Wanted: Parents for a Baby! (16 page)

Ryan suspected Lydia knew more about Avery's history and he took the seat next to the older woman, choosing his words carefully. “I believe your niece might have a prescription drug addiction,” he said, keeping his tone gentle. “I know you don't want her to get into any trouble, but at the same time it's important that Avery gets help before something bad happens to her.”

Lydia pursed her lips for a moment and then nodded. “Yes, I know. I'm doing my best, but she's been running wild since my sister passed away. Unfortunately, Avery was in the car crash that killed my sister and she's has been suffering terrible back pain ever since. You're right about the prescription drugs, that's the reason she didn't stay very long in the hospital. But I'm not sure how to get her off them. Especially when she refuses to stay here and live with me. Apparently, she'd
rather shack up with that worthless boyfriend of hers.”

Knowing his instincts were right didn't make him feel any better. Helping people with addictions wasn't easy. Would he have been able to help Victoria if he'd known the truth? He wasn't sure. “I know it's hard, but when you do see her, please keep encouraging her to get help.”

The older woman flashed him a tremulous smile. “I will.”

Ryan carefully shook her hand and then stood up and followed Cassie back to the table where Gloria was waiting rather impatiently.

“Sorry about that, Gloria,” Cassie said, as she took her seat. “I didn't mean to leave you here alone.”

Gloria shrugged and put her phone away. She glanced up at Ryan. “Hi, Dr. Ryan. Do you want to join us?” she offered.

He absolutely did, but he glanced at Cassie, trying to read the impassive expression on her face. He sensed she wasn't thrilled to have him there, but at the same time he didn't want to leave without talking to her.

Although he'd rather not bare his soul in front of Gloria.

“I don't want to intrude. I'll sit somewhere
else, but I would like to talk to you, Cassie. Maybe we could talk after you've finished your lunch?”

Cassie hesitated. “I may not have time,” she said slowly. “I have an appointment at two o'clock.”

Gloria seemed impervious to the tension between them. “It's silly of you to sit somewhere else. Cass, you don't mind if he joins us, do you?”

“No, of course not.” Finally she met his gaze with a weak smile. “We've already placed our order so you may need to flag down the server.”

Since she didn't seem too upset with him, he pulled out one of the empty chairs and sat down. He was hungry but was willing to forgo eating if it meant getting a chance to talk to Cassie. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“Cass, what's your two o'clock appointment?” Gloria asked, taking a sip of her lemonade.

Cassie shrugged but he noticed that there was an excited glint in her eyes. “I found a townhouse for sale that happens to be close to my budget. I'm meeting the Realtor there this afternoon.”

Ryan glanced at her in surprise. “Really?”

She nodded. “There aren't any two-bedroom units available so this is my best chance of getting Mr. Davies's approval to keep moving forward with the fostering process.”

Was this why she'd looked so happy? Was it possible she didn't hate him for the way he left her so abruptly last night? “I'm glad to hear it. I could tag along if you like. I might be able to spot any problem areas.”

She hesitated again, and he mentally kicked himself for pushing so hard. “I guess that would work.” She surprised him by agreeing. “I don't know much about buying a house and need all the help I can get.”

He was ridiculously pleased that she'd agreed to let him come along. “Thanks,” he murmured.

Gloria cleared her throat loudly. “Do you two want me to leave?” she asked. “It seems like you have a lot to discuss.”

“No, of course not,” he said, wincing a little at the fact that he'd made Gloria feel like a third wheel. “Let me know when you spot the server. I wouldn't mind having another one of their burgers. The last one I had was excellent.”

Gloria snickered and raised an eyebrow
toward Cassie, who blushed and stared down at her plate for a long moment.

He didn't understand the private joke but kept the conversation casual as the two women enjoyed their meal. Gloria updated him on her brother's progress and he was relieved to hear Trey had woken up and seemed to be doing okay. The server was so busy he didn't bother asking for a burger. Cassie insisted he share part of her lunch, so he helped himself to the smaller half of her sandwich and a handful of chips.

When the server returned with the bill, he quickly nabbed it and pulled out his wallet, ignoring Gloria and Cassie's loud protests.

“You had hardly anything to eat,” Cassie said with exasperation. “Why should you pay?”

“Because I'm the one who interrupted your meal, forcing you to give up half your sandwich.” He quickly stuffed cash into the plastic billfold and handed it back to the server. “Trust me, this is the least I can do.”

Cassie sighed but didn't say anything more as she rose to her feet. He stood and followed her, longing for the easy camaraderie they'd once shared.

“I have a few errands to run,” Gloria said. “I'll talk to you later, Cass, okay?”

“Sure. I'll check in on Trey during my dinner break,” Cassie promised.

Ryan was grateful that Gloria had taken it upon herself to leave them alone. He felt a little guilty for interrupting their girl time, but thankfully Cassie didn't seem to mind.

“We have thirty minutes until we need to meet your Realtor,” he said. “Would you like to take a drive in the convertible?”

She shook her head. “No, as much as I love your convertible, I need to stop by my apartment so I can pick up my scrubs and my stethoscope. I plan to head to work as soon as we're finished at the townhouse.”

“No problem.” He wondered if she regretted inviting him to go along. “I'll drive you over.”

Stopping at Cassie's apartment didn't take long. When she came back out to his car with her bag over her shoulder, he wanted nothing more than to pull her close and kiss her.

But he forced himself to concentrate on telling her the truth first. “Cassie, I owe you an apology,” he began, but she shook her head.

“Actually, there's no need for you to apologize. I have something I need to tell you,”
she said, cutting him off. “I think you should know why having Emma is so important to me.”

He nodded, waiting for her to slide into the passenger seat of his convertible. “Okay.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I told you that my ex-husband cheated on me, but I didn't tell you everything.”

He was surprised that she'd kept something back from him, too, although the tortured expression in her eyes didn't make him feel any better. “I'm listening,” he encouraged.

“I suffered two miscarriages,” she admitted. “Both at about twenty weeks' gestation.”

His heart twisted in his chest. One was bad enough, but two? “I'm so sorry,” he murmured.

“The worst part was that I had to be in the hospital after the second miscarriage because I wouldn't stop bleeding.” Cassie turned in her seat to face him. “I heard my husband on the phone with his lover, telling her how glad he was that I'd lost the baby because now getting a divorce would be easier.”

He curled his fingers into fists, wishing he could punch her ex right between the eyes. “I can't imagine how awful that must have been.”

She dropped her gaze again. “I was getting ready to be taken into surgery for a D&C and told Evan to get out. I practically screamed at him that I wouldn't contest his stinking divorce.”

Ryan wanted to pull her into his arms, and he must have reached toward her because she held up a hand.

“There's more. After surgery, the doctor told me that there was something wrong with my uterus, which was why I'd had the two miscarriages. There was some sort of tissue barrier making it smaller than normal. He told me that I needed to have another surgery before even trying to get pregnant again. And even then, the scar tissue might be too much to overcome.”

“Cassie, I'm so sorry,” he said tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better.”

Her attempt at a smile was pathetic. “Thanks, but there isn't anything you can do, although I appreciate your support. This is my burden to bear. I've always dreamed of having a family of my own, which is probably why I rushed into marriage with Evan.”

“Just so you know, that loser is not worth a single tear,” Ryan told her.

This time her smile looked real. “Thanks. I just wanted you to know that my chances of having a baby of my own are probably less than thirty percent. So now you know why I'm such an emotional wreck about being able to be a foster mother to Emma. And why this townhouse is so important to me.”

“I do understand,” he said slowly. “But, Cassie, you have to know that there are so many options available these days. The strides in reproductive medicine have been amazing. Even if you can't have children of your own, you can still have the family you've always dreamed of.”

“Maybe,” she admitted, although she looked far from convinced.

Ryan's desire to share the truth about losing his unborn son died on his tongue. Cassie was excited about seeing the townhouse and he didn't want to bring her down.

Besides, it suddenly hit him that he was more like her ex-husband than he wanted to admit.

Not because he hadn't wanted his son, because he had. Desperately.

But he hadn't wanted Victoria.

And in the midst of his anguish after her death he'd been unable to deny a small measure of relief to know that he wouldn't have to spend the rest of his life with her.

A fact that made him a terrible person. Not much better than Evan.

Certainly not good enough for Cassie.

* * *

Cassie felt better once she'd told Ryan the truth. And he'd been nothing but supportive.

She sensed that there were things he wanted to talk about, too, and feared he'd go into detail again about what her options were as far as having a child of her own. For some reason, she couldn't help thinking that he'd been trying to convince himself that there were other opportunities to have a child. Maybe because deep down he knew how much he wanted to have children of his own.

Maybe it was for the best that there wasn't enough time for further discussion. “I'm sorry, Ryan, but can we head over to the townhouse now? I'd like to be there a few minutes early.”

“Of course,” he agreed. “Buckle up.”

She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and then latched her seat belt. She pulled out her phone so she could give him directions.

“Take Main Street and then turn left on Lilac Road,” she said.

“Lots of kids playing around here,” he commented.

She nodded, loving the fact that this area seemed ideal for raising a family. “Turn left on Lavender, and the townhouse should be right there on the corner.”

“I think I see the For Sale sign,” he said as they approached.

“No, that's Rosewood,” she said, glancing down at the paperwork she held in her hand. “Lavender is the next block.”

He nodded and continued, although she found herself thinking that the moderate-sized Cape Cod with the For Sale sign in the front yard looked inviting, too.

Way beyond her price range, though.

“There it is,” she said, craning her neck to see better. “They're side-by-side townhouses. And I love how close it is to the park.”

“I see it,” he said, pulling over to the curb.

“It only has two bedrooms,” she said, feeling self-conscious about her choice. “But that's all Emma and I really need.”

“It looks great,” he said as he shut off the engine.

Cassie slid out of the passenger seat, thrilled
to see the townhouse up close. Granted, it was small, but she refused to let that fact get her down. Besides, the price was already a stretch since she'd have to take out a loan against her retirement plan to afford her rent and the down payment.

“The roof looks to be in good shape,” Ryan said, gesturing with his hand. “And the outside appears to be low maintenance.”

“So far, so good,” she agreed, glad he was there to give her some pointers. “I wonder who lives next door?”

“That's a good question, since you'll be sharing the building and the yard,” he said. “Maybe the Realtor knows?”

“I wish she'd get here,” Cassie muttered. “I'm dying to see the inside.”

“That's probably her now.”

Cassie shielded her eyes against the glare of the summer sun to check out the car that had turned onto the street. Sure enough, the driver was a woman who looked like the photograph of Andrea Langley she'd seen on the website. “I'm glad she came early, too.”

Andrea parked the car in front of the townhouse and slid out from the driver's seat. Cassie met her halfway. “Thanks for
coming on short notice,” she said, holding out her hand to Andrea.

“My pleasure,” Andrea said with a broad smile. She glanced over at Ryan. “Nice to see you, too, Dr. Murphy.”

Cassie's eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I didn't realize you knew each other.”

“I've listed my house with Andrea,” Ryan said.

Really? Why on earth hadn't he mentioned that fact? But this wasn't the time or the place to ask. Especially as Andrea began talking about the property.

“The inside needs a little work,” Andrea warned, as she unlocked the front door, “but a little paint and new carpeting will make it look as good as new.”

Cassie's excitement faded to despair when she saw what Andrea meant. The walls must have been white once, but now had an icky brown tinge to them. The interior reeked of stale cigarette smoke, which made her gag. Maybe paint and pulling the old carpeting out might help, but what if that didn't work? She felt certain an entire can of air freshener wouldn't make a dent in the stench.