After they pulled Mr. Brown into recovery and told his family that the surgery had gone flawlessly, Holly accompanied Moira to reception, where hopefully her little girl and mother were waiting.
Her phone rang, and when she looked at the screen, she saw Rod’s name.
“Shit, sorry! I fell asleep. I’m really sorry, Holly. I’m on my way to the airport now.”
“It’s too late. They took a cab to the hospital. I’m on my way to check if they’re here yet.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in five. Sorry.” He sounded scared.
Holly laughed. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
Disconnecting the call, she put the phone back in her pocket. She couldn’t stop smiling.
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“In November. It’s not easy being away from her.”
“Aw, I’m excited to meet this little person in your life. I can just imagine how you feel.”
Holly laughed. “Words cannot describe it. She is an old soul, and believe me, I’ve missed and needed all her hugs these past few months.”
“I take my hat off to you, Holls. I don’t have kids, but I can just imagine how hard it is to do the right thing. It can’t be easy.”
“It wasn’t, but it’s going to be okay. She’ll be okay, that much I know. And it’s just a year. So it’s not that long.”
“Still… take my hat off to you,” Moira said again as the elevator pinged.
Smiling, Holly rushed to reception where, she hoped, they were waiting in the lobby. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her beautiful raven-haired girl. Jamie looked up, and her eyes grew as soon as she saw Holly. Jumping up, she ran at the speed of light.
“Mommy, Mommy!”
Holly had tears in her eyes as she bent down and caught Jamie with wide open arms. It felt good the minute she was in them. She picked her up. Joy, ten times stronger than yesterday, filled her heart. “Shh, it’s a hospital,” she whispered.
“Okay, but I missed you,” Jamie whispered back, and Moira laughed.
“She is freakin’ gorgeous. Hello,” greeted Moira, and Jamie buried her head in Holly’s shoulder. She kissed Jamie on the head.
“She’s being shy. You should go, your flight is not going to wait for you.”
“You’re right. She’s really gorgeous, Holls.”
Moira left, waving at Jamie, who waved back. Holly walked toward her mother.
“She looks like Aunty Amelia.”
“She does?” Holly asked softly, pretending she hadn’t noticed it at all.
“Holly, you have a daughter?” Teresse gasped. Holly flinched, as Teresse’s voice was loud. When she neared, and after studying Jamie’s face, she gave Holly a knowing look. Like she’d just discovered what the deal was between her and Jake.
“Shh,” Holly begged, trying her best to hide her tears. But Teresse continued to look at her oddly, a look that said she wanted to apologize for everything over the past few months.
“She is gorgeous,” Teresse finally said.
“Thank you. What can I say… I make stunning little kids.”
Teresse laughed, but continued to stare at Jamie. Holly was thankful when they eventually reached Jane.
She gave Holly a kiss on each cheek. “Sorry, babe, I wasn’t thinking, and I didn’t know what else to do.”
“It’s fine, Mom. Don’t worry,” she whispered. “Rod is on his way.”
“And who is this?” queried Aggie.
Shit, shit, shit. Holly didn’t want it to be Aggie.
“Say hi, sweetie.”
“Hi.” Jamie smiled and again buried her face in Holly’s shoulder.
“Holly, she is beautiful. So, so gorgeous.” Aggie stared at Jamie. Holly knew, Aggie knew. She was seeing Jake in Jamie, without a doubt.
“Thanks.” Holly swallowed hard and looked at her mom. Jane’s eyes fell on Aggie who was still smiling at Jamie.
“You want a lollipop?” Aggie held one up, a warm, motherly smile on her face. She gave it to Jamie. Bending forward, she kissed the child on the temple, something neither Holly nor Jane expected. She went back to her desk. Holly’s gaze followed her like a hawk. If Aggie picked up a phone, she was going to strangle her, but Aggie spoke to Teresse with a smile, and whatever she’d said made Teresse laugh.
“I take it by the look on your face that that wasn’t a good thing.”
“It’s not, but it’s okay, Mom. She knows him, and I’m sure you know what else she knows.” Holly was referring to Jake being Jamie’s father.
“I got that same feeling. It explains the kiss.”
Just then, Rod joined them. Jamie yelled in joy as he took her from Holly. Giving Holly a look, he mouthed, “Sorry,” while hugging Jamie tightly.
“It’s okay,” she mouthed back, but wasn’t sure if it was.
“Look how big you got!” Rod said.
“I know, and look—” she opened her mouth to show him her teeth—“it’s gone.” She started telling Rodney the story as Holly said goodbye to Jane, then kissed Jamie on the head.
“See you later, okay? Enjoy the beach.”
“We will. See you later.” Jamie returned the kiss.
Holly’s eyes followed Rod as he carried her baby out to his car.
She sighed a happy sigh, and went back to reception. Aggie was gone, leaving only Teresse with that look again.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It doesn’t matter. I know a different side to him, so please don’t say anything.”
Teresse nodded, while Pam, thankfully, spoke on the phone.
She smiled again. Seeing Jamie, holding her and kissing her, took all the crappiness of Jake marrying Kate tomorrow away. It was hard seeing Rodney waltzing in to take them home. She glanced at her watch; another couple of hours and she would go home where Jamie would be waiting for her. She was worried about one thing, though… she hadn’t bargained on Aggie showing up. She’d even given Jamie a lollipop. Aggie could easily let it slip when Jake came back. Moira wouldn’t say anything, that much she trusted.
“Have you seen Aggie anywhere?” Holly asked, looking around. She didn’t know what she was going to tell her, but she had to say something.
“She was right here a second ago,” said Pam. “Do you need me to give her a call?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Was that your little girl?”
Holly had never really liked Pam much, and guessed it had something to do with her always being too friendly with Jake. It was funny, though, how kids always brought out the best in people. She nodded, and couldn’t help but smile. Sue walked in behind the reception desk, and put her bag down.
“How old is she?”
“She’ll be turning six in November.”
“She’s gorgeous.”
Holly chuckled. “Thank you. I cannot imagine my life without her.”
Holly went back to completing Mr. Brown’s chart.
Suddenly, she heard Sue gasp. “Aren’t you supposed to be lying somewhere on a sunny beach…”
Holly looked up at Sue to find the woman’s brows furrowed, no smile on her face. She’d stopped talking. An icy cold shiver ran up Holly’s spine.
“Dr. Peters, are you okay?”
Holly’s heart stopped. Sue had to be speaking to Moira, who was probably going to confront her and ask her who the father was. Then again, Sue knew that Moira was due to leave at two, so why...
She felt Teresse’s eyes on her, and in that moment knew exactly which Peters was standing behind her. For some reason, Jake hadn’t left the night before. He was here. And he’d seen Jamie. Her heart beat like crazy. Thoughts flashed through her mind at what he must have witnessed a few minutes ago. No, no, no, no!
Neither an answer or solution came to her, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to look back to confirm if it was Jake or not. Picking up her chart, she made to flee.
“
Baby,” Aggie said softly behind her, but she didn’t stop, and she didn’t reply.
Just as she took the first step, a hand grabbed her arm and spun her around forcefully, their faces inches apart. His eyes were bright blue. And it was clear he was furious that Holly had kept the baby.
She felt as if she was going to faint right there and then. This couldn’t be happening. It was a dream and she was going to wake up any minute from her buzzer and find that she was either in her bed or in one of the hospital beds. But that buzzer never came, and she knew she had to say something.
“Shouldn’t you be in Hawaii by now?” She tried for a steady voice, but it broke all the same. She cleared her throat softly, swallowing hard.
Jake ignored her question. “Who was that?” he asked through clenched teeth, the muscles along his jawline pumping.
Pulling her arm from his grasp, she glared at him, but he grabbed her arm again. “Nobody. You should leave. You’re going to miss your flight, Jake.” She jerked her arm out of his grasp and turned away, desperately wanting to get to the sanctuary of the stairwell.
“Is she mine?” His voice was so loud that not only did it stop her in her tracks, everyone standing at reception gasped in shock. The silence that followed was eerie. She knew that everyone who’d seen Jamie knew she was his. She swallowed the lump in her throat before turning around. Why was he doing this to her? “No, she’s mine,” she said, before walking away again
She heard his footsteps behind her. He wasn’t going to leave well enough alone, and for some reason her heart fluttered as if it was a bird trapped inside a cage who desperately wanted to be free.
Jake grabbed her arm again, swinging her around. “You do not want to play with me. Answer my fucking question, or I swear…”
“What, Jake?” His words made her furious. Angrily, she pulled her arm out of his grip. It hurt, but the rage inside her prevented her from caring. “Do not threaten me, or I will make you regret the day you ever laid eyes on me!” she yelled back. “We’ve done perfectly fine without you for the past five years. And, don’t you ever grab me like that again. Forget what you saw and leave.”
“Are you insane?” he growled as she walked away, a sarcastic chuckle of disbelief lingering in his tone.
Holly huffed and shook her head. The entire hospital was watching. Nurses peeking out the rooms of the patients they were tending. Patients’ families, doctors, were watching her as if she’d did something horribly wrong to this poor, poor, man. Well, she was not going to have that. “You are kidding me, right? You Peterses are unbelievable. Don’t ever threaten me, Jake. You made your bed five years ago, now lie in it!” she screamed at him, then walked away, giving everyone looking at her a glare. Most of them scrammed. She was glad that Jake didn’t follow her this time as she quickly made her way to the stairs. She took the stairs and grabbed her phone from her pocket, and speed-dialed Rodney. It just rang.
“Damn it, Rodney,” she groaned, tears glistening in her eyes. She hadn’t been this angry in a long time. She decided right there and then that Downsend could fuck off, as she wasn’t going to work there a minute longer. She made her way to the lower level and the changing rooms, not caring about her shift, or any of the others she still had to do before leaving for Zürich. The only thing on her mind was how fast she could get a flight back to Seattle, and hope that Jake would never find them.
Thoughts of what Jake would now do were frightening, and her stomach roiled with unease. A part of her understood why he was mad, but attempting to threaten her like that wasn’t okay.
Putting on only the leather jacket she wore to work today, the chucked the rest of her clothes into her bag. She would ask Rev to bring her scrubs back to the hospital. She made a run for it. Jake wasn’t going to turn their lives upside down. She wouldn’t allow it. He hadn’t wanted them, and the memories of that day—those nine words he’d used and the hurt he’d caused—felt like he’d just said them to her face not a few minutes ago. She wiped a tear away as a result from that memory.
Composing herself, she opened the door to find groups of residents chatting at reception. Jake, she noticed, was in his office talking on the phone, his back to her. She didn’t need to wonder who he was speaking to, because the situation screamed lawyer. If she wanted to avoid any further confrontation with him, she had to leave now.
She ran to the entrance and escaped through the sliding doors, not bothering to take Rev’s car. A cab would do, and she was grateful when one stopped right in front of the hospital to drop off a group of people who’d probably come to visit someone.
For once in her life, fate was on her side.
Getting in, she rattled off the address to the driver with instructions that he drive quickly. As soon as he pulled away, she let go. She couldn’t hold the tears of anger and rejection back anymore. Heaven knew she didn’t have the strength—or the money—to fight Jake on this, and she would have no choice but to ask her father once again to step in. No matter what it would end up costing her, she would do anything to prevent Jake from winning.
JAKE
“WHY ISN’T SHE FUCKING ANSWERING!” Jake roared.
“Baby, calm down,” Aggie said.
“Jake. What the hell was that between you and Holly?” asked Moira.
He didn’t answer her as he was trying his mom’s phone again. She wasn’t picking up. Holly hadn’t seemed scared, she hadn’t seemed afraid he’d discovered she kept the baby. It was the total opposite. She was pissed off with him, and it didn’t make any sense; he was one who should be pissed off with her for not telling him. Even worse, for not letting him know that she’d decided to keep the baby. Her final words struck him hard again. You made your bed five years ago, now lie in it. What the hell had she meant by that? What bed was she talking about?
“Jake!” Moira yelled, and he looked at her.
“Moira, Holly is the girl who aborted my baby four years ago. But the only problem is that she apparently didn’t. I have a daughter. Nothing makes any sense.”
Moira merely stared at him, her eyes huge and round. “Jamie is yours?”
His head jerked back. “Her name’s Jamie? How long have you known?”
“I just found out this morning in the OR. She’s yours. Of course, she’s yours. She has Peters written all over her. I’m so stupid.” The look she gave him, though, was one of anger and disgust. “Why didn’t you want her?”
Jake felt as if his heart had dropped to his stomach. “Excuse me?”
“Holly told me you didn’t want the baby.”
He looked at Aggie to explain.
“That’s not true,” Aggie told Moira. “He wanted the baby and Holly very much, believe me.”
Shaking, Jake dialed his mother again, his heart beating frantically. He had wanted them. This didn’t make any sense. The phone rang and rang, and then Mara’s voicemail came on. “Hello, this is Dr. Peters. I’m not available. In an emergency…”
Upset, Jake roared in anger as he slammed the phone down hard on the desk.
“Baby, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Aggie!” he yelled, but immediately apologized. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“You have all the right in the world to be upset.”
“What are you going to do, Jake? You want me to find her and drag her back here?” Moira asked.
“Yes. Yes, try to find her, please, Moira,” he barked, annoyed. Nodding, she left. He had to get rid of her, and if she could be of use at the same time, why not?
“I have a terrible feeling about this, Aggie. She hates my guts. I saw it today.”
“She doesn’t hate your guts, Jake. If she did, believe me, she wouldn’t have allowed your affair to happen.”
“Then why didn’t she tell me? She had all the time in the world. Why did she think I didn’t want her and the baby?”
“I told you to speak to her.”
“You know why I didn’t.” Jake was close to tears.
&nbs
p; Aggie stared at him. She looked worried and sad that he was going through this. She was like a second mother to him, and he in turn loved her dearly. She knew the state he’d been in when Holly had left, how he’d tried to find her. Now he didn’t know what to think about the whole situation.
Jake dialed his sister. The whole family was in Hawaii, waiting for his arrival, but he wouldn’t be going. Not before the mess he found himself in was sorted out. He knew Holly would leave the minute he boarded his two o’clock flight, and he knew he would never see her or his daughter again.
“Aloha! You’ve reached Amelia. We’re in Hawaii right now, so leave your name and number, and I’ll decide if I want to call you back. Bye!”
“Amelia, call me back, please. It’s urgent!” He rested his head in his hands as tears filled his eyes.
He’d always thought about Holly, that she hadn’t done what she’d told his mother she was going to do, that she was somewhere in pain, needing him. His thoughts would then turn into her being stuck in some room while they aborted his baby. When his mother had found him fifteen miles from Seattle, he should never have listened to her, should never have stopped looking for her. He could’ve been there for her, for their baby. He hadn’t wanted to think about what she was going through, but it had kept on running through his mind.
His father had told him about the hypotension, and that she could die if she didn’t receive the right treatment. Now, all he could think of was the suffering she must have gone through, and it hurt that he hadn’t been there to offer her the support and help she’d obviously needed. It hurt that his father hadn’t helped her with whatever she’d needed.
He took a deep breath, because his lungs felt robbed of much needed air. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time. She thought he hadn’t wanted them. Why would she have thought that? Why would she have told Moira that? To throw her off for some reason… but why?
“Jake?” He looked up when he heard Moira call softly from the door. No sign of Holly. Moira shook her head. “One of the nurses said she saw her leaving a couple of minutes ago. I went to check if I could catch her, but…”
Secret Love (The 4Ever Series Book 2) Page 31