“It’s a she, Erin,” he said. “We have a daughter. She's in the ICU right now and they’re taking good care of her."
“Is she going to be alright?” Erin’s eyes searched his face, looking for the same assurance he’d just sought from the doctor.
He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “She’s very tiny, Erin. Only two pounds but if she’s anything like her mother she’ll pull through alright.”
“How?” Erin whispered. She looked up at him, her eyes full of distress. “How can she make it?”
“She will,” Dare said, his voice firm with conviction. In his heart he knew that his daughter would be alright. They both would. Leaning over he kissed Erin on the forehead. “Just rest for a while. I’m going to check on her.” Then he gave her a reassuring smile. “Start thinking of girl names till I get back.”
With that Dare left her and headed to the intensive care unit. The nurses there were welcoming but they refused to let him go into the nursery.
“The babies in this section are very delicate,” they told him. “Their immune systems aren’t developed yet. We have to make it as sterile an environment as possible.”
They took him to a wide glass window and it was from there that he got his first view of his daughter, so tiny and pink in her incubator, with a shock of dark brown hair that made him think of her mother. There were strings and tubes leading from her mouth, her nose and her arm and his heart ached at the little one’s cold and sterile introduction to the world. He should be able to hold his daughter close right now. She should be lying on the comfort of her mother’s breast. But she was all alone and so tiny. How would they even care for her?
But as he stared at her, so small but yet so beautiful in her cocoon of glass, he knew they’d find a way. The baby had done her part by bravely making her way into the world. Now it was time for him and for Erin to play their part.
“You’re a fighter, little one,” he whispered through the glass, “and we won’t let you down.”
***
Nearly eight weeks passed before Erin and Dare were allowed to take Soleil Denise DeSouza home from the hospital. By that time she weighed four pounds and had grown another inch. The nurses warned them she was a feisty one, kicking up a windstorm when she was ready to be fed and demanding to be held when it was naptime.
“You have to put your foot down,” one of the nurses warned Erin, “or else she’ll walk all over you. You need to show her who’s in charge.”
Erin smiled and thanked the nurse for her advice but when she looked into her daughter’s big brown eyes how could she refuse her? She’d already been through so much in her little life that Erin could be excused for spoiling her a little bit, couldn’t she?
And Daddy was even worse, jumping up at every cry, checking on the baby every hour of the night. Within a week he’d begun to look so ragged with exhaustion that Erin had to banish him from the nursery for an entire night just so he could get some sleep.
Through it all Francine was a savior. She knew all about babies, having raised three of her own plus a handful of grandkids. She guided Erin every step of the way through the feedings, burpings, bouts of colic and a brief period of jaundice. Finally the whole family settled into a comfortable rhythm - daddy, mommy, baby and adopted grandma - and finally Erin felt that her world was at peace.
Her love for Dare blossomed and she felt she could not love him more than she did right then. Each time she watched him holding Soleil, singing softly to her as she stared up at him with those adorable brown eyes, her heart swelled with pride and she couldn’t help smiling. She’d come a long way but so had he. Who would have thought that bad boy billionaire Dare DeSouza could abandon his big shot image to play peek-a-boo and do goo-goo-gaa-gaa speak? She loved it, and in her eyes he was a bigger man for taking the time to amuse his baby.
And on top of all that he’d shown her nothing but love and respect, catering to her every need and going out of his way to make her feel loved. When he wasn’t holding Soleil he was holding her, making her feel like the center of his world.
When Dare returned to work after Soleil had completed her second month it took Erin a while to adjust. She’d gotten so used to having him there that she couldn’t help missing him. Still, she knew Dare’s work was a big part of who he was. He loved what he did and she knew his work made him feel fulfilled. Besides, he had a lot to do on the last resort he’d bought so she needed to give him some space.
One evening as she sat feeding Soleil Dare walked into the sitting room looking handsome as usual in his business wear. He gave her a peck on the cheek then kissed Soleil on the forehead.
“Guess what?” he said as he loosened his tie. “I got a call from your friend. She said she’s been trying to reach you on your cell phone but all she keeps getting is your voice mail.”
Erin’s heart jerked. “My friend?”
“Yes, the one who came to visit. She’s been trying to get in touch with you for the longest time. Did you disconnect your cell phone?”
“Ahh, no," she said, which was the truth. But it wasn’t the whole truth. The fact was, she’d turned off her cell phone the day Soleil was born and had refused to turn it back on since then. She’d been living in a bubble of her own making. She’d done everything she could to insulate herself from the poison darts that Robyn could throw. But now she could see that her efforts had all been in vain. Robyn was determined to burst her bubble and send her reeling back to reality.
“Did she say what she was calling about?” Erin asked. It took all her effort to keep her face calm and her voice steady.
Dare shook his head. “No, but she left a number where you can reach her.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. He rested it on the table nearby and shifted the vase onto the edge of it to keep it from blowing away. “Give her a call as soon as you can,” he said. "It sounds as if it's pretty important.”
Erin pursed her lips. She knew exactly what was so important for Robyn. She was intent on ruining her life. But she would not give her the satisfaction of being the one to reveal her secret. She’d run away from her truth long enough and now she was tired of running.