“That’s what they tell me,” Nick said with a beaming smile.
CHAPTER NINE
“WHICH one is Sarah?”
Sarah looked up from where she was sitting with Brad in the waiting room chairs. A middle-aged man in scrubs stood among the Logans.
“I’m Sarah,” she said, standing up.
“I’m Dr. Cartwright,” the man said, walking toward her with his hand outstretched. “I wanted to meet the woman who delivered the babies.”
Sarah swallowed before she said, “I tried my best.”
“And you did a fine job. More importantly, Abby said you remained calm. I appreciate that, and I know Abby does, too.”
“Thank you.”
The doctor turned to Nick. “As soon as we put her in a room, you can go visit her.”
“Thank you again, Doctor,” Nick said, shaking his hand.
“I didn’t do much. Sarah is the real hero.”
“Oh, no, I just did what I could.”
Brad put his arm around her again. “She’s modest, but she did a great job.”
The nurse came to the door, letting the doctor know Abby was settled in her room.
Then Nick came back and said, “We can go see Abby now. But the nurse said only two of us at a time. Mom, do you want to go in with me?”
Brad frowned as his mother went out with his brother. “I think you should’ve gone first,” he told Sarah.
“No, Abby will want her family first. I think I’ll go down to the shop and buy her some flowers.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Leaving the kids with Mike, they went down and each of them selected a nice bouquet. Brad insisted on paying for Sarah’s arrangement, despite her protests.
“Consider it a gift for taking care of my sister-in-law.” He handed her one bouquet and he took the other. “In fact, I never did thank you properly, did I?”
Before she could say he had, Brad leaned down and kissed her lightly.
“That’ll have to do for now.”
Nick and Kate were walking out of Abby’s room by the time they made it back. “Sarah,” Nick called. “Abby wants to see you.”
“I’ll take her in,” Brad said.
“Okay. Then I’ll take Robbie in to see his mom.”
When Sarah walked in the room, Abby called to her at once.
“I’m so grateful to you, Sarah. You sounded so calm. It helped me not to panic.”
“Well, I panicked when I saw how much you were bleeding,” Sarah admitted.
“But you didn’t let me know. I appreciate it so much.”
She took her hand and squeezed it. “And the nurse said both babies were right at five pounds.”
“That’s great news. They should be able to go home with you.”
“I know.” She finally looked at the flowers they held. “They’re beautiful. Thank you both.”
Sarah smiled at her. “Robbie’s waiting to see you, so we should probably go.”
Abby held out her hands. “I want a hug first.”
Sarah hugged her, and Brad kissed Abby’s cheek and hugged her, too.
They turned to go, and Brad whispered to Sarah, “I want a hug, too.”
“You just got a hug from Abby,” she said, confused.
“No, I want a hug from you.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Okay.” She hugged him before they went back to the waiting room.
As Nick ushered Robbie in the room, Brad stopped him. “If it’s okay, I’m going to take Sarah home, and the kids.”
Nick nodded his agreement. “Mom and Mike can drop Robbie off later. And listen, I’d like to stay here tonight, if you can manage at the ranch.”
“Sure I can. Ready, kids?”
“But I didn’t get to see, Abby,” Davy said.
Sarah ushered him out. “You’ll see her when she comes home with the babies.”
“She’s going to bring them home?” Davy asked. “Why?”
Sarah laughed as she tousled his hair. It was just the levity she needed after the drama of the day.
Two days later, Abby and the babies came home, brought to the ranch by Nick in his truck.
Sarah had cleaned constantly after she’d come back home that first night. She wanted everything to be fresh for Abby. She’d even added a sprinkling of perfume to the fresh bed linens.
She dressed up the kids and told them to behave and not to touch the babies unless Abby said they could.
“But I thought they would play ball with me!” Robbie said.
“Not until they’re older, Robbie.”
“But—”
“Robbie, just remember the rule. Ask your mother about touching the babies. They aren’t tough like you and Davy. They have to grow first.”
“Can they talk?” Davy asked.
“Not yet, Davy.”
“When you were born, Davy, you couldn’t talk for a long time,” Anna said.
“That’s right. They’ll soon be able to talk, but not this year.”
Robbie crossed his arms. “I don’t think I want those babies. They can’t do anything!”
Brad came in in time to hear Robbie’s remark.
“Sorry, pal, but you can’t give them away. Your mom and dad love them as much as they love you.”
“But, Uncle Brad, Sarah said they can’t play ball or talk or anything. And we have to ask Mommy’s permission to touch them!”
“That sounds about right,” Brad said with a smile.
“Then what’s the point of having them?”
“Do you remember when you picked your dog out? Baby? She couldn’t do much then, could she? But you loved her anyway. That’s how it is with real babies. You have to take care of them until they can take care of themselves.”
“Okay, but I don’t like it.”
Sarah spoke up. “Just don’t tell your mother yet. It would hurt her feelings, and you don’t want to do that. And that goes for you, too, Davy. We only say good things about the babies. Nothing bad.”
“Okay, Sarah,” Davy said grudgingly.
“They’re here!” Brad called. He went out to help Nick with the suitcase and everything they’d brought home with them.
As Sarah stood by the door, she felt the cold wind blowing and thought of the fragile newborns. But Abby would have wrapped up her babies, she told herself. Then she remembered Abby had left without her own coat as they rushed to the hospital. She ran back to Abby’s closet and picked up her coat and hurried out to Brad.
“What are you doing out here?” Brad asked.
“Here’s Abby’s coat for her.”
He looked at her. “And where’s yours?”
“I’m fine.” She hurried back inside.
Nick carried Abby in and Brad toted in the babies. After everyone oohed and aahed over the infants, Abby asked for a cup of coffee. “I’ve been dying for coffee for nine months,” she moaned.
“Can you, though?” Sarah asked.
“Absolutely. The doctor recommended I not breast-feed the babies because I have to take antibiotics for two weeks. Besides, as he said, how can you feed two at one time?”
“In that case, then, I’ll pour you a cup of coffee right away.”
Brad and Nick were each holding a baby, but while Nick’s boy was sleeping, Brad’s girl was fussing.
“That’s Sarah Beth,” Abby said. “She always wants food before Michael George.”
Sarah stared at Abby. “You named her—”
“After you, of course.” Abby smiled at her. “I wanted my little girl to know who had helped her come into this world.”
“Oh, Abby, that’s so sweet.”
“So do you have a bottle for this young lady?” Brad asked.
“Yes, they’re in the diaper bag, already fixed. Would you get them, Sarah?”
“Of course.” She dug in the diaper bag until she found two bottles. “Does it matter which bottle she gets?”
“No. Would you mind feeding her?” Abby asked.
Brad gave her a peck of a kiss before he surrendered her to Sarah.
She sat down at the table and immediately the baby took the proffered bottle. “You’ve already taught her to suck the bottle, haven’t you, Abby!”
“Yes, I have, and she learned quickly. We have a little more difficulty feeding Michael. Brad, would you do the honors for Michael?”
“Come here, big guy. We’ve got to teach you to eat, so you can keep up with your sister.”
“Brad, you shouldn’t teach him to compete when he’s two days old,” Sarah protested.
Brad began to whisper to the baby as he fed him.
Halfway through the bottle, Sarah put Sarah Beth on her shoulder and burped her.
“Do I have to do that, too?” Brad asked.
“Yes, when he’s taken about half of it, you should burp him, too.”
“He’s not there yet.”
Sarah chuckled. “Way to go, Sarah Beth.”
“Hey, who’s teaching whom to be competitive?” Brad asked.
“I was just trying to be supportive of Sarah Beth.”
“Yeah, right. Listen, Michael, that lady was making fun of you because you aren’t eating fast enough. You have to work harder.”
“Don’t give him ulcers so young, Brad,” Sarah said with a laugh.
Nick laughed at the two of them. “I can’t believe you’re worrying about how much he’ll eat. That boy is a Logan!”
When the babies were about two weeks old, Sarah realized she had a problem. According to what Abby had initially proposed, she had about two weeks left on her job.
Not only would she be heartbroken when she had to leave, but so would her brother and sister. Anna was so attached to the new babies, and Davy would be heartbroken if he had to leave Robbie.
In an attempt to wean her from the infants, Sarah had begun to involve Anna more in what she was doing in order to shift Anna’s focus. She had the girl help her make dinner or make a dessert. They were skills that Anna would need eventually, she rationalized. Besides, she had a knack for cooking and seemed to enjoy it.
One evening, Sarah let her make the dessert while she looked on for safety’s sake. The chocolate cake was an easy recipe, and Anna had fun and felt proud when she served her homemade creation after dinner.
Brad in particular raved about it. “It’s almost as good as your sister’s,” he said with a wink to Anna.
Anna beamed.
Sarah knew the praise was good for Anna’s self-image; indeed, the child seemed to be coming out of her shell in the last two weeks. But Anna certainly didn’t need more attention from Brad. He’d already gone out of his way to make her feel special. Sarah was afraid her plan might backfire.
Probably the best thing would be to simply bite the bullet, she told herself.
She had no choice but to start her job search and let the kids get used to the idea.
Herself, too.
Several days later, when Kate came over to help feed the babies because Abby was napping, Sarah asked her if she’d heard of any jobs in the area.
“You’re not thinking of leaving yet, are you?” Kate asked.
“My employment here is supposed to be over in a week. I think I need to find another job, hopefully in the area.”
“But Abby can’t take over now. And it takes two people to feed the babies.”
“I know, Kate, but Abby hasn’t said anything and I’m supposed to leave at the end of the month.”
Kate stared at Sarah. “I’ll ask around. If there’s a job to be had, I’ll hear about it.”
“Thank you, Kate.” Sarah bent her head over Sarah Beth and placed a featherlight kiss on her downy brow. “I think Sarah Beth is really growing.”
“Yes, so is Michael, and he likes his bottle now as much as Sarah Beth.”
“Now you sound like your sons,” Sarah said with a grin.
“It’s amazing how quickly we’ve gotten accustomed to these two, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” But Sarah was thinking about when she’d have to leave them. Would she ever see Sarah Beth and Michael grow up?
“You do realize the kids will be out of school in a week?”
Sarah jerked her head up. “In a week? Why?”
“Christmas vacation. It kind of snuck up on me because of the babies being born.”
It had snuck up on Sarah, too. “I hadn’t thought—I’m not prepared for Christmas.”
“Me, neither,” Kate said. “Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about playing Santa Claus. Both my boys are too old for that. But Robbie still believes in Santa Claus.”
“Davy, too. Anna knows better, poor baby.” She remembered the day two years ago when their mother had told her. Anna had come home from school with questions, after a friend told her Santa was nothing more than a myth. Rather than prolong the childlike innocence, her mother had blurted the truth. Anna was crushed.
But that was just like their mother when she’d been drinking.
Sarah shook her head, as if to dispel the image. Things were going to change for Anna, and Davy, thanks to her. In fact, they already had changed.
After the babies had been burped and put back to bed, Sarah began making gingerbread men for the kids’ after-school snack. That was the perfect treat for a child as the holidays approached, and she wanted Anna and Davy, and Robbie, too, to enjoy every bit of their childhood.
“It’s nice that you’re such a good cook, Sarah.”
She thanked Kate. “I learned from my mother, before the other kids were born. She—she changed a lot after she had Davy. She was pretty good with Anna, but she kind of gave up with Davy.” Sarah blamed her stepfather for that. He’d simply worn the woman down with his boozing and bingeing.
Before the kids came in, Brad walked into the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?” his mother asked.
“We’ve got a heavy snowstorm coming in. Nick thought it best for us to come in. I came to see if Sarah had a quick snack to take out to the barn.”
“Yes, of course.” Sarah began wrapping up two giant gingerbread men.
“I thought you made those for the kids,” Kate said.
“I made some extras.”
“Thanks, Sarah,” Brad said. He turned to go.
“I think I’ll walk with you, son.” Kate grabbed her coat off the rack by the kitchen door.
What was that all about? Sarah wondered. She watched Kate through the kitchen window and saw them stop to talk about halfway to the barn.
Then, suddenly, Brad spun on his heels and charged back into the house.
“Is something wrong?” Sarah asked as he swung open the door.
“Damn straight something is wrong!”
CHAPTER TEN
BRAD’S bellow seemed to shake the glass windowpanes as it echoed in the room, swept in by the strong wind. “What are you doing, thinking about leaving in a week?”
She wanted to shush him, to caution him about waking the babies and Abby. Instead she hurried to shut the door. She turned back to him slowly. For weeks she’d been thinking of ways to avoid having this discussion with Brad. Now, however, the time had come.
She looked squarely at him and said in a calm voice, “That’s when Abby said the job would end.”
He laid down the gingerbread men and grabbed her by the shoulder. “You can’t leave!”
“Yes, I can.”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why do you want to leave?”
She gave him a furious look and shook off his gloved hand. “I don’t want to leave, but this is how long the job is supposed to last. I have to find another job to continue providing for my family. I can’t expect Nick and Abby to pay me when they don’t need me.”
“Damn it, Sarah, Abby can’t even feed the babies by herself! How is she going to manage wi
thout you? And that doesn’t include doing the laundry or cooking!”
“Brad, I’m not suggesting I have nothing to do, but that doesn’t mean they’ll want me to remain.”
“I’ll talk to Nick!” Brad exclaimed. He scooped up the cookies and charged back out the door, just as angrily as he’d come in.
Sarah drew in a deep breath, not even appreciating the aroma of baking gingerbread. Sadness and disappointment were all she identified. If only Brad felt about her the way she felt about him… Then she truly would be able to stay forever.
That, however, was not to be.
She wiped away the lone tear that streaked down her cheek and went back to work, hoping it would keep her mind off the handsome cowboy.
After a while she looked out the window and saw the snow had arrived. In fact, it was already coming down at a furious pace. She checked the time, worrying about the kids coming home on the school bus.
The same thought was on Abby’s mind as she entered the kitchen from her nap.
“The bus lets them out at the end of the driveway. Will they be able to make their way home?”
“Maybe I should go tell Nick to get them.”
Abby paused, considering her answer. “It probably wouldn’t hurt to ask Nick. Do you want me—”
“No, I’ll go.” She ran back to her bedroom for a long brown sweater that buttoned up the front. She shrugged it on as she came back in the kitchen.
“Sarah, you can’t just wear a sweater. Where is your coat?”
“This is my coat, Abby. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to the barn.”
Without waiting for Abby to comment, Sarah opened the back door and raced out into the snowstorm. By the time she got to the barn, she was shivering.
“Sarah, what’s wrong?” Nick asked at once.
“W-we wondered if you should m-meet the bus. It’s a l-long walk in the snowstorm.”
“He’s going to. Where’s your coat?” Brad wanted to know.
She turned around to head back to the house, but Brad caught her arm.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“No, I didn’t. Turn me loose. I want to get back to the house. Abby’s on her own.”
“She’s awake?” Nick asked eagerly.
“Yes, and the babies are due another bottle at four.”
“Okay, we’ll meet the bus. Don’t worry about the kids.”
Inherited: Instant Family Page 9
