Free Special Delivery (A Valentine's Short Story) by Ginny Baird Page A

Amanda
didn’t have any sisters, only two older brothers who lived on the
West Coast. While both were supportive, each was married with a
busy job and family of his own. Chet and Jared would most certainly
send cards and phone with congratulatory messages, but neither was
prepared to fly across the country to hold Amanda’s hand. Not that
she’d want them to, anyway.
    Once the contractions passed, Amanda grabbed
a hair tie from the nightstand and pulled her shoulder-length,
blonde hair into a ponytail. She’d make herself some decaf coffee,
then start her day. Amanda was glad it was Saturday. She had
thank-you notes to write for the baby shower the nice women had
given her at the preschool where she taught four-year-olds. It was
such an exciting age. With the little ones preparing to enter
kindergarten the following year, there was so much for them to do
and learn, from their ABCs to the structure of a daily routine. A
few of her students were already starting to read! They were the
self-taught, precocious ones, and it was incredible to see how they
were coming along. Though, in truth, Amanda loved them all—from the
timid and tentative to the bold and brazen, and all styles of
personalities in between. Kids were so much fun, and a challenging
thrill to manage. The parents said Amanda had a special gift for
it, and she hoped this was true. Now that she was about to become a
mom herself especially.
     
     

Chapter Two
     
    Amanda padded to the kitchen in her slippers.
After she finished her letters, she wanted to concentrate on her
Valentine’s Day message to the baby. Luke had sent his to her by
e-mail, and she was to inscribe both notes in the brand-new baby
book Katie had given them. There was a section for First
Holidays , and even though the baby wasn’t quite here yet,
Amanda and Luke had decided that this February fourteenth counted.
If Little Bean had cooperated and been born on his or her due date,
he or she would be here already. That was Luke’s argument,
anyway.
    Amanda’s motivation was different. Though
she’d been speaking to her child all along, she could hardly wait
to get to do so in person. Writing the baby a very personal note
seemed the next best thing. It was like a conversation she could
record for their child to play back later at any time he or she
wished. Luke had sent his contribution by e-mail attachment and
asked her not to read it until after she’d written hers. No
cheating! he’d warned, including the emoticon for a wink.
    She recalled the first time Luke winked at
her, causing her knees to go weak. They’d been stopping in the same
coffee shop during one of his shore leaves and had happened to run
into each other an uncanny number of times. One of those times,
she’d just cut her fairly long hair into a new style that was
layered and fell just past her shoulders. Luke reached for his
tall, nonfat latte and grinned. He had an asymmetrical smile that
tilted up higher at one corner, causing Amanda’s heart to do a
heady flip-flop.
    “New do?” he asked her.
    She nodded numbly, unable to find her tongue.
When one spent one’s mornings talking to small children, responding
to open interest from a red-hot stranger didn’t come naturally. She
mumbled something barely intelligible like, “Uh, um…yeah.”
    He returned a thoughtful look before shooting
her a wink. “I like it.”
    Then he was off and out the door, leaving
Amanda’s pulse fluttering. It took the person behind her in line
nudging her for her to realize the barista was staring at her from
the other side of the counter, waiting on her order.
    Amanda was flustered beyond embarrassment.
“Sorry,” she told the coffee server. “I just lost track of…”
    “No worries, doll,” the older woman said with
a knowing look. “Luke Holiday has that effect on everyone.”
    “Everyone?” Amanda asked lamely. She couldn’t
help but feel disappointed. As inane as it seemed, she’d somehow
hoped the increasing attention