Just What I Need (The Bradfords) (6 page)

“We’re not naming them Lace and Rose,” Sam said.

“What are you going to name them?”

Sam scrubbed a hand over his face. “We haven’t decided on middle names. We thought we had some time to decide.”

“Well, you don’t.” Kevin was not going to let Sam sit here and stew. He understood that his friend needed to be here, and was worried, but Kevin was going to make sure he also saw the good in what was happening. “So what are the first names of your beautiful, sweet baby girls?”

Sam sat forward in his chair, popping his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging limp. “One is Natalie. After Natalia.”

Kevin’s smile faded as he took that in. Natalia had been one of the four women the guys had starting taking care of after meeting the ladies in the ER one night. They helped the older women take care of their houses and cars, things they needed assistance with to stay living independently. Each of the guys had one woman they kept especially close track of. Natalia had been Sam’s charge. She had passed away around the time Sam met Dani.

“That’s…” Kevin swallowed hard. “That’s really nice, Sam.”

“The other is Ellie. Short for Ellen.”

Kevin thought about that for a moment but couldn’t place the importance. “Why Ellen?”

“After Dani’s mom.”

Kevin nodded. Right. Dani’s mom had died when Dani was a teenager. “Perfect.” He cleared his throat. “And if you want to use Kevin as a middle name, I’d be okay with it.”

Sam gave him a half-smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Kevin leaned back, propping his feet on the coffee table. “How long did you know it would be twins?”

“Since about twelve weeks.”

“I can’t believe you kept that secret.”

“Wouldn’t you? Especially after we found out they were girls.”

Kevin chuckled. “You’re right. I mean we’re gonna give you plenty of trouble about it now, but you saved yourself about eight months of it.”

“Exactly.” Sam took a swallow of his soda, then said, “And seeing the looks on all your faces when you found out was
awesome
.”

Kevin shook his head. “It was probably a lot like the look on your face when
you
found out.”

Sam nodded. “I was definitely in shock for awhile.”

“You kept it a secret just so you could shock all of us?”

Sam grinned. “Well, I don’t have wild stories to shock you all with anymore since I married Dani. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass by.”

Kevin remembered—vividly—Sam’s shocking before-Danika stories. They all involved women and there were
a lot
of them.

He grinned thinking about how different this shocker was. “I think you are going to have all kinds of great stories in the years to come, buddy.”

“Oh, I’ve already looked into homeschooling and the convent. We’re locking down all potential chances for shocking with these girls.”

Kevin snorted. “Good luck with that. I’m so glad I have a front row seat for this.”

They each took a drink and sat in a comfortable silence. Until Dooley and Mac showed up.

But at least they had food.

They passed out burgers and fries, asked about the babies, Mac tried to reach Ben on his cell—he didn’t answer—and finally, they all settled into chairs and started chewing.

“Where’s your wife?” Kevin asked.

“Asleep in the chair in the corner of Dani’s room last time I saw her,” Mac answered.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

Dooley paused with his burger halfway to his mouth.

“Where’s
your
wife, Dooley?” Kevin asked.

“She’s, uh, showering in the women’s locker room.”

“She’s got clothes here with her?” Mac asked.

“Yeah, we had our suitcases in the car for the honeymoon.”

“Right,” Mac said, shaking his head. “Your honeymoon. This is your wedding night. Too bad.”

Dooley shifted on his seat. “Yeah. Well, being here for our friends was more important.”

Kevin smiled, watching Mac give Dooley a hard time. In the midst of such a stressful time, it was nice to know that some things stayed the same. He could depend on these men to be who they were, who he needed them to be, no matter what was going on around them. Sam was down, understandably, but even he had perked up at the chance to rib Dooley.

“That’s really nice of you, man,” Sam said. “Knowing that you’re here for me, putting us first, forgetting about the fact that you’ve got a marriage to consummate… That’s all really…something.”

Dooley shifted again. “Sure. Of course.”

Mac was nodding. “It really is…something. I mean, consummating your marriage is a big deal. And with a woman like Morgan…” he whistled, “…that’s gotta be tough. I mean, it’s not like you could
forget
about it. That’s more like major resistance.”

“Very admirable,” Kevin agreed, “to not even touch her in the car over here. That shows true friendship to Sam.”

“Consummating was, and continues to be, my favorite part of…
ow
,” Mac grunted as Sam kicked him. “Hey.” He frowned at his friend and rubbed his shin.

“No sex and Sara talk,” Sam said. “That also shows true friendship to Sam.”

Mac chuckled.

“And it shows definite dedication to Sam and Dani to not take Morgan to the fifth floor doctor’s lounge,” Kevin inserted as a diversion. “You know that couch is one of the best.”

“And I know you know that the family conference room on third floor has a lock on it,” Mac added

“Oh, and there’s Dr. Rifkin’s office that has a lock
and
a couch. And it’s Saturday, so no chance of being interrupted,” Sam said.

Dooley seemed very interested in his burger. Too interested.

And Kevin knew his friend well.

“Hey, Mac,” Kevin said. “Why do you suppose Morgan needed a shower? I mean, we were the ones getting messy holding babies and stuff. You suppose she stepped in some mud outside or spilled some coffee on her dress or something?”

“Well, she cried a little. I did see her mascara run.” Mac grinned even as he said it.

“Sure, mascara. That’s a big deal,” Kevin agreed. “But not really shower worthy, you know?”

“True.” Mac tossed a French fry into his mouth. He chewed and regarded Dooley thoughtfully. “What do you suppose Morgan could have gotten into?”

“Exam room six in the ER.”

They turned to look at the man who’d joined them.

It was Ben.

The men surged to their feet as one.

“Jess and I like exam six too. It’s private and has blinds on the windows.”

Kevin looked at Dooley. “There’s no lock on exam six.”

“Our first time was in a public elevator,” Dooley said, clapping Kevin on the shoulder. “The risk of being caught seemed nostalgic.”

“Nostalgic.” Kevin snorted. “That’s one word.”

“Desperate is another,” Mac chuckled.

Sam pushed through them to face Ben. “The babies?”

They all sobered instantly.

“Natalie is doing well. Everything looks good on the monitors.”

“What about Ellie?” Sam asked.

“They’ve got her hooked up to everything. She’s stable. Dr. Carson is happy with how she’s doing.”

Sam’s shoulder slumped with relief and Kevin reached out and put a hand on one shoulder while Dooley and Mac did the same on the other side.

“Can I go in?” Sam asked.

Ben nodded. “They’re waiting for you.”

“You want company?” Kevin asked.

Sam looked at the door to Dani’s room. “I, um…” He sighed. “Fuck, I don’t know.”

“Jess is up there,” Ben said.

Kevin watched the lines around Sam’s mouth relax as he breathed deep at the sound of his sister’s name. “Okay.”

“And I’ll get Sara for you,” Mac told him, starting for Dani’s room.

If Dani couldn’t be there to hold his hand, Sam’s sisters were the next best choice.

“We’ll, um…” Kevin looked around, “…wait here.”

Dooley nodded. “Yeah.”

Sam looked each of them in the eye. “Thanks.”

“No place I’d rather be,” Kevin said, meaning it. These guys were part of his family and this is what family did. The only person he was missing was Eve. They’d agreed that she’d stay with Drew until it was time to settle him at Dooley’s sister’s house for the night, then she’d be over. That was also what family did sometimes—they split up to be there for all the people who needed them.

“Honestly, I can think of at least twenty places I’d rather be,” Dooley said, pulling Sam in for a quick guy hug and lightening things up a little. “But I bet you can too.”

Sam managed a full smile. “I was planning on having a really good time at your wedding reception.”

Dooley laughed. “Well, I’m less broken up about it now that you said that. I think the bar tab is going to be about half of what it would have been if this whole thing hadn’t happened.”

Sara came out of the room, yawning and blinking against the brighter lights of the hallway, with Mac right behind her. She was dressed in pink hospital scrubs, having changed out of her bridesmaid dress at some point, and had her hair pulled up in a ponytail. She looked ridiculously young.

And she was pregnant.

That was still hitting him strangely. Kevin had known Sara since she was a kid. He’d always felt like a big brother to her, as had all the guys. He’d taken her out for ice cream, he’d bought her purple ice skates, he’d stood in line with her for Britney Spears concert tickets. Sara had been nicknamed princess early on and it had fit.

Kevin knew it was silly, but
I can’t believe little Sara is pregnant
kept going through his mind. Pregnant. That was big. He’d adjusted to her being married, to her being married to
Mac,
and that she was running her own business. But pregnant?

Then she smiled at them all and held her hand out to Sam. The tension in her brother’s shoulders loosened as he reached for her.

As she took her brother’s hand, Kevin flashed to the first time he’d seen Sara with Elijah. And the pregnant thing clicked into place. Sara loved with her whole heart, she made everyone around her happier, and she was a natural caregiver. She simply hadn’t had many chances to show it in the past with all the people always taking care of her.

“Dani’s still out. I left her a note about where we are,” Sara told Sam.

“I’ll go in and sit with Dani,” Kevin offered. He didn’t want her waking up to a note.

Sam looked grateful. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

“And I’ll…” Dooley looked around, “…sit here and wait for Morgan.”

Kevin pulled out his phone as he turned toward Dani’s room, and Sara and Sam started for the elevator that was only a few feet away. He’d call and have someone from the reception bring Dooley and Morgan some of their cake and champagne at least.

Mac grabbed Kevin’s arm as he was texting one of Dooley’s brothers-in-law. “Hey,” he said in a low voice, “we should have somebody bring some of the cake and champagne over from the reception for Dooley and Morgan.”

Kevin held up his phone. “Way ahead of you.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “Of course you are. And I was going to tell Sara it was my idea and get romantic brownie points.”

“You don’t need romantic brownie points,” Kevin said. “She’s all yours.”

Mac nodded. “Yeah.” His eyes were fixed on his wife.

Kevin watched as Sam pulled Sara close, wrapping his arm around her and taking another, seemingly relieved, breath.

It was hard to not be right by his friend’s side, but Sara was there and Jessica was waiting upstairs. As the oldest, and the one who’d raised Sam and Sara after their father’s murder, Jessica would make sure Sam had everything he needed—and things he didn’t know he needed. She would get the answers from the doctors and would think ahead to every possible contingency. Sara, the little sister, would make Sam smile, stay upbeat and make sure he had cookies along with whatever healthy stuff Jess pushed on him. No matter how many other people they loved and brought into their circle, the Bradford siblings were the core of their group, their family, and their bond was tight.

“Okay,” Mac said, “I’m gonna take Kelsey and Elijah back to our place and tuck him in, then I’ll head back over here. Call me if anyone needs me to pick anything up.”

Mac and Sara had hired Kelsey, one of the teenage girls from Oscar, the small town outside of Omaha where they lived, to come to the wedding and reception to look after Elijah. The drive back to Oscar would take a while.

“Hey, Mac,” Kevin said as the big guy started for the elevator.

“Yeah?”

“Congratulations on Elijah and the baby.”

Mac’s face broke into a huge grin. “Thanks, man. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it too.”

“It’s gonna be great.”

Mac glanced at his wife, who was standing with her brother at the elevator a few feet away, then back to Kevin. “Yeah, it sure is.”