than she had.
Gabriel had been a tower of strength all the time Hannah was attending the clinic, and he’d understood that Rachel had things to work through, too. He hadn’t insisted on seeing her, or pressured her in any way, and she had been grateful for his understanding.
But gradually Hannah’s progress and her own eagerness to be with him had overcome all obstacles, and by the time she’d discovered she was pregnant they were already making arrangements for their wedding.
Arrangements which had had to be accelerated, she remembered now, nestling closer as Gabriel’s hand came to massage the nape of her neck. They had been planning an October wedding, but in the event they’d been married at the end of August, with Hannah as bridesmaid, struggling proudly down the aisle of the local church on her newly acquired crutches.
Gabriel’s mother and some of his aunts and uncles and cousins had attended the wedding, and Rachel had had her first experience of what it was like to be part of a large Italian family. Signora Webb had been particularly effusive, and although Rachel doubted her baby son would ever hold the same place in his grandmother’s heart as Andrew did, the older woman was delighted to know that her son was now happy at last.
Andrew had not attended the wedding, but at Christmas he had turned up at Copleys with presents for his new family. Ironically enough, he’d seemed to get on really well with Hannah, and she’d accepted him as her new older brother without a problem. Rachel knew it would be some time before she was prepared to totally trust him again, but time was a great healer and hopefully they all had plenty of that.
Hannah had been walking properly since Christmas, when she’d thrown her crutches away. And, to celebrate, Gabriel had bought her a pony of her own.
They had called the foal that had first started Hannah on her road to recovery Phoenix, but now he was too big for her to look after. Even so, she always made a point of going to see him every time she went down to the stable yard, and Gabriel was of the opinion that in a couple of years, when the pony became too small, Hannah would be able to ride Phoenix instead.
‘What do you think of Jared?’ Rachel murmured now, turning her mouth against the warm brown skin of Gabriel’s throat, and felt his lips brush the top of her head.
‘Jared who?’ he asked huskily, and she slid a possessive hand over his thigh.
‘Jared Webb,’ she said impatiently. ‘Our son. I think Jared is a nice name, don’t you?’
Gabriel drew back to cradle her face between his palms. ‘It sounds good to me,’ he said equably. ‘But do you think we could insert Benedict in there somewhere? Benedict was my father’s name.’
‘Jared Benedict Webb,’ tried Rachel consideringly. ‘J.B. Webb. Yes, that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?’
‘Jared it is, then,’ said Gabriel softly. ‘Jared and Hannah. Yes, they sound good together.’
‘Andrew, Jared and Hannah,’ Rachel corrected him gently. ‘We have so much. We can’t leave him out.’
‘You’re a very special woman, Rachel Webb,’ Gabriel told her, bestowing a warm kiss at the corner of her soft mouth. ‘Okay, I know he’s kicked his drug habit, and he’s making a real effort to learn about the business, but I hope he realises how lucky he is.’
‘So long as you do,’ Rachel murmured teasingly, linking her arms about his neck. ‘That’s good enough for me.’
And as Gabriel bore her back against the cushions and proceeded to show her that he did, she was content.