Sarah dashed up the steps and shifted from foot to foot while Randy unlocked the door. Unbuttoning her jeans, she sped to the bathroom. She picked up the bag and removed the stick, glad now that she'd read the directions and had everything ready before she left for the picnic.

Finished, her hand trembled, and she set the stick on a paper towel on the counter. Afraid to look, she washed her hands and brushed her teeth.

Randy tapped on the door. "Everything okay?"

"Come in." He rested his hands on her shoulders, his touch sending a shiver down her spine.

"Well?" he said.

"It says wait at least one full minute. Maybe as long as ten."

"It's going to be a very long minute, isn't it?" He bent over and nuzzled the back of her neck. The tickle of his warm breath made her shudder.

God, she was shaking all over. "All of a sudden, I'm scared. Maybe you've been right all along. Maybe it's not fair to bring a kid into this world. All that evil out there, the economy's going to hell in a hand basket. Did we do the right thing?"

"Of course we did. You were right, as always, my sensible Sarah. We can't predict the future. We can only hope to make it better, and that a child might be a way to do that. Besides, I thought you said you wanted something to remember me by."

"Don't you talk like that. I said I wanted a part of you. I want you, too, buster.  Your job puts your life on the line, but like you said, you could be an accountant and get run over by a bus. There are no guarantees. Just don't do anything reckless, or I'll—I'll kill you."

He turned her around. "I love you. Either way. And we have lots of time ahead of us. A kiss for luck?"

She stood on tiptoe, and he bent down to meet her lips. She felt that warm glow spreading through her. "Mmm. Not yet. I think it's time." She let her fingers trickle down his chest. "My hands are shaking too much. You look."

Randy picked up the stick. "Okay. What am I looking for?" The stick trembled in his hands. She put her arm around his waist and leaned into him.

"Anything in the circle?"

"A blue line. Is that good?"

"Yes. Means the test is valid. What's in the square?" She closed her eyes and held her breath.

"Another blue line." She heard the click as he set the stick on the counter. "So?"

She exhaled. "So I call the doctor Monday, Dad."

He spun her around to face him. Tears glimmered in his eyes. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She grinned up at him.

"Umm… I think I want to sit down for a minute," he said. He staggered to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. "Dad. Oh God, Sarah. A baby. You."

"Us," she whispered and sat next to him. She lifted his fingertips to her lips, then placed them on her belly. Those big, strong hands would be holding a baby soon. She wanted him. Wanted to share this new life in the most intimate way possible. "I love you so much. Make love with me." She reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Randy groaned and reached for Sarah's hands. "I've been thinking of nothing else all day. But are you sure? Is it all right? You know … safe … for the … the baby."

"Of course it is. You won't be anywhere near it. Him. Her."

"But—"

She pressed her mouth against his, stifling any chance of reply.

He returned her kiss and ran his fingers through her hair. Pulling away, Sarah took his hands and pulled him to his feet. There was a tenderness in his eyes she'd never seen before.

"At least my knees aren't shaking anymore," he whispered. "But I have to tell you, this feels like our first time. I want you so much."

"I know. Me, too." She pulled down the bedcovers and turned to see Randy standing by the bed, motionless, staring at her. She began to unbutton her shirt.

"Wait," he said. "Come here. Let me. I want to look at you."

Sarah stepped around the bed and stood poised before him. Her knees were quaking again. "I'm yours." She stared into his eyes, those brown-flecked-with-hazel eyes that melted her insides. An involuntary gasp escaped when he reached for her.

Randy undid each button, kissing her chest as more and more of her lay open to him. He tugged the shirt from the waistband of her jeans and finished with the last two buttons. He slid the garment from her arms and let it drop to the floor. Lowering himself to his knees, he ran his lips over her belly. "A baby," he whispered.

His delicate touch sent another thrill though her. She felt the trembling of his fingers as he released the button and zipper of her jeans, slid them down past her hips. She tried to control her ragged breathing as Randy planted kiss after kiss on her body. Any more and she would have to sit down. She reached for him, but he refused her touch.

"My turn," he said. His kisses followed her jeans to her ankles, and she raised each leg in turn to step out of them. Every nerve ending fired messages of pleasure to her brain. He lowered her panties an inch at a time, still kissing in their wake, and his strong pianist's fingers played along the back of her legs. She gripped his hair, and she thought she would explode with the delight.

His kisses moved back up her body. She tried to catch her breath while he shifted from his knees to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. His hands were hot velvet at her waist as he positioned her between his knees. He unfastened her bra, and the tingling that suffused her breasts as the cool night air swirled over them brought a gasp of pleasure. His lips moved to her breasts, and as his tongue played over her nipples, it was as if lightning coursed between them and her loins. And then his fingers stroked between her legs, and she lost all control as his touch brought her shuddering to climax. Finally, he lowered her to the bed beside him.

Randy shrugged out of his shirt and reached for his belt buckle. "I'd help you, but I can't breathe, much less move," she said. She saw a flicker of alarm in his eyes.

His hands froze on his belt. "Are you okay?"

"Oh God, yes. I can't believe … I mean, one touch, and wham!"

Randy held her gaze as he released his zipper. "I think my jeans must have shrunk."

Sarah giggled. "Sorry about that. I guess maybe we should take them off, then."

He bent down to remove his shoes and socks. Sarah found the strength to reach over and run her still quivering fingers along his muscled torso. "My turn. Lie back."

Randy yanked off his other sock and pulled off his jeans and briefs. Sarah knelt at the center of the bed, waiting. When he scooted back to her and drew her face to his, she pulled away.

"No," she said. "You lie there. No moving. I said it was my turn." She ran her fingers along the silky smoothness behind his ears. Her lips caressed the hollow above his collarbone. He moaned, and she scraped her teeth along his nipples. Her hands explored downward. She kneaded his thighs. Her fingertips grazed along his erection, then moved away. She saw his clenched jaw as he struggled to remain still. She repeated the motion again. And again. His hips arched, and she ached to feel him joined with her.

"You're driving me crazy," he groaned. She turned over and opened herself to him. Poised above her, he hesitated. "Please. Tell me if anything feels wrong." He eased himself inside her. She wriggled against him, gasping as he stroked, ever so slowly.

"All right?"

"More than all right. Don't stop." She pulled his hips against her body, bringing him deeper.

"Oh, God," he said. "You feel so good."

She rocked gently beneath him, losing herself in the pleasure of being complete. Her hips seemed to have taken control of her body, moving faster, seeking release.

"No, you don't," Randy said, half withdrawing. "Not yet. I want more."

She dug her nails into his buttocks, but he waited. She was aware of him counting to ten before he began again. As his passion grew, so did his tempo, and Sarah begged him for fulfillment.

He pulled back once more. Fifteen counts before he began again. This time, the tempo quickened much faster and she could stand it no longer.

"Oh, God, Randy," she cried. "I can't wait. Now. Now!" And her entire being concentrated on that one tiny part of her, and there was nothing else, and Randy gave one final thrust, and called her name, and a wild crescendo filled her.

Later, when her toes uncurled, she felt a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"You all right?" His breathing was still ragged.

"You keep asking me. God, how could I not be all right? That was amazing. I don't know if it's because of the abstinence, or the hormones, or just because you're fantastic."

"I'll go with the last," Randy said. "Mom."

"Mom," she repeated. Tears brimmed.

He withdrew and turned on his side, drawing Sarah into him, spoon fashion. He placed a hand over her belly, and they lay there together. The three of them. A family.