His Plan for the Quintuplets

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  “No.” Susannah took another halting breath, still struggling to get her emotions under control. “You saw them,” she said, making no effort to hide her aggravation with herself. “They were thrilled. They always are when they get to spend time with the other dads.”

  “Which is something they don’t have.”

  She pressed on the bridge of her nose. “Right.” Swallowed, and finally looked up at him again, remorse glimmering in her sea-blue eyes. “It just makes me feel guilty sometimes, because I know they’re never going to have that.”

  He brought her back into the curve of his arm. “You don’t know that,” he said gruffly.

  Taking the folded tissue he pressed into her hand, Susannah wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I’m not saying guys wouldn’t date me, if benefits were involved.”

  “Now you’re really selling yourself short,” he told her in a low, gravelly voice.

  “But no one wants a ready-made family with five kids.”

  I would, Gabe thought, much to his surprise. “I’d take you all in a heartbeat,” he said before he could stop himself.

  Not taking him literally, Susannah wrinkled her nose. She rose gracefully and gathered up her trash. “Except you don’t want to get married.”

  Not sure that was true any longer, Gabe paused.

  Her back to him, she walked over to the trash can and dispensed with her empty cup and foil packet. “It’s okay.” She squared her slender shoulders and swung back to him, looking better now—stronger, more like herself. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she admitted with a self-admonishing shake of her pretty head. “It’s just been an emotional day. I probably just need to go home and pull myself together, like Mitzy advised.”

  Gabe stood, too, and walked over to join her. He tossed his own trash into the bin. Then reached over and brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Or,” he suggested smoothly, “you could have dinner and a glass of wine with me and my brother. I’m supposed to go to Cade’s house and cook dinner with him tonight. He always buys enough to feed an army, so it’d be no problem to throw something on for you, too.”

  Finally, Susannah began to relax. “He wouldn’t mind?” she asked.

  Talk about an understatement. Gabe rolled his eyes. “Please. He’s at his best when he is entertaining a beautiful woman.”

  Susannah made a face at him. “Okay, Doc,” she chastised drolly, “you don’t have to lay it on so thick. I’ll stop crying without the false compliments.”

  It was his turn to do a double take. “You are beautiful,” he told her sincerely. “Even more so than when I saw you five years ago.”

  Her delicate brow arched. “I’ve gained weight,” she said flatly.

  She sure had! Gabe shrugged. “In all the right places.” And to prove it, he let his glance drift over the lovely swell of her breasts, the nip of her waist and the curve of her hips, before returning to her eyes. “Sorry,” he said, seeing the flare of feminine temper, “but you brought it up.”

  Her gaze narrowed even more. He had the feeling she didn’t know whether to deck him, read him the riot act or both.

  “It’s the truth,” he said, just as flatly, looking her right in the eye. “Before you bordered on being too thin. Now you’re perfect.” So perfect it was all he could do to keep his hands off her.

  “Well, thank you. I think. Unless,” she added hastily, “this is some new way of hitting on me.”

  Which would be forbidden, she seemed to be saying. “Of course not,” Gabe returned automatically. Only in my mind. And my heart. And my loins... Once again, he pushed away the need to get her beneath him. “So, are you up for going to see Cade?”

  Susannah hesitated. “Shouldn’t you call him first and ask him if it’s okay?”

  Unsure whether it was celebrity wariness or shyness driving her concern, Gabe said, “He hasn’t answered my texts all afternoon. So, no. I’m just going to drive over there and see what the situation is.”

  New concern lit Susannah’s pretty face. “You think there might be a problem?” she asked, walking with him to the parking lot.

  Gabe inclined his head. “He’s been overdoing the post-op rehab and postsurgical workouts, so he might just be sleeping. At least that’s what I’m hoping he’s doing.”

  She tucked her hand around his elbow as they threaded their way through the vehicles. “Well, there’s only one way to find out,” she said with a determined smile. “Let’s go see.”

  * * *

  Although she knew him in passing, Susannah had never been in Cade Lockhart’s home before. It was as luxurious a bachelor pad as one might imagine a famous major league pitcher would have, with large, open rooms, lots of dark wood and expensive leather furniture.

  Seemingly oblivious to the richness of their surroundings, Gabe strolled in ahead of her. There were grocery bags on the kitchen counter, waiting to be unloaded.

  “Cade?” Gabe yelled in warning. “We’ve got company.”

  Susannah smirked. “Afraid he’ll walk out naked?”

  Gabe groaned, not joking. “With that man, you never know.” With a frown, he gazed around, then advised grimly, “Make yourself at home. I’ll go see if I can find him.”

  Gabe headed up the stairs, then returned, swearing, what appeared to be a handwritten note in hand.

  “Problem?” Susannah guessed.

  “He drove to Dallas.”

  That was several hours away. Minimum. “With a bum right shoulder?”

  Gabe snorted. Wadding up the note, he tossed it in the trash, then began unloading the groceries, which appeared to be some fresh fruits and vegetables and other staples and dry goods. “Apparently, my younger brother had some female ‘help’ with the driving.”

  “Well, that’s good at least.”

  Gabe scowled. “He also said he’s going stir-crazy here in Laramie County, so he’s going home to Dallas to meet with the team doctors and see if he can’t get off injured reserve any earlier. And he also wants to check on his home there, enjoy a little nightlife. Oh, and I’m welcome to join him, he said, but not before the first of the week. In the meantime, his place here is all mine.”

  Finished, Gabe took some wine out of the fridge and opened up the bottle of Bordeaux. “Now I need some, too.” He poured two glasses.

  Susannah accepted hers. Wordlessly, they touched glasses. “Are you worried about him?” She settled down at the island.

  He lounged on the other side, still looking restless. “I won’t be as long as he makes a full recovery and can get back to where he was in his career.”

  Susannah knew enough about sports to realize that was never guaranteed. “And if the worst happens and he doesn’t?”

  His expression turned brooding. “You can’t suddenly give up everything you have known and loved that has been your life’s blood for years and not feel a tremendous emotional toll...”

  Suddenly, Gabe didn’t just seem to be talking about his brother. She sipped the delicious full-bodied wine. “Is that the way you feel about your work?”

  He seemed surprised by her question. Brow furrowing, he looked over at her. “You mean what would I do if I weren’t able to be a physician any longer?”

  “A Physicians Without Borders doctor,” Susannah clarified.

  Gabe’s broad shoulders tensed. “Well, that hasn’t happened,” he said.

  Not exactly an answer.

  He continued affably, “But I imagine I would figure out something.”

  That would not likely make him nearly as happy, Susannah imagined. Still, sensing Gabe needed comforting now as much as she had earlier, she turned the conversation back from him to his younger brother. “Just like Cade eventually would figure something else out if he couldn’t resume his career the way he would like, and instead gets traded to another team or relegated to bac
kup instead of star pitcher.”

  Gabe turned to Susannah with a half smile. “You’re right about one thing. Cade is the kind of guy who always lands on his feet. So I probably don’t have to worry about him.”

  Except he still was, Susannah noted.

  Gabe surveyed her kindly. “But back to you. Do you want to have dinner here, or shall we go out?”

  “In public?”

  “Well, we could hide out in a cave somewhere and sneak a few sandwiches, but...”

  She made a face at him. “I think if we were to be seen in a restaurant together, alone, that might raise a few eyebrows.”

  “Why?”

  “Because,” she said, irritated, “people would assume it was a date.”

  Grinning mischievously, Gabe spread his hands wide. “And that would be bad because...?” he taunted playfully.

  Susannah flushed. “We’re not dating, Gabe.” And won’t ever be. “And I don’t want to deal with the speculation. Nor would I imagine that you would, either. It was bad enough when you brought me into the ER with the sprained ankle. And at least that could be explained away by the fact you were there when it happened and were just being neighborly.”

  Gabe regarded her with a poker face. “Mind helping me cook, then?” he questioned, deadpan. “Since no one will be here to see our teamwork or make something of that?”

  * * *

  This was going to be okay, Susannah told herself firmly, even if her heart kept racing and her entire body was on edge, with signs of an overabundance of emotion and too much residual adrenaline. She smiled. “Sure.”

  Gabe took another sip of wine. “I’ll handle the steaks if you manage the sides.”

  She studied the veggies. “Sautéed carrots, yellow squash, zucchini and broccoli okay with you?”

  “Perfect.”

  “There’s also ready-made salad, which could be topped with fresh strawberries and almonds. Several different kinds of vinaigrette. Or poppy-seed dressing if you prefer that.”

  “I should bring you home more often,” Gabe teased.

  It was just a joke, but the image the words evoked—of the two of them making love—was all too real and enticing. Susannah took another sip of wine, then stepped to the sink to wash her hands.

  Gabe did the same. “How about you take that side of the stove and I’ll use the indoor grill over here?” he asked.

  Everything had already been prepped, presumably by Cade, so all she had to do was add a little olive oil and butter to the skillet, let it heat up and then add the veggies. While they sautéed, she worked on the salad.

  Gabe grilled steaks with the expertise of a man who knew his way around a kitchen.

  Aware it had been years since she’d been with a guy in such an intimate situation, Susannah tried not to make too much of it. “You were great today with Mike, by the way.”

  Glance narrowing, Gabe placed the seasoned filets on the sizzling hot grill. “Don’t let my calm in a crisis fool you,” he said soberly. “I was shaken up, too.”

  “But you’re a doctor.”

  He exhaled and shrugged his broad shoulders offhandedly. “It’s still hard to see someone you’ve known since you were a kid in the midst of a crisis.”

  And yet... “You seemed calm when you went over to assist Mike and Millie and await the EMTs.”

  Another sigh, deeper this time. “That’s where my medical training kicked in.”

  Susannah took a moment to absorb that. She hadn’t expected him to reveal this much about himself to her. Yet she was glad he had. It made him seem more human and accessible.

  Nodding in empathy, she continued, “Thank God the kids didn’t see him being loaded into the ambulance on a stretcher with an IV in his arm and an oxygen mask on his face. They would have freaked.”

  “We’re lucky they slept through it,” he agreed.

  “Mind if I text Millie, see if she has everything she needs?”

  “Go ahead.” He turned the steaks and gestured at the stove. “I’ll watch over all this.”

  For the next ten minutes, Susannah texted back and forth with Millie. By the time she finally put her phone away, she had another half glass of wine and a loaded plate of steaming food waiting for her.

  “Everything okay?” Gabe asked.

  Susannah sat down opposite him at the table. “Millie decided to stay the night with Mike over at the hospital.”

  As they settled in, their knees briefly bumped, sending an electric current racing through Susannah. Chivalrous as ever, Gabe asked, “Does she need us to bring her things?”

  Susannah shook her head and took a bite of salad. “The nurses gave her the soft jersey pj’s, nonskid slipper socks and toiletry kit for people who unexpectedly stay in the hospital with loved ones overnight. So she says she is good.”

  Gabe cut into his steak. “I didn’t know the hospital did that.”

  She nodded, doing her best to concentrate on their delicious dinner rather than the ruggedly handsome man opposite her. “The overnight visitor kits are provided by the McCabe Foundation.”

  He sobered. “That’s been around since John and Lilah McCabe passed, when I was doing my residency here. Their ranch was put in a trust and was being turned into the McCabe House when I left, which was going to be run like a Ronald McDonald House.”

  Susannah tore her eyes from the sinewy contours of his chest. “But they now do a lot of other little things, too, which are important to patients. All new babies go home with sleep suits and caps, as well as the traditional hospital newborn nursery blankets. Others who can’t afford transportation to and from the hospital for treatment receive that free of charge.”

  Gabe smiled. “People in Laramie County really take care of their own.”

  “They sure do,” Susannah agreed. “It’s one reason I like living here. It would be a lot harder to raise the quintuplets in the city.”

  “Speaking of taking care of our own...” He gave her an admiring look and raised his wineglass in a toast to her. “You really care about Millie and Mike...and vice versa.”

  With good reason, Susannah thought. “They’re family to me. Millie is sort of the best friend I had always hoped my mom would one day be, if she had lived, as well as a surrogate mom, and Mike is definitely the father figure in my life. They’re both de facto grandparents to the kids. So much so that I would feel guilty for taking so much of their time and energy if I didn’t know their situation.”

  Gabe locked eyes with her. “Mike mentioned to me he and Millie always wanted kids but it didn’t work out.”

  “They met in college while they were studying to be teachers. They wanted to travel a lot while they were young and unencumbered, so every summer for the first fifteen years or so that they were married, they went off to see the world. When they finally decided they wanted kids, it didn’t happen. They tried in vitro several times, but it failed.”

  “Damn. That must have been really tough to deal with.”

  “It was.” Susannah sighed. “They thought about adopting a baby, but by then they were in their late forties, and they didn’t think it would be fair to have a kid graduating high school when they were getting on Social Security. So they gave up on that dream and went back to traveling—until I moved in. And then,” she admitted wryly, “they dedicated themselves to helping me...and eventually the kids...and now we’re the family that we all always wanted.”

  Abruptly, she teared up. “I don’t know what Millie would do if something happened to Mike,” she said thickly.

  Gabe squeezed her hand. “I know,” he said softly. “She would be devastated, and vice versa.”

  Finished with her meal, Susannah sat back, studying him. His expression didn’t change in the slightest, yet there was something in his eyes, some small hint of worry he had yet to express. “Is there something going on medically that
you and Gavin haven’t told us about yet?”

  He shook his head. “No. It really was just low potassium and high blood pressure. The tests he is having tomorrow are just precautions.”

  “So if you don’t expect anything else to show up, what’s bugging you?”

  His manner guarded, he stood and began to clear the table. “I should have seen it. Would have if I didn’t like Mike so much and he hadn’t been my teacher and track coach all through high school.”

  Susannah cleared the table, too, carrying the plates over to the sink, where Gabe stood. “You mean there were signs?”

  Briefly, the sexy doc looked like he had taken a punch to the gut. Recovering, he pressed his lips together tersely and admitted, “He looked a little off as the morning wore on today, but he’d been picking up toys and rushing around getting the meal set up while I had all the kids outside, so I chalked it up to too much activity. He also said he hadn’t had coffee this morning, and he perked up when he had a couple of cups.”

  “But then...?”

  “He needed his medicines, because he had forgotten to take them this morning.”

  “So he went across the street to get them,” Susannah recalled.

  Gabe nodded, even more unhappily. “He didn’t come back right away and wasn’t answering my calls when you came in. And, of course, that’s when he had the incident that put him in the hospital.”

  Susannah curved her hand around Gabe’s bicep, forcing him to face her. “You can’t blame yourself for that,” she said gently.

  “I’m not taking responsibility for his missed medications or memory.”

  “Then...?” She studied his brooding expression.

  Grimacing, Gabe went back to doing the dishes and sliding them into the dishwasher. “It’s a problem I have when I’m close to someone. It’s also why doctors don’t treat their own families. They don’t want to think anything is amiss with someone they love, so they convince themselves they are overreacting out of concern and believe everything is fine when it’s not.”