by Mary Stone
People rushed by purposefully, with things to do, but he had nothing to do but think.
He found himself running over her last words to him, again and again. There isn’t anyone else. Not in the way you’re thinking.
What did that mean?
He’d been thinking a hell of a lot. Everything bad. Especially when she’d pulled up to that old coffee shop. He was pretty sure it was the same one where the dead body had been found. Was she going there to meet her lover?
All Linc had known was that he needed to see the man. Maybe even confront him and beat the shit out of him. If he met any prick who’d laid a hand on her, he’d see red. Wouldn’t be able to control himself.
But she’d been alone. No lover in sight.
And then, on the way to the hospital, she’d kept repeating over and over again that she was sorry. In typical Kylie fashion, she didn’t let him get a word in. She rambled on that this was all her fault, that she was being stupid and should’ve been more careful, and he could see she wasn’t angry anymore—more like scared to death. He didn’t even have a chance to get in that he was sorry too.
She’d been clutching her stomach, and as he pulled into the hospital’s U-shaped drive, she’d gone white as a sheet and passed out. The EMTs outside had laid her out on a stretcher and wheeled her in, telling him he needed to move his truck. When he came back, Kylie’d been wheeled off to the emergency room. He was told that his wife was being evaluated, and that he should take a seat.
That was two hours ago. An hour ago, a doctor had come out and said that she was stable and that her life was not in danger, but that they were in the midst of a number of tests. He hadn’t said anything else or given him any indication of what the problem was. Maybe they didn’t know.
He couldn’t help thinking of his grandmother. She’d collapsed in a similar way, and it’d taken a battery of tests to determine that she had a tumor on her brain stem. Three days later, she was dead, and three weeks after that, his grandfather, who’d been previously healthy as an ox, went too, the victim of a broken heart.
Not Kylie. She was too young. They’d just started their lives together. God, he’d taken all the moments with her for granted.
He tried to scroll through his phone, but nothing interested him. All he could think about was his wife.
Finally, the doors opened and another doctor appeared. “Mr. Coulter?” he said.
Linc nodded and stood up. “How’s Kylie?”
“She’s stable. We did some tests, and she’s resting right now.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. She’s just been under a lot of stress, so we’re recommending bed rest for the foreseeable future, until she gets herself on more solid footing. But the babies are all right.”
Linc nodded along, until the words really sank in. He froze. “Babies?”
“Uh, yes,” the doctor said, shifting uncomfortably. “Did your wife not tell you? I suppose that’s understandable as she’s only a few weeks along.”
“Babies?” Linc repeated.
He nodded. “Yes. Twins.” He motioned to the double doors. “I won’t delay you. I’m sure you’re anxious to see her.”
He followed the doctor, in a daze.
Twins.
Twins.
There isn’t someone else. Not in the way you’re thinking.
Holy fuck. She was pregnant. That’s who the other someone else was. Her babies.
His babies.
Their babies.
Twins.
Two of them. At one time.
Through the daze, the pieces started to fall into place. Why she’d been tired. Why she’d been moody. Why she’d given him the cold shoulder. No wonder. She was completely stressed out because she was trying to get this business off the ground. Add in a pregnancy?
Suddenly, it all made sense.
And he felt fan-fucking-tastic. Relieved, excited, dazed, a little scared, but so incredibly thankful that he wanted to drop to his knees and praise God.
He found her in the hospital room, a sheet pulled up over her chest, her eyes closed. When he walked in and sat on the edge of the bed next to her, he took her hand and kissed the back of it.
She opened her eyes. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi, Lee. Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
“Tired.”
“Well, that makes sense. Considering.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Her voice sounded so weak, he had to lean forward in order to hear her clearly. “I wanted to. I actually tried to a few times but—”
He smiled. “I know why you didn’t. Because I’m one crazy son of a bitch.”
She drew her bottom lip under her top teeth, holding on to his hand tighter. “Are you happy?”
“Happy?” He leaned forward and took her other hand too. “Baby, I’m thrilled. A few minutes ago, I thought you were dying. And a few minutes before that, I thought you wanted to get divorced. So all in all, it was a pretty shitty day, up until right now.”
She shook her head slightly, her eyes still glazed. “I love you. I don’t ever want to leave you. I just know how hard it’s going to be. Things are already so crazy.”
“Nah. They’re not so bad.”
“They want me to be on bed rest for the rest of the trimester, Linc. That’s six weeks. How can I—”
“Don’t worry about that.” He straightened and put his hand over the creases that had begun to line her forehead. “We’ll figure it out. When are the babies coming?”
“April. April thirteenth, to be exact.”
Amazing how this one little answer explained all of her weird behavior over the past couple of days. And it was such a good answer. A great answer. The best answer. A freaking miracle. He was going to be a dad. “Wow. I can’t believe it.”
Tears shone in her eyes. “You are happy, right?”
“Hell yes. Beyond happy. I think you just made me the happiest guy on the planet. I can’t wait, Kylie. But I want you to be well, first. That’s most important. These kids need a healthy mom.”
“I’m trying.”
“Hey. Relax. Don’t try. Just take it easy, and it’ll happen on its own. All right?”
“They said it’s a good thing you got me here when you did. Something about my progesterone and…” she furrowed her brow, “a threatened miscarriage because of some bleeding.”
He patted her hand gently. Nothing was going to happen to these kids on his watch. “But you’re okay now. The babies will be okay. We’ll just do every single thing the doctors tell us to do. Okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t want to tell anyone yet. Not until we’re sure I’m out of the woods.”
He understood. His parents would be beyond excited, considering they’d always thought of him as the permanent bachelor. Kylie’s mother, Rhonda, would probably buy out all the baby clothes in the Asheville area.
Holy shit. Yeah, there was so much to think about, but it was all good stuff. Unlike all the shit they’d been dealing with for the past few weeks, this was so, so good.
“Yeah. Of course, but everything will be fine.” He leaned over and kissed her. “You just need to take it easy.”
“But I don’t know how I’m going to get everything done.”
He laughed. “Remember? There’s two of us Coulters in Coulter Confidential. I can do your dirty work while you’re on bed rest. Just tell me what you need.”
“But you’re already so busy.”
“I’m not that busy. And I get it. I’m sorry if I contributed to your stress, Lee. That’s not what I wanted. I wasn’t trying to be your warden. I just want to help. You can use me to help. Anything you need. All right?”
Kylie laughed, and he knew it was because he was rambling, which was very rare for him. He pressed his lips together to keep from promising her the moon.
She laced her fingers through his. “I have a lot of paperwork and billing that needs to be done. I guess I can concentrate on that and let you f
ocus on the outside stuff for now. You know, the investigative stuff. Impact has a slew of work waiting for me.”
He knew it’d be hell for her. She never sat still in one spot for long. Of course, if he took over the Impact assignments, she would be in heaven, so this could be a win-win for them both.
“Yeah. It will be good. You’ll see. It’ll all work out.” He stood up and kissed her forehead again. “Now, just get some rest. All right?”
She closed her eyes. “I love you, Linc,” she said, her hands moving to her stomach, covering the tiny lives they’d come so close to losing.
He smiled and sat back on the faux leather chair, watching her as her breathing slowed, the monitor on her heart quieted, and the worried creases on her forehead slowly faded away. Then, he got up and walked down the hallway.
Not too far, though. Just enough to get himself some exercise and work off all the nervous energy he felt pulsing through his veins.
He needed to be there when she woke up.
17
“Shit!” Kylie screamed as she poked her finger with the sharp end of a knitting needle for the third time in five minutes.
Looking at the haphazard pattern she’d created with the mint green yarn—she thought green would be safe since they didn’t yet know the sex of the babies—she sighed. The sock would fit just fine, if the baby’s foot was about the size of a regular human’s foot.
She’d forgotten to make a turn somewhere, maybe.
Lifting her knees slightly, she adjusted her cell phone so that she had a better view of the YouTube video entitled Even an Idiot can Knit These Baby Booties!
She’d been so encouraged by how simple the instructor had made it look that she’d ordered Linc to go out and get her the materials at the hobby store downtown, right away. After all, after a week of sitting in bed with her laptop, she’d not only managed to file away all the paperwork and billing for Impact Insurance, she’d also revamped the billing system to make it easier and pre-created all of their invoices for all the work in progress.
So, even though she was happy that she’d finally gotten a handle on the accounting end of her business, she now had something else to worry about.
She couldn’t freaking knit worth a damn.
Would that make her a bad mother? Was that a prerequisite for having kids?
Groaning, she threw the whole thing, needles and all, onto the floor and petted Vader, who was lounging on his side beside her, hoping her dog’s love would give her some sorely needed calm.
Breathe in, breathe out.
She had to relax.
Above all, that was what needed to happen. Doctor’s orders.
She’d never been so scared in her life as she’d been a week ago. It was only when she’d felt that gush of fluid between her legs while she was outside the coffee shop that she’d realized something: She wanted these babies.
Like, really, really wanted them.
No, they weren’t a hindrance. An annoyance. Not even a problem. How could she have even thought that? They were a blessed gift from God.
On the ride to the hospital, she’d kept her eyes closed, saying quiet prayers, telling herself that if everything came out all right, she’d never take these children for granted again.
Sucking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, she stroked her stomach. So, the babies would have store-bought booties. Big deal. They wouldn’t mind. They’d be too busy with other, more important things, like trying to find their thumbs to suck. Kylie had never cared much about shoes, either. These kids would buck fashion trends and looking cool. They’d go their own way.
A couple of moments later, Linc poked his head through the door. “Everything okay? I thought I heard…” He looked at the pile of yarn and needles on the floor. “Problem?”
She shook her head, then held up her red pointer finger. “I’ve just decided to give up knitting.”
He came in with a tray for her. Her lunch, a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. He was such a good nursemaid, almost too good, but she figured she’d earned it because she’d tended to him after he’d injured his shoulder.
He set it down on the bed beside her, lifted her finger, and kissed it very gently. “Rule number one: If a hobby makes you bleed more than it makes you smile, it isn’t worth it.”
She smiled.
“I was thinking…for the nursery, my grandparents never threw anything away, so I think the old crib my parents used is in the back shed somewhere. I bet I could refinish it.”
“Yeah, but we need two,” she reminded him.
“Okay. But I could probably build the other one.”
She had no doubt. He was good with tools, a very handy guy. But every time Linc opened his mouth, it was something about the babies. Which of the two remaining upstairs rooms—the guest room or the storage room—should be used as the nursery. Whether it made sense to paint the whole house now, or if that would be bad for the babies. Since there were so many things they’d need, whether they should register for baby stuff somewhere, and if so, when.
She wanted to be happy about his excitement. She really did. But his mind was so occupied by thoughts of the kids that it seemed he’d forgotten one thing: He’d promised to be her go-fer when it came to all things Coulter Confidential.
Oh, he was helping out. He was extremely helpful on her getting a handle on the Impact Insurance worker’s comp surveillance cases. He’d gone from one of those to the next like a busy little beaver, watching and documenting the activities of various insureds on worker’s comp and bringing home the details for Kylie to enter into the electronic reports she filed for Impact.
The dull stuff, Linc excelled at.
But it was the kinds of cases that made Kylie’s heart race that he’d been decidedly…removed from. And yes, okay, they were maybe the slightest bit dangerous, but that was what made them exciting.
For example, Elise Kirby’s.
Well, it made sense that he was avoiding that one. That had been her “hobby” case, after all, and it wasn’t bringing them in any money. She’d called Allison Simmons, the mother she’d arranged to meet at the café, to tell her what had happened and told her that her husband would be out to talk to her in a few days. But Linc kept putting off the appointment.
Granted, he was more of a loner and wasn’t great with people. Interviewing, he probably wouldn’t be great at. Still, the more time that went by, the more Kylie began to believe he was avoiding the case entirely.
“Did you call Allison yet?” she blurted as he went to fluff her pillows.
“Uh. Not yet. Probably tomorrow.” He scratched the side of his jaw. “I finished the last of the Impact cases on the docket this morning. Now I’ve got to get the pups to the vet for their check-up. I was going to leave in a few minutes.”
Sure. He was more interested in the pups than in solving this case. Or maybe he just didn’t think there was a case. Whatever it was, it was clear he wasn’t as invested in it as she was.
He reached into the pockets of his cargo shorts for his keys. “Will you be all right here for the afternoon if I leave for a few hours? I might not be back until dinnertime, but I can pick up some KFC if you’re interested?”
KFC? If it was food, she was interested. Lately, mention of food of any kind made her ravenous. She lifted up her sandwich and took a bite. “Yes, I can manage, and yes, would you think I’m a pig if I asked for an entire bucket for myself?”
“Nah. You’re eating for three. What are you going to do, if not knitting?”
She pointed to her laptop. “I have a few more reports to finish up.”
“All right.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Now, remember, I don’t even want you taking the stairs. The doctor said you had to take it super, super easy.”
She rolled her eyes. That was why he’d been carrying her everywhere, like some legless creature. For the past week, she’d been confined up in her bedroom, except for one brief moment when she made the mistake of trying to go d
own the stairs. The dogs had gotten all excited to finally see her again, since they apparently thought she’d fallen into a hole and died. Linc rushed past them, scooped her up, and delivered her back to the bed before she could say Escape, with a severe warning not to ever do that again.
“Fine.”
“Bean One and Bean Two, did you hear that?” he called, using her nicknames for the little spuds. “Stay put and don’t give your mom trouble.”
“They heard. Now go.”
He lifted his cell phone. “All right. If you need anything at all, just call. My phone’s on.”
She waved him away. Like she’d make him drop everything to drive a half-hour back up the hill so he could get her a new roll of toilet paper. “I’ll be fine.”
Linc seriously didn’t even want her getting out of bed, except to pee, and it surprised her that she hadn’t developed bed sores. She had to think that getting no exercise whatsoever had to be bad for the babies too.
As soon as she heard the door slam, she climbed out of bed and went to the bay window, where she saw Linc trying to herd the puppies into the truck. It was like a fun tornado at his feet. Good luck with that.
But even though the puppies were a handful, he had more of a way with them than most people would’ve. Eventually, he got them inside the kennel he kept in the back seat of the truck and closed the door. She watched him pull away, then went and grabbed her phone, quickly putting in a call to Greg.
“Hey,” she said when he answered.
“Well, to what do I owe the pleasure, short stuff?” he said in his typical surly way. Wait…it was barely noon. Was he drunk again?
“I’m having a bit of a crisis,” she said to him, sitting down on the bay window’s ledge and soaking in the sunshine. “I thought you could give me your guidance, oh brilliant one.”
“Maybe. Is this about that child kidnapping again?”
“Well…it’s more of a general question about the business. Surveillance cases aside, how much do you think you could’ve gotten done on some of your biggest cases if you were say, confined to your bed for two months?”
“Uh-oh. What did you do?”