brides for brothers 15 - a randall hero by judy christenberry Read Free Book Online Page A

to sleep, like little Emma.”
    His father leaned forward. “I was hoping to see the baby. I only saw her the day she was born.”
    “You will, Dad,” John said. “She’s already changed. She’s started to look a lot like her mom now that she’s recovered from being born.”
    “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing little Emma again.”
    “She’s sleeping about three hours between bottles right now. Within the week, I think she’ll last four hours between bottles. That will give Lucy plenty of time to rest.” Camille looked perfectly satisfied with the situation.
    “Don’t overdo it, Cammy,” Griff growled, using his pet name for his wife.
    “Of course not! All I’m hoping is she’ll let me rock the baby every once in a while.” The sweet smile on Camille’s face told her men how much she wanted to hold Emma.
     
    L UCY GRADUALLY CAME AWAKE, thinking the nurses should be in soon. When she finally opened her eyes, she remembered that she no longer was in the hospital. John had brought her to his family’s home early this afternoon.
    She immediately got out of bed, in spite of her soreness, and hurried to Emma’s little room next door. She panicked not to find her child in the crib. Immediately, she rushed to the family room.
    Once there, she came to an abrupt halt. Camille sat in the rocking chair, Emma on her shoulder, as she talked the child into burping.
    “Come now, little Emma, show Grandma what a good burper you are. Your Uncle John has been bragging on you.”
    As if she understood those words, Emma burped loudly, much to Camille’s praise.
    “She does that well, doesn’t she?” Lucy said with a chuckle, startling Camille.
    “Oh, I didn’t realize you were there, Lucy,” Camille said, smiling at her. “Emma and I were enjoying ourselves.”
    “It sounds like it. But you should’ve awakened me so I could take care of her. I don’t want to add to your burdens.”
    “And I don’t want to steal away your time with Emma. But I thought you could use a little extra sleep today. Moving is hard on us.”
    “Yes, I guess so. And I appreciate the care you’re giving Emma.”
    “She is such a darling. Here, you take the rocker and visit with her a little. I’ve got a load of clothes I can bring in here and fold.”
    “I’ll be glad to fold the clothes if you want—”
    “No, no, I’ll be glad to listen to you and Emma while I fold clothes. It’ll be fun.”
    Camille gave up the rocker to Lucy and handed Emma down to her. “Now, I’ll go get the clothes.”
    Lucy gathered her child to her, loving the soft, warm feel of her infant in her arms, inhaling her baby scent. “How are you, Emma? Do you like your new room? It’s very pretty, isn’t it?”
    With Emma kicking her legs and waving her arms, Lucy imagined she was agreeing with her. “It was nice of Camille to feed you your bottle. Your appetite is growing, isn’t it?”
    Then she laid Emma down in her lap, so she could look at her face. “Did you behave yourself?”
    Camille came in with a load of clothes as Lucy asked that question. “Of course she did. She was a darling.”
    “I’m glad. I’ve already discovered she has a little temper when she doesn’t instantly get her bottle.”
    “All babies do. You should’ve heard John when he didn’t get his bottle at once. He could raise the roof the first few months. Griff and I were so completely inexperienced, we’d run ourselves ragged to get the bottle to him as soon as he awakened. Then Mildred—she was Griff’s family’s housekeeper—was over here one day and told us crying was good for him. Let him cry a little.”
    “Really?” Lucy asked, her eyes wide.
    “Really. After a little while, he stopped crying so vehemently. He knew we would come when we could.” Camille had a smile on her lips as she reminisced.
    Lucy thought John had certainly improved over the years. She thought of how he’d cared for her and Emma, how he’d looked after her that night in the