Sheila. The one dark shadow. Ashley needed to know exactly what had gone on with his stepmother. She wouldn’t rest until he told her everything.
As if his mind had extrasensory perception, his eyelids opened and he sat up a trifle disoriented. “Where’s Cabe?”
“They took him back to the nursery a few minutes ago. I’m glad. You needed the rest.”
He levered himself from the chair and came over to the side of the bed, bestowing a long, lingering kiss on her mouth. “How are you feeling? Honestly.”
“Sore, tired, strange and absolutely ecstatic.”
Cord’s expression sobered. He searched her features. “The goose egg is going down.”
“That’s good, but I probably have a huge purple bruise by now.”
“We can thank providence that’s all you have.”
“Cord—tell me about Sheila, about what happened after I blacked out.”
He stood up, rubbing the back of his neck absently. “When you called the office, Dan and I had just been talking about her, and her potential for evil. I heard the fear in your voice. That’s when I told Dan to phone emergency and get an ambulance. To be honest, I’ve had an uneasy feeling since Sheila showed up at the orphanage. All the way home from the office I had this gut-wrenching fear that she might try to hurt you physically.”
Ashley’s breath caught. “I thought she had a gun and was going to kill you because she couldn’t have you. Her hand was in her pocket. She looked so determined and just kept on walking downstairs toward you.”
He shook his head. “She had the keys to your car in her hand.”
“My car?”
“Yes. She showed them to me, insisting that she had just come down the stairs to wait for a taxi. She intended to go to the orphanage and bring your car home, as a favor to you.
“Naturally I didn’t buy it and took the key ring from her. It’s my belief that if she could have left the house without being seen, she would have taken a taxi there and then tampered with your car after bringing it home so the next time you ever drove it, you might get in some kind of accident.”
“Oh, Cord.”
“When she could see that I didn’t believe her, she said she was leaving Salt Lake and wouldn’t be coming back. I told her it was a good idea since the board had voted her out permanently of any position with the company.
“At that point, a taxi pulled up in front. No sooner had she gotten in it, than the ambulance arrived. All I could think about was you and our baby. It’s my opinion she took Dad’s money and ran with it. She’ll never be around to hurt us or anyone else again.”
Ashley let out a deep sigh. “That’s the best news I ever heard.”
“Darling?” He reached for her hand and kissed it. “Let’s promise that we’ll never look back again, never think about the pain of the past again.”
She pulled him down to her.
“I’m way ahead of you, Cord. I just wish I were in a position to show you exactly how I feel about you. If you can just wait a little longer…”
“Is Sister Bernice feeling better? Can we see her for a minute?”
The receptionist looked up at Ashley and Cord who held their four-week-old baby in his arms. They’d learned that the nun had been down with the flu and that was why she hadn’t been able to make a visit to the hospital when their baby was born.
Ashley was fully recovered from the surgery. When Cord suggested they take a drive in the fresh air and stop by to see the woman who had influenced Ashley’s life for good, she thrilled to the idea.
“Sister Bernice is just fine now. I believe she’s still in her office. Go ahead and knock.”
Ashley felt Cord’s arm tighten around her waist as he ushered her toward the far door.
“Come in.”
Ashley turned the handle and they entered.
When she saw them, the nun beamed. “I was just thinking about you, and here you are with your precious child.”