Accidental Family (The Baby Bet: MacAllisters Gifts #14)

by Joan Elliott Pickart

  The weekend turned into a blur of misery.

  Tucker complained of a tummy ache after lunch and Patty rushed him to the bathroom, but not quite in time. Sarah Ann wasn’t able to keep anything down, and by evening Sophia was fussy and refused to eat.

  The washing machine and dryer ran constantly with loads of sheets and clothes, and whining little ones clung to any adult willing to hold and rock them. Through the entire day and night the three patients were never asleep at the same time.

  Sunday was a rerun, with Patty and David nearly staggering with fatigue. Early Sunday evening, both Tucker and Sarah Ann consumed chicken soup and toast fingers and asked for second helpings. Sophia gobbled a bottle. Temperatures were normal, smiles returned to small faces and Popsicles were awarded to Sarah Ann and Tucker for being so brave while that nasty bug had visited them.

  When all three of the children were tucked in for the night and sound asleep, Patty sank onto the end of the sofa, rested her head on the top of it and closed her eyes. David sat down at the opposite end and ran one hand over his beard-roughened face.

  “I didn’t shave all weekend,” he said. “I just realized that. I managed to shower but…well, that was quite a marathon. I guess we all survived. Correct that. The short people are fine. The vote is still out on the tall folks. I’m beat, and I imagine you’re exhausted, too.”

  “Mmm,” Patty said, not opening her eyes.

  “I think we should pat ourselves on the back for a job well done,” David went on. “We beat the bug, and all is right with the world…meaning no one is throwing up all over us. We’re a good team, Patty. We got into a routine, hit our stride and the kids’ needs were met with no one feeling neglected.”

  “Mmm.” Patty still didn’t open her eyes. “There’s never been any question regarding our abilities—” she yawned “—as parents, as a mother and father. That arena is not where we fall short, David. It is not where we have major flaws.”

  “You know what my flaw is,” he said tentatively. “Are you going to share yours with me? Don’t you think it’s time you did?”

  “No. What’s the point? You don’t believe in anything I do or say, so forget it. I’m too tired to get into it. I wouldn’t discuss it if I wasn’t too tired. We really don’t have anything to say to each other, David.”

  David opened his mouth to deny that that was true, then snapped it closed in the next instant, shaking his head.

  Patty was right, he thought dismally. What could he say to her? That he really didn’t doubt her, wasn’t wondering what she secretly wanted from him, had thought it over and realized she was exactly who she presented herself to be, a woman of warmth and caring and…

  He couldn’t say those things because his brain was hammering the doubts at him over and over, questioning his ability to know what was honest and real. But also beating against his mind and his heart was the knowledge that he hated knowing he’d hurt Patty by what he’d said to her. That knowledge twisted his gut into a painful knot when he relived the scene where he’d hurled his accusations at her.

  What should he do? Say he was sorry he’d caused her such upset, but that he had to admit he’d meant what he’d said? Sick. Really lame. Patty wouldn’t accept an apology from him anyway because she’d know he still doubted the motives for her actions.

  The best, the kindest thing he could do was to get out of Patty’s way, take his daughter home where they belonged and allow Patty to get on with her life with Tucker and Sophia.

  David swept his gaze over the living room.

  But he didn’t want to leave, he thought. The five of them had functioned like a family here, with so much laughter it filled the place to overflowing. They had been father bear, mother bear and three little baby bears, all of them flourishing, smiling, loving and hugging. There were so many great memories of the time spent here, including lovemaking shared with Patty so beautiful it defied description. Everything had been perfect.

  Until his mind had pushed the amnesia into oblivion and he’d remembered who he was, why he was raising Sarah Ann as a single father, and the fact that he would always be a man alone because of his glaring and hateful flaw.

  The sunny, happy bubble within these walls had burst, casting a dark shadow over everything. It was definitely time to go.

  “Patty,” he said, staring at the far wall. “Tomorrow morning I’m going to pack up our stuff and take Sarah Ann home.” He waited for a reply that didn’t come, then turned to look at Patty. “Patty?” He narrowed his eyes. “She’s sound asleep. Oh, man, she’s so worn out and it was my kid who started this audition for a segment of ER.”

  David wobbled himself to his feet, moved to the end of the sofa and, once he was sure he was steady on the walking cast, slid one arm beneath Patty’s knees, the other across her back and lifted her into his arms. She stirred, then settled, her head nestled on his chest, her breathing even as she slept on.

  Oh, look at her, David thought. She was so pretty, absolutely lovely, like a fresh, summer day. She felt so good, so right, here in his arms, seemed to weigh hardly more than stocky little Tucker.

  She was sleeping so peacefully, just as Sarah Ann, Tucker and Sophia were. The sleep of the innocent.

  David frowned, his hold on Patty tightening slightly as he continued to gaze at her face.

  How could he have doubted her? he asked himself. How could he entertain, even for a moment, the devastating thought that she had a master plan to snag him and his bank account, making it possible for her to stay home with her kids the way she wanted to? How could he think such a thing about pretty, pretty Patty?

  Because he had to.

  He had to build that wall around his heart higher and higher to assure that he didn’t lose his heart to Patty, only to discover later that he had once again been the victim of himself, of his flaw.

  But right now he didn’t want to dwell on any of that. He just wanted to hold Patty as she slept, drink in the very sight of her, relive the vivid memories of making love with her as they shared the gift they had given each other so reverently.

  Patty shifted slightly and David stood statue-still, hardly breathing, not wanting to wake her and end this special moment. She splayed one hand on his chest and a whispered word escaped from her lips.

  “David.”

  The softly spoken sound of his name suffused David with a warmth like nothing he had ever felt before. It touched his beleaguered mind and quieted the turmoil there, then moved to his heart and encircled it, encasing it in the warmth, filling it with joy and wonder…and love.

  Oh, God, no, he thought frantically. This was not happening to him. He was not in love with Patty Clark. She was not big enough, strong enough, to push past the wall surrounding the essence of his soul. No.

  Ah, damn it, yes.

  Heaven help him because he loved her, was in love with her with an intensity that seemed to be stealing the very breath from his body. There was nowhere to hide from that truth, from the knowledge that he had failed to protect himself and was a victim of his own inadequacy. He had fallen in love with a woman while not even knowing if she was who she presented herself to be.

  The only defense that he had, David thought, sweat beading his brow, was silence. Patty would never know how he felt about her. He would leave here tomorrow, literally run for his life to the house across town where he would live with his daughter. Just the two of them.

  The memories of Patty would fade in time, his feelings for her would diminish, then finally no longer exist. He would win this battle with his silence.

  David made his way down the hallway with Patty in his arms, and once in her room placed her gently on the bed. He snapped on the lamp on the nightstand, removed her shoes, then covered her with a soft, knitted afghan that lay across the foot of the bed, ignoring the slight trembling of his hands.

  He stared at her for a long moment, then narrowed his eyes in self-disgust as he felt an achy sensation close his throat. He turned off the light and cross
ed the room, hesitating in the doorway for a second, then continuing on without looking back.

  Fingers of sunlight tiptoed across Patty’s face, insisting that she waken and greet the new day. She opened her eyes slowly to see that the drapes had not been pulled across the window. She glanced at the clock that announced it was 7:22 a.m., then sat bolt upward as she realized she was wearing jeans and a blouse and not her nightshirt. She shook her head slightly, attempting to dispel the last cobwebs of sleep and figure out what was going on.

  She had been sitting on the sofa last night, she thought. Tired. Oh, goodness, she had been weary to the bone. David had settled onto the other end of the sofa and they’d had some inane conversation about surviving the crisis of the sick kids and what dynamite parents they were, or some such thing.

  And that was it. That was all she remembered—just sitting there like a deflated balloon and wondering vaguely how she was going to get the energy to walk down the hallway and prepare for bed.

  Apparently, she mused dryly, she hadn’t managed to do that. She must have conked out right there in the living room and David had either led her or carried her to the bed, removed her shoes and that was that.

  Wait a minute. David had been just as exhausted as she was but he’d obviously gotten up in the night and fed Sophia. Oh, wasn’t that thoughtful? Just so nice of him.

  Patty looked at the open doorway of the bedroom.

  It certainly was quiet, she thought. Everyone must still be asleep. That was good. It would give her a chance to shower and put on fresh clothes, then prepare waffles for breakfast to celebrate the returned health of the patients and to thank David for his kindness of the previous night. Excellent.

  Patty slid off the bed, gathered clean clothes and headed for the bathroom and a warm, welcoming shower. She was smiling when she emerged half an hour later, but the smile vanished instantly as she heard Tucker shrieking in the distance.

  “No! No! No!” her son was yelling. “You can’t. I won’t lets you do that. I’m telling my mommy on you, David. I am, I am.”

  “Good heavens,” Patty said, hurrying from the room. “What’s going on?”

  She followed the noise to the room shared by Tucker and Sarah Ann, taking in the scene before her in one visual sweep. Sophia was lying on a blanket on Tucker’s bed, happily waving her hands in the air. Tucker was in the middle of the room, his little arms crossed firmly across his chest. Sarah Ann stood next to him, her bottom lip trembling.

  And an open suitcase was on Sarah Ann’s bed, partially filled with clothes as more were added by David.

  “What…” Patty said, then stopped speaking because she knew the answer to the question she had been about to ask.

  David was leaving, she thought. He was packing Sarah Ann’s belongings and preparing to take his daughter home. David was leaving. Tucker was pitching the fit of the century, Sarah Ann was about to burst into tears and… David was leaving. David was leaving.

  “Mommy,” Tucker said, running to Patty and throwing himself against her legs, causing her to stagger. “David is taking Sarah Ann away, and she’s my bestis friend, and I told him I won’t lets him do that. Tell him, Mommy. Tell him he can’t go.”

  Of course David couldn’t go, couldn’t leave, Patty thought rather giddily. What an absurd idea. He belonged here, with them, with—oh, dear God—yes, with her. Where was David’s brain this morning, for crying out loud? Didn’t he realize they were a family, mother bear and father bear and three little baby bears? Father bears didn’t pack suitcases and shuffle off to Buffalo with one of the baby bears.

  “Mommy?” Tucker said, sniffling as he looked up at her.

  Patty blinked and returned to the moment at hand with a jarring and chilling thud.

  “Tucker, honey,” she said. “You knew this was going to happen and now it is. It’s time for David and Sarah Ann to go to the house where they really live. They were only visiting here.”

  “No,” Tucker said, shoving away from Patty.

  “No,” Sarah Ann said, and then the tears started.

  Not to be ignored, Sophia began to wail.

  “Ah, hell,” David said, throwing up his hands.

  “Don’t swear in front of the children,” Patty said, then paused. “I didn’t realize that you had decided on the exact time you planned to…to leave, David.”

  He hadn’t, David thought, until he discovered he’d fallen in love with Patty. He had to get out of there, put distance between them now.

  “There’s no sense in postponing it,” he said, dropping more clothes into Sarah Ann’s suitcase. “These kids are going to go nuts whether it happens this morning, or this afternoon, or tomorrow.”

  “Yes,” Patty said quietly. “I suppose you’re right. But you don’t have a housekeeper to prepare your meals.”

  “I’ll call an agency once we get home and put things in motion to have them send people over for me to interview.”

  “Oh.” Patty sighed. “Well, at least have a decent breakfast before you leave.”

  “Pardon me?” David said.

  “Hey, you guys,” Patty said. “Stop that crying this very minute. David and I can’t even hear each other speak. Who wants to help me make waffles?”

  “Me,” Tucker and Sarah Ann said in unison.

  “Fine.” Patty scooped up Sophia from the bed. “You can pour things in the bowl and take turns stirring. Off we go. Let’s march like soldiers. One—two—three—four.”

  Patty disappeared with the soldiers stomping behind her in time with the count.

  Well, David thought, tossing some socks in the suitcase, Patty certainly wasn’t broken up over the departure of the Montgomerys. Let’s march like soldiers and blah, blah, blah. It was no big deal to her if he left with Sarah Ann except for the fact that she’d be stuck with a pouting Tucker.

  Wouldn’t Patty miss them—him? Wouldn’t she think about how nice it had been to interact like a family during all these days they’d been together? And what about the nights? The sharing of the gift, the beautiful lovemaking? Huh? What about that, Patty Clark?

  David sank onto the edge of Tucker’s bed and stared into space.

  His mind was running in circles again, he thought dismally. He was getting bent out of shape because Patty didn’t seem to give a rip that he and Sarah Ann were leaving. But if she burst into tears, begged him not to go, told him how important he had become to her, the whole nine yards, he would immediately doubt her sincerity, wonder if her performance was as phony as a three-dollar bill.

  Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. He had to get out of here. He was in love with the Patty he wanted her to be, but he didn’t know if that was really who Patty was.

  “I’m hitting the road,” David said, getting to his feet. “Now.”

  Breakfast was a dismal affair with Tucker and Sarah Ann whining as they glared at David. Tucker spilled his milk on top of his waffle. Sarah Ann refused to eat even one bite of her food. Patty and David’s waffles got cold and hard as they attempted to cheer up the sniffling three-year-olds. Sophia, at least, finished her bottle and fell asleep as though announcing she’d had enough of this nonsense.

  David chalked up the meal as a lost cause and left the table to finish packing his and Sarah Ann’s clothes. He took the suitcases to his vehicle, then lifted a crying Sarah Ann into his arms.

  “Say thank you and goodbye, Sarah Ann,” he said, raising his voice to be heard over her wailing.

  “No,” she yelled. “I don’t wants to go. No.”

  “No, no, no,” Tucker said, stamping one foot.

  “Tucker, stop it,” Patty said.

  “Patty, I am so grateful for…” David started, then stopped as his daughter stiffened in his arms and he had to struggle to maintain his hold on her.

  “I understand,” Patty said, nodding. “You’re welcome. I just wish… That is… Goodbye, David.”

  David looked directly into her eyes for a long moment before he spoke.

  “Goodbye,
Patty,” he said finally, then turned and left the house, Sarah Ann wailing all the way.

  Tucker flopped onto the floor and kicked his feet, screaming at the top of his lungs. Patty spun around and went into the kitchen to clean up the mess on the table, totally ignoring her son’s dramatic performance.

  Go for it, Tucker, she thought, carrying two plates to the counter. He was expressing exactly how he felt about Sarah Ann and David leaving and more power to him.

  And you, Patty Sharpe Clark? she asked herself, returning to the table for more plates. She’d just said a breezy “Goodbye, David” as though he was going to the store for milk and would be back in half an hour. So long, David. Ta-ta. Farewell. Adios.

  Patty sniffled.

  Yes, David was gone, she thought. Gone, gone, gone. But the terrifying fact she was facing right there in her kitchen as she juggled sticky, syrupy plates of gross-looking waffles was that when David had walked out of her home he had taken her heart with him.

  At least he didn’t know the truth, the depth of her feelings, but she did. Oh, yes, she did. And she wanted to crawl into bed, pull the blankets over her head and cry for a week.

  Because she had fallen in love with David Montgomery.

  Chapter Twelve

  By early afternoon Patty felt as though the walls of the house were closing in on her, making her edgy and irritable.

  It was just so quiet, she thought, despite the fact that there were two children in the house. To suddenly reduce the numbers in a family—no, not a family—a group of people from five to three required some adjusting, especially when one of said missing was a busy three-year-old.

  And especially when the other no-longer-there-person was the man she loved and wished to heaven that she didn’t.

  Tucker was not helping the level of tension one iota as he continued to whine and complain about his bestis friend Sarah Ann being gone, and it wasn’t fair, and he was mad at everybody, just everybody in the whole wide world.

  Patty finally loaded the kids into the car and took them to the park. When they returned home, Tucker was more than ready for his nap and Patty made a big production out of allowing him to snuggle into her bed, her actual motive being that she needed to clean the room Tucker had shared with Sarah Ann, which was a mess after David’s packing spree. With both children asleep, Patty blanked her mind of any gloomy thoughts and tackled the project.