About a Baby

by Ann Yost

  She reached the renovated carriage house that housed the Outlaw Veterinary Clinic on the first floor and her small apartment above it. As she climbed the outside steps, Hallie thought about how much she loved her cozy home with its low ceilings and dormer windows. She always watched the sunrise, fascinated by the notion that hers were among the first eyes to greet the dawn. It was one advantage of living on the East Coast.

  She’d decorated her furnished apartment with Maine handicrafts, including a blueberry basket, seafarer quilt, a stained glass hanging, and a wooden sculpture. She’d grown attached to the people of Eden and their pets. She even loved the small family of bats that nested in the attic overhead.

  Eden had become the home she’d always wanted. The tightness in her chest that she’d felt all evening threatened to choke her. Baz held all the cards. It was his family and his hometown. Thank God he’d never live here. His career as head of the large animal department of veterinary science at Pacific University was prestigious, lucrative, and it gave him a chance to supervise exciting new research. He’d never trade that for a small town veterinary practice. The thought calmed her.

  He wouldn’t come back here. Not permanently.

  That was precisely why he’d gotten her the job with his father. He wanted a five-thousand-mile buffer zone between them. She remembered his words: “It’s a rural veterinary practice, perfectly suited to you.”

  It galled her to take anything from the man, but she had needed a job and fast.

  “Your dad might not hire me.”

  “Shit,” he’d replied. “Jesse Outlaw would rob Fort Knox if I asked him to. And anyway, he’d be lucky to get you. There’s a bonus. You’ll never have to see me again.”

  Gloom settled on Hallie as she flopped on the worn chintz sofa and stared at the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree she’d had such fun decorating.

  Was it possible he just wanted to reconcile with his dad? When they’d been together, she’d been after him to do just that. Had he finally realized Jesse wouldn’t live forever?

  She was probably making herself crazy about nothing. Hallie sighed, got up, and headed for the postage stamp-sized kitchen. She’d eaten very little of the Christmas Eve feast. She figured she’d grab a glass of eggnog and hit the sheets. Just as she pulled open the refrigerator door, something dropped out of the sky and tangled in her hair.

  She shrieked and brushed it away with her fingers.

  It was warm. It was breathing.

  She gaped at the now-grounded flying missile.

  It was a baby bat. And it was hurt.

  Chapter Two

  Cameron, Baz, and their father gathered in the latter’s comfortable, book-lined study. The familiar odor of cherry-scented pipe tobacco triggered a flood of memories for the elder son. It had been a sanctuary for his dad in the old days when Evelyn was on the warpath. It had become a sanctuary for Baz, too. He hadn’t thought about it in twenty years.

  Not consciously, but now he wondered if his decision to go into veterinary science had been tied up in his memories of this room.

  Jesse handed out brandies.

  “I’m glad to have you home, son.” The older man kept his voice calm and low-key, but his fingers shook. Shame clawed at Baz. He’d resented his dad in proportion to how much he’d missed him, and he’d punished them both by staying away all these years.

  He’d have continued to stay away if it hadn’t been for Hallie.

  Cam was studying him. The brothers corresponded occasionally, mostly because of Cam’s efforts. Baz knew the younger man wanted harmony in the family and peace for their father.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way,” Cam said, “but I saw the way Hallie reacted to you tonight. I’d like to know your agenda.”

  Jealousy exploded inside Baz. Fortunately, he’d had lots of practice concealing his emotions. “You’re her protector?”

  “If necessary.”

  “Cameron,” Jesse intervened, “this is Basil’s home.”

  Cam’s blue eyes didn’t waver. “It’s Hallie’s home, too. I don’t want her upset. She doesn’t deserve that.”

  Baz wondered how much Hallie had told his family about their former relationship. Probably not much. For all her openness, she was private about certain matters. He suspected she’d kept quiet about the painful circumstances of their break up.

  “When she got here last year,” Cam continued, “she was as fragile as an abused puppy. She’s in good shape now, and I’d like to see her stay that way.”

  Baz’s heavy brows met between his eyes. “I’m not here to hurt her.”

  Cam stared at him. “Why are you here?”

  Baz shrugged. It was no secret. “I want her back.”

  “As your lab assistant?”

  Baz met his brother’s eyes. “As my lover. As my wife.”

  Cam’s eyebrows rose practically to his hairline, and Jesse choked on his brandy.

  “Jesus,” Cam muttered. “I guess that’s blunt enough.”

  “We discussed marriage last year,” Baz went on. He wasn’t sure why he was explaining it. For some reason he wanted both his father and brother to know. “I wasn’t ready then. Now I am.”

  “It took you a year to figure it out?”

  More like a couple of weeks. But he’d been unavoidably detained during the last eleven months.

  He’d been married to someone else.

  That story he didn’t plan to tell Cam. He didn’t plan to tell Hallie, either. At least, not until they were married or she was pregnant. Whichever came first.

  Baz just shrugged his big shoulders.

  “Your timing sucks. She’s just started dating the sheriff.”

  The pain was swift and it left him reeling. “What sheriff?”

  “Jake Langley. Single dad with cute twins. He’s had his eye on her for months.”

  “How interested is she?” The question tumbled out of his mouth.

  “You’ll have to ask her.”

  Suddenly he was on his feet. The need to see her, talk to her, touch her, was overwhelming.

  “Hang on just a minute, Baz,” Jesse said. “I want to tell Cameron the rest of our plans.”

  Baz waited impatiently, and Cam’s eyes narrowed as Jesse spoke. When he’d finished Cam spoke. “I know I can’t stop you, but I think it’s a mistake. If you force her hand, she’ll leave.

  Underneath that sweet, Rebecca-of-Sunnybrook-Farm exterior there’s a spine of steel.”

  Baz scowled at him. “I’m not going to force her.”

  Cam got to his feet. “One more thing. Hallie’s been damn good to this family. If you hurt her again, bro, you’ll have to answer to me.”

  Baz had to admire the man’s protectiveness, but he didn’t have to like it. “If I hurt her again, I’ll have to answer to myself.”

  Minutes later he shrugged into his windbreaker and headed for Hallie’s apartment. Christ, it was cold. He’d bet the temperature was in the single digits. It had stopped snowing, but an occasional flake drifted out of the trees. He caught one on his tongue. He realized he hadn’t seen snow in years.

  Not that he’d missed it. Who, in their right mind, wanted to live in an icebox?

  He felt a flare of excitement as he climbed stairs outside the old carriage house. He wanted to bury his hands in the soft brown curls that framed her sweet face. God, he’d missed her scent. He’d missed her golden laugh. He’d missed everything.

  His palms felt clammy as he balled his fist to knock on the door. He felt like a teenager. He felt alive. When no one answered, he knocked again. Was she asleep? He peered through the sheer curtain.

  The living room was empty, and the door to the bedroom stood ajar. She wasn’t there.

  Jealousy slammed into him, along with a tearing fear. Was she out with someone else? Was she sharing Christmas Eve with the damn sheriff and his “cute twins?”? He bolted down the steps and checked the small parking lot. The green Jeep she’d driven from L.A. was parked on the blac
ktop that served as the clinic’s parking lot. There was a light on inside the clinic, too.

  Baz tried the doorknob and found it unlocked.

  He shook his head. Eden was a small town, but there was medication stored in there. A bell jingled overhead. He noticed the small fir tree decorated with dog biscuits in one corner of the waiting room.

  The sight of the spindly tree sent an arrow into Baz’s heart. It looked just like the one she’d bought last year. He flashed on the way it had felt to be folded into her tight warmth and he hardened, instantly.

  Light poured through the open treatment room door. He stopped for a minute to admire her silhouette. She was short with gentle curves. While they’d been apart, he’d forgotten how small she was.

  He’d remembered her passion, her gentle teasing, her great big heart. His heart raced at the sight of her slender neck, her high, gently curved breasts, her flat stomach, and her shapely legs.

  Baz stepped into the room. He barely noted the gleaming white cabinets, cats-and-dogs wallpaper, and the life-cycle-of-a-heartworm poster. She was bent over a treatment table, obviously deep in concentration. The curls, light brown and shot with golden highlights, as always, seemed to have a life of their own. He couldn’t see her soft lips, but he knew they’d be slightly parted, her teeth unconsciously grazing her tongue. He inhaled her unique scent, a mixture of peaches and vanilla and summer flowers.

  He wanted to come up behind her, to press his lips against her soft neck, to rub his raging erection against her round bottom.

  Hallie.

  He didn’t realize he’d spoken her name out loud until she turned. “Baz. What’re you doing here?”

  The husky words triggered another surge of lust. He fisted his hands to keep from touching her. “I wanted to talk to you.” His voice was husky, too.

  She turned back to the table. “Not a good time. I’m working.”

  He moved closer and peered at the creature under her gloved hands. “That’s a bat.”

  “He broke a bone in his wing. I’ve splinted and taped it.”

  “You’re treating a rodent?”

  “The family lives in my attic. He must have flown into something in the dark.”

  “Bats are supposed to be able to see at night.”

  “Maybe he didn’t read the fine print in his contract.”

  He smiled. He’d forgotten her delicious humor.

  He placed his hands on either side of her rib cage.

  “Don’t,” she said, as if she meant it.

  Baz stilled. She was still mad. Well, hell. He guessed she was entitled to a little payback. A lot of payback.

  “That creature’s loaded with bacteria and germs. And probably rabies.”

  She twisted to look at him, and he lost himself in her golden eyes. “He was hurt,” she said.

  Tenderness caught him in the chest, and he could barely breathe. He couldn’t believe he’d let her go, that he’d waited a year to reclaim her. He damned himself for hurting her. He’d kill anyone

  who hurt her now.

  He studied her small straight nose and the long, sandy brown lashes that fringed the hazel eyes flecked with gold. He wanted to kiss each faint freckle on her elfin face.

  He slipped his hand under the short fall of her hair and against the soft skin of her neck. She protested, but she couldn’t control a shiver.

  Relief washed through him. At least that hadn’t changed. At least he could still make her want him. It was a start.

  “I need to give him a rabies shot.”

  A rabies shot? Oh. The bat. He frowned. “This isn’t a good idea.”

  “It’s a good idea for me. I like saving creatures.”

  He remembered. She’d saved him last year.

  She’d coaxed him out of the straitjacket he’d created for himself. She’d led him toward warmth and light, but she’d done it too fast. He couldn’t keep up, and when she needed him, he couldn’t step up.

  He rolled up his sleeves and pulled on a pair of gloves.

  Hallie showed no surprise or objection to his cooperation. They’d worked well together before, both in the lab and in his kitchen.

  And under his tree.

  Baz held the quivering creature while she gave him the injection. He watched as she spread a clean soft towel inside a wire cage that was clearly meant to accommodate the invalid. He hesitated.

  “I want him comfortable while he recuperates,” she said, reading his mind.

  He scooped up the bat and laid him in the cage while feelings raged inside him. She was a nurturer.

  Naturally she wanted a child. He contemplated his raging erection. He’d be more than happy to start working on that project tonight. But it was too soon.

  He knew it was too soon. He’d need a cold shower tonight. A long one.

  “It’s late,” he said, as she turned on a small nightlight and closed the door. “Christmas morning comes early.”

  She said nothing as she flicked off the lights in the waiting room and locked the door.

  “’Night, Hallie.” He leaned in fast, brushing his lips across her cheek.

  “Baz?”

  He held very still. Maybe it wasn’t too soon.

  “Yeah?”

  “Why are you here?”

  Fear and confusion laced her voice, and he couldn’t help himself. He picked up her hands. “I was wrong last year. I was scared and I blew it. I’m different now. My answer’s different now.”

  “What answer?”

  He had to be patient and gentle. She was like the small wounded bat. “When you asked me to marry you, to give you a baby. When I said, no.”

  “Baz,” she started to say. He heard the resistance.

  “Let’s not talk about it now, Hal. Give it some time.”

  She shook her head. The curls drifted and swayed in the light from the porch. “Time won’t make any difference, Baz. I’ve changed, too.”

  “You still respond to me. You still want me.”

  “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your answer. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  She was trying to tell him something. As always, with relationship stuff, he didn’t get it. “Why? Why doesn’t it matter, Hallie?”

  The golden eyes were unreadable. “The answer may have changed, but the question’s changed, too.”

  She paused. “I want you to have a good holiday with your family. And then I want you to go home.”

  “I can’t do that,” he blurted. “Not without you.”

  She looked defeated.

  “It’s too late,” she said.

  He had a feeling she was talking about more than the hour. “We’ll talk tomorrow. You can count on it.”

  She started up the stairs. “Goodnight, Baz.”

  He waited for the click that meant she’d locked

  her door. He waited until the lights went out in the apartment. Then he stood in the parking lot and gazed up at the darkened windows.

  “It’s too late.”

  He fought the familiar cold fist that started to close around his heart. “No,” he said, hoarsely.

  “Goddammit, no. It’s not too late, Hallie Scott. You belong to me, woman. And I’m gonna prove it to you.”

  ****

  The testosterone had followed her home, and she couldn’t get rid of it. She couldn’t stop thinking about the feel of Baz’s lean hands on her body, either.

  The chemistry between them had survived her best efforts to kill it. Good grief. Hallie collapsed onto her single bed and beat her fist into the pillow. A whole year’s worth of effort wiped out in a single evening. He was right, she still wanted him. She was cursed. She’d just have to fight the desire that pulsed through her whenever she saw him. Thank God she no longer loved him.

  That would have been much harder to fight.

  ****

  By morning, the snow had stopped falling, but the day qualified as a white Christmas because of the fresh layer of clean snow over the old.

/>   Hallie pulled on a red sweater. The image of Rudolph filled up the mirror. Probably just as well.

  The antlers and the big red nose distracted from the bags under her eyes.

  She still couldn’t believe what Baz had said last night. I’m here to get you back. She ran a brush through her curls and applied some lip-gloss. She’d stopped wearing any other kind of makeup. Her hair was too long, too. She’d always worn it about chin length, but it looked much shorter because of the frolicking curls. Lately she’d been too busy to get it cut, and it now brushed her shoulders. She made a face at herself. She looked like a waterfall. She lifted her chin.

  “All you have to do is say no,” she muttered. It sounded simple enough. The trouble was the concept didn’t take into account the way Baz’s presence always scrambled her senses. That was why he’d come back, of course. They’d only been together that one night, but it had been like an explosion in a chemistry lab.

  He’d missed the off-the-charts sex.

  Or maybe he’d missed his friend. The first five months, three weeks, and six days of their relationship had consisted of her coaxing him to go on hikes, to movies and concerts and volunteer activities like the Orange County Spay and Neuter Day.

  What had he been doing for friendship and passion for the past twelve months?

  Probably better not to know.

  She got to the house in time to watch Daisy and Wilbur open their stockings. Wilbur’s gifts included an Emeril DVD and a box of truffles. Daisy’s included a small, pink stuffed mother pig with half a dozen tiny piglets attached to her underside with snaps. Hallie had seen the toy in a shop in Bangor, and she couldn’t resist.

  The Outlaws, probably because there had been no mother at the helm, conducted the gift opening like a free-for-all. Twenty minutes of shrieks, ripping paper, howls of delight and yelled “thanks yous” was followed by ten minutes of scrunching the wrapping paper into missiles and flinging them at each other.

  Late in the morning, the adults sat on the floor and helped Daisy set up her new Barbie Dream House, a gift from her prodigal uncle. The generosity of the gift didn’t surprise Hallie. Baz may have convinced himself that he didn’t need a family, but, underneath, he was a warm and generous man. He seemed pleased with Daisy’s pleasure in her gift.