by Amy Ruttan
“Yeah, probably not. I doubt they really warm up. Still, it was a dream of mine to go up there.” He sighed. “Well, we all have unfulfilled dreams.”
“And it’s Lucy and your late wife’s parents holding you back. And now me.” He could hear the sadness in her voice.
“Hey, don’t blame yourself. I made peace with my decision a long time ago. It was Jenny’s and my dream to go to Alaska. That’s not going to happen. When she got sick, I let it go.”
“You still want to fly, though?” she asked.
“I do. One day I’ll get my pilot’s license. One day,” he said wistfully, “I’ll get some land and my own plane. It’ll be nice.”
“It sounds wonderful.”
“I am envious of your property. It’s perfect for an airstrip.” He cleared his throat, hoping that she didn’t think he was implying something, because he wasn’t, and he didn’t want to scare her off.
“It is lovely, but so large for one person.” A blush tinged her cheeks.
“Soon there’ll be two of you.”
She smiled, her dark eyes twinkling. “I suppose so.”
He reached out and took her hand. “I know so.”
The food came then. Sandra had just ordered a cob of corn and a side of macaroni and cheese. Once they got to the restaurant she found she had no real desire to order any kind of protein, beyond the cheese in her macaroni. He just hoped that his steak wouldn’t be off-putting to her.
“You’re sure it’s okay that I eat this in front of you? You seemed a bit green around the gills when we were inside ordering.”
“I’m fine. I’m glad we’re outside and in the fresh air.” She wouldn’t look at his plate of food, though.
“Me too.”
They sat in silence, eating and watching the activity out on Lady Bird Lake. Usually when things went quiet between them there was an awkward tension, but Kody didn’t sense any of that now. It was peaceful and nice to sit with her here, out on a patio and enjoying some good food.
“You know, even though I may not tell Lucy yet about the baby, I would like you to meet her,” Kody said, breaking the silence.
“You want me to meet her?” she asked, stunned.
He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, she’s going to wonder why we’re hanging around together so much. She might as well meet you and when the time comes, we’ll tell her about the baby. She’ll be thrilled about that. She loves babies.”
“Are you sure?” Sandra asked skeptically. “She may love babies, but it’s one thing to love a stranger’s baby and another the reality of a baby stealing away your father’s attention, especially after she’s had you all to herself for years.”
“I never thought about it that way. Still, I’d like you to meet her.”
“Okay. We can have dinner tomorrow. Your place?”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
“What time?”
“Five is good. It’s early, but she eats early and then I have to get her ready for school on Monday and try to sleep. You may be off work, but I’m still on nights.”
Sandra winced. “Don’t remind me. I hate that I’m not working. I love my job. I love teaching the residents and working in the emergency room.”
“You like the fast pace?”
She nodded. “I do. When I was doing my surgical residency, I knew that was my specialty. I like thinking ten steps ahead. I liked thinking fast on my feet. It was thrilling. I’m going to miss it.”
“I’m sorry for that, but once the baby comes, we’ll work out a schedule to take care of him or her and you can go back to work.”
“I know. We’ll figure it out and the hospital has an excellent day care. I just don’t know what I’m going to do with myself for the next thirty-two weeks, give or take.”
“Or longer.” He winked.
“What do you mean, longer?”
“First babies are known to be overdue.”
Sandra groaned. “Sure. Low blow there, Mr. Davis. That wasn’t cool at all.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
SANDRA TOSSED AND turned that night.
Kody had gone back to his home and to his daughter and Sandra suddenly didn’t like being all alone in her house. She couldn’t stop worrying about this pregnancy.
She glanced at her phone. Kody had given her his number and told her to call or text whenever she wanted. She was trying her best not to do that.
The last thing she wanted to do was bother Kody when he was having some alone time with his daughter. She was the intruder. Also, she didn’t want to rely on him.
Her emotions were all over the place, she knew that, but she couldn’t go running to Kody every time she felt anxious about something.
Still, there was no one she could talk to. She didn’t have any friends.
And whose fault is that?
She sighed, because she knew that it was her fault for shutting out everyone when she’d first moved here six months ago. She didn’t want to get to know anyone. She didn’t want to let anyone into her life.
She didn’t want to be hurt again.
Alex had moved on and remarried. And then his new wife had got pregnant and she’d seen the look of pity in her colleagues’ eyes. People who she’d thought were friends weren’t. They pitied her for not getting pregnant and for not being woman enough for Alex. Whatever that meant.
She’d sworn that she wasn’t going to make that mistake again when she came to Austin. So she’d put up walls and it had worked, until Kody showed up.
Sandra groaned and got out of bed. It was eight o’clock and too early to sleep. Her body was still on the night shift, which she had signed up to work for the next couple of weeks. Now her body wasn’t sure what was going on.
She made her way to her living room and turned on the television, scrolling through her streaming service and trying to find something, anything, that could just be white noise in the background. Maybe some crazy reality show about people who were prepping for the end of the world or a home renovation show. She liked those.
There was a knock at her door, which startled her. She made her way carefully over to the peephole and was shocked to see Dr. Coombs standing on her porch holding a takeaway bag.
Sandra opened the door. “Dr. Coombs, what’re you doing here?”
Megan shrugged. “I thought you could use a friend. Also, Kody texted me to check up on you. I’m the only one besides Dr. Murdoch and Dr. Ohe who knows what’s going on.”
Sandra was stunned and motioned for Megan to come inside. She shut the door.
“Wait, what about those orderlies?”
“Dr. Murdoch made sure they didn’t say a word, or they would lose their jobs. Burt knows how important your privacy is.”
“I’ll have to thank Burt later. Why don’t you have a seat? I was just...going to watch something, but it’s been so long since I actually turned on my television, I don’t know what to watch.”
“I brought some Chinese food. It’s a cliché, I know, but when I was pregnant it was all I wanted to eat.”
Sandra was surprised. “You have a baby?”
Megan blushed. “I did... I was young. I was a teenager and not ready to be a mother. I gave my baby up for adoption. She’s in good hands and they send me updates all the time. It was an open adoption.”
Sandra was so shocked. “I had no idea. I was adopted, but my adoption wasn’t open. I have the option to open it now, but...”
Megan nodded. “I get it. It must be so hard.”
“It is. You understand.”
“All too well, but can we keep this between us? The whole hospital doesn’t need to know.”
“It’s between us, Megan. I promise.”
Megan smiled and nodded. “Are you hungry?”
“Very. I’ll get some plates.” Sandra went to the kitchen and gr
abbed everything they needed and brought it back. She hadn’t expected Megan to come, but she was glad that she had, and she was glad that her prickly persona hadn’t driven everyone away.
Sandra set the plates down on her coffee table. “Look, I want to apologize if I was ever too gruff to you or mean in any way.”
Megan’s eyes widened. “Dr. Fraser, you’re one of the best trauma surgeons I have ever had the pleasure to work with. It’s an honor to learn from you and I’m really sad that in my last years of residency I won’t be working with you.”
Sandra blushed. “I don’t know what to say... Wait, I do. Don’t call me Dr. Fraser here. Call me Sandra, and I’m very honored to be teaching you too. You have a promising career in trauma surgery, if you choose to accept it.”
“I do. It’s what I want to do.”
“Why don’t you fill me in on my appendectomy?”
They chatted about patients and Sandra gave her some advice on patient care while they ate the Chinese food. For that couple of hours Sandra forgot everything. All her anxiety and her worry melted away.
She’d always liked working with Megan and she viewed Megan as one of her top residents, but now she saw a friend and, even though it scared her, she liked it.
“So I don’t mean to pry, but when did you and Kody Davis hook up?” Megan asked, smiling.
“I knew that someone was going to eventually ask that.”
“Well, every time you two worked together the last six months it was like cats and dogs. He seemed to drive you crazy.”
“He did...he does.” Sandra chuckled. “I always found him attractive and, even if I hate to admit it, he’s quite charming.”
Megan nodded. “He is.”
“How do you know Kody?” Sandra asked, trying to change the subject.
“I’ll tell you how I know Kody, but first you have to tell me how it happened. Okay, maybe not all the details, but when?”
“The night of the flash flood. I guess it was a way to keep warm.” Sandra began to laugh, and Megan joined in. “So, how do you know Kody outside of work?”
“I was friends with his late wife, Jenny.”
Sandra’s heart sank and did a flip-flop. “You knew Jenny? I thought they were from North Carolina?”
“So am I. I lived in the same town as Kody for one year when we were about fourteen. I went to his school and then my family moved away. I met Kody again when he and Jenny came to Austin. Jenny was a paramedic too and, when I first met them, I was a nurse studying and saving up for medical school. Then I did a palliative nursing rotation and sadly Jenny was in my care when she was dying.”
“I was sorry to hear that she died. She seemed like a lovely person.”
Megan nodded. “She was. What she saw in Kody I’ll never know. He was such a hooligan when I knew him. Of course, most fourteen-year-old boys are.”
Sandra cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Do tell.”
“I don’t know if I should.”
Sandra could tell by the mischievous glint in Megan’s eyes that it wouldn’t take much to get her to spill the beans about Kody. “I’m your boss...or was, so you have to tell me about the crazy stuff the father of my child did as a teenager.”
Megan chuckled. “Well, there was this time he painted his body purple, and I mean every inch of his body purple, and streaked during homecoming.”
Sandra started to belly laugh. She couldn’t help it. “He streaked?”
Megan nodded. “Yep, so when I say I know Kody Davis, I mean I know Kody Davis.”
They both laughed at that.
“I’m going to file that away for future use.”
“Do, but he’s going to kill me for telling that story.” Megan glanced at her watch. “I’d better get going.”
“Yeah, it’s getting late. Thank you for coming. I wouldn’t mind if you came again—perhaps I can help you study for your final boards?”
She wanted to do something and helping Megan study at least kept her foot in the medical world from the comfort of her own home.
“I would like that, Sandra. Perhaps I’ll stop by Tuesday afternoon after my shift. We can go shopping or have a coffee somewhere.”
“I’d like that.” Sandra walked her out and made sure that Megan got in her car okay. When she drove away, Sandra shut the door.
Her plan when she came to Austin was to not make any friends and not get involved with another man she worked with.
She was terrible with making plans and sticking to them.
* * *
“I don’t know what to make for dinner!”
Sally blinked a couple of times and looked at him as if he were insane. All she could do was stare at him as if he were crazy instead of helping him with dinner.
“What has got you all worked up?” she asked.
“I need to make something for dinner,” Kody repeated.
“Okay, you’ve made dinner before.” Sally followed him into the kitchen, her arms crossed, still staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. He wanted Lucy to meet Sandra. It was important that they did meet, but now he wasn’t so certain that this was the smartest plan.
Perhaps Sandra had been right, and it was too soon.
You’re not telling Lucy she’s going to be a sister, though.
Kody sat down at his table, which was currently littered with coloring books and glitter. In fact, when he lifted his hand, it was covered in a great blob of pink and silver glitter.
“Great, this stuff never comes out. It’ll be everywhere.”
Sally cocked an eyebrow and grabbed a wet wipe from the counter, handing it to him. “What is up with you? What has got you so damn skittish and freaked out?”
“I have a woman coming over to dinner to meet Lucy.”
Sally grinned. “You have a date?”
“It’s not a date!” he said firmly, trying to scour the glitter off his hands. “It’s a dinner and I have no idea what to cook. Something that’s bland. Something that’s safe, so no sushi or anything raw or undercooked. No salmon from the ocean...”
Sally wrinkled her nose. “Something that’s bland or not raw or sushi or salmon? Why would you do that? Is your date pregnant?”
Kody felt the blood drain from his face, and he couldn’t look Sally in the eye. Sally sat down right in front of him and snapped her fingers in his face.
“You got this non-date woman pregnant?”
“Shh! Lucy doesn’t know and we’re not telling her yet. We need to take this slow. The lady in question has had troubles in the past with previous pregnancies and we’re waiting until she’s out of the first trimester.”
Sally furrowed her brow. “Oh, my God, it’s Dr. Fraser!”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because since you laid eyes on her you’ve been interested in her. I know, I’m not blind. Plus, that morning after the flood...” Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God!”
“Shut up!” Kody admonished, craning his neck to make sure that Lucy was out of earshot. “You’re not supposed to know, but secretly I’m glad you figured it out.”
“When did this happen?”
“She’s eight weeks along.”
“So it was the flash flood! I knew it. That night you spent in the cabin, the way you two looked so guilty in the morning. Oh, my God. I can’t believe this. Why didn’t you use protection?”
“She said she couldn’t get pregnant. She was infertile.”
Sally rolled her eyes. “Well, that was a lie.”
“She didn’t do this for malicious reasons, Sally. She really thought she was infertile.”
“Well, I’m excited. How involved are you going to be? Are you two an item?”
“No, we’re not an item but we’re going to raise the baby together, if that’s what you’re asking.”
; “Why aren’t you two pursuing a relationship? You obviously both like each other.”
Kody sighed. “It’s complicated.”
And it was. Although Sally would understand how he felt. She’d struggled with her own issues when she got divorced and Sally was in a much better place now. She was in a relationship with Ross and she was happy.
Kody envied her, but Sally didn’t have kids.
Kody had Lucy, and Lucy took priority. And Sally also didn’t have her in-laws living in the same city and still pretty much interwoven in her life, as he did. This whole thing was a disaster.
There was a part of him that wanted to move on and give it a try, but then there was a part of him that was too scared to try.
He ran his hands through his hair and groaned. “I don’t know what to do. I could use some guidance.”
Sally was laughing. “Well, how about I make up the dinner, something bland for someone who is having some morning sickness, and you take a shower?”
“Why?” he asked. “I already had one.”
“You have pink glitter in your hair, my friend.”
Crap.
He got up and saw that he did, indeed, have a streak of pink glitter in his black hair.
“Fine. You do the dinner and I’ll try to wash this glitter out of my hair and if she shows up, you can’t say a word about the baby. We promised that we wouldn’t tell anyone else.”
“I swear.” Sally made a motion of zipping her lips, as she often did when they were kids. It’d annoyed him then too. “But I am happy. I’m really happy about this.”
Kody smiled. “Yeah, me too.”
* * *
When he came out of the shower, he could smell stuff cooking. Sally worked fast. He came into the kitchen when he was dressed and Lucy was helping Sally clean off the table, so they didn’t have to dine on glitter.
“I have got to run, I’m needed at the station house, but there’s chicken in the oven and vegetables and roast potatoes. I think that would be best for your friend.” Sally glanced at Lucy with a side-eye.
