Even now, her heart stuttered as she watched him smile at Ellie. Then his gaze tracked to hers, as if he could feel her eyes on him. His expression didn’t change but there was something about the way he looked at her that made awareness prick along her skin. Dropping her gaze, she shoved a hand in the diaper bag that hung off the back of the stroller and pulled out a plastic container of dried cereal. The girls immediately perked up and she sprinkled a few oat bits into the stroller’s tray before shoving a handful into her mouth. She really did need to remember breakfast.
Certainly an empty stomach was to blame for her dizziness, not the way Callum made her feel.
They cut the ribbon and the crowd, made up mostly of new employees of the center, cheered.
Luna clapped her hands at the noise while Sasha’s chin trembled.
“It’s okay, sweetie.” Becky bent down and dropped a soothing kiss on her shy girl’s cheek. “It’s happy noise.”
Sasha’s big eyes widened farther as she looked around but after a moment she let out a sigh and settled back against the seat.
Meltdown averted. At least for now.
With twins, Becky rarely went for any long period without some sort of minor toddler crisis, but she wouldn’t change a thing about either of her girls.
Callum and the rest of the pediatric center’s VIPs had disappeared into the main lobby by the time Becky straightened.
“I hear they have cupcakes inside,” a woman said as she passed Becky. “Your girls might like one.”
“They’re a little young for cupcakes,” Becky answered with a laugh. “But I could use a treat.”
“Those Fortune men are a treat for the eyes,” the older woman said, giving Becky a quick wink. “If I were twenty years younger and not married...”
Becky was plenty young but also far too exhausted to consider dating. At least the fact that she could appreciate Callum’s movie-star good looks proved motherhood hadn’t destroyed her girlie parts completely.
As they approached the entrance, the woman asked, “You’re the one who lost her husband a couple of years ago, right?”
She nodded, considering the joys and pitfalls of living in a small town.
“It’s good you stayed in Rambling Rose. We take care of our own. I’m Sarah. My husband, Grant, is the building manager for the pediatric center.” The automatic doors whooshed open, and they walked into the lobby together. “Our kids are grown and moved away, so I’ve got more time on my hands than I can fill right now. If you ever need help—”
“Thank you,” Becky said, forcing a smile. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got things under control.”
Sarah gave her a funny look but nodded. “I understand. If you change your mind, Grant can get you my number.”
Becky kept the smile fixed on her face until the woman walked away, then pressed two fingers to her forehead and drew in a steadying breath. She’d received at least a dozen similar offers since the twins’ birth and had rejected every one. She hadn’t really lied to Sarah. At this exact moment, she did have things under control. The girls were both sitting contentedly in the stroller watching the crowd.
Of course, things could go south at any moment. She’d handle that, too, on her own. She took the girls to a day care center when she worked, but otherwise didn’t like to accept help. It had been her choice to stay in this town where she had no family. She didn’t want people to think she was some kind of over-her-head charity case, even though most days she felt like she was treading water in the middle of the ocean.
But she didn’t focus on that. She just kept her legs and arms moving so that she wouldn’t go under. Her girls deserved the best she had to give, and she wouldn’t settle for offering them anything less.
She was pushing the stroller toward the refreshment table when someone stepped in front of her path.
“Cupcake?” Callum Fortune asked.
Becky’s mouth went suddenly dry, but she took the iced pastry from him. “Thanks,” she whispered, then cleared her throat. “You did a great job with the building.”
He shrugged but looked pleased by the compliment. “I love rehabbing old spaces, and this one is special.”
“Ellie mentioned in her speech that the building used to house an orphanage.” Becky took a small bite of cupcake and failed to smother a sigh of pleasure. It tasted so good.
Callum grinned. “Breakfast of champions,” he told her with a wink. “And, yes. It was called Fortune’s Foundling Hospital and dated back to the founding of Rambling Rose.”
“Your family’s ties to the town go back that far?”
“Apparently. I’ll admit I’m still getting caught up on all the different branches of the Fortunes spread across Texas.”
“You’re royalty here,” she told him, but he shook his head.
“Not me. I’m just a guy who loves construction.”
“I think you’re more than that.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Somehow they sounded too familiar. People surrounded them, but for Becky the thread of connection pulsing between her and Callum gave the moment an air of intimacy that shocked and intrigued her.
His mouth quirked into a sexy half grin. “I appreciate—”
Suddenly, a woman burst into the lobby, clutching her very round belly. “Help me!” she cried. “I think I’m in labor.”
“Get a gurney,” Dr. Green shouted, elbowing his way through the crowd.
Becky took an instinctive step forward. Panic was clear on the woman’s delicate features, and Becky understood that panic could accompany childbirth. But she couldn’t leave her girls unattended.
Dr. Green straightened, his gaze searching the crowd until it alighted on her. “Becky, I need you,” he called across the lobby.
She nodded and turned to Callum.
“I’ve got the girls,” he told her without missing a beat. “Go.”
She worked to calm her racing heart as adrenaline pumped through her. “Are you sure?”
She gave each of the girls a quick kiss and the assurance that Mommy would be back soon, then hurried toward the first patient in her new job.
“They’re safe with me,” he assured her, and although she’d just met Callum Fortune, she didn’t doubt him for a moment.
Chapter Two
“Who knew Callum was such a spectacular nanny?” Steven asked an hour later, chuckling at his own joke.
Callum fought the urge to give his older stepbrother and business partner the one-fingered salute. Two adorable toddlers watched him from where they sat on a blanket he’d spread out in the pediatric center’s lobby, so he wasn’t about to model that kind of behavior.
The ribbon-cutting attendees had long since departed, the celebration cut short by the arrival of the pregnant stranger. Neither Parker Green nor the girls’ mother had made an appearance again, and he wondered at the fate of the soon-to-be mom and her baby.
“We all know Callum is amazing with babies and children,” Marci told Steven. “I’m not sure what I would have done without him when you all were little.”
Steven was one of Marci’s two sons from her first marriage, but Callum’s father had adopted both boys shortly after marrying his mother. The blended family had felt strange at first, but Stephanie’s birth had solidified the bond they all shared. When Callum’s construction business started to grow, Steven had joined him as a business partner, with Dillon coming on board soon after that. He’d changed the company name to more aptly describe their partnership, and Fortune Brothers Construction was still going strong.
“He’ll be a great father one day,” Callum’s dad added with a knowing nod, prompting Steven and Callum to share an equally exasperated look. It was no secret their parents were intent on seeing both siblings happily married and starting families of their own.
Callum hadn’t discussed fu
ture plans with his brother but got the impression Steven was as reluctant to settle down as Callum.
Stephanie walked through the doors that led to the center’s small cafeteria. “I found plastic cups and spoons,” she said. Callum had sent her in search of items to entertain the twins.
He took the makeshift toys and began stacking cups. The more confident of the girls, Luna, clapped her hands as if encouraging him to continue. He handed her a plastic spoon, which she waved in the air like a magic wand. One of the other nurses had told him the twins’ names and that their mother was Becky Averill.
He’d asked about calling a husband and had been shocked to learn that Becky was a widow and single mom. It made him feel like even more of a heel for chastising her about breakfast. Becky was clearly an amazing woman, raising two children on her own while balancing a demanding career. No wonder she forgot to eat.
The shy twin, Sasha, scooted toward him. He held out a spoon to her, his chest tightening when her bottom lip trembled.
“Don’t cry, darlin’,” he told her softly and then scooped her into his arms. It had been an instinctual move. Callum had held plenty of babies when his sisters were younger. Sasha went rigid in his arms. Had he made a huge mistake? Then she relaxed against him with a quiet sigh, smelling like baby shampoo and oat cereal.
The front doors opened and two paramedics strode in. A moment later, Becky appeared from the medical clinic wing of the center. She and Dr. Green were wheeling out the pregnant stranger. The woman, a pretty brunette with big blue eyes, kept her worried gaze fixed on Becky, who appeared to be talking the patient through whatever was happening now.
There was no baby, and the woman seemed stable, so Callum could only assume things were good. Glancing over, Becky’s expression softened as she caught sight of her twins. She said something to the pregnant patient, offered a quick hug and then walked toward Callum.
“How is she?” Stephanie asked immediately.
“We’ve given her something to slow her labor,” Becky explained. “The baby’s vitals are good, but Dr. Green thinks it will be better for her to give birth at a facility with a NICU. The paramedics are going to take her to San Antonio.”
Callum’s father nodded. “So she and the baby will be okay?”
“They should both come out of this healthy,” Becky told them.
“Thank heavens,” Marci added.
Callum stood, still holding Sasha in his arms. “It’s a good thing you and Parker were here for the ribbon cutting.”
“Dr. Green was essential,” Becky clarified. “Anyone could have done what I did.” She held out her hands, and Sasha reached for her, leaving Callum with an unfamiliar sense of emptiness.
“I doubt that’s true,” he answered. “You stepped in to help that woman without hesitation.”
“I also foisted my kids off on you, and I appreciate you volunteering to watch them.” She glanced down at Luna, who was still happily occupied with the spoon and cups, and then gave him a hesitant smile. “I’m Becky, by the way.”
“One of the nurses told me,” he said, that small smile doing funny things to his insides.
“You volunteered?” Marci stepped forward, patting Callum’s shoulders. “I’m so proud.”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” he mumbled.
“Your daughters are adorable,” she said to Becky. “I’m Marci Fortune.” She gestured to Callum’s father and siblings. “My husband, David, and our daughter, Stephanie.” Her smiled widened. “You know Callum, obviously. These are two of our other sons, Dillon and Steven.”
Becky’s caramel-colored eyes widened a fraction. “How many kids do you have?”
“Eight,” Marci said proudly and without hesitation. Callum had always appreciated that his stepmother never differentiated between the children who were hers biologically and the two boys she’d taken on after marrying David.
“Wow,” Becky murmured. “You must have been really busy.”
“It’s how we liked it,” Marci assured her. She put a hand on Callum’s arm. “Callum was such a help with his younger sisters. We also have triplets—Ashley, Megan and Nicole.”
Dillon stepped forward. “Callum’s nickname was Mary Poppins,” he said in a not-so-quiet whisper.
Stephanie laughed while Becky tried to smother her smile.
“No one called me that,” Callum told his brother with an eye roll. “Don’t you all have somewhere to be?”
“You’d think with eight children,” Marci said to Becky, ignoring Callum’s question, “that we’d have a few grandchildren already.”
“Gotta go,” Dillon announced in response.
“Me, too,” Steven added.
Stephanie grabbed her eldest brother’s elbow. “I’ll walk out with you.”
Callum silently cursed his siblings as each of them gave Marci a peck on the cheek, told Becky it was nice to meet her and then quickly made their escape.
“You know how to clear a room, dear,” David said, wrapping an arm around his wife’s slim shoulders.
Marci only laughed. “I’d be an amazing grammy.”
“Someday,” her husband promised. “But we should go, too. We have a long drive to the airport.”
Luna had lost interest in the makeshift toys and pulled herself up, then toddled over to Becky, who lifted her without missing a beat. “You aren’t from Texas?” she asked Callum’s parents.
David shook his head. “Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We flew in to see Callum’s latest success. It’s been quite an adjustment having four of our children move halfway across the country.”
“The pediatric center is amazing,” Becky said, glancing at Callum from beneath thick lashes. “It’s lovely that you came all this way.”
“Are you close to your parents?” Marci asked her.
Callum gave his father a look over the top of his stepmother’s head. As much as he loved his big family, their friendly exuberance could be overwhelming. He didn’t want to scare off Becky before he’d even had a chance for a proper conversation with her.
Before Becky could answer, David reiterated the need to get to the airport.
“I’ll walk you out,” Callum told them, then reached out and touched a hand to one of Luna’s wispy curls. “Becky, I’ll be right back.”
She gave a quick nod, then seemed shocked when Marci leaned in and enveloped both her and the twins in a hug.
Marci turned to Callum at the entrance of the pediatric center. “She seems like a lovely girl,” she said, her tone purposefully light.
“She’s a single mother of twins,” Callum felt obliged to point out. “And a widow.”
“Tragic,” Marci agreed as they walked into the cool January day. “I feel for those babies and for her. She deserves to find happiness again.”
“It’s not with me,” Callum said. “I’ve committed to staying in Rambling Rose until the final project wraps up. Who knows what will happen beyond then?”
“I like this town more than I expected to,” his father interjected. “Of course, we’d love to see you back in Florida or somewhere closer, but if Texas makes you happy, that’s most important.”
“What about your mandate that we stay away from the Fortunes?”
David quirked a brow. “The only Fortunes in Rambling Rose are you and your siblings. I can live with that.”
Callum walked them to the black sedan his father had rented. “Thank you both for coming to the opening.” He hugged Marci first and then his father. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished here in such a short time.”
“You should be,” his father said.
“We’re proud of you, as well,” Marci added. “We always have been. But you work too much, Callum. Don’t forget to take some time for yourself.”
He didn’t bother to argue. They wouldn’t understand that his career fulfilled him i
n a way nothing else had. He knew people considered him a workaholic. Hell, that had been the main cause of his divorce. His ex-wife, Doralee, couldn’t accept his hours or his dedication to the projects he managed.
But nothing made him happier than revitalizing older and historic commercial districts.
They said another round of goodbyes, and his parents climbed into their car and drove out of the parking lot.
As he walked back toward the entrance, Becky emerged, pushing the stroller.
“Thank you again,” she said as he caught up to her. “I’d really like to repay you for your help today.”
“No need.” He held up his hands. “Thanks for stepping in with that woman. She seemed so terrified when she walked into the center.”
A shadow seemed to darken Becky’s delicate features. “She was scared and alone,” she said, almost to herself. “And about to take on the greatest responsibility of her life.”
“She didn’t have a boyfriend or husband somewhere?” he couldn’t help but ask. He fell in step next to Becky as she walked toward a nondescript minivan at the edge of the parking lot.
“Not that she’d tell us.” She once again tucked her hair behind an ear and glanced over at him. “No family, either. I know how it feels to be alone, but there was something different about her. It was as if she was a speck of dandelion fluff floating in a breeze with no place to land.” She let out a soft laugh. “I’m sure that sounds silly, but the woman—Laurel was her name—seemed like she really wanted to find a place to land.”
“It sounds insightful,” Callum murmured. In a single instant, his attraction to Becky Averill had gone from a physical spark to something more, something deeper.
“Sleep deprivation has robbed me of too many brain cells to be considered insightful.” She pulled a key fob out of her bag and used it to open the minivan’s side doors and cargo hold. “But I do feel for Laurel. I hope she and her baby flourish wherever she ends up.”
Fortune's Fresh Start Page 2
