The Doctor's Baby (5 page)

D
avid turned onto the highway leading into Jackson, grateful the rain had finally stopped. While he didn’t mind helping out Mary Karen by picking up the twins from a birthday party in Wilson, he couldn’t wait to drop them off and head home.

It had been a long, tiring week made more stressful by the fact that he’d temporarily lost track of July and Adam. When he’d stopped by the motel where July had been living, he’d discovered she’d moved out. Still, he was completely confident—well, fairly confident—they were in the area. After all, Adam had an appointment with the pediatrician next week and he’d heard rumors July was starting a new job. But he was annoyed she hadn’t given him her new
address because now he was going to have to track her down.

“I’m cold, Uncle David,” Conner called from the back seat of the Suburban.

“More heat coming right up.” David pushed a button and the fan kicked on. Spring came late to this part of the country. While the jackets the boys wore had probably been adequate earlier in the day, they didn’t provide nearly enough warmth for the now thirty-degree temperature.

“We have a new baby at our house,” Caleb said.

“He’s really tiny,” Conner added.

“That’s nice.” David smiled. It was just as he’d thought; their “fat” hamster had been more than just overweight. “Tell me about the party.”

He kept the boys talking all the way into town. By the time he wheeled the SUV into Mary Karen’s driveway, he knew every gift that had been opened. He’d also heard all about the birthday boy eating five pieces of cake before throwing up on his mother’s shoes.

“It was gross,” Caleb said.

“Yeah, gross,” Conner agreed.

David chuckled and pulled to a stop behind a Jeep 4x4. The sticker on the bumper told him the vehicle was a rental, but he didn’t recall Mary Karen mentioning she was having company this evening.

“Let me out, Uncle David,” Conner called.

“I want out, too,” Caleb echoed.

Once unbuckled, the boys raced up the walk. His
sister opened the door just as the dynamic duo reached the front step.

“Got ’em here safe and sound.” David took the door from her hands and held it open while the two rushed inside.

“I’m so glad you’re here.”

For the first time David noticed the worry furrowing Mary Karen’s brow. “What’s the matter?”

“I want you to check Logan. He’s been clingy all evening. I thought he simply missed his brothers…until I saw his flushed cheeks and felt his forehead.”

“What’s his temp?”

“One hundred three.”

“Let me get my bag.” Because of the rural nature of this part of the state, David kept a doctor’s bag in the car. He was back on the porch in seconds, shooting his sister a reassuring smile. “Probably just the start of an ear infection, although we have seen some strep.” David stepped into the house. “Until we determine what’s wrong, you best keep the twins away from him.”

“What about Adam?” The feminine voice came from the living room. “Is it safe for him to be in the house?”

He was still processing the voice when an auburn-haired beauty slipped into the foyer and met his gaze. For a second David thought he was hallucinating. He’d been thinking of July so much these past few days, it made sense that if he would conjure up anyone, it would be her.

But this beautiful woman was no apparition. Dressed casually in a bulky Northwestern sweatshirt and jeans,
she looked more like a college coed than a woman who’d had a baby three days ago.

A familiar electricity filled the air. He tried not to stare but couldn’t help it. “What are you doing here?”

“She lives with us, Uncle David,” Caleb said, his arms now wrapped around Henry, the cockapoo.

“Her an’ baby Adam,” Conner echoed, smacking a noisy kiss on the dog’s nose.

He met July’s gaze and lifted a brow.

“The boys are right. This is my new home.” July glanced around and shrugged. “For now.”

David turned to his sister who’d been watching the exchange with unabashed curiosity.

“July and Adam are renting a room from me for the next month or so,” Mary Karen said, a fondness for her new tenants evident in her tone. “But when she discovered I was your sister I actually thought she was going to change her mind about moving in. David, what in the world did you do to her?”

The words were delivered in a half-joking manner, but there was puzzlement in Mary Karen’s eyes.

“I delivered her baby.” It wasn’t much of a response but David didn’t have the inclination to tell his sister the whole story.

“Mary Karen, I told you he didn’t do anything,” July protested. “Finding out my doctor was your brother was simply unexpected news.”

From the look on her face, unwelcome, too.

Before anyone could say another word a plaintive call rang out.

“Mommy. Mommy.”

“The native is getting restless,” Granny Fern called out from the back bedroom.

David fixed a gaze on July. “You and Adam stay here. We don’t want the baby exposed.”

He turned on his heel and without another word strode down the hall, Mary Karen scurrying to catch up.

July watched the two disappear into the bedroom where Granny was tending to Logan. She hoped the child was okay. It wasn’t until she’d returned from a short shopping trip that she learned the two-year-old wasn’t feeling well. She’d immediately taken Adam to the bedroom they shared.

But David was right. If Logan had something contagious, Adam shouldn’t be around the boy. But where could they go? Most of the motel rooms in the area were booked with skiers.

“False alarm.”

July jerked herself back from her worry and found herself face-to-face with David. Her heart skipped a beat. “He’s okay?”

“Throat is fine. His ears are red and there’s definitely fluid there. But give him twenty-four hours on Amoxil and he’ll be back fighting with his brothers.”

“Thank you so much for staying, David.” Mary Karen rushed past them, coat on, purse and keys in hand. “I promise, I’ll be right back.”

“There’s no reason
you
have to do this,” David protested. “I can go to the drug store and pick up the antibiotic.”

From the hint of exasperation in his tone, July got the feeling this wasn’t the first time he’d made the offer.

“No, he’s my son.” Mary Karen stopped at the door and turned back. “You both help yourself to any of the leftovers.”

“You’re staying?” July turned to David, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. His coat was still on and she’d hoped he’d follow Mary Karen out the door.

“Yep.” He shrugged off his jacket and draped it on the coat tree.

“But you’ve been busy all day,” July reminded him. “Don’t you want to go home and relax?”

His blue eyes met hers. “Even if I wanted to leave, Mary Karen took my Suburban.”

Her heart sank. “Oh.”

“How about keeping me company while I see what there is to eat?” The look in his eyes practically dared her to say no.

“Okay.” July never could resist a challenge. She glanced in the direction of her bedroom. “
After
I check on Adam.”

“I’ll come with you.” He put a hand on her elbow. Before July quite knew what was happening, she was propelled down the hall with David too close for comfort. The intoxicating scent of his cologne teased her nostrils and sent her heart rate soaring.

“How do you know which room is mine?” Her voice sounded oddly breathless, even to her ears.

“Easy.” He stopped in front of her door. “When I saw
the twins’ stuff in Logan’s room I figured you’d inherited theirs.”

“I felt bad when I learned I’d taken over their domain, but Mary Karen assured me they’d be fine.” July pushed the door open and paused. Adam slept in the portable crib Mary Karen had brought up from the basement. Putting a finger to her lips, she silently crossed the room. Though his blanket sleeper probably kept him warm enough she covered him with a light blanket.

“He’s a beautiful baby,” David said in a low tone.

She cast a sideways glance before returning her attention to her son. Love and pride mixed with a healthy dose of awe filled her. “I can’t believe he came out of my body.”

“If anyone ever doubts it, I’m your witness,” David said, smiling.

He’d been there with her when Adam was conceived and when he’d taken his first breath. But, a wave of guilt shot through her, they wouldn’t be together when Adam walked. Or said his first words. Or went to kindergarten….

“Uncle David,” Caleb called in a loud whisper.

Adam’s forehead furrowed but his eyes remained closed. David turned and held up a hand to the little boy.

After one last quick glance to make sure all was well, July grabbed the baby monitor and followed David from the room, gently closing the door behind her.

“Thanks for being so quiet, Caleb.” David scrunched down until he was at eye level with the boy. “Did you need something?”

“Me and Connor wondered—”

“Connor and I,” David gently corrected.

“Uh, Connor and I wondered if we could watch
The Incredibles.
”

“That should be okay,” David said, “but you won’t be able to finish it. As soon as your mom gets back, you’re coming home with me.”

Caleb’s blue eyes—so like his uncle’s—widened. “We get to have a sleepover?”

“That’s the plan.” David tousled the boy’s blond hair. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yippee.” Caleb bolted down the hall and July could hear him calling for his brother.

July tilted her head. “Don’t you have to be at the hospital tomorrow?”

“I have the weekend off.” David started down the hall and she fell into place beside him. He shook his head, a little smile on his lips. “I can’t remember the last time that happened.”

July couldn’t hide her shock. “And you’re going to spend it
babysitting?
”

“Mary Karen will have her hands full with Logan,” David said with a shrug. “And Granny needs her rest.”

“But—”

“The boys are no trouble.” David paused at the door to the living room where the two were already positioned in front of the television, the DVD playing. “They’ve got their own bedroom at my house and extra clothes, so it’s easy.”

“You really like kids, don’t you?” The realization twisted July’s stomach in one big knot.

David chuckled. “You make it sound like a bad thing.”

“No. No. It’s not.” July struggled to explain. “I think it’s wonderful.”

“They’re my nephews,” David said. “Family is important to me.”

Instead of admiration, July was seized with a cold chill. If she’d had any doubts what having a son might mean to him, she had none now.

Tell him,
a tiny voice inside her head urged.
Do it.

There was no reason something so simple, so basic, should be so hard. Yet her palms turned sweaty and her heart began to pound.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, giving her an out he didn’t even know she needed.

She took it and said a little prayer of thanks for the reprieve. “I had a sandwich and an apple for lunch.” July pulled her brows together, replaying the day’s events, “but nothing since.”

The growl from her stomach told her she’d remembered correctly.

“Follow me to the kitchen.”

When they got there he gestured to the table. “Have a seat. Grilled ham and cheese sound good?”

July wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “You’re going to make
me
a sandwich?”

“It’s not a big deal,” he said. “I have to make one for myself.”

While he pulled out the ham and the cheese from the refrigerator, July took a seat. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had cooked for her. Certainly her mother never felt the need to put anything on the table.
“Your wife must have been thrilled to have a husband so handy in the kitchen.”

“Celeste traveled a lot.” David placed an iron skillet on the stove and turned on the heat. “For me, learning to cook became a survival thing.”

Celeste.
The name sounded like the wife of a doctor.

“Why did she travel so much?”

Was it only her imagination or did the light suddenly leave his eyes?

“She worked as a marketing rep for a company based in L.A. Travel was part of her job duties. She loved it. She—” He stopped himself. “Enough about that. We have a more important topic to discuss.”

July’s breath caught in her throat. Even though David already had the sandwiches in the pan, she stood. Not to run exactly, but surely there was someplace else she needed to be.

“I want to hear how you and Mary Karen got together.” He turned the sandwiches. “I didn’t know she was looking to rent a room.”

July dropped back into her seat and swallowed a nervous giggle. That’s what he wanted to discuss? The tension in her shoulders eased and she relaxed against the back of the chair. “The social worker at the hospital gave me Mary Karen’s name and phone number.”

“Lexi?”

“That’s the one.” When July had first learned that her new landlord and babysitter was David’s sister, she’d felt as if she’d been sold out by the social worker…for all of five minutes. She’d quickly realized how comfort
able she was with Mary Karen. “I met with your sister and we immediately hit it off. It was a win-win situation for both of us. She needed the money. I needed a place to live and a babysitter.”

David flipped the sandwiches onto the plates he’d placed by the stove. “Milk?”

“Please.” Growing up, beer and Mountain Dew had been the only “beverages” in the fridge. Milk hadn’t even been an option. In fact, until July had discovered she was pregnant, she’d rarely drunk anything but coffee and soda. But over the past eight months she’d acquired a taste for the white stuff.

In a matter of minutes a tall glass of milk and a sandwich were placed before her.

With his own plate in hand, David pulled out a chair and sat opposite her. “Is that why you decided to stay? Your desire to have my sister watch Adam was stronger than the desire to keep your distance from me?”

The words were casual, the tone offhand and his expression certainly didn’t give anything away. But July sensed she’d hurt him with her earlier attitude and the realization only added to her guilt. She told herself it didn’t matter, but in the warmth of this kitchen, under the fluorescent light glow, she couldn’t help remembering how nice he’d been to her that long ago night, how considerate he’d been in the hospital.