The morning after their much-needed time together, Marita woke before both her men. She lay there reflecting on how much she had. She had a husband who was her best friend. A husband who loved her beyond reason. A husband who was a good provider. A husband who was a wonderful lover. Then after all that, she now had a precious baby to love, nurture, guide, teach and watch grow into a strong man. Could life get any better for her?

After Marita prayed and read her scriptures, she turned and woke Sean. Not too long after he was fully awake, they were both naked and cries of pleasure were coming from their lips. As soon as they had finished loving each other, their little one began to release cries of hunger.

"I told you, you'd wake him up if you kept making all that noise" Sean teased her.

Marita hit him in the face with the pillow, causing him to laugh, then got out of bed. She put on her silk robe then walked over to the crib. Sean had sat up, leaned back against the headboard and pulled up his pajama bottoms. He watched Marita as she walked over to the crib and thought about how blessed he was. He had a wife who was his best friend. A wife who loved him more than he could understand. A wife who took good care of him. A wife who was the best lover he ever had. And to top all that, he now had a son to treasure, cherish, direct, instruct, and carry on the family name. Could life get any better for him?

When Sean-Michael saw his mother's face huddling over him, he quieted down. Marita smiled as she picked him up and kissed his nose.

"Are you hungry?" she asked as she cradled him in her arms.

Sean-Michael let out a big yawn then stuck his fist in his mouth and started sucking it.

"I guess that's a 'yes'" Marita smiled as she walked back over to the bed.

She got back in bed, sat back against the headboard and opened her robe. Sean-Michael ate greedily as his parents watched. When he was done, Marita handed him to Sean then she got up and went to the washroom. She had just finished heating her bath water and was about to untie her robe when arms circled her waist and lips kissed her neck.

"Sean" she smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Kissing my wife" he answered then kissed her neck again.

"And who's watching Sean-Michael?" she sighed as his hands moved up to squeezed her breasts.

"He's on the bed" he mumbled as he untied her robe and pulled it open.

"You need... to go back... in there... and watch... h i m " Marita sighed as his hands moved down her stomach then one hand found its way between her legs.

"He's OK" Sean said as he moved his fingers against her. "He said he'd give us a few minutes alone" he whispered in her ear then bit her earlobe.

"S e a n" Marita protested weakly.

"C'mon Marita" he said in a hushed tone before sticking his tongue in her ear. "We won't take long" he began to walk her over to the wall.

Marita protested all the way to the wall and her protests were stilled when Sean turned her toward him, pushed her against the wall and covered her mouth with his lips and silenced her tongue with his. While he held her captive with his steamy, wet kiss, Sean pulled on the snaps of his pajama bottoms and pulled out his hungry manhood. He lifted Marita's leg then guided himself into her. He moved wildly in and out of her as he pressed her against the wall. Their moans and groans of pleasure filled the room until they both exploded from the ecstasy. Sean released her legs and pulled Marita from the wall into his arms and gave her another deep kiss while her ran his hands over her derrière. Marita wrapped her arms around his shoulders and returned the deep kiss.

When the kiss ended, Sean rested his forehead against Marita's and smiled into her eyes. They did not have to say anything. Their smiles and the love that shone in their eyes said it all. After several minutes of smiling at each other and being in their own private paradise, the mother in Marita remembered her baby.

"Go and see about the baby" she smiled at Sean. "And let me take a bath."

Sean smiled at her for a few more seconds then let her go. He snapped his bottoms back together and went to see about his son. Sean-Michael was still in the middle of the bed where Sean had laid him. He was holding his fist up, staring at it.

"What are you looking at?" Sean said as he kneeled on the bed then stretched out next to Sean-Michael. "That's a fist" he said, pointing to the baby's balled up hand. "And these" he said as he spread Sean-Michael's fingers "are fingers."

Sean proceeded to give Sean-Michael his first lesson in human anatomy. After a few minutes, Sean-Michael began to whine and Sean remembered that if he had already eaten the next thing Marita would do is check to see if he needed a new cloth. Sean peeked inside the cloth and tooted up his nose. He got up from the bed and picked up the baby and walked to the washroom. Marita was lounging back in the bath when Sean came in.

"Marita" he called to her and she looked up at him. "Sean-Michael needs his cloth changed."

Marita looked at him with a slight frown and a look of bewilderment on her face.

"And... you can in here to tell me that?" she asked.

"Well, he needs changing" Sean said, wondering why she did just get out of the bath and change him.

"And... why don't you change him?" she asked. He had seen her change him many times and she knew he was smart enough to follow her example.

"I've never changed him before" he said with a stupid look on his face.

"You know where the cloths are honey" Marita said and gave him a look that said 'I'm not getting out of my bath to change him when you're perfectly capable of doing it'.

Sean understood her unspoken message and turned and left the washroom. He laid Sean-Michael in his crib and went to get a fresh cloth out of the dresser. He got a hand cloth that was next to the basin and dipped it in the water. He then went back over to Sean-Michael and unpinned his cloth. He lifted the baby by his feet until his little bottom was out of the mess in the cloth and wiped him clean. Sean then pulled the dirty cloth out from under him and replaced it with the clean one.

"Sean-Michael!" Marita heard Sean yell.

"Sean what are you doing to my baby?" Marita yelled from the washroom as she got up and grabbed a towel.

"I'm not doing anything to him. HE squirted me!" Sean yelled back, causing Sean-Michael to grin up at him. "What are you grinning at?" he said to the baby.

Sean walked back to the basin and got another hand rag and cleaned himself up then got another cloth for Sean-Michael. When he got back to the crib, Sean-Michael was still grinning as if he had showered Sean on purpose.

"Are you finished?" Sean asked him then laughed.

Sean put the new cloth on him and pinned him up just as Marita came back into the room.

"He squirted you?" Marita asked as she walked over to her dresser.

"Yeah he wet me. Has he ever done that to you?" Sean asked as he picked up the baby.

"No" Marita said.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Sean asked the baby.

Sean-Michael answered with his baby noises and Sean laughed. After Marita got dressed, Sean went to bath while she and Sean-Michael went downstairs to cook breakfast. When Sean came downstairs, he sat at the table and read the morning journal until breakfast was ready. When Sean left for work that morning, all was well. He and his son had an agreement that they would share Marita. The memory of the night he shared with is wife would keep a smile on his face for at least the next month. He had enjoyed his favorite breakfast this morning which included Marita before he got out of bed, Marita against the wall, hotcakes with maple syrup, eggs, hash browns, sausage and orange juice. WHEW! He was nice and full. At the moment, life for him seemed too good to be true but he intended to enjoy each and every moment of it.

****************************

Over the next several months, things were going well for all the Logans. Clay and Vivian were enjoying each other and Vivian was even beginning to love the cabin. Alice was excited and nervous about her upcoming wedding to Dr. Fawnsworth. Jeremy was slowing building his carriage business and he and Kate were growing closer. And Lexy was Lexy. She was growing into a beautiful young woman. She was becoming even more outspoken and opinionated. But most of all, she was a wonderful aunt to her favorite nephew. And Lexy was Sean-Michael's favorite aunt. She played with him a lot. She made him laugh. She was his friend.

Sean-Michael was growing into a strong healthy, happy baby. As he grew, Marita saw that he was truly his father's son. She did all the work in bringing him into the world but Sean got all of the glory. Sean-Michael was the spitting image of his father. From his curly dark hair, to his thick eyebrows, to his piercing blue eyes, to his straight nose, to his square chin. There was no evidence that he was even Marita's son.

Sean and Marita were enjoying their son but they found ways to accommodate their need for each other with a baby in the house. Sean would wake up early for his sunrise treat, his name for their morning trysts. They would take hot baths together after Sean-Michael went to sleep at night. He would come home during Sean-Michael's naptime.

Sean had come home one afternoon to find Marita and Vivian in the great room talking. Vivian's back was to the door so see did not see when Sean walked by and looked in. He titled his head toward the stairs, grinned at Marita then disappeared out of the doorway.

"And I was telling Clay..." Vivian was talking.

"Vivian" Marita interrupted. "There's something I need to take care of. Can we finish this later this afternoon? I should be done in about an hour or so."

"Sure" Vivian said. "Is it something I can help you with?"

"No" Marita smiled.

"Alright then" Vivian said as she rose from her seat. "Oh, I just remembered I have to go into town and I'm not sure when I'll be back. Maybe you can come by the cabin tomorrow for lunch."

"That sounds like a good idea" Marita said as she walked Vivian to the front door. "Do I need to bring anything?" she teased.

"No!" Vivian laughed. "I'm going to make us some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and vegetable soup." Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and vegetable soup were the only two dishes Vivian could prepare without help and without nearly burning the cabin down.

"Alright" Marita laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

When Marita shut the door, she hurried upstairs. When she got to the bedroom door, Sean was waiting for her. He had already put Sean-Michael in the room that would be his once he got old enough.

"I was about to come down there and get you" he said.

"Not like that, you weren't!" Marita laughed. He was standing at the foot of the bed naked. She ran, giggling like a schoolgirl, into his arms. "I wasn't expecting you home this afternoon" she said before hugging his neck.

"You should have" he said then kissed her cheek. "Since you didn't feed me this morning" he leered in her ear then began kissing it and his hands moved over her derrière.

Marita giggled and sighed as she enjoyed being accosted by her husband. Their lips soon met and they shared a sweet kiss then much more as they enjoyed each other for the next hour. Marita sent Sean back to work with a full stomach and a satisfied appetite.

The next day, Marita and Sean-Michael went to the cabin to have lunch with Vivian. Sean-Michael had already eaten so he would just watch and listen to Mama and the lady called Vivian talk.

Sean-Michael was content to lie in his basket while Mama and Vivian ate but as soon as he noticed they had finished eating and where just sitting at the talking, he began to fuss. He wanted to be in a better position to hear what was going on. Marita picked him us while she and Vivian continued talking. At one point during their conversation, Vivian got up to make tea. When she turned back toward Marita, she saw a smile on her face. Marita was looking at Sean-Michael the love she had for him was written all over her face. Vivian was once again faced with being envious of Marita.

"What does it feel like being a mother like?" Vivian asked as she walked slowly back over to Marita.

Marita looked up from Sean-Michael to Vivian. A look of awe and bewilderment was on Vivian's face as she watched Marita hold her baby.

"Every time I see you with him, you seem to love him more and more" she said as she looked up from the baby back to Marita.

"I think I do love him more as the days go by. I really can't put into words what I feel for him. But I can tell you that it is truly amazing" Marita said then looked down and Sean-Michael and smiled. "I'd give my life for him" she said as she touched his cheek with her finger.

"I wonder if I could love a baby like that" Vivian said as she sat back down.

"You don't think you can?" Marita asked. She had watched Vivian go from a very aloof person to a caring, kind soul.

"I don't know" she said honestly. "I'm afraid..." she paused, not knowing how to put her feelings into words.

Marita waited patiently for Vivian to find her words. Every since the day Vivian cried on her shoulder in Ned's den, she and Vivian had an unspoken bond with each other. They were knitted together in a very special way.

"I'm afraid I don't have that kind of love inside of me" she finally said.

"Why would you think that? It's obvious how much you love Clay and look at all that you've given up for him."

"What if I endeup being like my mother."

"Oh Vivian you're not your mother" Marita exclaimed. They had shared conversations before in which Vivian compared herself to her mother.

"But..."

"You're nothing like her. Would your mother be living in a two room cabin?"

"No" Vivian conceded.

"Would your mother have me over for lunch?"

Vivian imagined Georgina inviting Marita over to brunch and the thought was a little amusing.

"No" she smiled slightly.

"Vivian, you've got to stop thinking you're going to turn out like your mother."

"A child needs and deserves a lot of love. What if I'm not able to give a baby what he needs?" Vivian lamented. "I would want my child to have everything I didn't" she said, meaning a mother's love. "And I'm afraid I might fail him."

"Vivian" Marita said. "You won't fail your baby. You've got to believe in yourself. I've seen you with Clay and I see how much you love him."

"But I'm afraid Marita" Vivian bemoaned.

"Vivian. Trust me. When you do have your baby, you will love him so much and be amazed at how much you do" Marita said as she reached out and took Vivian's hand. "You really have a lot of love to give" she said encouragingly.

Vivian gave her a doubtful look but then smiled. Maybe Marita was right. Maybe she could be a good mother and give her child all the love it needed. But then Vivian's insecurities surfaced and told her she would turn out just like her mother.

"But what if I can't?" Vivian said in a light voice as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Vivian" Marita tried again to convince her. "When you see your baby and hold him, the only thing you'll be able to do is love him."

"If that's true, why couldn't my mother love me?" Vivian cried as a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek.

"Vivian" Marita pleaded with her. "There's nothing, absolutely wrong with you."

"Why couldn't my mother love me?" she asked again, voicing a question she had asked herself for years.

"It wasn't because of you. Some people, for whatever reason, just don't know how to love anybody. And you're NOT one of those people. Think about how much you love Clay" Marita said and let Vivian mull that over.

"I do love him" Vivian said.

"And you will love any children you have with him."

Marita hoped that she had convinced Vivian that she would be a loving mother and thought she may have succeeded when Vivian wiped the tears from her face and gave Marita a smile. Marita squeezed her hand and returned an assuring smile. The two friends sat at the table talking until the cabin door opened and Clay walked in with Sean on his heals.

The brothers greeted their wives and Sean took Sean-Michael from Marita and gave him a kiss. The couples chatted for a few more minutes then Sean, Marita and Sean-Michael left for him.

"I still can't get over you and Vivian" Sean said as they rode him in the carriage with Ahab tied to the back.

"You can't get over what?" Marita asked.

"The fact that you two are actually friends."

"I don't see why you should be so surprised. We have a lot in common. YOU ought to know that" Marita said. She liked to tease him about his courtship with Vivian.

Sean laughed as he drove them home.

*******************

"SEAN!!" Marita yelled from in the kitchen. "SEAN! SEAN!"

"WHAT!" Sean came running into the kitchen with a worried frown.

"LOOK!" she pointed to Sean-Michael.

Sean turned to look at the baby and saw that he was standing and attempting to take his first step.

"Come to mama" Marita said as she held out her hands to Sean-Michael.

Sean-Michael lifted up his arms to her but did not take a step.

"Come to mama" she said again and motion him to her with her hands.

Sean-Michael wanted to be in mama's arms but she was not coming to pick him up. He reached his arms out farther and wobbled a bit but mama still did not make a move to come to him and pick him up.

"Come to mama" she said again.

Well, since Mama was not coming to him, Sean-Michael decided to try to go to her. He gingerly lifted one leg and the other wobbled from the weight of his little body. He quickly put his foot down to steady himself. He then tried lifting the other leg and lost his balance and fell back on his bottom.

"AH!" Mama smiled.

Sean-Michael then leaned forward on his hands and crawled to Mama. When he got to her, he grabbed onto her skirt and pulled himself up to a standing position then lifted his arms up to her. Marita reached down and picked him up and gave him a kiss for his effort.

"Hey" Sean exclaimed. "Put him down and let's see if he'll try again."

Marita put Sean-Michael down and held him by his hands. She let go then back away from him.

"Come to Mama" she said.

Sean-Michael looked at Mama, then at Pa. He thought for a minute then squatted down and crawl to Mama. His parents laughed at him and for the next 15 minutes tried to get Sean-Michael to walk. He insisted on crawling.

"I see you passed on your stubbornness to our child" Marita teased.

"Determination" Sean laughed.

When all was said and done, Sean-Michael took his first step for Auntie Lexy. When she told Marita and Sean they could not believe it, especially since Sean-Michael seemed to have jelly for legs whenever Mama and Pa were around. But finally one day he decided to show Mama he could walk. Marita was in Ned's study doing correspondence when Lexy walked in. She was taking slow steps and Marita looked to see Sean-Michael holding on to Lexy's finger and taking steps.

***********************

This was the third note in three days. Sean folded the note and tossed it in the waste bucket. As he wondered if he should tell Marita, he knew he should. He wondered who was sending them? Was a political rival trying to cause a scandal?

As Sean pondered who could be behind the notes, there was a note on the door.

"Come in" he called out and the door opened.

"Well, hello there."

There she was standing in the middle of his office door in a cape.

To Be Continued.........................