“I’d just fall apart without you, Maddy. You know it.” I planted more kisses on her hand.
“Did they tell you what happened in surgery?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Not yet. The nurse said it went well, but that the doctor would be around this morning to talk to us. I think they just wanted you to get some sleep.”
“I feel empty,” she whispered, tears pricking her eyes.
“I know. We’ll see what the doctor says and go from there. And once we’ve spoken to the doctor, I’ll go and get Carly. Pretty sure having her around will make you feel better.”
Maddy nodded, squeezing my hand. “Do you think she’s okay? Being somewhere strange?”
“She has kids to play with, and they’re having pancakes this morning.”
Maddy smiled wanly. “She’ll like that. I hate that we had nowhere else for her to go.”
I sighed, stroking her face with my fingers. “I know. But I’d rather she was there than here, and going through all this with us. She’s got other children to play with and things to distract her. I’m sure she’ll be excited to see me and come and see you, but she’ll be okay for the moment.”
~
“The good news is that we didn’t have to do anything with the fallopian tube,” the doctor said. Maddy had been gripping my hand tightly since he’d walked in the door, and that lessened as she received the news she’d been hoping for.
She closed her eyes.
“So, what now?” I asked.
“We need to monitor Maddy’s hormone levels, make sure they’re back to normal. If you’re planning on trying again, it’s best to wait until this pregnancy is completely out of her system. I’d suggest at least three months.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“The nurse will bring around some more information on counselling and support if you need it. I would suggest resting up for a while, letting someone else take care of things.”
I squeezed her hand. “I’ll take some time off, look after you and Carly for a while.”
Maddy pulled her hand away, raising it to my face and smiling that pale smile that told me everything would be alright, but not just yet. She needed time.
“Anything else you need, just let the nurse know. We’ll move you to a ward shortly; we just need to keep an eye on you for a couple of days.”
“Thanks, Doctor,” I said. I’d rather Maddy was in my arms tonight, safe and sound, right where I needed her to be. Even one night without her was one night too much.
“Can you go and get Carly?” she asked.
“Of course I can.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The sound of children giggling floated through the air as I approached the front door. Kyle opened the front door to my knock, covered in flour and shaking his head in amusement as I stifled a laugh.
“Go ahead. You can laugh too. Your daughter certainly thought it was funny enough for the three of them to gang up on me and do this.”
“I’m so sorry, Kyle,” I said between laughs.
He shrugged. “Life with kids. Carly’s fitting in well, but she’ll be pleased to see you.”
A screech came from behind him, and Carly came flying out the door and into my arms. “Daddy,” she squealed.
“Hey, monkey.” I swung her around, and she giggled in delight.
“We was making pancakes.” She hugged me tight, and I kissed her cheek before wiping flour from her nose.
“Well, some of us were making pancakes. The rest were throwing flour,” Kyle said. “Come in, Andrew. Have you had breakfast?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been beside Maddy’s bed all night. They brought breakfast in for her, but I made her eat the whole lot.”
Carly wriggled in my arms, and I dropped her on the ground so she could run back inside. Following Kyle, I saw what a mess they’d made.
They were all covered in various amounts of flour. It was all over the kitchen floor, the cupboards, and the counter. Rowan, who would have shrieked at the thought of being so messy when we were younger, was sitting on the floor, laughing as her youngest threw a tiny handful of flour at her.
“Enough you guys,” Kyle said. “Let me finish up in here and we’ll have some breakfast. You’re welcome to join us, Andrew. If this lot don’t eat them all, you could even take some for Maddy.”
“Aww, Daddy.” Rowan joined in the chorus from the kids, and Kyle cocked an eyebrow at her. The way she looked at him told the whole story about how in love they were. That and the fact that he was about to clean up the mess she’d helped make.
He held out his hand, and she took it as he pulled her up off the floor.
“Okay, okay,” she said. “I’ll take the kids to go and wash up.”
There was a blur of movement as their two children with mine in tow ran past, Rowan following behind. I shook my head, grinning at the sight of them.
“I dropped some flour on the floor and next thing it was everywhere.” Kyle laughed.
“If you’ve got a vacuum cleaner, I’m happy to help clean it up. I’m sure my girl was in on it too.”
He opened a cupboard and pulled one out. “I am not going to say no to some free labour.”
I took it from him, grinning as he pointed out where to plug it in. “I never thought I’d be vacuuming your floor, of all things.”
“I never thought you’d be in my house again.” His eyes locked on mine, a warning contained within.
“It wasn’t something I planned either. I really do appreciate everything you’ve done. Maddy does too. Well, she did after recovering from the shock that I’d come here. I was scared as hell last night, and knowing Carly would be looked after really helped.”
He nodded, the look in his eyes softening. “How’s Maddy?”
“Desperate to get out of hospital. But okay. They didn’t have to remove a fallopian tube, which was what she was scared of. She’s been through so much in her life, it just sucks that she’s had to deal with this too.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but glad she’s on the mend.”
I started the vacuum, sucking up all the flour as Kyle went back to making pancakes. We used to have pancakes on Saturday mornings at Rowan’s place; her mother had what she called her secret recipe. They always tasted better than any other pancakes, though as I grew, I realised it wasn’t the recipe that was so different—it was the fact it was a secret.
“Do you guys do this often?” I yelled over the sound of the vacuum.
“Rowan likes to do this every weekend, and we’ve kind of fallen into a routine with it. Usually it’s not quite so messy. Carly enjoyed joining in with our kids, though. The three of them had a lot of fun throwing flour at me.”
I laughed, shaking my head as the flour slowly started disappearing.
“What you doing, Daddy?” Carly’s voice came from behind me, and I turned to see my daughter wrinkling up her nose at the sight of me cleaning, as if she hadn’t seen it a million times before.
“Cleaning up after you, monkey,” I said, waving the end of the vacuum at her. She squealed, running around in a circle before doubling over, laughing. At least she wasn’t worried about Maddy, and seemed to have made herself completely at home.
“Carly’s been such a good girl.” Rowan came up behind her, running her hand down Carly’s curls. Her eldest child stood behind her, dark hair and the same blue eyes her father had. Mia. I was about to say how great that was, but the words caught in my throat looking at Rowan’s eldest. I’d taken her mother away from her when she was a baby, without a second thought for her needs.
Mia blushed, hiding behind her mother, while Charlie, Rowan’s youngest, grabbed Carly’s hand. “Come and play.”
Carly shook her head. “My daddy here.” She pointed at me, and I screwed up my face, prompting her to copy. We were in our own little world, despite the other family surrounding us. I loved this kid so damn much.
“My daddy here too,” Charlie said, pointing at Kyle.
Rowan held out her hand for Carly to take, and Carly looked towards me, as if to ask what she should do.
“Go on, monkey. I’ll be there in a minute.”
She nodded, taking Rowan’s hand. Rowan led her and the other children to the table to sit and wait, and I grinned at her organisational skills. It was so her.
I looked up to see Kyle studying me, his face emotionless, just observing how I reacted to his wife.
“I bet she keeps you lot in line,” I said.
His face cracked as he broke into a smile. “You know she does.”
“Maddy’s the same. What she says goes. Carly and I know better than to argue.”
The grin spread across his face as he nodded. “I bet.”
He turned back to the frying pan. “I’m looking forward to meeting this woman who tamed you. If she’s anything like Carly …” He looked over his shoulder. “She’ll be a real charmer.”
“Maddy is very charming.” I grinned, meeting his eyes where I found unexpected warmth. Maybe I could win him over.
I moved to the table where the children were waiting. Rowan sat at the head of the table with Carly on one side and Charlie on the other. The two youngest ones were poking tongues at one another while Mia rolled her eyes and tucked a paper napkin into the neck of her shirt.
When I sat next to Carly, she laughed loudly. “My daddy is going to eat pancakes too.” I shook my head at her shrill giggle.
“Shhh, Carly.”
The table had been set with plastic plates for the children, and Rowan got up, retrieving another from the kitchen for me.
“Thanks, I think,” I said with a laugh.
“You got a kids plate, Daddy?” Carly asked.
“Yes, I do.” I leaned over and kissed her on the nose, making her giggle some more.
She grinned, and I moved my chair closer to hers. She snuggled up to me, and I looked down at her with a smile.
Kyle appeared in the doorway with a huge pile of pancakes. He placed them in the centre of the table. “Dig in everybody.”
I filled Carly’s plate first, before grabbing a pancake for myself. Just the one and then we’d be out of here.
Carly ate with great enthusiasm, wolfing down the pancakes and emptying her plate before licking it clean. I laughed, shaking my head, getting a cheeky grin in return.
“Yummy,” she declared, holding her plate out for me.
“Anyone would think you’d never been fed.” I tapped her on the nose, grabbing another pancake off the serving platter in the centre of the table with my fork and placing it on the plate. Rowan picked up the bottle of maple syrup and dropped some on the pancake. The maple syrup dribbled over the edges and onto the plastic. More for her to lick.
“It’s been a big morning. They were all up early.” Rowan laughed. “Mia was thrilled to find Carly in her room. I think she thought she finally had a little sister.”
“No such luck, Mia,” I said, grinning at the little girl. She smiled bashfully. “I bet you like having a little brother, though.”
Mia laughed behind her hand. “Not all the time.”
She was so reminiscent of Rowan as a child—all the same mannerisms, the same way of speaking. Rowan had been my best friend at that age.
“Mia looks so much like you,” I said, smiling at Rowan. “Same as this one and Maddy.”
I looked at Carly. She’d managed to get syrup on her face and was trying to touch her tongue to her nose to lick it off.
“All the grace of your mother, too.” I reached over, wiping Carly’s nose with a tissue.
Carly giggled. “Daddy.”
“We need to get going soon. Mummy wants to see you.”
“She in the hostibal?”
I nodded. “Yes, but she’s all better now. Not so cranky. But she’s going to need a lot of cuddles and looking after.”
Carly beamed. “I can do that.”
Rowan and Kyle laughed. “I’m sure you will, sweetheart,” Kyle said.
“Seriously, Andrew. While Maddy’s recovering, Carly’s welcome any time.” Rowan said.
“Don’t you have a job?” I grinned at her while she laughed.
“Working for family has its perks.” Rowan and Kyle exchanged a loving look as she said the words. “I still work for Kyle’s father.”
“And she’s the boss, so gets to work flexible hours. Most of the time she’s working on her laptop remotely while the kids run riot,” Kyle said.
I laughed. “That’s great. I’m sure the kids love having her around. Maddy hasn’t worked since we had Carly. It’s tight, but we manage, so I’m happy for her to do what she wants, and Carly loves it.”
“Mummy plays music,” Carly yelled.
“Shhh, monkey. Maddy’s a violinist. I’ve been trying to convince her to apply for a post in the regional orchestra. I think it’ll do her some good. Especially now.”
“That’s so cool.” Rowan smiled. My girls were definitely helping to thaw relations between all of us. It was weird, but wonderful.
When we were finished, Kyle stood and picked up the platter. “There’s a couple left. Want me to put them on a plate with some plastic wrap and you can take them to Maddy?”
“Mummy likes pancakes,” Carly said.
“She does. That would be great.” Standing, I picked up my plate and then Carly’s.
“Leave them there,” said Rowan, “I’ll sort them out. You did help clean up after this lot before.”
I laughed. “Considering my daughter was responsible for part of that mess, it was the least I could do.”
Kyle returned with two rolled pancakes on a plastic plate. “Here, I made the assumption she’d like maple syrup.”
I took the plate from his hands. “Thank you so much. I’m sure she’ll love them. That’s if they survive the trip in the car with this one.” I nodded towards Carly, who was pulling her lower lip almost down to her chin, laughing with Charlie.
“Hey, baby, we have to go and see Mummy. Do you want to say thank you to Rowan and Kyle and goodbye to the others?”
She nodded, her lips downturned as she looked at Rowan.
“Thank you,” she said.
Rowan lit up, moving around the table to Carly’s chair. “You are very welcome. If your Mummy wants to bring you around to play any time, we’d love to see you again.”
Carly hugged her, Rowan looking over Carly’s shoulder at me. “We mean it, Andrew. You’ve got Kyle’s number.”
“I appreciate it more than you know,” I said.
She smiled, standing and stepping out of the way so Carly could say goodbye to the others. My little girl looked miserable, but I knew once she was back with Maddy she’d be happy again.
Maddy had been moved to the ward when we returned, smiling as we walked in the door. Her eyelids still looked heavy, but her eyes were more beautiful than I remembered. We’d been at each other’s throats the last few weeks rather than just enjoying being together that I’d almost forgotten how easy it was to get lost in them.
“Hey,” she whispered.
“Mummy!” Carly stretched, reaching for her.
“Sweetheart, Mummy’s going to be a bit sore for a while. We’ll sit on the bed, but no jumping on her. Okay?”
She nodded, her big blue eyes wide now at the surroundings. There were four beds in the ward, and women occupied the other three, two of them with babies. One of the babies started crying, and I glanced at Maddy who looked towards the sound with tears in her eyes.
“It’s a bit shit putting you in here with them,” I muttered. I sat Carly on the bed beside Maddy and pulled the big circular curtain around to give us some privacy.
Maddy shrugged. “I guess we all gotta go somewhere.” Carly snuggled in to Maddy’s side, and I watched as Maddy took a deep breath into Carly’s hair.
“The sooner you’re home the better, as far as I’m conc
erned.”
Maddy leaned back on the pillow. “I don’t know why. I’ve not exactly been easy to live with.”
“No, you’re a pain in the butt, but I’m used to that now. Carly and I need you home, where we can take care of you.”
A big smile spread across her face. She looked exhausted, and I knew I’d have to get Carly home soon—not that I wanted to leave Maddy here at all. We didn’t speak. Neither of us could talk about what had happened, not yet. She didn’t have to tell me how devastated she was this whole thing had occurred, and I didn’t have to tell her how I’d been terrified of losing her. Somehow we conveyed all that to each other in that moment, just looking at one another.
“Did you have fun with the other kids?” Maddy asked Carly.
Carly nodded enthusiastically. “We made pancakes.”
“I’ve even got a couple for you,” I said, placing the plate on the cabinet beside the bed.
“Thank you. You must be exhausted.”
“You look tired too.”
Maddy reached for my hand, and I squeezed hers as I grabbed it. “I think we all need some sleep.”
“Except for Carly. I’ve created a monster.” I laughed as Maddy shook her head.
“Well, she’ll have to be your problem for a couple of days.”
“I think I can live with that.” I leaned over, kissing Maddy softly, scared of breaking my fragile-looking woman.
My beautiful family was safe. I could live through anything.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Maddy was discharged on Monday morning, and Carly and I were overjoyed to be bringing her home. We’d missed her so much in our little house.
Guiding Maddy to the couch, I frowned as she sat.
“Lie down. I’ll get a blanket,” I said.
“I’m not an invalid,” she snarled.
“Close enough. I took time off work for this—the least you can do is let me take care of you.” I poked my tongue out, and a smile spread across her face.
I left the room to get a blanket, and when I returned she was lying down, a cushion under her head. Carly stood beside the couch, Maddy’s palm stroking her cheek.
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