“Well, hell,” Case said softly and wrapped her in his arms. He didn’t know what had caused this outburst, but during the last few months, he’d learned that it didn’t matter what caused them, the proper procedure for healing them was a hug.

“I finally got the baby down,” Lily said as she walked into the kitchen and then stopped short. She caught her husband’s frown and shrug, and sighed. If Deborah Randall was in tears, she suspected her brother’s absence had something to do with it.

Before Lily could offer advice or condolences of any kind, her father’s voice sent her spinning.

“Lily Kate! You’re home,” he said, and engulfed her in a warm, welcoming hug.

Debbie jerked away from Case, mortified that she’d lost control, and quickly swiped at her tear-stained face, unwilling for Morgan to see her in this condition.

“And Case! It’s great to see you, son. I hate to be rude, but where’s my grandson?”

Debbie stood back as the proud parents quickly ushered Morgan to the bedroom. He beamed as he looked long and hard at the tiny baby sleeping soundly on the bed.

“He looks like you, doesn’t he, Case?” Morgan was overwhelmed by the emotion of seeing such a tiny bit of his own immortality.

“Yes, Dad, he does,” Lily answered. “And I can’t wait for him to wake up so you can see his eyes. They’re so blue…”

“All new babies have blue eyes,” Morgan teased.

“Not like these,” Lily said. “He has his daddy’s eyes.”

Case still couldn’t get over the joy he felt at hearing those words, his daddy’s eyes. He couldn’t believe that he and Lily were parents. But the proof was there in the middle of the bed.

Debbie started forward when the phone rang in the other room.

“I’ll get it before it wakes the baby,” she said, and dashed down the hallway to the phone on the table. “Hello!”

Her voice was soft and breathless. Cole groaned and cursed the Fates as he realized he was finally going to have to talk to her, even if it wasn’t face to face.

“It’s me,” he said.

Debbie almost dropped the receiver. It was the first time in thirty-six hours that she’d heard his voice, and even now, he didn’t sound a bit better than he had when he’d stormed out of the house.

“So it is,” she said shortly, and then waited.

Cole cursed softly. This wasn’t going to be easy. “I just thought I’d call and let you know Rick is out of the woods.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said. “Are you still working…or are you just running?”

The sarcasm was not lost on him. It made him defensive…and that was not a wise move. “You don’t understand a thing about it,” Cole said.