Chapter 71

Jordan smiled indulgently and went to the nursery to feed Riley. She was still trying to figure out what to tell Woody. The news about the baby, or rather the idea that they might be having another one soon, or the more obscure information about the stupid flower she had told Nigel about! As she nursed her son, her mind and body relaxed as Jordan let the joy of holding her child so close and sharing this bond that could only be felt between mother and child. The peace that flowed into her allowed her mind to clear and she remembered how hurt Woody had been when she hadn't told him about that first nightgown gift from Palmer. She had promised herself then that she wouldn't keep things from him anymore and here she was ready to do it again!

Maybe she could justify it to herself by all the years she had been on her own and having to rely only on herself before Woody came into her life. But how long was she going to use that excuse? It was already wearing very thin on Woody's end and by now it should be on hers too! They were a team now. A family, and even though her family hadn't been big on relying on each other, she knew that was the way they were supposed to work.

That was why, once Riley was in his crib asleep, she headed into the other room to talk to Woody about what Clara Rose had to say. She was about to announce that Clara had predicted that she and Woody would have a daughter sometime soon but she was stalled when Woody looked up from his packing and said, "You know Colonel Mackenzie will have wasted a trip and I will have wasted a day off on this stake out if Clematis Orly doesn't show up tomorrow."

Shocked at the sudden connection to the nonsense that Clara had been babbling about, Jordan blurted out Clematis Orly?!"

"Yeah, awful name to saddle a kid with, don't you think?!" Woody grinned at her.

"But Woody, I was just about to come and tell you about my visit with Clara Rose and her old message!"

"Clara Rose? Why in the world would you go and see that whacky woman?!"

"Well, she had given Nigel this cryptic message for me, so after I got off work I went by to see her and find out any more, but instead of that, she told me that we are going to have a daughter soon!"

"What?! When?! Jordan are you pregnant?!" Woody demanded as he crossed the room to her and put his hand on her flat tummy.

"I don't know! In fact I don't know if she meant that I was already pregnant or that I would be soon."

"Why didn't you ask her?!"

"Because I was already back out to the car when I realized what 'a princess of hearts will enter you lives soon' meant!" she told him.

"That is amazing. I hope that it happens, but a year from now would be just fine too. You need to recover a bit before we have another."

"Yeah, a year from now would be okay," Jordan agreed.

"So now tell me what the other part of the message was."

"Oh yeah I almost forgot. I guess she rambled on to Nigel about the show Twin Peeks and then she told him to tell me, 'the clematis is not what it seems'. Does that have any meaning to what you and Colonel Mackenzie are doing tomorrow?"

"I haven't a clue. You say Ms Rose didn't give you anything else to go on?"

"No unfortunately."

"I doubt it means much, knowing Clara Rose and the way her oddball mind works. But I will tell her, and we will be on the look out for anything strange."

"Could this have anything to do with Palmer?"

"I don't see how. Mac and I are just trying to get some closure on this double case we were working on. To see if the kid shows up at his mother's grave so we can talk to him."

"Wouldn't that 'kid' be an adult by now?"

To be continued…