A Must for Christmas: A Darling Cove Novella

by Deborah Garland

  In an effort to cause the least amount of chaos, his family came in one at a time. Gwen stepped behind the curtain, holding Ellie. He touched the adorable infant’s head, as his sister walked past him.

  “Look, sweetie. It’s Aunt Faith. Let’s give her a kiss hello.” Gwen pecked Faith gently on the cheek and leaned down so Ellie could coo next to her. After a moment, his sister raised blue eyes to him. She knew they were alone, as far as Mallory’s were concerned, but she whispered anyway. “I’m pregnant again, Greg. No one else knows.”

  A warm feeling spread through his chest. It didn’t matter if she made the announcement in the middle of this crisis. “Congratulations.” He hugged her gently since Ellie was between them.

  “Thank you.” She looked back at Faith and pushed her dark hair off her shoulders. “If it makes you feel better, Andrew and I are stuck, as well, as far as what to do. I love my job. Andrew and I are a great marketing team. But the hours are long; there’s travel. We have some tough choices to make.”

  “I had no idea.” He touched her arm.

  “So don’t beat yourself up. It’s not easy. It’s about making sacrifices. Not always getting what you want, Gregory.” She lowered her eyes to him. “Look what you have. In a million years did you ever think you’d get her back?”

  “No,” he choked out, quickly.

  “Give her whatever she wants.” Gwen kissed him gently on the cheek. “And if my husband asks you for advice, tell him the same thing.” She winked and left.

  He chuckled to himself because everything she’d said was true.

  Edward came in next, his face full of concern. “Hey man, how are you holding up?”

  “It means a lot that you’re all here.” Greg looked over his shoulder. “Where’s Skye?”

  “With Julian. I don’t want him to see Faith like this, if that’s okay.” Edward looked grim.

  Greg nodded, realizing he would have to start thinking that way. Sacrifices were apparently multi-layered. He knew Skye wanted to be in here. For him, at least. But she and Edward put Julian first.

  Edward swept his hand across Faith’s forehead, first his palm and then the back of his hand. “I looked on Google for a while. Apparently, this had been known to happen after emergency C-Sections for preemies. Something about mentally the mothers aren’t ready, and this is nature’s way of gearing them up.”

  Greg thought about that. Faith’s brain had probably figured out a circus was waiting for her on the other side and perhaps her body was preparing to take care of her new family. Better fully there, than half-ass here. That was never Faith. “Were there any issues with Julian after he was born?”

  Edward pressed his lips together. “No. Except that mentally I was messed up.” He was referring to the fact that his son’s mother had shown up a couple of weeks before Julian was born. Edward didn’t even know he’d gotten Lauren pregnant. “The grass may seem greener. But there’s always some kind of challenge.” He folded his arms and like Gwen, chose to whisper. “I get you, Greg. Lauren gave birth, and I wanted her home with Julian. She did what I wanted. And you know what?”

  Greg knew what happened but let him finish.

  “She got bored and left. Both of us. It took her three years to get her shit together and step up. Things are good now. But…” He brushed his hand against his neck.

  “I get it.” Greg wanted to hug the man, so he did. When he pulled away, he looked Edward square in the eye. “You know that Skye would never do that to you, right?”

  “I do know that. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” He smiled, inching away so the next person could get in. “I’m also pretty sure if she even had that crazy idea in her head…”

  “Yeah, my dad and I would handcuff her and hold her down for you.”

  “Glad to know you got my back.” Edward squeezed his arm, and as he was leaving, Andrew crossed his path, the men nodding to each other.

  The tall ex-model’s eyes swept across Faith, and for a man of six-four, he appeared nervous and jittery. Greg wanted to slap himself in the head. What must this be like for Andrew who’d lost a wife before he met Gwen?

  He addressed Andrew immediately. “If this drags up too many bad memories, you don’t have to be here. I completely understand.”

  “I want to be here. For you.” Andrew’s voice was low, and he rubbed his temples. When he looked at Faith, he swallowed hard and closed his eyes briefly. Like it was all too unbearable for him. Yet, there he was. For Greg.

  He pivoted Andrew away from watching Faith just lie there. “I’m really happy for you and Gwen. She told me the good news. Congrats.”

  “Thank you. At this rate, we’re just catching up.” Andrew’s voice changed mentioning the new baby. “Is it okay if I just give her hand a squeeze and leave?”

  “Of course.” Greg let him take a moment.

  When Andrew turned back around, Greg caught a glimpse of the man’s pain. But his brother-in-law quickly straightened his shoulders, and in a firm voice said, “We’ll be outside if you need anything. Gwen wants to help you get through this. Don’t shut her out.”

  “I won’t.” Greg thought about Andrew’s words. No one had cowered in the corner alone when his mother was sick. They helped each other.

  Martin came in next and said, “Skye is still sitting with Julian. He’s upset.”

  “No problem.” Greg’s stomach turned. “I feel like I’ve kicked a hornet’s nest here. I didn’t mean to get everyone so upset.”

  “I couldn’t have asked for a better family. You’ll understand what I mean. You have sons now and one day hopefully a daughter too.” His eyes swept over Faith. No one was even remotely giving up on her. “I hope you have the same luck, and they all find someone to love them the way my kids are loved.”

  “One step at a time, Dad. Don’t have my kids off and married yet. I’m sure she wants a few years with them.” He looked at Faith.

  “Why don’t you take a walk and get something to eat. I’ll stay here with her.” Martin squeezed his arm.

  Greg took a minute, then agreed. Martin was the other man he wanted covering for him. Sadly, one day his father would be gone. God-willing not any time soon. But Greg was glad he had two brothers now to stand with him.

  He left the recovery room and finally looked out a window. The sun was up and shined brightly. The smell of coffee found its way to Greg’s senses, and he allowed himself a small break. The nurses had brought him some food earlier in the recovery area, but he was too wound up to eat anything.

  Hunger had taken control of him now. In the café he ate a blueberry muffin in three easy bites, refilled his coffee, and waited for the elevator to return to the maternity floor.

  Cheery people crowded the paneled car with him, carrying flowers and brimming with excitement. A boy. A girl. Their words were jumbled, and he hated himself for…hating them at the moment. Yes, his sons were fine. But Faith wasn’t.

  He let the happy crowd off and stepped out into the hallway. He turned to the window for a moment and let the winter sun warm his face briefly. He was prepared to go back to Faith, when Cassandra wandered into the hallway. Her dark brown hair was down, and she looked as tired as he felt.

  He wondered when her shift had technically ended and had she stayed because of Faith and the babies. “Hi, Daddy!” She greeted him with a warm smile he’d started getting used to.

  He liked how she called him, Daddy. Not Greg. Not Mr. Mallory. “Hi.” He stayed near the elevator. “I never got a chance to say…thank you…so much.”

  She stepped toward him. “It’s my pleasure. I’m just going home to check on my kids and do some last minute Christmas shopping. I’ll be back. Don’t you worry.”

  An ache crept up that Greg had not expected. The urge to hold…his babies. Perhaps the food and coffee cleared his brain of fog.

  As he walked quickly to maternity, his phone rang. He picked it up and felt a small rush of relief. “Hey, thanks for getting back to me.”
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  Chapter 7

  5:09 PM

  The tall, slender brunette walked toward Greg with a cautious smile while he stood outside the double doors to the recovery area.

  “Who are all those people out in the waiting room?” Lily asked and leaned in for a hug.

  “That’s Team Mallory,” he answered proudly. Even though they were also technically Morgan’s and Mendelsohn’s.

  Since Andrew was an only child and Edward didn’t have much of a relationship with his parents, his brothers-in-law considered themselves Mallory’s by extension. And Greg loved them for it.

  “I’m so glad you called me. If I had to find out about this on someone’s Facebook page, I would have been pretty hurt, Gregory.”

  “Faith’s in here and the babies are in maternity. I’m being dragged back and forth.” His voice cracked.

  “Oh, you poor man.” Lily rubbed his arm. “And Team Mallory is just sitting out there?”

  He smiled. “I have to keep them at bay. Especially my sisters, they’re quite bossy.”

  “My kind of ladies.” Lily smiled. “So what names did you and Faith decide on?”

  “We didn’t. We’re calling them A and B.”

  “A and B?” She folded her arms and frowned.

  “Not you too,” he snapped. “Why is everyone so freaked out that we didn’t have names picked?”

  “Because people choose them right away now and start identifying with the kids before they’re born.”

  Greg stopped in the hallway and put his head down. “So, we’re already failures?”

  “No. I’m sorry.” Lily pursed her lips. “I suspect you didn’t call me to help you go through a list of names.”

  “No.”

  “So why did you ask me to come all the way out here?” She folded her arms. “Not that I wouldn’t have. I planned to use some vacation time to give Faith a hand when she had the babies. She and I spoke about it all the time.”

  “What else did you speak about?” came flying from his mouth before he could stop himself.

  “Gregory?” She looked at him with a tsk-tsk-tsk face. “I’m still a reporter deep inside. I can smell an inconspicuous line of questioning a mile away.”

  “Another thing we didn’t decide upon was what she planned to do about her job.”

  “She didn’t tell you what happened?”

  Lily’s words stabbed at him. Inside that pretty head was information about his wife he didn’t have. More secrets Faith had kept from him. Before he asked Lily to flip on not only her boss but her friend, Greg changed the subject briefly.

  “Did you know that Faith kept journals while she was growing up?”

  “Yeah, she mentioned it.”

  “She’d said that once she and I were a couple, she was so happy, she had no reason to write much anymore.”

  “What’s the relevance now?” Lily asked.

  “I found a book she started writing this year.”

  “Oh.” Her voice dropped low with concern.

  Greg stopped walking. “I’m not crazy. That’s bad, right?” At the entrance to the recovery area, he looked at Lily square in the face. “If my wife wasn’t happy about something and she told you, given where we are and what’s happened…” He pointed into the room as he lost his cool more and more by the second. “Would you tell me, Lily? Would give me a Goddamn heads-up so when my wife, when the mother of my sons wakes up, I can do whatever the…” he bit back the curse crawling on his tongue to be polite and not scare the woman... “the heck it takes to make up for whatever stupid-ass thing I did or said so she can be happy?”

  “No.”

  “Gregory?” His father came up behind him.

  Whenever he was about to lose it, his father was there. Which seemed to be all the time. He cleared his throat. “Dad, do you remember Lily? She works with Faith. She was at Ron’s funeral a few months ago.”

  “We didn’t have the pleasure of meeting.” Martin put his hands out and closed them around Lily’s. “Martin Mallory, pleased to meet you.”

  “Same here, Mr. Mallory. You have a fine son.”

  “I can’t take all the credit. That little lady in there made him the man he is.” He flicked his head to the recovery area.

  “Are you going to let me see her?” Lily folded her arms again.

  “Yes. Of course.” Greg’s heart fell at her answer a moment ago. Selfishly, he hoped once Lily saw Faith, her friend, lying still, it might change her mind.

  The way Lily’s hands grabbed his sleeve, seeing Faith, made him feel both relieved and terrible. And furious, because it no longer had the Oh my God effect on him. He was getting used to this bullshit.

  “What have the doctors said?”

  “That she lost a lot of blood during the delivery. And she’s just recuperating. There’s nothing wrong with her.”

  “I’ve heard of these things.” Lily walked around her bed, and as a testament to the close friendship they had, she leaned down and kissed Faith right on the lips. “You take your time; we’re here. We got it all under control.”

  “Looks that way.” Martin put a hand on his shoulder, winked, and walked away.

  Once they were alone, Lily looked back at Greg. “I don’t have many friends, you know.”

  “I didn’t know.” Greg offered her the chair next to the bed. “You know she adores you right?”

  “Back at ya.” The brunette smiled at Faith.

  “Was she unhappy, Lily?”

  “No. Of course not. She was thrilled.”

  “But you know we were not on the same page about what to do once the babies were born.”

  “Yep.” She unfolded her arms and looked around. “Why aren’t they here?”

  “This is an unusual situation.” He rubbed his face. “Since we’re not in a room. And my one son is—”

  “What?” Lily jumped to her feet. “Your one son is what?”

  “He’s in an incubator.”

  “Oh man!” She stomped her foot, shaking her head at Faith.

  “I know her. So do you.” He reached down to touch Faith under the blanket, unable to keep his hands away. “She’s going to react to that badly. Think it’s her fault. I don’t want to win this by default.”

  “I didn’t realize it was a game, Gregory.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I want my wife to be happy. But I also want my children taken care of.”

  “So why don’t you stay home and take care of them?” Lily smirked.

  Greg feared the absurdity he knew came across in his face would cause a torrent of feminist lashes his way. He also couldn’t make the argument with a straight face that children needed a mother to be home with them. Edward had to raise Julian by himself when his mother left. And Julian was a fine little boy. His father had done an amazing job. Edward was a full-time architect and the Darling Cove volunteer fire chief.

  “If it came to that, Lily, if that’s what she wanted? Yes, I would do it. I just fear I would be really shitty at it. I have no pride to protect.”

  “Gregory! Believe it or not, I was kidding.”

  “I’m in the same boat as you. I don’t have a dog pound of obnoxious guy friends who give me shit if I’m nice to my wife. My closest friends are those two whipped souls sitting out there who adore my sisters and will do anything for them. I think they’re great guys. I have no trouble standing shoulder to shoulder with them.”

  Lily cackled with laughter. “Whipped. Haven’t heard that one in a while.”

  “I mean it.”

  “I believe you.”

  “I also fear she doesn’t believe in me enough to ask me that.”

  “You’re a caveman, Gregory.”

  “So I’ve been told.” He rolled his eyes, getting real tired of being called that. “But she’s not…afraid of me is she?”

  “Of course not. She just sees you as the ultimate man.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “What if we worked opposite shifts?”

  L
ily blew out a breath. “Working on the night shift, I knew a lot of women doing just that. That’s the quickest way to a divorce.”

  “How?”

  “Because you’ll never see your wife. What’s worse is your kids will never see you together.”

  “I didn’t think of that.”

  “So where’s that book you were talking about?”

  “In her bag.” He pointed to the pink case, sitting there. Taunting him to peek inside.

  “She wanted it with her in the hospital?”

  “No. I just grabbed it and shoved clothes inside, not realizing it was in there.” And neither had she, he realized when he played it all back in his head.

  Lily stared at the bag, and then her dark eyes raised to him. “It’s not right to read it without her consent, Gregory.”

  “I know that. But you know I’m a cop. I have the evidence right there.”

  “Could be illegal search and seizure though.”

  “You’re telling me as a reporter, deep inside you’re not curious?”

  Lily crossed her long legs; her beat-up riding boots went past her knees. “Of course, I am. But that’s the difference between the media and law enforcement.” She smiled. “We have patience.”

  Greg was running out of his. He needed to be prepared. He had to know Faith’s full state of mind, to deal with her when she woke up. While he was silent, Lily stood and paced the room, her arms crossed.

  “You know you’re going to have to look out for signs of postpartum.”

  “What’s that?” When Lily slapped herself in the forehead, Greg said quickly, “Now I’m kidding. Yes, I know. We’ve had all kinds of parenting classes. It came up.”

  She turned to him. “And did the whole, who’s-gonna-stay-home thing come up in those groups?”

  “Yes. It was all over the place. A few moms were staying home for at least a year. One or two were going right back. A few were working opposite shifts, and one dad was walking away from his career to stay home.”

  “And who seemed happiest with the decision?”

  He shrugged instead of admitting he hadn’t paid attention because he was too worried that he and Faith were the only couple not to have made a decision.