The Doctor's Texas Baby

by Deb Kastner

  “It’s been a good day. How much longer are we going to keep this a secret?” he asked. “About me being Matty’s father?”

  Her eyes widened, and she captured her bottom lip between her teeth. She looked as if she were vacillating in her mind. Had she not even considered the question?

  “I’m sure folks are starting to put two and two together,” Carolina said hesitantly. “I don’t think we ought to make a big announcement or anything, but if someone asks, I don’t see a reason not to tell them the truth.”

  Wyatt wanted to fist pump. Finally, he could open up about the biggest blessing in his life. Carolina might not want to make a big production out of it, but he wanted to crow the news to the world.

  He was Matty’s daddy.

  * * *

  Considering that she had zero experience as a receptionist, Carolina settled into her new job at Wyatt’s office with surprising efficiency and ease. Her first week of work had gone off without a hitch. It was clear she could use more education in administrative work, but she wasn’t intending to make being Wyatt’s assistant her permanent occupation. It was the means to an end and nothing more. She wasn’t even certain she’d be staying in Haven after the seventieth-anniversary party. Her whole world was still tilted on its axis.

  At least Wyatt didn’t use a confusing medical filing system. The good old ABCs were satisfactory for his small practice, and as she’d mentioned when he had first offered her employment, the alphabet was a skill she excelled in. Every mother of a toddler did.

  And every dad, too, for that matter.

  Wyatt had been spending as much time at the office as possible, crouched down on the carpet pushing cars and trucks around and making the motor noise that seemed to be stamped somewhere deep in the male DNA.

  He and Matty stacked towers of blocks that Matty delighted in knocking over every bit as much as he enjoyed building them. Wyatt wasn’t frustrated by the action. He helped. And he sang endless rounds of children’s songs in a deep voice that was as adorably slightly off-key as his son’s higher voice was.

  Wyatt never lost his patience with Matty, and his enthusiasm was contagious. Carolina couldn’t push trucks around for more than five minutes without becoming bored out of her skull, although she forced herself to continue playing as long as Matty liked. She suspected she’d do much better with a daughter’s baby dolls and dress up and tea parties.

  If she ever had a daughter. It made her sad to think Matty might end up an only child, without brothers and sisters to play with.

  Because—maybe especially because—she had been an only child who had longed for siblings, she had always dreamed of having a large family of her own someday.

  But then again, she’d never been able to envision sharing her life with anyone but Wyatt. No other man had ever measured up.

  And Wyatt had had other plans. Or at least she’d thought he’d had. Now she wasn’t certain about anything.

  Even with as much joy as she experienced, it had been a long, awkward and sometimes painful week, watching Wyatt on the floor with his son, laughing and playing with Matty just as she’d always imagined he would do. She’d always known that when and if he ever reached that point in his life, Wyatt would be a wonderful father.

  And he was. A natural.

  But this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

  Not knowing for sure if she was dressing for a barn raising or if she would be helping to plan a social event, Carolina dressed in layers, a lilac velour pullover over a T-shirt, an older pair of blue jeans and the comfortable cowboy boots that were now part of her daily ensemble.

  It wasn’t like her to fuss over an outfit. Scrubs had been her go-to clothes for many years, and there wasn’t anything fancy about those. But for some reason, today she hesitated before the full-length mirror attached to her bathroom door and gave herself a critical once-over.

  She clicked her tongue against her teeth and scoffed. She wasn’t trying to impress Wyatt—er—anybody. So why had his face, and his expression as she remembered it from when they were dating, shining with admiration and affection, instantly flashed through her mind?

  That wasn’t simply a little harmless daydream. It was a full-blown disaster in the making. It was next to impossible not to linger on past emotions, which somehow were now starting to feel more immediate and current.

  And strong. Oh, so strong.

  Confusion rolled through her in waves as she struggled to tuck and file her emotions away, out of sight and mind.

  Lately—as in ever since she’d come back to Haven—it seemed she had to remind herself over and over again that her life was now centered around Matty and Matty alone. No good could come from throwing bygone feelings from her past with Wyatt into what was already a precipitous situation.

  Determined to shove those emotions aside, she was buckling Matty into his car seat when she noticed the red flag on her pillar mailbox was raised.

  Now, that was odd. She knew she hadn’t used the box for any letters to be mailed. Was someone else using her mailbox for some reason?

  Curious, she opened the door to the metal mailbox and peered inside. Sure enough, there was a letter, but it wasn’t outgoing as one would expect, given that the flag was up.

  Instead, she found an envelope addressed to her in an unsteady script of black ink.

  Clearly it hadn’t come through the official postal system. For one thing, the regular mailman didn’t put the flag up when he delivered the mail—he put it down after taking any letters she intended to mail out.

  Just as telling, the envelope she now held in her hand was not only devoid of a return address, but a stamp, as well.

  Still, it was her name on the envelope.

  She slid behind the wheel of her sedan, glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure Matty was happily amusing himself and used her index finger to break the seal of the envelope. She pulled out a single sheet of lined notebook paper, which had been folded at odd angles in order for it to fit into the greeting-card-size envelope.

  She chewed on her bottom lip as she read the strange missive.

  Deer Carolina,

  Will you please go to the ice cream social with me?

  If yes, meat me there and wear red.

  Your valentine,

  Wyatt

  What on earth?

  She couldn’t help it. She started giggling, and once she began, she couldn’t seem to stop, not until she had tears running down her face. Maybe it was all the stress she’d been facing, or possibly a lack of sleep, but all of her emotions came pouring out in her laughter.

  “Mama?” Matty was clearly concerned that his mother had completely lost her wits, but he was also laughing right along with her.

  Or possibly at her.

  She snorted and tried to gather her composure.

  “I’m fine, honey. It’s just that I’m reading a funny letter.”

  Funny letter, indeed.

  And her response?

  Even worse.

  Because despite the fact that the mysterious missive had arrived in her mailbox without a stamp, sporting an unsteady script and riddled with more questions than answers—not to mention a couple of spectacular spelling errors that nearly set her off giggling again—her very first response had come from her heart.

  Yes, she would wear red.

  Yes, she would be Wyatt’s valentine.

  If it was really Wyatt asking. But of course, this was all stuff and nonsense, possibly even someone’s idea of a cruel joke.

  She hadn’t a clue who would go through all the effort of creating and delivering a fake invitation, or why they would bother with her, since she had just arrived back in town.

  Most of all, she couldn’t imagine why they had signed Wyatt’s name at the bottom.

  W
yatt, of all people.

  Someone certainly had their wires crossed.

  She dabbed at the corner of her eyes and tossed the letter into her handbag on the passenger seat.

  She was already running late because she’d taken too much time in front of the mirror. Now, having been waylaid by this silly invitation, it would be all she could do to make the official 8:00 a.m. starting time. With it being a community event, she suspected parking was going to be a bear.

  She was right about that. Trucks lined the driveway from the entrance to the boys ranch onward, and some vehicles were even parked on both sides of the street that bordered the property.

  Not wanting to walk a long distance with a toddler in tow, Carolina picked her way toward the main house, hoping she could find a spot that hadn’t yet been taken. Her sedan was considerably smaller than most of the ranchers’ trucks, and thankfully she was able to find an open location near the front of the house.

  Katie Ellis met her as she was plucking a wiggling Matty out of his car seat.

  “Carolina. I’m glad you could make it today. This is going to be so much fun with you here.”

  Carolina handed Matty off into Katie’s waiting arms while she gathered the toddler’s play belt and tools, which he had somehow managed to spread out all over the backseat of the car in the fifteen minutes it had taken them to get from Uncle Mort’s cabin to the boys ranch. Add to that five minutes to find parking, she mentally amended.

  For an active toddler like Matty, that was more than enough time to make a complete mess out of his toys, and it took her a minute to find and arrange the little plastic hammer, saw and screwdriver, as well as a jumble of other tools, onto the pint-size tool belt.

  “How adorable,” Katie admired as Carolina wrapped the tool belt around Matty’s waist. “He’ll fit right in with all the other builders.”

  “Right? Wyatt got this set for him.”

  “Daddy-son day?” Because of all the friendship and support Katie had lent her, she was one of the few to whom Carolina had admitted the truth about Wyatt and Matty.

  Carolina nodded and tried to smile, though her heart dipped. Katie’s words had taken her by surprise, that’s all.

  “Speaking of which—have you seen Wyatt? I’m not sure what Matty and I are supposed to be doing today.”

  “He’s right—”

  “Behind you,” Wyatt finished for her, his voice a low rumble that simultaneously sent a skitter of electric recognition across Carolina’s nerves and yet soothed something deep in her chest.

  Wyatt stepped up next to her and took Matty from Katie’s arms. Carolina swallowed through a dry throat, feeling his presence as if he had touched her, even though he stood several inches away.

  Apparently her personal space expanded when she was around Wyatt.

  “I’ll take Matty with me to the building site. Johnny is going to be with me all day to help keep an eye on Matty so he doesn’t get into any trouble.”

  Was it Carolina’s imagination, or did Wyatt sound a little bit defensive?

  She couldn’t help but think she was the one who was in trouble, but of course she didn’t say so. She wasn’t handling this so well, emotionally speaking.

  “We’ll see you men at lunch.” Katie threaded her arm through Carolina’s and flashed Wyatt a shy smile.

  This had all happened so fast that Carolina’s head was reeling, but she allowed Katie to lead her into the main entrance of the boys ranch while Wyatt walked away with Matty in his arms.

  “A bunch of us ladies are meeting in the dining room to plan the ice cream social,” Katie explained. “We need to settle on a theme and some ideas for decorations. Lila’s Café always caters the event, so we don’t have to worry about hors d’oeuvres or punch.”

  Bea Brewster led the meeting. Carolina recognized many familiar faces. She privately admitted she’d dragged her feet in attending, wondering if people were going to judge her for the choices she’d made, coming back to town as a single mother.

  But if anyone thought that way, they certainly didn’t show it. Every woman in the group welcomed her openly and asked for her opinions.

  When the meeting broke an hour later, plans had been set in motion for the Lady in Red–themed ice cream social. Carolina had volunteered for the decorating committee, and they had also been in charge of developing the overall idea for the social.

  The theme had been Carolina’s idea—or rather, it had come to her through the strange note she’d received earlier in the day. She thought it was rather clever, but only because she had no intention of being there herself, much less wearing red to the event.

  She wouldn’t want to give whoever had written the puzzling invitation the wrong impression about her and Wyatt.

  “Whatever you were just thinking about, you have to share. Do you have a hot date for the Valentine’s social?”

  Carolina choked on her breath. She was glad she hadn’t been sipping coffee from the mug in front of her or the hot liquid would have gone down the wrong pipe and she would have spit it halfway across the room. As it was, she couldn’t catch her breath.

  “Gracious, no,” she managed to rasp.

  Katie arched her blond eyebrows and her green eyes sparkled impishly. “I thought maybe Wyatt would have asked you.”

  “Absolutely not,” Carolina assured her. “Wyatt and I are a thing of the past. We share a child. That’s as far as it goes. He barely tolerates me, and trust me, that is only for Matty’s sake.”

  “Is that what you think?”

  “Why? Has he said something?” Her rebellious heart leaped into double time.

  “No,” Katie was quick to amend. “But I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching him. I’m good at reading other people’s expressions.”

  “I’m sure you are, but this time you’re mistaken.”

  Katie chuckled. “Am I?”

  Carolina nodded, but the thought, even if it was erroneous, made her chest cloud with a half dozen unnamed and undesired emotions.

  Whatever Wyatt thought about her, it wasn’t in any way romantic. Of that much she was certain. But there was something she wanted to ask, and Katie was the perfect person to provide an answer while at the same time being discreet about it.

  She dug into her handbag and withdrew the questionable invitation. “I did receive this. And to be honest, I’m completely flummoxed by it.”

  She slid the envelope over to Katie, who quickly scanned the contents and then promptly burst into laughter.

  Carolina grinned. “Isn’t that the funniest thing you’ve ever seen? Those spelling mistakes are to die for. It’s obviously not from Wyatt.”

  “Obviously,” Katie agreed, clearly trying to maintain her composure.

  “It just randomly showed up in my mailbox this morning. No stamp or return address. Whoever stuck it in there put the flag up so I would notice. I’m assuming this is some kind of prank, but what I can’t figure out is who would do this and why anyone would sign Wyatt’s name to it.”

  “The mystery matchmakers.”

  “The what who?”

  “They’ve been wreaking a bit of havoc all over town for the last few months now. No one has yet discovered who they are, although many of us suspect it may be some of the more impish residents of the boys ranch. It sounds like they are really stepping up their game for Valentine’s Day. I’ve heard of a lot of missives being delivered. It’s one of the perks of being the boys ranch secretary. I hear all the gossip.”

  “Fill me in.”

  “It’s kind of cute, really. And whoever they are, they’ve been remarkably accurate in their predictions. Couples are coming together thanks to them. They’ve had quite a few more wins than losses.”

  “Score this one in the loss column,” Carolina assured
her with a laugh.

  “You should wear red to the social.” Again, the gleam in Katie’s eyes was unmistakable.

  Carolina fidgeted in her seat.

  “I’m certainly not going to encourage them—whoever they are, with their silly matchmaking scheme. I can’t imagine why they would bother with me, and I don’t want them thinking Wyatt and I are an item.” She paused. “What about you? Who have these mystery matchmakers paired you with?”

  Katie shook her head and smiled weakly. “I’m apparently flying under their radar.”

  Carolina thought she heard a note of melancholy in her tone and was going to ask about it, but Katie continued before she could say a word.

  “That’s just as well. Really. I’m already head over heels in love with someone, although he doesn’t even know I exist. There’s no hope for me, and I don’t think the mystery matchmakers could help.”

  “Who is it?” Carolina felt a little as if she were back in high school again, gossiping with a good friend. It was a light, happy feeling, and she hadn’t had too many of those lately, so she embraced it.

  It was much better than worrying about her own problems. It was refreshing to think about someone else’s relationship status for a change, even if poor Katie seemed to be having her share of problems in the romance department.

  Katie leaned in so only Carolina could hear her speak. “Can you keep a secret?” she whispered.

  “Of course.” Carolina’s grin widened and she made a motion of locking her lips and throwing away the key.

  “It’s Pastor Andrew.” Katie sighed dramatically. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know I exist, other than being one of his most devoted parishioners. I don’t miss a service.” Her brow scrunched over her nose and she giggled. “Oh, dear. That doesn’t sound very good, does it? I really do go to church to worship God. But I can’t help how I feel about Pastor Andrew. The heart wants what the heart wants, as they say. Oh, well. It’s not like I would be a good minister’s wife.”

  “I don’t know about what they say, but I say if Pastor Andrew hasn’t noticed you, then he’s the one who is missing the mark. If you ask me, he ought to get his eyes checked and his head examined. You’re a beautiful woman, inside and out. A man would be crazy not to notice you.”