by Anna Adams
“Ian!” his mother said in shock.
“No, Mom, this is long overdue. You won’t expose my child to your ideas or your disapproval. Before you and Dad come back, you’ll think about what you want with me and with my family. You’ll promise me you can behave with a modicum of good manners that won’t embarrass me in front of Sophie’s family. Or you just won’t come back.”
“If that’s your choice, son.” His father sounded as arrogant as Ian.
Sophie stared at him, her heart aching for the pain in his voice.
“It’s not my choice, Dad. I’m not making a speech. I’m asking you and Mom to be a part of my child’s—no—of my life. I want you to fit your visits to the governor around seeing my family.”
“Ian.” His mom gave Sophie an accusing look. “I think you’re letting these people influence you.”
“I could do worse.”
Beneath the table, Sophie reached for Ian’s hand. He threaded his fingers through hers. She smiled to offer him comfort.
They were going to have to be the responsible adult figures in their daughter’s life. Reasonable grandparents appeared to be out of the question.
CHAPTER TWELVE
AT SEVEN-THIRTY, Seth stopped watching his empty driveway and dialed Tom Fedderson’s number. He did it out of spite. He’d probably regret it later, but for now, it seemed like the only way to strike a blow at Greta’s oblivious self-absorption.
“Dr. Fedderson.”
“Tom? Seth Calvert, here. Have I interrupted your dinner?”
“No, Seth. Good to hear from you. What’s up? You’re not sick?”
“Couldn’t be healthier.” He rubbed his chest reflexively. It hurt because he was so angry he could hardly breathe. “I’m calling on my granddaughter’s behalf. You remember Sophie?”
“I just saw Sophie. I put her husband in a walking cast.”
“Good. Maybe she spoke to you already. She seemed reluctant to broach the subject, so I thought I’d see how you felt about it.”
“What are we talking about, Seth? Sophie talked to me about her practice in D.C. and what I needed her to do for Ian.”
“She didn’t mention opening a clinic here?”
“A clinic?” To Seth’s surprise, Tom sounded more interested than shocked. “Sophie’s thinking about working here in town? What does Greta say about that?”
A moment’s guilt slowed Seth, but he glossed over it. “She’s actually concerned you would feel Sophie was trying to poach business.”
“I wonder how she’d feel about possibly pooling our resources. When I heard she was coming to help Greta, I thought maybe it was time I looked for help, too.”
A normal human being, who saw slowing down as an opportunity rather than a punishment. “I’ll have Sophie get in touch with you, then. Sounds as if you may be able to help each other out.”
“Thanks, Seth. I’m going to think about this, so I’ll have a serious answer if she’s serious about making the change.”
Seth closed his eyes as his heart beat a military tattoo. He’d put the clinic in motion. Greta would have to deal with it. She’d be only too willing to deal with him, too. “Talk to you later, Tom.”
He hung up the phone. At least he’d have his wife’s undivided attention.
THE MORNING AFTER their disappointing dinner with his parents, Ian used his brand-new walking cast to make his way outside the cabin and soak in the fresh mountain sun. Behind him lay baby clothes, the halffinished crib and so many stacks of diapers he and Sophie’d be wearing them in their eighties if they somehow managed to stay together.
All spoils of Calvert visits.
With his coffee mug almost to his lips he lifted his head, and the bluest sky he’d ever seen bit into his soul. Wind pushed the tall pines back and forth, an ocean surge on dry land. Wildflowers waved to and fro. Teenage girls in the meadow near his and Sophie’s borrowed cottage were laughing as if they hadn’t a care in the world.
Life seemed to throb in the air. Small plants, eager for life, poked out of the ground. Honeysuckle now covered the ravine and climbed over new ground each day with its spreading skirt of branches that emitted short bursts of heavy scent.
And coming from the spa, more female voices. Three pregnant women marched along the walking path in front of the cabin, barely noticing him as they discussed aching backs and varicose veins. By the time they reached the cars, one of the women had gone on to say it was all worth it each time she heard her unborn child’s heartbeat.
He stared after them. The past two weeks had passed in a dream. Sophie and he, sharing a bed and careful lovemaking because of her pregnancy and his cast and stitches. He’d been grateful she wanted to lie next to him. He’d needed her bountiful passion, the certainty that they were together.
But today, this mountain and all the life bursting into being on it, a man who didn’t know what kind of father he’d make could get scared.
Scared? That piece of self-knowledge exploded out of nowhere.
He dropped his mug, and coffee splashed on his feet and the wooden porch. The mug hit the big toe on his good foot. He swore.
He hadn’t been afraid since the day he’d decided no one would ever bully him again. He’d searched for circumstances in which to prove he was brave.
Behind him, the screen door squeaked open. He turned unsteadily. Sophie looked up, wearing his T-shirt again. She still worked too hard. Even first thing in the morning, dark circles bloomed beneath her eyes.
“What?” she asked.
Feeling foolish, he stopped holding his breath. “Come here.”
Her eyes questioned him. He curved his hands around her shoulders, noting the seeming frailty of her bones. Slowly he leaned down, waiting for her to pull away. She didn’t.
Her mouth opened as he touched her lips with his. She slid her arms around him, tentatively at first, as if feeling her way. He pushed his fingers into the hair at her nape and deepened the kiss.
Despite the nights they’d spent together, he remained unsure. Holding her out here among the life on her mountain, he questioned whether her need matched his. Her answer came loud and clear in her hungry response, in the desperate angle of her head and the deep breath she gasped as she pulled back.
“Where have you been?” She blushed. “You’ve been…different since the accident. More careful.”
“Not ever.” He grimaced. “I realized how easily I might have lost you and our baby. I’m glad to be alive. Thankful to have you with me. Suddenly I can walk again, and I came out here…”
She turned, pulling his arms around her. His hands met on her belly, on his baby.
“What did you see?” She made him think she was trying to see her home through his eyes.
“Life. New grass and flowers and women who are soon going to have their children and even those kids.” He pointed. “Laughing—when they face more responsibility than they should have dreamed of at their age.”
“The blessing of being that age. They’re able to stop thinking about it once in a while.”
He tucked her against his side. “Sophie, are you happy?”
She didn’t answer right away. Finally she turned her head, lifting her face to his. “I am. My baby is healthy. You didn’t die and I’ve had you alive and loving in my arms every night since you flew over that car.”
He would have picked her up and carried her to their uncomfortable steel-braced bed, but he didn’t think he could lift her anymore. She looked serious as she traced his chin with her fingertips.
“I like having the right to touch you.”
He kissed her index finger, sucking the tip between his lips, but her distracted expression unsettled him. “Something’s still wrong.”
“Tom Fedderson just called. He asked if I’d be willing to meet in his office.”
“You talked to him, after all?”
“No. He said he’s been anxious to speak to me since my grandfather called him.”
“Seth approached him
about the clinic?”
Anxiety sharpened her gaze. “Why would he do that, knowing how Gran feels?” She sank against him. “What have I done to my family?”
It was no use reminding her she wasn’t responsible for her grandparents. She seemed to think she’d started a chain of catastrophic events. “Explain to Fedderson. Frankly, I think you’re working too hard already, but talk to him. Find out what he wants out of the idea and keep your options open if you want to back out.”
She stepped away to rest her bottom on the porch rail. “I wonder if I can if he’s willing.”
Ian lifted both brows. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
“Do you mean Gran? I won’t do it if we can’t convince her, and as for us, I won’t take on more than I can handle. But if Dr. Fedderson’s willing, we could bring something useful to this town. We’d just have to make it work with our current commitments.”
“You could drive your grandmother insane.”
Staring at the girls, still shrieking and laughing in the meadow, Sophie nodded. “I’ve been able to turn to her for help since I was small. I have to make sure she can depend on me now.”
Ian agreed. “And if she’s against it, the town might be, anyway, Sophie. You know how people are around here. They may think the baby farm wasn’t good enough for you, so you had to make more for yourself. We’re creating a family here. You don’t want to be the lady doctor who ran roughshod over Dr. Fedderson.”
“Or over Gran. I’ll talk to him first. Maybe by the time I have to bring it up with her, she’ll see the greater good.”
“Even if she does, Sophie, I’m against you taking on more work.”
To his utter amazement, she smiled instead of throwing up a barricade. “Grandpa told me Dr. Fedderson suggested pooling our time so no one would be overburdened.”
Owing her some understanding in return, he opened the cabin door. “Why don’t I drive you?”
“With that cast?” Her grin teased. “You can walk, but I don’t see you driving. Why don’t you finish the homework Dad left you on the crib, and I’ll be back before you know it? I’ll even try to find something for dinner that I can’t destroy.”
“I’ll do dinner.” Unwilling to terrify her, he kept his appreciation of their sudden collaborative efforts to himself. But he hoped she’d get used to it.
DR. FEDDERSON HAD SHOWN her into his office where two cups of coffee waited on a tray with a sugar bowl and a jug of cream. Sophie smiled at the homey offering. She would never have thought of such amenities in her own office.
“Help yourself,” he said. “I thought we should talk in person.”
“I can’t drink coffee right now, but thank you.” She patted her stomach and he nodded.
“I forgot. Let me see if I can find some orange juice.”
“Don’t bother.” She sat in the chair across from his. On a Saturday morning the unnatural silence of an empty medical office rang in her ears. “I’m fine, and I don’t want to be away from home too long. Even with the new cast, Ian has a hard time getting around outside our house.”
“He was lucky. A guy who slides across a moving vehicle often has worse injuries.”
She shuddered. Variations of those moments had played through her sleep every night since it had happened. “We were both lucky.” She crossed her legs in a pointed effort to change the subject. “As a matter of fact, Ian was the one who suggested the clinic in the first place.”
“I think it’s a good idea, and I know your grandmother has delivered some babies up at the resort over the years. She used to have privileges at the hospital in town.”
“She still has them, but most of our clients only come for a vacation. They don’t stay to deliver.”
“And you miss that part of your practice?”
“I miss it,” she said. “But I also think we could bring something to the town with an OB.”
“I agree with you, and I’m ready to start pulling back in my own practice.” He tipped cream into one of the coffee mugs. “Since I spoke to Seth, I’ve called the OBs in Danton and Spillforth.” He named two nearby towns. “They’d be interested in sharing resources, as well. We could split up time in the clinic. I know a couple more G.P.s who’d also be willing to put in some hours here. I assume we’re talking about a new building?”
“Unless I can find a suitable existing structure in town.” She studied his faded wallpaper and somewhat tatty curtains. “You don’t want to keep this office?”
“My lease expires next year. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been rethinking my options.” He sipped his coffee. “Would you be willing to work with so many other physicians?”
“The closer I am to delivering, the more I think I might find someone to help me up at The Mom’s Place. I can’t imagine working these hours when we have a baby at home.” The moment she confessed it, she wished she’d waited. Ian should have been the first to hear that thought spoken aloud.
“I’ve always wondered how Greta managed.”
Sophie wasn’t sure how pleased Gran would be with her granddaughter’s changing priorities, but she knew the secret behind Greta Calvert’s success. “She’s strong and she’s always wanted to help.”
“Maybe she’d be willing to do some time here, too—if your grandfather doesn’t put up too much fuss about it.” As she tried not to look stunned that everyone knew their family’s business, Dr. Fedderson seemed to reach his own decision. “You and I agree. We should arrange a meeting with the other people I’ve spoken to. First thing we should cover is the amount of time we’re all looking to contribute, and then if we have a viable idea, we should discuss the financial aspects.”
“Thanks, Dr. Fedderson.” Sophie stood. “You’ve already gone farther with this idea than I had.” He didn’t have her grandmother to fear. She shook his hand. “If you want to fax me a list of names and numbers, I’ll make some of the calls?”
“No need at all. They’re my friends. I’ll let you know when we have a time and meeting place.”
“Thanks.” She hovered, feeling as if she was betraying her gran. “I appreciate your receptiveness.”
He nodded. “It sounds like a solution many of us would find acceptable.”
Sophie shook Dr. Fedderson’s hand and left his office. Gran lingered in her head, disapproving, disappointed. Sophie considered asking Dr. Fedderson not to mention their meeting, but she kept going toward her car. She wasn’t the stealthy type as a rule, and she had to explain to Gran, anyway.
Sophie stared up at the ridge above town. Green and verdant, full of mysterious life that seemed to whisper in the swaying trees of summer, Bardill’s Ridge was like another parent to her. More reliable than her mother in the continuity of the changing seasons, as welcoming and unchanging as her father’s love. Bardill’s Ridge wasn’t just a refuge anymore. It had become home, and she wouldn’t do anything to ruin it.
SOPHIE WAITED FOR Dr. Fedderson to call her before talking to her grandmother. She didn’t want to bring up her meeting with him until they knew if the other physicians in the area wanted to go forward. Worse than that, she felt guilty, and she didn’t know how to tell her grandmother she’d met with Tom Fedderson without having to explain her grandfather’s role in making the appointment.
Every time the phone rang while she was at work, she jumped, thinking it was the doctor. On the other hand, this was just the sort of project that could use Gran’s touch. Greta Calvert had cared for the women in these mountains for more than fifty years.
A couple of weeks after her meeting, Sophie was reviewing nutrition with the younger girls in a conference room when one of the receptionists came to the door. Sophie dropped her foam-filled cheese-and-bread cutouts.
“Phone call for you, Dr. Ridley. Olivia Kendall. She says it’s urgent.”
She tried to swallow her own tongue. Suppose Olivia, editor of a news magazine, had gotten hold of the proposed clinic idea. Since she’d moved to town, Olivia had made fund-raising a pri
ority for the baby farm, and any other organization Greta mentioned to her.
Unable to speak, Sophie nodded and then cleared her throat as she looked at the teenagers. “I’ll be right back.”
The girls were already chatting to one another. She left the room, wondering if she could have been as self-possessed at their ages. They’d all decided to have their babies on their own, but she’d chosen to marry her baby’s father, and she was twenty-nine. As if she’d needed Ian to make her daughter’s life complete.
Maybe she did. Maybe he made her life complete. She’d gotten used to hearing him in the house. She enjoyed his humming as he shaved each morning. How did a man hum and shave at the same time? One day, if she ever felt comfortable enough to leave their bed and watch from close range, she’d ask him.
She picked up the phone, and Olivia started talking.
“I know this is unacceptable. I shouldn’t have interrupted you, but I have a favor to ask.”
“Sure.” Zach had been Sophie’s surrogate brother through childhood. That made Olivia a sister. “What can I do?” As long as she didn’t want information on the clinic.
“You can’t even tell your grandmother. I want Zach to be the first to know if it’s true, and Gran wouldn’t be able to hold it in.”
“You’re pregnant.” Sophie turned, making sure no one was near enough to hear what she’d just said.
“I’d like a test. I’ve done the home ones.”
“They’re reliable.”
“I know, but I want a real test from a real doctor.”
