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Maddie's ire began to raise, her outrage and
indignation climbing with racing fingers to the
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boiling point as it all hit her and she realized that
Heath had been joking. She warred between hurt
feelings at him so callously ruining her attempt at
seduction and anger that he had the nerve to make
fun of her afterwards! She opened the door a little
wider and pointed the spoon at him, her fingers
trembling with anger. You...you...you are a clod
and you can get your own lunch. I'm not waiting on
you, Heath Danvers, that was a mean trick to play.
She threw the spoon at him and then burst into
tears as she fled to the bedroom to throw herself on
the bed. How could Heath be so cruel? Had she
failed that miserably to entice him? She sobbed
into the pillow and hid herself under the covers,
hating her husband for his thoughtless prank and
wondering if he no longer found her appealing. It
was true she had some stretch marks on her belly
and it wasn't flat like it used to be, but she had just
born a child a few months ago. Was he repulsed by
the marks?
She sobbed harder to think that her husband no
longer found her attractive. They had only made
love a few times since the baby had been born and
it had been more of a groping dance in the dark
after getting Caroline to sleep. Maddie had been
more exhausted than anything else. Talking with
Evelyn had aroused her and she had mistakenly
thought to entice her husband into a little daytime
play. They hadn't indulged in ages!
Heath was flummoxed as he rubbed the huge
knot rising on his forehead and stared at Maddie
huddled and sobbing beneath the blankets on their
bed. He looked at the offending spoon in his hand
and back at his upset wife, wondering what in the
word was going on? Had Maddie lost her sense of
humor? And she had actually thrown this spoon at
him, hitting him on the forehead before he could
duck the unexpected missile. He was sure it was
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going to bruise and he would have to figure out how
to explain this to his parishioners!
Maddie? He spoke uncertainly, approaching
the bed with caution in chase she lashed out again.
Laying the spoon aside, he gingerly pulled the
covers back and touched her on her silky shoulder.
Go away, Heath, she mumbled into the pillow.
Heath ignored her and picked her up instead,
then sat on the bed with her on his lap.
Maddie tried to wiggle off his lap, holding the
front of the apron down with one hand so he
wouldn't be able to see the ugliness. She kept her
face turned away from him as she resisted.
Maddie, stop it, he demanded, holding her
firmly and reaching out with one hand to turn her
chin up to face him. What in the world is wrong
with you? It was just a little joke.
He looked genuinely puzzled, but Maddie was
beyond caring. You just did it because you didn't
want to make love to me, didn't you? The tears
oozed from her huge eyes and trickled down her
pale face. You think my body is ugly now and you
aren't attracted to me anymore, so you just made
fun instead.
What? Heath was flabbergasted. He tried to
follow her line of reasoning and the same as untold
numbers of males before him, he failed miserably.
He shook his head. Where in the world did you
come up with that? I love you, Maddie, you could
never be ugly to me.
She gripped the apron and held it tightly,
keeping it down over her tummy. She stared at her
hands and refused to acknowledge him.
At last Heath began to see the light. He gently
put his hand over her balled fists and tried to
unclench the apron material from them. When she
refused to let go, his other hand simply untied the
apron from the back and let the sides fall down.
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Don't, whimpered Maddie. Just keep this
covered up and you won't have to look at me.
Heath firmly pulled the apron from her clenching
fingers and then put his hand on her tummy, his
fingers tracing the marks that bore the record of
Caroline's birth. These are beautiful, Maddie, he
said sternly. They are the evidence of your
sacrifice to bring my child into the world, why in the
good Lord's name would you ever think they were
ugly?
The silent tears continued to trickle down
Maddie's cheeks and she refused to look at him.
Heath picked her up and laid her on the bed,
then kneeled down beside it to pay homage to the
red and purple lines that shown faintly on the
tender skin. He kissed every single mark and then
took her hands into his own large ones and kissed
the palms of each one.
I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Maddie. I love
you, everything about you is beautiful, especially
these marks. They are proof of your love for me
and I treasure them. I'll always love you, more
than life itself.
As he reiterated his own personal vow that she
hadn't heard in too long, Maddi began to sob anew.
She threw herself into his arms and hugged him
fiercely. You really mean it? You don't think it's
ugly?
Heath disentangled himself from her arms long
enough to shed his clothes, and then he joined her
on the bed, reaffirming the overwhelming love he
felt for her as his wife and the mother of their child.
As they lay there afterwards with her head cradled
on his shoulder, he remembered the wooden spoon
and he reached up to feel the huge knot it had left.
It was Maddie's turn to tease this time and she
smiled up at him. You deserved that, you know
you did.
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Heath growled and turned over to reach for the
discarded spoon by the bedside. Oh I did, did I?
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