The Neurosurgeon's Unexpected Family

by Deanne Anders

  “That seems fair to me. Of course the first thing you’ll need to teach me is how to choose a day care for my sister. I think I’ve already proved that I don’t know what I’m doing as far as that is concerned,” William noted.

  “Then that’s where we’ll start. We’ll go through a list of day cares together and pick the best one for Avery,” Hannah said. Was she really going to do this? “You need to know that I haven’t ever done anything like this. The only child I really have experience with is my own.”

  “You’ve done a great job with her and you’re a single parent. That’s the kind of help I need. I need to learn how to do this all on my own.” William leaned against the island, the stress he’d showed earlier gone.

  “Just so you know, I’m definitely not Mary Poppins. Don’t expect me to break out in song or to dance a jig.” She demonstrated a two-step she’d learned as a child in tap dancing class.

  William laughed and she was struck once more by the difference in him here in his home compared to how he was at the hospital. “I’m not sure about that. I think you’ve got a shot at it.”

  “That’s because you haven’t heard me sing,” Hannah said. Thank goodness her parents hadn’t seen the point of voice lessons.

  “Want to shake on it?” he said, holding his hand out to her.

  The voice of her mother telling her to slow down and to make sure someone wasn’t taking advantage of her made Hannah hesitate a moment. He was certainly quick to agree. She couldn’t help but feel that she was falling in with his wishes a little too easily. Memories of living with her parents and their constant manipulation had her holding back and second-guessing herself. Was there anything for William to gain besides the care of his sister?

  If there was, Hannah couldn’t see it. She’d made sure they had an agreement that benefitted both of them and she believed his intentions were pure. She had to quit being so suspicious of everyone. This was a deal that put the two of them on equal standing. And it was a good thing, too. It had only taken a moment for his little sister to wrap her fingers around Hannah’s heart. She wouldn’t have been able to walk away without making sure the child was cared for properly.

  “Unless Lindsey has a problem with it, I think we can make it work.” She stretched her hand out and felt the warmth of his fingers as they slid through hers then folded around her hand. Their palms sealed the agreement, but still her hand lingered inside his a moment longer than necessary. Pulling back, she slid her hand against her jeans-clad thigh to ease the disturbing tingle from William’s touch. How had a simple sign of an agreement turned into such an intimate touch? This new William, the relaxed, more easy-going William, seemed dangerous. She started to tell him that she had changed her mind, that this might not be a good idea, but realized she couldn’t do that without admitting how much his touch had affected her.

  “The movie’s over. Can we go home now?” Lindsey asked as she came into the kitchen.

  “What?” Hannah queried, still rattled by her body’s response to William’s touch.

  “Lindsey, we were just about to come get you. I thought you and your mom might like to see my video gaming room,” William said.

  Hannah watched as her daughter’s eyes widened and knew that everything was already settled. There was no way her daughter would turn down staying at William’s place now. It looked like the next month would be an adventure for them all.

  * * *

  By the time they walked into William’s house, each carrying a box, Hannah was having serious second thoughts. It had been harder than she had anticipated to lock down her apartment for the next month. While it was in no way as grand as William’s home, she had worked hard to reach a financial position that could afford them a nice place to live. For Hannah, it was a true testament that she could make anything she believed in happen. Even Lindsey had been a little down when they’d left their apartment, but by the time they’d arrived at William’s home, her daughter’s natural good mood had returned.

  With Avery down for a nap and Lindsey off to unpack, Hannah went to put away her own things. Opening one of the double doors to the room where she would stay, she was taken aback by its size. She could fit half of her whole apartment into the one room. She walked to the wall of windows and opened the blinds to a view of the large lake for which the neighborhood had been named. It was a beautiful sight; the rolling, manicured lawn ending at a small pier that stretched across the shore. She could envision a picnic table spread with sandwiches and drinks. A yard set up for playing a game of croquet. And a family enjoying the nice spring day.

  “Momma, come see what I’ve done to my room,” Lindsey called from down the hall.

  Turning, she found William leaning against the doorframe. “Will it do?” he asked.

  “It’s perfect, though maybe a touch too big. But I love the view,” she said.

  “I know. It was the lake that sold the house.” He moved across the room to join her at the window.

  “But isn’t the house a little big for just you?” Hannah asked. “Though it will be the perfect place to raise a family.”

  A shadow crossed his face as he looked away from her. She could almost feel the chill from the icy stare he shot through the window.

  “Maybe it is a bit large, but I knew it was perfect when I bought it. It had everything I’d ever wanted, including this view. As far as the wife and two point five kids, that isn’t in my future. A family is the last thing I planned for,” he said before looking back at her.

  “Why?” she asked. “Isn’t that what everyone wants?”

  “A wife and kids?” William scoffed. “It seems that what people want isn’t always what they get. My father believed in that dream so much that he ended up having had four wives before he died. Maybe the fourth one was ‘the one,’ as they say. I hope so. But stepmom one and two were a nightmare that I would never want to repeat.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. And I hope Avery’s mom was the one, too.” Hannah quickly turned her eyes toward the lake as a chill ran up her back. She’d been surprised at the bitterness in William’s voice when he’d talked about his father and his father’s wives, but she’d noticed that he hadn’t mentioned his own mother. What part had she played in William’s decision not to have a family?

  But she had also detected sincerity in his tone and knew he believed what he’d said. The fact was he did have a family now, whether he accepted it or not. For all practical purposes, he was Avery’s father as well as her brother. And Hannah had no doubt that someday he would add to that family. He just hadn’t met the person he couldn’t live without. It was the same for her, so she had no problem understanding where he was coming from.

  As he turned and walked out of the room, she continued to stare at the lake. No matter what William might say, she was certain he had to feel a bit lonely when he walked around such a big house. The thought even made her a bit sad until she remembered that he wouldn’t be alone any longer.

  There was nothing like the laughter of a child to warm up a home, she thought, smiling to herself as she headed down the hall to Lindsey’s room. William had said he wanted to learn everything he needed to know to take care of Avery. The first thing she would have to teach him was what it meant to be part of a family.

  * * *

  William took the steps down to the basement two at a time. The realization that he had said too much to Hannah had hit him the moment he’d seen the surprise in her eyes. If she only knew just how dysfunctional his family life had been while growing up, maybe she would understand that another family was the last thing he wanted. Yes, he had a sister now that he was responsible for, but that didn’t mean he was going to fall for the whole happily-ever-after thing.

  As always, dealing with other people’s expectations for him to be the all-American family man stirred the demon inside him. Too often people assumed that because he was a single man he just had
n’t met the right person yet. Women he barely knew tried to fix him up with their daughters or nieces. Coworkers hinted at other coworkers who would be happy to be involved with him. Even his patients seemed to find his single status anomalous, as if his marital state had anything to do with his talent in the operating room.

  William had been given advice from more than one elderly man who had been married for decades. No one knew that he’d had all the family life he could handle with not one but three different stepmothers. He’d had enough family drama to last anyone a life time, and he had no intention of repeating his father’s mistakes. For some reason, the man had never learned to live by himself. Well, he was not his father. William didn’t need a woman in his life to make him happy. The whole reason for Hannah being there was so that he could learn to be an independent caregiver. His father could have saved himself a lot of heartache if he had only taken the time to learn that himself.

  William walked into the bathroom where he kept a set of clothes for working out. In minutes, he was changed and in the workout room, pumping bars loaded with his maximum lift weight. He felt the irritation fade as he strained his body to its limit. He paced himself as he moved through the machines one at a time. His mind quieted with each repetition, and with the calm came the knowledge that he’d let old wounds push him into saying more than he should have to Hannah.

  Why did everything feel so raw right now? The bandages he’d so carefully applied over the years were fraying, coming loose. With the death of his father, feelings and emotions he had held at bay for years were now surfacing. The arrival of Avery on his doorstep had not helped things, either, having disrupted the organized life on which he depended.

  William had an orderly existence that he had been happy with for years. Now, things were changing, which was something he always had problems with. His life had transformed so much between one stepmother and the next that he cherished the comfort of the life he had made for himself. And now he was letting two more people into his life. Hannah and Lindsey. He knew Hannah was curious about him. He was curious about her, too. But expecting her to understand him was just too much to ask.

  * * *

  Excited to start her first day in William’s office, Hannah was up early. After making sure that Lindsey was awake and getting ready for school, she’d helped William pack a bag for Avery, carefully going over every item that was needed. Though a little rusty at baby care, she’d quickly remembered the basics.

  “Why do you count the diapers in the bag?” William asked as he scrambled an egg for Avery’s breakfast.

  True to his word, William had sat with her to go through the different day-care services with available openings in their infant/toddler rooms. She’d helped him weigh each of the day cares’ pros and cons, and he’d picked a favorite that offered smaller rooms and a convenient location.

  Of course, when she had explained that each child moved up to the next level of care according to their development, William had been certain that Avery would be advanced before any of the other children. That’s when she’d noted the necessity of potty training. Pointing out that he had a little time until he would have to worry about it, he chose to put the lesson off. She didn’t mention that by that time she wouldn’t be around to help. There were just some things he would have to learn on his own.

  “If you know how many you put into the bag every day, you can tell how many times the day care is changing her,” Hannah said as she settled Avery into the high chair.

  “Shouldn’t they do that without me checking on them?” William asked as he cooled the egg then cut it into smaller pieces that Avery could pick up with her fingers.

  “I don’t think there will be a problem, but it doesn’t hurt to keep any eye on it yourself. Also, it’s good to visit the day care at times when they aren’t expecting you.” Hannah tied a bib around Avery’s neck, adding, “You’ve got this, so I’m going to check on Lindsey and finish getting ready.”

  * * *

  After dropping Lindsey off at school, they’d arrived at the day care with a few minutes to spare and neither of them seemed to be in a hurry to go inside. Hannah couldn’t help but worry about the little girl.

  What if Avery thought they were leaving her just like her mother and father had the day they’d left her and never come back? Yes, children were very resilient, but the little girl had lost her mother and her father. Her world had been torn apart. She didn’t have any way of knowing it wouldn’t happen again. But then, did any of them?

  Hannah’s own daughter had lived one day at a time for years, and even now there was always the chance of her heart going into rejection. They both lived with that hanging over their heads, though they also chose not to let the fear ruin the life that they had now.

  “You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.” William said as he opened his door.

  “No, I want to go, too.” Though she knew she should let him do it himself, she needed to see that Avery would be okay for herself.

  Unable to wait any longer, she got out of the car and took Avery out of her car seat. Together, she and William walked into the daycare. You’d think the two of them were going to a firing squad by the way the two of them were acting.

  She squeezed the wriggly little girl in a tight hug then handed her to William. “Avery, I have to go to work with William now, but we’ll be back as soon as we can.”

  William took his sister and walked over to the teacher. After speaking a few minutes, he gave her a piece of paper and crossed the room to where the other children were playing.

  With one more hug and a kiss on the Avery’s soft, plump cheeks, he sat his sister on the rug with the other children. Rising, he stepped up to Hannah’s side and they both watched as Avery immediately crawled to a toy train and began rolling it across the floor.

  “It will get easier,” Hannah said aloud, for both of them. She’d done this before with Lindsey, but she didn’t remember it being so hard...though she was sure it must have been.

  “She seems to be doing fine, though I don’t really like the way that child—” William motioned to a curly headed little boy “—is eyeing her.”

  Hannah looked at the boy. He did seem to be sizing Avery up. “They’ll be fine. It’s her first day, so the other children aren’t used to her. I bet by the time we get to the office she’ll have made some new friends. Come on, big brother. We’re going to be late for work.”

  William hesitated a moment before he followed her out of the day care. “It seems strange leaving her here by herself.”

  “I know, but it will be okay. What was on the note you gave to the teacher?” Hannah asked.

  “I gave her the number to the Operating Room and the Emergency Room in case they can’t get me on my cell,” William said as they got into the car.

  “That was a good idea. I didn’t think about you not being available. We did put down my number as a secondary number, but there might be someone else you’ll want to change it to after I move back to my apartment,” she said as he pulled out of the parking space and headed for the office.

  “I’ll need someone for emergencies for after-day care hours and, of course, I’ll need someone for nights when I’m on call,” William said. “Thanks for covering that while you’re at the house.”

  “It’s fine. And it will all work out. I’ve still got some contacts with people who helped with Lindsey. We’ll find someone to help out on those nights.”

  “This single parent thing is a lot more complicated than I thought,” he said as they turned into the office parking lot.

  “It is, but if I could handle it, I know you can, too. Now, let’s get inside, where you can start teaching me all the things I need to know to be the best nurse practitioner the neuro field has ever seen,” Hannah said as she opened the door. Excitement began to race through her. This was one more step that would take her closer to her goal and she was re
ady to take it.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  HANNAH DECIDED THAT she would be glad when her orientation was over. She and William had agreed over dinner the night before that it would be a good idea for her to just orient herself to the running of his office before she started seeing patients with him.

  Of course, he hadn’t warned her about Nurse Marion. She had to hand it to the woman. She ran a tight ship. As soon as patients checked in at the front desk, they were taken for weight checks and vital signs measurements. Any changes since their last visit were recorded, as were medication updates. But that didn’t mean Marion had to treat Hannah like she was a brand-new nurse on her first day of orientation.

  Hannah knew how to interview a patient and she was more than competent at taking a patient’s vitals. It didn’t seem to matter that Hannah had been responsible for the care of some of the neuro patients in the hospital. Nurse Marion, as she liked to be called, was going to make sure Hannah’s orientation was very thorough.

  It was easy to see there was a bit of hero worship going on when it came to William and, if the woman were twenty years younger, Hannah suspected Marion would be crushing on her employer. Regardless, when William gave Marion an order, nothing could sway her from her duty.

  Hannah thought she might pull her hair out before it was even lunch time.

  * * *

  “Marion, can I see Hannah for just a minute?” William asked, standing in the open doorway to his office.

  “Certainly, Dr. Cooper,” Marion said. “I’ll go prep the next patient.”

  Hannah watched the woman head to the waiting room before saying, “Thanks for the rescue.”

  “You looked like you needed it. Marion can be a bit much, but she keeps this office running,” William said before turning back to his office.

  “She thinks a lot of you,” Hannah replied as she followed him.