The Doctor's Husband (The Watson Brothers #3)

by Ann B. Harrison

  “Why don’t I believe you?” The defeated look in his eyes gutted her. She’d wounded him to the core and she wondered if there was any way back from that. Evan was one of those people that wore their heart on their sleeve and his was breaking. It was all her fault.

  “Please listen.” When he didn’t say anything she took a step closer but didn’t touch him. “It’s true I knew about the job beforehand. I’d applied for it and hoped they would give it to me on my experience alone. You know I’ve done some amazing things and I thought it would count.”

  He glared at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. “I worked hard to be able to apply for that kind of job.”

  “Why didn’t you apply for the one in the city then? I’m sure your father would have given you that and you wouldn’t have had to lower yourself to marry me.”

  “I didn’t lower myself. Just listen to me for a moment, please. I didn’t want to work for my father. You’ve met him, know what he’s like. I wanted my own life where he doesn’t have control and that’s why I looked away from the city.” She took a steadying breath. He was at least listening to her. “When I heard about this job it seemed perfect for me. The day you got turned down for the job you wanted was the day I got offered mine.” She gave him a small smile. His stare never changed. “They reminded me that the position was for a local person and it was between me and one other candidate. That’s why I was so annoyed and frustrated. I was hoping they would have overlooked that and given me the job on my credentials alone.”

  “Look how well that worked out.” He snorted and she shivered. This was a side of Evan she’d never seen before.

  “Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to do then you asked me out. It triggered something in my brain, an idea, an impulse. I decided it was worth thinking about so I went and you know the rest. What you don’t know is that I changed my mind.”

  “Sure, sure. Heard that before. Don’t tell me, ‘Oh Evan, I fell in love with you after all.’” He scoffed and didn’t bat an eyelid when she gasped in shock. “You don’t seriously expect me to fall for that old line do you?”

  It took a few seconds before she could speak. He was mocking her, calling her a liar. “It’s true. I did fall in love with you. Surely you noticed that. There was nothing put on about my whirlwind heady romance with you. Being together was the only thing that mattered. I even told myself I wouldn’t care if I didn’t get the job. If you got yours I’d move here with you regardless.” How was she going to get him to believe her?

  “You don’t expect me to believe that, surely?” He laughed in her face before turning away. Evan walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t, Denver. It will take more than you promising your love for me to believe it after what I’ve just heard.”

  “Even Gina knows that. I told her I’d fallen in love with you. No, wait, she told me I’d fallen for you at their wedding. It was obvious to her we were infatuated with each other.” She tried to remember the conversation word for word. Evan didn’t appear to be listening to her.

  “As much as I love Gina, she had stars in her eyes that day and would believe love was hitting everyone. It’s the way she is.”

  “Evan, it’s true. I didn’t marry you to get the job. At first I was prepared to, but after we came out here, well, it changed everything for me.” She took a few steps and reached out to him. He evaded her touch. “What can I do to prove it to you? Tell me, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Anything?” She nodded her head, keen to mend the quickly deteriorating fences that held them together. “Have my baby, now. Not later, now.” He looked up at her and she could see the need in his eyes along with the hurt still lingering.

  “Evan, I’ve just started this job and—”

  “You have your choice. Make it.” He stood and looked down at her. “Your call, Denver. A child or a divorce. Now you’ll have to forgive me; I feel in need of a drink. Don’t wait up.” He turned on his heel and stormed out of their bedroom. She stood frozen and listened as he slammed the front door behind him. The truck started up seconds later and Evan drove away, leaving her with the decision she wished she didn’t have to make.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The lights were on in the sheriff’s office and Rory’s truck sat parked out front. Evan debated about driving further, but changed his mind and pulled in to park beside the black and white truck. His brother had always been the one who managed to sort out his problems when Evan was younger. Perhaps now he would be willing to at least listen to him rant and curse about his first fight as a married man.

  He ran up the steps and pushed open the glass door. A young officer sat at reception working on a desktop computer and looked up as Evan walked to his desk. “Deputy Watson around? I’m his brother.”

  “Uh, just let me check.” He picked up a phone and punched in a couple of numbers and waited for a response. “Sir, your brother is out here. Want me to send him in?” He paused and listened before hanging up the phone. “You know his office? Said to go right on in.”

  “Thanks.” Evan strode purposefully toward the office and reached for the door handle just as it opened. Rory stood there, a frown on his face.

  “Everything alright?”

  “Yes, no. Hell, I don’t know. I needed to talk to someone and you’re it.” He brushed past his older brother and threw himself into the chair opposite the desk.

  “Have a seat.” Rory shut the door and casually walked over to the filing cabinet, reached for his pot of coffee, and poured two mugs. He put one down in front of Evan and walked around to his chair. Once he was seated, he took a sip and peered over the rim of the mug at his brother. “Well, spit it out, kid. Whatever it is seems to be chewing a mighty big hole in your gut to make you look that bad.”

  “We had a fight.” Evan watched as Rory put down his coffee. A small twitch started in the corners of his mouth and, before he could stop it, turned into a full-blown grin.

  “Welcome to the real world. Married people fight.”

  The tone made Evan rethink his bad mood, if only for a second. “Not about this, they don’t.” He leaned back and rubbed a hand over his face. “She used me. Plain and simple.”

  “Not sure I follow you. Used you what, for sex you mean?” Rory sniggered. “And you’re complaining?”

  “She married me to get her job.” The coffee tasted bitter on his tongue and he put the mug down. “I fell for her like you wouldn’t believe. Honestly thought she loved me.”

  “Any fool can see she does. Gina can’t stop talking about how much Denver is taken with you. At the wedding you two were all over each other. Even I saw that.”

  “Gina’s wrong. It was all a show to get me to marry her so she could get the job at the hospital. It was all planned. She was offered the position before we came to the wedding.”

  “I don’t follow you.” Rory leaned his elbows on the desk, a puzzled frown on his face.

  “She applied for it and found out she was shortlisted for it the day I found out I didn’t get my job in the city. Then we had a date and she figured she may as well see if I was husband material and, as luck would have it, the wedding just so happened to be in the same town as her potential new job. More than a coincidence if you ask me.” He kicked the leg of the desk in frustration, rattling his coffee mug.

  “Well, I’ll be. Don’t that beat all? Little Evan, the mail-order husband. Tyson will just about have a mental fit over that one.” He laughed and sobered when Evan growled. “Sorry. You have to see the funny side of it, surely?” He looked across the desk. “Right, maybe not. So, what are you going to do about it?”

  “That’s where I think I may have made a mistake.” He recalled the shocked look in her eyes and wondered why he’d said what he had. It was stupid to bring a child into the world to solve a problem. It rarely worked and it was a terrible reason to produce a new life. “She promised to do anything to make me believe she’d genuinely fallen in love with me. Claimed she was even ready to ditch
the job and move here to be with me regardless of where she ended up working.”

  “So she really did fall in love with you then? Knew I wasn’t wrong on that score.” Rory nodded his head.

  “So she claims.”

  “Heck, Evan, even a fool could see the way that girl looks at you. Bigger eyes than my calves and that’s saying something. Darned sight prettier too, by the way. What did you do?”

  Evan gripped his hands together and looked down at the floor. This sounded worse the more he thought about it. “I told her to give me a baby now, not later as we’d discussed.”

  The groan coming from his brother proved it was as bad an idea as Evan had thought. “You should know better than that. A child isn’t the answer to fixing anything. I’m disappointed in you.”

  Evan threw his hands up in the air in a gesture of defeat. “I know, but at the time it sounded right. I mean, think about it. If she loved me she’d do it, wouldn’t she?”

  “You’re not twelve, stop acting like it.”

  He jumped to his feet and prowled the small space, angry at himself and bitterly disappointed in his wife.

  “What did Denver say?” The quiet steady tone brought him back to the present.

  “Nothing. I left before she could think about it.” Evan rammed his hands into the back pockets of his trousers. “I don’t know what to do now.”

  “I think you need to calm down before you say anything else. Do you love her? I mean really love her?”

  “Of course I do. Stupid question. Wouldn’t have married her if I didn’t.” He looked at Rory and it took a few seconds before the meaning behind the question sunk in. “No way. It’s not the same and you know it. She told me she had to move here for this job. You don’t believe in coincidence any more than I do.”

  “Did she act like a woman in love, or did she say all the right things at the right time to make you think she was in love? Think about it for a minute before you make up your mind. Go back to the sex. Was it forced, or was it really good and spontaneous?” Rory sat back in his chair with a small smile on his lips. “Surely even the clinical Dr. Watson can figure that one out.”

  “Smart ass.” He thought about the early morning wake-up calls, the sex in the shower, and falling asleep in her arms. It didn’t feel as though any of it was put on or contrived. How was he going to make sure it wasn’t; that it was true love on her part? Would he have to bide his time and see what move Denver made next, or could he figure it out for himself if he took a breath and thought logically?

  *

  Last night when Evan came home, Denver pretended to be sleeping. It was easier than trying to convince him he was wrong or give him a decision about having a baby. By the time he woke up and walked into the kitchen, she was ready to leave for work.

  “Your breakfast is warming in the oven. I’ll be home about five thirty unless something crops up. We can chat then about what we’re going to do.” She held her composure as he walked toward her.

  “Denver, I’m sorry I blew up at you last night. I was hurt and angry.” He wiped a hand over his face, catching a drip of water from his hair wet from the shower.

  “I can’t talk about it now or I’ll be late. Tonight, Evan.” She picked up her car keys and walked out the door without giving him another glance. It took all of her composure not to break down in tears when she reached the relative safety of her car. She needed to be strong and work through this. She had to convince Evan of her love for him. The thought of losing him, so soon after finding the love she thought she’d never have, was too much to bear right now. Especially when she thought she was already pregnant.

  She drove to work and headed straight to her office, shutting herself inside. There was so much to do, she didn’t have time for indulgent crying jags, and besides, the work would keep her mind occupied. Denver managed to lose herself in cost analyses for the new medical outpatient’s clinic until the knock on the door startled her. “Come in.”

  The door opened and Gina popped her head around the door. “Hi, hope I’m not disturbing you.”

  “Not at all. Come in.” It was nice to see a friendly face and Denver let some of the tension ease from her shoulders. Gina was easy to talk to and they’d struck up a fairly good relationship since their first meeting. “How are you?” She held out her arms for a friendly hug.

  “Better now. I loathe morning sickness but it only lasts for a couple of hours thankfully.” She put down her handbag on the table and took out a white paper bag. “Something to have with a coffee if you have the time.”

  Denver peeped into the bag. “Danish, my favorite. How did you know?” Her mood lifted another notch and she blessed Gina for coming in.

  “Took a wild guess because they’re mine and, since I’m pregnant, I can eat anything I want to.” She took a seat in the comfy chair in front of Denver’s big black glass desk. “This is all rather posh isn’t it?”

  “It is. Who would have thought I’d one day make it to director of the hospital? It’s a dream-come-true type of job.”

  “About that. Rory said Evan came in to see him last night when he was doing the night shift. He suggested I come and see you. Thought you might need a girlfriend to load off on.”

  Denver smiled. “Did he just? Well then, I suppose he told you what we fought about too.” She moved over to the small kitchenette and poured two cups of decaf coffee, then brought them back to the desk. She placed one in front of Gina and pulled a chair around to sit next to her, choosing not to have this conversation over the mound of paperwork covering her desk. She reached for the bag and ripped it open, took one of the Danishes and looked at it appreciatively. She didn’t let the thought of sugar or calories enter her mind as she bit into it, savoring the crisp flaky pastry and custard filling.

  “I don’t believe it for a moment and if Evan has any sense he won’t either.”

  “It’s true though.” She smiled as Gina’s mouth opened. “In the beginning anyway. When I applied for this job I knew they were after a local person, but I was so convinced they’d overlook that and take into account my research and papers as well as the work I’d done with preemie babies. I mean, it’s a small town and I come from the city and have started making a name for myself. That was my thinking, anyway. I must have been very arrogant because they insisted on meeting my husband and even checked to see if I’d ever lived here.”

  Gina took a bite of her Danish, her gaze on Denver as she told her story.

  “Evan seemed like the best candidate. He’d been trying to date me for years and on the day I found out they wanted a local, he was coming down from being rejected for the job he wanted. I guess he touched a nerve in me and I didn’t want to feel the pain he was feeling. So I said yes when he asked me out.” She took another bite and washed it down with a sip of coffee. It felt good to tell a girlfriend what was bothering her and she realized she’d never had that. Not when she lived in the city or when she started work as a doctor.

  “We fit together like two peas in a pod. I was so taken with him. He was kind and thoughtful, caring and funny, I couldn’t believe I’d left it so long before I agreed to date him. He was exactly what I wanted in a husband.” She smiled thinking about the way he cupped her cheek in his palm before kissing her. How his skin felt against hers. “Anyway, I fell for him, totally.”

  “I know. I could tell that before the wedding. It was so sweet to watch you two fall in love.” Gina wiped a finger under her eye. “Sorry, hormones already giving me grief.”

  “I decided then and there that the job didn’t matter. If he got the contract in town and I didn’t because of their rules, who cared? We could still be together and I could do something, anything just to be with him. We both ended up winning and it was wonderful. Until last night at a dinner with the board members who spilled the beans about the contract conditions.”

  “Oh my golly heck. And he lost it, right?” Gina wiped the crumbs from her lips, her gaze fixed on Denver.

  “Like y
ou wouldn’t believe. He was livid and I don’t blame him. Sadly, he didn’t believe me when I told him I loved him.”

  Gina licked a flake of pastry from her fingers. “I guess that’s to be expected really. I don’t agree with him because any fool can see you two are head over heels in love but still. So what happens now? How are you going to solve it?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question.” She grabbed the bag and screwed it up before throwing it in the trash.

  “Meaning? Come on, Denver. You can’t tell me half the story and then stop. It’s not fair.”

  She took a deep breath. “I swore I would do anything to prove I loved him and I would. What he’s asking isn’t fair.”

  Gina sat forward, eager to hear.

  “He wants a baby now, not later as we’d discussed.” She was encouraged when her friend frowned.

  “I can see how that would make you stop and think, but you guys love each other. It’s wrong to try and force it upon you, although maybe it’s what you need to cement the relationship.”

  “I think it’ll wreck things. You see, the problem is this: I’m already pregnant. At least I think I am.”

  Gina jumped up and squealed in the most un-ladylike fashion. “That’s terrific news. Oh, you guys are going to make the best parents, I know you will.”

  “I don’t want to tell him yet. Look, I haven’t even confirmed it and I don’t want to for a little bit longer. I know how often pregnancies can go wrong in the beginning.”

  “So, what are you going to tell him? You’ll need more time to think about it or something?” Gina grabbed her coffee and settled back in her chair.

  Denver twirled a stray strand of hair around her finger before tucking it behind her ear. “I’m going to tell him I need time to think about it and see if we can get things back to the way they were in the meantime. I don’t think it’s fair of him to expect an answer immediately. I have a lot to think about.” She looked around her office, mentally calculating the job she’d taken on and wondered how much she would get done before having to go on maternity leave.