A Baby For Christmas. Joanna Sims

Quite a bit, actually. The blood had trickled down the length of her pointer finger and was pooling into the palm of her hand; some had gotten smeared on her mother-in-law’s counter. Under normal circumstances, she would have quickly fixed the finger, cleaned the counter and gotten back to work. But these weren’t normal circumstances, and it appeared that she had temporarily lost control over her body. She couldn’t seem to move.

      But Luke could. In two long strides he was by her side. She saw him wince whenever he put pressure on his left leg. It was strange to see Luke hurt. He had always seemed so invincible to her. Luke flipped on the cold water and guided her finger beneath the stream. She was still pondering on the warm brand his fingers had left on her skin while he moved down the counter to search a nearby drawer.

      “Right corner cabinet, top shelf, all the way in the back.” Sophia pointed with her good pointer finger.

      “Band-aids?” Luke gave her a quizzical look.

      “Your mother’s been rearranging since the day we got the news about your leg.”

      Once Sophia said that, it made perfect sense. Barbara Brand didn’t cry when she was upset. She rearranged stuff. Luke located a step stool. “Okay, where are they again?”

      “All the way to the right.” Sophia waved her hand for him to move farther down. “Top shelf. Behind the olives.”

      Luke stabbed the off button on the CD player before he forced himself up the steps. He ignored the pain in his leg and concentrated on working his way through the maze his mother had set up between himself and the Band-aids. Luke grabbed the box, threw them onto the counter and got down off the step stool.

      Luke put the box of Band-aids on the counter next to Sophia. “Not exactly the most convenient place to put first aid stuff.”

      That made Sophia laugh. “No. It’s not. But none of us were about to argue with your mom. Not your dad, not me. Certainly not Tyler, he’s so easygoing.”

      One side of Luke’s upper lip curled into something that vaguely resembled a smile. “I don’t blame you.” He knew better than to argue with his mother, too. Most people did. He unwrapped a Band-aid. “Here. Give me your finger.”

      Something clicked on in her brain and she went from foggy to full throttle. She didn’t want him to touch her again. The heat from his body, the smell of his skin, made her feel light-headed. He was too much like Daniel. She didn’t know how to react to him, and that ticked her off!

      She held her finger away from him. “I can do it myself.”

      Luke gave her a look that she was certain was meant to intimidate her into cooperating. “Sophia. Don’t be a pain.”

      She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not being a pain.”

      “That would be a first,” Luke said under his breath. Then, more loudly, “Just give me your finger.”

      “Just give me the stupid Band-aid.” She held out her hand. His voice, so much like Daniel’s voice, sent a shiver right up her spine.

      Luke grabbed her arm firmly, held her hand in place and put the Band-aid on her finger. “Now, was that so difficult?”

      God, Luke irritated her! He always had. He was so bossy. Domineering. Why had she thought, for one minute, that things would be different between them now? She grabbed a rag off the kitchen faucet and wiped up the blood from the counter. “Thanks,” she said sullenly.

      “You’re welcome,” he replied, with a hint of sarcasm. He wasn’t about to climb up on the step stool again. Instead, he tossed the box of Band-aids down the length of the counter.

      Silently, she rinsed the rag and wrung it out before she turned back to him. “What are you doing here, anyway? Your parents said you wouldn’t be here for another week.”

      He almost told her the truth, that he had come home early to see her. That he knew his family was away and she was alone. But he didn’t. Instead, he said plainly, “Change of plans.”

      A flash of anger flushed Sophia’s cheeks. “Well, I wish you hadn’t changed your plans. Not if all you intend to do is fight with me the entire time you’re here. If you hadn’t noticed—” she pulled her sweater tightly over her belly and splayed both hands over her stomach “—I’m a little bit busy here with your nephew, and the last thing I need is to have you hanging around, bullying me.”

      When she stopped talking, the anger ebbed as quickly as it had risen. The last bit of her energy slipped away with the anger. Suddenly, she felt exhausted. She always felt exhausted now because of the baby, but she did her best to fight it all day long until the fatigue finally won out. Sophia moved over to the table and sat down heavily.

      Sophia’s words struck him as if she had slapped him in the face. The last thing he ever expected Sophia to call him was a bully. He raised an eyebrow at her. “Bullying you?”

      He would have joined her at the table, but his leg was killing him. Instead, he leaned back on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

      Sophia waved her hand before she rested her chin on it. “All right. Perhaps bullying is the wrong word. But you know what I mean. You’ve always looked for a reason to pick a fight with me. Always. And to tell you the truth, now that Daniel’s gone, I thought things might be different. I thought you might actually make an effort to be nice to me. Stop giving me such a hard time all the time.”

      Next to his mother, Sophia was the only person who could easily cut through his B.S. and make him feel like crap. They were the only two women whose opinion actually mattered to him. And she was right. He was doing exactly what he had promised himself he wouldn’t do with her. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t fall into the same old pattern with her. He’d stop looking for reasons to fight with her and handle her gently. Things would be different. He would change his ways and get along with Sophia. That’s what Daniel would have wanted. That’s what he needed to do, for everyone’s sake, including his own.

      “Okay.” Luke’s tone was steady and quiet. “We’ve obviously gotten off on the wrong foot here.”

      Sophia drew her eyebrows together. “We?”

      Luke eyed her, blew out his breath and then started over. “Okay...I got off on the wrong foot here. Let me go upstairs, take a shower. We’ll try it again later.”

      Sophia nodded. Seemed like a good idea. The two of them were going to be under the same roof for the next month or so. They were going to have to learn how to get along. She was willing, if he was willing. “I’m in Daniel’s room. Your mom fixed up your room for you, of course. We’re sharing the bathroom. That a problem for you?”

      “No.” He took a step forward, but stopped abruptly. A sharp pain ripped through his left thigh.

      Sophia saw Luke’s tanned face pale as he bent over to put his hand on his leg. She forced herself to stand up. “Should you be walking around so much? Why don’t you have a cane?”

      Luke straightened upright and took in a deep breath through his nose. He should be using his cane, but he had some stupid notion that he didn’t want Sophia to see him with it. He hadn’t wanted her to think he was weak. Screw it! She was going to see him use it eventually anyway. It might as well be now. It had to be now. “It’s in the hall. With my bag.”

      Sophia went into the hall, grabbed the cane and brought it to Luke. “A whole heck of a lot of good it was doing you over there.”

      Luke leaned on the cane. He suddenly looked beat. “I don’t like the damn thing.”

      Sophia didn’t like Luke’s pallor, or the beads of sweat that had popped out along his forehead. Luke had always been so combative with her, but she still cared about him.

      “Do you need help?” she asked.

      Luke had to stop himself from snapping at her. He measured his words, regulated his tone. “No. I’ve got it.” Offhandedly, he added,