Newborn Needs a Dad / His Motherless Little Twins

by Dianne Drake

  Neil laughed outright at that. His eyes twinkled, they crinkled at the corners, and he gave her the full effect of a laugh that was so contagious she couldn’t help but laugh, too, at the absurdity of what she’d said. In fact, she laughed herself to tears, and took the handkerchief he offered, to dab her eyes. “OK, so maybe that wasn’t really what I meant,” she finally managed.

  “What you meant was that you enjoyed it. Admit it, Gabrielle. You had a few nice moments out there on the dance floor when you finally allowed yourself to.”

  “It’s been a while since I’ve felt like…a woman. I’m a doctor, a pregnant person, I’m a clunk in furry boots, I’m a mother-in-waiting. But a woman…”

  “Believe me. Even with the furry boots, there’s no mistaking the woman.” And maybe he’d gone a little too far. But he’d been caught up in the moment. Smelled her perfume, held her in his arms, felt her head on his shoulder…Normal reaction, he was telling himself. He didn’t date, didn’t have a social life, and Gabrielle was…attractive. More like beautiful. And alone. He was only trying to befriend her, that’s all. So the kiss had been a mistake, he’d admit that to himself, and deny its existence to her. Even though she knew he’d kissed her.

  Truth was, he wasn’t even embarrassed, when he probably should have been. Another truth was that, given the opportunity, he might kiss her again. There wouldn’t be another opportunity, though, so he was safe.

  But another time, another situation? He could almost picture himself involved with her. Maybe even more than involved. She was everything he’d never expected in a woman. Funny, direct, honest, smart. Little Bryce Evans was going to have himself one hell of a mother, and Neil was a little envious he didn’t fit into the equation somewhere, because it was a nice equation. One he’d never expected he’d want.

  “Well, right now, these furry boots are going to hike back to the kitchen and see Angela for a few minutes.” She stood, then breezed by his side of the table, stopping opposite him. “Oh, and, Neil,” she said, a tiny smile turning up the corners of her lips, “no kissing any other pregnant women while I’m gone. OK?”

  Damn, she did make him laugh. And feel good. And, for the first time in years, feel optimistic. He watched her until she disappeared down the corridor leading to the kitchen, then turned on his cell phone and called the hospital. He’d given instructions that he wanted nothing short of a natural disaster to call him away, and at present there was no natural disaster, except, perhaps, the natural disaster he was making of the evening. Trying not to think about what he’d done, Neil slumped back in his chair, stretched legs out under the table and closed his eyes. Trouble was, in his mind’s eye all he could see were his lips on her neck.

  “Not a good thing,” he muttered, taking a drink of the sparkling water, wishing it was something much stronger.

  “You two looked good out there,” Angela said.

  She was taking a break, sitting in the employee lounge with her feet propped up on a low table. Gabby dropped down next to her, propped her own feet up, then compared pregnant bellies. She was carrying in a little ball in front, and an old wives’ tale said that meant it was a boy. But Angela was spread out all the way around. The same old wives’ tale said that meant it would be a girl.

  “I felt pretty good, too. Except for the fact that I wasn’t dressed properly, and my dancing shoes didn’t really allow me to dance.”

  Angela laughed. “I’m really sorry about that. But people come in here dressed every which way. You really don’t stand out as badly as you think.”

  “It’s a nice restaurant, Angela. I can see why you missed it, not being able to cook.”

  “Well, I’m going to be off on maternity for quite a while, at least three months, so at some point I’ll have to get used to it.”

  “So who’ll be in charge while you’re gone?”

  “My sister is coming in from Arizona to take over the kitchen, and to help me. She’s a nurse. Well, she was a nurse. Not sure why she quit, but she did. So she has the time, and she also has a certificate from a culinary institute. Cooking was her first career choice before she fell in love with nursing. So, she’ll be here shortly and who knows? Maybe she’ll stay on and cook for me since she’s saying she’s not going back into nursing.”

  “Some people just burn out.” Gabby arched her back when Bryce kicked, then shifted. “I just get comfortable in one position, then he changes, and I have to change.”

  “Did you ever not want to know his sex?” Angela asked.

  “Not really. I wanted to establish a personal relationship with my baby right from the start, know who he is, call him by name. Which meant he had to be more than an it—you know how people always refer to an unborn baby as it. But I didn’t want that. I wanted to know who I was bringing into this world, probably from the instant I knew I was pregnant.”

  “Brian calls our baby it. In fact, in the divorce papers that arrived this morning, he stated that I can have full custody of it. Not the baby. Not the child. Not the boy or girl. It.” She sighed wistfully. “His charge is that we’d agreed to not have children, and I tricked him.”

  “Oh, Angela. I’m so sorry. I’d really hoped you could work it out.”

  “I did, too. He didn’t. But I can do this, and I’ve got your example to follow. And just think. If you stay in White Elk, our children will be friends, playmates.” Angela pushed herself to the edge of her chair. “So, do you know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Whether I’m having a boy or a girl?”

  Her guesses were usually right, but she never told her patients what she guessed. “Want the test? It’s easy.”

  Angela shook her head. “I like surprises.”

  “Surprises and miracles.” Hers, and Angela’s. “You’re going to do just fine with this. I’m a pretty good judge of future mothers.”

  “It is a miracle, isn’t it? I guess I never thought of it in those terms.”

  “It’s always a miracle, but some miracles are different. So, since you don’t want to know your baby’s gender, tell your friends to buy yellow for you. It goes either way.”

  “If you were buying me a baby present, what color would you buy me?”

  Gabby laughed. “White.” Then she followed Angela to the door, where she was met by Neil.

  “I think it’s time to go,” he said, “unless you want another dance.” He actually held out his arms to her, but she waved him off, laughing.

  “No dancing. No food. No more anything for the evening. It’s time for this pregnant lady to go home and go to bed.” Of course, the road back to the cabin was long, and she was dreading the ride. But now was the time. Neil had to know.

  And she decided to tell him before they left the parking lot. “Could you wait just a minute before we leave?” she asked. “There’s something we need to talk about.”

  “You’re accepting my offer to stay?”

  He put the car in neutral and twisted in his seat to face her. Thank heavens he left the dome light off and they were parked in one of the darker areas, because she didn’t want to see his face right now. She was afraid it would break her heart. “I’m not sure you’re going to want me to stay. In fact, you may not even want to drive me home.”

  He chuckled, but it was nervous. “What could be so bad?”

  It was already beginning to hurt her. “I just want you to know that I’ll stay here until your other obstetrician arrives, because I don’t want to put my patients or your hospital in a lurch. But if you get someone in here to replace me right away, I’ll go.” More than hurting her, it was ripping her heart in two.

  “Gabrielle, I don’t understand. What’s this about?”

  “My baby, Neil. It’s about my baby.”

  He was suddenly alert, sitting up straight, leaning in a little closer to her. Even in the dark shadows she could see the look of concern on his face. So she looked away.

  “What’s wrong?” he gasped, putting a comforting hand on her arm. “Gab
rielle, tell me what’s wrong, and I promise, we’ll find the best doctor to fix it.”

  “That’s the problem, Neil. It can’t be fixed. What’s done is done.”

  His grip on her arm tightened a little. “What, Gabrielle?”

  “My baby’s father.” She took a deep breath, and swallowed. “Bryce’s full name is Bryce Thierry Evans. Gavin is…was his father.”

  Neil didn’t respond. Not in the next few seconds. Not in the next two minutes.

  “Neil?” she finally whispered. “Did you hear what I said?”

  “What I heard,” he began in a perfectly calm voice, “is that, first, my brother slept with my wife, then stole her. Then he slept with you and got you pregnant.”

  “Your wife?” she choked. Just when she thought this moment couldn’t get any worse…“Gavin stole your wife?” Worse, had she slept with a married man?

  “He stole, she went. Whatever you want to call it.” Still calm, and much more in control than she’d thought he would be, Neil started the car, and it moved forward. Slowly, though.

  “Don’t you want to know what happened?” she asked. “Why I…why Gavin and I…”

  “I’m a doctor. I know exactly what happened.” His voice was so chilled it sent shivers up her spine.

  Angry tears pooled in Gabby’s eyes. She was angry at herself for hurting Neil, angry at Neil for not wanting to hear what had happened between Gavin and her. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Neil. When I came here I had no idea you were Gavin’s brother, then after I found out…it was difficult. I couldn’t figure out a good way to tell you. Especially after I knew you two were estranged.”

  “Well, at least I know why you fainted that day.”

  “It was a shock.”

  “I guess it would be.” Same cold voice. “But I do have one question. Why were you in White Elk? Gavin didn’t live here.”

  “I’d gone to Spotswood, to find him. To tell him. He didn’t know. After I found he’d died, I was on my way back to the airport, and I was tired. I just wanted a room for the night. White Elk seemed so—”

  “So the relationship didn’t last?” he interrupted. “You and Gavin weren’t together?”

  “It lasted a week. At the end of that week we knew we didn’t have anything worth continuing. And I didn’t know he was married. I would have never—”

  “He wasn’t. By the time he got around to you, he’d been divorced from my ex-wife a good year.”

  “By the time he got around to me? That’s not fair, Neil. I know I’ve hurt you, and I didn’t mean to. But you weren’t part of this. I didn’t know you when Gavin and I were…” She paused, drew in a steadying breath. “Gavin was a nice man who helped me through some difficult days. He wasn’t some predator out looking for a vulnerable woman, the way you’re implying.”

  As they rounded a curve, and started the descent off the ridge, Neil slowed down even more.

  And didn’t speak again for nearly a minute. Neither did Gabby. Instead, she looked out the window, stared up at the night sky, hoping to take some comfort in the twinkling stars, but they were all gone. The night was still, no stars, a moon that was clouding over. Maybe fighting would have been better. Neil yelling, letting out his anger. But he wasn’t doing that. Wasn’t doing anything at all, and that’s what worried her. “So, do you still want me to work until my replacement comes?” She wasn’t even going to bother asking if he still wanted her to stay in White Elk, because she knew the answer to that one.

  “You do whatever you want, Gabrielle.”

  Frigid indifference. She hated that. But that’s what it was, and she’d deal with it. She’d made promises here she wanted to keep. “Then I’ll work for a while longer.”

  “Fine.”

  “And leave as soon as I’m replaced.”

  “Fine.”

  “I’m sorry he hurt you, Neil. I didn’t see that side of him.”

  No response.

  “And if I’d known…” What? What would she have done differently? Gavin had been an important part of her life, and she couldn’t deny that. He’d given her a baby, and for that gift, he’d always have a place in her heart. “I’m sorry I hurt you. That’s not what I wanted to happen.”

  “You have one hell of a way of ending a nice evening,” he snapped. And that’s all he said until they turned onto Aspen Loop, where, in the distance, they could see red and blue lights flashing through the pine trees. Emergency lights. Everywhere. “Damn,” he muttered, accelerating just the slightest.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Nothing that’s going to involve you,” he said. “And I mean it, Gabrielle. You’re staying out of it.”

  “And you can stop me?” she snapped.

  “I can, and I will.”

  “Because you’re angry with me?”

  “You’re damn right I’m angry. Mad as hell. Don’t know what to do about it yet either. But that’s not the reason.”

  “Then what is?”

  “You’re carrying my nephew. That’s the reason.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  ERIC RAMSEY was already on the scene when Neil stopped the car and got out. Gabby stayed right up with Neil, matching his fast, furious steps as he made his way over the rocky road to the guardrail that seemed to be the center of activity.

  “Two vehicles involved,” Eric said in greeting.

  Neil was already out of his suit jacket, pulling on a pair of coveralls one of the medics had handed him the instant he’d jumped out of the car.

  “One was a van,” Eric continued. “Teenagers out doing whatever the hell it is teenagers do. Thank God my girls are only five.” He paused, shook his head, refocused. “Anyway, the other car didn’t go over. Man and woman, no significant injuries.”

  “How long ago?” Neil asked.

  “Thirty minutes.”

  “Any sign of life from down below?”

  “Over here,” Eric shouted at the light crew, a group of volunteers whose job was to light up the scene of the emergency. They carried portable utility lights of all kinds, which would run off the generator that was being pulled into the scene at the same time. “We need them as near the edge as we can get them.” Then to Neil he said, “So far, nothing from below. The van is visible. It’s hung up on a ledge down there and I have no idea if it’s stable, or what we’ll find.”

  “Anybody else down there yet?”

  “Not yet. We’ve been prepping the scene up here first.”

  “OK, then. Let me go get into my harness and I’ll be ready in a couple of minutes.” He spun to walk away, then stopped, and turned to face Gabby. “I’m not even going to bother warning you to be careful, because you’ll just do what you want anyway. But this could be a long, hard night. So take care of yourself.” His voice wasn’t quite angry, but wasn’t friendly either, and the chill in it wasn’t missed by Eric, who frowned.

  “Everything OK?” Eric asked, both Gabby and Neil. He looked first at Neil, then at Gabby, then back to Neil when he didn’t get an answer

  “Fine,” Neil finally ground out. “Everything is just fine.”

  Eric took that as a hint not to pursue the matter any further, opting, instead, to go to the equipment truck to harness up. Neil followed immediately. “Don’t ask,” Neil said, waving off his partner before Eric could say a word.

  Eric tossed Neil his harness. “If I’d known your evening was going that badly, I’d have called.”

  “Evening was fine. The ride home wasn’t.”

  As Neil harnessed up to go down the side of the mountain face with Eric and the others, he avoided watching Gabby, who was in the process of establishing herself in the back of one of the ambulances, pulling out various medical supplies that might be needed. It was too damned frustrating. He didn’t need it. Didn’t need anything but the life he’d had before she’d come to White Elk.

  “Anything I can do?” Eric asked, as the two of them were about to go over the side of the mountain.

  “Shoot
me in the leg if I ever go near another woman.”

  Eric grimaced. “That bad?”

  “That bad.”

  “Maybe you just need more practice with women.”

  “The only practice I need is in avoiding them.”

  “Well, for what it’s worth, I understand you two looked pretty good out on the dance floor. Actually, I heard several interesting versions of the story.”

  “Already?” Neil snapped, as he checked his ropes. Emergency lights were finally directed down the mountainside, and dozens of people, all of whom knew their jobs, pressed into action as two doctors and three other rescuers lowered themselves over the side of the mountain, and disappeared down into the black abyss.

  Neil liked this part of the job, the physical rigors of it, the adrenaline burst. Gavin had, too. In fact, rescues like this had been one of those times he and Gavin had worked well together. Back in simpler days. Much simpler, he said to himself, thinking about Gabby and trying not to connect Gavin to her. “See anything?” Neil called to Eric, who’d come down parallel to him, while the other three came down in the second wave.

  “Maybe a headlight, but I’m not sure.”

  Whatever they found, it wasn’t going to be good. Sighing, Neil turned his attention to getting to the bottom. But not before he gave one brief thought to Gabby. What the hell was he going to do now? She had no one, and she was carrying his nephew. The normal thing, under these circumstances, would probably be to walk away from her. But that wouldn’t be the right thing, and right now he wasn’t sure he wanted to do the right thing. Not sure at all. “I see it!” he shouted to Eric. “About twenty feet down, and to the left. Nothing moving, as far as I can tell.”