One Night That Changed Everything

by Tina Beckett

  “Maybe that’s not a wise thing to do. If they end up not being yours, won’t you be…?”

  Sad?

  No, of course he wouldn’t be. He’d be hugely relieved, just like she would.

  Wouldn’t she? The empty place in her chest said otherwise.

  “Will I be upset? Maybe. But things would be a whole lot less complicated.”

  That was one point they could definitely agree on. “Yes, they would.”

  He dragged a hand through his hair. “Any other exciting news you’d like to spring on me?”

  “I did ask Dr. Preston if she was sure there weren’t any more hiding in there.”

  He coughed, then cleared his throat. The first hint of a smile finally made its way across his face. “And?”

  “There aren’t. She almost missed the second one as it was. He or she was hiding behind the first baby.”

  “Probably afraid of my reaction.” His gaze finally landed on her face. “And I’m sorry for that.” He hesitated. “Are you happy?”

  She searched inside herself and found the answer. “Yes.”

  “Congratulations, Hannah.” He leaned across his desk and held out his hand, waiting until she took it. “When are they due again?”

  “July twelfth.”

  He squeezed her fingers then released them. “They don’t usually let twins go to term, do they?”

  “No. Dr. Preston said to plan for thirty-seven weeks.”

  “So now you have two baby names to come up with instead of just one.”

  “Ye-es.” She drew the word out, wondering if she should do this now or let him recover a little while longer. But he seemed softer and more relaxed, even if he wasn’t shouting for joy. She’d been holding on to the question for the last week, trying to get the nerve up—and that had been when she’d thought there was only one baby.

  What if he laughed in her face or, worse, shouted for her to get out of his office? Well, nothing could be worse than the way he’d shut down on her a few minutes ago. At least, she hoped not.

  Taking a deep breath, she forged ahead. “Can I get your opinion on something?”

  He picked up his coffee and took another sip. A shorter one this time. “Sure.”

  Setting her own cup in her lap, she wrapped both hands around it, noting that the now-tepid brew was still warmer than her icy fingers.

  “If one of the babies is a girl, what do you think about naming her Bethany, after your sister?”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  HIS sister?

  Greg wasn’t sure he’d heard the words correctly—in fact, he wasn’t sure he’d heard anything correctly for the past fifteen minutes—so he sat there trying to replay that last sentence. But all that kept running through his head was the word twins.

  “Could you repeat that?”

  “It’s fine if you don’t want to. I mean, I know it’s really soon, so feel free to take some time to think it over before you—”

  “You don’t even know if the babies are mine. Why would you want to do that?”

  “Because your sister was obviously a beautiful person. She’s the reason you fight so hard for your patients. What a wonderful legacy. And if you decide never to have children of your own…” She shrugged, not quite meeting his eyes. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for the past week or so.”

  Hannah was right. He did fight for his patients, but only because Bethany had taught him how to—had always been the one person he could count on to understand. Just as Hannah seemed to, first at his house and now right here in this very office.

  Hell. Something was wrong. Hannah’s face blurred and then came back into sharp focus. The problem wasn’t with her features, though, it was with his eyes. There was a layer of moisture over them that was growing deeper by the second.

  Another happy little girl might carry Bethany’s name. The problem with his eyes had now spread to his lungs, which burned with every breath he took.

  Getting up from his seat, he went to the window and stared out over the parking lot, scrubbing his hand over his face. Last week’s dusting of snow had melted but the sky was overcast.

  A gentle hand landed on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I upset you. I won’t do it, if you don’t want me to, if it would hurt too much.”

  Half turning, he wrapped his arms around her and laid his cheek on top of her head, her soft scent filling his chest. Despite his attempts to dash them away, the damned mist covered his eyes again, this time spilling onto Hannah’s hair.

  He took a deep shuddery breath, fighting to get himself under control. “It doesn’t upset me. I don’t think anyone has ever done a nicer thing for me or for Bethany. Thank you.”

  Her arms circled his waist, and she rested her head on his chest. “You’re welcome.”

  For the first time, the idea of kids and a family didn’t send his heart racing into a state of panic or make him shy away in horror. Instead, as he stood in his office, holding Hannah in his arms, a sense of rightness flowed through him.

  He loved her.

  How? When?

  He had no idea. The realization hadn’t hit him like a bolt from the sky. Neither did it bring an unwelcome jolt of surprise. It was something that had begun growing the moment she’d thrown her arms around him and thanked him at the end of her treatments, her soft scent sweeping through him then just as it did now, her trembling body awaking something in his heart. Or maybe it had started even before that.

  Yes, he was terrified. He hadn’t planned on falling in love any more than he’d planned on fathering twins. But the feeling was there, and he could at least admit it to himself for this one moment in time, even if he never did anything about it.

  “I have something else to ask.” Hannah’s voice was muffled by his shirt.

  What else could she throw at him besides twins and wanting to name one of them after Bethany?

  “What is it?”

  “If the babies end up being yours…” She paused for a long second before continuing. “And if my cancer comes back at some point, I want to make preparations in advance. Do you have any preferences about who should raise them?”

  If her cancer came back…

  A black spot opened up in his chest at the thought.

  Nothing would happen to Hannah. He’d make sure of it.

  Like he had his sister?

  “You’re going to be fine. The cancer’s not going to recur.” Hodgkin’s was different from his sister’s disease. It had a high cure rate.

  “You can’t know that for sure. No one does. I just don’t want to leave things up in the air. If they’re yours, you should have a say about where they go.”

  Just like he knew he loved her, Greg’s heart whispered the answer that had been there all along.

  “I’ll raise them.”

  “What?” Her head came off his chest, and she looked up at him.

  “I said I’ll raise them.”

  He wouldn’t have to, though. Hannah was going to be around for a long time to come. She’d raise her children and wave them off to college. But she wasn’t asking for reassurances. She was making arrangements, it was as simple as that. And this was the right thing to do.

  He gave an inward smile. See, Bethany? I can do it.

  “Are you sure?” Hannah asked. “You’re so busy, and that is a huge commitment.”

  He searched around inside himself. He could ask his parents for help—his mother would be thrilled, and maybe it would help to heal the rift between him and his father. He could even move his practice to Ketchikan to be closer to them if necessary. But the thought of Hannah no longer being on this earth…

  Then don’t think about it. Just answer her question.

  “I’m sure.” He paused. “What if they’re the donor’s children? Are your parents well enough to handle raising two children?”

  “Yes. They’re both still fairly active. But they’re in Idaho, so the children would have to go there.”

  Idaho.

&nb
sp; The lower forty-eight always seemed like another world to someone who’d been born and raised in Alaska. And Idaho was three thousand miles away. So he’d probably never see the twins again.

  “Let’s not talk about this right now, okay?” He allowed his right hand to stroke along her spine. “I’m still getting used to the fact that there are two of them.”

  Hannah smiled. “Yeah, me too. All I can think about is what I’m going to look like when I’m eight months pregnant.”

  “You’re going to look beautiful, just like you do now.”

  Her smile faded. “Thank you. That’s a really sweet thing to say.”

  Before he could stop himself, he dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “It might be sweet, but it’s also true.” He sighed. “And as much as I don’t want to, I’d better get out there before Stella sends someone in after me. Or, worse, comes looking for me herself. We might have some explaining to do in that case.”

  “Speaking of explaining…” Hannah dropped her arms from his waist and took a step back. “I’m eventually going to have to tell everyone I’m pregnant. How do you want me to play it?”

  He fingered the silver earring that dangled from a dainty lobe. “Play it by ear. Just like we’ve been doing with everything else.”

  * * *

  Play it by ear.

  That’s what Hannah had done with his spontaneous kiss yesterday, and with his shocking offer to raise the twins should they prove to be his. And when he’d called her beautiful, her heart had almost stopped.

  But she’d smiled as if it had meant nothing special, all the while wondering if his feelings for her might be growing. Just like hers were.

  A very scary proposition when you considered it. Dropping the new gift bag on his desk, she ran her fingers along the wooden surface. Several patient files were now scattered across the top of it, unlike yesterday when it had been empty.

  She hadn’t wanted to fall for him. If she could go back and undo the sequence of events that had led her here, she would. She’d have continued calling him Dr. Mason and maintained that professional distance she seemed to need. At least with him. She’d never had any trouble calling other colleagues by their first names. But she’d resisted with Greg.

  Now she knew why.

  The door opened, and she jumped when the man himself appeared. “I thought you were at the hospital.”

  “I was. I finished up early.”

  “You did?” With the way Greg lived his life, she’d never have considered letting him raise these children.

  Until he’d cried.

  Oh, he didn’t know she’d felt the moisture in her hair, and she hadn’t dared say anything. But at that moment she’d known he could love them, if it came down to it. Known he’d sacrifice everything for them, the same way he’d made sacrifices in his sister’s memory.

  She pulled her mind away from those thoughts as he came into the room and closed the door behind him.

  “I only had two patients.” He smiled. “And, yes, I checked the chemo room. No one there from our practice.”

  Our. That was the first time he’d ever used that term.

  Hannah motioned toward the desk. “I’ve gotten another hat done.” And his still sat in a little bag on her dining room table. She would eventually have to give it to him. What was the worst he could do? Laugh and think her silly?

  “That’s two hats this week. You’re going to run through all our patients within a month or two.”

  His words were light, but Hannah didn’t smile. “We’ll always have new ones.”

  “Yes, unfortunately.” He took another step toward her, sliding his fingers beneath her chin. “Are you okay?”

  She scrabbled around for something to say. “Just feeling a bit melancholy today, for some reason.”

  “You need to get away for a little while.” He glanced at his watch. “Do you have plans this weekend?”

  Yes. Knitting. Staring at her fish. Pining after her boss. Full schedule. “Nope. Just relaxing.”

  The fingers beneath her chin trailed along her jawline, sending a shiver over her. “My folks have a little vacation cabin about an hour north of here. I was thinking about going up there.” He paused. “Are you interested in joining me?”

  He never left town, as far as she knew. What was behind his sudden need to clear out? “Since when do you leave for the weekend?”

  “It’s been ages since I’ve been up there. Maybe your moose encounter made me miss the woods. I don’t know. I just know I’d like to head up there…and I’d like some company. We could talk about the babies and your plans for the future.”

  “M-my plans?”

  He dropped his hand. “If you don’t want to, it’s fine.”

  “No, no, it’s not that. You just surprised me.” Her insides warred for a second or two, the “should” battling it out with the “want to,” although there was never any doubt as to which side would win, really. “Thank you. I’d like to go.”

  “Great. Do you want to leave tonight or Saturday morning?”

  “I need to pack, so could we make it tomorrow?”

  “Sure.”

  Hannah thought she heard a note of disappointment in his voice, but surely not. He’d probably regret asking her as soon as she left the office. Maybe he’d even call to say he’d changed his mind.

  “What time to you want to leave?”

  “Is nine o’clock too early?”

  “No, that’s fine.” Her head was whirling. She’d gone from wondering how she could have avoided this particular train wreck to agreeing to spend the weekend with him. It was probably reckless and wildly idiotic, but she wanted to go. Wanted to head somewhere private where they could talk through things for once, instead of wondering where all this was leading. “Does the cabin have heat?”

  If not, she’d have to bring some additional layers.

  “It does. It also has linens and towels and everything we’ll need to cook meals. Except the food.”

  Cooking. She hadn’t thought about that. “Do you want me to pick up some groceries?”

  “I’ll do that. Or we can eat out for lunch and dinner.”

  But not for breakfast. She remembered the omelet he’d made them. Remembered the events afterward. Suddenly she thought of something that should have been apparent from the outset. He planned on them sleeping together, obviously. Why else would he have asked her? The thought should have made her uneasy, since she’d already given herself the “booty call” lecture, but it didn’t. Instead a stream of anticipation began swirling through her stomach.

  “Oh, and, Hannah…” His fingers slid through her hair, ruffling the short strands as he gave her a slow smile. “In case you’re worried about my intentions, the cabin has two bedrooms.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “IT’S beautiful!”

  Greg smiled as Hannah gave a small twirl, taking in the rustic entryway of the log cabin. He dropped their bags on the plank floor, his worries over asking her to join him dissipating. If she’d turned him down, would he even be here?

  Doubtful. His decision to come had been an impulsive one at best, and although he was antsy about being so far from Anchorage, he’d traveled to medical conferences in the past and nothing terrible had happened. The world had continued its slow, methodical turn. His absence hadn’t spawned any natural disasters.

  Besides, he’d wanted some time alone with her to try to figure this thing out and decide what he should do about it. What was it about her that drew him time and time again?

  Who was Hannah, really?

  He knew exactly who she was. A survivor who, like his sister, challenged him to be the best he could be. Hannah was also kind and caring and made his blood turn to fire the second she walked—or barged—into a room. A woman who might be carrying his children. She was already a professional partner, but could she be more than that? He’d gotten things a little backward, but maybe that’s what it had taken to get through to him.

  “I’m glad y
ou like it.” He went to a nearby wall and switched on the gas fireplace, even as he tried to see the place through her eyes. The foyer opened into a great room with sturdy leather furnishings and a rough pine table. He could remember his whole family coming up here during summer vacations—at least until he and his father had had that final big blowup. His mom had been surprised when he’d called, asking if they still had the place, but she’d been happy. The key was still in the same spot, she’d said. In that silly fake rock his father kept next to the front porch.

  Hannah kept her coat on and made a beeline for the fireplace, holding her hands out. “Does this heat the whole house?”

  “No, there’s central heat as well, but this is a little more immediate.”

  “Brrr…I think winter is already moving in.”

  Frost had painted the landscape white that morning when he’d gone to pick her up, and the temperature hadn’t warmed up much during the trip. No precipitation predicted, but the sky was grey and overcast. “You could be right.”

  Shrugging out of his heavy parka, he hung it on a hook in a nearby closet then picked up their bags again. “Which bedroom do you want?”

  “Whichever one you don’t want.” She sank to her knees on the rug in front of the fireplace, sighing. ‘I think I’m going to sit here for a minute or two and get warmed up. Where does it get its gas?”

  “From a big tank out back. It should be fine for the time we’re here. Do you want me to crank it up higher?”

  “No, it feels wonderful. I could sit here all day.”

  So could he. Right next to her.

  And as far as putting her bag in whichever room he didn’t want, that was going to be a little tricky, because he’d immediately want to be in the one she was in. But that wasn’t smart. He’d brought her here to be with her, to spend time with her. It was better to give her some space, not to mention the fact that he could do with some of that himself. Okay…easy solution. He’d give her his parents’ room. That should put paid to any thoughts of sneaking into her bed in the middle of the night.