One Hundred Goodbyes: An Aspen Cove Romance

by Collins, Kelly

He stepped out of the exam room and took a seat on a chair in the hallway.

  “Do you know the girl?” Doc asked.

  He shook his head. “No sir. I just happened to be there when she collapsed to the ground.”

  Doc stared at him for a long hard minute. “Why don’t you stick around for a bit? I may need your help after all.”

  Doc rose and walked to the door. Leaving Thomas to his thoughts and memories.

  Sarah’s daughter was turning five years old next week. It had taken two years to not think of her every day. Another year to stop hating his ex-girlfriend for her betrayal. He should have hated the man who showed up minutes after the birth claiming to be the father, but he couldn’t because he’d want to know. Why was Eden keeping her child a secret? There was definitely a father who had a right to know his child would likely be born today.

  Chapter Seven

  Eden

  “How far along are you?” Sage asked as she helped Eden change from street clothes to a medical gown.

  Her elastic paneled jeans fell to the floor and she looked down at her stomach as if seeing it for the first time. “I’m due in about 4 weeks.” She gathered her clothes and folded them hastily.

  As Eden moved back to the exam table, she took in the office around her. In Thomas’s arms, she couldn’t see much on her way inside but for the black cotton of his T-shirt where she’d buried her head. If she breathed deeply, she could still smell his cologne floating on the air. It was a mix of pine trees and amber. Very outdoorsy and clean, not like the city men who bathed in patchouli and citrus scents.

  Now that he was gone and no longer distracting her senses, she looked at her surroundings. The small office was bright and fresh with the expected posters of the skeletal system, but one wall stood out. On it was a rainbow of letters that said, “Happiness is the only contagion we hope you pass on.” Just looking at the message made Eden feel better. So far, she’d been treated better by strangers than she had by family.

  Sage picked up Eden’s clothes from the exam table and set them neatly on a nearby counter. “Okay, that’s good.” She grabbed a file from a cabinet and began asking Eden questions.

  “Full name?”

  “Eden Summer Webster.”

  “Primary physician?”

  “I’ve been seeing Dr. Oden Clark.”

  Sage smiled. “I know him, he’s an excellent doctor. Can we give him a call and tell him we have you here?”

  Eden was back on the table before she knew it. The two women had ghosted around her like a well-oiled machine. The table was extended, and she was on her back ready for the exam.

  “Yes, but—”

  A knock sounded on the door and Sage said, “We’re ready.”

  “How’s our little mother doing?” Doc Parker walked inside and stood at the head of the exam table.

  Lydia took the stool at the foot. She rolled it forward and moved the sheet to Eden’s knees. “We were just going to take a look.”

  Sage moved away, and Doc took her place with the file and the questions. They really had the art of distraction down. There was so much going on around her that she wasn’t sure who was doing what.

  “How long have you been having pains?” Doc asked. He pulled a pen from his lab coat and began jotting down notes.

  She turned her head to face him. “They just started out of the blue.”

  “What about back pains? Have you had any?”

  Eden whooshed out a breath of air. “All morning, my lower back has been hurting but I figured it was because I was driving and the little guy here was pushing against a nerve.”

  “It’s a boy?” Sage wheeled what looked like an ultrasound forward.

  “Oh, I don’t know for sure. It was supposed to be a secret.” She smiled. “I just figure with the strength of the kicks I was going to have a punter or a soccer player.”

  “Maybe a female martial artist,” Sage teased.

  “This is going to be a bit of pressure,” Lydia said with one hand on Eden’s stomach. She proceeded to do an internal exam and shook her head.

  “What? Is something wrong with the baby?”

  Lydia smiled. “Nope, and I don’t think you’re in labor. Zero dilation. No softening. Everything is where it’s supposed to be at this moment.” She pulled the sheet over Eden’s legs but exposed her stomach. “Is this where you’re hurting?” Lydia moved her hand over the baby bump—now more like a baby mountain.

  Eden sucked in a breath. “Mmm-hmm.” The urge to practice labor breathing began again.

  “Diastasis Recti?” Doc moved forward to watch Lydia’s hand roam over Eden’s tummy.

  “Oh, my God, is that bad? What about the baby?” Her breaths became rapid and shallow.

  Doc set his hand on her shoulder. It was the kind of comforting touch she needed. There was no stress or urgency, just a gentle squeeze that reminded her not to panic.

  “You’ll be fine, and so will the baby.” He pulled on a pair of gloves. “How about we take a look at the little one so you can see your child is perfect and healthy.”

  Doc didn’t give her much notice before he squeezed a glob of cold gel onto her stomach. He pressed a wand against the skin and the comforting swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of the heartbeat moved through the air like a love song.

  All four of them stared at the screen.

  “Do you know the sex or want to know?”

  Sage turned off the monitor before Doc could move the wand and reveal. “Mrs. Webster wants it to be a surprise.”

  “Fair enough.” Doc handed the wand to Sage and pulled up a chair beside the exam table. “Should we be contacting Mr. Webster?”

  “No. There’s no Mr. Webster.”

  Lydia and Sage moved around the room cleaning up while Doc talked. “When will you be seeing your physician again?”

  Eden took in a shaky breath. “Never.”

  Something fell to the floor and all eyes turned to Sage.

  “Sorry.” She stepped forward so Eden didn’t have to strain to see her. “Was there a problem with Dr. Clark’s care?”

  “Oh no. It’s just…” Her eyes filled up with tears. “I’ve had some setbacks recently, and I’m forced to relocate. I packed up my car and—” Panic set in. Eden swung her legs over the table and sat straight up. “Porkchop. Oh, my God. I forgot about Porkchop.”

  Doc held up a hand. “Groceries can wait.”

  “No, it’s my cat. She’s in the car.”

  Doc rose from his seat and peeked out the door. “Thomas, Ms. Eden’s cat is in the car. Can you take care of it?”

  “Yes, sir. Is her car the silver SUV?”

  Doc looked toward Eden, and she nodded. “There’s a carrier in the back.”

  Doc closed the door. “Porkchop should be fine. Thomas is a good lad.” He took his seat again. “Sage is going to help you get dressed, and then, you and I need to talk.”

  Ten minutes later, Eden was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. Doc sat across from her.

  “This is what I’ve got so far. Your circumstances have changed. There is no Mr. Webster or other family to count on. You’re eight months pregnant and on the road to someplace else.”

  She nodded. “Alaska.”

  His head shook back and forth. “As your new doctor, I have to advise against that.”

  “Why?” Eden had a plan. It wasn’t a great plan but one, nonetheless. She had four weeks to figure out her life. It would take one of those weeks to get to her aunt’s house. Hopefully, in the following three, she’d be able to come up with the rest. Her hands went straight to the movement of her belly. These were the times she loved the most. It was almost as if the baby was telling her it would be all right.

  “You’re in no position to drive to Alaska. I’ve got a mind to call Oden Clark and ask why he’d allow that to happen. Your blood pressure is the biggest concern. Sage is running a urine sample to check for protein. High blood pressure is a sign of pre-eclampsia, a dangerous condition during
the late stages of pregnancy. While you and your child are safe right now, as your current physician, I’m not willing to bet my license that you’ll stay that way.”

  “I’m in danger of losing the baby?” Her heart rose to her throat to nearly choke her. There was no way she’d endanger her child.

  “Your blood pressure is dangerously high.”

  “What about the pains?”

  “Not related. It looks like the strain on your abdominal muscles has reached its peak. There may be a muscle separation, which is not uncommon. I’d say you overextended and pulled or tore a muscle that will most likely heal on its own.”

  Her shoulders rolled forward. “Donuts.”

  “Excuse me?” Doc took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  “I stood on a shelf and reached for donuts. That man that brought me in here got them for me.”

  “That would be Thomas. He’s a fireman in town. He’s going to look after Porkchop while we’re having a talk.”

  Eden covered her face with her hands. The entire last few weeks swept over her in a wash of emotion.

  “There’s not much to talk about. My life is falling apart. I have one option and that’s to get into my car and race toward Fairbanks.”

  “Race?”

  Her nose stuffed up and she took in a shuddering breath. “Big storm moving in. If I don’t leave now, I’m going to get stuck in the center of it.”

  Doc nodded his head. His old wise eyes narrowed. “I heard about that. It’s an early storm that’s supposed to lock down the roads for days. You really should wait for it to pass. Don’t you have anyone you can call? Anyplace you can go?”

  Pointing out how desperate Eden’s situation had become was the blade that sliced her emotions clean through. The tears welled up and spilled forth.

  “No, I have no one.” She rubbed her hands against her belly. “I’m pregnant with someone else’s child. They decided at the eleventh hour they no longer wanted a baby. I was supposed to be an aunt and now I have to give my niece or nephew up for adoption because Suzanne doesn’t want it?” she wailed.

  Doc looked at her like she was speaking in tongues.

  “This isn’t your child?”

  She shook her head. “No. This is my sister’s child.” She thought about it for a moment. “Actually, no one shares any DNA with the baby. It was a donor egg and sperm.” She went on to explain how her sister didn’t want her husband to have a bigger claim to the baby, so they decided to not share either of their DNA.

  “Eden, DNA doesn’t make you a family. It just makes you related.” He gave her a thoughtful look. “You’ve carried this baby all these months, what are your plans now?”

  She fell into a new crying fit. “She told me to give it up for adoption.”

  Doc reached for the box of tissues on the counter and set them in her lap. “Is that what you want to do?”

  Her hands protectively held on to her baby—her baby. “No, but I don’t have any choice. I have no job. There’s no one to help me or support me. I don’t want to bring a baby into the world and not be able to care for it.”

  Doc leaned back in his chair. “Do you care for your baby?”

  “Oh yes. I love my baby. I love him or her so much that I’d be willing to give them up if that’s the best option.”

  He stood. “You’ve told me several times now that this is your baby, so let’s figure out a plan. No one is taking this child that you’ve loved and cared for all this time away from you.”

  “But how?”

  “You leave that up to me. Stay put.” He walked out of the room and within a few seconds Sage and Lydia returned.

  They pulled up chairs to sit beside her. Lydia took a bottle of water from the pocket of the lab coat and twisted off the cap. “You need to stay hydrated.”

  She drank deeply, fearing all the tears she’d shed had dried her out. “Did Doc tell you my problem?”

  Both women shook their heads. “Nope, all he said is that you’d be staying in Aspen Cove for a bit, and he needed to make some arrangements,” Sage said. “I own a bed and breakfast, but sadly it’s booked solid for the next several weeks. All the die-hard outdoorsmen are getting in their final fishing days.”

  “You own a bed and breakfast and you work as a nurse?”

  “And her husband owns the bar, so she spends quite a few hours pulling the taps too.”

  Eden wiped at her tear-stained face. “Wow, and I thought working at Rocco’s was exhausting.” The tears built again and ran silently down her cheeks.

  “You don’t need to worry. Doc will figure it all out. The people of Aspen Cove are kind and generous.”

  “But I’m a stranger.”

  Lydia laid her hand on Eden’s shoulder. “There is no such thing here. You’re either a friend or a friend we haven’t met. We’ve met you, so now you’re a friend. No one turns their back on a friend.”

  Eden let out a semi-hysterical laugh. “No, you have to be related for that kind of dismissal.”

  The sisters looked at each other. “Sounds like it’s time for a change.”

  Chapter Eight

  Thomas

  Thomas stared down at the cat cowering in the corner of the carrier. It was a good thing he’d had some experience with Mrs. Brown’s cat Tom, and he might not have had the foresight to take his shirt off and wrap it around his arm before he reached for the beast. Porkchop his ass, that cat was Lucifer with a pink sparkly collar.

  His shirt, now covered with fur, was more orange and white than black. He thought they called this breed a tabby cat, but this was a crabby cat.

  The door to the exam room opened and out walked Doc. He sat down beside Thomas and lowered his eyes to the pet carrier on the chair beside him.

  “So, this is Porkchop.” Doc pressed his finger through the grate of the cage, but Thomas yanked it back.

  “You want to lose a limb?”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Like a damn Gremlin, fed well after midnight.”

  “Can’t be all that bad.” Doc brushed his finger against the grate again and the cat rubbed its head into him like it was begging to be petted.

  As soon as Porkchop began to purr, Thomas huffed, “Damn traitor.”

  “I’m sure it was scared, that’s all.” Doc grabbed Thomas’s hand and pushed it toward the cage. As soon as he neared, the cat’s back arched, and a growl as big as a lion came out.

  “Cat hates me.”

  Doc chuckled. “He’ll get used to you.”

  Thomas cocked his head. “He won’t have to. How’s Eden? Is she going to have a baby?”

  Doc moved his veiny hand through his hair leaving the strands pointing to the sky. “Yes, eventually she will, but not today.”

  Thomas let out a breath he wasn’t aware of holding. He didn’t know the woman. He shouldn’t care one bit about her, but he did because caring was in his nature.

  “That’s good. She can get back on the road to wherever she’s headed.”

  That’s when he knew there was more to the story. Doc was friendly but he rarely took a seat and chatted about cats. He was sitting next to Thomas for a reason, and by the look on his face it wasn’t good.

  “She was headed to Alaska.”

  Thomas’s mouth fell open like a broken hinge. “Alaska? That’s over a three-thousand-mile drive. She can’t drive that far in her condition.”

  Doc leaned back and kicked out his feet. Thomas noticed the Crocs he wore. They weren’t his usual attire. Doc was old fashioned. He showed up to work in a button-down shirt and trousers every day. His black shoes were spiffed up and shiny no matter the weather—but then again, it was Saturday, and this wasn’t an open clinic day.

  “Those are my sentiments exactly. Even if her health was topnotch, I wouldn’t have consented as her doctor to let her drive across country but …”

  “And her doctor did? Maybe you should call him. She could turn around and go back to where she came from.”

/>   “Now listen here, son.”

  Thomas knew those were the words that should bring fear to his soul. He’d been warned by Cannon and Bowie, Trig and Dalton, Luke and Mark and Aiden. Those four words meant a lesson was coming and a life was likely to change.

  “Oh no you don’t. I’m not up for a lesson today. I’ve got stuff to do and people to see.”

  Doc raised his bushy brow. “Oh yeah, what people?”

  Thomas pressed his mind for something that would make sense, but he didn’t want to lie. “It’s fried chicken night at the diner. I’ve got a date with two thousand calories of deep-fried sexiness.”

  “Maisey closes at eight. You’ve got time, and I need your help.”

  He looked at the feline who was now rolled into a circle in the back of the cage. “I’m not taking the cat.”

  A long, exaggerated breath left Doc’s lungs and he seemed to shrink in his chair. “I’m asking for more than that, son.”

  He was laying it on heavy. Calling him son always got Thomas right smack dab in the center of his chest. He missed his father. Wished they lived closer, but his dad preferred sunshine to snow and gators to grizzly bears.

  “Okay, I’ll take the cat for the day, but that’s it.” He turned to the cage. “You better be nice, or I’m not giving you any treats.” The cat perked up and moved toward the front of the cage with a meow.

  “Seems like you found her language.” Doc leaned forward and rolled to his feet. “I’ll let Ms. Webster know that you’ll be happy to take them in until her child is born.”

  The floor fell out from beneath Thomas’s feet. “Wait. What?”

  “Ms. Webster is in an awful predicament that makes returning home impossible and moving forward perilous. She’s eight months pregnant, with high blood pressure and no options but you.”

  Thomas’s head rocked like a pendulum. “Oh no. I can’t have a pregnant woman in my house. I don’t do pregnant, and I don’t do women.”

  Doc smiled. “Is that right? I had no idea.” He reached forward and patted Thomas on the back. “Makes no matter what your preference is. I know you’ll do the right thing.”