I've Got You, Babe

by Lynnette Austin

  “Guess she would be.” He turned back to the yellow Lab. “Lug Nut’s about ten months old and still has a lot of puppy in him. Go find your ball, dog.”

  The Lab dropped his stuffed animal and tore off in an ecstatic search.

  “That’ll keep him busy for a bit.”

  “My brothers, Brant and Gaven,” Tucker said by way of introduction. “And this is Elisa and Daisy Elizabeth.” Brant nodded at them. “The EMTs will take good care of you.”

  “We’ll be in here if you need anything,” Gaven said. “Y’all don’t need an audience.”

  With that, he and Brant headed for the office.

  “Thank you.” Elisa peeled her daughter from around her neck and set her in her lap.

  The EMTs hurried into the bay, and Tucker stepped out of the way to let them do their job.

  While one of them took her temperature and blood pressure, the older one asked, “Have you eaten anything today?”

  “Black coffee. Guess that doesn’t count, does it?”

  He shook his head, then tipped his chin toward her daughter. “Has she?”

  “Of course,” she snapped.

  “So you fed her, but not yourself.”

  Jaw set stubbornly, she nodded.

  “Any chance you’re diabetic?”

  “No.” Instinctively, her hand flew to her forehead. “No,” she repeated, praying it was true.

  “Pregnant?”

  Heat raced up her face. “No.”

  “Heart problems?”

  Alarmed, she met his eyes. “No, why?”

  “Your pulse is way higher than it should be.”

  “Of course it is. I fainted.”

  He grunted.

  As he asked his thousand questions, Elisa, more than a little self-conscious, kept her eyes averted from the man who’d rescued her. Thank God he’d been fast on his feet. She’d never, ever fainted. But she had today, and he’d saved her from hitting the floor, saved her from some nasty bruises at best, a broken bone or concussion at worst.

  And he’d taken care of Daisy. Sort of. All things considered, this stern-looking guy had been a real blessing. With her unconscious, God only knew what would have happened if he hadn’t been here, if she hadn’t stopped outside his shop.

  The mechanic didn’t look very happy about any of it, though. In truth, he looked like a guy who’d far prefer a black hat to the white one she’d forced on him. The man was all rough-and-tumble, his chiseled face stern and covered in dark stubble. A faded black T-shirt and worn black jeans hugged a body that advertised he’d act first and ask questions later.

  She could practically read his thoughts. Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world…she passes out in mine.

  “We’re heading to Doc Hawkins.” The paramedic fastened the last strap around the stretcher to hold it in place in the ambulance. “You can follow us into town with the baby.”

  “Me?” Tucker pointed at his own chest, a bubble of panic forming in it. “Why not take the baby with you?”

  “It would be better if you’d take her.”

  “I want her with me,” Elisa said. “And I need my purse.”

  The ambulance driver nodded toward Tucker. “Can you grab the purse?”

  “Get it, Gaven,” Tucker bit out, seeing his younger brother peering out the office door. “Since you’re snoopin’, you might as well be useful.”

  The ambulance driver turned his attention to Elisa. “We can’t take her, ma’am. Regulations would require she be strapped in, and you’re on our only stretcher.”

  “Her car seat—”

  “No way to secure it.”

  Brant put an arm around Tucker as he let out a wobbly sigh. “Believe me, I feel your pain. It wasn’t all that long ago I hustled to Savannah after Lainey’s accident. I left the hospital with our seven-month-old nephew and not a clue what to do with him.”

  “This is different.”

  “Yeah, it is. Jax is family. But there’s still the responsibility. The feeling of being dumped into the deep end with no life preserver.”

  Tucker sucked in a deep breath. “You know, you’d do a better job with this.”

  “Sorry, bro. Your turn.”

  “Hey!” The older EMT shot an angry-father look at Tucker. “You done bellyachin’? While you stand there feelin’ sorry for yourself, this young lady needs to see the doc. Now.”

  Elisa laid a hand on the EMT’s arm. “Am I going to be okay?”

  “You bet. Doc Hawkins will fix you up in no time.”

  “Is it something serious?” Fear skittered across her face as her gaze traveled to her daughter.

  “Ma’am, I’m not a doctor. Best the doc does the diagnosing.”

  Tucker made the mistake of meeting Elisa’s eyes. In them, he read frustration, worry, and more than a little desperation.

  Holding the kid, he climbed into the ambulance and knelt beside her. “Hey, it’ll be okay. Daisy and I will be right behind you, and we’ll meet you at the doc’s. I realize you don’t know me from Adam, but these guys do. Otherwise they wouldn’t trust me with your daughter. I won’t let any harm come to her. Promise.”

  What a bunch of BS. These EMTs couldn’t possibly find anyone more inept to hand this child over to.

  Uncertainty lingered in her eyes, and he understood what it was to trust a stranger with something so valuable. “It’s hard to believe right now, but everything’s gonna be all right.”

  “I’d argue that point with you, but I’m so tired and I have such a headache.”

  She looked defeated, like she’d failed some major test, and it hurt the heart Tucker swore he no longer possessed.

  As the EMT started to herd them out, Elisa whispered, “One more kiss, baby.”

  Tucker held Daisy Elizabeth closer to her mother. The child clung to her, crying as if positively brokenhearted.

  And she probably was. Her mama was being taken away, leaving her with a stranger. Tucker hoped her mind would block this traumatic moment. He sure as heck didn’t want to be the reason she had to visit a counselor later in life.

  Tucker extricated Daisy and hopped out of the ambulance, the child struggling in his arms. The EMT closed and secured the door. Stepping away, trying to ignore the baby’s frantic cries for her mommy, Tucker pointed a finger at his brothers. “I want you both here and working when I get back. That Vette needs to be finished before Murdoch shows up Friday.”

  Gaven nodded and Brant slapped Tucker on the back. “Let me help you with that car seat.”

  The ambulance pulled out, and Daisy Elizabeth stretched her arms out toward it. “Mommy. Mommy! Where’s Mommy going?”

  “Shhh.” Tucker instinctively bounced her on his hip. “Your mama’s okay. We’re gonna take a ride and go see her. All right?”

  Her big blue eyes brimmed with tears. “I want my mommy.”

  “Me too,” Tucker said. “Honestly? I’d prefer mine, but either one would do.”

  “Exactly my thoughts in Savannah.” Brant held the seat he’d rescued from Elisa’s rattletrap car. “Let’s get you on your way to this one’s.”

  Tucker groaned as his fingers brushed over the key that dangled from his neck. The day had started so well, his head full of the planned trip to his friend’s isolated cabin. Just him and nature.

  Then everything had gone to hell in that proverbial handbasket. He’d never quite understood that saying, but as he pulled onto the two-lane rural road and glanced in his rearview mirror at the child slobbering on the backseat of his beloved Mustang, he swore that handbasket had hitched a ride with them.

  Chapter 2

  The drive into town was the longest of Tucker’s life. He wanted to head back to Tansy’s Sweet Dreams, grab one of her out-of-this-world cinnamon rolls, a fresh cup of coffee, and start the whole day ov
er, because in a matter of seconds it had totally derailed.

  “Do you know?” Daisy asked from the back.

  No sweet roll, no coffee, no new start.

  “Know what?”

  “Where my mommy is?”

  “At the doctor’s, remember?”

  “Why?”

  He hesitated. If he said she was sick, the kid might spaz out again. “He’s gonna give her something to help her headache.” He glanced in the rearview mirror.

  “Oh. I got a headache, too.” The little faker squinted and put a hand to her forehead.

  “Maybe Doc Hawkins can help you with that.”

  “Okay, but I don’t want no shot.”

  Tucker checked his mirror again and, despite himself, grinned. The kid had it going on. “No, no shots.”

  “Mommy doesn’t want one, either.”

  He remembered how frail her mama had felt when he’d held her. Daisy was right. Her mama shouldn’t have any shots, either. “We’ll let the doctor know.”

  “Okay.” Then she wanted to know if he’d ever had a shot, had he cried, where his mommy was, and on and on until he swore his ears bled. The kid talked nonstop. All. The. Way.

  Tucker prayed Doc Hawkins could fix whatever ailed Elisa Danvers—and fast.

  A terrifying thought slithered through his brain. What if he couldn’t? What if she was really sick? Died? He remembered those eyes, those lips.

  “Are you my daddy?”

  “What?” He swerved back into his own lane, his gaze flying to the mirror.

  “Mommy said Daddy lived a long way away. Are you my daddy?”

  “No!”

  Tucker’s own headache spiked to gargantuan proportions. How much farther till they reached the doctor’s office? That damned handbasket was bursting at the seams.

  He made the turn onto Main Street. Even with Chatty Cathy in the backseat, Misty Bottoms’s charm washed over him. Lem Gilmore, the town’s tightwad with a heart of gold and a deep pocket he rarely reached into, waved as he passed Dee-Ann’s Diner, and Tucker waved back. Darlene Dixon walked her pair of Cairn terriers along the uneven brick sidewalk before opening her quilting shop for the day.

  Fall baskets hung from the lampposts. He and his brothers had paid for a couple of them this year when the town held their Fall Into Autumn drive. Pumpkins and colorful leaves graced store window displays.

  When he’d ducked into Tansy’s bakery this morning, her shop had been redolent of apples and cinnamon. To add a little punch to the atmosphere, the weathermen were calling for an early cold front next week. He hoped they were right. He was tired of sweating.

  Small-town Misty Bottoms, Georgia, had had a rebirth, thanks to three women and their dream. Molly, his middle brother’s new bride, was now part of the trio’s Magnolia Brides destination wedding business.

  Since Brant’s mother-in-law had a birthday coming up, he intended to whisk Molly away for a quick visit with her, leaving Tucker and Gaven to take Murdoch’s Vette to the finish line. As much as they needed him here, Tucker couldn’t blame BT. If he had a woman like Molly, he’d run off for a lot longer than a couple of days.

  If. That all-important qualifier.

  No wife or kids lurked in his future. He did best on his own, and the crier in the backseat sure wasn’t about to change his mind.

  An eternity later, they reached the doctor’s. Spying an empty parking spot, he slid to the curb and watched as the EMTs wheeled Elisa through the back entrance.

  When he and the kid blew through the front door, an attractive brunette met them, tucking a strand of shoulder-length hair behind one ear. “I’m Brinna Thompson, Doctor Hawkins’s receptionist. You’re Tucker Wylder, aren’t you?”

  He nodded and held out a hand.

  Blushing, she shook it. “This might take a while, so make yourself comfortable. If you need anything, anything at all, you let me know.”

  “I’ll do that, thanks.” He moved to a small sofa against the far wall, aware Brinna watched him from her position behind the office counter. She caught his eye and sent him a blinding smile.

  The woman was hitting on the wrong Wylder brother. Gaven might be interested; Tucker wasn’t.

  Fortunately, Tucker hadn’t needed to visit Hawkins’s until now. Ignoring the pretty little receptionist, he took a look around. The house was a marvel of past architecture. Thick crown molding edged a plaster ceiling that featured a sunburst design. Solid wood flooring shone underfoot, and a fireplace that almost begged to be lit took its place of honor against the opposite wall. The ornately carved mantel had been created by a master.

  Daisy patted his knee to claim his attention. “I want my mommy.”

  He swallowed the groan. “I know you do.”

  “Where is she?”

  “With the doctor.”

  “I wanna see her.”

  “Not yet.”

  Winding up for a temper tantrum, she stomped her foot and her lower lip jutted out in a pout. Brinna, quick on the uptake, saved the day with a coloring book and crayons. Daisy Elizabeth insisted on sharing, so to ward off the threat of more tears, Tucker dropped onto the floor cross-legged by the coffee table and gave all the princesses, with their tiaras and ballgowns, blue eyes and blond hair.

  And that had nothing to do with Daisy’s mama and her blue, blue eyes and sun-kissed hair.

  Every couple of minutes he glanced at the door, half expecting his brothers to walk in and catch him at this.

  Daisy dumped the crayons out of the box, and Tucker winced. Lining them up neatly, he sorted the reds and the blues. It took the child seconds to mess them up again. The third time, he decided it was futile and did his best to ignore the chaotic clump.

  A few minutes later, Daisy crawled into his lap. He breathed deeply and took in the soft, sweet smell of baby.

  Not sixty seconds later, she started squirming. “I gots to pee.”

  “What?”

  “I gots to pee.”

  Brinna scooted from behind her desk. “I’ll take you, sweetie.” She held out a hand.

  Daisy shook her head. “I want Tut to take me.”

  Tucker opened his mouth, then shut it. How and when had he transitioned from enemy to best pal? “Ahh, how about the three of us go? I’ll wait right outside the door while you and Miss Brinna take care of things.”

  The little girl looked from one to another and sighed deeply. “Okay. But I don’t know where the bathroom is.”

  “Me, either,” Tucker said, “but I’ll bet Miss Brinna does.”

  “I do.”

  “Okay.” Taking Brinna’s hand, Daisy looked up at her. “You’re pretty.”

  “Thank you.” The receptionist rewarded the little girl with a powerhouse smile, and Tucker couldn’t disagree.

  “I like your hair. Mommy puts mine in pigtails ’cause it gets tangled. Sometimes I cry when she brushes it.” She pulled her hand away and reached up to tug at the flower-covered elastics in her hair.

  “Why don’t we leave those in for now?” Brinna captured her hand again. “That way Mommy won’t have to fix it again.”

  “’Kay.” She started singing her ABCs. When she hit G, she started back at A. Apparently, G marked the end of her known alphabet.

  Leaning against the wall outside the little girls’ room, Tucker called his brothers. “I’m gonna be a while yet. The doctor’s still in with Ms. Danvers. Work hard. We’re running out of time.”

  The bathroom door flew open, and Daisy Elizabeth popped out. “Miss Brinna let me flush.”

  “Oh boy! Wasn’t that special?” Into the phone he said, “Gotta go.”

  When Doc Hawkins came out, Tucker pounced on him. “What’s wrong with her? She gonna be okay?”

  “Now, you know better than to ask that, Tuck. I can’t tell you much. Patient/doctor c
onfidentiality and all that.”

  “But I’ve got her kid.”

  “Understood. My patient wearin’ your ring?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Then I can’t discuss her condition with you.”

  He blew out an impatient breath. “Can we at least see her?”

  “Certainly.” He knelt in front of the little girl, his white medical coat swinging behind him. “In fact, I think this little thing is exactly what the doctor prescribed. Your mama wants to see you, Daisy.”

  Blue eyes solemn, Daisy stared back at him. “I wanna see her, too. Tut told me I could.”

  “Tut did, did he?”

  Tucker shifted uneasily.

  “Well, he was right.” Glancing at Tucker, Doc said, “When you’re with her, Ms. Danvers can share as much or as little as she wants about her condition. By the way, good catch today, son.”

  When they walked into the room, Daisy’s little hand in his big one, Elisa was resting on an exam table, the head partially inclined. She still looked ashen, and he noticed she’d had blood drawn.

  “Mommy!” Daisy flew to her.

  Tucker swung her up and deposited her beside Elisa. The little girl immediately curled into her mother’s side. The way they carried on, a person would have thought they’d been separated for days instead of under an hour.

  As they traded kisses and hugs, he slid closer to the door, torn between stepping into the hall to give them privacy and hanging close to make sure Elisa didn’t faint again and hurt both herself and Daisy. On top of everything else, Elisa’s thin blue patient gown hid very little.

  She picked up on his discomfort. “You’re probably considering yourself the unluckiest mechanic on the planet right about now.”

  Mechanic. Well, that worked. “Yeah. Look, I should…” He nodded toward the door.

  “Stay, please. I haven’t thanked you for taking care of my baby.”

  “Yeah, stay, Tut!” Daisy chirped.

  “Tut? As in King?”

  He shrugged.

  “Will your boss be mad at you for taking off like you did?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?”