The Baby's Bodyguard by Stephanie Newton Page A

you.”
    Kelsey stopped with the fork halfway to her mouth. “She probably didn’t know what she was saying.
Mama
is one of the first words that babies say.”
    Janie threw the ball and it rolled about halfway back to Gracie. Gracie smiled. “You’re right, but either way, I think it’s a good thing that she’s able to attach. It means that she’s been loved. She understands it on the most basic level, at least.”
    Kelsey’s insides felt ragged, like the bottoms of her feet. She was already attached, too, and she should have known better. “Thanks. I guess I needed to hear that. I don’t want to hurt her more when she has to leave me.”
    Janie pulled up on the sofa again, but before she could get to a standing position, she plopped back down on the ground. Her lips primped up and she started to cry. Ethan picked her up, nuzzling her cheek. “Hey now, what are you making a fuss about?”
    Gracie gave Ethan a pointed look. “What about work?”
    “I’ve got a couple of days off in a row starting today, but I’ll call and schedule a couple more. What about you, Kelsey? Did you call your office to let them know what was going on?”
    “Yes. I told my boss that I needed some personal time for a few days to deal with the baby’s health issues. It really puts them at a disadvantage to be a person down. I feel guilty.” Kelsey put her fork down, her eyes on Janie, who was patting Ethan on the chest. “It’s true that she needs special care, especially now. And she’s really cute.”
    Gracie stood, patting the pockets of her cargo pants. “She’s adorable. Less adorable, but still needy, is the team of police commandos downstairs that I’m supposed to teach hostage negotiation. I better get moving.”
    “Sorry about Brad,” Ethan said to Gracie. Janie laid her head on his shoulder and then popped it back up to see if he was watching. He patted her on the back as he added, “I didn’t have any idea there would be someone I knew in this group.”
    Man, he looked good holding that baby, and he was opening up more every day, thanks to the toddler in his arms. Kelsey didn’t want to think what would’ve happened to them if he hadn’t been there last night.
    Gracie paused in the door. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. Brad needs to dial it back a few notches. He’s the team leader. It was his request to do team building along with R&R. Personally, I think they needed the R&R more after a rough year. I’m out for a while, but call down if you need anything.”
    Gracie left and Ethan eased to a sitting position beside her, letting Janie slide to the floor to play with the toys Gracie had brought in.
    He picked up the towel and first-aid kit that Gracie had left beside the pan of water. “You ready to get your feet out of there?”
    “I can manage.”
    “I’m sure you can, but it will be easier if I help.” He opened the towel.
    She stared at it for a second. It had been a long timesince someone took care of her. She laid first one foot and then the other in it.
    He patted her feet gently with the towel. Tears came to her eyes, a lump growing in her throat. Not because it hurt. It did, but the pain came from a completely different place. When her mom and dad died, she’d been adopted by another missionary family. They’d been loving parents, but it wasn’t the same. She was ten, and at that age in the mission field, she’d been expected to pull her own weight.
    It had been years since anyone had touched her with tenderness, with a touch that was meant to care for her alone. She loved her adopted family, had a slew of adopted brothers and sisters, but there had been no one to dry her tears when she skinned a knee. Or hold her in the night when she was lonely and afraid.
    “Are you okay?” Ethan’s voice was soft, the smooth, easy quality roughened by a night of little sleep.
    “Yeah, just thinking. I’m fine.” She smiled at him and pushed aside the thoughts, automatically reaching for the