The Twin Birthright

by Catherine Mann

  The nurse closed the door behind her as she left, and the hushed sounds of hallway conversation dimmed.

  But Naomi’s heart was with her babies. She felt like the exams had taken longer than if she’d delivered the babies here. In fact, her daughters would have to stay in the nursery for observation tonight, since they’d been born in such unusual, unmonitored circumstances. The doctor had told her that once her blood pressure came down, she could see them.

  The wait was driving her crazy. At least she didn’t have a headache like she’d experienced during pregnancy with her preeclampsia.

  Scanning the room, she steadied her gaze on the clock, watching the second hand move like molasses.

  The creaking of the door cut through her thoughts, and for a sliver of a second, her heart screamed out for Royce. His calming presence.

  Instead of the enigmatic man, Delaney lingered in the doorway, her hand balled into a tense fist as she held on to the sleeves of her green sweater.

  Naomi didn’t want to think about feeling disappointed.

  Had he left? She swallowed hard and focused on her sister with a smile. Extending her arms for a hug, she drew Delaney close, breathing through the physical and emotional pain that racked her body.

  “Naomi, the babies are beautiful. Glenna took a million photos already and I’m sure we’ll take a million more. How are you?”

  “Relieved. Eager to see my children. Grateful Royce was there to help.”

  “I can’t believe you actually delivered in a car.” Delaney tugged a chair close to the bedside and sat. “You always did have to one-up me. Two babies and now giving birth in a snowstorm. I’ll never top that.”

  “What can I say?” Naomi shrugged, adjusting her hospital gown. “I strive to overachieve.”

  “I’m just glad you’re all three okay. And the girls, wow. I can’t wait to spoil them and buy tons of little pink outfits. I can’t believe how tiny they are. So precious. You’re so brave.”

  “I didn’t have a choice.” Her mind flashed to the terror she’d felt when she realized she wouldn’t make it to the hospital. “They were coming out.”

  “I mean, to be a single mom.”

  Single.

  Not engaged. Not married.

  No future with Royce.

  She didn’t even have her mother to turn to for advice. Naomi fought back tears, working to remind herself of all she had to be grateful for tonight. “It’s not like I don’t have a ton of support, an even larger family now that Dad’s remarried.”

  But no Royce. No father for her children. It had all seemed clear when she’d opted for in vitro fertilization with eggs she’d frozen prior to her treatment for cancer. Now everything was...complicated.

  In the wake of her relationship with Royce, she better understood all that was missing in her life.

  All that might have been for her girls.

  “We’re here for you.” Delaney covered Naomi’s hand with hers, careful of the IV. “What’s the deal with Royce and you being out there together?”

  Naomi sighed. “I should just put a sign on the door explaining, so I don’t have to repeat myself. He’s been helpful during the pregnancy. He cares about the babies.”

  “And about you. Be honest.” She touched Naomi’s forehead, pushing away loose strands of dark hair.

  Naomi bit her lip and weighed her sister’s words. “We’ll always care for each other. But it was just...infatuation. Lust.”

  “Lust. Whoa. Friendship and lust and caring. Sounds pretty cool to me.” She gave an exaggerated wink.

  “Trust me,” Naomi chuckled softly, “lust is the last thing on my mind right now.”

  “Understandable. You must be exhausted and I should let you rest.” Delaney kissed her forehead. “Is there anything I can get for you? Some water? A nurse?”

  “Perhaps ask the nurse to take my blood pressure again to see if I can get up?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll ask on my way out.” She nodded to the nurse backing through the door. “You’re in good hands. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  The middle-aged nurse with silver strands in her jet-black hair barely made it five steps into the room before Naomi’s question burst from her lips. “So, do we get to check my blood pressure again?”

  Bowed lips drew into a smile, and for a flash of a moment, Naomi saw a glimpse of her mother in the woman. A painful thought, an ache that never seemed to ease.

  “Of course, dear. Let’s see what your number is now.”

  Naomi took a deep, steadying breath as the nurse set up the blood pressure machine. Low. Low. Low. The wish looped in her mind like a mantra. Her body needed to respond to the command.

  An eternity seemed to pass as she stared at the nurse’s equipment, waiting for the verdict.

  “Well, there, Miss Naomi, I have some good news for you. Your blood pressure is back to normal.”

  “I’m going to see my babies.” Flinging back the sheets, Naomi prepared to swing her legs off the bed.

  A gentle hand met her wrist. “Hold on there, dear. I know your pressure’s back down, but doctor’s orders—you get a wheelchair until he says otherwise.”

  “As long as I see my children.” Naomi took a deep breath, the kind she reserved for stepping into a trial, the type that filled her lungs and soul with determination, then she eased her feet to the floor. She was a little wobbly, but overall better than she expected.

  “This is my favorite part of my job, dear.”

  Naomi craned her head back to examine the nurse. Faint smile lines adorned her cheeks, and the nurse’s green eyes were alight.

  “Wheeling people around?” Naomi asked, wringing her hands in anticipation. Doctors and nurses rushed past them, carrying charts and chatting hurriedly.

  “No. Uniting mother and child. There is nothing as rewarding.”

  Her pulse pounding like she’d ran a marathon, Naomi swallowed, a lump of nervous anticipation welling in her throat, rendering her unable to speak. As they turned the corner to the nursery, her heart did a cartwheel. Royce. He stood near the babies, decked out in borrowed green scrubs. Looking handsome as ever, as he spoke to the pediatric nurse in a tone so hushed and gentle Naomi couldn’t make out a single word he said.

  He hadn’t left, after all.

  Even though she knew he was here for the babies, she still couldn’t deny how glad she was to see him. He was a part of her past, but he’d also been a part of this miracle.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if she was feeling too drawn to him, weakening in an emotional moment. If anything, the other nurse’s presence, with reminders of Naomi’s mother, made her think of how she should be turning to the relatives she still had. She shouldn’t rely on Royce. She wanted to be independent. Even leaning on family would need to be short term—just until she recovered physically—or they could all fall back into the overprotective ways she’d found so stifling as a teen with cancer. She walked a fine line with them in making sure her girls had the joy of the love of a big family.

  She smiled her thanks at the nurse who’d helped her down the hall, then rolled the wheelchair toward Royce. “Where is the rest of my family?”

  He looked up, lifted an eyebrow and smiled. “Hey, Mama. Good to see you up and about.”

  The pediatric nurse at the bassinets grinned before turning away and busying herself with another newborn.

  Naomi gestured to her wheelchair. “If you can call riding in this ‘up.’”

  He knelt in front of her. “Your blood pressure’s down?”

  “Yes. And now I want to see my babies.”

  “Of course.” He reached for the first bundle, Mary, and settled her in the crook of Naomi’s arm. Then followed with Anna.

  Naomi soaked in the sight of them, clean and sleeping. And beautiful.

  She looked up at Royce, fi
nding his eyes locked on hers. She resisted the urge to fidget nervously and reminded herself of who she should be depending on now. “Where’s my family? Delaney said they were all here.”

  She’d especially wanted to see Isabeau who was expecting a baby with Trystan Mikkelson.

  “They fawned over your babies and then headed home to give you rest.”

  “Oh, they just left?” She frowned. That wasn’t like them.

  “Your blood pressure was up. I sent them away.”

  She sat up straighter, stunned...irritated. “You did what?”

  “It’s late. I told them we’ve got this covered. And they said they’ll be back in the morning.”

  She looked around at the busy staff and kept her voice low. “What gives you the right to decide who stays with me at the hospital?”

  “There’s another weather warning out, so they left to get ahead of the storm,” he said, with such practical calm it set her teeth on edge.

  But then she’d always been far quicker to lose her temper than he was.

  “And if they’d wanted to stay?”

  He stared back at her silently.

  Reason trickled through her anger. Nothing could have made her family leave if they hadn’t wanted to—or unless they had an ulterior motive. “They’re all hoping we’ll get back together.”

  “Maybe. Regardless, I want to help. Is that so bad?”

  “I have help. Or rather, I did until you gave them all their marching orders.” She tamped down her anger. “Who’s watching your dog?”

  His Saint Bernard, Tessie—named in honor of the scientist Tesla—was his big, lovable, constant companion.

  “My neighbor’s got her. She fine. Don’t worry. Just rest.”

  Sagging back, Naomi relented. She had been surprised at how much it hurt saying goodbye to Tessie when she’d packed up her things at Royce’s place. She’d cried more than a few tears into the soft fur.

  So many tears. So much grief. She was weary with the hurt.

  But it was for the best, because she couldn’t risk falling into a relationship with him again.

  Naomi cradled her babies, upset, but not wanting to let anything spoil this first night with her girls. And Royce really had been there for her today. They had meant so much to each other once, even if for only a brief time. “I guess this was our plan, back before.”

  “That it was. I spent a large part of your pregnancy expecting to be their father. It’s not so easy for me to just shut that off.”

  Tears became heavy in her eyes, compromising her vision, as all the words she knew seemed wrong, inadequate. “I’m so sorry for any pain I caused you. I should have known sooner that—”

  “Stop. This isn’t the time to rehash that.” He slid an arm around her, the strength and heat of him so familiar.

  So missed.

  She shrugged off his arm and the temptation it held for her to slide into their prior routine. “No offense. But touch me and I’ll cry. It’s the hormones. And I wish they were in my room with me and everything was...normal.”

  “Understandable. How about we sit together, you put your feet up here—” he pushed a chair in front of her and lifted her legs to rest on it “—and we’ll hold the babies all night long.”

  She looked up from her daughters into his deep brown eyes, finding his gaze full of emotion, of memories. Their memories. And this time there would be no escaping them or hiding from each other. Not now.

  As they spent the night together, pretending to be the family they never could be.

  * * *

  Milla Jones pushed the flower cart down the quiet hospital corridor, careful not to wake the sleeping patients, the babies and their families.

  One family in particular. Her reason for being here tonight. She’d been unable to stay away, even though she would have a legitimate reason to see them all in two weeks. Revenge required patience, and God, she’d waited for so long. Surely she could allow herself this small indulgence after all that had been taken from her. All the reasons she had not to trust anyone.

  Milla wheeled past a janitor mopping up dried mud and stains from people tracking in wet snow, and stopped outside Naomi Steele’s door. The cart held four arrangements for the new mother of twins, and a cluster of pink balloons. Milla didn’t plan to make this a full-time job. It was a one-time gig with a purpose.

  She hadn’t been able to resist the chance to scope out the Steeles and Mikkelsons. She’d heard about the twins’ birth and had conned a hospital volunteer into letting her deliver arrangements to the patients. Which technically wasn’t cool on so many levels, but Milla had long ago given up playing by the rules. Life had been too harsh. She’d fought hard to build a future for herself, independent of anyone.

  So she refused to feel guilty for pushing the door open and peeking inside the room. The empty room. No one lay in the bed, though the sheets were rumpled. No sounds came from the bathroom and the recliner was unoccupied.

  Sighing in disappointment, she unloaded the four arrangements, placing them around the room wherever there was space—two on the window ledge, one on the rolling cart and the last by the sink. Scanning the room once more, envisioning the family that should have been in here, she tied the balloons to the end of the bed.

  Her time would come. She wasn’t backing down. She had two more weeks to scope out both families before she made her move.

  For years, she’d hidden out in fear of her enemies. But when she’d almost died in a wildfire last summer, she’d decided the time had arrived. She had to look out for her own safety. She’d come here to uncover the truth. The reason she’d left Canada and moved to Anchorage. To find out who was responsible for the destruction of her life—the Mikkelsons or the Steeles.

  Three

  Sprawled in the burgundy recliner, Royce reached overhead to stretch out his tense back. He kept his eyes trained in front of him, watching the steady rise and fall of Naomi’s chest as she slept. Somehow those breaths steadied his own after the adrenaline. The fragrance of flowers throughout the room covered the antiseptic scent and reminded him of her shampoo. Her dark hair pooled around her, halo-like. Peaceful.

  But this peace between them was a temporary thing. He understood that all too well.

  Hospital staff had told him he could sleep on the pull-out sofa, but he’d been too restless. Once he’d texted his neighbor for an update on Tessie, he’d reached for his tablet and got to work.

  The room was still dark, even though morning crept closer. Alaska days were lengthening. Naomi was tough and independent, but he hadn’t thought about her handling two infant seats on an icy walkway.

  Or what if she’d been trapped in that storm, alone, with the babies?

  Those two tiny girls already had him wrapped around their little fingers. The breakup with Naomi had been hell, so much so he hadn’t given much thought to the twins. What it would feel like to lose them. He hadn’t realized how much he already cared about the two of them. That he was gutted at the thought of losing them.

  Royce rubbed a crick at the back of his neck. He and Naomi had been up most of the night. The hours together reminded him of nights they’d spent in bed planning for the twins’ arrival, sharing dreams for the future.

  None of their discussions bore any resemblance to the way things had turned out.

  Neither of them was willing to leave Anna and Mary. The pediatrician wanted them observed for the night since they’d been born early and in such unusual circumstances.

  Quite frankly, Royce hadn’t wanted to leave Naomi, either. Sure, her family could have stayed, but he’d seen her assert her independence with them mighty damn effectively, and hadn’t trusted she would ask for help. Or that they would see what she really needed.

  So he’d stayed and kicked her family out.

  And yes, he’d also chosen to stick around be
cause the glow on her face mesmerized him. The soft, soothing sound of her voice as she spoke to her babies surpassed any song.

  Finally, when Naomi couldn’t keep her head up any longer, a nurse had gently reminded her she would be no good to her children exhausted. She should rest while she could.

  Royce had helped her back to her room and watched over her while she slept. The babies were in good hands. Someone needed to look out for Naomi. The best thing would be to walk away, but damn it all, he kept buying in to lame reasons to stick around.

  He sure as hell wouldn’t be able to hold off her family for long. They would all be back here en masse soon enough. For now, before the sun rose, he could imagine things were different between them.

  Her feet shifted under the sheet in that way he’d learned she did just before the rest of her awoke. Back in the days when they’d shared a bed, when he’d made love to her through the night. When he’d had the right to slide his arm around her and draw her to him. To bury his face in her hair and breathe in the scent of her shampoo.

  Naomi stretched her arms overhead, then swept back her hair before gingerly sitting up in bed. “The girls?”

  “Anna and Mary are fine. The nurse said they would be brought in after the shift change, which should be happening right now.”

  “Did you sleep at all?”

  “Catnaps. I’m fine.” He set his tablet aside and poured her a cup of ice water.

  “Thank you.” She took it and sipped. “Catnap, huh? I bet you worked.”

  He didn’t bother denying it. The chart he’d been calculating still glowed on the screen.

  “Royce, you should rest.”

  He could sleep later. She would be taking care of twins. “I will. How do you feel?”

  “Like I gave birth to twins in a car.”

  “I’ll get the nurse to bring your pain meds.” He started to stand.

  “I was joking.” She gestured for him to sit again.